Lucas Bishop is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, particularly titles associated with the X-Men.
He first appears as a member of Xavier's Security Enforcers (XSE), a mutant police force from a dystopian future of the Marvel Universe.  He travels to the 20th century and joins the X-Men, a team he knew only as legends. Bishop experiences difficulty adjusting to the norms of the time period.
Bishop made frequent appearances in the X-Men animated series of the 1990s. Bishop is portrayed by Omar Sy in the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Publication history
Created by Whilce Portacio and John Byrne, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #282 (November 1991).
Bishop had four limited series including the self-titled Bishop series, where he tracked and fought Mountjoy; XSE, which showcased his past (future); and its sequel - Bishop: Xavier's Security Enforcers. He also teamed up with Gambit to oppose Stryfe in Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom. He also starred in the series Bishop: The Last X-Man (1999–2001), in which he was trapped in another alternate timeline. He appeared regularly in District X (2004–2005), a police procedural set in a mutant ghetto in New York City. He was cast as a police officer in New York City’s "mutant town," but the series was canceled after 14 issues. He also starred in the House of M tie-in, Mutopia.
Writer Sam Humphries revealed in an interview that Bishop would be back in our timeline and would be one of the first enemies of the new incarnation of Uncanny X-Force.[2]
Fictional character biography
Early life
Born about 80 years in the future of the Marvel Universe, Bishop was the son of Aboriginal mutant refugees who fled to America from Australia a day before Australia was devastated in a nuclear attack.[3] He was raised in a mutant concentration camp in the aftermath of the Summers Rebellion, an uprising in which mutants and humans joined forces to destroy the Sentinels. Bishop has a distinctive M brand over his right eye, used to identify mutants in his era.  After his parents were killed, Bishop was taken in by a man named LeBeau, also called Witness, who was reportedly the last man to see the legendary X-Men alive.  According to LeBeau, Bishop's adoptive grandmother took Bishop away from him.  Bishop and his younger sister, Shard, were then subsequently raised by his grandmother within the same mutant concentration camp in Brooklyn.[4]
Bishop's grandmother taught him many legends of the X-Men, who were old allies of hers. Depowered by unknown means, she had entered the camps in secret to raise her grandchildren. Upon her deathbed, she made Bishop swear to protect Shard. After the Rebellion, the mutants were "emancipated" and sent out of the camps to fend for themselves. Bishop and Shard, who were only children, were left alone. They lived on the streets, stealing in order to survive until coming under the care of a family friend, a war veteran named Hancock. Slightly blind, Hancock nevertheless took on the task of raising the two.
One day, Bishop encountered an anti-human group of mutants called the Exhumes, who took Shard hostage just before the XSE arrived.  Until that time Bishop had admired the Exhumes, attributing to them his proud, idealized notion of the legendary X-Men.  It wasn't until the XSE defeated the Exhume and saved his sister, that Bishop knew he wanted to join the XSE, and when at the age of fifteen Hancock was murdered by criminals who were promptly arrested by the XSE he and Shard enlisted in their ranks. Shard soon surpassed Bishop to become the youngest XSE officer.
During a training class, Bishop's instructors and some of his fellow students were attacked and killed. Bishop rallied the survivors and led the struggle against the assailants until reinforcements arrived. Bishop gradually climbs the ranks of the XSE until finally becoming their commander.
While on a mission to wipe out a nest of Emplates, mutant vampires that feed on bone marrow, Shard was critically injured. Bishop went to Witness for help. Witness, then imprisoned at the New York Stark Fujikawa building, agreed to transfer Shard's essence into a holographic matrix if Bishop would work for him for one year. Bishop agreed, leaving the XSE for a time. The details of Bishop's work during this period are unknown; Bishop appears reticent on the subject, later refusing to tell Shard of his actions.
Immediately upon his re-installment as a commander in the XSE, Bishop and his XSE group the "Omega Squad" captured Trevor Fitzroy, a murderous ex-XSE trainee in the ruins of the Xavier Institute War Room.  While there, Bishop discovered a damaged recording of Jean Grey, in which she spoke of a traitor destroying the X-Men from inside. Haunted by his discovery, Bishop confronts Witness for details, but receives only a vague, ambiguous response, leaving Bishop to suspect his former master of being more than simply a witness to the downfall of the X-Men.
Joining the X-Men
Fitzroy escaped from prison and used a large amount of mutant life-force to open a time portal and break out 93 mutant criminal "Lifers" in the process.  Bishop found himself in the past, in the time of his heroes, the X-Men.  Bishop and the Omega Squad eventually "sanctioned" the Lifers, but did not get Fitzroy.  Bishop encountered the X-Men for the first time, but did not believe that they were really the X-Men. He then battled them but later allied with the X-Men in trying to stop Fitzroy. Malcolm and Randall, the two members of his Omega Squad, died in the process.[5] Professor Charles Xavier offered him a place in the X-Men, and he was placed under Storm's tutelage.  He fought and defeated Styglut.[6]  When he met Gambit, Bishop recognized him as possibly a younger version of the Witness and fought him.[7]

He soon met Mystique for the first time,[8] and alongside the X-Men he battled the Morlocks[9] and the Death Sponsors.[10]
Bishop assigned himself the role of Xavier's personal bodyguard, which he failed at when Stryfe, the evil double of Cable, critically wounded Xavier.  Initially, the X-Men believed that Cable was the would-be assassin, so Wolverine and Bishop tracked down Cable, but then travelled to Cable's "Graymalkin" space station, and then joined with them in finding Stryfe.[11]  Citing his failure to protect Professor X, Bishop offered to resign from the X-Men. His resignation was rejected by Xavier, and then alongside the X-Men he battled the Acolytes.[12]
Age of Apocalypse
When Professor Xavier's insane son — the mutant Legion — went back in time to assassinate Magneto, Bishop was one of the X-Men sent to stop him.[13]  When they failed, and Legion accidentally killed Professor Xavier, Bishop was the only time-traveler to remain when history was altered and became the Age of Apocalypse.[14]  He eventually convinced the Magneto of that era that the existence of this reality was wrong, and with a great amount of sacrifice, managed to correct the error and stop Legion.[15] After the timeline reset itself, Bishop received some of his counterpart's unsettling memories of the Age of Apocalypse.[16]
The traitor in the X-Men was eventually revealed to be Professor X in the form of Onslaught.  Bishop's knowledge of the future was the only thing that stopped Onslaught from killing the X-Men.  As Onslaught fired a massive blast of psionic energy at the distracted X-Men, Bishop threw himself in front of them and absorbed the blast that would have killed them.  Onslaught, winded from such a massive attack, said that his blast was enough to kill a thousand mutants and "Another time, another place, I would have been proud".  Bishop lost consciousness after absorbing the blast, but soon recovered, although it was not enough to prevent Onslaught from nearly destroying all of humanity.  He made peace with Gambit, who was not the traitor after all.[17]
Following this, Bishop spent some time in a distant possible future, detailed in the Bishop: The Last X-Man series, where he again faced Trevor Fitzroy.  He was temporarily returned to the present by Apocalypse who needed him as one of The Twelve, before finally returning permanently during the Maximum Security crossover.[18]
X-Treme X-Men
Bishop was a founding member of Storm's splinter team of X-Men, whose mission was to search for the Books of Truth, the diaries of the precognitive mutant Destiny.[19]  They left against the will and knowledge of the main team, as the splinter group did not trust in Xavier or the others to use the diaries for the benefit of humanity.[20]
District X
Bishop joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation. District X, or 'Mutant Town', had a high-population density. It was also a poverty-stricken area with high crime rates. Bishop was assigned to the area in order to resolve mutant-related crimes.[21]
Civil War
In the Civil War: X-Men miniseries Bishop sides with the O*N*E* to bring in the X-Men and the 198. He argues with Cyclops over allowing their escape, and states his fear of what the future might hold. Val Cooper and Tony Stark let Bishop lead Micromax and Sabra into action against Domino, Shatterstar, and the rest of the 198. Bishop led them to the base where the 198 were hiding and told the X-Men to stand down upon their arrival. General Demetrius Lazer betrayed him by ensuring that Cyclops attacked Bishop. Though at first he simply absorbed it, the power was too much for him to control and he was overwhelmed. Bishop was forced to direct the energy he had absorbed upwards in a powerful blast that destroyed an O*N*E* Sentinel.  He later teamed up with the X-Men to save the 198 from a bomb explosion and then went his own way, leaving the X-Men. Bishop was among Iron Man's pro-registration forces that guarded the Negative Zone prison. When Captain America's team breaks in a fight ensues, putting Bishop at odds with his former teammates Storm and Cable.[22]
Messiah Complex

