Sorry about making another thread guys, but this has been bugging me recently. I don’t know how to do a foot plant, but I want to learn really bad. I just can’t take my foot off of my unicycle when I go to do it! I roll, hop, but I can’t get the seat out from under me, or take my foot off of the pedal. What am I doing wrong? Do I need to lower my seat? Or do something else?
I had the same problem as you (and still have it sometimes). I don’t think it really has to do with seat height or something similar, for me it was a mental block. As you said it yourself, I just couldn’t take my feet off of my unicycle while in the air. To train myself to do it right and to get used to the feeling, I started by taking my feet off at the same time as I was jumping with the unicycle, so the unicycle would leave the ground approximately at the same time as my feet would leave the pedals. It made it a lot less scary for me.
You mentionned getting the seat out from under you. At first, it can be useful to feel more confident, but I would advice you to try to avoid it, as it doesn’t look as good (atleast, that’s what I find, but that’s a personal preference). Instead, you should try to keep the unicycle as much as possible under you, not out in front or on the side.
After that, I worked my way to “correct” footplants, where you ride, hop, take your feet off, plant on the ground/ledge and land back on the unicycle. It is a harder method than the one previously mentionned, many people (including myself very often) stick to the first one, but it makes it possible to perform much longer gaps with your footplants (think of Kevin McMullin’s and Luke Collalto’s footplants, they do them perfectly !).
Hope I could help…
Hugo
Start with some smaller tricks. Try jumping off the unicycle as a dismount. Or try airels by holding on to something solid.