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How to Walk on Your Hands and How Not to

By admin on December 20, 2008 in Walking & Jumping

In a previous blog post I wrote about changing positions in the handstand and how you can do that to increase your balancing skill.

Similar in many regards is walking on your hands.

Let me preface this by saying, that walking on your hands can be easier then standing still or harder and that depends entirely on how you go about it.

Stumbling around, that is catching yourself from falling by stepping with your hands, is easy to do. But it does not exhibit the control you want and it doesn’t really help you get better.

Most any fit person can manage at least a few steps in this manner. But as I’ve said before, I think its important to learn how to stand still before you begin walking.

The other side, the harder way, is through walking and staying in control the entire time.

If you think about it, all you’re doing is shifting your weight to a single hand for a moment as you take a step with the hand. And then you repeat the process.

That bit makes the move harder than just standing still. You have to constantly correct your balance with every little movement.

At the same time it should serve to work your body better at maintaining its normal position in the handstand. If you allow yourself to get into a place where you can’t balance from you haven’t kept control.

Walking on the hands in the many ways you can do it will make you a better balancer.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. In Professor Orlick’s Walking and Jumping on Your Hands you’ll find all you need to know on taking your first steps, running, dancing, leaping and much more. By far the best guide to this grouping of hand balancing skills.

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Walking on Your Hands Down Stairs

By admin on November 25, 2008 in Walking & Jumping

Some years ago when I was teaching Physical Education at the Western University Medical School I decided to see just how many steps I could conquer with practice. Therefore, twice every week after I had finished all of my classes, I took a crack at the main stairs.

For a couple of weeks I stuck to one flight of stairs as a sort of warm up. Then I added a few more steps with each try, until I was doing two flights with no difficulty. Gradually I added more steps, without really pushing myself to the limit and within a month was doing three flights regularly. The fourth flight gave me a bit of trouble, but once I got beyond this I landed two more to make it six flights in two months. At the end of three months I could start at the top of the building and make it “non-stop” all the way to the bottom…eight flights in all, and began looking for bigger buildings to conquer.

***

This story comes from Professor Orlick. I don’t know about you but I think walking down six flights of stairs is quite impressive.

Walking down stairs in certainly not a stunt beginners should go after but it serves as a great challenge to work up to. Even so, just about anyone can get started walking on their hands.

In Walking and Jumping on Your Hands, Prof. Orlick goes in depth on just about every possibility there is when it comes to walking on your hands. From starting with baby steps to running, dancing, jumping and more.

And if you think going down stairs is hard, just try going up. But this is broken down to a brain-dead simple process anyone can follow.

Of all of Orlick’s books I think this one is my favorite.

How to do the One Hand Handstand by Professor Orlick

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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Walking on Your Hands Article

By admin on August 12, 2008 in Walking & Jumping

I hope you’ve been enjoying the Olympics. Although I’ve been traveling around, now that I’m settled back in I’ll be watching a lot more.

And it just so happens that today is when the finals for gymnastics start. Which as I said before contain some of my favorite events. There are others but I think Gymnastics tops them all.

If you live in the US and want to know what’s going on I recommend you check out www.nbcolympics.com for tons of coverage, details and everything else you need.

On top of that I got the new article and video up on the site.

This one covers a few tips on walking on the hands. Including one of the best methods to develop real control while doing it. Walking on the hands that will make your stationary handstand better.

You don’t need to be an Olympic level athlete to do this! Learn how to Walk on Your Hands here.

The video is just a piece of the DVD coming with this month’s Acrobat Accelerator. There is still time to get your hands on it. But there are only 17 left. Once its gone its gone.

And remember from last time it includes my biggest tip on learning to balance on your hands.

If you are just starting out I recommend you go with the Secrets of the Handstand Quickstart Guide. You’ll get everything you need to do a handstand plus this month’s tips and tricks.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christophe

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Walking on Your Hands

By admin on June 14, 2008 in Handstands, Walking & Jumping

Here’s a good question from Tony.

“Dear Logan Christopher, I am a 44 year old male that just decided to do handstands since it was a great workout. I can do a handstand and pushups against the wall. I just read your 10 handstand tips and will work on these great ideas. My problem is when I try to walk on my hands my legs tend to fall toward the “wall direction” when I try to stand without the wall. I feel that it is fear of falling flat on my back. Sometimes my hand strides are a little too big as I am trying to go too fast and then my legs fall toward “the wall direction.” I can hold a handstand probably at least 30 sec. I am usually sustaining myself up after doing 13-15 handstand pushups through a short ROM. I initially thought it was my ab/core strength and I just started with Eddie Baran’s gymnastic abs dvd which is fun and challenging. I am improving but got a little concerned when you said that walking is easier than standing. Your hints have clued me into improving my body awareness with standing and increase my length of time. Any other ideas?”

I should have clarified the position on standing vs. walking. For most people the walking is going to be much easier. This is because you can shift your weight around and take a step with your hands toward any direction you are falling.

If you take the time to learn how to stand still, and remain in a good handstand position than you are much better off than someone who can merely walk on his hands.

When you are walking on your hands the legs tend to ‘fall forward’ in overbalancing. This is a good thing because that’s the forward momentum you want to walk with.

The key is to maintain control. You don’t want to be overbalancing so much that your hands can’t keep up or that you just fall out of the handstand.

To work on the control even more so, you should practice different size steps as Prof. Orlick teaches in Walking and Jumping on Your Hands. Go for small steps. Next try to clear a yard with each step.

You can also vary the speed with which you walk. Even try running on your hands!

But first and most important is to learn to stand on your hands. So that you can maintain a good handstand and not just stay on your hands by catching yourself from falling.

Just keep training and you’ll be able to walk, stand, run and hop on your hands without a problem.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Click here for more on walking, running and jumping on your hands.

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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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Gene Jackson Walking on His Hands down the Railroads

By admin on October 17, 2007 in Walking & Jumping

Another amazing hand balancing stunt straight out of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Gene Jackson from New York walking across a single rail of railroad track. You can see more of Gene Jackson’s stunts in The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing on pages 122 and 124

Gene Jackon Walking on his Hands

The next time you are by some tracks give it a shot. You will find it is quite a bit more difficult than walking across a flat ground.

The main reason for this is that you will have a narrower base than you usually have when walking. Instead of just falling forward or back, which happens in normal handstands, your body now can fall to the sides as well.

Even if you don’t walk the railways on your hands, by incorporating some kind of narrow base handstand work into your training you will increase your balancing skills even more.

It is also a great way to build up toward a one arm handstand.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. I am putting together a free gift for you if you are willing to help me out. You’ll hear about it real soon.

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