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Joe Nordquest

By admin on October 17, 2008 in Bridging, One Hand

Joe Nordquest was a classic strongman back in the early part of last century. He was the brother of ‘The Young Sandow’ Alfred Nordquest.

Joe Nordquest Hand Balancer

Here are some of his hand balancing exploits. From Klein’s Bell in November of 1931:

Joe Nordquest performed a one hand stand and with the free hand lifted a 100 pound dumb bell off the floor and held the balance. He also has on numerous occasions done 28-30 hand stand press ups in succession on the floor.

From David Willoughby’s The Super Athletes:

He later put on some weight moving up from 168 pounds to 190. Even at this size he was capable of jumping off a 30 inch table onto the floor while staying in a handstand.

The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing

Joe Nordquest Shoulder Bridge

Here he is pictured pressing 388 in the shoulder bridge. This was before the bench press ever came to be. You think his success and strength in hand balancing helped him get to this level?

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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The Biggest One Hand Handstand Tip

By admin on October 1, 2008 in One Hand

The one hand handstand is probably the most amazing skill in hand balancing. Sure there are more difficult ones and variations of the move but everyone can understand just how remarkable the one hand handstand is.

If you can hold a one armer you’re doing something right. If you can’t do it, you’re likely dreaming of the one day when you can.

On the following page you’ll find Bob Jones biggest tip for accomplishing this goal. Too many people gloss over this as it seems too simple (myself included).

Tips on the One Hand Handstand

This is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing has not one but two chapters on this one arm balancing.

I received several comments from people who are loving the videos. If you want to add your name to the list you can go directly to the youtube pages and post your comments there. And while you’re at it, give it a good rating for me.

Here’s the videos from the previous three days:
One Hand Handstand
Handstand Pushup Tips
Handstand Shoulder Weaving

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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Supported One Hand Handstand

By admin on July 19, 2008 in One Hand

One Hand Handstand on Knee

A simple partner hand balancing stunt. In fact, this one hand handstand may be easier than the normal kind.

Notice how Marlin’s wrist is supported by George Wayne. Overall it is a very good position for the one handed handstand. Tight and lined up.

Just by studying pictures of some of the best closely you can find out where you can improve. Of course, it helps if you have pictures of yourself to compare them to.

I know what the main question on your mind is. Where can you get a pair of those leopard print shorts?

I can’t help you with that but if you want to learn How to do the One Hand Handstand click here.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

PR: wait…

I: wait…

L: wait…

LD: wait…

I: wait…

wait…

C: wait…

SD: wait…

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Is Age a Factor in Hand Balancing?

By admin on July 1, 2008 in One Hand, Uncategorized

There’s some cool things in store for this month. And we are going kick off the holiday weekend with an important announcement on Thursday.

We will keep up that momentum through the whole month with a new release (or re-release) almost every single week.

On top of that there are new articles and videos coming. To hold you over here’s a new question from Ross.

“Hi, I’ve looked through the site and find it very interesting. One point I was surprised not to see mentioned was the factor of age in learning balance. I was always told that you must start very young to ever have exceptional balance. Is this true or just a myth? I am 29 and always assumed I could probably learn handstands but not one-handed or anything advanced. As a break-dancer, I have always concentrated on movements and neglected static balances for this reason. “

I don’t know where you heard this but it’s something that I’ve never have. And it’s definitely a myth. Be careful any time you assume something. You know what that does, right?

If you look at it logically you’ll find the only thing that could stop you from learning is in your mind. There is no physical aspect that occurs at what, say 9 years old or maybe its 13, where its too late for you to become a good balancer.

Sure there is benefits to being young in regards to balancing. They have many more years to practice. Plus their mind is much less likely to get in the way.

I tell you what’s true though. If you believe you’ll never be able to hold a one-hand handstand than you definitely won’t.

The same holds true for anything in life. Don’t believe you can learn a new language or to play a musical instrument. Then you won’t make the effort and you won’t reap the rewards.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. If you do want to learn the One Handed Handstand, you need a plan of action and that plan can be found here.

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Handstand Positions, One Hand Balancing and more

By admin on April 5, 2008 in Handstands, One Hand, Planche

Dipping into the mailbag today to answer a few questions. If you’ve got something on your mind, send it my way. You can easily click here to ask away.Here’s a good one from Rose talking about the new 10 Handstand Mistakes report.

“I really love the guide, but some things, to me, are a little confusing. Like where exactly should you bend your back, and what will it feel like when you hit that perfect thing? Is that just something that should be experienced simply by experience? And also, on my hands, I have a hard time really keeping the balance depending on the position of my hands…if I’m leaning forward slightly, or if my fingers are even the slightest moved…Is there anything you can write in there about your experiences with hand positions? Other than that, I can’t really think of anything. Thanks! :D”

Where you bend your back will be dependent on you. Yes you have to experience it but you can learn a lot from looking at pictures and of course watching video.

Most of the bend is in the low back, and personally I feel like I get ‘locked in’ to the right position whenever I do a handstand. Keep at it and you’ll get the feel.

As for the hands, there is much you can do with them. Honestly any position you take with your hands is doable for the handstand, whether its on the fists, hands backwards, or just the thumbs.

But the standard position is hands flat on the ground with either the middle or index fingers pointing forward. Work on this position first and foremost until you have build up your balancing ability.

