This Is Craft Training
This is not a personal development retreat with certification attached.
This is craft training for people ready to steward fire as a tool for transformation.
Over five intensive days in the Blue Ridge Mountains, you'll build fires, walk coals, and learn to hold space for others to do the same with safety, presence, and care.
Obsidian Firewalking and FireHawk have joined forces to offer a training rooted in respected lineages,
grounded in trauma-aware facilitation, and designed for practitioners ready to lead with integrity.
What you'll leave with:
- Dual certification recognized by both organizations
- Technical skills to facilitate firewalks and breakthrough activities
- Embodied understanding that comes only from doing the work yourself
- Connection to a global community of fire stewards
How We Approach This Work
1. Stewardship First
You're not learning to "run firewalks." You're learning to hold a container where people meet fear, choice, and courage. That's a responsibility worth taking seriously.
2. Safety as Foundation
Fire science. Site design. Risk assessment. Consent practices. Trauma-aware facilitation. These aren't add-ons they're the baseline.
3. Leadership Through Presence
We teach facilitation that doesn't rely on hype or pressure. You'll learn to lead with steadiness, clarity, and respect for each participant's autonomy.
4. Craft, Not Performance
Breakthrough activities work because of preparation, not spectacle. You'll learn the why behind every element so you can adapt, not just replicate.
5. Lineage With Integrity
Our instructors trained with respected teachers across multiple traditions. We honor that lineage by passing it forward with care.
What You'll Learn
Fire Craft
- Fire science and coal bed physics
- Wood selection, fire building, tending, and raking
- Site design for safety and ceremony
- Weather and environmental considerations
- Multiple fire configurations
Facilitation & Leadership
- Holding space without pressure
- Consent protocols and participant autonomy
- Trauma-aware facilitation fundamentals
- Group dynamics and pacing
- The HEAT Framework: Holistic, Empowerment, Active, Thinking
Breakthrough Activities
- Firewalking (multiple configurations)
- Glasswalk
- Arrow break
- Board break
- Rebar bend
- Trust fall (elevated)
Business & Ethics
- Permits, insurance, and logistics
- Pricing and agreements
- Working with venues and clients
- Cultural stewardship and lineage responsibility
Is This Training Right for You?
This training is for:
- Facilitators expanding their practice
- Coaches and therapists seeking experiential methods
- Retreat leaders and ceremony holders
- Corporate trainers and leadership developers
- Peer support specialists and recovery coaches
- Committed individuals ready to begin this path with rigor
You don't need to have walked on fire before, but you do need to be ready for five intensive days of physical, emotional, and practical work.
This is not a spectator experience. You will build fires. You will walk. You will lead.
This training is NOT for:
If you're looking for a personal development retreat with certification as a bonus, this isn't the right fit. We recommend attending a public firewalk first.
If you're not ready for honest feedback, physical exertion, early mornings, and late evenings around the fire, please wait until you are.
Your Instructors
Ron Schaeffer - Obsidian Firewalking
International Master of Firewalking
Ron's path to the fire came through recovery. With over 20 years in long-term recovery, he brings an embodied understanding of transformation that can't be taught from a book.
His professional background spans STEM education, culinary arts, and workplace safety training, showing up in his teaching as technically rigorous, practically grounded, and always meeting people where they are.
Ron completed his Firewalk Instructor Training through Sundoor (HeatherAsh Amara) and The Firewalking Center (Kevin Axtell), and earned his Masters certification through Eight Directions with Åsa Beckman, Bence Tarr, and John "Hawk" Maisel.
He co-founded Obsidian Firewalking with his wife Patty. Together they also lead WellSurgent, offering peer support specialist certification and WRAP facilitation throughout North Carolina. Ron and Patty are hosting the 2026 Americas Edition of the International Firewalk Gathering.
Patty Schaeffer - Obsidian Firewalking
International Master of Firewalking | NC Certified Peer Support Specialist
Patty brings the same depth of lived experience, over 20 years in recovery combined with formal credentials in peer support and wellness facilitation. As Executive Director of WellSurgent, she leads trainings in WRAP, trauma-informed approaches, and peer support specialist certification.