In Messiah Complex, an event revitalized Bishop's timeline as a viable future: the birth of the first mutant child since M-Day.  As the Marauders, on Mister Sinister's orders, try to gather anyone and anything with knowledge of the future, Bishop is the only target they were unable to locate and terminate. It is revealed that he had betrayed the X-Men, and he attempted to kill the baby. Before he could succeed, he was thwarted by the Marauders, who escaped with the baby.[23]  As X-Men arrive on the scene, Bishop pretends to have attempted to retrieve the baby.  As Multiple Man's duplicate and Layla Miller find out in their mission to one of the planet's possible futures (80 years in the future) that the birth of the child created, the child apparently kills a million people in an event dubbed the Six-Minute War, and the U.S. government incarcerates all the mutants into concentration camps, where Bishop is born, grows up, and sees his parents killed. As Multiple Man's dupe and Layla find out, Bishop wishes at a young age to have had the opportunity to kill the baby, so that, while he would not be born, he would also not have to see his parents die, and to endure the horrors of life in the concentration camps.  Layla kills the dupe, so that the information conveyed to them by young Bishop can return to the present, to the Multiple Man prime, who conveys Bishop's treachery to the X-Men.[24]  The X-Men then attempted to alert X-Force to Bishop's betrayal, but he managed to block all of their communication channels. After arriving on Muir Island and fighting past the Marauders, Bishop found Cable attempting to escape with the baby, and the two fight. Both mutants are then attacked by Predator X, who viciously rips off Bishop's right arm.  Bishop cauterizes his torn shoulder on an unconscious Sunfire and in an attempt to shoot down a teleporting Cable, he misses and hits Professor X instead.[25]

Chasing the Mutant Messiah
Bishop managed to escape the X-Men after he seemingly killed their mentor, and stole a nuclear powered bionic arm from Forge equipped with a timeslide device, which he uses to track down Cable and the newborn mutant.[26] Upon finding them, he shoots Cable twice before being hindered by a local gang. With Cable severely weakened by blood loss, he makes a risky attack before the gang can find heavier weapons.[27] He later manages to track down Cable, slaying several mutated beasts in the process, and shoot the Mutant Messiah. He also finds that in the future generated by his choice, Cable will be always revered as a Messianic figure who tried his best to protect the Child, and saved humanity from the very beasts Bishop unwillingly saved Cable from. It has been revealed that the Messiah child is still alive and Bishop has been captured by the X-Men. In his efforts to kill the child Bishop has left several traps for Cable throughout the timestream, killing millions in the process, though he doesn't see them as people who actually exist, but as people who wouldn't exist or come back to life if he kills Hope.[28]
Messiah War
After multiple failings at killing Hope, Bishop locates and enlists the aid of Stryfe, promising him that he would aid him in killing Apocalypse and Cable. Stryfe and Bishop travel to a point in the future where Apocalypse is at his weakest and manage to defeat him.[29] Stryfe builds an empire using Celestial technology and Bishop becomes his right-hand man, waiting for Cable and Hope to re-emerge. When they do appear along with X-Force, Hope is kidnapped. Bishop betrays Stryfe and his plot to kill Hope is foiled by Stryfe, who wants to make her his heir. Both attempts are foiled by Apocalypse, X-Force, and Cable. Cable manages to rescue Hope and escape yet again.[30] Bishop escapes into the "near future" of the 21st century, reconstructing his arm, vowing to find Hope once again.[31][32]
Homecoming
After several years of running from Bishop, Hope finally decides that it is time to return to the present. During a battle, Bishop manages to knock out Cable. In a fit of rage, Hope's powers awaken and render Bishop unconscious. Hope then attempts to kill Bishop, but is stopped by Cable. They take Bishop's time machine and leave him stranded. Bishop is somehow transported with them and begins chasing them through time, in an attempt to kill Hope before they reach the present.[33] In Cable #24, Hope and Cable return to the present time but Bishop follows them. He attacks them, running Cable through with a sword. As Cable is incapacitated, Hope rushes to his aid but is ultimately overpowered by Bishop. Cable takes out Bishop's time traveling device from his techno-organic arm, performs some alterations on it and places it in Bishop's robotic arm. Cable recovers enough to toss Bishop into the subway. As Bishop attempts to kill Hope one last time, he is transported to a barren and dead Earth (as a result of his efforts to limit Cable and Hope's attempts to find allies and shelter through different time periods) with a red Sun in the sky (cause unknown). Bishop, being overconfident, attempts to travel back to the present time to continue his quest to kill Cable and Hope Summers, but due to Cable sabotaging Bishop's time traveling device, this attempt causes his robotic arm to explode. This leaves him stranded in the year 6700 A.D. Bishop is last shown thinking to himself concerning Cable and Hope, "I was as much a father to that girl as you were. Whatever she becomes, it's because of me. I was doing the right thing. Wasn't I?"[34]
Return to the Present
In Uncanny X-Force vol. 2 #1, Bishop makes his first appearance since being stranded in the future. He is shown arriving in 2013 Los Angeles and announcing "I'm baaack!"[35] He battles the members of the new X-Force, before it is revealed that his mind is apparently being possessed by the Demon Bear that once terrorized Danielle Moonstar.[36] After a lengthy conflict, Psylocke manages to pull the Bear out of Bishop's mind, Storm also using the opportunity to disrupt the part of Bishop's mind holding his memories of his hunt for Hope, in the hopes that she will thus restore her old friend.[37] Bishop is later shown comatose as a result of his ordeal.[38]
He eventually regains his memories of Hope.[37] The self-control he has learned during his time in the future helps him move past his former vendetta, even helping to save Hope's life when Stryfe attempted to manipulate them into attacking each other in revenge for their actions against him during their time-travelling search.[39]
Powers and abilities
Bishop's mutant ability enables him to absorb all forms of radiant or conductive energy that are directed towards him and to release that energy from his body. This power is passive, allowing Bishop to absorb energy at all times.
He can release this energy in many different forms, usually as concussive blasts of biokinetic energy, even amplified compared to the absorbed amount.[40] Bishop can also store absorbed energy within his personal reserves, whereupon the energy increases his strength and recuperative abilities, as well as affording him a measure of invulnerability.[41] He is also able to absorb magic energy (as seen when fighting "growing men" in Limbo) and the psychic energies of psionics as easily as all the other kinds.[42] This does not prevent him from being read or manipulated by a telepath but only sustains him and helps him to slow them down. It has been clearly stated that Bishop is also able to absorb and process kinetic energy similarly to Sebastian Shaw, but in a much less effective way.[43]
His powers make it difficult to harm him with energy-based attacks; however, he can become overloaded from absorbing too much energy, though his upper limits are unknown, even to himself; when Rogue was suffering a power overload after absorbing Skrull telepath Z'Cann, Bishop was pushed to his limit simply by grabbing Rogue as he tried to help her drain off her excess power. He is partially vulnerable to non-energy weapon attacks. If he were to be shot by a projectile weapon or hit with a crowbar, it could harm him.
He can "let his spirit go" as seen in X-Treme X-Men Annual #1.
He has also demonstrated the ability of instinctively knowing where he is and the present hour and date even if asleep, first mentioned in X-Treme X-Men #1. Although being the great-grandson of Gateway, a mutant possessing extensive dealings with time travel, this aspect is not one of Bishop's mutant powers. Bishop's explanation is that due to training, he knows where he is at all times.[44]
Bishop is a highly athletic man, an excellent hand-to-hand combatant with many years of armed and unarmed combat training, and a superb marksman with firearms. When he first came to the modern era, Bishop carried XSE guns from his time that fired laser beams and plasma charges. He also wore his XSE uniform, modeled after X-Men uniforms, which contained body armor.
His current right arm is a prosthetic, stolen from Forge. A nuclear-powered battle-ready arm, incorporates in its design a time-travel device, the ability to channel his energy blasts through, and enhanced strength and resilience.[45] It has since been destroyed after Bishop tried to use it to time travel from 6700 A.D. to 2010 to kill Cable and Hope Summers due to Cable tampering with the time travelling device within it.[46] His real arm has apparently been re-grown after he was healed in the future by the remnants of humanity.
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel

