Styles of Slacklining

Styles of Slacklining

                                                          Urbanlining

         Urbanlining or urban slacklining combines all the different styles of slacklining. It is practiced in urban area, for example in city parks and on the streets. Most urban slackliners prefer wide 2-inch lines for tricklining on the streets, but some may use narrow (5/8-inch or 1-inch) lines for longline purposes or for waterlining on the beaches. Also see the other sections of slackline styles below.


                                                         Tricklining

       Tricklining is the most common type of slacklining because it can be set up between almost any two secure points. Tricklining is done low to the ground, and as such it is also often called "lowlining." A great number of tricks can be done on the line, and because the sport is fairly new, there is plenty of room for new tricks. Some of the basic tricks done today are standing, stand start, walking
, walking backwards, turns, drop knee, opposite turn around, and bounce walking. Some intermediate tricks include: moonwalk, throwing a disc around with someone from line-to-line, juggling, sit start, Buddha sit, mantle start, sitting down, lying down, jump start, cross-legged knee drop, surfing forward, surfing sideways, and jump turns, or "180s." Some of the advanced/expert tricks are: back flip landing on the line, jumps referred to as "ollies", tree plants, front flip dismount, back flip dismount, doing push-ups, tandem walking, the tandem pass, piggy-back rides across the line, jumping from line-to-line, and 360s.


                                                           Waterlining

       Waterlining is simply slacklining over water. This is an ideal way to learn new tricks, or to just have more fun. Common places to set up waterlines are over pools, lakes, rivers, creeks, between pier or railroad track pillars, and boat docks.
               
                                                         Highlining

     Highlining is slacklining at elevation above the ground or water. Many slackliners consider highlining to be the pinnacle of the sport. Highlines are commonly set up in locations that have been used or are still used for tyrolean traverse.When rigging highlines, experienced slackers take measures to ensure that solid, redundant and equalized anchors are used to secure the line into position. Modern highline rigging typically entails a mainline of webbing, backup webbing, and either climbing rope or amsteel rope for redundancy. It is also common to pad all areas of the rigging which might come in contact with abrasive surfaces. To ensure safety, most highliners wear a climbing harness or swami beltwith a leash attached to the slackline itself; however, unleashed walks of highlines are not unheard of.


                                                                Slackline Yoga




           Another form of slacklining is Slackline Yoga, also referred to as YogaSlacking or Slackasana. Slackline Yoga takes traditional yoga poses and moves them to the slackline. It has been described as "distilling the art of yogic concentration." To balance on a 1" piece of webbing lightly tensioned between two trees is not easy, and doing yoga poses on it is even more challenging. The practice has many layers, simultaneously developing focus, dynamic balance, power, breath, core integration, flexibility, and confidence. Utilizing standing postures, sitting postures, arm balances, kneeling postures, inversions and unique vinyasa, a skilled slackline yogi is able to create a flowing yoga practice without ever falling from the line.

           The yoga slackers are a group of slackliners and yogis who have contributed significantly to this art. In 2005, Sam Salwei and Jason Magness began demonstrating yoga poses on a slackline at the Yoga Journal conference in Estes Park. Since then, the members of team YogaSlackers have collectively taught over 5000 people to successfully embrace this form of amazing asana. They have developed a special slackline and simple tensioning system, allowing for practitioners to learn safely and experience the benefit of a wide range of dynamic energies while on the line. They teach workshops around the globe.

        Slackline Yoga has been reported in the wall street journal,yoga jornal and climbing magazine.



                                                            Freestyle slacklining




            Freestyle slacklining (a.k.a. “rodeo slacklining") is the art and practice of cultivating balance on a piece of rope or webbing draped slack between two anchor points, typically about 15 to 30 feet long and a couple feet off the ground in the center. This type of very "slack" slackline provides a wide array of opportunities for both swinging and static maneuvers. A freestyle slackline has no tension in it, while both traditional slacklines and tightropes are tensioned. This slackness in the rope or webbing allows it to swing at large amplitudes and adds a different dynamic.