Once you have a decent handstand feel free to mix up your hand positions. Professor Orlick gives you 25 different hand positions and 10 different finger positions to work on it Hand Balancing Made Easy. Many of these I had never even though about trying.And here’s one from Aldy.

“I can do straddle planche well enough, but I cant do one handstand balance. what is d secret of one hand handstand and one hand planche. for notes, I am not learning gymnastic, because in my country gymnast is not popular. Thank You!!!”

The secret? Alright you asked so I am going to give it to you. The secret is…You have to work up to it progressively.

First off, congratulations on doing the planche. That is a move few can do. But there is a big difference in the planche and the one hand handstand. One requires more strength while the other requires much more balance. And you have to be progressive in your balance training.

Jim Bathurst and I talked at length about this in the interview for the Hand Balancing Mastery Course. Basically you are going to have to train a bit differently for each. Just like you would train the free standing handstand and handstand pushups against the wall differently you should do the same here.

And like the normal handstand, the way I teach it, you have to work on a series of lead up stunts that will give you the ability to balance on one hand. There are many helpful variations that lead up to the one hand handstand. Professor Orlick lays them all out in as easy to use manner in How to do the One Hand Handstand.

I am working on my own plan, exactly what is working for me, but details on that another time.

Since this is already running long I’ll have to save more for next time.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. If you want to get all of Professor Orlick’s works plus the interview with Jim and more than click here.

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Leading up to any Handstand Stunt

By admin on February 28, 2008 in One Hand

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.

How to do the One Hand Handstand by Professor Orlick

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“.

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One Handed Handstand

By admin on February 26, 2008 in One Hand

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 – https://www.break.com/index/treadmill-handstand-attempt.html. I hope this guy ain’t a student of mine.

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Ichiske Ishikawa's One Hand Handstand Stunt

By admin on December 29, 2007 in One Hand, Walking & Jumping

Here comes yet another story from Ray Van Cleef.

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.

Ichiske Ishikawa

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.

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Fine One-Hand Balancing

By admin on November 23, 2007 in Handstands, One Hand

“Jimmy Starkey of Santa Monica, California recently held a one-hand-balance for a minute and a half on top of a freight train going thirty-five miles per hour. F.O.B (Fine One-hand Balancing).”

Well recently is not the right term. This occurred somewhere back in 1950. I told you I got a hold of some old acrobatic magazine issues and this is just a little snippet from one of them.

Most people can’t hold a handstand for a minute and a half, let alone a one-hand handstand, let alone on top of a moving train.

One theme that always comes up when fellow hand balancers talk is how the sky is the limit on what you can do. This is a good example of that.

If you take the time and work on it hard enough you too can be doing feats like Jimmy. And I promise more of the great stuff from these magazines soon including great photos.

Now on to a couple of business issues.

It’s been wild over here with the release of the new Hand Balancing Mastery Course. If you have ordered one then it was shipped out today with the first batch of deliveries.

If your waiting on the fence then you might want to get off, because there is one more free t-shirt available to the next person who orders.

I realized that releasing the course right around a major holiday here in the US might not have been the best idea. Many people stay away from there computers to spend time with their families to celebrate Thanksgiving.

So if you missed all that has happened then be sure to check out the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.

There will be lots of new articles, old school pictures, and even new sections added to the site in the coming weeks.

In the mean time keep up the hand balancing. If anyone wants to duplicate Jimmy’s feat then let me know because I want to hear about. Please be careful though.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. You can get a free t-shirt as well as the greatest course in hand balancing history if you act fast by going to see the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.

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Professor Orlick on the One Hand Handstand

By admin on November 8, 2007 in One Hand

One question from the survey a couple weeks back was for me to inform you about my current training.

Well, my main goal has been the one hand handstand. I’ve wanted to be able to do this move for a long, long time. Finally I am actually going after it.

A big help in learning how to do this elusive stunt was reading How to do a One-Hand Handstand by Professor E.M. Orlick. He breaks it down into such simple steps that you can’t but help eventually get the move.

For example, there are a series of training tips and lead-up stunts that will help you ’to own’ this stunt. Some of them involve lessening your base.

Let me explain. In a normal handstand your hands are shoulder width apart. The One Hand Handstand involves a base much smaller – just a single hand! So not only are you not getting the benefit of using two hands in the normal handstand but you are eliminating the foot of space between your hands. This makes the One Hand Handstand at least ten times the difficulty of the normal handstand.

One move to help with this, the Professor explains, is just a handstand with your thumbs touching. Your base is now smaller by a certain degree but you still have two hands to use. Still when you first give this a shot you may find yourself not just over or under balancing but falling to the sides as well.

When this move gets easy you can do a hand-on-hand handstand.

This is one of many helpful ways to get the coveted One Hand Handstand. Now I haven’t pulled it off yet, but I am over halfway there.

How to do a One-Hand Handstand is only one of three books inside the Hand Balancing Mastery Course. Next time you’ll see what the other’s are about and some other details of the course.

Don’t forget you can win a copy by sending in your success story.

The contest is in full force. While I have received entries, I’m sure many are polishing up their story, getting their pictures ready and more before turning it in.

And I’ve decided on a end date for the contest. Get you entries in by midnight of Monday, November 19th. Anything later than that will not be eligible to win the prize. That’s less than two weeks away. I realize that many of you are overseas so it would be wise to send them in early.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. In case you missed the contest details you can read all about it below.

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