well im starting to learn to wheel walk and ive looked around and i know basically what to do but i was just wondering if anyone had any advise or stories or whatever...
Keep your body straight and look forward; where you are going. As hard as it is not to look down at the wheel looking at "your objective" makes it so much easier-This made the difference for me, I almost had it but just couldnt seem to get it, and the first time I tried this(after someone told me) I made it 2 times as far! 1) Keep your body straight 2) Look forward
wheel walk up a slight uphill. this will help you with the positioning of your weight, and a more comfortable 'walking grip' on the tire.
then basically try to kick the wheel as many times before you fall over at first until you start getting many kicks in, then you can learn to slow those kicks down and become more in control of them
The foot control is all about toe-heel, toe-heel, toe-heel. Don't try to wheel walk flat footed and using only the middle of your foot.
Everyone is going to say to lean back like it's some magic fix. That advice is overrated and I think bad advice. You do not actually lean back while wheel walking. It's just a very slight weight shift to counter the weight of your legs out front. The weight shift can be accomplished by pushing your butt out like you're trying to make your butt look as big as possible.
For me the most challenging part of wheel walking was learning the foot control and getting to the point that the foot control became second nature (so I didn't have to constantly think about it).
Everyone is going to say to lean back like it's some magic fix. That advice is overrated and I think bad advice.
there you go...the issue with asking a global community how do to something. i didn't figure wheelwalking out till i realized i had to lean back farther than i had been, and i got it as soon as i figured that out. overtime i leaned less and less back
I would add to what John was saying by saying that you need to be precise with the way your feet contact the tyre. Your foot needs to be in line with the tyre, never let your heal slip across the tyre so your toes are pointing out.
If you wheel walk well and place your feet properly you can easily get 5" between the back of one foot and the front of the next on a 20" tyre.
Hope this helps.
Roger
-- rogeratunicycledotcom
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there you go...the issue with asking a global community how do to something. i didn't figure wheelwalking out till i realized i had to lean back farther than i had been, and i got it as soon as i figured that out. overtime i leaned less and less back
Clickthrough on the link I gave and I explain my position further.
The problem with the leaning back advice is that it doesn't explain what you're leaning back. Are you leaning the unicycle back. Are you leaning your upper body back. In reality it is just a subtle weight shift to push the unicycle back a bit to counter the weight of your legs being in front of the axle. That can be accomplished by pushing your butt out by rolling the hips. I hear the leaning back advice all the time. Then I watch kids try to make use of that advice and actually lean back. It doesn't work.
When I was learning to wheel walk I got some tips from Connie Cotter. She doesn't tell you to lean back. Just push your butt out and sit up straight.
