You probably saw a picture of Peter Rosendahl, the first-ever world champion. And I agree. The majority of circued I have seen did not contain unicycling. We’re going to see Coreto, the new Cirque du Soleil show on Dec. 17, FRONT ROW! Wouldn’t it be great if there were some unicycles in there?
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I have never heard anyone say that unicycles have never been a part of a circus.
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The pathetic video proves absaloutly nothing.
3.Clown music is insulting to any unicyclist who knows what it takes to get good at their sport.
what he said. the movies fine but unicycling is not always clownish theres extreme unicycling ya think thats clownish? 
buy hey nice vid i guess.
That’s not true, it’s only insulting if you’re really thin skinned and narrow minded.
I think I’ve got quite a good idea of how hard it is to get good at unicycling, but I don’t see how that is relevant, as I’d say from my limited performance experience it’s almost certainly less hard than getting good at being a clown. So actually when someone is singing the clown song at you they’re overestimating you and suggesting you’re good enough to be a pro.
Anyone asks me if I’m a clown, I’ll say yes and sometimes sing the circus song at them. When you make people think they’ve seen a clown just riding down the street, you’re adding some magic into their lives!
Actually, any time I see another unicycle, I’ll shout “you’ve lost a wheel” at them too. Maybe it’s just me then.
Face it, whatever impressive thing you’re doing on a unicycle, you’re still doing it on a circus bike. When I rode 100 miles, it was partly motivated by the absurdity of riding 100 miles on a circus bike. If you can’t understand the magic of that, you might as well be riding a normal bike or a skateboard.
Joe
Trials and street are genres of unicycling that fit perfectly into the circus genre. Circus performance is all about daredevil stunts, leaps into the unknown etc. All those videos people post showing their latest scary jumps or tricks down stairs are only stylistically removed from a circus performance, the same themes of playing with danger and highly evolved skill are present in both.
If you’d said distance riding, maybe you’d have a bit of a point, cos it’s not such a spectacle in the same way that ‘extreme unicycling’ with all it’s videos and self promotion is.
Joe
Does anyone wonder if this disagreement is split down age lines?
To the people who say those of us who don’t like being associated with circus should just chill out and accept it; I’d reply ‘take your own advice’- you chill out accept that many unicyclists are going to oppose that ‘circus’ connection.
If a unicyclist wishes to oppose and try to put straight this opinion that they see as erroneous, then fair enough. The fact is that they’re not just mindlessly complaining about it, they’re actually putting forth good, reasoned arguments as to why they find it insulting or incorrect.
As lleberg said- why is it OK for a member of the public to shout, in public, comments about missing wheels/circus’s etc; when, if I insisted on shouting out to every passing obese person ‘Fatty!’, or loudly commenting on someones choice of trousers/shoes/hairstyle- then I’d rightly be considered an offensive idiot.
At the turn of the last century, trick bicycling was a major circus act. I’d be willing to bet that, historically, there have been more far bicycles than unicycles in circus’s- does that mean people should start singing the clown song at every passing bicyclist.
I’ve also ridden many 1000’s of miles on my muni- I’ve never ridden a ‘circus bike’.
That’s part of circus.
However, daredevil stunts/leaps into the unknown are also part of many of activities (moto-cross, free-running, skate-boarding, free-diving, rock climbing, etc,etc,etc…) most of which are not associated with circus.
And setting up and doing some ‘daredevil stunts/leaps into the unknown’, will not in itself constitute a circus- for that, you need a primary focus on attracting an audience, and then entertaining that audience (and a circus tent).
And this, I believe, is a major reason why many unicyclists do not like being thought of as connected with the circus- because their riding is nothing to do with entertaining anyone.
On the day I dress as a clown and ride round in a circus tent with the intention of entertaining an audience, i will be totally happy to be called a ‘circus man’ or a clown; till then, I’ve got nothing to do with circuses/clowns whatsoever.
