Now, I’ve only performed with a professional circus troupe a couple times in my life, but I have been learning practically my whole life. I’ve done countless routines and performances for a variety of occasions and what I can tell you is that almost all of that, down to the very last second, is planned.
In aerial, there’s very little room for mistakes. Other forms of acrobatics are incredibly challenging, I agree. But when you’re an aerialist, you’re doing these crazy stunts at a height of minimum 12 feet, but usually much higher. On top of all of that, this is a performance. You have to look good, you have to show off, while simultaneously paying close attention to your surroundings, your apparatus, and anyone else you may be working with. You practice and practice and practice over and over again until, not only do you get it right, but you can’t get it wrong. Every single moment is planned best it can, because improvisation is dangerous, risky, and more than likely will result in injury. Of course, improvising a routine is a skill in of itself, but usually those stunts are performed lower to the ground, the moves are simple, basic ones, and it’s not really improv as it is “running through a couple tried and tested moves and positions in different orders.”
When Dick Grayson prepares for a fight, if granted the privilege, he will always look up the building schematics beforehand, noting support structures and windows and the like. If he isn’t granted that luxury, then he will take a good couple of minutes before every fight, before the opponent sees him, to scan the room and make a plan of action before striking. He’ll map out what he wants to do, where he wants to go, and how he’s going to get there. If there’s ever a brief respite in the fight, his mind is instantly calculating a couple different plans, trying to figure out where to go next. If he’s doing straight up hand-to-hand combat, that’s mostly action-reaction to the opponent he’s fighting, but if the particular fight involves his aerial abilities, he most definitely will plan ahead, as much as he can.
Bruce did probably train him to be able to improvise, of course. You never know what will happen on the field, and you have to be prepared. However, this is something Dick probably only utilizes when necessary. Also, the improvised aerial moves are, once again, going to be pretty basic compared to the other stunts he can pull, because to do those higher-level acrobatics, he needs to plan for it. He needs to figure out where he’s at, how he’s going to get where he needs to go. He needs to make sure there’s enough space to move and get leverage, he needs to know if the structure he’s on is sound enough to support his weight. All of that requires planning.
And this will most definitely carry over into other aspects of his life, too. I hate it when people call Nightwing impulsive or carefree. It’s so far from the truth. That boy plans a lot, and I’m not talking contingencies or plans of action like Bruce. I’m talking MCU-Dr-Strange level stuff. Cycling through different possibilities of an outcome before settling on one that will benefit him overall. This has been trained into him since birth, all aerialists know this by heart. You have to plan your routine, no matter if it’s a long one you’re going to work to perfect, or a couple basic skills strung together with elegant-looking transitions.
Now, is Dick a primarily emotional person? Yes. Does he sometimes make judgement calls based on his feelings, and not the facts? Yes. Does he often let his emotions overpower his judgement? Yes. But if you ever see Dick Grayson written as impulsive, going in without thinking, jumping into situations without planning, etc., just know that that characterization is completely wrong. No self respecting aerialist plays things by ear when there’s important stakes, whether that be a performance or a mission. Get rid of that ridiculous idea, give me more of Dick Grayson: Actual Aerialist and Smart Human Being Who, Despite What It Seems Sometimes, Actually Has Quite A Large Amount Of Common Sense.
