Stilts

Drawing by Caven Meese/Gloria Brown
stilts

Note: Make the knee cover out of plywood, as board may split. Attach a piece of bike inner tube from the outside of the foot piece to the outside of the stilt, tight enought to hold your foot in place on the foot piece as securely as possible. Use thick foam from an old foam mattress or foam pillow for a thick kneepad. Tie the stilts on with long strips of strong cloth; stretchable knits are good, and so is canvas.
To learn how to walk on stilts: First learn and practice a standard gymnastics fall. Stilting is not nearly so difficult or dangerous as it looks, but it is a good idea to practice falling a couple of times every session before you stilt. Sit on a car or table to tie your stilts on. Get a couple of friends to hold you up, one on each side, and walk around with you. It will feel as if you have two broken legs for ten or fifteen minutes. Gradually lean less and less weight on your helpers, until you aren't putting any weight on them at all. People usually learn how to walk by themselves in 10-20 minutes. It is possible to do great dances with big kicks and leaps once you have found your balance.
Warning: Pay attention if you start hurting when you are stilting. I have been hearing stories about injuries caused not by falls but by slow damage to knees and insteps through stress.

See Wire Demon
See Circus Stilt Ape
See Stilt Bird

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