Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope walking and slacklining.
Tightwire is the skill of maintaining balance while walking along a tensioned wire between two points. It can be done either using a balancing tool (umbrella, fan, balance pole, etc.) or "freehand", using only one's body to maintain balance. Typically, tightwire performances either include dance or object manipulation. Object manipulation acts include a variety of props in their acts, such as clubs, rings, hats, or canes. Tightwire performers have even used wheelbarrows with passengers, ladders, and animals in their act. The technique to maintain balance is to keep the performer's centre of mass above their support point—usually their feet.
Highwire is a form of tightwire walking but performed at much greater height. Although there is no official height when tightwire becomes highwire, generally a wire over 20 feet (6 m) high are regarded as a highwire act.
Skywalk is a form of highwire which is performed at great heights and length. A skywalk is performed outdoors between tall buildings, gorges, across waterfalls or other natural and man-made structures.
RopesEdit
If the "lay" of the rope (the orientation of the constituent strands, the "twist" of a rope) is in one direction, the rope can twist on itself as it stretches and relaxes. Underfoot, this could be hazardous to disastrous in a tightrope. One solution is for the rope core to be made of steel cable, laid in the opposite direction to the outer layers, so that twisting forces balance each other out.
BiomechanicsEdit
Acrobats maintain their balance by positioning their centre of mass directly over their base of support, i.e. shifting most of their weight over their legs, arms, or whatever part of their body they are using to hold them up. When they are on the ground with their feet side by side, the base of support is wide in the lateral direction but narrow in the sagittal (back-to-front) direction. In the case of highwire-walkers, their feet are parallel with each other, one foot positioned in front of the other while on the wire. Therefore, a tightwire walker's sway is side to side, their lateral support having been drastically reduced. In both cases, whether side by side or parallel, the ankle is the pivot point.
A wire-walker may use a pole for balance or may stretch out his arms perpendicular to his trunk in the manner of a pole. This technique provides several advantages. It distributes mass away from the pivot point, thereby increasing the moment of inertia. This reduces angular acceleration, so a greater torque is required to rotate the performer over the wire. The result is less tipping. In addition, the performer can also correct sway by rotating the pole. This will create an equal and opposite torque on the body.
Tightwire-walkers typically perform in very thin and flexible, leather-soled slippers with a full-length suede or leather sole to protect the feet from abrasions and bruises, while still allowing the foot to curve around the wire. Though very infrequent in performance, amateur, hobbyist, or inexperienced funambulists will often walk barefoot so that the wire can be grasped between the big and second toe. This is more often done when using a rope, as the softer and silkier fibres are less taxing on the bare foot than the harder and more abrasive braided wire.
Robert Cadman, early 18th-century British highwire walker and ropeslider
Jay Cochrane, Canadian, set multiple records for skywalking, including The Great China Skywalk[1] in Qutang Gorge, China, 639-metre-long (2,098 ft), 410-metre-high (1,340 ft) from one cliff wall to the opposite side above the Yangtze River; the longest blindfolded skywalk, 800-foot-long (240 m), 300-foot-high (91 m) in 1998, between the towers of the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, and broadcast on FOX Network's "Guinness World Records: Primetime" on Tuesday, February 23, 1999; In 2001, he became the first person to perform a , in more than a hundred years. His final performances took place during Skywalk 2012[2] with a world record submission[3] of 11.81 miles (19.01 km) in cumulative distance skywalking from the Skylon Tower at a height of 520 feet (160 m) traversing the 1,300 feet (400 m) highwire to the pinnacle of the Hilton Fallsview Hotel at 581 feet (177 m).
Con Colleano, Australian, "the Wizard of the Wire"
Pablo Fanque, 19th-century British tightrope walker and "rope dancer", among other talents, although best known as the first black circus owner in Britain, and for his mention in the Beatles song, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Farrell Hettig, American highwire walker, started as a Wallenda team member, once held record for steepest incline for a wire walk he completed in 1981[4]
Henry Johnson (1806–1910), British tightrope walker with Sanger's and Hughes' circuses (also equestrian gymnast and acrobat)
Denis Josselin, a French tightrope walker, completed on 6 April 2014 a walk over the river Seine in Paris. It took him 30 minutes to walk over 150 m (490 feet) of rope, 25 m (82 feet) meters above the river. He covered his eyes halfway through without harness or safety net but police boats were on hand in case he fell.[5][6]
Fyodor Molodtsov (1855–1919), a Russian rope walker. Was known to perform numerous tricks such as rope walking while shooting, carrying another person, wearing stilts, dancing, and even being unbalanced by pyrotechnical explosions. Known to have defeated Blondin during a tightrope crossing of the Neva river, by braving it at a wider place.
