It's just the same as when you are standing on the ground, which you
should learn very well first. Your partner will have to learn to trust
you very well, otherwise it won't work properly. And this trust must
be learned standing on the ground first. He or she should learn to
become part of you, and let you balance him - he shouldn't try to
balance himself. If he is off-balance he must let you save him. You
can see why this requires trust! You should practice this until you
can walk, run, twist and turn around without him being nervous.
Your partner should have his toes pointing apart, heels close
together. His feet may slope down towards the back, which feels a bit
unsafe at first. He will need to find the most comfortable position -
but your shoulder muscles are not very stable to stand on.
There are two main methods for the rest of this balance:
1. You keep your hands on your partners legs, at the back. You pull
his legs against your head, giving him some steadiness. Do this
method to begin with.
2. Your partner bends his knees and leans his lower legs firmly against
your head to support himself. You don't need to hold him, but this
method is less stable and safe.
You can easily hurt your back doing all of this, unless you warm up
your bodies properly first, every time. Also, your partner will
probably lean too much forward when learning, which puts a strain on
your back. When he is properly upright he will feel weightless by
comparison. Don't even think about getting on the unicycle before you
have got this working. You should really try to find some acrobats or
gymnasts to show you how to do all this properly - it's important to
get it right, but hard to describe in words.
I would recommend carrying your partner sitting on your shoulders, on
the unicycle, before trying it standing. This is far safer. He tucks
his feet behind your back (round your sides) and it is very difficult
for him to fall. This will help to build his trust, and to build your
strength, getting used to the extra weight and how it affects the
unicycle.
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Tim Sheppard tim@lilliput-p.win-uk.net
Lilliput Press - Publisher of fine books in miniature
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