10 Skill Levels

[fluffinator007]

Either way, horizantle or verticle...Doubling 30 inches is not going to be easy in any sense.

[pete66]

na surely Mr Holm is meaning vertical coz my grandma could do 76cm horizontal without her zimmer.

[duaner]

re: INTERNATIONAL UNICYCLE TRIALS RULES (proposed Nov 10, 2003)

hop (and drop) measures are vertical
gap measures are horizontal

U6 includes:
- hop 30" (76.2cm) vertically
- gap 5' (152.4cm) horizontally "to landings requiring some accuracy"

[Carol McLean]

Some of the guys developing this skill progression for the USA, Inc. have said that a 30-inch vertical drop would be enough to demonstrate mastery of that skill, so we haven't included anything more than that.

Do you agree or disagree?

The skill progression focuses on:

specific freemounts (seat in front, for example)
hops (seat in) rolling and stationary
jumps (seat out) sideways and forward
narrow rides
drops
gaps
obstacles
pedal grabs
crank stalls
stillstands

Anything missing for basic to intermediate skills? Expert skills would come later.


Carol
Minnesota

[johnfoss]

Originally posted by Carol McLean
Some of the guys developing this skill progression for the USA, Inc. have said that a 30-inch vertical drop would be enough to demonstrate mastery of that skill, so we haven't included anything more than that.

Do you agree or disagree?

I agree that 30" is plenty for starters. Also that by "requiring" people to do higher drops may be opening a liability can of worms we would best avoid. Yes, landing higher drops is "harder." But I don't know that we want to require it in our skill levels.

BTW, for those wondering why there are only freestyle skill levels, back when those levels were written, people weren't doing much else. We did tricks on flat ground. Notice they were not called freestyle skills at the time, and shouldn't be now, because they are also Open-X and Standard Skill skills. To give them a name in today's parlance, "flatland" might be the most accurate.

[fluffinator007]

Allright, trials and flatland rules aside. How about some mountain skill levels and some giraffe skills maybe some tandem..some coker? But most realistically are there any know MUni

[Carol McLean]

Yes, there is a division for giraffe skills. Also ultimate wheel and juggling.

MUni is something else again.

For skill progressions, we have to focus on skills that can be tested, and tested in a way that's standard no matter what the conditions are. Very difficult to do with MUni. It can be done, but probably not in the same way that we test other skills, such as hops and idling. So MUni will be in a different category.

Distance riding (Cokers) will also be in a different category. Hockey and basketball will be too.

There's no limit to the number of divisions that can be added to the new system.

I'm not sure when it will be available. We're doing some field testing now.

Carol

[fluffinator007]

And is there a website where all of these numerous skill levels can be viewed at the users pleasure

[thinuniking]

I know level's are nice but i find i ride trials and muni for fun not to get a level i also ride muni to walk the dog. To be honest i did not think trials was about level's and muni was for freedom.
Ben
level 0 i have never got tested

[pluto]

see your point, I agree for MUni but trials can be competitive quite easily and it would be nice to see your progress and have something to push you on would you not say?
aaron

[Carol McLean]

It's neat that trials and MUni and other forms of the sport are becoming so much more popular. I like watching the sport grow.

We haven't posted anything to a web site yet. But if you're interested in being a reviewer, please let me know.

Email: cettermclean at hotmail dot com

Thanks.

Carol
Minnesota

[johnfoss]

Originally posted by thinuniking
I know level's are nice but i find i ride trials and muni for fun not to get a level i also ride muni to walk the dog. To be honest i did not think trials was about level's and muni was for freedom.

MUni and Trials are not fun because they are sports, they're sports because they're fun. When we get together for a CA MUni Weekend, for example, the main activity is riding the trails, because that's what we like to do. When we have our competitions, the people who like to compete enjoy that as well, while the rest have something interesting to watch.

In other words, while some people attempt to pass levels and strive to win competitions, MUni and Trials are still fun and free.

Another purpose of levels is to show people what to work on, and a rough order of difficulty to give them a sequence. This is less needed with those skills, but in the area of a flat gym floor, most people on their own need help figuring out what to try next.

[tugboat]

i really think that having specific levels is actually a really dumb idea. it is basically taking away peoples creativity as a means to improve their ability of riding. the only reason i progressed so much last yea is because i went out and made up stuff myself, not because there was this list of stuff i should do next. but whatever, do what you want, but imagine if every part of our sport was consumed by levels... nothing would be original anymore becuase everyone would be doing the same thing. honestly, dont make levels, let people naturally progress.

Kevin

[johnfoss]

Originally posted by tugboat
it is basically taking away peoples creativity as a means to improve their ability of riding.

The pro/anti levels argument is an old one. Certain truths should be kept in mind though. Nothing in the levels is original. It is a way to quantify what a lot of people already do. "New" stuff can only be made up by one person per item, not counting independent inventions. There will always be room for new stuff! That's why we have Freestyle and Open-X, not just Standard Skill.

Levels don't slow down peoples' progress, they speed it up. Ryan Woessner went from level 1-8 in his first year of riding. Without the levels (ignoring he's a member of TCUC for a moment), he most likely would have progressed only a fraction of that.

Though Ryan may have concentrated on levels only, he still learned a heck of a lot in one year. But he does other stuff too. Like winning the Freestyle world championship.

Levels are there to take or leave. Just like street luge. Thanks, but I'll just watch that one. If people want to do it, why should I complain?

[U-Turn]

Originally posted by tugboat
i really think that having specific levels is actually a really dumb idea. it is basically taking away peoples creativity as a means to improve their ability of riding. the only reason i progressed so much last yea is because i went out and made up stuff myself, not because there was this list of stuff i should do next. but whatever, do what you want, but imagine if every part of our sport was consumed by levels... nothing would be original anymore becuase everyone would be doing the same thing. honestly, dont make levels, let people naturally progress.

Kevin

Although this is a seductive reasoning, I do not agree. It is easy to use music to find plenty of counterexamples. The best, most creative musicians are the most seriously studied in their art, not the least. This means years and years of studies, scales, arpeggios, long tones, and the like.

The most-creative people have the most tools to work with, are highly skilled with those tools, and apply them in creative ways. A discipline of study in MUni or trials would simply produce thoroughly better riders, not less-creative riders.