Jorge Ojeda-Guzman, Ecuadorian highwire walker, set The Guinness Book of World Records, Tightrope Endurance Record, for living 205 days on the wire, from January 1 to July 25, 1993 in Orlando, Florida.[7]
Rudy Omankowski Jr., French-Czech highwire walker, holds record for skywalk distance
Stephen Peer, after several previous successful crossings, fell to his death at the Niagara Falls in 1887
Nik Wallenda, great-grandson of Karl, second person to walk from the United States to Canada over the Horseshoe Falls at the Niagara Falls on June 15, 2012; with his mother Delilah (Karl's granddaughter), completed his great-grandfather's final attempt between the two towers of the Condado Plaza Hotelon June 4, 2011. On June 23, 2013 he successfully walked over a gorge in the area of the Grand Canyon. On November 2, 2014, he crossed over the Chicago River from the west tower of Marina City to the Leo Burnett building, following it with a blindfolded trip from the west tower to the east tower of Marina City.[8][9] performed a record-breaking skywalk of 2,000 feet (610 m) at Kings Island on July 4, 2008, breaking Karl Wallenda's record walk[10][11]
Maurizio Zavatta, Holder of highest tightrope walk while blindfolded. Set on 16 November 2016 in Wulong, Chongqing (China).[13]
Rafael Zugno Bridi broke the world record of the highest ever tightrope walk, by walking between two hot air balloons more than a mile high above the ground. [14]
Metaphorical useEdit
The word funambulism or the phrase walking a tightrope is also used in a metaphorical setting not referring to any actual acrobatic acts. For instance, politicians are said to "walk a tightrope" when trying to balance two opposing views with little room for compromise. The term can also be used in satirical or acidic contexts. Nicholas Taleb uses the phrase in his book The Black Swan. "You get respect for doing funambulism or spectator sports". Taleb is criticising scientists who prefer popularism to vigorous research and those who walk a fixed and narrow path rather than explore a large field of empirical study.[15]
^Blumenfeld, Jeff (2013). You Want To Go Where?: How to Get Someone to Pay for the Trip of Your Dreams. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN978-1626369658 – via Google Books.
^nurun.com. . Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
^www.unicorndesigners.co.uk, Unicorn Designers. "The book of alternative records – Longest Cumulative Distance on a Highwire (>100 m)".
^Mark Zaloudek (August 27, 2006). "Farrell Hettig found success on high wire and in business". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
^Staff. "Tightrope walker Denis Josselin completes walk over the river Seine in Paris".
^ITN, Source (7 April 2014). "Paris tightrope walker crosses river Seine – video". The Guardian.
^Reuters Editorial. "China tightrope walker set up for a fall". U.S. Retrieved 2018-09-25. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^"Live blog: Nik Wallenda's Chicago skyscraper walks". www.chicagotribune.com. November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
^"Daredevil Wallenda successfully completes 2 Chicago skyscraper tightrope walks". foxnews.com. November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
^"Wallenda Enterprises Inc. – Exceeding The Limits of Tradition". Retrieved July 30, 2008.
^Rossiter, Marie. "Tight-rope walker breaks record at Kings Island". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
^Tightrope Walking, A Uyghur Tradition Radio Free Asia, retrieved December 13, 2010.
^"Highest blindfolded tightrope walk". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
^"Daredevil Breaks World Breaking Record …". The Bharat Express News. 26 February 2023.
