History Main / InstantKnots

The ability of {{Action Hero}}es, swashbucklers and suchlike to make a [[KnowsTheRopes rope]], [[WhipItGood whip]], [[ChainPain chain]] or GrapplingHookPistol wrap itself around a distant object securely. Used to achieve a BuildingSwing or to instantly tie up an enemy. While this is certainly possible with luck (and, preferably, a weight or hook on the end), you wouldn't want to stake your life on it.

Particularly notable when someone has a chain as a weapon. It's rare you'll see them actually beating anyone to a pulp with it, as happens in real life -- they'll do this instead. Also, a character wielding a whip will usually tie up an enemy with this technique, rather than actually whipping anyone with it.

* Ryuko from ''Anime/KillLaKill'' did this on a multiple occasions by tying thread from [[EmpathicWeapon Senketsu]] around her [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Scissor Blade]]. This is probably {{Justified}} by the fact that Senketsu is made out of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Life Fibers]].

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/{{Batman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/instant_knots_2.jpg]]]]

* Slipknot from ''Creator/DCComics'' (originally a foe of ComicBook/{{Firestorm}}) has a fighting style that revolves around fighting with unbreakable ropes, some of which are treated with adhesive or have other [[TrickArrow special effects]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Batman's biggest weakness: [[DatingCatwoman tight leather jumpsuits and whips]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Batman's biggest weakness: [[DatingCatwoman tight leather jumpsuits and whips.]]]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Batman's biggest weakness: [[DatingCatwoman tight leather jumpsuits and whips]]]]]]

* ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} can do this with her whip, either to swing from a high object or to immobilise an opponent.

* Oddly enough, in the attempt at the use of a vehicular grappling gun to turn tight corners, the ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' crew repeatedly managed to get an "instant knot" out of their launcher as the grappel wrapped itself around the target beams.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfZorro1997'' animated series, Zorro somehow manages to make a grappling hook go below somene's foot (while he's standing on the floor) and come back up to tie itself into a knot.

* ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'' provides a rare ''thrown'' variation of the grappling hook method, where Luke manages to manually toss a Stormtrooper grapple line around an architectural detail so that it loops around and catches on the detail perfectly ''on his first try''. [[AWizardDidIt The Force aside]], Luke is at this point completely untrained for it. Notably he doesn't retrieve the rope -- he just unclips it from his belt and leaves it hanging there.

* Makie from ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' can snag oranges with her rhythmic gymnastics ribbon, and it also ends up as part of her pactio.

* ''Bollywood/DilSe'': in the song and dance number, "Satrangi Re", Amar throws out his long black scarf which whips around the waist of Meghna so he can use it to reel her in.

Particularly notable when someone [[ChainPain has a chain as a weapon]]. It's rare you'll see them actually beating anyone to a pulp with it, as happens in real life -- they'll do this instead. Also, a character wielding a [[WhipItGood whip]] will usually tie up an enemy with this technique, rather than actually whipping anyone with it.

The ability of {{Action Hero}}es, swashbucklers and suchlike to make a rope, whip, chain or GrapplingHookPistol wrap itself around a distant object securely. Used to achieve a BuildingSwing or to instantly tie up an enemy. While this is certainly possible with luck (and, preferably, a weight or hook on the end), you wouldn't want to stake your life on it.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/instant_knots_2.jpg]]

* Rapunzel can do this with her hair in ''Disney/{{Tangled}}''.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* In one {{Filler}} episode of ''Anime/YuGiOh'' the characters were inside a virtual-reality video game. Joey was battling the arena's champion in order to win a card they needed to get across a desert--the champion turned out to be Mai, and when he explained the situation to her she decided to quit fighting and just order the Harpie Lady to snag the card from its display with her Rose Whip.

* Makie from ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' can snag oranges with her rhythmic gymnastics ribbon, and it also ends up as part of her pactio.
* Ryuko from ''Anime/KillLaKill'' did this on a multiple occasions by tying thread from [[EmpathicWeapon Senketsu]] around her [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Scissor Blade]]. This is probably {{Justified}} by the fact that Senketsu is made out of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Life Fibers]].

* Birdie of the ''ComicBook/StreetFighter comics'' traps Chun Li with a normal chain this way.
* Creator/MarvelComics' ''Comicbook/GhostRider'' wields a long chain, but rarely gets to use it against his supernatural enemies. When fighting more human foes, it tends to wrap around them. Somewhat justified by it being magical and possibly semi-sentient.

* In an issue of ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'', the right-hand man of a HangingJudge prides himself on being able to fashion a noose out of a loose end of rope with a simple flick of the wrist. Luke himself demonstrates his own version near the end, making a lasso instead.
* Slipknot from ''Creator/DCComics'' revolves around fighting with unbreakable ropes.

* Ash does this with his belt to escape a pit at the start of ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness''.
* ''Bollywood/DilSe'': in the song and dance number, "Satrangi Re", Amar throws out his long black scarf which whips around the waist of Meghna so he can use it to reel her in.
* ''Film/TheLoneRanger'': During his final fight with Cavendish, the Lone Ranger wraps his whip around a tree and uses it to get yanked off the runaway railway car.

* Done by various TV incarnations of ''{{Franchise/Zorro}}''.

* ''TabletopGame/TheDarkEye'' has a mage ritual, that allows to transform the wand into a rope (and back), which can tie/untie itself this way. As the one above, it's not suited to tie someone up.

* Done with a snake in ''WesternAnimation/ChuckNorrisKarateKommandos''.
* This was not uncommon in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. He usually used a grappling pistol, but any time he didn't, this trope was in effect. In fact, sometimes the grappling pistol ''itself'' would do this, wrapping around a flagpole or other object rather than embedding itself into or hooking onto something.
* Played for laughs in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Leela fires a grappling hook onto a roof, where it simply lands, not embedded or knotted around anything. However, since it's the future, the hook is also a ''robot'', so it then walks like a spider over to a pipe, latches on securely, then gives the rope a couple of tugs to signal it's safe to climb.
* In 1997's Zorro animated series, Zorro somehow manages to make a grappling hook go below somene's foot (while he's standing on the floor) and come back up to tie itself into a knot.

Essentially, this is using an ordinary object as if it were a GrapplingHookPistol.

* Ryuko from ''Anime/KillLaKill'' did this on a multiple occasions by tying thread from [[EmphathicWeapon Senketsu]] around her [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Scissor Blade]]. This is probably {{Justified}} by the fact that Senketsu is made out of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Life Fibers]].

* Ryuko from ''Anime/KillLaKill'' did this on a couple of occasions by tying thread from [[EmphaticWeapon Senketsu]] around her [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Scissor Blade]]. This is probably {{Justified}} by the fact that Senketsu is made out of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Life Fibers]].

* Ryuko from ''Anime/KillLaKill'' did this on a couple of occasions by tying thread from [[EmphaticWeapon Senketsu]] around her [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Scissor Blade]]. This is probably {{Justified}} by the fact that Senketsu is made out of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Life Fibers]].

* Linus from the various ''{{Peanuts}}'' animated features can grab objects by whipping his blanket at them.

* Franchise/IndianaJones has his canyon-swinging trick with his whip. (And even more oddly, it unties itself when he tugs on it afterwards, but not when he's putting all his weight on it by swinging across...)

* ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'' provides a rare ''thrown'' variation of the grappling hook method, where Luke manages to manually toss a Stormtrooper grapple line around an architectural detail so that it loops around and catches on the detail perfectly ''on his first try''. [[AWizardDidIt The Force aside]], Luke was completely untrained for it.