German Wheel $$ 🎓🎓 💪💪

Another really fun circus skill you can learn.   The German Wheel is basically two large man sized circles, with crossbars connecting them.  You stand inside the wheel, on the crossbars, grab hold of handles, then shift your weight back and forth (similar to using a swing set).  Your weight shifts get the wheel rolling.   Then you do circus acrobatics inside the moving wheel.  It is a bit amazing.   Think of it as a tool to make somersaults 1000x cooler.   If you still are not sure what it looks like, take a look at Delgado's website listed near the end of this post. 


This is one of the easier and less scary, but still incredible circus activities I have tried.  

You can get a single class for fairly cheap $35 or so, but honestly you won't learn enough in that class to really do anything.   You need at least two or three classes, which is why I called it moderately priced.

It does take practice and some but not a lot muscle.

This class tends towards more woman than men.   Kids are welcome, as long as they are tall enough.  Obviously if you can't stand in the crossbars and reach the handholds, it can be a problem.


You need the right shoes - a thin, hard soled, canvas top shoe.  Converse is good.   Thick sneakers, sandals, heels, are all bad ideas. 

I took lessons at STREB Lab for Action Mechanics (SLAM).  The teacher's website is here:

http://thewheeldelgado.com/

STREB's website is a bit confusing and does not easily send you to classes, you have to look around:
http://streb.org/