My juggling club is going to be doing a small show for the on-campus Asian
cultutal group. Naturally, I’ve been chosen to do a unicycling act, so,
can anyone contribute any facts about unicycling in Asia? I know I’ve
heard unicycling is taught as a form of phys-ed in grammar schools in
Japan. I’d love to hear the details of this. Any information would be
greatly appreciated.
thanks, Jeff Lutkus
Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com
Greetings
In message “unicycling in asian culture”, Jeff Lutkus wrote…
>My juggling club is going to be doing a small show for the on-campus
>Asian cultutal group. Naturally, I’ve been chosen to do a unicycling
>act, so, can anyone contribute any facts about unicycling in Asia? I
>know I’ve heard unicycling is taught as a form of phys-ed in grammar
>schools in Japan. I’d love to hear the details of this. Any information
>would be greatly appreciated.
I am the executive director of the JUA and, yes, do have a lot of
information. Unfortunately it is almost all in Japanese, and not even on
line. It’s a long story but the short version is that over 90% of
elementary schools have unicycling and there are probably about 1.5
million uicyclists around, but only a fraction of these are active in
competitions. The Japanese nationals have close to 1000 participants, and
there are regional meets and clubs throughout Japan.
I have written both in OOW and on-line arrticles on unicycling in Japan –
if someone can collect them perhaps we can put it on the website for
reference.
Stay on top, Jack Halpern Executive Director for International Development
International Unicycling Federation, Inc. Website: http://www.kanji.org
Jack,
thanks for the summary. Here’s a question for you. Would you have any
ideas how common it is to see unicycles (from the perspective of the
average citizen) in Japan, as compared to the United States? Here, my
riding down the street is a very unique event in the days of the people I
pass by. I would only assume in Japan such sightings remain rare, but,
perhaps because of the phys-ed curiculum, it the unicycle is a little less
strange, and unique?
jeff lutkus
> I am the executive director of the JUA and, yes, do have a lot of
> information. Unfortunately it is almost all in Japanese, and not even on
> line. It’s a long story but the short version is that over 90% of
> elementary schools have unicycling and there are probably about 1.5
> million uicyclists around, but only a fraction of these are active in
> competitions. The Japanese nationals have close to 1000 participants,
> and there are regional meets and clubs throughout Japan.
>
> I have written both in OOW and on-line arrticles on unicycling in Japan
> – if someone can collect them perhaps we can put it on the website for
> reference.
>
>
>
> Stay on top, Jack Halpern Executive Director for International
> Development International Unicycling Federation, Inc. Website:
> http://www.kanji.org
>
_________________________________________________________________________-
__
> rec.sport.unicycling mailing list -
> www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com
Jeff Lutkus wrote…
>Jack,
>
>thanks for the summary. Here’s a question for you. Would you have any
>ideas how common it is to see unicycles (from the perspective of the
>average citizen) in Japan, as compared to the United States? Here, my
>riding down the street is a very unique event in the days of the people
>I pass by. I would only assume in Japan such sightings remain rare, but,
Seeing unicyclists in Japan is not "rare"anymore, and you don’t hear so
much “oh, the guy from the circus!” comments. Having said that, riding on
the street is not too common. The most common places are school yards,
parks, gyms play grounds and the like.
>perhaps because of the phys-ed curiculum, it the unicycle is a little
>less strange, and unique?
>
>jeff lutkus
>
>> I am the executive director of the JUA and, yes, do have a lot of
>> information. Unfortunately it is almost all in Japanese, and not even
>> on line. It’s a long story but the short version is that over 90% of
>> elementary schools have unicycling and there are probably about 1.5
>> million uicyclists around, but only a fraction of these are active in
>> competitions. The Japanese nationals have close to 1000 participants,
>> and there are regional meets and clubs throughout Japan.
>>
>> I have written both in OOW and on-line arrticles on unicycling in
>> Japan – if someone can collect them perhaps we can put it on the
>> website for reference.
>>
>>
>>
>> Stay on top, Jack Halpern Executive Director for International
>> Development International Unicycling Federation, Inc. Website:
>> http://www.kanji.org
>>
>__________________________________________________________________-
>_________
>> rec.sport.unicycling mailing list -
>> www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
>
>
>Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com
>
>
>__________________________________________________________________-
>_________
>rec.sport.unicycling mailing list -
>www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
>
Stay on top, Jack Halpern Executive Director for International Development
International Unicycling Federation, Inc. Website: http://www.kanji.org
Unicycling in P.R. China is pretty uncommon, with the exception of the performing arts. Although there are many bicycles I didn’t see any unicyclists within the 2 years I spent in Beijing. My other Chinese friends have also never seen unicycling outside of the circus. I’ve also never seen a unicycle sold in a department or specialty store.