A time-traveling Bishop appears in Ultimate X-Men #76.  Moments after the battle with Cable concludes, he appears asking if he's too late to stop Cable.[47]
Wolverine knocks him unconscious and the X-Men interrogate him.  He is wearing the same uniform as the members of Cable's squad.  He appears to be much older than the mainstream Bishop, because of his grey hair. He then leads the team into battle with Cable's squad. He fails to stop Cable from kidnapping Charles Xavier (everyone believes Xavier is dead) and is trapped in the present day, due to Cable's destruction of the device that allowed him to time travel.[48]
In Ultimate X-Men #80, Bishop has a conversation with his younger self, who is incarcerated, in which he tells him not to use his powers to escape.  By Ultimate X-Men #84, Bishop has formed a new team of X-Men (consisting of Wolverine, Storm, Pyro, Dazzler, Angel, Psylocke, and himself).[49] He is using the new team to stop a new wave of Sentinel attacks on mutants, caused by an unknown enemy, revealed in that issue to be the Fenris twins and Bolivar Trask. Wolverine appears to distrust Bishop, promising to gut him if he tries anything suspicious. Bishop was unconscious during the fight with the Fenris twins and the Sentinels, but when Psylocke's life was at risk, he woke up to defend her and revealed that she was his future wife.[49]
He killed both the Fenris twins with his abilities and went on to lead the New X-Men against the Sentinels.  At the end of the battle, it was revealed to the reader that he was in fact working with Cable, and that the entire "Cable" affair had been a ruse to make the X-Men a stronger team.  The team remains unaware of the deception and Wolverine stabbed Bishop at the end of issue #90, when Bishop stopped Storm and Dazzler from being able to save Angel from being killed by Sinister, before Bishop could reveal this. Bishop believes that it couldn't have happened any other way. Cable later reveals the ruse, but Wolverine shows no regret for killing Bishop.[50] After the battle with Apocalypse is undone by the Phoenix, there is no evidence that Bishop has been returned to life, even though Angel was.[51]
His powers have been revealed as density control.[52] For example, he destroyed a Sentinel robot by causing its shell to increase in density and crush its inner parts; Bishop then reduced his own density (or increased that of the air around him) and floated to the ground.[53] He also has access to teleportation technology.
Robert Kirkman later admitted that the Bishop mentioned earlier in the series,[52] is the same as the one he introduced; faced with the fact that this Bishop was already introduced into continuity when he would have preferred the character to work with Cable, Kirkman simply introduced him as an older version of the previously-mentioned Bishop.[54]
X-Men Noir
In X-Men Noir, Bishop is depicted as the muscle for Remy LeBeau, the owner of a nightclub and casino called The Creole Club.[55]
X-Men: The End
In X-Men: The End, the non-canon trilogy of miniseries by Chris Claremont, Bishop learns he has a teenage daughter, Aliyah, by Deathbird.[56] She becomes Majestrix of the Shi'ar with her father as her Imperial Chancellor.[57]
In other media
Television

Bishop was featured in several episodes of the X-Men animated television series voiced by Philip Akin. In his first appearance, he travels back in time to stop the assassination of Senator Kelly and prevent the Days of Future Past timeline from occurring (with Bishop assuming Kitty Pryde's role from the comic version of this tale). Bishop believes Gambit to be the assassin, but it is later revealed that Mystique attempts the assassination in the guise of Gambit. Upon returning to his own time after saving Kelly, he finds the world infected with a deadly plague. He returns in a later episode to stop the spread of Apocalypse's techno-organic virus, but he also faces resistance from Cable, who knows the virus is necessary as it will create antibodies needed for the stabilization of the mutant genetic code. Later, he appears in a set of episodes where he and his sister travel back in time to stop Trevor Fitzroy from killing a young Charles Xavier in the past, causing constant war between mutants and humans in the X-Men's time. The time travelers eventually manage to save Xavier, but Bishop is trapped in the Axis of Time during Apocalypse's attempt to control all of time in the "Beyond Good and Evil" episodes, during which he plays a pivotal role in Apocalypse's defeat. After Bishop leaves the Axis of Time, he reunites with his sister.
Bishop appeared in the animated TV series Wolverine and the X-Men episode "Future X" voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. He appears as a member of Professor X's future X-Men team in the Sentinel-dominated future and was trained by Wolverine at a young age.[58]
Film
Bishop appears in the film X-Men: Days of Future Past, played by French actor Omar Sy.[59] The first video of Sy as Bishop appeared in the Oct. 29, 2013, trailer for the film.[60] He is seen among the mutants that have met up with Professor X and Magneto at an abandoned Chinese monastery. In the final stand against the Sentinels, Bishop is killed when the Sentinels overload his energy absorption abilities and he explodes. These events are later erased by the altering of the timeline.
Video games
He is a playable character in X-Men: Next Dimension.[61]
He is a playable character in X-Men: Gamesmaster's Legacy.
A younger version of Bishop makes a cameo in X-Men Legends, voiced by Grey DeLisle. The X-Men encounter him while fighting Sentinels on the streets of New York.
Khary Payton voices Bishop who is a playable character in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.
Bishop appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Emerson Brooks. He appears as an NPC for the Pro-Registration side and serves as a boss fight for the Anti-Registration Side. In n-Space versions (PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, he is not a boss character, but still an NPC. When the heroes are fighting Tinkerer in a Repeater Tower to broadcast a jamming signal, Black Panther mentions over the radio that Bishop has been taken over by The Fold.
Bishop appears in Marvel Heroes as an NPC. The Bishop who is being used by Doctor Doom to empower himself with a Cosmic Cube on the mutant, is actually a clone created by Mister Sinister.
Bishop appears as a playable character in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance, and was the PVP Reward for the 10th PVP tournament.
Bishop appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.[62]
Books
Bishop plays a small part in the X-Men: The Last Stand novelization by Chris Claremont.
Bishop is a main character in the Spider-Man and X-Men novel trilogy Time's Arrow by Tom DeFalco with Jason Henderson (The Past), Adam-Troy Castro (The Present), and eluki bes shahar (The Future), in which he and Spider-Man travel through time and into parallel universes.

