Mohawk Iron-workers Walk

1. In advance, assess your group’s physical abilities and spotting skills as required for this exercise.
2. Ask your group to gather at the start of the first tautly sprung cable.
3. Objective: Challenge your group to traverse the entire length of the series of cables without making contact with the ground.
4. When an individual falls or steps off the cable, they must immediately let go of all others and return to the start of the first cable.
5. Allow up to 45 minutes to complete the task (or other time as will challenge your group.)
6. Process your group’s experience at the conclusion of the task.

• Inspect the area for unsafe ground cover, stumps, dead limbs, etc.
• Inspect and confirm the integrity of all cables and attachments.
• Plan an appropriate sequence of lead-up activities to prepare your group (physically, emotionally & mentally) for success.
• Present the problem clearly, review recommended spotting guidelines and answer questions before your group commences their journey.
• Assume necessary spotting role (or invite other group members) when required, eg when a participant is attempting a difficult traverse.

• Be an active member of the group.
• Offer support to all group members both physically (spotting) and emotionally (supporting and contributing.)
• Agree that if a fall is imminent, to step off the cable and immediately let go of other participants, ie this is generally regarded as a self-spotting exercise.
• Recognise that when a fall occurs, they usually happen quickly and will occur in any direction.
• Agree to refrain from attempting rapid, solo moves toward a support tree or pole.

Ideally, if you choose to spot a participant’s move, position yourself behind the participant. This logic generally suggests that someone is more likely to harm themselves when they fall backwards than when they fall forwards (and can see what is in front of them.)

Note, some participants will continue to hold the hands or body of those who have fallen long after they have stepped off the cable. You may need to remind your group frequently that this practice is not permitted.

The designs of some Mohawk Ironworkers Walk elements include Multivine Traverse, Nitro Crossing, Tension Traverse and Criss Cross challenges. Refer to each for further unique safety procedures.

You could integrate Mohawk Ironworkers Walk as part of a well-designed SEL program to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse people.

Specifically, this activity offers ample opportunities to explore and practice the following social & interpersonal skills:

Self-Awareness

• Identifying Emotions
• Linking Feelings, Values & Thoughts
• Demonstrating Self-Confidence, Honesty & Integrity
• Experiencing Self-Efficacy
• Having A Growth Mindset

Self-Management

• Demonstrating Self-Discipline & Self-Motivation
• Setting Personal & Group Goals
• Taking Initiative
• Use Planning & Organisational Skills

Social Awareness

• Taking Other’s Perspectives
• Demonstrating Empathy & Compassion
• Understanding & Expressing Gratitude
• Appreciating Diversity
• Recognising Strengths In Others
• Respecting Others

Relationship Skills

• Communicate & Listen Effectively
• Seeking and/or Offering Support
• Build Positive Relationships
• Work Collaboratively
• Showing Leadership
• Resolving Conflict Constructively

Responsible Decision-Making

• Demonstrating Curiosity & Open-Mindedness
• Identifying Problems
• Making Reasoned Judgements
• Identifying Solutions
• Anticipating & Evaluating the Consequences of One’s Actions
• Promoting Personal & Collective Well-Being

You can learn more about SEL and how it can support character education here.

As a popular low challenge course activity, the Mohawk Ironworkers Walk can help you promote many and varied health and wellness outcomes.

Behavioural Norms

The complexities of this fun group initiative invite group members to interact and engage with each other in a manner that would necessarily speak to the benefits of having developed a set of supportive and healthy full value behavioural norms in advance. Or, if not, you could focus on any less-than-desired interactions or outcomes to explore what sorts of behaviours your group would prefer to see and commit to in the future.

For example, in addition to those described in the Reflection Tips tab, you could invite your group to reflect on the following questions to explore a variety of full value behaviours such as:

• How did the group demonstrate its ability to care for self and others?
• Generally speaking, how did the group make decisions? How were all members involved?
• Describe your group’s goal-setting process?
• What types of leadership were demonstrated during the exercise? Were they effective?
• Was adaptability a key component of the group’s success? How?
• Did you observe any behaviours or actions that concerned you in regards to safety?

Resilience

A well-designed Mohawk Ironworkers Walk will offer every group and every individual at least one very difficult challenge to overcome, ie a very long span to traverse without supports. The group will have to make many attempts on many sections of the Walk to successfully traverse it, hence the reference to resilience. Invite your group to consider what helps a person to keep going, even after many failures and what types of supports are useful when someone is struggling.

• Time Challenge: Challenge your group to traverse as far along the cables as possible in a specified length of time, eg 25 minutes.
• Tally Ho: Challenge your group to traverse the entire length of the cables with as few touches of the ground as possible. Repeat the task two or more times to record their best effort.
• Back of Group: Instruct any member of the group who falls off any part of the Mohawk Ironworkers Walk to start again from the tree (or pole) directly behind the last (safe) person of the group. For example, if your group has successfully traversed the first two sections of cable and the last person is standing on the third cable, any person who falls will be required to resume at the start of the third section (not the first.)
• Connected Moves: Any and all moves to traverse the cables must always be performed while connected to another person in the group, ie no solo attempts.
• One Down All Down: Instruct the whole group to start over when one person falls or steps off the cable. This makes the task particularly challenging but it will certainly sharpen your group’s awareness of risk management.
• Two Way Traffic: Split your group into two smaller teams, each starting from opposite ends of the Mohawk Ironworkers Walk traverse. Beware, the team which starts at the ‘end’ may find it very difficult to get started because this cable traverse is traditionally the longest, ie most difficult.

Legend informs us that there was once a very proud community of First Nations people who, every year, would travel from one area of their land to another as part of their annual migration to warmer climes. A part of this trek involved traversing a very narrow section of land. So narrow, it was not uncommon for some people to sadly fall off the edge and hurt themselves. The apparatus set up before you represents the peril of this trek…

Your group has been tasked with a mission to transport a very important message across this challenging frontier. Each person will be given one part of this secret message, none of which will be revealed until you have completed the task. It is critical that all parts of the message are kept together, however, it is recognised that it may get mixed up and jumbled along the way…

Coupled with one or more reflection strategies, here are some sample questions you could use to process your group’s experience after undertaking this challenging group initiative:

• Did your initial plan proceed the way you expected?
• How did your group make decisions, eg who would go first, last, etc?
• What words would you use to describe your group’s decision-making process?
• What challenges did you encounter?
• How did you feel when you fell off the cable?
• How did you feel when you suddenly found yourself at the front of the group?
• Did you ask for help? Did you offer help? Why or why not?
• Did you observe moments during this exercise that reflect the way your group operates day to day?
• What lessons do you think we could learn from this activity?