Walking
:
Walk redirects here. That term may also refer to a
base on balls in
baseball or
walking (basketball).
Walking is the main form of
animal locomotion on
land, distinguished from
running and
crawling. When executed in shallow water, it is usually described as wading
and when executed vertically it becomes scrambling or climbing. The word walking
is derived from the Old English walcan
(to roll).
Walking is generally distinguished from running in that only one foot at a time leaves contact with the ground: for humans and other bipeds running begins when both feet are off the ground with each step. (This distinction has the status of a formal requirement in competitive walking events, often resulting in disqualification even at the Olympic level.) For horses and other quadrupedal species, the running gaits may be numerous, and walking keeps three feet at a time on the ground.
The average child achieves independent walking ability between 9 and 15 months old.
While not strictly bipedal, several primarily'' bipedal human gaits (where the long bones of the arms support at most a small fraction of the bodies' weight) are generally regarded as variants of walking. These include:
*
Hand walking; an unusual form of
locomotion, in which the walker moves primarily using his
hands.
* walking on
crutches (usually executed by alternating between standing on both legs, and rocking forward "on the crutches" (i.e., supported under the
armpits by them);
* walking with one or two
walking stick(s) or
trekking poles (reducing the load on one or both legs, or supplementing the body's normal
balancing mechanisms by also pushing against the ground through at least one arm that holds a long object);
* walking while holding on to a
walker, a framework to aid with
balance; and
*
scrambling, using the arms (and hands or some other extension to the arms) not just as a backup to normal balance, but, as when walking on
talus, to achieve states of balance that would be impossible or unstable when supported solely by the legs.
For humans, walking is the main form of
transportation without a
vehicle or
riding animal. An average walking speed is about 3
mph (5
km/h), although this depends heavily on factors such as height, weight, and age. A
pedestrian is a walking person, in particular on a
road (if available on the
sidewalk/path/pavement).
Many people walk as a
hobby, and in our post-industrial age it is often enjoyed as a form of
exercise. Fitness walkers and others may use a
pedometer to count their steps. The types of walking include
bushwalking,
racewalking,
hillwalking,
volksmarching,
Nordic walking and hiking on
long-distance paths. In some countries walking as a hobby is known as
hiking (the typical North American term), rambling (a somewhat dated British expression, but remaining in use because it is enshrined in the title of the important
Ramblers' Association), or tramping (the invariable term in
New Zealand). Hiking is a subtype of walking, generally used to mean walking in
nature areas on specially designated routes or trails, as opposed to in
urban environments; however, hiking can also refer to any long-distance walk. More obscure terms for walking include "to go by Marrow-bone stage", "to ride Shank's pony" or "to go by Walker's bus." Walking in a
shopping mall is often called "trolling."
The world's largest registration walking event is the
International Four Days Marches Nijmegen. The annual Labor Day walk on
Mackinac Bridge draws over 60,000 participants. The
Chesapeake Bay Bridge walk annually draws over 50,000 participants. Walks are often organized as
charity events with walkers seeking sponsors to raise money for a specific cause. Charity walks range in length from 2 mile or 5 km walks to as far as 50 miles (80 km). The MS Challenge 50 is an example of a 50 mile walk which raises money to fight
muscular dystrophy.
|
Sheep walking along a road |
In Britain, the
Ramblers' Association is the biggest organisation that looks after the interests of walkers. A registered
charity, it has 139,000 members.
Walking is also a common
mode of transportation. Millions around the world use it as a way to get to work or school, and to do shopping and other errands.
There has been a recent focus among
urban planners in some communities to create
pedestrian-friendly areas and roads, allowing
commuting, shopping and recreation to be done on foot. Some communities are at least partially
car-free, making them particularly supportive of walking and other modes of transportation.
When distances are too great to be convenient, walking can be combined with other modes of transportation, such as
cycling,
public transport,
car sharing,
carpooling, ride sharing, car rentals and taxis. These methods may be more efficient or desirable than private
car ownership.
Teaching
robots to walk is surprisingly difficult. The first successful attempts at walking robots tended to have 6 legs. The number of legs was reduced as microprocessor technology advanced, and there are now a number of robots that can walk on 2 legs, albeit not nearly as well as a human being.
*
List of U.S. cities with most pedestrian commuters*
Nordic walking*
Walking stick*
Sustainable transport*
Pedestrian-friendly*
List of long-distance footpaths*
Outdoor education*
Power Walking*
BMLwalker by Niko Troje*
Walking, by Henry David Thoreau