 at the Marvel Universe wiki

 at the Comic Book DB


A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar but with thinner tops and less internal bracing. It is used in toque, the guitar-playing part of the art of flamenco.
History
Traditionally, luthiers made guitars to sell at a wide ranges of prices, largely based on the materials used and the amount of decorations, to cater to the popularity of the instrument across all classes of people in Spain.[1] The cheapest guitars were often simple, basic instruments made from the less expensive woods such as cypress. Antonio de Torres, one of the most renowned luthiers, did not differentiate between flamenco and classical guitars. Only after Andrés Segovia and others popularized classical guitar music, did this distinction emerge.[2]
Construction
The traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress, sycamore, or rosewood for the back and sides, and spruce for the top. This (in the case of cypress and sycamore) accounts for its characteristic body color. Flamenco guitars are built lighter with thinner tops than classical guitars, which produces a "brighter" and more percussive sound quality. Builders also use less internal bracing to keep the top more percussively resonant. The top is typically made of either spruce or cedar, though other tone woods are used today. Volume has traditionally been very important for flamenco guitarists, as they must be heard over the sound of the dancers’ nailed shoes. To increase volume, harder woods, such as rosewood, can be used for the back and sides, with softer woods for the top.
In contrast to the classical guitar, the flamenco is often equipped with a tap plate (a golpeador), commonly made of plastic, similar to a pickguard, whose function is to protect the body of the guitar from the rhythmic finger taps, or golpes.
Originally, all guitars were made with wooden tuning pegs, that pass straight through the headstock, similar to those found on a lute, a violin or oud, as opposed to the modern classical-style guitars' geared tuning mechanisms.
"Flamenco negra" guitars are called "negra" after the darker of the harder woods used in their construction, similar materials to those of high-end classical guitars, such as rosewood or other dense tone woods. The harder materials increase volume and tonal range. A typical cypress flamenco guitar produces more treble and louder percussion than the more sonorous negra. These guitars strive to capture some of the sustain achieved by concert caliber classical guitars while retaining the volume and attack associated with flamenco.
Materials
Classical guitars are generally made with spruce or cedar tops and rosewood or mahogany backs and sides to enhance sustain. Flamenco guitars are generally made with spruce tops and cypress or sycamore for the backs and sides to enhance volume and emphasize the attack of the note. Nevertheless, other types of wood may be used for the back and sides, like rosewood, maple, koa, satinwood and caviuna.
Sound
A well-made flamenco guitar responds quickly, and typically has less sustain than a classical. This is desirable, since the flurry of notes that a good flamenco player can produce might sound muddy on a guitar with a big, lush, sustaining sound. The flamenco guitar’s sound is often described as percussive; it tends to be brighter, drier and more austere than a classical guitar. Some jazz and Latin guitarists like this punchy tonality, and some players have even discovered that these guitars’ wide-ranging sound also works well for the contrapuntal voicings of Renaissance and Baroque music.
Techniques

Flamenco is played somewhat differently from classical guitar. Players use different posture, strumming patterns, and techniques. Flamenco guitarists are known as tocaores (from an Andalusian pronunciation of tocadores, "players") and flamenco guitar technique is known as toque.
Flamenco players tend to play the guitar between the sound hole and the bridge, but as closely as possible to the bridge, to produce a harsher, rasping sound quality. Unlike classical tirando, where the strings are pulled parallel to the soundboard, in flamenco apoyando strings are struck towards the soundboard in such way that the striking finger is caught and supported by the next string, hence the name apoyando (from Spanish apoyar meaning "to support"). At times, this style of playing causes the vibrating string to gently touch the frets along its length, causing a more percussive sound.[3]
While a classical guitarist supports the guitar on the right leg, and holds it at an incline, flamenco guitarists usually cross their legs and support the guitar on whichever leg is on top, placing the neck of the guitar nearly parallel to the floor. The different position accommodates the different playing techniques. Many of the tremolo, golpe, and rasgueado techniques are easier and more relaxed if the upper right arm is supported at the elbow by the body of the guitar rather than by the forearm as in classical guitar. Nonetheless, some flamenco guitarists use classical position.
Flamenco is commonly played using a cejilla (capo) which raises the pitch and causes the guitar to sound sharper and more percussive. However, the main purpose in using a cejilla is to change the key of the guitar to match the singer’s vocal range. Because Flamenco is an improvisational musical form that uses common structures and chord sequences, the capo makes it easier for players who have never played together before to do so. Rather than transcribe to another key each time the singer changes, the player can move the capo and use the same chord positions. Flamenco uses a lot of highly modified and open chord forms to create a solid drone effect and leave at least one finger free to add melodic notes and movement. Very little traditional Flamenco music is written, but is mostly passed on hand to hand. Books, however are becoming more available.
Both accompaniment and solo flamenco guitar are based as much on modal as tonal harmonies; most often, both are combined.
In addition to the techniques common to classical guitar, flamenco guitar technique is uniquely characterized by:
Tirando: Pulling or plucking the strings–'ordinary' plucking of the strings with index, middle and ring fingers when playing falsetas.
Picado: Single-line scale passages performed by playing alternately with the index and middle fingers, supporting the other fingers on the string immediately above. Alternate methods include using the thumb rapidly on adjacent strings, as well as using the thumb and index finger alternately, or combining all three methods in a single passage.[4]
Rasgueado: Strumming done with outward flicks of the right hand fingers, done in a variety of ways. A nice rhythmic roll is obtained, supposedly reminiscent of the bailador’s (flamenco dancer's) feet and the roll of castanets. The rasgueo can be performed with 5, 4, or 3 fingers.
Alzapúa: A thumb technique which has roots in oud plectrum technique. The right hand thumb is used both up and down for single-line notes and/or strumming across a number of strings. Both are combined in quick succession to give it a unique sound.
Arpeggio (Arpegio): In flamenco, both 'ordinary'–up the strings from lower notes to higher; and 'reverse'–down the strings from higher notes to lower; or the two together–up the strings then back down from lower notes to higher notes and down again on the lower notes.
Ligado: Using only the left hand fingers to 'hammer' down on a string in successive ascending frets to sound notes from lower to higher, while the right hand is held off the strings; also 'pulling' off a string in successive descending frets to sound notes from higher to lower.
Tremolo: Rapid repetition of a single treble note, often following a bass note. Flamenco tremolo is different from classical guitar tremolo, it is usually played with the right hand pattern p-i-a-m-i which gives a 4 note tremolo. Classical guitar tremolo is played p-a-m-i giving a 3 note tremolo.  Or it may be used as an ornament to a chord, in which case it is done on the highest chord string finishing with a thumb across all the strings that make the chord. This creates a very quick trill followed by a full bodied thumb.
Glisando: While holding a finger down on a note at one fret, sliding the finger up the frets of that string to glide the finger through a series of notes up or down (lower to higher or higher to lower); occasionally also used in flamenco.
Seco, or sometimes referred to as 'Sorda' (literally 'quiet', but here meaning 'muffled'; as opposed to 'Fuerte'–'Strong'): A technique where the left hand damps the strings at the chordal tonic and the right hand plays purely rhythmic components. This creates a chugging like sound that greatly accents the rhythm, allowing the singer or dancer to play off the beat, creating a strong contra-tempo feel.
Golpe: Percussive finger tapping on the soundboard at the area above or below the strings. This requires a golpeador (tap-plate) to protect the surface of the guitar.