As far as I’m concerned, if some unicyclists do wish to be seen as entertainers, or as being ‘circus’- that’s fine by me- but please, just accept that most of us are doing an activity/sport that is no more ‘circus’ than free-running/skating/cycling etc; and,if we are randomly labelled as ‘circus’, we’re obviously going to want to point out the mistake.
(no disrespect Joe, I quoted you cos you’re posts were more recent, but I’m responding to the whole ‘it’s OK to call unicyclists clowns and they should just live with it’ attitude).
Like adding fuel to the fire, just call a unicycle a “bike”… 
I imagine you are right. And there are still some awesome bicycle acts in circuses. If you’re ever in Orlando don’t miss Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba show. Great BMX Freestyling in there.
But even if the quantity of bike vs. unicycle acts were about equal, the bikes would still win more amazement out of audiences. The audience can actually ride bicycles. They appreciate the difficulty of the tricks being done. The vast majority of the audience does not know how to ride unicycles. They have no idea what’s easy vs. what’s hard, and many tricks may go completely unnoticed because the audience is still marveling at the basic balance part.
So what was this argument about again? Whether or not unicycles “are circus”? Duh. Sure they are. This doesn’t mean you are. The public perception of unicycling and unicyclists is changing. If you want to help this change, be part of the solution. Let people see you riding recreationally, doing unicycling as a sport or fun activity. And be positive and friendly about it.
My “standard” response to “Are you in the circus?” is “Are you?” What does a clown out of makeup look like? Anyone. 
This is certainly the conclusion we came to in a similar thread a couple of months ago. Having said that, I have no wish to entertain anyone when I am juggling (or whatever) either. The only thing I expect to entertain people with is my jokes, so I guess that’s tough luck for me.
Cathy
I suspect you have just made significant nail/hammer contact there.
The young are generally more intolerant of everything, especially in these modern times. It is yet another symptom of how our society is going downhill. How long will it be before some unicyclist decides to seriously batter some old granny who used the missing wheel joke? We do not want to reach a stage where the one-wheel gag and the circus music become “politically incorrect”. We need to keep our cool, and accept that most of these people mean no real harm. There are important issues to save your ire for. Why feel insulted by being associated with circus? Most circus artists are well regarded as highly skilled artists. ( Although I personally think they are often less talented as jugglers and unicyclists than many amateurs I know). I am more worried that some of us risk being associated with some of the less well respected members of the skateboarding community.
We ARE doing something different, something the public at large DO associate with circus, and we ARE going to have to accept that. What good is it doing you to get annoyed? None at all. What good are repeated threads moaning about it? None at all, outsiders do not read these. Letter to the Times? Only if you want to be subject to the same ridicule that some of our sillier PC campaigners get at times.
Only when/if unicycling becomes mainstream will the jokes stop. If you don’t like it, stop riding in the kitchen. Get used to it, it is part of the scenery.
Nao.
Mt posting of the video was not intended to prove anything, its only intention was to entertain, I hope, a few people. My thread title was intended to be humourous, sorry if you missed that.
The video is a short, low quality extract from a short film that was popular in the Far East this year. I would certainly like to see it in a 3D theatre with high resolution: A quote from the yaox web site:
"Have you ever seen dinosaurs jumping through fire circles, doing the equilibrist job, performing trapeze shows or rolling big balls? Of course not! You can not see such scenes even in Jurassic Park directed by Stephen Spielberg. In this unique 3D film, Dino Circus, you will see tyrannosaurus, velociraptors, brachiosaurus, triceratops, stegosaurs and pterodactyls trained by the animal tamer inside the big circus tent. Followed the tamer’s command, they perform different kinds of feats such as jumping through fire circles, being equilibrists, rolling big balls, riding bikes and spraying fire.
