Lost Art of Hand Balancing Blog

Some of the greatest foreign acrobatic performers to tour this continent come from the “land of the rising sun”. The Ishikawa Brothers left a mark that will long endure in the acrobatics’ hall of fame.

This Japanese troupe consisted of four remarkably skilled equilibrists. The caliber of their act can be gauged from this sole stunt Ichiske Ishikawa regularly performed.

It would start with a one hand stand at the tip of a triangular staircase prop. After mounting into this balance, Ichiske would do a series of one hand hops descending the stairs.

From here he would continue performing the jumping steps in this one hand stand balance position until he approached the outlights. Then he would stop and lower his body into a side planche position.

From here he would shift back to the erect one hand stand position, without touching his other hand to the floor, to conclude this prodigious routine.

If you can replicate this routine then you deserve to have your story told 50 years from now as well.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. I’ve decided to kick off the New Year with a special event that could make a big difference in what you accomplish in 2008. Stay tuned.

Of course hand balancing and all aspects of my physical training make up one of those sections.

It starts with going over my results from the last year. Since I keep a training journal I can look over the various workouts I have done. What worked best and what didn’t. Which ways of training really made the biggest gains.

The second step is to figure out what I really want to accomplish. Since I have so many goals and dreams I have to pick out the ones I have a burning desire for and work toward those first.

Others get completed without much effort and some just fall away. In the future I can always reset my priorities to complete any goal. But its important to focus on just a few at a time.

The third step is smart planning. What you need to do is break down a big goal into small and simple steps and plan when you will complete those steps. Just follow your formula and the goal becomes a matter of time.

This applies to all aspects of life whether its business, relationships, nutrition, or training.

But since you are here for the hand balancing I will take an example from there. You need a plan in order reach a goal. Instead of creating one yourself, why not just follow one that is already complete.

All you have to do is select your goal from the Hand Balancing Mastery Course then keep to the steps Prof. Orlick lays out.

If your goal is to be able to perform a handstand for one minute then just work backwards from that point. If you can hold the handstand for only 5 seconds right now then all you have to do is add second by second until you get there.

Perhaps give yourself two months to reach your goal. Figure out where you should be week by week then go after it.

The birth of a new year is a powerful time. Instead of just celebrating it, use it to accelerate into 2008 with fury.

Here comes another story from Acro-chat magazine. This one was written by Ray Van Cleef.

Flirting with death yielded the “Open Sesame” to Inguar Anderson’s zealous desire to become a circus performer. His efforts to secure an opportunity were repulsed until he resorted to death defying stunts to gain recognition.

This daring 27 year old gymnast performed a series of hazardous feats, including a handstand on a tight rope suspended 800 feet above a rocky terrain. The risks he assumed were rewarded with offers by several circus managers who witnessed this perilous display. “Where there is a will there is a way” is an apropos summary of this plucky Swede’s success.

Sure its a good way to grab attention but don’t be trying this one out when you’re just starting out. In fact wait until you have at least 10 years of experience under your belt.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

Let me qualify all the following by saying there are many different ways to lift weights. Whether you are doing power lifting, Olympic lifting, bodybuilding, or just good old fashioned strength training with barbells and dumbbells. How you lift matters as much as anything.

Certain exercises are going to help you out. And others won’t do much for you.

Specifically for pressing movements. It requires a tremendous amount of strength to be able to push your bodyweight overhead. You need strong triceps and shoulders.

Since many presses take you through different planes of movement, not strictly overhead work, such as a press from half planche to handstand or the frogstand press you will also need strong pectoral muscles. Of course your back and abdominals are used to keep you stabilized.

If you use weights to make these muscles stronger than you will be able to do these stunts easier.

Of course hand balancing takes a huge degree balance. While weightlifting can help your coordination, it is nothing compared to what you need to stand on your hands.

Being able to press a heavy barbell overhead has no carryover to being able to hold a handstand.

A handstand is a skill and needs to be practiced in order for you to get good at it.

These days many people are moving away from weights because they think they are not functional. To that I have to say it all depends on how you use them.

Whether you decide to build you upper body strength with barbell presses or with handstand pushups is up to you. They both build strength.

Spend some time using both and see how well they work for you.

Professor Orlick outlines a full on course of barbell, dumbbell, bodyweight and other exercises in Hand Balancing Made Easy. If an accomplished hand balancer like him believed in them, than there surely is value in the exercises.

In addition, in the interview I did with Jim Bathurst he talks about his favorite weightlifting exercises and which ones carryover to his hand balancing best.

Logan Christopher

P.S. Professor Orlick even has some very creative weightlifting exercises to help with the one hand handstand. Now you can get How to do the One-Hand Handstand by itself.

If you really want to become a master at the art of hand balancing or any other than you should expect to pay for the greats to teach you in one way or another.

Professor Orlick, Paulinetti and Robert Jones are no longer with us but their teachings live on in the form of their books.

It is their legacy.

If you choose to, you can pave your own way but who has the time or energy to go through all the mistakes on their own. Why not take the shortcuts if they are available to you?

Still, I realized that the Hand Balancing Mastery Course being over one hundred dollars may be too steep of a price for some people to pay for any number of reasons.

That being the case I have decided to release each of Professor Orlick’s books by themselves.

Now you can get Hand Balancing Made Easy for just $29.95

You can buy Walking and Jumping on Your Hands for only $29.95

And you can learn How to do the One Hand Handstand for $29.95

I just watched a video of one of my subscribers doing a show in Brazil. He can pull off tricks that most people would think impossible. Even at this level, he bought everything I’m offering because he wants to be even better.

This is someone who will accomplish a lot because he is investing in his success.

How about you?

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Don’t think that the Hand Balancing Mastery Course is gone. It still is the greatest program available to become a great hand balancer and I highly suggest you grab yourself a copy.