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Professor Paulinetti in India

By admin on September 26, 2007 in Uncategorized

The following is excerpted from the True Art and Science of Hand Balancing about Professor Paulinetti.

“Early in November, 1920, the word was passed about in the city of Calcutta, India, that an event of interest would happen at noon of a certain day atop the dome of the Empire Theatre Building.

Their curiosity aroused, and spurred on by the fact that they would see something free of charge, the natives thronged about the square where stood the popular playhouse.

Promptly at midday a figure appeared as if from nowhere, arising from behind the ball atop the dome of the building.

Seemingly he grasped the smooth sides of the sphere, leaned forward and placed his head on the top of it, and slowly pressed up into a perfect balance on the head, the hands being held on the hips, and the legs spread apart and inclined forward.

There, clad in blue tights that made him visible for considerable distance, the performer remained at least thirty seconds–to the watchers below it seemed an hour–then, just as slowly as he arose to balance, he lowered his body and disappeared from view behind the dome by way of the same ladder by which he had ascended, while on the packed streets below the crowd roared its approval.

They had met Paulinetti, and they liked him.”

Professor Paulinetti Head Balancing

Amazing what a simple looking (but not so simple in execution) trick can do to the minds of others, isn’t it?

But this was a run-of-the-mill activity for the Professor, not even close to one of his more difficult performances.

If you are interested in hearing more stories about Prof. Paulinetti let me know.

Of course if you want to read them yourself and see pictures of the stunts then you know where to go: The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing

Hearing, reading about, or seeing the best can always give you some extra motivation.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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Current Attempt at a Backflip

By admin on September 19, 2007 in Tumbling

Just thought I would put up a short video for fun.

Anyway, this is a backflip I did last night at my gymnastics class. I am doing it on level ground and getting to my feet so it is not too bad. But it still has a couple spots for improvement. And of course consistency is a big key.

Being able to do backflips has been a goal of mine since I was a young kid. Seeing as previously I couldn’t even go backwards on a trampoline, it has been a long journey.

I’d tell you how you could get there but you really need proper instructions and equipment to get started. So I must say do not try this at home.

Good Luck and Good Tumbling,
Logan Christopher

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Underwater Handstand

By admin on September 19, 2007 in Handstands

Is doing an underwater handstand a good idea? Read below for that and other questions from readers like you. Remember that if you want your questions answered just email them to me. I can’t personally reply to all of them but I will post them for all to see.

Here’s the first one:

Thank you so much for the good tips. I am just a beginner of the hand stand on land. I already know how to do headstand (“King of Yoga” ). I also do good hand stand and hand walk underwater in the swimming pool at my local LA Fitness. In fact I handwalked the entire length of the pool in one breath few days ago. But I find it much more difficult to do hand stand on land. Shall I keep practicing underwater hand stand and hand walk while trying to learn hand stand on land? Will I pick up “bad habits” while doing the underwater hand balancing?
Best regards, Brian Ko

Now I have never heard this one before. Not having practiced in the water it is hard to say for sure but here are my feelings.

Water is going to give you some resistance for you to push off of. This is why it is easier. When you balance on land you cannot push off the air in this manner. I imagine that you will be balancing with your body rather than your hands for the most part. If you want to be able to do a handstand on land then you should be practicing that.

The other thing is holding the breath. Obviously this must be done if you are underwater, and unless you have great lungs you won’t be able to balance for a long time. However, in hand balancing you do not want to hold your breath. A big key, and also something hard to learn, is to be able to breathe normally when you practice.

My advice is to stick to the land. It is harder but you will get the hang of it. There may be some benefit from practicing underwater but I the time would be better spent on solid ground.

And from our friend Seth:

Hello, I was wondering where is the best place to look while you are in a handstand, I find myself always looking at the ground, but recently I started trying to look forward and keeping neck straight. Which way is correct? Thank you for all your help it is very much appreciated.

Both are correct depending on what you are going for. Most of the time I look at the ground. I find this position easier. Remember that the back tends to follow the head, so if you are looking at your hands then you will naturally arch.

Now if you look forward then your back will straighten out and this will give you the straight handstand look and feel. Once you get use to this position it can be just as easy as the other one.

It all depends on what you are going for but both are correct for hand balancing.

That wraps it up for today.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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Make Haste Slowly

By admin on September 14, 2007 in Handstands

If there was a pill that you could take, that would immediately transform you into a world class hand balancer, would you take it?

YES I would! Sadly, there is no such pill.

Becoming great hand balancer requires work. Lots and lots of work.

The problem is that the more you want it and push for it sometimes the farther away it seems.

The worst part of learning any new stunt is the frustration when you just can’t get it right. So you keep on pushing and only get worse it seems.

When you are going after a handstand, and mind you this applies to any trick, as soon as you fall out of balance you may want to kick right back up again. Trying to force the situation will never help.

Whenever this happen take the time to step back. Take a deep breath and think about how you can do better. Don’t over think the process, but analyze your technique and realize if you are doing things correctly.

Now go at it again with optimism.

If you throw yourself into a hand balance you may feel like you can get more work in a shorter amount of time. Perhaps you get one in ten to stick and you feel like you are progressing.

The question to ask yourself is do you want to go about this haphazardly or in the correct manner?

I am hoping you answered with the second option. You need to start slowly in order to make progress in the long run.

Going after the handstand with no prior skills is a hard way to do it. Learning the position and hand control with exercises like the Frog stand and Head Stand will give you two steps in the right direction.

The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing

Don’t just go after the One Hand Handstand by getting into a normal handstand and raising one hand off of the floor quickly. Practice handstands with a smaller base of support or with one arm elevated up.

Don’t be too anxious to get to your goal or you are putting obstacles in your own way.

If you needed to cover a distance of 30 feet would you try a broad jump or walk each step at a time?

I am as guilty of this problem as any of you. What we need to do is realize how much assistance exercises and lead-up stunts can help, use them, and in the end we will make progress faster.

By breaking your goal into easier steps along the way you will get there with haste.

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