This 3D film is made for the Chinese Dino Expo held by Taipei KidsNo1 Museum and China Times. It starts on January 26 in the 3D film theater located on the 2nd floor of E-World, Taipei KidsNo1 Museum. In May, this film transferred to play in Taichung Harbour Art Center with the Expo after played for three months in Taipei.
This film plays with two-channel synchronizing 3D projection system, polarizers, 2 pieces of DVD, and 5.1 surrounding sound effect. The film is 5-minute long. From 2005, cylindrical screen version (screen ratio 4:1) is available"
Looks like Mr Foss was right, they are riding Penny Farthings…not unicycles.
Naomi,
I feel that you are misunderstanding the intentions of some of us who do try to disassociate from circus/clowns.
Speaking for myself- it’s not primarily based on being annoyed, it’s more to do with the fact that it’s erroneous:- unicycling for transport, distance, off-roading etc is not a circus activity. Go back twenty years and look at circus/entertainment fueled unicycle sales, then compare them to the present day, where most unicycles sold are muni/trials/distance unis, and several major online unicycle stores are sustained by the demand for these those types of uni which have nothing to do with the circus or clowns.
To me, the high skill level of circus artists is not more relevant to me unicycling down the road, than the high skill level of airline pilots The point is that if someone compares me to an airline pilot- they’re wrong; the fact that airline pilots are highly skilled is irrelevant.
Like I said before, apply your standarss to yourself- what’s the point of you getting annoyed by the fact that many (most?) modern day unicyclists wish to change the publics erroneous views on unicycling? What’s the point of you repeated threads moaning about it, etc, etc?
Face up to, and accept, the fact that many (most?) modern day unicyclists don’t want to be erroneously associated with clowns/circus when they’re out muni-ing, distance riding, or simply going from A to B.
It’s interesting what you say about coming across like aggressive skaters, nevertheless, many of us are combatting the misconception in a totally non-aggressive and reasonable fashion- we’re not out-of-control angry/annoyed- we’re simply keen on educating the public into the reality of what we do.
You’re right that most shouters of innane ‘missing wheel’ jokes are meaning it without malice. Give me (and others) the credit in being able to judge the intent of people who shout such comments. Often they are harmless, and often I’ll engage with them, maybe have a chat and educate them as to what unicycling is about. Other times I just shout something back in a similar spirit- I find that a sarcastic retort concerning the ‘originality’ of their joke often works well, and also helps to get out to the general public that we’ve heard such stuff many, many more times than they probably think.
At the end of thet day, we’re a community, based on unicycling. As a member of that community, I think that, if a significant proportion of its members find circus/clown associations to be negative/erroneous/annoying/distressing, then, rather than saying ‘tough, get used to it, you can’t change it, and anyway you’re wrong/over-sensitive etc’, IMO, we should instead take it on board and try to see the perspective behind it.
The publics perspective can be changed, and has changed. Off-Road unicycling, for example, has been appearing in mainstream media articles, and has progressed from being seen as a joke, to recognition that it is as skilled as off-road-bicycling. Certainly, where I ride, comments are minimal, in part because I’ve ridden so much that I’m part of the scenery, in part because I’ve communicated with, and educated, the public.
I’ve never accepted that, as a unicyclist, I have to just put up with the erroneous circus/clown association. Surely that’s fair enough?- that’s me, and I’m totally entitled to that opinion. I’d appreciate it if I wasn’t, by members of this community, slotted (equally eroneously) into the category of ‘annoyed-guy-with-big-chip-on-shoulder’.
We don’t want to be seen as circus/clowns/entertainers, purely because we’re not those things. If some unicyclists do want to be seen that way, then that’s OK by be- some unicyclists are entertainers; it’s just that, these days, they are very much a minority.
Would you say the same thing to a gay person who is harassed about his/her sexual orientation? Would you say the same thing to a young Jew who is teased at school for wearing his yarmulka? I don’t see why anyone who engages in any sort of “alternative activity” should tolerate any sort of public harassment… but it seems like you support it.
