Fitness Jump
Jumping Stilts 101
Right now let`s just talk stilts, not the birth of the modern day stilt that looks so strange. The originals are the type of stilts that anyone would immediately identify as 2 wooden planks or boards with pegs or blocks fastened to them. The user would stand on the blocks and proceed to walk, stagger, sway or just fall down. Stilts developed in ancient China during this time, were used to entertain the emperor. No doubt he got a great laugh whenever the stilt walking entertainer fell flat on his face! As time passed, stilts were mainly used for entertainment purposes. What 4th of July parade would be the same without a stilt walking Uncle Sam or sparky the clown?
More recently though, probably since the advent of the metal known as Aluminum, the need for stilts has transformed from entertainment to construction uses. These stilts look much different from the first ones built in China centuries ago. They are still quite crude, rising only 2-3ft. and fasten onto a work boot with a leather strap. Construction stilts may be crude but prove very functional and time saving to the tradesman. These are not the kind of stilts you may have played around with as a kid, but they very well could be the forerunner of the jumping stilts we are seeing today.
Beginning from the mid to late 1990`s, stilts took a major departure from their past cousins and transformed into…some kind of contraption that looks like it came out of a SCI-FI movie! These “futuristic” looking jumping stilts, because of their weird appearance, have conjured up many descriptive names but the most common reference to them is, jumping stilts. Okay, you might be thinking that`s a nice story but what next? “What next?” will have to wait for the rest of the story. The rest of the story takes shape during the 1950`s when “hot rod`s” where being built in neighborhood garages and drive in fast food and drive in movies were the rage. McDonald`s was just emerging as a drive in restaurant where patrons ate their cheeseburgers and fries inside their cars. No one gave” trans” fats a thought nor what constituted a healthy diet.
It was in this societal back drop that a couple of acrobatic entertainers from California during the 1950`s came up with an idea for ajumping stilt. Being professional at their craft, these stilts apparently were developed purely for their own use as entertainers. There`s no record that these guys filed a patent or mass produced their stilts for use by the public. Isn`t it just a little surprising that some enterprising entrepreneur didn`t come along and market those stilts as a new toy. People during this era were not as health and fitness minded as people are today, so marketing a new piece of sports equipment probably wasn`t perceived as a good move. So these jumping stilts maintained an image of being sports equipment used only by professionals, much like the high wire act or trampoline would have been. These two guys were way ahead of their time and missed out on a great entrepreneurial opportunity.
Those 1950`s versions of jumping stilts were called pogo stilts, a name that is still used today. It`s too bad, but maybe the youth of the `50`s were more into rock `n roll and fast cars. Today it`s all about “virtual” this and “virtual” that where younger adults are more pro-active in recreational sports. Most people like to experience the thrill of the “game” much like the” pro”athlete does. Novice athletes don`t mind watching their favorite pro athletes perform but they also want a chance to perform sporting feats according to their own abilities. They want to experience an adrenaline rush for themselves. Enter jumping stilts,used in the sport called Power Bocking.
About the Author
W.G. Kraemer is the author of this article on Jumping Stilts. Find more information on Jumping Stilts101 here.
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