Walking
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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‘What’s your scene, man?’ --"La Retour de la Colonne Durutti" (1966) by André Bertrand |
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Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step. This applies regardless of the number of limbs - even arthropods with six, eight or more limbs.
In humans and other bipeds, walking is generally distinguished from running in that only one foot at a time leaves contact with the ground and there is a period of double-support. In contrast, 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. For quadrupedal species, there are numerous gaits which may be termed walking or running, and distinctions based upon the presence or absence of a suspended phase or the number of feet in contact any time do not yield mechanically correct classification. The most effective method to distinguish walking from running is based on the percent of the stride in which a foot is in contact with the ground (averaged across all feet); defining a walk as greater than 50% contact corresponds well with identification of 'inverted pendulum' mechanics via force plate measurements.
Namesakes
- Walk on By, 1964, a song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David first recorded by Dionne Warwick
- These Boots Are Made for Walkin', 1966, a song composed by Lee Hazlewood and first recorded by Nancy Sinatra
See also
- Dérive
- Flâneur
- Elephant path
- Footpath
- The Ministry of Silly Walks
- Psychogeography
- Sustainable transport
- Terrestrial locomotion in animals
- Trail
- Walking fish
- Walking stick
- Walking (film)
