The human flag involves supporting your body on a pole or some rigid structure and making your body shoot straight out from it, like a flag on a pole, hence the name. This require complete body control and strength especially in the abdominals to support the legs at the disadvantaged leverage.
As seen in this picture it can also be done with a partner. Due to the position it looks slightly easier in this version than without a partner.
This has to be one of the most amazing feats I have ever witnessed. I’ve show-cased Shaolin monks and the finger balancing abilities before. But this is amazing and I have no doubt to its authenticity. Watch and see the ‘Two Finger Zenist Kung Fu’.
It’s a skill that has long eluded me. A straight arm press.
With my long limbs, I don’t have the leverage and flexibility to quite get the move. Bent arm presses are easy. Straight arm presses not so much. But I am making progress.
There are a number of ways you can work up to this skill. And today I’ll be discussing one which has been a big help.
The first straight arm press to work on is from a straddle. With the legs spread wide the idea is to bring them out and around as you come up into a handstand.
This skill takes strong arms, particularly the shoulders as you must support your body in a leveraged position. Plus you need the ab and core strength to raise the legs up while holding yourself in space.
As the legs start low, it makes sense that in order to make this move easier, you start off with the legs on a raised platform. From here it’s like starting in the middle of the move. The higher up you go the easier it becomes (that is until a certain point where it just becomes awkward due to the height).
As you improve you ability to raise off the ground in complete control, with no momentum, you can lower the height you start from. Eventually you’ll make it to the ground.
Follow this progression and you’ll be able to do straight arm presses from a straddle. From there you can move onto more difficult progressions.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
I got this in just a couple days ago from Steve.
Thank you. I am a 60–almost 61–year old man, 6’1″, about 185 lbs. I have lifted off and on since age 15, trying to stay in shape. During my college years I did a small amount of handstands. I taught myself to do them by kicking up against a wall. Back then I could even do what I call handstand pushups, which I have always considered a true gauge of pressing strength. I figure that if you can do say, 10 handstand pushups, kissing the ground at the bottom of each rep, then you are pretty strong. I would even try to make them a little harder by putting each hand on a gallon paint can, and lowering myself between them. After a while, I learned to walk on my hands, but it’s been many, many years since I’ve even practiced any of this stuff consistently.
They say as a person ages they lose their sense of balance, unless they work on it. So that is why I am interested in your site. I watched part of your 30 minute video and already have learned some things. I’ve been kicking up against a wall and slowly lowering myself a few inches at a time, then pressing out, to try to develop my handstand strength. I also need to work on my balance. My goals would be to do a one-minute free handstand, to do ten “floor kiss” handstand pushups, AND to walk on my hands for at least one minute without falling. Not sure if any of these are attainable for an old geezer like me. Maybe my goals are too lofty; what do you think?
Thanks for coming by Steve.
Yes, I absolutely think your goals are attainable. While it is easier for young people to learn these skills this doesn’t mean anyone older can’t do it. Professor Paulinetti practiced his hand balancing into his 70’s before passing on at 76. Granted he was already one of the best but that doesn’t mean anyone can’t practice and attain new skills at any age.
Add to the fact that you have prior experience and I see no reason why you can’t get back to what you were doing in your college days.
My advice would be to follow what’s laid out in the Handstand quick start video. Work on standing still in a free handstand before you start walking around. And once you hit about 30 seconds in a free handstand you can add in the hand walking practice.
Add to that a few handstand pushups, which you can find more information about that here and here, and you’ll be well on your way. What you wrote, doing the partials reps, is an excellent place to begin.
Be sure to keep me posted of your progress.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Today marks day 15 of the 30 day challenge.
On the site I’ve shared a bit about my own progress, several tips, a few videos and old pictures.
While progress was quickly made in gymnastics, getting back into the flow of things, there were some setbacks in training, due to being too sore. Still I have practiced at least a little everyday so far.
Now that I’ve return to a bit more normal training schedule and the soreness has gone away I’m spending more time each day in a handstand.
I’ve been working my handstand position. Just playing around with different ways to hold it. Changing body position, mostly working towards a straight handstand, and seeing how that affects the balance.
On top of that my main goals are the one arm handstand and the one arm half planche. Happy to report both arm coming along, although the latter is making quicker progress.
How are you doing so far?
I saw this video awhile back on GymnasticsCoaching.com. Do not try this.
Certain professional hand balancers, like Inguar Anderson, have flirted with death by doing dangerous hand balancing stunts, for professional reasons. But it is not recommended for anyone to try to do the same.
When you see this guy doing a handstand, stumbling a few steps after his kickup, and falling down trying to press back up, you know he is not a professional. So trying to do a handstand a few feet or inches from a deadly drop is not a wise choice. Every once in awhile you’ll hear about someone who did a handstand on a building or something and fell to their death.
I do not recommend doing a handstand in any situation where if you fail you would hurt or kill yourself. If you’ve confident in your skills and have been practicing a long time you can up the intensity, but avoid doing something stupid like this.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
There’s just something about old hand balancing pictures that I really enjoy. Maybe its hearkening back to a time when physical culture was simpler (…when everything was simpler.)
When you see a group of guys and gals doing some hand to hand balancing you know that they were having a blast doing that. Having fun while becoming stronger and more skilled then before.
Here are a few photo’s from Rafael Guerrero’s collection with him and two friends doing all the above at the beach.
With all the wide variety of hand balancing skills you can possibly do what should you focus on?
This is the topic of one of the eight special reports found in the Hand Balancing Mastery Course, but I’d like to give you a few details on it now.
The more time you spend practicing the more skills you can focus on. In fact, you’ll need to spread that time out into a variety of moves.
This may be obvious but it is nevertheless important.
If you don’t practice very often or for very long you’ll be better off just focusing on a single skill or two. Now this may involve doing several assistance or lead-up stunts that will the main skills. But its all in the efforts for just one goal.
That’s the other big part of what to focus on. It depends on what you want to accomplish. I believe simply by having a goal, especially with a deadline, you’ll make progress probably twice as fast.
That’s it for today. If you don’t have a set goal why don’t you figure out what that is and write it down. Then figure out the best way to approach it.
My goal is to hold a one arm handstand with real balance for at least five seconds by the end of this year. What’s yours?
Maybe you’ve heard of slacklining before. Maybe you haven’t. Either way this slackline video shows some of the best tricks I’ve ever seen.
Before this I had never seen backflips, front flips and other crazy tricks on the slackline.
Considering I tried to mount a slackline one time and it took about 20 minutes before I could even stand on it with some steadiness I give these athletes a big shout out for their skills. It takes an entirely different form of balancing.
Anyone out there practice slacklining regularly?
I still kick myself to this day. Back when I first purchased my original copy of The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing by Paulinetti and Jones they had another course on head balancing. At the time I was only interested in doing handstands so I only got the one book. Since that time I have never seen another copy of the head balancing course offered even though I’m always looking.
While the regular headstand with the use of the hands is an easy stunt just about anyone can do, doing it without your hands is an entirely different matter. It takes tremendous balancing ability throughout your body. Here is a photo of Rafael Guerrero balancing on his head in good style.
I think the best way to work up to this stunt is to start with your hands and slowly do away with the fingers, similar to an approach you’d make with the one arm handstand.
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