20 hours

General
1

Just wanted to share this as I found it encouraging, funny,…and true:)

Hopefully, it will inspire some of the new riders… and some of the experienced riders that are learning new skills.

2

Nice video, learning to unicycle proves it.
Now time for me to pick up a ukulele;)

3

Thanks for sharing this. :slight_smile:

I’m trying to learn how to idle but have gotten stuck with figuring out how to self correct.

4

I found the video funny … not because of the content … but because it shows most of the usual tricks this kind of popular personnal enhancement “experts” use in their speech business :smiley:

5

Please share…

… maybe I’ve been hoodwinked :o :astonished:

6

4 Points for learning new skill from TED talk

  1. Deconstruct the skill: I have been surprised at how ‘little’ of this I have found on the forum and in online videos. There are a few good exceptions. At the risk of sounding old, I sense that young riders, in general, when posting video tutorials, do not demonstrate that they have “deconstructed the skill”. Their descriptions of technique do not deconstruct the technique, and they are rather tautological. It doesn’t help me to know that for one-footed riding, for example, I need to take one foot off the pedal.

  2. Learn to self-correct: One of the tutorials I watched as a beginner suggested a smart method of self correcting…don’t keep making the same mistake in the same direction. I think he said something like “Fail in a different direction.” This advice was helpful for me while learning to mount, and encouraged me to get my weight over and in front of the axle.

  3. Remove practice barriers: I am desperately trying to get a couple friends into unicycling. I am currently not hopeful about their progress. They are out of shape, and the minute they start sweating, they act like it’s time to throw in the towel. I think most practice barriers on the unicycle are psychological. Wearing proper pads removes the barrier of inhibition. One friend told me he was concerned about young women laughing at him. The other friend told me he wanted me to be there when he practiced, for moral support. Another practice barrier, I think, is the “bucket list” mentality. “I want to unicycle before I die.” If learning to ride forward comfortably is your goal, then kudos to you, but that only scratches the surface on what’s possible on the unicycle. After I learned to ride, one of my general goals was, when riding in public, to surprise people twice. The first surprise involves them not expecting to see a unicyclist. The second surprise is to perform some technique they were not expecting, like stalling, pulling the seat out in back, or hopping a curb. You don’t have to be a great unicyclists to give the public a second surprise. I want them to know that unicycling is cool, and that maybe they should try it.

  4. Practice at least 20 hours: When I picked up my first unicycle from the bike shop, the mechanic told me to go out and practice for six hours. He said that a few minutes here and there was not going to cut it. I never practiced six hours in one day, but I did consistently practice more than one hour per day. So, 20 hours in 5-10 minute increments…may not work on the unicycle, though it might work on the ukulele. As a beginner (when I was riding 20-100 feet), it took me at least 30 minutes of practice to reach the skill level I had achieved the day before.

7

Based on my Garmin data, it will take me another 45 years to reach the 10.000 hours that is required to be among the best unicyclists. This is good news, because it means that I will never get tired of unicycling. :slight_smile: