I am just learning to hop and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestion on how to tell which way I should hop (Right foot forward or left foot forward)? 
Every time I post the post seems to go under my brothers screen name (uni412) even though I am logged in as uni78. Why does this keep happening?
try them both out and you could end up good at both which has many advantages. otherwise you will naturally develope a preference.
john
yeah, I think whichever way you learn to do it first you’ll feel more comfortable with, so maybe learning both would be good. I mount one way, and the other way seems scary cause I just never did it, so I think it would be an advantage to work both feet the same maybe.
Andrew
do whatever is more comfortable for you. im left footed and i mount with my left foot, and i hop with left foot forward. on the other hand my friend bryan mounts with left foot and hops with right foot forward. maybe we are weird or something. just try both out and figure out which works for you. i think you should do the oposite foot than you mount easier with though its hard to explain.
It’s different for everyone. Try this, I have a new theory:
Stand with your feet right next to each other, touching each other. Now, fall forwards. If you’re smart, one foot will step forward to break your fall. This foot should be the foot that’s in back when you’re hopping.
It would be good to have both feet equally skilled at hopping front or back, but people seem to develop a dominant foot which they use most in one position. Check out this poll I made, in which people discuss their hopping preferences. I think the dominant foot will often be the same with sidehopping and front hopping, but I could be wrong. Have fun finding out what suits you best, hopefully you will be ambidextrous!
is there anything wrong with using my right hand on the front of the seat and my left hand on the back? (I hop left with right foot forward.) I think its just a habit i picked up from riding a unicycle without a handle on the seat, but does it really matter?
-Grant
Using your hand on the front AND back is bad. You don’t need to hold the back and it only limits your ability to hop. I would practice until you can jump with just one hand in front.
I think you should definately hop with whatever foot you mount with back. This has great advantages, because when you learn to mount with the cranks horizontal you can mount and start hopping straight from the mount, this means you can mount and start hopping on small object. If you develope a preference for the otherway, my suggestion is you should learn to mount with your other foot well as if you plan on taking trials pretty seriously this can be very helpful. So many times have I wanted to mount on small things but couldn’t because of which foot I mount with and which one I hop with forward and backward. But I’m getting alot better at mounting with both feet. Success rate isn’t really important, it’s the confidence and just how well I can do it.
thats just what i was thinking at the end of my post but i didnt want to type it cause it was too long