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Coiled Rope & Knot My Problem (Human Knot Variations)

7/4/2019

2 Comments

 
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*Programming Note from Chris: Below you have access to three videos related to the Human Knot. Here is the order of difficulty I give to these activities: Knot My Problem, Coiled Rope, Human Knot. You will need to decide which one (or two) you use with your group based on their readiness to play - i.e., how close they will feel comfortable getting next to each other.
Coiled Rope

​I learned this variation of Human Knot (rope version) years ago from my good friend, Mike Spiller (HERE's a video of the original set up for Human Knot - no rope - if you don't know about this one). Historical Reference: The earliest documentation of "Knots" that I know of is in, The New Games Book, 1976. 

The full write up of Coiled Rope is included in my book, Portable Teambuilding Activities: Games, Initiatives and Team Challenges for Any Space. (Find it HERE). It's actually part of a 'Trilogy' activity with 5-Point Star and Shooting Star. 
From the video you will get the idea of how to play. But I do want to share a little bit about the set up before you watch. I use a 50-foot activity rope for each group of 8 to 10 players. (If you don't have a retired rope around, my favorite inexpensive 50-foot rope is the 3/8 Utility rope from AtWoodRope - it has a great feel, lots of cool colors and it keeps its shape even after it gets wet. The site is a little confusing - the rope I get is shown at the top of their home page. Look for the group that has the names, Blue Force, Liberty & Black Lightning. These are the ones I get).
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I tie a single fisherman's knot with the two ends making a big rope circle, then I coil the rope with about a 24-inch diameter. Players reach across the rope coil to grab a bight from the other side of the coil in which they are standing. 

Note: The video included below will show you the start of the activity and progress through to some of the untangling. We did this one after the, Knot My Problem video shoot (below) and had to cut this one short due to lightning in the area. You'll get the idea though! ​
Knot My Problem

This variation of the Human Knot is found in the book, Tinker: Building Purposeful Experiences from Classic Adventure Activities (2017) from my friends at High 5 (find your copy HERE). I read the entire book recently and really - quick read - and enjoyed getting reacquainted with some of my old favorites (and learning a few new ones I didn't know about) - I got a lot from the commentary about the activities from the High 5 authors.
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The set up for this version is much simpler and you can get more people involved with one rope since you don't have that 'leaning in' reach included with Coiled Rope (above). As noted above, I think this is the easiest one-rope variation of Human Knot. ​
Have fun out there my friends! Keep me posted. 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 
2 Comments
Phil Brown
7/8/2019 10:09:57 am

Chris,

Thanks so much for featuring Tinker and highlighting Knot my Problem, it is certainly a favorite of mine. As a slight addition to what I saw in the video, I like to have the participants clip the bight into their harness which leaves them hands free and can help participants get more comfortable with using gear (opening and closing carabiners) and wearing the harnesses.

Have a great rest of the summer!

Reply
Chris
7/8/2019 10:33:54 am

Phil, you are so welcome! I had such fun reading Tinker this Spring on my training road trip - I ended up showing/leading a lot of the activities from the book during my trainings because so many were no (or already accessible) props. AND, thanks for sharing the version of clipping in - I'm bummed I forgot about this from the book. We were all harnessed up ready to climb when we got grounded due to lightning. So we waited out the storm with activities. I'll remember for next time!

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    Dr. Chris Cavert is an internationally known author, speaker, and trainer in the area of adventure-based activity programming and its relation to community and pro-social behavior development.

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