I’m back to work on the skill files. I didn’t write this one, since I can’t
pirouette, but Paul Makepeace posted most of the information here, and John Foss
added some items, so I was able to make this file. This and all other skill
files are available on the Web Page through the FAQ.
Beirne
PIROUETTE
1. Practise doing tight circles, developing a smooth style, not the typical
disjointed version when corners are first learnt (you know, when one foot
alternately lunges forward at each stage of the corner).
2. Concentrate on keeping the feet moving round continuously. Start with
wide circles and get smaller. A side effect of this is that cornering
becomes fluid and looks/feels much better.
3. At some stage it'll get so tight and you can just lock the pedals and the
unicycle spins on a point.
Notes and Hints:
!Practise both directions! !!Very important!!
This skill takes a while but is so exciting the first time! Practise on a
wooden gym floor or similar. If you practice outside you will eat up tires
like never before. If this becomes a problem, look for a harder rubber tire.
Generally these are the ones that mark up floors, so don’t use one if you
ride in & out.
Once you feel confident try starting the spin with your arms out and tucking
them in sharply just as you hit the pirouette. You’ll get about 4 revolutions
in under a second (and a big round of applause from passers-by). Be careful
when going this fast, though. If you actually do 4 revolutions in under a
second, the subsequent fall will probably be HARD! Rather than spin super
fast, of course, it looks better to be able to ride out of it.
You could also work up to the ballerina style where you try to look in one
direction for as long as possible and then whip your head around. This is
pretty difficult, though.
Further variations include riding out backwards; do this smoothly, and
increase the size of the circle while going backwards and it looks awesome.
_________________________________________________________________
Written by Paul Makepeace <paul@make-it.demon.co.uk>
and John Foss <unifoss@ix.netcom.com>
Maintained by Beirne Konarski <bkonarsk@mcs.kent.edu>