I found that in Japan it’s more shocking to see an adult riding around on the street on a unicycle, rather than seeing anyone ride around on a unicycle. Most of the kids can and do ride, but after elementary school they leave unicycling behind.
Don_TatATyahooDOTcoDOTuk, Toronto, Canada
Only one club in Korea Our club is made in july 2001 and has 35 members
from 8 to 40 in age now. we meet every sunday in Seoul city and practice
riding. most of our members are just started to learn unicycling but our
chief is riding for 6 years. http://cafe.daum.net/unycycle (sorry for
mis-spelled) is our home page but this is not in English. If you visit our
homepage, I think you can see only a few photos.
I heard two element schools teach unicycle but could not find on internet.
“Jeff Lutkus” <lutkus@unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:mailman.1007846228.23545.rsu@unicycling.org…
> My juggling club is going to be doing a small show for the on-campus
> Asian cultutal group. Naturally, I’ve been chosen to do a unicycling
> act, so, can anyone contribute any facts about unicycling in Asia? I
> know I’ve heard unicycling is taught as a form of phys-ed in grammar
> schools in Japan. I’d love to hear the details of this. Any information
> would be greatly appreciated.
>
> thanks, Jeff Lutkus
>
> Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com
Greetings
In message “Re: unicycling in asian culture”, don.tai wrote…
>Unicycling in P.R. China is pretty uncommon, with the exception of the
>performing arts. Although there are many bicycles I didn’t see any
>unicyclists within the 2 years I spent in Beijing. My other Chinese
>friends have also never seen unicycling outside of the circus. I’ve also
>never seen a unicycle sold in a department or specialty store.
I am sure you must be aware of Unicon X in Beijing last year. Actually,
unicycling as a sport is not that rare, but you just don’t see it on the
streets. Unicycling is a regualr activity in many junior high school, and
there is even a school right next to Tiananmen where everyone rides a
unicycle (see my old Unicon X website for pictures). There are also
regular national meets, and some regioanl meets, where hundreds or riders
participate.
Ni hui bu hui zongwen?
>I found that in Japan it’s more shocking to see an adult riding around
>on the street on a unicycle, rather than seeing anyone ride around on a
>unicycle. Most of the kids can and do ride, but after elementary school
>they leave unicycling behind.
>
>Don_TatATyahooDOTcoDOTuk, Toronto, Canada
>
>
>
>
>–
>don.tai Posted via the Unicyclist Community -
>http://unicyclist.com/forums
>__________________________________________________________________-
>_________
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>www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
>
Regards, Jack Halpern President, The CJK Dictionary Institute, Inc.
http://www.cjk.org Phone: +81-48-473-3508
> ideas how common it is to see unicycles (from the perspective of the
> average citizen) in Japan, as compared to the United States?
We went to Tokyo in 1987 for UNICON III. In the day or two before the
convention, I remember seeing several children riding down sidewalks on
unicycles. Being that this sample is based on a 1-2 day period, I would
have to guess that the incidence is much-much higher. Also there are way
more unicyclists in Japan, and they are mostly kids with more free time to
ride around than adults.
Granted, I saw these kids between the UNICON hotel and the UNICON stadium,
but I don’t think they were even involved in the convention; they were
just riding outside their apartment building…
Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com
“If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.” - Kevin
“Gilby” Gilbertson
> > ideas how common it is to see unicycles (from the perspective of the
> > average citizen) in Japan, as compared to the United States?
>
> We went to Tokyo in 1987 for UNICON III. In the day or two before the
> convention, I remember seeing several children riding down sidewalks on
> unicycles. Being that this sample is based on a 1-2 day period, I would
> have to guess that the incidence is much-much higher. Also there are way
> more unicyclists in Japan, and they are mostly kids with more free time
> to ride around than adults.
>
> Granted, I saw these kids between the UNICON hotel and the UNICON
> stadium, but I don’t think they were even involved in the convention;
> they were just riding outside their apartment building…
>
> Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com
> www.unicycling.com
About seeing other unicyclists, I am 73 years old and have yet to see a
live unicyclist. I may live in an isolated part of the country, I live in
Missouri in a small town, but I have lived in St. Louis, and later in the
county, then a little further out in another town that has grown quite a
bit now. I have seen them on TV occasionally and I have the tape “One
Wheel, No Limits”.
I still haven’t seen a real one other than the one I bought. Is the
midwest a dry spot? I tend to think that some other countries use them
more than here, especially Japan.
Lowell
The only unicyclists I’ve ever seen are ones I’ve intended to see. (ie: at
conventions, or in juggling groups). The first time I saw a person ride
one was when, after discovering that my friend owned one, I asked if he’d
teach me. (Incidently, he has, and still does keep his unicycle in a
closet, and hasn’t ridden it since he taught me.)
