Mastering the handstand

[JoeJustice]

John,

The past month I've been really focusing on doing a handstand. I have a goal right now of being able to do a handstand with a few handstand push-ups by Christmas without the aid of a wall. For the past month or so I've been doing a handstand against the wall for extended periods of time, right now I'm doing a one minute hold three times a day. And I can get a half-way decent push-ups, but I can't quite get myself all the way down to touch my chin to the ground, but that's getting closer and closer.

The thing is I can't do anything without the wall to assist, I can't even hold a crane yoga pose for a full minute. So I'm wondering if there are any kinds of tips or exercises I could do in order to build that balance and strength I need? - The balance seem to be the biggest problem for me. Or do I just keep practicing against a wall and it will eventually "come to me"?

Any tips or techniques would be great appreciated!

-Joe

[THESUPERBEAST]

IM NOT A PROFESSIONAL BUT PRACTICING AND LEARNING TO HANDBALANCE IS VERY FULFILLING AND ONE STEP CLOSER TO FULL BODY MASTERY. IT TOOK ME A LOT OF TIME TO JUST BE ABLE TO HOLD THE HANDSTAND FOR A COUPLE SECONDS FROM SPOARDIC PRACTICE. MAINLY I PRACTICED KICKING UP OVER AND OVER....I COULD ALWAYS DO HANDSTANDS AGAINST THE WALL NO PROBELM FOR ABOUT 12 REPS. IT WAS NOT TILL ABOUT THIS YEAR THAT i ACTUALLY ATTAINED THE ABILITY TO HOLD A DECENT AND RESPECTABLE HANDSTAND ALSO SOMETIMES EEK OUT A REP OR TWO DEPENDS ON THE DAY SOMETIMES I CAN SOMETIMES I CANT.

BUT WHAT MAINLY GOT ME ACCLIMATED TO BEING UPSIDE DOWN AND FINDING A SENSE OF BALANCE WAS PRACTINCING KICKING UP AND STUMBLING OVER MANY TIMES AND YEARS TILL ONE DAY IT STARTED CLICKING. I USUALLY WOULD ENVISON ME GOING STRAIGHT UP WITH PERFECT GRACE AND FLAWLESS FORM. I ALSO PICKED UP THINGS FROM READING VARIOUS HANDSTAND ARTICLES THAT HELPED ALOT. ITS THE MINOR THINGS THAT REALLY AFFECT WHETHER YOU GET THAT ;ERFECT HOLD.

FINGERTIP PRESSURE AND WRIST STRENGTH ARE IMPERATIVE YOUR ABILITY TO CORRECT WITH YOUR FINGERS ARE IMPERATIVE, I LEARNED TO LEAVE A SLIGHT BEND IN MY FINGERS IT REALLY HELPS TO GRIP THE FLOOR BETTER AND LEVERAGE. ITS KINDA LIKE JUST YOUR PALM AND FINGERTIPS ARE IN CONTACT WITH THE FLOOR AND FINGERS SPREAD WIDE FOR A GOOD BASE.

THEN IF YOU LOOK AT JOHN IN PYTP HE TAKES A WIDE ARM BASE IT REALLY HELPS WITH STABILITY USUALLY MY ARMS ARE WIDER THAN SHOULDER WIDTH AND I NOTICED MY HOLDS WERE ALOT MORE SOLID VS A NARROWER BASE.

THEN YOU WANT TO GET THOSE LEGS STRAIGHT AND TOGETHER AS SOON AS YOU GO UP ALSO NOTE IN PYTP JOHNS TOES POINT STRAIGHT UP, TRYING TO POINT THE TOES TO THEE CEILING HELPS GREATLY WITH ALIGNMENT. ALSOYOU COULD TRY FLEXING THE LOWER BODY FOR MORE RIGIDY.

THEN HEAD POSITION IS CRUCIAL I TRY TO LOOK STARIGHT AHEAD WITH HELPS WITH YOUR EQUILIBERUIM I ALSO LEARNED ITS YOUR INNER EAR THAT HELPS WITH BALANCE, BASICALLY I BEND MY HEAD UP OR NECK BACK AND CAN SEE IN FRONT OF ME.

ALSO BACK BEND AND THE KICK UP, WHEN YOU KICK UP IKICK SOFTLY AND GET THOSE FEET TOGETHER QUICKLY IMAGINE THERES A WALL THERE AND YOUR CAT TRYING TO TOUCH SOFTLY THEN YOUR LOWER BACK SHOULD HAVE A SLIGHT COMPENSTING BEND SO YOU DONT TIP OVER. REALLY ENVISON GOING UP WITH PERFECT GRACE AND FORM. THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT HELPED ME POLISH THE MOVE.

THERE ARE MANY HANDBALACING VARIATIONS AND POSTURES FOR EACH BODY TYPE THERE REALLY IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG TYPE OF POSTURE IE SOME HAVE A EXTREME BACKBEND, SOME BALANCE STRAIGHT UP AND DOWN. IT REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT FEELS COMFORTABLE TO YOU.