Flamenco guitar employs a vast array of percussive and rhythmic techniques that give the music its characteristic feel. Often, eighth note triplets are mixed with sixteenth note runs in a single bar. Even swung notes are commonly mixed with straight notes, and golpes are employed with the compas of different types of rhythms (i.e. bulerias, soleas, etc.) as is strumming with the strings damped for long passages or single notes.
More broadly, in terms of general style and ability, one speaks of:
Toque airoso ("graceful"): lively, rhythmic, with a brilliant, almost metallic sound.
Toque gitano o flamenco ("Gypsy" or "flamenco"): deep and very expressive, using a lot of grace notes and countertempos.
Toque pastueño (from a bullfighting term for a calm, fearless bull): slow and peaceful.
Toque sobrio ("sober"): without ornament or showing off.
Toque virtuoso: with exceptional mastery of technique; running the risk of excessive effects.
Toque corto ("short"): using only basic technique.
Toque frío ("cold"): the opposite of gitano or flamenco, unexpressive.
See also
List of flamenco guitarists

How is the flamenco guitar different from a regular guitar?


Ivan Sergeyevich Ukhov (Russian: Иван Сергеевич Ухов; born 29 March 1986) is a Russian high jumper. He won a gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships and is a two-time European Indoor champion (2009 and 2011). He was also the silver medallist at the 2010 European Athletics Championships and the winner of the high jump at the inaugural 2010 IAAF Diamond League. In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he won the gold medal.
Ukhov has broken the Russian national record indoors four times: jumping 2.39 meters on 28 January 2007 in Moscow; besting that with a 2.40m jump on 25 February 2009 in Athens; and establishing a new absolute record (indoors & outdoors) of 2.41m (7' 10-3/4") on 16 January 2014 in Chelyabinsk; and then achieving 2.42m on 25 February 2014 in Prague. His best outdoor effort, 2.39m, was set in Cheboksary on 5 July 2012. His leap of 2.40m (7 feet 10 1/2inches) in 2009 made him the 11th man in history to jump 2.40 or better, and only four of those men have jumped higher (indoors and out); only three men have jumped higher indoors (Patrik Sjöberg, 2.41 in 1987; Carlo Thränhardt, 2.42 in 1988, and Javier Sotomayor, 2.43 in 1993).[2]  His 2.42 ties him for the third best high jumper of all time, only behind Barshim and Sotomayor.
Career
Early career
Ukhov gave an interview for an IAAF news report in May 2013, while "training" with a Moscow-area basketball team. In between dunks, he said, “I played basketball for about 10 years, between the ages of seven and 16 for my school team. I became the best player in my town and region." Previously, in a July 2010 interview for BBC News, Ukhov – whom friends call Vanya – said his love of sports began at age 7 when his mother enrolled him in basketball: "After nine years of playing it I quarrelled with my coach and decided to take up a different, individual sport. I was quite big and chose discus, then at the age of 17 I tried the high jump. After training for about a year I set the Russian junior record and decided that it would be easier to carry on jumping than discus," he said.[3] In a May 2014 interview Ukhov further elaborated that, in his first year of throwing the discus he did well enough to compete at the Russian Junior Championships in 2004. At that meet he (somehow) entered the High Jump and with no coaching he won by clearing 2.12 meters (6 feet, 11½ inches).[4] Ukhov immediately dropped the discus and began to learn proper high jump mechanics, he established a personal best of 2.15m on 28 June 2004. One year later he improved to 2.30 (on 4 July 2005) at a meet in Tula, Russia, and he won the European Junior Championship in 2005 with a leap of 2.23/7-3¾.[5] He represented Russia at the 2004 IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy, but failed to qualify amongst the top 12 jumpers on 13 July, and did not make the finals.
He won the gold medal at the 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships (age 19 and under), held in Kaunas. He was the only competitor to clear 2.23 m, and said afterwards, "I feel a bit confused. I still can not believe that I am a winner."[6]
2006
Ukhov's performances in 2006 confirmed that he was better indoors than outside. On Monday 16 January 2006, jumping in the first leg of the Moravia High Jump Tour in Trinec, he won the competition with a first attempt clearance of 2.28, and was the only competitor who was really close at 2.30.[7] He achieved a personal best outdoor jump of 2.33 meters, in Langen, Germany (on 25 June 2006), and was named to the Russian team for the 19th European Athletics Championships held in Goteborg, Sweden in early August. He qualified for the 12-man Finals with a jump of 2.23, but two days later, 9 August 2006, he could manage no better than 2.20 for equal last place.
2007
The 20-year-old Ukhov won all three of the meets he entered in January 2007, with heights of 2.30 or better. At the annual Russian Winter Cup meet in Moscow, held on 28 January 2007 at the Vladimir Kutz Arena, the 20-year-old Ukhov elevated his personal best by 6cm, jumping 2.39 to set a new Russian national record in the High Jump.[8] Ukhov broke the record of 2.38, set in Sweden by Yaroslav Rybakov in February 2005. Ukhov was pushed to the record in a tactical duel with (reigning World Indoor champion) Rybakov. After each cleared 2.31, Rybakov took the lead with a first try clearance at 2.35. Ukhov failed in his first attempt and, with second-place already assured, he elected to pass. With the bar raised to 2.37, Ukhov flew over the bar on his first attempt, while Rybakov failed and decided to use his two remaining jumps at 2.39, one centimetre higher than his record of 2.38. Rybakov did not succeed, but Ukhov once again thrilled the Moscow crowd with a first-try clearance, and then failed at 2.41.[9] The 2.39 effort ranked him tied for sixth place among the top indoor high jumpers of all time. One week later, at the Arnstadt, Germany meet on 3 February 2007, Rybakov would win, tying his personal best of 2.38, while Ukhov finished fourth at 2.31.[10]
2008–2009
In September 2008, Ukhov was not invited to the Grand Prix IAAF meetings, because of his intoxicated actions during the Athletissima competition in Lausanne held on 2 September. There, he was found to have drunk Vodka and Red Bull prior to the competition, and was unable to make a valid jump.[11][12] The IAAF issued a strong warning to Ukhov in respect of his conduct: the IAAF did not suspend him, but he did not compete afterwards.[13]
Pavel Voronkov, his manager, later said: "There's no denying that Ivan was drunk but he had a fight with his girlfriend and was also upset at failing to qualify for the Olympics. Obviously, Ivan regrets it very much and we have already reimbursed the organisers for all their expenses. He is still young and it should be a good lesson for him but a year ban would just completely destroy him as an athlete."[14]
He returned to competition at the annual Moravia High Jump Tour in late January 2009. Ukhov won both Tour events and outjumped all of his competitors, first jumping 2.33 on 21 January at Trinec, then bettered that with a 2.34 clearance at Hustopece on 24 January. At the Athens indoor meeting on 25 February 2009, Ukhov cleared 2.40 m, setting a new national record and the world's best season mark.[15] The 2.40 mark (7ft 10 1/2in) also made him the equal-fifth highest jumper in the history of the sport.[16] He also improved his outdoor best on 25 July 2009 at the Russian National Championships in Cheboksary when he cleared 2.35 to win the event beating Yaroslav Rybakov, who cleared the same height.[1] At the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin Ukhov jumped 2.30m in qualifying, but when a torrential downpour wreaked havoc with the High Jump Final, Ukhov could manage only 2.23 and finished in 10th place: Rybakov won gold with a first-attempt clearance at 2.32m. Ukhov won five summer meets with jumps of 2.34–2.35, and defeated Rybakov three times before losing in the rain in Berlin.[17]
2010
Ukhov began his 2010 indoor season at the 6th Moravia High Jump Tour, winning both competitions: first at the meeting in Hustopece, Czech Republic on 23 January, he set a meet record of 2.37 metres (7ft 9.31in) (which would be the best jump in the world indoors or out in 2010);[18] then he won the second leg on 27 January in Triniste with a leap of 2.34 m.

