Niaz is a fire performer and martial artist with over 16 years of experience in the way of the sword and other martial art weapons. What started out as visualising battling demons in his backyard as a child, transformed over the years into a form of expression for him and a pathway to explore deeper states of flow. Niaz has had a long background of competing on a national level in Taekwondo over the past 14 years, alongside practicing several other martial arts like Muay Thai, BJJ, Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Karate. He has also been a professional fire performer for festivals, clubs weddings, private and corporate events for the last 4 years.

Would you like to know more?

When did you start your martial arts/ flow arts journey?

It all started when I was 6 and started spinning sticks I’d find outdoors. I would visualise beating hordes of demons with my stick. I always wanted to be a ninja as a kid, so I would try hiding in the shadows, climbing walls, throwing little shuriken I made and practicing fighting with a stick as my sword. I begged my parents to join a Taekwondo class at the age of 10, and continued training in the discipline ever since. Over years, the sticks turned to wooden weapons, then to practice weapons and eventually fire weapons. The martial arts journey got me to becoming a black belt, competing in National tournaments, joining the national team, getting 4th Dan black belt, and eventually taking a step back from it and exploring other martial arts, like Karate, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jistu, Boxing, Kung Fu and Tai Chi over several years. All the while, I never lost the childhood dream of being a ninja.

What got you into performing?

I already had a lot of experience training in martial arts and practicing with martial arts weapons in backyard over most of my life when I went to my first ever music festival in the bush in early 2018. I was introduced to a whole new world of letting go, being free and letting my true self shine past all the social barriers. There was a fire circle happening at night, at that festival. I asked the person running the fire circle if I could go in for a burn. I borrowed a friend’s staff, went in and visualised vanquishing hordes of demons with my staff, as I had all childhood. Once the smoke, fire and my adrenaline rush cleared, I received a standing ovation from the crowd and they throughly enjoyed watching me have so much fun at the fire circle. That’s when I knew, I must become a performer. I have been performing regularly and outdoing myself with each performance since.

Why do you perform?

I love sharing my passion of movement arts through performing. Perhaps the person having the most fun during my performance is me! I love what I do, and tend to get into a real flow state while moving with my props/ weapons. After practicing by myself for the majority of my life, as a performer I now have the chance to share my love for the art, and express the states of mind I reach when in my element. I have a saying ‘Calmness in Extreme Motion’ which is what I get into when I have surrendered my body and it’s move sets to the music, flowing and reacting to every beat while my mind becomes a calm observer. You should watch one of my shows to really understand what I mean here. Hopefully it will inspire you too, to really get into what you love doing and makes you feel the same.

What are your other hobbies?

During the day, I am also a software developer and a digital marketing consultant. I have a background in Software Development and I currently work for an IT Consulting firm as my day job, and perform and run in my digital marketing business on the side. I also love creating martial arts fight scenes, and I’m aspiring to be a stunt actor in films. Wish me luck!