Slacklining

Mike Payton performs a slacklining trick.  (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)

Although Payton makes slacklining look as easy as sitting down, participants says it’s a tough event to master.  (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)

Holger Welsch helps Peggie Hart, a schoolteacher, as she tries slacklining for the first time during a demonstration event in Westlake Village. “It was definitely one step at time,” Hart said. “You couldn’t look too far in front of you and expect to get to the other side right away.”  (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)

Slacklining enthusiasts say the sport helps improve balance and core strength, and that because the line is not far above the ground, it isn’t dangerous.  (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times)

Holger Welsch, foreground, does a trick on a slackline. Welsch, an engineer from Germany, says he finds the sport to be a stress-reliever. “The moment I’m on the slackline, I’m so focused on what I’m doing, all stress relieves because there’s nothing left in my brain,” he says.

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