Feb/080
Leading up to any Handstand Stunt
Seemed to have raised some interest with my last email. So I’ve decided to go into a little more depth on the subject.
To sum up what I said last time: The best way to learn the handstand, one hand handstand, or any stunt is not to do the move itself, in the beginning, but work on lead-up stunts.
Obviously at a certain point you will need to work on the skill itself in order to master it but you shouldn’t start there.
If you look at a weightlifting move like the deadlift, let’s say you have a goal to lift 500 lbs. You wouldn’t start out trying to lift this weight because most likely you could not even budge it. No, you start with what you can do and move up in weight from there.
If your goal is to do a move like the one hand handstand you can’t just start with a lighter weight. Most bodyweight exercises don’t work this way. Just going for the move is like trying to deadlift 500 lbs. when your max is 300. Not gonna happen.
An easier version of the move is essentially the same thing as a lighter weight. When you are good with one move you move on to a harder variation, just like adding weight.
Failing to do this is why so many people never reach their goal. They just try the move over and over seeing little or no progress.
One move for the one hand handstand is to place your other arm on a raised box or chair and use it to help balance.
For the normal handstand you have moves like the headstand and frogstand. But there are many more for these moves and others.
That’s the genius in how Professor Orlick taught his students. Each move leads in to the next. For the best methods of mastering any hand balancing move check out the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.
If you learn this lesson well, you can apply to many other forms of exercise.By training in this manner you can and will progress much faster. I guarantee it.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Right now you can do no better than to get what has been affectionately referred to as the “Hand Balancing Bible“.
Feb/080
One Handed Handstand
Got another question regarding the one handed handstand.
Hi . i have kinda a problem using one arm handbalancing because i have been practicing on it since long time and i believe i have a good strength in my shoulders yet i cant hold it more than 5 sec but i can hold it for one 1 min if lay against the wall ( same thing goes 2 the left hand ) so my question is what do i have to do to hold it as much as i can ??( is there any particular training should i attempt ? ) (if ya want, i can take a photo of my self while doing it )
Best Regards.
Actually what I am about to tell you applies to the regular handstand as well.
Being able to hold a one arm handstand against a wall is great, especially for a minute long, but this isn’t going to transfer to a free hand balance.
The strength is there, but it doesn’t take much strength to do this move. What it takes is balance and skill.
Using the wall will build your strength and it will help you learn the position if you do it right. What it won’t do is teach you how to balance.
This takes doing the move in the open. The problem is most people try to go straight from a two hand handstand into one by raising the arm. This is not the way and what stops many from mastering this skill.
Balancing in the one hand handstand is very difficult. You will not be able to figure it out by doing the one hand handstand itself, not in the beginning.
Just like I teach with the normal handstand there are a series of different lead-up stunts you should perfect before you move up to the one handstand.
No one covers this better than Prof. Orlick in How to do the One Hand Handstand. He outlines a step-by-step approach to reaching the one hand handstand.If you seriously want to hold a one-hand handstand you have to work up to this balance.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If you want to see a bonehead move and some good old fashioned physical comedy check out this video I came across – http://www.break.com/index/treadmill-handstand-attempt.html. I hope this guy ain’t a student of mine.
Feb/080
Yoga’s Scorpion Pose
When I was practicing a bit of my hand balancing last week someone who practiced yoga commented on it and we started a conversation.
One balance that she told me about is the Scorpion Pose also known as Vrschikasana. (No, I don’t know how you pronounce that.)
For any hand balancer is should not be much of a problem to get started. But if you need it you can always use a wall.
Simply kickup into a forearm stand. From here all you do is bend your knees and bring your feet to your head.
In this pose you want to keep your feet and knees together, though your body will naturally want to separate them.
How far your feet can go depends on the flexibility of your back. For the contortionist is will be easy to touch the feet on the head or even bring them under the chin.
If you can’t get there, not to worry, just do what you can and build from there.
I just did a couple while writing this. Let me tell you this is one move that will instantly lift your spirits and make you feel alive.
Go ahead and give it a try.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. With all my travels I fell out of my normal writing schedule but will get back on it now. In the mean time if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask – http://www.lostartofhandbalancing.com/question.html
Feb/080
Fellow Hand Balancers
I spent this past weekend as an Assistant Instructor at the Russian Kettlebell Certification.
Kettlebells are a great tool and they could help your hand balancing, as described in part by Rif in the interview found in the Hand Balancing Mastery Course, but that is not the main point of this message.It just that at the event I was practicing a little bit of my hand balancing during some of the off time. Lo and behold some of the people in my group happened to be fellow hand balancers. And not just novices either.
One of them is actually working on a partner hand balancing act. She showed me a video of her and her partner’s hand-on-hand balancing.
How about holding a pretty decent straddle planche? Definitely past the beginner stage.
I also picked up an interesting variation of the forearm stand from yoga that I’ll share with you next time.
When they found out about my site they went ahead a purchased The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing on the spot.My point is that when you get around like minded people you are likely to learn some new things. I encourage you to get out and find other hand balancers to help you on your path. Its not always an easy thing to do but worth the effort.
If you can join a gymnastics class.
Just practice outside and you might get lucky and stumble upon someone. Who knows?
When you get together you can help one another out. You learn best by teaching after all. You may pick up a crucial tip that benefits you. Plus there is the challenge to out do each other.
If you are fortunate enough to have a like-minded friend then you know what I’m talking about. (On a side note you should tell them about my site so you can talk about and practice many of the tips together.)
If you don’t you gotta find one.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. You can find out much more about kettlebells and many other great training resources right here.
Feb/080
Chinese Acrobats do Handstands on Chairs
Whoa!
This is just a sneak peak of what they best acrobats from China can do and one of many hand balancing tricks involving chairs shown in The Art of Chinese Acrobatics.
That’s 16 people doing handstands on top of more than a dozen chairs and some other apparatus.
My biggest question is how do you get into that? I’ve seen some crazy pyramid formations but this takes the cake. In this case it might actually be harder to get into position than hold it!
Now you may not be able to pull of this stunt, but there’s no reason you can’t use a chair to increase your handstand skills.
Try to press up into a handstand from a normal sitting position. Not a novice move but by no means a very difficult one either. It’s sure to amaze any onlookers though.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. You can see a picture of Bob Jones doing a hand balance on a chair on page 121 of The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing. Except in this case it’s a rocking chair adding even more difficulty to the balancing. As you can see the sky is the limit in what you can accomplish.
Feb/080
How to do a Front Walkover
Many gymnastics moves go through the handstand position. And in this post we will discuss how to do a front walkover as shown below. This is a composite picture of Diane Robinson performing the move with ease.
These are the instructions that come from Acro-Chat. The correct way to do a two arm walkover. Notice the arms are straight all the way through, the legs are extended and split as much as possible, the back is arched tightly with the head and arms trailing as she stands upright.
I will caution that this move takes a large amount of flexibility in both the back and legs. Though its not dangerous, you may end up falling on your butt if you can’t do it as well as Diane.
You can also perform a back walkover which is done moving backwards. Just follow the pictures from right to left and you’ll get the idea.
These moves are not to be confused with the handspring or back handspring. Though the motion is much the same, except for going off of two legs instead of one, there is another big difference.
Your hands will touch the ground before both your feet leave it in a walkover. Handsprings involve leaving the feet to get up in the air before your hands touch down.
While not strictly a hand balance, the walkover and handspring do move through the handstand position. At any rate they are excellent skills that you may want to master.
Good Luck and Good Tumbling,
Logan Christopher
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