Thanks,
Beirne
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Method #1
>From the Unicycling FAQ:
This comes from a posting by Robert
Bernstein(rbernstein@igc.apc.org):
I am a big proponent of the getting friends to help school. I do
not like falling down!
I learned by the MIT Unicycle Club method:
1. Get two friends to stand on either side of you and get up on
the unicycle with your arms around their shoulders.
2. Sit up straight; look straight ahead; weight on seat, not on
pedals. Rock the pedals to get a sense of balance. Get the
pedals level; this is when you are in control.
3. Pedal half turns then stop. Then full turns, two turns, etc.
Doing multiples of half turns (from pedals level to pedals
level again) is harder than continuously pedaling, but keeps
you in control.
4. Switch to holding on to your friends' wrists.
5. Switch to holding on to one friend's wrist.
6. Go off and use a wall instead of your one friend. (If you
can't find a wall and a flat surface to ride on then continue
with one friend, but let go as much as you can. Ed.)
Steps 1-5 should not take more than an hour (perhaps in 10 minute
sessions). The thing I liked about learning this way is that I
never hurt myself in the process. I have used this technique to
teach a couple of dozen people.
For some people, the get on, fall off do-it-yourself cycle works
best. It's a matter of personality!
Method #2:
>From the Juggling Information Service:
Glen Raphael says:
I advise people *not* to start on a wall. Leaning on a wall throws off
your balance. The best way to start to unicycle is to get two chairs
and place them back to back a couple feet apart. Put the unicycle
between the chairs as shown:
| === |
| Y |
| | |
+----+ U +----+
| | U | |
| | - U- | |
| | U | |
| | U | |
The chair backs should be at about waist level when you are on the
unicycle.
In that position, you can brace yourself against the chair arms for
support as you sit upon the unicycle. Practice stepping forwards or
backwards off the unicycle just letting it clatter to the ground a few
times (tape the seat first so you don't scratch it up) and you'll know
how to stop without killing yourself. Then, practice just pedalling
forwards and backwards in place a half rotation or whatever you can do
while still holding on to those chair backs. Do this until you feel
sort of comfortable on the thing, until you don't feel like you are
about to fall forwards or backwards as you do this. (Falling sideways
will take care of itself. Don't worry about it.)
When you get up enough courage, just pedal forward just like you did
in the forward-and-backward-in-place exercise, but let go of the chair
arms and keep pedalling. Flail your arms around wildly (I mean this).
When you start to fall over, step forward or backward off the unicycle
letting it clatter to the ground. Return to start. Measure your
progress in how many feet you travel before falling/stopping. When you
can do thirty feet, you can go indefinitely.
REMEMBER TO FLAIL YOUR ARMS AROUND. That's the most important part.
If you keep your arms at your sides you will never learn to unicycle.
As soon as you let go of the chair, put your arms straight out from
your body and do what comes naturally. You will find with time that
you can use your arms to steady your balance, throwing them one way to
get your body to lean the other way. But until then, just flail.
Scream if you have to to get in the mood, but flail. That's an order.