wheel walking -- stand up, and kush kush

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I’m in need of some advice of the two tricks I’m trying to learn…

Stand up wheel walking – I am standing, with one foot on the crown of the
frame, basically supporting all of my weight. My other foot wants to point
very much inward (rather than straight forward, as for traditional wheel
walking). Is this the proper position? My walking foot makes very very
small, fast steps. Should I try to make the steps longer in duration? What
about the time between making steps? I think my current record is maybe 2
or 3 feet away from the wall before I can no longer stay up. I am hopeful
it’s just a balance thing that will develop as I work on it. Also, I
currently start out with the help of a wall. Though it may be a while
before I try it without, how do most transition from riding to standing?

Kush kush (is that how you spell it?) Ok, I’ve got one foot acting as a
break that’s either on or off. That foot sits partly on the frame, and
partly on the wheel ahead of the frame. My other foot starts near the top-
back of the wheel, and pushes down. So, I release break, push, apply
break, push, etc. I presume this is a valid technique, as most aspects
feel about right… with one large exception. Almost without fail, before
I reach the end of my pushing stroke, I completely lose feeling in my
breaking foot. This causes me to fall off due to lack of control, and the
feeling promptly returns. So, I must be pinching a nerve, or something
like that. Has anyone experienced anything similar? If so, are there any
good solutions?

While I’m at it, any other good ways to have fun with variations of
wheel walking?

Jeff Lutkus aim: lalalutkus … If something works, it should be taken
apart to find out why.

Sent via the Unicyclist Community - http://Unicyclist.com

2

Jeff Lutkus wrote:

> I am hopeful it’s just a balance thing that will develop as I
> work on it.

Sounds like you are doing it right and from there it’s just a matter of
practice and getting the balance down. Bigger pushes are easier than small
ones, but in that position, it’s hard to do large pushes so just do it as
far as you can and still be able to keep control. Other than that the foot
movement and pressure is just like one foot wheel walking except with that
slant you mentioned. You need to slant your foot to get around the frame,
so that is normal.

> Also, I currently start out with the help of a wall. Though it may be a
> while before I try it without, how do most transition from riding to
> standing?

Most do it by wheel walking one footed and then push themself up off
the seat by pushing on it with one hand until you are in the
stand-up position.

Another way is to hop, and then when ready, you hop off the pedals and
right up to the frame with one hand on the seat.

> Kush kush (is that how you spell it?)

It’s spelled koosh-koosh
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/iufrules/7sslist.html#d28) and
that name came from the sound it makes when your foot rubs on the tire
with each push.

> So, I must be pinching a nerve, or something like that. Has anyone
> experienced anything similar?

That doesn’t sound too good. I’ve never heard of that happening like
that before.

–
___________ ===================================================
___ // / / / / Kevin Gilbertson - mail@gilby.com
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3

> Stand up wheel walking

I have lots of experience watching, and a little experience doing:

> My other foot wants to point very much inward (rather than straight
> forward, as for traditional wheel walking). Is this the proper position?

I think that’s normal.

> My walking foot makes very very small, fast steps. Should I try to make
> the steps longer in duration?

I have only seen fast, small steps (or gliding).

> Kush kush (is that how you spell it?)

“Koosh koosh” (it’s all on the Web:
http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/iufrules/7sslist.html)

I don’t koosh. The koosh is a two-footed variation of “ww bwd 1ft behind
frame” as it’s named in the Standard Skill list. They are both part of the
same skill number, which means in Standard Skill you can’t do both. Koosh
koosh is 3.9 points in a straight line, and ww bwd 1ft behind frame is
5.0. I don’t necessarily agree with those point values, as you can go
faster in the non-koosh mode, so it probably shouldn’t be as big of a gap.

I guess what I’m saying is that you don’t need to koosh (named from the
sound made by the braking foot). Just use the rear foot, and you’ll be
doing a skill that even fewer people do.

Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com

“Freedom is not free”

4

Hi,

Could someone tell me how long it took them to learn to sideride compared
to sideways wheel walk? Just wondering, because my learning curve seems
even slower for sideways wheel walk than it was for learning to sideride.

Thanks,

Kris.

Do You Yahoo!? Listen to your Yahoo! Mail messages from any phone.
http://phone.yahoo.com

5

Kris Holm wrote:
> Could someone tell me how long it took them to learn to sideride
> compared to sideways wheel walk? Just wondering, because my learning
> curve seems even slower for sideways wheel walk than it was for
> learning to sideride.

They are both pretty hard skills. I’ve worked on both of them but still
can’t do either of them very well. From my experience with both of them so
far, I think sideways wheel walk feels like a more normal position to be
in, but very unstable while doing it. Whereas the side ride position feels
weird to be in, but the hardest part is just getting going and once you’re
going it’s pretty stable.

–
___________ ===================================================
___ // / / / / Kevin Gilbertson - mail@gilby.com
http://gilby.com / _ '/ / / '_ / ICQ: 12611076 AIM/AOL:
UnicyclingGilby _ ///,/ / Free e-Mail and Webspace at
http://www.Unicyclist.com // /______/ Original Unicycling
T-shirts http://gilby.com/t-shirts _/
========================================================

6

>> Also, I currently start out with the help of a wall. Though it may be a
>> while before I try it without, how do most transition from riding to
>> standing?

>Most do it by wheel walking one footed and then push themself up off the
>seat by pushing on it with one hand until you are in the stand-up
position.
>
>Another way is to hop, and then when ready, you hop off the pedals and
>right up to the frame with one hand on the seat.

Kevin Gilbertson <mail@gilby.com>@winternet.com am 28.09.2001 07:19:24

Bitte antworten an Kevin Gilbertson <mail@gilby.com>

Gesendet von: owner-unicycling@winternet.com

An: unicycling@winternet.com Kopie: Thema: Re: wheel walking – stand up,
and kush kush

Jeff Lutkus wrote:

> I am hopeful it’s just a balance thing that will develop as I
> work on it.

Sounds like you are doing it right and from there it’s just a matter of
practice and getting the balance down. Bigger pushes are easier than small
ones, but in that position, it’s hard to do large pushes so just do it as
far as you can and still be able to keep control. Other than that the foot
movement and pressure is just like one foot wheel walking except with that
slant you mentioned. You need to slant your foot to get around the frame,
so that is normal.

> Also, I currently start out with the help of a wall. Though it may be a
> while before I try it without, how do most transition from riding to
> standing?

Most do it by wheel walking one footed and then push themself up off
the seat by pushing on it with one hand until you are in the
stand-up position.

Another way is to hop, and then when ready, you hop off the pedals and
right up to the frame with one hand on the seat.

> Kush kush (is that how you spell it?)

It’s spelled koosh-koosh
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/iufrules/7sslist.html#d28) and
that name came from the sound it makes when your foot rubs on the tire
with each push.

> So, I must be pinching a nerve, or something like that. Has anyone
> experienced anything similar?

That doesn’t sound too good. I’ve never heard of that happening like
that before.

–
___________ ===================================================
___ // / / / / Kevin Gilbertson - mail@gilby.com
http://gilby.com / _ '/ / / '_ / ICQ: 12611076 AIM/AOL:
UnicyclingGilby _ ///,/ / Free e-Mail and Webspace at
http://www.Unicyclist.com // /______/ Original Unicycling
T-shirts http://gilby.com/t-shirts _/
========================================================

I can’t do one of the above transitions, so I just mount to stand up ww.
That’s how to do it: Put the pushing foot on the frame, front on the tyre
to break. Stand up putting the other foot on the frame. Start pushing. You
can also do that mount out of a walking move: walk, step on frame, ww.

Another way that does work fine for me is jump-mount to stand up ww.

IMHO mounts to stand up ww are rather easy. Have to try that hop to stand
up ww some time, though.

Georg Unicyclist and penny farthing rider in Vienna, Austria (and owner of
an unassembled Coker since yesterday)