Difficulty: Easy
Safety Warning: Rolla Bolla can be tricky skill to master and falls are not uncommon. Please make sure you have a spotter when working on your equipment. Work in a space with plenty of room and remove anything breakable. If you have any soft matting or foam jigsaw mats you can use them for added safety against falls. Make sure you warm up first to prevent injury.
In Rolla Bolla basics Jono teaches you a few fundamentals needed to start learning this wobbly hobby.
First Jono will show you the correct way to mount a rolla bolla. Always put your foot on the bottom of the board first so that it doesn’t flick up when putting your weight on the top of the board.
Next you can see a few tips for keeping your balance. Keep your body centred over the rolla bolla and use your knees to push your weight in the direction needed to counter balance yourself. This will help you maintain control and allow you to start learning tricks.
Now that you’ve got the basics down you can try some tricks. Jono has a few examples for you. First up you can practice doing a small jump. Focus on pushing through both feet evenly so you don’t tip the board.
Or you can try crouching down on the board while balancing. Squat down while keeping your chest up so you don’t tip your weight forward. This will now mean you can control your balance like when you were standing.
SPOTTING ROLLA BOLLA
Jono gives a few tips for any spotters.
- Spot the hips – not the hands. This will give you better control of their weight, but also allow them the freedom to move.
- Spot from behind. If you spot in front of the person they will try to lean forward to reach for you. Staying behind them means they are more likely to stand up straight.
- Watch the board. The board can twist around a lot. Make sure it is staying in place otherwise it may suddenly fall off the rolla and you and the performer could be hurt.
- Agree a dismount side. The last thing you want is to be clipped by the board as your performer jumps off. Make sure you both know which side the performer is coming down on.
Once you have gotten these rolla bolla basics down you can start adding in other props. Why not watch some of our other tutorials so you can try juggling balls, poi, or even hula hoops.
You can watch all our tutorial videos here