Ok, so I have been into magic for about 9 years or so, without the slightest thought of escapology. i have however, always offered the challenge that someone could not chain me up without me getting out, ever since i was a little kid. i was just always able to do it, maybe chains are easier, i dont know. I was inspired the other day though when seeing a performance of the 100 for rope challenge. i offered this to my co-worker and i succeeded! wow, great feeling, as i was very nervous. however, my boss saw me, and said that if he were to tie me up, i wouldnt be getting out period! i would love to take on his challenge, but he is very efficient in tying knots, and i am a bit nervous. my question is, is there a trick to this challenge? a move, misdirection as i know there are in some rope escapology effects. i purchased Houdini's lecture notes on rope escapes and such at another site, however, nothing was mentioned. i may see myself purchasing Dixies DVD soon here, but for this one time deal, i would like to talk with someone, or read about it, get some tips. but then, maybe all this just takes rope practice. any help appreciated...
Rob

Tell him you must get out quicker than it takes him to tie you.

This tends to make people rush with the rope and tie you too quickly without paying proper attention to knot placement.

Also, by the time he has gone through 15 or so feet of tying you will notice a sloppiness due to him just trying to find something useful to do with all the left over rope.

Make sure the rope is nice and thick.

This also helps.

Hard to tie hard tight knots in thick rope and it's also easier to slip.

Have fun!

Cheers, Steve Santini www.thedarkmaster.com

Named by the legendary Ripley's Believe it or Not as, "The World's Most Extreme Escape Artist!"

There is an old book called Magic Digest with a whole section devoted to the 100 foot rope escape. If you can't find it with a google search, go to ABE books (Advanced book exchange) and you should be able to find a used copy of the book. This book has some other good stuff in it.

Hey thanks, Ive given him the part of me being able to get out quicker than he can tie me up....however, I think he will not worry on time, but rather focus on hard, tight knots. There is no doubt that at some point he will be somewhat sloppy,....I am just worried that i wont be able to get out, and the last thing i want is to hear it from him about how i didnt succeed and blah blah blah. those are great points, thank you for your help. as houdini stresses in his notes obviously the hands are essential first. are there any other thoughts? thanks..
Rob

You can use cotten or hemp rope, it doesn't matter. I myself stay away from thick rope, it is obvious what you are trying to acheive. I use 1/2" or 1" rope. there are some key points to doing this and pulling it off and making it convincing. I have used this method for 36 years, and would be glad to help if I can.

I have done this routine for years. When I was practicing it when I first started, I would have friends tie me up. The only time I got stuck (during practice thank goodness) was when they hog-tied me on the ground with my hands and feet tied behind my back with me lying on the ground on my stomach. You may want to establish certain criteria such as you have to be standing, they can't tie the rope to any part of your clothing (belt loops for example) and that they have to use all 100 feet of the rope.

One of the best parts of the routine is having five people come out of the audience to do the tying. These are five people who have never met before and have five different sets of ideas of how to tie you up. That type of confusion gives you more than enough time to get out.

The otly time Houdini ever failed in this stunt was when five sailors on shore leave came up on stage when he asked for volunteers. They had been practicing their method for weeks. Houdini didn't even come close to meeting the challenge and it was the last time he ever performed the trick.

Definitely use thick rope, 1/2" or thicker. If someone challenges you and they you seem REALLY confident you will not escape, you may not want to accept the challenge. The reason? There are a handful of techniques to tie people up that are not escapeable! Such as the "wrap, tie, and tuck" technique for the limbs. If your boss is truly experienced in tying PEOPLE up, he will probably win. I know that I can tie up a person so even the slipperiest can not escape. You want to focus on the "average" person with "average " knot tying skills.

Thank you all for the great advice. I'm thinking of trying one tonight, and have done previous escapes, from Houdini-styled neck iron, and ankle sahckles, as well as my wrists being chained up and attached to the neck iron. That took me 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

Peace

do it sitting in a chair. "widen" yourslef as much as possible as to obatin as much slack as possible.

I don't know if tht was to me or Rob, but I read Houdini's notes on it. =)

Lee Jacob's released "The challenge escape from 100 feet of rope" (or something like that as a title) years ago. It is a book well worth tracking down as it is inexpensive and gives you many tips to help you out. I beleive he also released a sequal to it. I used to do it.

Do it while seated in a chair, so they are tying you to the chair and make sure you use the coated nylon rope. It is harder to tie into a knot that you cannot get out of and when they have 100 feet of continuous rope it is far more difficult to secure you than with a bunch of shorter ropes and with a softer more pliable rope. It also helps if you have a committee of people to do the tying rather than just one. Usually you have one person time them tying you and you offer to escape in less time than it took them to tie you up. It takes some practice in learning how to stretch it out to "close" to the time, thus building suspense and it does take a lot of showmanship to keep this from becoming boring. Such bits as thrashing around help it look better as does grunts and grimaces of pain as they tie you.

PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat