To walk a
ladder, you can either buy a lead and exercise
it at least twice a day, or you can learn
to balance on it and do the walking bit yourself!
The walking ladder is an extra wide ladder
which you can balance on, and then learn to
walk along the ground moving the feet of the
ladder one step at a time! You can also balance
on the top rung (one leg at each side of the
ladder) and start juggling while walking along
with the ladder.
Safety First!
Walking ladders are relatively easy to master
compared to some other balance props, however
if you fall from the top of a walking ladder it
will hurt. For this reason please consider finding
a juggling club where you can practice with some
guidance, and it may be worth investing in some
knee and elbow pads and a helmet. Contact
me if you would like to know where your nearest
juggling club is!
As with stiltwalking, one of the first things
you must teach yourself is how to fall properly.
It may help to put the ladder a few feet away
from a wall (make sure the wall is strong enough
first)! This means that you can get on the first
rung of the ladder, then ease the ladder off the
wall so it is upright, and attempt to stay on
it. If you fall, then you are close to the ground,
and if you fall forwards (the most common way
to fall), you will hit the wall and come to a
safe stop. If you let go of the ladder when you
are falling, make sure that you get clear of it
before it comes crashing to the ground! Balancing
Ladders are very noisy when they hit the ground,
but nothing like the noise you will make if it
comes crashing down on you! With the ladder hitting
the wall if you fall forwards, this also means
that there is less chance of trapping your fingers
under the ladder.
Practice falling to the side of the ladder, and
also with one leg through the rungs and one leg
to the side of the ladder. I cannot emphasise
enough the importance of practicing falling properly!
Balancing and Walking on the First (bottom) Rung
Start with
the ladder leaning against a wall. Put both
feet onto the bottom rung. Put your feet tight
against the sides of the ladder (the uprights).
Your hands should be on the sides of the ladder
(not holding onto a rung)!
Practice
lifting the top of the ladder away from the
wall, and holding the ladder for as long as
you can. This will help you develop your balance
and just keep practicing until you feel happy
enough that you can stay upright without wobbling
unintentionally all over the place!
Now
try rocking the ladder side to side gently,
lifting the foot of the ladder off the floor
each time. Try taking some tiny steps away
from the wall and then back towards the wall.
You will
soon notice that it is easier to keep moving
on the stilts, than to try and stay still.
This is another thing in common with stiltwalking!
When
you are comfortable with taking small backwards
and forward steps on the ladder, then try
going forward for as long as you can.
If
the ladder is falling, then let it go. You
are more important than the ladder, and you
would have to do a lot to damage these props!
£105.00
Balancing Ladder
- 5 Rung - 6ft
Technical Specs: 5 rungs.
6ft long. Weight is approx 5kg. Width approx
53cm. Depth approx 6cm. Made of Aluminium.
You will find that you have much more
stability on the second rung than on the first!
This basically means that you can lean further to
each side to make corrections without toppling over.
Repeat all of the tips given above for learning
to balance on each rung! Take your time, and make
sure you feel confident balancing and walking on
each rung before moving up to the next rung.
You may find that the higher you
climb, the easier it becomes (unless you are scared
of heights!)
Some Tricks
Running up and
down the ladder (freemounting)
Just needs practice. Be careful
not to put your foot through the ladder, as
you may do yourself damage! Take your time
and just try running up and down the first
few rungs until that feels safe, then extend
your run by an extra rung until it feels safe!
Leg
Over
when
you reach the top of the ladder, try putting
your leg over the top rung, so you have a
leg on each side of the ladder. This is quite
a dangerous move compared to what you have
learned so far, so be very careful. If you
can balance on a ladder with a leg on each
side, then you may not need to use your hands
to do any holding at all, which frees your
hands up to do other things such as juggling
or passing clubs
360
degree turn
just lifting up
one leg of the ladder, do lots of tiny little
steps round in a circle, until you return to
your starting position!
Audience
Participation
You
can get members of the audience to hold your
ladder vertically while you take a long run
up to it and climb into position, then on
an agreed signal, they can release the ladder.
This kind of routine could have as much as
20mins build up!
Balancing
Ladder Walk of Death
Try walking the
ladder over some objects such as your favourite
teddy bear, or perhaps even a willing volunteer
(make sure you practice many many times before
you ever pick a live volunteer to do this trick
with)!
To walk a
ladder, you can either buy a lead and exercise
it at least twice a day, or you can learn
to balance on it and do the walking bit yourself!
The walking ladder is an extra wide ladder
which you can balance on, and then learn to
walk along the ground moving the feet of the
ladder one step at a time! You can also balance
on the top rung (one leg at each side of the
ladder) and start juggling while walking along
with the ladder.
This circus prop is for walking on top
of while keeping your balance! Once you are
good enough, then you can think about juggling
at the same time! The globe can then be used
as a way of enhancing your stage show, or
rising above the crowds and adding a bit of
a danger element to your street shows!
A unicycle is a one-wheeled
human powered vehicle. Unicycles are similar
to, but less complex than, bicycles.
Not as difficult as you think to learn the
basic riding move, but you have to be prepared
to put in a lot of time and effort and not
just give up after a few false starts!
Also known as
rolla bolla, bongo board or teeter board.
The rola-bola consists of a cylinder and a board - you place the board
on the cylinder, hop up on the board and rock and roll to try to stay
upright. Looks even harder if you juggle at the same time. It's like a
one-man seesaw!
