Safety

[jester]

I worked with a family of stilt walkers today. 3 children, one of whom was up very high. They were wearing pegs and none of the children had any kind of protective clothing.

So I asked the mother why not? And she replied that it wasn't necessary, even though she admitted that they had experienced several falls between them.

I told her that it was foolish not to make your kids safe but she seemed to think that I was less of a stilt walker because I do wear pads.

If grown people want to wear stilts without protection they are stupid, but to encourage children to do so is frankly ignorant, stubborn and plain arrogant.

So I urge everybody who stilt walks to wear knee pads at the very least, and encourage youngsters to do the same.

Any thoughts?

[willie the clown]

i suffered from a serious fall in colorado,breaking both arms and wrist's,very painful and expensive,so yesyesyes,to all wear pads! use spotters,wrist braces and anything else you can think of,the cost of medical treatment, and lost wages is more than a few pads and caution. be safe out there, oh you crazy kids!

[Stretch]

I know a former RBBB clown who slipped on some tranny oil and broke his wrist so bad that it is now "frozen". No longer can he bend his wrist. A bit tough on a juggler I would think.

So take care.

Walking tall, and staying upright, well most of the time!

Bill "Stretch" Coleman

http://Stiltwalker.com/

[Circusnews]

I agree. While I do not like helmets (they tend to be more dangerous in terms of throwing off balance, than they good they do protecting the head), knee pads and proper falling technique are a must. Take a look at this web page for more detailed stuff on stilt safety.

[Stretch]

Planning ahead . . .

Always keep an eye out for someone soft to land on. "Are you soft?"

[Circusnews]

Always!