Great to hear you're taking on level 5 now!
First I'll say something about the current differences between USA and
IUF Achievement Skill Levels. Then let's dive into learning to wheel
walk!
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First, why is "Wheel Walking" in level 5 now? It used to be in level
6. At its last business meeting, the Unicycling Society of America,
Inc. voted to move "Hopping on the Wheel" from level 5 up to level 6
and move "Wheel Walking" from level 6 down to level 5. This change
affects only the USA Achievement Skill Levels. The IUF Achievement
Skill Levels have not changed, so "Hopping on the Wheel" is still in
level 5 and "Wheel Walking" is still in level 6. So now we have two
conflicting Achievement Skill Levels, USA and IUF.
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Learning to "Walk the Wheel", the next to a wall method:
Getting into position to "Walk the Wheel" next to the wall:
1) Mount the unicycle parallel to the wall with one arm stretched,
touching the wall.
2) Ride along the wall until the pedal next to the wall is straight
up.
3) Lean toward the wall, placing more pressure on the wall with the
outstretched arm. [This stabilizes the one's position to make
the next step easier.]
4) Move the foot on the top pedal to the top of the wheel with the
back of the foot actually on the frame as well. [The foot being
on both the wheel and the frame at the same time, tends to keep
the wheel from moving in the next step.]
5) Carefully, move the foot on the bottom pedal to the top of the
wheel. This foot can also be placed partially on the frame, if
that is more comfortable. This is the foot that will become the
pushing foot first, in the actual wheel walking steps (6-7) below.
"Walking the Wheel", next to a wall:
6) With the "pushing" foot, push the wheel forward, moving along the
wall, touching the wall with the outstretched hand frequently to
maintain sideways balance. (If this is the very first stroke, the
other foot remains on the frame, letting the wheel slide past it.)
Otherwise, the other leg is stretched forward, and its foot must
be lifted up and moved back toward the frame.
7) As the foot pushes forward about 12 in., the leg straightens and
the front of the foot must rise up off the wheel, but the heel
remains in firm contact with the wheel to the end of the forward
stroke. Continue touching the wall with the outstretched arm to
maintain sideways balance. The the front of the other foot just
begins to make contact with the wheel right next to the frame and
becomes the pushing foot in the next step. Go to step 6.
Suggestions or hints:
Walk the wheel along the wall with an outstretched arm as far as
possible. Turn around and walk the wheel along the wall in the other
direction.
Using the wall for "support", allows one to learn forward - backwards
balance without worrying about sideways balance. A possibly better
"support" than a wall, is a friend or two holding one's hand on one
side or both.
A pushing stroke should be 12-15 in. on a 20" wheel. There should be
several inches between the feet whenever they are on the wheel, since
both feet are on the wheel at the same time only when one foot is
starting its stroke and the other is ending its stroke. To achieve a
long stroke, start the stroke with the toes as close the frame as
possible; as the toes push, the rest of the foot can actually slide
across the frame until the heel slides off the frame onto the wheel.
Doing this actually allows to add 6" to the stroke vs. placing the
foot flat on the wheel just in front of the wheel.
Once comfortable wheel walking along the wall, try veering away from
the wall, and next try wheel walking 45 degree away from the wall
immediately.
Once comfortable wheel walking in the open, one will want to learn the
transitions from riding to wheel walking and back again.
Hope this helps!
Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>