tightrope, walking, tightrope, redirects, here, other, uses, tightrope, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, remo. Tightrope redirects here For other uses see Tightrope disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Tightrope walking news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2007 Learn how and when to remove this template message Tightrope walking also called funambulism is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope walking and slacklining The feet of a tightrope walker Contents 1 Types 2 Ropes 3 Biomechanics 4 Famous tightrope artists 5 Metaphorical use 6 See also 7 ReferencesTypes Edit nbsp Tightrope walking Armenian manuscript 1688Tightwire is the skill of maintaining balance while walking along a tensioned wire between two points It can be done either using a balancing tool umbrella fan balance pole etc or freehand using only one s body to maintain balance Typically tightwire performances either include dance or object manipulation Object manipulation acts include a variety of props in their acts such as clubs rings hats or canes Tightwire performers have even used wheelbarrows with passengers ladders and animals in their act The technique to maintain balance is to keep the performer s centre of mass above their support point usually their feet Highwire is a form of tightwire walking but performed at much greater height Although there is no official height when tightwire becomes highwire generally a wire over 20 feet 6 m high are regarded as a highwire act Skywalk is a form of highwire which is performed at great heights and length A skywalk is performed outdoors between tall buildings gorges across waterfalls or other natural and man made structures Ropes EditIf the lay of the rope the orientation of the constituent strands the twist of a rope is in one direction the rope can twist on itself as it stretches and relaxes Underfoot this could be hazardous to disastrous in a tightrope One solution is for the rope core to be made of steel cable laid in the opposite direction to the outer layers so that twisting forces balance each other out Biomechanics EditAcrobats maintain their balance by positioning their centre of mass directly over their base of support i e shifting most of their weight over their legs arms or whatever part of their body they are using to hold them up When they are on the ground with their feet side by side the base of support is wide in the lateral direction but narrow in the sagittal back to front direction In the case of highwire walkers their feet are parallel with each other one foot positioned in front of the other while on the wire Therefore a tightwire walker s sway is side to side their lateral support having been drastically reduced In both cases whether side by side or parallel the ankle is the pivot point A wire walker may use a pole for balance or may stretch out his arms perpendicular to his trunk in the manner of a pole This technique provides several advantages It distributes mass away from the pivot point thereby increasing the moment of inertia This reduces angular acceleration so a greater torque is required to rotate the performer over the wire The result is less tipping In addition the performer can also correct sway by rotating the pole This will create an equal and opposite torque on the body Tightwire walkers typically perform in very thin and flexible leather soled slippers with a full length suede or leather sole to protect the feet from abrasions and bruises while still allowing the foot to curve around the wire Though very infrequent in performance amateur hobbyist or inexperienced funambulists will often walk barefoot so that the wire can be grasped between the big and second toe This is more often done when using a rope as the softer and silkier fibres are less taxing on the bare foot than the harder and more abrasive braided wire Famous tightrope artists Edit nbsp Maria Spelterini crossing Niagara Falls on July 4 1876 nbsp Jultagi the Korean tradition of tightrope walkingCharles Blondin a k a Jean Francois Gravelet crossed the Niagara Falls many times Robert Cadman early 18th century British highwire walker and ropeslider Jay Cochrane Canadian set multiple records for skywalking including The Great China Skywalk 1 in Qutang Gorge China 639 metre long 2 098 ft 410 metre high 1 340 ft from one cliff wall to the opposite side above the Yangtze River the longest blindfolded skywalk 800 foot long 240 m 300 foot high 91 m in 1998 between the towers of the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas Nevada and broadcast on FOX Network s Guinness World Records Primetime on Tuesday February 23 1999 In 2001 he became the first person to perform a skywalk in Niagara Falls Canada in more than a hundred years His final performances took place during Skywalk 2012 2 with a world record submission 3 of 11 81 miles 19 01 km in cumulative distance skywalking from the Skylon Tower at a height of 520 feet 160 m traversing the 1 300 feet 400 m highwire to the pinnacle of the Hilton Fallsview Hotel at 581 feet 177 m Con Colleano Australian the Wizard of the Wire David Dimitri Swiss highwire walker Pablo Fanque 19th century British tightrope walker and rope dancer among other talents although best known as the first black circus owner in Britain and for his mention in the Beatles song Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite The Great Farini a k a Willie Hunt crossed the Niagara Falls many times Farrell Hettig American highwire walker started as a Wallenda team member once held record for steepest incline for a wire walk he completed in 1981 4 Henry Johnson 1806 1910 British tightrope walker with Sanger s and Hughes circuses also equestrian gymnast and acrobat Denis Josselin a French tightrope walker completed on 6 April 2014 a walk over the river Seine in Paris It took him 30 minutes to