Saturday was my favorite phrase... "Outta control". It was great, and it was even better to get to meet XS, Zan, and Ace. You guys were a real help in boosting my confidence.

XS great job on the video very well cut together.

I have photos from the event too, but they are not really that great. Next time I will bring the real camera.

Cheers,
Derek

My time working with people at the NSA serves me well, this time I found the location of the picture using only the picture as a guide.
Google Maps Location of Above Picture
Local Live of Same Location
It looks pretty good, I just hope there is not water in the fountain, as the parks department shows it a a good place to swim.

10 May is good, down in PA 17-18 May.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I took a break today to give the knee a rest, it was kind of stiff in the morning but otherwise feels okay. As for the rest of my body, I am pretty sore with regard to groups of muscles which I did not know existed. I though I was fit, I can bike 20-30 miles without a problem, but bocking is totally different. I did however, manage to get out to the local skate shop and bought these diesel knee pads, they are large enough to fit over the braces and all, so hopefully they will absorb any future gravity induced penalties. I am also looking into getting a different helmet, the one I have been using is about a year old so it could do with replacement. Other than that I am probably going to do some more practice tomorrow, most of my friends want to see me on them and I am probably going to drop by my bosses office for the comedic aspect of it.

Bill, to answer you question, I got a set of McDavid 422R's it was their least expensive model with a hinge. I have to say that I probably don't need the hinge insert, the compression support is good enough to assure me psychologically, but the hinge really helps stop the hyperextension which I am fairly prone to.

As for meet-ups thanks for the invite, it would be great to see any of you in the area. This upcoming weekend (May 10-11) would be great, I am free both days. The weekend after that is not so good. I am going to Pennsylvania for my brother's graduation and to explain to my parents just what these "spring loaded stilts" are. Please keep me posted.

Good night for now,
Derek

Hi everyone, my name is Derek, you can call me that or you can use my username, SignalPAD, it doesn't matter to me. I go to Northeastern University in Boston, where I have been since 2005. Because my degree program has a half and half mix of work and classes (six months work followed by six months of classes) I have six months out of the year where I have no homework, almost completely free weekends, and an income.
 
I decided last year that I would find something different to do rather than just sitting around the apartment and being lazy. So I kind of started this personal tradition that once a year I would try an activity that would seem to most people either foolish or age in-appropriate. Last year I got inline skates and had a blast. The winter up here in Boston is brutal so that put temporary stop to that activity, but I can't wait to get started again now that there is no snow on the ground. That brings me to this year. I was browsing YouTube and found a picture of someone wearing these odd-looking stilts. At the time I didn't know what they were, and the appearance in the video was only one frame among many other unrelated pictures. However, I remembered a documentary on artificial limbs for amputee athletes and how a spring attached to the remainder of the leg allowed them to run again, so fast in-fact that they are banned in many competitions (talk about irony).

I have always wanted something like that, and being an engineer I could see that these odd-looking stilts probably could be used for a similar purpose albeit without the need for amputation. So, I googled "Spring Stilts" and with some searching, found a Wikipedia article, and from that learned some terminology, and finally I found myself here. I did a thorough search through the information contained on this website regarding what and where to buy and I decided to get a set of Powerisers from getjumpingstilts.com.

I had them delivered to my office at work (packages tend to get stolen in my neighborhood), and managed to keep them hidden from my boss for about two days, but I share the lab that I was storing them in with some other people who require my bosses attention. So on Thursday I was sitting at the computer and my boss came in and said (jokingly), "...you cannot wear those, they look like a deathtrap." Needless to say I did in fact put them on and I have been trying them out for the last few days.

On Thursday I was able to get on them, and within about 10 to 15 minutes I could stagger around with only a little assistance from the walls. After doing some adjustments and a few more hours of practice, I could walk confidently at a good pace. On Friday, I decided that I would take them for a walk outside around campus. Being the day of commencement, and the last day to move out there were tons of people around (oh the stares). I was kind of nervous about crashing in public but I soon found some friends and walking around and having someone to talk to kind of gets your mind off of all the people watching. By the end of Friday I was very confident walking, and one of my professors (he's German and knows the Zurich commercial) was telling me to go for a run in them.

Finally today, I got some knee braces (a thanks to Bill) and that upped my confidence in my somewhat weak knees. I went to the student center, which was closed to most people, but because I happen to know a way in I could use a high carpeted area for some real practice. I started with some more aggressive jumps, and also tried running. After running though I had an impromptu lesson in getting up as I totally went down (first fall!) at what is my present top speed. I failed at getting up the first time, but got it on the second time (still need more practice). Unfortunately, I dropped my keys in the process of getting up and had another fall when trying to do the pickup trick that I saw on a video on this site. After that I called it quits only to realize, after taking off my powerisers, that I got terrible carpet burn and the inside of my pants are somewhat bloody.  I am now writing this post and giving the knee that I fell on a rest before I go home.

I hope to meet anyone in the Boston area and I give my thanks to all of the people on this forum for introducing me to bocking.

Cheers,
Derek