BUT I WORKED HARD TO JUST BE ABLE TO HOLD THE BASIC HANDSTAND AND SOMETIMES I CAN DO SOME PRESSES, BUT IT WAS WORTH IT NOW I ONLY PRACTICE A COUPLE TIMES A WEEK MAYBE AND AT ODD MOMENTS IN MY LIVING ROOM, IT SEEMS ONCE YOU LEARN AND TUNE YOUR BODY TO BALANCE IT BECOMES INSTINCTIVE LIKE DANCING OR WALKING.

IM SORRY MAN I WISH YOU COULD SEE HOW ISTRUGGLED TO GET TO MY BASIC LEVEL SO MANY FAILD ATTEMPTS AND WHAT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE IS NOW MY REALITY AND YES I STILL STUMBLE QUITE OFTEN ITS A STATE OF PERPETUAL PERFECTION.

[Nathan]

Hey SuperBeast,

I am glad you posted on this. I have been trying to get a handstand down and have had a few time where I was able to hold it for a few seconds (my maximum seconds is 8). But thank you for your input on this and all the best.

---Nathan Clay

[bennyb]

I have tried some handbalancing in gymnastics and it is tough to do as you may have noticed. The longest free handstand i did was around Nates time of 8 seconds or more. Its no question that conquering a handstand is steps closer to total body mastery. One of my buds has a site on this stuff better then anyone I know PM for the site. If you wanna learn hand balancing this is the guy to go to.

[tom]

There were a series of articles in Milo a while back about mastering the handstand. The first thing was to kick up and learn to come down under control:

Kick up
Before you start to fall on your back, take one hand and put it in front of the other, as if you were turning left or right.
That stops the back flop and allows you to come down with your feet

I assume the idea is that as you learn to adjust with your hands, you won't backflop and will gradually stay up longer.

I can't do it, but I thunk about trying.

I remember the author was a big, football sized guy.

Good luck,
Tom

[Nathan]

One more thing guys. Just wait until Johns hand balancing course come out and you will have everything you need to perfect the handstand. That I can promise.

---Nathan Clay

[kelbiz]

I've always wanted to try the handstand but was afraid of breaking my neck. Maybe i will rethink it.

Jack

[mts]

I've never gotten the nerve to try. There's been one or two occassions that I've been up to the wall and ready to go and couldn't get myself to go through with it.

A friend of mine was a gymnast and she laughs at me saying that even without a wall it's no big deal (even if you fall over). I'm still not there mentally, so I have no idea if I'm there physically.

[Greg Newton]

I don't have anything to add other than you guys have brought a smile to my face remembering when I was a pimply faced, unathletic teen watching my uncle, who is and was of slight stature, do a handstand and race down the beach on his hands to beat my brother who barely got a few yards. My uncle was in his thirties at the time and probably hadn't done a handstand since high school P.E. My brother was sure mad he beat him.

[budgiefan]

Superbeast, i respect everything you do and your awsome physique and all, but please tone down the caps.

To me the all caps always comes off as self-important, althoug I know you are not this way.

Sorry, I'm splitting hairs. Prolly because I can't do a handstand.

[Viking Dan]

I'd think you'd be better off starting with pike push ups to build shoulder and arm strength and gradually increase the height of your feet. Or I might be insane...

[April]

How is everyone doing with their handbalancing now that they have John's book? Joe, how is it going for you?

I actually tried a handstand the other day. I bent over, put my hands on the floor while my feet were still on the ground, looked around upside down, and wondered how I was going to get my feet up. Then I called my kids, "Uh, I'm stuck. What do I do now?" They thought I was cracked.

My little 10 year old Aiki acrobat flitted into the room and started flipping around all over the place. Cartwheels with all different landings, handstands to bridges then standing up, bridges on elbows then standing up, etc., etc., a total show off. And he loved every minute of showing me everything he COULD DO that I COULDN'T DO. Well, he did show me how to get into the upside down position by myself, so now I am going to work on trying to balance for a few seconds like that, even taking a few small steps, and maybe doing one handstand pushup. The hardest part was getting psyched up for the first handstand and overcoming my resistance to doing something new (as an adult - I did handstands all day every day as a child).

[gruntbrain]

Those of us who have a mind like a child & a body peeking over the hill can be inspired by watching children at play.

[John Peterson]

Hey April,

Your post made me smile. The biggest single challenge that any of us has as relates to hand balancing relates to the fear of being upside down. I've known many very strong men that were unable to Hand Balance simply because they hated the feeling of being upside down. So tell Aiki that he has a wonderful gift. Thanks for your post.

---John Peterson

P.S. GruntBrain, I could not agree more.

[gruntbrain]

Lessen the shock & fear of inevitable falls by using a thick exercise mat

[Flash11740]

I started out by getting my buddy to hold me up by the ankles. When doing it against the wall it's easier if you wear slippery socks on your feet! My current record is 17. It's one of those exercises where you make rapid gains from say 3 up to 15 then it starts to get hard. I've hit a plateu now, scoring between 10 and 15 on a regular basis, depending on how much sleep I got, when I last ate, and which day of the week it is.