Moon Walking
The closest people can get to flying without wings
At A Glance
Two people holding the lower arms of a third person whose hands are on his or her hips, physically support the latter as he or she jumps into the air.
What You Need
- 2 – 5 mins
What To Do
Use a variety of Clumps, ending with “THREE” to form random groups of three people. Ask one person to place hands on hips (thumbs pointing backwards) and to hold this stance firm. Instruct the two others of this triad to approach the first person, and grab a lower arm each with their two hands, often placing one hand at the wrist and the other just below the elbow.
Upon engaging in this exercise, allow people to choose where is best for them to place their hands. What is important to stress, however, is gentle but firm grips, and that the middle person maintains a solid stance at all times.
Now, commence the countdown, and ask each of the middle people to jump high into the air. At the same time, their partners will lift their colleagues gently into the air giving extra support to allow for a jump which is higher than can normally be expected. Note, I said “gently” and “extra support” – not fling, heave or toss your jumper into the air!
Depending on your sequence, this could be one of the first occasions in which you have introduced some form of exhilarating physical rush for your participants. It will often elicit much applause and screams (of joy). Apart from the obvious merriment of jumping really high, this is also an excellent activity to introduce your group to the concept of taking care of others – which, in turn, contributes to building a feeling of trust, support and community.
Hence, your sequencing must be spot on. Do not introduce this exercise to your group unless they have already exhibited healthy levels of safety consciousness in your lead-up activities.
Variation
- Same set-up as above, but this time, invite the threesome to move forward five paces, stepping forward in rapid succession with each jump. It will almost feel like flying.
Taken from ‘Count Me In: Large Group Activities That Work’
If you know of a cool variation to this activity, please add a comment…
Comments
3 Comments on Moon Walking
- Jackie on Tue, 20th Sep 2011 3:41 am
Great idea – will try it with my group. Would love to see a you-tube video of this in action.
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Mark Collard on Tue, 20th Sep 2011 8:57 am
Hey Jackie, yes, I plan to offer videos for pretty much everything I do in my new premium content blog, launching in early 2012… stay tuned!
Mark
- Kathleen on Wed, 15th Feb 2012 6:34 pm
What a great activity! Usually trust activities are awkward but after trying this one out one my group I realized they enjoy it too much to take notice of this, while having fun and developing stronger friendships. This is the most enjoyable 3 minute activity I know! Thanks
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