Her facilitation style is warm, direct, and deeply attuned to the room. She developed the HEAT Framework (Holistic, Empowerment, Active, Thinking) for trauma-aware facilitation, which forms a core element of this training.
Together, Ron and Patty have trained extensively with the world’s leading firewalking schools and built a practice grounded in the belief that transformation happens through relationship, not performance.
Mārtiņš Vecvanags - FireHawk
International Master of Firewalking | GFA Board Member
Mārtiņš brings over a decade of high-stakes leadership—including roles overseeing €150M+ in sales and 1,000+ employees—combined with deep expertise in coaching and transformation.
He holds an Executive MBA and certifications in coaching (Ericsson International) and emotional intelligence (Genos International). Certified as a firewalking instructor in 2012, he trained with Tolly Burkan, founder of the modern firewalking movement, earning his Masters title in 2016.
Over the past five years, Mārtiņš has led events for 5,000+ participants across four continents.
He co-founded the International Firewalk Gathering and serves on the board of the Global Firewalking Alliance.
What Makes This Training Different
Trauma-Aware Facilitation
Many people who come to firewalking are carrying more than they show. Our instructors bring decades of experience in peer support, recovery work, and trauma-aware facilitation. We teach you to hold space for the full human being not just the breakthrough moment.
The HEAT Framework
Developed through years of peer support and facilitation work, the HEAT Framework provides a structure for grounded leadership:
- H - Holistic: Seeing the whole person (mind, body, spirit, story, community)
- E - Empowerment: Supporting agency, not dependency
- A - Active: Healing requires movement and consistent engagement
- T - Thinking: Transforming reactions into thoughtful responses
Recovery-Grounded Leadership
Your lead instructors are people in long-term recovery who understand transformation from the inside. We know what it means to walk through fire—literally and metaphorically.
Dual Certification
Graduates receive certification from both Obsidian Firewalking (US) and FireHawk (Europe)—recognized across both communities and networks. One training. Two organizations. Global recognition.
Schedule Overview
Five Days, Four Firewalks
Day 1 (Wednesday)
Arrival, orientation, safety foundations, fire craft basics, nightly firewalks with integration
Days 2–4 (Thursday–Saturday)
Instruction, facilitation practice, breakthrough activities, progressive fire tending roles
Day 5 (Sunday)
Final practicum, assessment, certification, departure
Schedule subject to weather and facilitator judgment.
Location & Lodging
Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina — exact venue provided upon enrollment. Our training site offers the natural beauty, privacy, and fire-friendly environment essential for this work.
A limited number of on-site residential packages are available at approximately $820 (four nights including meals). Commuter option available.
- 🛏️ 4 nights lodging + meals (residential package)
- 🔥 Dedicated fire site & equipment
- 🚗 Parking on site; nearest major airports: Asheville (AVL), Charlotte (CLT)
Investment & Registration
Tuition
Training, materials, certification & meals during training
$2500
Residential (Optional)
4 nights lodging + meals
$820
How to Enroll
This is not open enrollment. We want to meet you before you commit.
Interest Form
Complete a brief form sharing your background and interest in this work.
Readiness Conversation
Schedule a 15–20 minute video call with Ron, Patty, or Mārtiņš. Not gatekeeping—relationship building.
Enrollment Confirmed
If it's a mutual fit, you'll receive enrollment instructions. Deposit secures your spot.
Space is limited to 12 participants.
What Graduates Receive
- Dual Certification from Obsidian Firewalking and FireHawk
- Comprehensive Training Manual with technical, facilitation, and business content
- Ongoing Support through alumni community and instructor network
- Foundation to pursue advanced training and specialization
Questions?
Have questions before you apply? We're happy to help.
Email: info@obsidianfirewalking.com
Phone: 828.998.2525
Ready?
Begin Your ApplicationOctober 7–11, 2026 | Blue Ridge Mountains | Limited to 12 Participants