• How long does it take to learn how to stilt walk?
  
• How much does it cost to make your own stilts?
  
• Does it hurt if you fall?
  
• How tall should I make my stilts?
  
• Is it easy to juggle/poi/diabolo/do stuff while on stilts?
  
• What happens if I drop a juggling club while on stilts?
  
• What are Dura Stilts?
  

Some people I've taught to stilt walk have picked it up in a matter of minutes. Some people take a bit longer though.

You should be able to make a pair of stilts for around £25 (~€40), don't forget knee pads will cost about £10 (~€15). remember the more parts you can scavenge the cheaper it will be.

Providing your stilts aren't insanely tall and you fall properly while wearing knee pads then no, it doesn't hurt if you fall. See the section on falling for more information.

This of course depends on how tall you want to make yourself. If you are just starting to stilt walk then you should probably start with 2-2½ foot stilts. This is quite a comfortable height for all round use. When stilt walking bigger is not necessarily better. I have a pair of three foot stilts but I prefer not to use them when walking around among the public. If the stilts are too tall you find yourself very distant from the people you are entertaining which isn't much fun.

Yes, but only after a bit of practise. Ok maybe you are gifted and you'll be able to juggle while on stilts straight away. Others may find that the concept of having to do two things at once is a bit much to handle. It all depends on how quickly you can get used to stilt walking. Practise until it becomes second nature then juggling (etc.) shouldn't be a problem (of course once you learn to juggle on stilts you have to figure out how to pick up the clubs/balls you've dropped!)

It's a bit of a problem when you drop something but you are too tall to reach the ground and pick it up! I found a method which can help you recover a dropped juggling club, this will only work if you are good at the stilt walking and your stilts aren't too tall.

Ok, so you've dropped a juggling club, hopefully you are still holding on to at least two more. So with one club on the floor, take the other two clubs by the fat end, one in each hand. Bend down as far as you can over the dropped club. using the two clubs in your hands as tongs, hook the buttons round the button of the dropped club. Now with a swift action, flip the dropped club high up in the air. while that club is airborne flip the clubs in your hands round so you are now holding them by the handles. It's up to you how you do this, maybe put a half spin on each, you could even keep them the wrong way around and corret it later during juggling, it's up to you. So however you go about it you should now have a club in each hand and one in the air. When the airborn club comes back down just start juggling as normal, just like you would if you had started with a kick up.

pop-up picture: durastilts

DuraStilts were made for painters and plasterers, allowing them to walk around painting the ceiling of a room without the help of a ladder. Some stiltswalkers use nothing but durastilts. However, there are advantages and disadvantages. As far as advantages go they are really easy to walk on, they have great big feet on them which makes it easy to balance, it also makes it possible to stand still, you don't have to constantly wobble like you do on more traditional stilts. Dura Stilts are also adjustable to different heights. Now to the disadvantages; firstly duraStilts are really expensive (starting at about �350) which is a bit if a rip off. The big feet may make standing still easy but it doesn't help walking. If you try walking along a hill or a slope with durastilts the feet will align themselves with the sloped surface, this results in the stilt leg being forced into a 90° angle with the ground which means you will fall down the hill. And perhaps most importantly, it's cheating, it's not proper stilt walking :)