So now I’m going to associate Naomi with Hitler and you ARE going to have to accept that.
I’m amazed that you make this statement… I thought you had kids of your own? I’ve found, when riding in public, that the younger generations are the ones that are more friendly and open-minded towards my choice of activity. I’ve been heckled plenty by adults but only encouraged and complimented by children.
And what is this about “society going downhill”? If you took a more positive view of your self and your neighbors perhaps you’d see less intolerance in the world. Society is built entirely of people like you and me. Do you really believe that we are taking society down, or are we building it up?
I also suspect that onewheeldave is no teenager.
Cathy
The central debate of unicycling.
Wow. I am trully impressed by the emotional involvement in this thread and the shear variety of oppinions and perspectives.
I suppose I should introduce myself and my perspective: I am a student in basic training at the quebec school of circus arts, and think that an opportunity to work for a professional circus (such as the cirque de soleil 
would be wonderful. That said, I also have a bsc with honours in physics (theoretical cosmology), love aviation, want to go live on the moon, have just taken two loaves of banana bread out of the oven, and am looking forward to our local unicycling gathering this sunday.
there are a number of things that I think deserve emphasizing, and also some things that some of you haven’t had a chance to experience. I agree with naomi that most people from their experience associate unicycling with the circus, and that unicyclists have to understand that, and accept it to a point. I also understand that there are many unicyclists resent the association, and want people to appreciate them for what they are. It’s a fairly simple equation… when somebody makes the one wheel joke, stop and explain to them the difference between you and the circus. it will get frustrating at times, repeating yourself over and over again, but such is the price of public visibility.
I find it interesting personally how different people react to the unicycling phenomenon. some people react like it is something wierd that dosen’t belong -that irks me. Others recognize it as something special that takes a measure of skill, and associate that skill with the circus. In this case, the circus association dosen’t necessarilly have anything to do with the person, just that the circus is the traditional public forum for the presentation of such skills, and that circus artists are usually required to posess such skills, and that the unicyclist, if they desire to joint the circus, simply has, to their benefit, one of the required skills (that not everybody has).
As for the historical use of unicycles in the circus, I can’t say I have seen that many either. However, one of my projects for the commin years is to figure out what such a performance would be like, what it would involve, and I have found it suprisingly dificult so far. discouvering what stunts can be accomplished with a unicycle is one thing that the unicycling community has proven exceptionally good at. figuring out how to turn those stunts into a circus routine with music is quite another. I have seen videos of freestyle unicycling competition routines that were very impressive. I often wonder why such routines aren’t in the circus as well. perhaps this thread reveals one reason why…
also, realize that a “circus routine” could be designed to be funny, or equally, beautiful and graceful, or equally, dramatic and impressive. I’m sorry folks, but the circus is -not- limited to daredevil stunts, nor is it limited to clowns messing around and making people laugh. I find it surprising how many preconceptions there are in the world, about just about everything I think that one of the defenitions of entertainment as ‘something that makes people laugh’, implied in this thread is a good example of one of those preconceptions.
One final thing that I think it is imparative be emphasized, is the image of the clown that some people have, because that is basically the reason for this whole debate. I have seen a few clowns in my life, and often they turn me off by trying to be funny pretending to not be able to do things that they very obviously are very good at. Also I have been told that a lot of people disrespect clowns because what they do seems easy and childish, people who
get a lot of recognition and public visibility for acting stupid, foolish, clumsy, incompetent, affraid, etc. immature childrens entertainment. No wonder unicyclists want to get away from that image.