At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in March he claimed his first world title with a jump of 2.36m, beating national rival Yaroslav Rybakov in the process.[19] One of the finest high jump competitions of the year was at Lausanne, Switzerland on 8 July 2010, when 11 men were still in competition at 2.30m. Only four cleared it, with Ukhov going to defeat Rybakov – on misses – at 2.33, with a superb first attempt clearance at 2.33.  Ukhov won again at Monaco, on 22 July, with a world-leading 2.34m. At Monaco, four jumpers attempted 2.31, but only Ukhov made it (on his first attempt), and then 2.34 on his first effort, before failing three times at 2.36.
One week later he competed at the 2010 European Athletics Championships, in Barcelona, Spain. The Men's Final was held 29 July, and this time he ended up behind a fellow Russian, as Aleksandr Shustov took gold at 2.33 and Ukhov was the silver medallist – his first European outdoor medal – with a jump of 2.31m.
At London, on 14 August 2010, in conditions described as "wet and chilly", Ukhov won again, out-jumping his competitors with a second-effort clearance at 2.29m, as second- and third-place tied at 2.27m. Ukhov again outjumped the field at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich on 19 August, with another first-try clearance at 2.29, then trying 2.35 without success.[20]  The win in Zurich ensured that he finished the top of the rankings in the High Jump series at the inaugural 2010 IAAF Diamond League.
Ukhov entered a total of 20 competitions in 2010 – indoors and out – and won 14 of them. He jumped an outdoor best of 2.36m at the 5th annual Opole jumping festival in Opole, Poland on 11 September, a mark which was the best by any athlete in 2010.[21] Ukhov's jump was all the more remarkable given that second place was 2.26, while he went on to clear 2.30 and 2.33 on his first jumps, then made 2.36 on his third, followed by three misses at 2.41.
2011

The Moravia High Jump Tour on 29 January saw him start the 2011 indoor season in strong form, opening – as he usually does – at 2.20 and progressing to eventually clear 2.38 m (7ft 9 1/2 in) on his second try, and then came close in an attempt to break Javier Sotomayor's world indoor mark of 2.43.[22] With Sotomayor standing behind him watching, Ukhov first two attempts at 2.44 (8ft) were excellent, accelerating through his 11-step approach and getting his hips over cleanly before the back of his thighs brushed the bar on the way down, barely bouncing the bar off. On 3 February, he won the Moscow High Jump with Music Cup for the fourth time in his career, with a jump of 2.30, outjumping four other Russian competitors who could manage no higher than 2.27.[23] He repeated his 2.38 performance on 9 February at the Europa SC High Jump meeting in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia.[24] He cleared every height on his first attempt through 2.38, then again had the bar set at 2.44 (8feet). Ukhov's attempts at the would-be world (indoor) record height were said to be even closer than his previous efforts two weeks earlier in Hustopece.[25] Uhkov skipped the 2011 Russian Indoor Championships (held in Moscow on 16–18 February), in order to compete in the special Hochsprung mit Musik competition in Arnstadt, Germany, on 19 February, which he won with a jump of 2.34 (three cm better than second-place).[26]
At the European Indoor Championships in Paris, Ukhov held off Czech Jaroslav Bába to win the gold medal on Saturday 5 March 2011, equalling his season-best, and world-leading, jump of 2.38 metres (7ft 9.70in). The 24-year-old was tied with Baba at 2.34 after each cleared on their first attempt, while fellow Russian Aleksandr Shustov secured the bronze medal with his third attempt clearance at 2.34. Ukhov then cleared 2.36 on his first jump and Baba, after missing, passed to 2.38. Once again Ukhov delivered a first jump clearance, while Baba missed and decided to make his third attempt at 2.40 m (7 feet 10 1/2inches). Baba missed and Ukhov, having secured the victory with eight jumps, passed at 2.40 (the meet record) and instead had the bar raised to a new European – and world indoor – record 2.44 (8feet). But he failed on all three attempts.[27]
Uhkov opened his international outdoor competition in the Czech Republic at the 50th Golden Spike Ostrava meet on 31 May, which he won (on a tie-breaker) with a height of 2.32 (7' 7 1/4"). He was tied with German Raul Spank after each opened at 2.15 and then jumped "clean" with no misses through 2.32, breaking the meet record of 2.31. After both missed all three tries at 2.36 the tie-breaker was implemented: each was given a fourth attempt at 2.36, then the bar was lowered to 2.34 and then returned to 2.32, which only Ukhov was able to clear a second time for the win.
The fourth Diamond League competition of the year, the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday 4 June brought together an elite 8-man field of the world's best jumpers. Ukhov was only able to clear only 2.29 for sixth place – his first loss of the year – while three men cleared 2.32: (current world-leader) Jesse Williams (USA), (reigning Olympic champion) Andrey Silnov (Russia), and the winner Raúl Spank (Germany). He qualified for the final at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, but having taken three attempts to clear 2.32m and a failure at 2.35m he finished fifth on count-back.
2012 season
At the beginning of the year he cleared 2.32m to win the Trinec Moravia High Jump Tour meet.[28] He was runner-up at the Hochsprung mit Musik behind compatriot Aleksey Dmitrik, but defeated world champion Jesse Williams at the Europa SC High Jump with a mark of 2.33m.[29] Ukhov won the 2012 Russian Indoor Championships, held in Moscow on 23 February: both Ukhov (2nd try) and Andrey Silnov (3rd try) were the only men to clear 2.34, and when both failed at 2.36, Ukhov was the victor based on the count-back.[30]
At the Russian National Championships on 5 July 2012, Ukhov finished in first place with a (first jump) clearance of 2.39m (7' 9.75"), the highest jump in the world this year: he is still wearing only sprinter spikes with no support in the heels. Three jumpers cleared 2.35, securing their Olympic berths. When teammate Andrey Silnov cleared 2.37 to take the lead and Ukhov missed, Ivan then passed that height in favor of an attempt at 2.39 for the win. After clearing 2.39, he then took two attempts at 2.41, hoping to break his Russian record of 2.40.
2012 London Olympics
Ukhov entered the 2012 London Olympics as the favorite and did not disappoint. In the qualifying round on Sunday 5 August, Ukhov scaled 2.29 for an automatic berth in the finals. In the finals on Tuesday evening 7 August, Ukhov (and most of the field of 14 jumpers) opened at 2.20. After a rare miss on his first attempt at 2.29, he had first try clearances at 2.33, 2.36 and 2.38 (7' 9 3/4"). It was the second-highest jump in Olympic history. He made one attempt at a new Olympic record 2.40 and then retired. His toughest competition proved to be himself, as he misplaced his uniform singlet between jumps and then had to jump 2.33 while wearing a blue T-shirt with his spare competitor's number pinned to it as his allotted time nearly expired. Afterwards he wore his teammate Silnov's singlet. While eight men cleared 2.29, only Ukhov and American Erik Kynard were able to scale 2.33. There was a 3-way tie for third. A very light rain began to fall about halfway through the competition, but the rain did not appear to affect the jumpers. As usual, Ukhov competed wearing only sprinter's spikes, not jumping shoes.
2013 Indoor Season
Ukhov's best indoors was also one of his earliest competitions, winning the high jump-only competition at Hustopece on 26 January 2013 with a first attempt clearance of 2.30m, edging out Mutaz Essa Barshim who needed all 3 attempts to clear the same height.
2013 Outdoor Season
Ukhov saved his best for last, but his season-best leap - a first try clearance of 2.35m - at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow on 15 August 2013 was only good for 4th place, as two men cleared 2.38m, and Ukrainian Bohdan Bondarenko established a new championship record of 2.41m to win the gold medal.
2014 Indoor Season
Ukhov's indoor campaign in 2014 is the greatest single season by a high jumper in over 20 years, with three jumps of 2.40m or higher in the space of 6 weeks. He finished a disappointed second at the World Indoor Championships on 9 March, clearing the winning height of 2.38m but losing the gold medal on the tie-breaking count-back.

