I didn’t use a wall or fence at all after the first time I tried. It just gave me the impression of incredible instability.
That night I found a site that eschewed “clinging”, instead suggesting launching from a backstop and recommended using an aerobics step. The very next morning I was at a garage sale and there was a very solid aerobics step for $5.
When I taught my son he held onto a short piece of fence pedaling back and forwards for a couple of metres to get a feel for the machine for several minutes.
Then I got him onto taking off from the backstop after explaining and demonstrating the fundamentals. He almost immediately started on a progression of riding more and more cranks each time he tried. That very afternoon he rode the ten metres to the other side of the front yard.
Something not explained on any of the tutorials I found online is that the unicycle should be inclined backwards during riding. Indeed there are confusing explanations which claim the back should be considered as an extension of the frame and the whole system leaned forward.
This advice comes from not distinguishing between starting and riding.
During the start both the uni and the body should be inclined forwards but during riding the uni becomes unstable unless it is leaning back slightly. The body leans forwards bringing the centre of gravity over the contact point of the wheel.
This is how I explain it in this thread. It is the fundamental key to learning to unicycle via launch.
Standing still is an advanced riding skill just as it is on a bicycle. We learn to ride at speed first. Stationery is unstable so the goal for the learner is to get the rider and the cycle moving ASAP. Learners simply don’t have the skills to take off slowly.
Getting the entire system moving fast enough by simply pushing is impossible. The inertia of the rider is too great. You need to use gravity. Essentially takeoff is a matter of leaning forward more than you think to get your body moving quickly by falling then “flicking” the cycle under you with that first push on the pedal much like we flick the leg though when we run to prevent the completion of the “continuous fall”.
At takeoff the pedal rapidly accelerates the cycle from the forward lean to the raked position where the steering then becomes stable. The whole cycle rotates rather than moves forward so the seat and hence the rider don’t have to accelerate forwards so quickly but the wheel is suddenly moving very fast.
At this point the system has enough momentum and the intersection of forces create a rapid acceleration. As any new rider can attest, getting moving fast enough to get over the first top dead centre of the cranks needs some serious momentum.
I also advise learners to think of it like walking. Pedal and steer to put the wheel where you would put your advancing foot if you were walking.