Tag Archives | Mean Time

How to do the Headspring

By on April 21, 2008 in Tumbling

First off a big thanks to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey. Your questions and comments are extremely helpful.

The Acrobatic Conditioning report is shaping up nicely. I expect it’ll be done later this week.

In the mean time one question that came up more than once went something along these lines. I can do forward rolls no problem, but how to you do a front handspring?

I may be risking starting to sound like a broken record but the answer is to work on a few stunts that’ll lead-up to it. In this case work on the HEADspring first.

And the video will show you how.

As you progress forward in tumbling you will realize that almost all the moves are a variation of some basic movement. In this case that is a spring generated from the back through the legs.

Walking and Jumping On Your HandsWalking and Jumping On Your Hands on Amazon

This is the foundational movement of too many stunts to name but here are a few, front handspring, kips, headsprings, snap-downs, roundoffs, etc.

If you can do a good headspring the handspring is not far off. Just lock out your arms and do the same movement.

Good Luck and Good Tumbling,
Logan Christopher

 

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How to Kick-up into a Handstand

By on March 22, 2008 in Handstands

The kick-up is one of the most important skills you have to learn if you want to do a handstand, next to balancing with your hands and keeping your body tight.The question is, how consistent is your kick-up?I didn’t figure this out right away when I started, but if you can kick up the exact same each time then getting into and holding a handstand is easy.

If your kick-up is all over the place, then there’s no wonder why you have a hard time getting into a hand balance.

Of course, there are several different ways to kick-up. I cover all the basic ways for the beginner and even more advanced variation in the April issue of the newsletter.

My favorite regular kick-up I learned from Bob Jones in The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing. That one is shown here.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usTC0oXqXtI]

There are a bunch of fine details that make a kick-up work. I am not gonna lie and say that I never miss a single one, but after concentrating on this for some time I no longer hit only one handstand out of ten like I use to.

If you’re having trouble with yours, start practicing. Better yet get the newsletter and learn all about how to get it done, the best method of practicing, and how far you can take it.

I wish it was ready to go right now, but I’m just putting the finishing touches and final edits on it before it the newsletter and DVD’s go to press.

In the mean time, I hope you enjoy these video clips.

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

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. You can learn more about Bob Jones’ 4-step method of kicking-up into a handstand here.

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Yoga's Scorpion Pose

By on February 23, 2008 in Flexibility & Contortion

When I was practicing a bit of my hand balancing last week someone who practiced yoga commented on it and we started a conversation.

One balance that she told me about is the Scorpion Pose also known as Vrschikasana. (No, I don’t know how you pronounce that.)

For any hand balancer is should not be much of a problem to get started. But if you need it you can always use a wall.

Simply kickup into a forearm stand. From here all you do is bend your knees and bring your feet to your head.

In this pose you want to keep your feet and knees together, though your body will naturally want to separate them.

How far your feet can go depends on the flexibility of your back. For the contortionist is will be easy to touch the feet on the head or even bring them under the chin.

If you can’t get there, not to worry, just do what you can and build from there.

Tumbling Illustrated
Tumbling Illustrated on Amazon

I just did a couple while writing this. Let me tell you this is one move that will instantly lift your spirits and make you feel alive.

Go ahead and give it a try.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. With all my travels I fell out of my normal writing schedule but will get back on it now. In the mean time if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask – https://lostartofhandbalancing.com/question.html

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The Show Must Go On

By on January 26, 2008 in Uncategorized

There I was busily typing away, working on a future project, when my laptop started to make a clicking noise. I sat there mesmerized as it froze up and then died.

Son of a…

I tired several times to restart the computer but to no avail. A visit to a repair place and a call to tech support later and I am stuck in the same boat.

Unfortunately, this means no computer for some time. Maybe weeks while I send it in to the repair place and wait for it to come back.

Now I expect computers to do this sort of thing when they are old but I bought this laptop just 6 months ago.

Thankfully I can get to the public library and use the internet. Still a hassle but I’m glad its there when you need it.

Having no computer sure makes running and online business a bit of a challenge. But I’ll manage.

These emails will go out on a semi-regular basis. Anything you buy – https://lostartofhandbalancing.com/products.html – will still be processed and shipped in a timely manner.

Other things like adding articles, pictures, or new web pages will have to wait for now. There is lots in the works as far as video lessons are concerned but that too will go on hold.

In the mean time I’ll be searching for a work-around for this little problem. If this sounded like a sob story I didn’t intend it to be. Just letting you know whats going on.

Which brings me to hand balancing.

Its nice when you think about it. It requires zero equipment. Nothing to crash and burn leaving you helpless.

Just you and the ground (the last time I checked thats in plentiful supply and if it goes away you got bigger problems to worry about then hand balancing).

The only thing that can stop you from becoming an accomplished hand balancer is you. There are no excuses.

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

In the words of Nike, “Just Do It.”

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Of course its wise to learn from those that have come before you. And that’s how you put yourself on the fast-track to hand balancing success.

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Fine One-Hand Balancing

By 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.

Hand Balancing Made EasyHandBalancingMadeEasy_on_Amazon

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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