However, there are two kinds of clowns -clowns that really are entertaining and extreamilly good at what they do, and are able to appeal to a wide audience, and those that just make you want to throw tomatoes at them and tell them to get off the stage. This year at circus school I had the opportunity to take a clowning workshop, which I jumped on enthusiastically eager to experience something new. I would have been the first to declare that I didn’t really know much about clowning, and now I know that I -really- didn’t know much about it. What I discovered was quite a shock. Clowning is HARD! -easilly the most difficult thing I have ever tried! (I am in the process of mastering wheel walking, for those who want a comparison), and handstands are proving fiendishly difficult -physics?, no problem Instead of trying to woo the audience through physical feets, clowns try to winn them over emotionally, which turns out to be at least a hundred times harder. Having tried it, I can now appreciate the effort involved and time spent training (as well as the technique employed -employed properly or not), whenever I see a clown appear on stage. It makes me shiver. I have great respect for the people who have the guts to go up on stage and do it. (no, I am not a clown, although I would like to become good at it, but that is a very long way off)
So you see, you folks are making a racket about being associated with clowns and are complaining about not being understood, and declaring your right to distance yourselves from the circus, but at the same time you are potentially showing a definite lack of understanding of, and respect for, clowns.
Personally, my love of each is exactly equal, and I will just as gladly go on a ride in the woods or wherever with a gang of unicyclists, as join in a party on stage with a group of wacko clowns. beyond that, I will be the first to disembark from my unicycle and offer to show a stranger how to ride, if and when greated with the one wheel joke. I think that is the main difference between unicycling and the circus. The circus is surounded with misticism and not a little bit of untouchability, where the sport of unicycling is open to all, and all are encouraged to try it. So encouraging others to try it, instead of getting angry at them when they notice us, is the best way I think, of promoting the sport.
As for unicycling officially belonging to the circus, it is not the first time I have heard that, and it will surelly not be the last. However, I agree that if we all work at it, we will succeed in splitting the public perception of unicycling into two categories, the circus and the sport, so that the one wheel clown joke will cease to be the first thing to come into peoples minds when they see us
Also, it has been pointed out to me that many people may be intimidated by the prospect of unicycling because they associate it with clowning, and it is the clowning aspect that intimidates them. Clowning is all about attracting attention, where unicycling is not; it’s about enjoying what you can do and it’s what you enjoy doing, and many would enjoy it whether there was anybody there to see them doing it, or not! Happy riding!
Mike
Ps. Thank you naomi, for having posted that video -many things in it gave me ideas
Wow jenmichael2000, what a thoughful and considered reply. Thank you.
Cathy
PS I think I agree with most of the stuff you said.
One thing that no one has yet mentioned is (IMHO) non unicyclists know that they are taking the mickey when they ask us about belonging to the circus. For example, no one has ever asked me this question seriously. Or no one above the age of 5 anyway. It’s more likely to be (Giggle, giggle) "My sister wants to know if you belong to the circus (side-splitting laughter and walking away without waiting for a reply). So it’s not a serious thing, further educating them wont help, they know we don’t belong to the circus. And somehow they know that we will find this annoying. I suspect that the more seriously sporty the unicyclist looks, the more likely they are to be asked if they belong to the circus. So in some ways the discussion above is giving it far too much seriousness. It doesn’t warrant serious debate, it is something they do because they think that taking the mickey makes them look cleverer than us, obviously they are wrong.
My motto in these things is from Social Learning Theory - Give attention to the behaviours you want to see more of because you will see more of the behaviours you pay attention to. Such comments, as with bad behaviour from small children, need to be politely ignored.
The interesting question that remains however, is how do they know that it will be annoying?
Cathy
I think they know it’s annoying because, despite the amount of skill we know it requires to be a clown, or to work in a circus: in the eyes of many of the general public, to call someone a clown, or imply that they should be in a circus- is to cast an insult.
If an employer calls in an employee to berate them, and calls them a ‘clown’, he/she is not offering them a compliment.
This is also why many unicyclists tend to take offence- they know full well that when a complete stranger is shouting questions like ‘where’s the circus’ etc; that they are not offering them a compliment.