> About seeing other unicyclists, I am 73 years old and have yet to see a
> live unicyclist. I may live in an isolated part of the country, I live
> in Missouri in a small town, but I have lived in St. Louis, and later in
> the county, then a little further out in another town that has grown
> quite a bit now. I have seen them on TV occasionally and I have the tape
> “One Wheel, No Limits”.
>
> I still haven’t seen a real one other than the one I bought. Is the
> midwest a dry spot? I tend to think that some other countries use them
> more than here, especially Japan.
>
> Lowell
Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com
Never saw a unicyclist in the whole Province of Quebec riding in the
streets except that encouter I had last summer : I was standing at a bus
stop waiting for my bus to arrive when a wonderful girl disembarked
another bus. She was a goddess ! I don’t even know if she knew how to ride
as she went away with the uni by her side. I was stunned by her beauty and
by the fact that I’ve decided a couple of weeks ago that some day I would
ride a unicycle. It confirmed my desire to learn unicycling. Never saw her
again though but I can recall her face…
Cheers’
Christ.
Jeff Lutkus wrote:
> The only unicyclists I’ve ever seen are ones I’ve intended to see. (ie:
> at conventions, or in juggling groups). The first time I saw a person
> ride one was when, after discovering that my friend owned one, I asked
> if he’d teach me. (Incidently, he has, and still does keep his unicycle
> in a closet, and hasn’t ridden it since he taught me.)
>
> > About seeing other unicyclists, I am 73 years old and have yet to see
> > a live unicyclist. I may live in an isolated part of the country, I
> > live in Missouri in a small town, but I have lived in St. Louis, and
> > later in the county, then a little further out in another town that
> > has grown quite a bit now. I have seen them on TV occasionally and I
> > have the tape “One Wheel, No Limits”.
> >
> > I still haven’t seen a real one other than the one I bought. Is the
> > midwest a dry spot? I tend to think that some other countries use them
> > more than here, especially Japan.
> >
> > Lowell
>
> Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com
Never saw a unicyclist in the whole Province of Quebec riding in the
streets except that encouter I had last summer : I was standing at a bus
stop waiting for my bus to arrive when a wonderful girl disembarked
another bus. She was a goddess ! I don’t even know if she knew how to ride
as she went away with the uni by her side. I was stunned by her beauty and
by the fact that I’ve decided a couple of weeks ago that some day I would
ride a unicycle. It confirmed my desire to learn unicycling. Never saw her
again though but I can recall her face…
Cheers’
Christ.
Jeff Lutkus wrote:
> The only unicyclists I’ve ever seen are ones I’ve intended to see. (ie:
> at conventions, or in juggling groups). The first time I saw a person
> ride one was when, after discovering that my friend owned one, I asked
> if he’d teach me. (Incidently, he has, and still does keep his unicycle
> in a closet, and hasn’t ridden it since he taught me.)
>
> > About seeing other unicyclists, I am 73 years old and have yet to see
> > a live unicyclist. I may live in an isolated part of the country, I
> > live in Missouri in a small town, but I have lived in St. Louis, and
> > later in the county, then a little further out in another town that
> > has grown quite a bit now. I have seen them on TV occasionally and I
> > have the tape “One Wheel, No Limits”.
> >
> > I still haven’t seen a real one other than the one I bought. Is the
> > midwest a dry spot? I tend to think that some other countries use them
> > more than here, especially Japan.
> >
> > Lowell
>
> Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com
I’ve seen two other unicyclists since I started to ride. I think they saw
me riding (I didn’t see them first), and they rode over to meet me. I
probably would not have seen them if I had not been riding.
“Mark Newbold” <mark@dogfeathers.com> wrote in message
news:3C156165.252F61BA@dogfeathers.com…
> Decided to start a new thread rather than tacking this onto the "asian
> culture" thread…
>
> I think have never in my 52-year life (prior to this summer when I
> started) seen another person unicycling, other than performers. I lived
> 16 years in California, 10 in Arkansas, 16 in Vermont, and 10 in
> miscellaneous other places in the USA.
>
> I certainly attract some attention when I unicycle around town –
> mothers pointing me out to their kids – e.g. "Do you know what THAT is?
> It’s a UNI CYCLE…".
>
> I can’t help thinking that unicycling is on the verge of taking off and
> becoming a popular sport.
>
> --Mark
Julian <newton_circus@hotmail.com> wrote:
> them’s a brit chap and professional performer (Ben Matthews). i know
> there must be other people out there who at least own unicycles, since
> i’ve seen Taiwanese unis sold in bike shops (and according to a guy in
> one of the shops, he’s been selling them for 10 years). but where are
> all these unicycles hiding? i know quite a few juggler friends who
At least one of them is currently at University in Reading in the UK. I’ll
forward your post to Samia in case she wishes to get in touch.
Unicycle meets Jan 12th, Feb 9th, March 9th 2002 Harry Cheshire
High School, Habberley rd, Kidderminster e-mail stevegrain@aol.com
for details