Build and Learn to Rola Bola Brought to you by
Still Having a Ball

We teach juggling, unicycling, stilt walking, and rola bola skills.

Beginning Rola Bola (a potentially very dangerous activity) - you have been warned.

Place the board on the floor. No roller! Just stand on the board in front of a mirror if possible.

• Posture checklist:
  • knees bent, always
  • spine straight, hips level
  • eyes straight ahead
  • feet almost parallel and a little wider than your shoulders
• Step 1 (Board on the floor!)
  • Keeping your knees bent, move slowly from side to side.
  • Do not move your feet.
  • Be sure to keep your spine in a vertical line.
  • You should get to the point that you can move your body quickly from one side to the other with only your knees adjusting.
  • If you do not have a mirror, look down the front of your body as you move laterally from one foot to the other.
  • The shoulders and especially the hips must not be adjusting.
  • Keep the knees bent being careful not to lock them.
• Step 2
  • Place the board on the roller next to a chain link fence, or a friend.
  • The roller should be on a clean, smooth, hard surface - no carpet.
    • Carpet resists movement of the roller (slower, easier - right?).
    • Unfortunately, when it finally yields to the imbalance it "jumps".
    • Your eyes will get big and round.
  • (Note to the spotter: Do not hold the student and try not to "help" them balance.)
  • Holding onto the support for dear life, set your feet on the board a little wider than your shoulders.
  • Muscle yourself to a level board position.
  • Go through the posture checklist.
  • Move as little as possible trying to keep the board level.
  • The slower you move, the faster you will learn.
  • Do not release from your support.
  • Just lighten the pressure; extreme uncontrolled wipe-outs can result if your confidence gets ahead of your skill level.
  • Get off the board. Think through what just took place.
• Step 3
  • Muscle your way back up to the centered position.
  • Keeping light contact with your support, let the board drift to one side.
  • Placing all your weight on that foot (the one farthest from the roller), the end of the board should snap down on the floor stopping harmlessly.
  • Repeat until this can be done without holding on to the support.

From now on, do not grab the support unless death is eminent. Do not solo (move away from the support) until you can stop and start without grabbing the support.

FAQ ~ Refer to this section after you have tried to rola bola.

Stopping

The board did not stop. It went faster! You did not get or keep your weight on the correct foot. You must commit completely to this move or the board can achieve escape velocity!

Twisting

The board keeps twisting on the roller, why? The hips are rotating. The less mass moving the more stable you become.

Drifting

Once you start drifting to one side, you cannot stop. You must take all your weight briefly off of the side you are drifting towards. If you do this, you will move back to the center.

Over confidence

Very serious injury WILL occur when you get over confident. Goof-up in haste - repent at leisure. ;-)

The technics outlined are to enhance learning. After you have mastered the rola bola, play with your posture, hip/shoulder movements.

Rola Bola Construction/Needs

• 6" diameter roller, 11 to 12" in length
  • minimum schedule 40 PVC (obtained from plumbing supply stores)
  • over 200 pounds or doing 2 people tricks requires a stronger tube
• The board needs to be 11 to 12" wide and 32" long
  • 5/8" plywood or a Number 1 (no knots) 1x12x32"
  • Once you get comfortable 24 to 28" is plenty long.
• Construction
  • 2 - 1x2x10" board stops screwed and glued 1" in from each end of the board
  • Do not paint the bottom of the board - the bare wood gives a real nice grip on the roller - all you need if you use proper technique.

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If you can't be bothered making your own, check out our ready-to-ride (High Fashion) Rola Bola available for only $47.

Price includes shipping via UPS (continental US only).

These boards and rollers are designed for people under 200 pounds.

The green boards are shorter (28" vs 32") and the blue are a brighter blue than this picture indicates. All are painted with a high quality porch and deck paint that will stand up to a lot of use.

© Still Having a Ball (Revised May 2, 2006 - Thanks Popstar Dave)