![Powerskip Standard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Powerskip_Standard.jpg)
Jumping stilts, bounce stilts or spring stilts are special
stilts
Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground.
In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wav ...
that allow the user to run, jump and perform various acrobatics. Spring stilts using fiberglass leaf springs were patented in the United States in 2004 under the trademark "PowerSkip", marketed for recreational and extreme sports use. Spring stilts are often mostly made of
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
. Using these stilts is also called "bocking" or "powerbocking", a corrupted version of the name of the stilts' inventor, Alexander Böck.
Powerbocking
The act of "bocking" or "powerbocking" includes jumping, running, and performing acrobatics with elastic-like
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
-loaded
stilts
Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground.
In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wav ...
.
They can be used to jump great distances and allow the user to bounce over people and cars and to perform backflips. For some, it is an
extreme sport
Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...
; for others, it is a form of exercise, artistic expression and a form of entertainment.
The stilts are often referred to generically as bocks or powerbocks; as power stilts, jumping stilts, bounce stilts or spring stilts; or by their brand name.
Description
Each boot consists of a foot-plate with
snowboard
Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...
type locking straps, rubber foot pad which is also commonly called a hoof, and a
fibreglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
leaf spring
A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, it ...
. Using only their weight, and few movements, the user is generally able to
jump
Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory.
Jump or Jumping also may refer to:
Places
* Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...
3–5 ft (1–1.5 metres) off the ground and
run
Run(s) or RUN may refer to:
Places
* Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia
* Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant
People
* Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
up to 20 mph (32 km/h). They also give the ability to take up to 9-foot (2.7 metres) strides.
Jumping stilts were used in the closing ceremony of the 2008
Olympic games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.
Brands
They were originally patented by Alexander Böck, from Germany (European Patent EP 1 196 220 B1 on 2 July 2003, US Patent No. 6,719,671 B1 on 13 April 2004, both with a priority date of 20 July 1999), as "Powerskip". Many people also use common brand names to refer to them generically. Common brand names are 7 League Boots, Air-Trekkers, Powerizers, Pro-Jump, and Powerskips.
Risks
On 4 December 2010 Samuel Koch was heavily injured during the show ''
Wetten, dass..?'' during a stunt where he attempted to jump over multiple moving cars in succession. He failed to clear one of the moving vehicles and was left
tetraplegic
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or ...
after suffering severe injuries to his neck and spine.
Competition
Two competitions exist in France: the Nancy Power Days (since 2009) in Nancy and the Riser Winter Cup (since 2015) in Lille.
Similar devices
Though similar in appearance, jumping stilts are not to be confused with the use of
prosthetic devices such as those used by paralympic runners
Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius (; ; born 22 November 1986) is a South African convicted murderer and former professional sprinter. Both of his feet were amputated when he was 11 months old owing to a congenital defect; he was born missing the o ...
or
Jonnie Peacock
Jonathan Peacock MBE (born 28 May 1993) is an English sprint runner... An amputee, Peacock won gold at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and 2016 Summer Paralympics, representing Great Britain in the T44 men's 100 metres event. He won a Bronze m ...
.
Moon shoes
Moon shoes are shoes for children fitted with trampoline-like springs. They were billed as "mini-trampolines for your feet". They were part of a merchandising effort by Nickelodeon.
The original moon shoes were introduced in the 1950s and were ...
and PyonPyon jumpers are earlier attempts at jumping shoes using a different technique. Some are still popular today. There is a Swiss product 'Kangoo Jumps', with cantilever springs under the shoes, which is promoted more for fitness than large leaps.
Rocket boots Rocket boots is an invention by Soviet scientist Viktor Gordeyev. The invention is a pair of mechanical devices that a user would wear on his or her lower legs and feet. Rocket Boots are intended to make it possible for a person to travel faster and ...
were designed in the 1970s for the Russian Army, and use combustion pistons rather than springs for a similar effect.
Similar devices are attached to the boots of
Chell (the protagonist) in the ''
Portal
Portal often refers to:
* Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel
Portal may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...
'' video game series for the purpose of surviving long falls, though such devices might not actually work in real life.
An English folklore figure,
spring-heeled Jack
Spring-heeled Jack is an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over the United Kingdom and were especially prevalent in suburban Lo ...
, has been conjectured by some investigators to have been a prankster using spring-loaded leaping aids as early as 1837.
Spring stilts using steel coil springs, an antecedent of the
pogo stick
A pogo stick is a device for jumping off the ground in a standing position, through the aid of a spring, or new high performance technologies, often used as a toy, exercise equipment or extreme sports instrument. It led to an extreme sport named ...
, were attempted in the 19th century.
[Nicholas Yagn (21 October 1890) "Apparatus for facilitating walking"]
References
External links
*
Description of the PowerBockingdeviceDoesWhat Powerizers Pro Jump videoGoogle Patent for the original PowerSkip, by Alexander BoeckImage of man powerbockingon
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
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