First 2 Days of Practice on Jumping Stilts

Here we are, or here I am. My first 2 days of practice on these jumping stilts.

Day 1
For my first day, I carried them over to the tennis court in my neighborhood, propped up on top of the picnic table and laced up. I used the roof of the cabana covering the picnic table to get my first few steps under way, then I wobbled quickly over to the tennis court gate. I ducked under the gate, and held on to the sides of the fence inside of the court immediately. While holding on to the tennis court fence, I practiced walking in them. As I walked along I could let go for brief moments to see what it would be like on my own. After about 10-15 minutes or so I mustered up the courage to walk completely around the court without using the fence. After about an hour I walked across the center of the court.

So, I got the walking part down now I wanted to jump. I grabbed on to one of the poles the fence was attached to and jumped up and down in place. I got pretty decent air, but it was just awkward having to hold on to something. I tried letting go. Not a good idea. I wasn't ready for that just yet. So back to walking. After a little over an hour of just walking, I noticed myself dragging one foot. My hip flexors were apparently getting tired so I headed back to the picnic table and wrapped up for the day.

Day 2
For my second day, I wanted to get away from the fence, but I was too embarrassed to try in public so I headed down to the park and found a little private area that had a light pole with grass next to it. I walked around the parking lot for a minute, then headed immediately to the grass. I was able to jump for the first time without a pole, but my back made a cracking sound and I figured I was doing something wrong so held off on jumping high for now. I just wanted to pounce around a bit without falling. I also tried a light run just to see what it's like. It almost seemed as if you have to bounce from left to right leg rather than traditional running. Jump left forward...jump right forward...etc Pretty neat, but there was pits in the ground and I felt like a fall was coming so I stopped. End of day 2!