11 JAN, 1st - 2.38m: Ukhov opened his 2014 Indoor campaign on Saturday January 11 in the Russian city of Novocheboksarsk with a world-leading leap of 2.38m. Competing at the Chuvashya Governor Cup, he cleared his first four heights – 2.15m, 2.24m, 2.30m and 2.35m – on his first attempt, equalling his best mark from the entire 2013 season. (By 2.30m he was jumping alone, as only one other jumper cleared 2.24m.) He then cleared 2.38m on his third attempt, and then made three attempts at 2.41m, the last being very close with just his heel clipping the bar. It was his highest jump since his Olympic victory in August 2012, also 2.38m. It also equaled his best ever seasonal debut as Ukhov jumped the same height in his opening competition of 2011 before going on to win the European indoor title. It improved by six centimeters the world-leading mark set by Andrey Silnov, who cleared 2.32m in December.[31] Not only was the height remarkable for so early in the season, but for so early in the day- the Men's High Jump competition got underway at 11AM local.
16 JAN, 1st - 2.41m: Ukhov produced the best indoor performance in the world for 21 years when he cleared 2.41 at the Yuriy Lukasevich Memorial meeting in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk on Thursday January 16. This added one centimeter to his own national indoor record, achieved in Athens five years earlier, and also to the Russian absolute record held jointly by himself and Vyacheslav Voronin, who jumped 2.40m outdoors in London back in 2000. Ukhov jumped 2.15m, 2.23m, 2.32m and 2.36m with his first attempts before getting over 2.41m (7' 10-3/4") on his third attempt, just brushing the bar with his heels. He immediately asked the bar to be raised to an (absolute) world record height of 2.46m (8' 0-1/2"), but then decided to rest without attempting. Compatriots Andriy Silnov and Yevgeniy Korshunov were second and third respectively, both going over 2.29m.[32]
Statisticians at Track & Field News report only 3 men have ever jumped higher (indoors or outdoors), and this is the highest jump in history in the month of January.[33]
Note: Video of Ukhov's 2.41m leap in Chelyabinsk shows he is still competing in sprinter spikes, eschewing a jumping shoe.
28 JAN, 1st - 2.36m: Ukhov won the "High Jump With Music Cup" meet in Moscow, with second attempt clearance of 2.36m (7' 8-3/4"). He was pushed by Ukrainian jumper Andriy Protsenko, who cleared 2.33 (7'7-3/4") for second place. Ukhov made one attempt at 2.40m and then retired, saving his legs for the "Winter Meet".
02 FEB, 1st - 2.36m: Won the IAAF-approved "Russian Winter Meet" in Moscow for a fifth time, this one in a dominating fashion, with a first attempt clearance of 2.36m (7' 8-3/4"). He then attempted to break his own meet record (2.39m) but failed in three tries at 2.40m (7' 10-1/2"), his only misses on the night. Only two other jumpers, Protsenko and (Russian) Daniel Tsyplakov, were able to clear 2.28m.
08 FEB, 1st - 2.40m: Won the 38th annual High Jump with Music meet at Arnstadt, Germany with a first try clearance of 2.40m (7' 10-1/2") (breaking the old meet record of 2.38m) He was "pushed" by compatriot Aleksey Dmitrik, who improved his personal best by 4cm when he cleared 2.40m on his second attempt. Dmitrik then made 3 tries at a Russian record 2.42m, while Ukhov passed in order to try a World Indoor Record height of 2.44m, his second and third attempts being very close. Note: Dmitrik is now the first jumper in history to leap 2.40m and finish second. Ukhov has 3 previous wins at Arnstadt, from 2009-2011, while Dmitrik won in 2012 and 2013.
18 FEB, 1st - 2.38m: Won the Russian Indoor Nationals, held at the CSKA Indoor Arena in Moscow, with a jump of 2.38m (7' 9-3/4"), beating Daniil Tsyplakov who finished second with a personal best jump of 2.34m. Ukhov then made two unsuccessful attempts at a would-be world indoor record height of 2.44m (8ft) and passed his final attempt. Afterwards he said he was simply tired, because with 37 jumpers in the competition it took a long time to get through the lower heights.
25 FEB, 1st - 2.42m: Won at the 02 Arena in the Czech capital Prague with an absolute Russian record, equal European record, and 2014 world-leading height of 2.42m (7' 11-1/4") on Tuesday February 25. He did so in dominating fashion, taking just 4 jumps- all first attempt clearances at 2.15, 2.25, 2.33m, and 2.42m.[34] A video camera focused on the bar revealed Ukhov cleared the record height with nearly 5cm (2 inches) of daylight between his torso and the bar. Only Cuban legend Javier Sotomayor has jumped higher, with his indoor record of 2.43m set at the Indoor world championships in 1989. Ukhov then made three attempts at 2.44 (8' 0"), none of them very close. Ukhov’s coach - former Olympic champion Sergey Klyugin - said afterwards that Ukhov was slightly frustrated by the placement of the high jump pit too close to the inside turn of the track, as this limited the length of his approach: he started his run-up from the base of the banked turn. There were only 4 men in the special high jump competition at the Prague Indoor Meet. After Ukhov and Russian compatriot Aleksey Dmitrik were the only ones to clear 2.33m (both on their first attempt) they agreed to immediately raise the bar to 2.42m.[35]
8-9 MAR, 2nd - 2.38m: The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships was held in the seaside city of Sopot, in northern Poland. In the qualifying session on Saturday 8 March at noon, Ukhov took the bare minimum number of jumps (two) required to qualify amongst the top 8, with an effort of only 2.25m. In the Finals on Sunday afternoon, all 8 men began jumping at 2.20m (7' 2-1/2"). Ukhov then passed every-other height, jumping only at 2.29 and 2.34 (7' 8") and clearing both on his first attempts, while still wearing his warmup tights. He then passed at 2.36m and watched as Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) and Andriy Protsenko (Ukraine) cleared on their first attempts. With the bar then raised to 2.38 (7' 9-3/4") Barshim again cleared on his first attempt, while Ukhov (his pants removed) needed all three tries to clear. Both men then failed at 2.40, and Ukhov was relegated to second place because of his misses at 2.38.
2014 Outdoor Season
