Tag Archives | gymnastics coaching

Science of Handwalking

By on June 21, 2010 in Walking & Jumping

I was sent a couple of articles by Rick over at GymnasticsCoaching.com

These can be found in the Science of Gymnastics Journal found here.

handwalking

They actually did a study on this? Cool...

One particular article caught my eye, concerning a comparison of hand walking to regular walking.

You’re welcome to read the seven page report yourself but I’ll give you the results they found.

I’ve seen many people compare hand balancing to standing on the feet. While this can be useful in certain situations this study showed that because of the structure of the body things have to be different (no big surprise there).

How to do the One Hand Handstand by Professor Orlick
ow to do the One Hand Handstand on Amazon

Gymnasts of various, but all above average skill levels, were used in this study.

What they found was the cadence of walking on the hands was similar to the feet albeit much shorter even if you take into consideration the difference in lengths of the arms and bones.

Also hand walking requires a wider base of support then on the feet.

What they found is that the more skilled gymnasts spent more time with both hands on the ground at one time and with more consistent stride length.

These are just a few things to take into consideration the next time you go for a stroll on your hands.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Want full details on how to walk, run, jump, skip and even tap dance on your hands? Check out How to Walk on Your Hands in the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.

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Washington Trapeze

By on April 13, 2010 in Uncategorized

As if balancing on the head or hands isn’t hard enough. As if trapeze isn’t a difficult discipline in its own right. No, some feel the need to combine the two!

Trampoline Handbook
Trampoline Handbook on Amazon

This is known as Washington trapeze, a circus discipline invented in the 1800s by Kaye Washington. In this complex aerial act, the artist must balance him or herself on the head on the trapeze bar, thanks to a small “headrest” screwed down to the bar, and then launch into a series of balancing acts on the hands or feet, according to Canadian artist Marie-Josée Lévesque whose video is below.

And this one is an award winning Washington trapeze act by Elizabeth Axt

I first heard about these acts over at Gymnastics Coaching. And on that note you can see a guest post on the history of hand balancing I wrote for them.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing (on or off a trapeze),
Logan Christopher

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