walk over 150 m 490 feet of rope 25 m 82 feet meters above the river He covered his eyes halfway through without harness or safety net but police boats were on hand in case he fell 5 6 Jade Kindar Martin and Didier Pasquette an American French highwire duo most notable for their world record setting skywalk over the River Thames in London Henri L Estrange 19th century Australian first person to tightrope walk across Sydney harbour and early balloonist Elvira Madigan Danish 19th century tightwire walker Bird Millman American star of Ringling Brothers amp Barnum and Bailey Circus Fyodor Molodtsov 1855 1919 a Russian rope walker Was known to perform numerous tricks such as rope walking while shooting carrying another person wearing stilts dancing and even being unbalanced by pyrotechnical explosions Known to have defeated Blondin during a tightrope crossing of the Neva river by braving it at a wider place Jorge Ojeda Guzman Ecuadorian highwire walker set The Guinness Book of World Records Tightrope Endurance Record for living 205 days on the wire from January 1 to July 25 1993 in Orlando Florida 7 Rudy Omankowski Jr French Czech highwire walker holds record for skywalk distance Stephen Peer after several previous successful crossings fell to his death at the Niagara Falls in 1887 Susanna Bokoyni Hungarian centenarian and circus performer who was listed in Guinness World Records as the longest lived dwarf on record Philippe Petit French highwire walker famous for his walk between the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City in 1974 Eskil Ronningsbakken Norwegian balancing artist whose feats include tightrope walking between hot air balloons in flight Maria Spelterini Italian highwire walker first woman to cross the Niagara Falls Falko Traber German tightwire walker walked to the Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro Vertelli British Australian tightrope walker nicknamed the Australian Blondin The Flying Wallendas famous for their seven and eight person pyramid wire walks Karl Wallenda founder of the Flying Wallendas died after falling from a wire on March 22 1978 at age 73 while attempting to cross between the two towers of the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan Puerto Rico Nik Wallenda great grandson of Karl second person to walk from the United States to Canada over the Horseshoe Falls at the Niagara Falls on June 15 2012 with his mother Delilah Karl s granddaughter completed his great grandfather s final attempt between the two towers of the Condado Plaza Hotelon June 4 2011 On June 23 2013 he successfully walked over a gorge in the area of the Grand Canyon On November 2 2014 he crossed over the Chicago River from the west tower of Marina City to the Leo Burnett building following it with a blindfolded trip from the west tower to the east tower of Marina City 8 9 performed a record breaking skywalk of 2 000 feet 610 m at Kings Island on July 4 2008 breaking Karl Wallenda s record walk 10 11 Adili Wuxor Chinese Uyghur from Xinjiang performer of the Uyghur tradition of highwire walking called dawaz record holder for highest wire walk citation needed in 2010 he lived on wire for 60 days at Beijing s Bird Nest Stadium 12 Maurizio Zavatta Holder of highest tightrope walk while blindfolded Set on 16 November 2016 in Wulong Chongqing China 13 Rafael Zugno Bridi broke the world record of the highest ever tightrope walk by walking between two hot air balloons more than a mile high above the ground 14 Metaphorical use EditThe word funambulism or the phrase walking a tightrope is also used in a metaphorical setting not referring to any actual acrobatic acts For instance politicians are said to walk a tightrope when trying to balance two opposing views with little room for compromise The term can also be used in satirical or acidic contexts Nicholas Taleb uses the phrase in his book The Black Swan You get respect for doing funambulism or spectator sports Taleb is criticising scientists who prefer popularism to vigorous research and those who walk a fixed and narrow path rather than explore a large field of empirical study 15 See also Edit nbsp Sports portalReferences Edit Blumenfeld Jeff 2013 You Want To Go Where How to Get Someone to Pay for the Trip of Your Dreams Skyhorse Publishing Inc ISBN 978 1626369658 via Google Books nurun com Cochrane raises 10K for charity Archived from the original on 2014 07 15 Retrieved 2014 07 14 www unicorndesigners co uk Unicorn Designers The book of alternative records Longest Cumulative Distance on a Highwire gt 100 m Mark Zaloudek August 27 2006 Farrell Hettig found success on high wire and in business Sarasota Herald Tribune Retrieved June 16 2012 Staff Tightrope walker Denis Josselin completes walk over the river Seine in Paris ITN Source 7 April 2014 Paris tightrope walker crosses river Seine video The Guardian Reuters Editorial China tightrope walker set up for a fall U S Retrieved 2018 09 25 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a author has generic name help Live blog Nik Wallenda s Chicago skyscraper walks www chicagotribune com November 2 2014 Retrieved November 2 2014 Daredevil Wallenda successfully completes 2 Chicago skyscraper tightrope walks foxnews com November 2 2014 Retrieved November 2 2014 Wallenda Enterprises Inc Exceeding The Limits of Tradition Retrieved July 30 2008 Rossiter Marie Tight rope walker breaks record at Kings Island Dayton Daily News Retrieved July 7 2008 Tightrope Walking A Uyghur Tradition Radio Free Asia retrieved December 13 2010 Highest blindfolded tightrope walk Guinness World Records Retrieved 2018 09 25 Daredevil Breaks World Breaking Record The Bharat Express News 26 February 2023 Taleb Nicholas Black Swan 2010 UK p 368 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tightrope walking amp oldid 1162587239, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