Ukhov won the first major international meeting of the season, the Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar, on Friday evening May 9 with a "best in the world" jump of 2.41m, which tied him for the third best jumper outdoors in history. He then made one attempt at 2.43m before retiring. In a bold move, after he missed his first attempt at 2.37m and both Erik Kynard and Derek Drouin cleared on their first attempts, Ukhov elected to pass, and then was the only jumper to clear 2.39 (on his first attempt.) Drouin entered the meet with the world outdoor lead, having cleared 2.40 on 25 April.
Jumping shoes
In order to gain firm traction as they "plant" their take-off foot to jump, high jumpers are permitted to use a special shoe, one with a built-up sole – for comfort and stability – and which contains six or seven spikes in the front and no more than four spikes in the heel. Ukhov is unique in that he uses ordinary sprint spikes when he competes, which lack the added traction in the heel. In a 2010 interview for the Russian sports daily Sovietskiy Sport, he was asked about the lack of heel spikes and said, "Yes, that's true. Before every season I think it's time to move on and use high jumping shoes but I still haven't switched to them. Somehow they do not work for me."[36] Failure to use a "normal" jumping shoe does makes it difficult to jump in wet conditions. When it rained during the Men's High Jump final at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, he finished in tenth place, saying, "When the rain started, I started experimenting with new spikes but in vain." A year later, at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, heavy rains came just before the Men's High Jump final, but Ukhov said he "started with my sprint spikes and kept them on." He finished in second place.
Racing shoes were once limited to 6 spikes (or "pins") in the toe section, with an additional 4 allowed in the heel for jumping shoes. The IAAF changed its rules in the early 1990s to allow a maximum of 11 spikes/pins for all shoes: most high jumpers place 7 in the toe and 4 in the heel. Photographs taken during competitions reveal Ukhov uses 10 in the toe, none in the heel.
Ukhov's 2011 indoor season included three meets where he won and then attempted to set a world indoor record of 8 feet (2.44m).
In an interview for BBC News filmed in Moscow in early spring 2011, Ukhov admitted his difficulty of jumping in wet conditions without heel spikes and acknowledged this could be a liability at the 2012 Olympics in London.[37] This concern did not materialise, though, with Ukhov winning Gold in London.
Personal life
Ukhov is 1.93 m tall (6ft 4 in) and lists his competition weight as 84kg (185lb). He jumps off his left leg. At a press conference in Russia at the start of the 2011 indoor season, Ukhov said that the birth of his child had stabilized his life: "Having a family helps. If it weren't for my family, I would not be able to compete so consistently and successfully," he said.[16] In an undated interview for BBC News filmed in Moscow – probably in early spring 2011 – Ukhov was shown walking in a snow-covered park with his wife, Polina, and baby daughter Melaniya.[38]
According to the official website of Russian Athletics, as of early 2011, Ivan lives in Moscow and is trained by Sergey Klyugin (the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games high jump champion.) In an interview published at the end of the 2010 outdoor season, Ukhov said he began jumping under the tutelage of Yevgeniy Zagorulko, but "I could not win a major title", so two years ago (2008) he changed coaches to Klyugin: "Sergey had just finished competing himself and was coaching his wife Viktoriya (the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships high jump bronze medallist). He approached me and invited me to train with him and I said, 'Let's give it a try.'"
In a 2010 interview, Ukhov was asked about reports that his weight fluctuated. "Is it true that two days before an event you stop eating?", Ukhov answered: "No, I am responsible about these things, my weight when I am competing is about 85kg (185lbs.), but in the off-season my weigh can go up to 105kg (231lbs). I lose the kilos quickly when I am doing weight training. It only takes about two weeks to lose the weight." Another question was: "Many athletes complain that they feel weak when they lose only a few kilos, but here we are talking about 20kg (44 lbs). What does your coach think about this?", and Ukhov responded: "We had a training camp in Spain, and I think the extra weight helped. A bit of extra weight protects the muscles and ligaments. It is like training with a barbell – only it always with you." Although he stands well over 6 feet tall, Ukhov described his physique as "stocky".[36]
Major competition record

 at IAAF
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Which competitions has Ivan Sergeyevich Ukhov won?


Here is a list of the largest optical refracting telescopes sorted by lens diameter and focal length.
The largest practical functioning refracting telescope is the Yerkes Observatory 40inch (102cm) refractor, used for astronomical and scientific observation for over a century.
Most are classical Great refractors, which used achromatic doublets on an equatorial mount. However, other large refractors include a 21st-century Solar telescope which is not directly comparable because it uses a single element non-achromatic lens, and the short-lived Great Paris Exhibition Telescope of 1900. It used a 78-inch (200cm) Focault siderostat for aiming light into the Image-forming optical system part of the telescope, which had a 125cm diameter lens. Using a siderostat incurs a reflective loss.  Larger meniscus lenses have been used in later catadioptric telescopes which mix refractors and reflectors in the image-forming part of the telescope. As with reflecting telescopes, there was an ongoing struggle to balance cost with size, quality, and usefulness.

See also
List of largest optical reflecting telescopes
List of largest optical telescopes in the 20th century
List of largest optical telescopes in the 19th century
List of largest optical telescopes in the 18th century

Further reading

List of largest optical refracting telescopes

What is the most powerful telescope in the Berlin Observatory?