Not in my case- on another thread on this issue I actually posted about the fact that many professional clowns find it similarly annoying when they- as true clowns who have devoted thousands of hours to learning their art, are placed in the same category as the people who, with no clown training, don a clown costume and appear at public festivals handing out balloons etc.
Again I will state, that my wish not to be associated with clowns or circuses in no way shows a disregard or dislike for clowns- it is purely because I am not a clown, nor do I work in a circus. I have total respect for good clowns, they do a highly skilled job which I could not do- but… I am not a clown.
If anything, I’m doing clowns a favour, because no good clown who has spent a lot of time perfecting their art, would want to be confused with someone who has done no more than ride a unicycle down the street.
There really is no issue here- if you’re a clown, you know it; if you work in a circus, you know it; these are not things you’re going to be confused about.
The vast majority of unicyclists here are not clowns and do not work in the circus; any member of the public who says so, is mistaken.
IMO, the problem here is not coming primarily from those unicyclists who don’t like being associated with activities which they are clearly not involved in; but from those who, for reasons I confess I cannot comprehend; persist in condemning them for wanting to put the record straight.
For that minority of unicyclists who do, for whatever reason, wish to perpetuate the erroneous clown/unicycle connection, fair enough; but just accept that most of us prefer to be seen as what we really are- unicyclists.
[QUOTE=onewheeldave]
Naomi,
I feel that you are misunderstanding the intentions of some of us who do try to disassociate from circus/clowns.
Like I said before, apply your standarss to yourself- what’s the point of you getting annoyed by the fact that many (most?) modern day unicyclists wish to change the publics erroneous views on unicycling? What’s the point of you repeated threads moaning about it, etc, etc?
Face up to, and accept, the fact that many (most?) modern day unicyclists don’t want to be erroneously associated with clowns/circus when they’re out muni-ing, distance riding, or simply going from A to B.
QUOTE]
Thankyou for that very considered reply: I do indeed know why you are doing it, although many others do not seem to have such considered views, and are more bandwagon types.
I do think that you have a steeply uphill journey to convince the public at large. You may convince people you see regularly on your rides. You may well convince the few that see and take interest in the odd TV program about unicyling that heads their way. Chances are many will still see such as a bit of a freak show, a program to entertain rather than to inform, no matter how good and appropriate the commentary. However you will agree that words in the forum here will convince no-one who needs convincing. It’s either shouting in a vacuum, or its painting a red wall red. 90% of the public are not going to change their opinion of unicyclists as long as unicycling remains a minority activity. You may convince the odd one you talk to in detail, the majority will not be changed.
By the way I am not annoyed at such posts, I just fail completely to see that they can achieve anything in this medium. If the posts are re-titled “How can we change public opinion?”, then they will be more worthwhile discussions, but probably will still not bear ripe fruit. You will appreciate that my preferred version of the question would be “Do we NEED to change public opinion?”
I may not really want to be associated with clowns, I may not like the tide on the beach. But unlike Canute, I know some things are probably unachievable, and I don’t waste time on them.
to summarise
- You have very little chance of changing public perception by posting here.
- I have a fair chance of convincing unicyclists that statement 1) is true.
I now intend to TRY not to become embroiled any deeper in this particular topic. I have had my say, and I know some may disagree. I don’t mind being called a clown, I do think it is for me a daft but enjoyable activity. If I get into serious muni or distance I shall still think it an absurd way to travel, and will still expect comments that reflect that. Such comments will bounce off my thick skull without disturbing a single hair.
To expand briefly on the more serious issue I mentioned. If we as unicyclists, (or some of us), are regularly seen with beartrap pedals jumping up onto park benches and tables etc, causing damage similar to that done by some skateboarders, then we will no longer be seen as clowns, but as vandals. This sort of activity, which is becoming more commonplace, is far more likely to rapidly change public perception than anything else. This is the worrying aspect to all this, and I would rather continue to be seen as a harmless clown than a serious unicycling vandal.
Nao 