Meetings

 

CANADA

-Halifax, N.S. -7-10 p.m. Wednesday, 1531 Grafton St. Christopher Majka or Michael Hirschbach.

-London, Ont. - I p.m. Sunday, U.C.C. Centrespot. Jon Seglins.

-Ottowa, Onto - Jugglers Jam. Sun. 2-5 p.m. Jack Purcell Comm. Center. Ken Wilson, Brian Boychuk.

-Toronto, Onto -7:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, Jackman Ave. Public School, 79 Jackman Ave. David Morgen.

-Winnipeg, Man. - Mon. 5-7:30 p.m. Prairie Theatre Exchange, 3rd fl. 160 Princess Ave. John Matas.

 

ENGLAND

-Bradford, West Yorkshire - Playspace, 40 Marlborough Rd. Sam Scurfield.

-Bristol- Weekend workshops with Butterfingers.

-Cambridge, England - 8-10 p.m. Tuesday, Kennedy Room, Cambridge Union, Roundchurch St. Adam We in (Churchill College), Claudia Kennedy (Queens College).

-Exeter - Monday evening, Bartholemew Park (summer) Keyhole Centre (winter). Dick Gerrish, The Joke Show, 123 Fore St.

-London - 11 a.m. Saturday, classes, Oval House Theatre. Doug Orton.

-London - 6-8 p.m. Tuesday. Drill Hall, 16 Chenies St. Also, noon-2 p.m. Sunday. Jubilee Hall, Central Market Square, Covent Garden.

 

DENMARK

-Copenhagen - Sunday 1-5 p.m. at Kongens Have near the fountain. Marcus Mandai

 

GERMANY

-Bremen - 7-9 p.m. Tuesday at Buergerpark. Heinrich Dreesen.

-Wiesbaden, Germany - 7-10 p.m. Tuesday, Nachbarschaftshaus, Biebrich. 6-10 p.m. Thursday, Haus der Jugend, Elsaesser Platz. Paul Keast.

 

JAPAN

-Tokyo - Japan Jugglers Association. Nobuhiro Iwama.

 

NEW ZEALAND

-Aukland - 8-noon Thursday, Albert Park. Meet AI Forbes there.

 

 

How to get started on the unicycle by Larry Vaksman

Here are seven tips on learning to ride the unicycle:

 

1. Get a good unicycle. The $35 model with solid wheels and a single-piece crank is very difficult for a beginner to ride. I have found the inexpensive models to be weak, to have inadequate bearings and lots of wheel wobble.

 

2. Have the seat adjusted right for you. Unicycling can be dangerous! Do not succumb to the temptation to borrow any old unicycle and jump on. Each foot must easily be in contact with the pedal at its lowest point. Knees should not be bent too much. When in doubt, it's better too low than too high.

 

3. Find a good surface. It must be large, hard, smooth and unobstructed. A gymnasium with a soft rubbery surface is excellent. A slight downgrade is an advantage. If you do not have two spotters, you will need a wall with a clear runway beside it. When using a wall, start with the wheel an arms-distance away from the wall so that your arm (both arms actually) can be fully extended.

 

4. Put a block behind the wheel as you mount, especially when using a wall instead of spotters. A 2x4 piece of wood works nicely.

 

5. Relax your crotch down onto the seat This is a key! Do not push down on the pedals as you do on a bike. Ideally, the feet just glide along with the wheel. In ordern to keep your balance, you must let most of your weight be on the seat. Force on the pedals unbalances you to one side.

 

6. Keep your eyes forward.                  

 

7. Keep your weight slightly forward.  This and tip five are the two points that give beginners the most trouble. You must conquer the basic fear of falling on your face.  Your back should be straight, but lean a bit forward. Your arms should be straight out to the sides, but they could be a bit forward as well.

 

Spotters must encourage this by staying at arms-length and leading the unicycle a bit. When you are rolling correctly, you are always about to fall forward, but wheel is constantly catching up with you.  If you usually fall behind the uni, it's because your weight is too far back.

 

When you find yourself falling off both ways, guess what! Your're making progress!

 

Turn street hockey balls into something jugglable by Steve Stafford

Here's a recipe for the perfect juggling orb: Take one plastic street hockey ball and add 1 3/4-ounces of split peas or rice to make one 4-ounce beanball.

 

Street hockey balls cost about $1.30 each, come in two bright colors (orange or blue), and are virtually indestructible. A lacrosse ball is 2 3/4 inches diameter and weighs about 5 3/4 ounces, a little heavier than my ideal. Beanballs are 2 3/4 inches diameter and only 4 ounces.