I know a girl who did. Her older, haughtier, spoiled brother brought one home one day, fall off it maybe twice, and kicked it aside and said screw that. My friend told herself she would learn to ride the damned thing if it took ten years, just to show her brother up. It took two days. He was livid.
I also knew a girl once who ran away and joined the circus. She learned to be a competent bareback rider in a day, a trapeze artist in a week. She said they are amazingly easy to learn , jugglers drop things on purpose every once in a while, to make the audience think it is hard.
i actually own two of them and used to be able to ride it 35 years ago, but not particularly well. Not real psyched to try these days, and my nuts were always getting in the way upon mounting the thing.
When I was growing up my best friend had one. It was a little tricky at first but it didn’t take long to figure it out. So yeah, I’ve ridden one, but that was long ago! Over 35 years ago.
I’d almost forgotten that I’d done that, until you asked, Cunctator.
Made my living for a while doing a juggling / uni act. I used three custom-built unicycles, which I still have. Also competed a few times, once winning national freestyle for my age group and pairs with a partner.
I’ve tried one a few times, but never got the hang of it. It’s on the list of things to learn, but last I checked I’d need about 3 lifetimes to finish the list.
I juggle as a hobby, and know somewhere around 20 pro and semi-pro jugglers. That statement is utter rubbish I’m afraid. Yes, getting a simple 3 ball cascade is something a well coordinated person can learn in a day, but that’s pbasically saying “I learnt to ride a bike in a day- those Tour de France guys are just trying to make it look hard”. Serious performers practice several hours a day for years to get stuff like 7 ball tricks.
Give it a go if you don’t believe me! Hell, film it, I’d love to watch!
I’m pretty damn sceptical about trapeze in a week as well, as least to any kind of semi-competent level, but to be fair, any circus that would allow a kid with no circus skills whatsoever to “run away” and join them is unlikely to be a hotbed of talent.
Originally Posted by jtur88
jugglers drop things on purpose every once in a while, to make the audience think it is hard.
I think jtur88 meant that some jugglers add as part of their routine a bit of faux drama early in their act to make it appear they are really challenging themseleves when upping the ante. I’ve seen other performers do the same thing. A tightrope walker feigning almost losing their balance when walking solo but then their finale is blindfolded, backwards, carrying two dogs and a canary.
I just learned to ride a unicycle, this spring. It had been a “goal” for 24 years.
Anyone with two working legs can learn. Some people learn in just 3 hours, some in a year; most in 14-15 hours total. The key is practice, practice, practice. I practiced hard (30-120 minutes, every day) and had a strong will to learn, yet it still took me 6-7 weeks. I made a big mistake which they don’t emphasize enough on message boards and YouTube: the height of the saddle is crucial! If you’re sitting too low, you have less control, and you’ll blow out your knees from the constant bending. I raised the saddle three times over the course of 6 weeks and got remarkably better each time I did. (That should’ve been a clue what my trouble was.) So… practice lots, but get the most out of your practices. If my saddle was at the correct height from the start, I probably could’ve learned in a week or less.
Another trick to getting the most from your practice sessions: try to overcome your fear and stay on longer, past the time when you feel something’s “wrong” or “off.” Usually the fear-based impulse at that point is to intentionally and safely dismount, under your own control, before you accidentally FALL off… but you’ve probably dismounted prematurely, because you might’ve been able to correct yourself. In a nutshell, the whole process of learning to ride is encountering every possible “off” situation and learning to instinctually correct it, on the fly… but your Body Memory can’t learn how to correct problems if you dismount before the problems truly come. Stay on, at least a BIT longer than you feel comfortable. And yes, wave those arms around; that often helps you stumble upon a “correction,” one your body will instinctively remember to use again in the future.
Note to a poster above: the 5-foot tall and 6-foot tall unicycles are called “giraffes,” and I’m told anyone who can ride a normal unicycle can also ride a giraffe without any added difficulties.