What is the advantage of holding your hand to the side of the seat when doing trials instead of standing directly above the seat and holding the front handle? 
thanks for all your imput, CamWhat you’re talking about is SIF riding which stands for seat in front riding. People usually place their hands in the middle (by the seat post) or at the back of their seat. This is usually for more advanced hoppers and it allows them to jump higher because they aren’t limited by where the seat is, but where the tire is. In other words, they can jump higher because they can tuck the unicycle under them. Most people start learning it when they begin to feel restricted by hopping seat in.
This takes a bit of time to learn, you shouldn’t worry about it untill you can hop at least 40-50 cm with seat in, but of course if you want to learn it now go for it!:D:D