There’s just something about old hand balancing pictures that I really enjoy. Maybe its hearkening back to a time when physical culture was simpler (…when everything was simpler.)
When you see a group of guys and gals doing some hand to hand balancing you know that they were having a blast doing that. Having fun while becoming stronger and more skilled then before.
Here are a few photo’s from Rafael Guerrero’s collection with him and two friends doing all the above at the beach.
I still kick myself to this day. Back when I first purchased my original copy of The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing by Paulinetti and Jones they had another course on head balancing. At the time I was only interested in doing handstands so I only got the one book. Since that time I have never seen another copy of the head balancing course offered even though I’m always looking.
While the regular headstand with the use of the hands is an easy stunt just about anyone can do, doing it without your hands is an entirely different matter. It takes tremendous balancing ability throughout your body. Here is a photo of Rafael Guerrero balancing on his head in good style.
I think the best way to work up to this stunt is to start with your hands and slowly do away with the fingers, similar to an approach you’d make with the one arm handstand.
Here’s another picture of Rafael Guerrero doing a one arm half planche or lever at Club Aponte.
There’s a few things I’d like to point out about this picture.
First off, on the move itself. I’ll be having more on the one arm half planche soon, even a full article as its a move I’ve been working on recently. You’ll notice his arm is moving, most likely this was an action shot, as he moved his arm to the fully extended position.
As you can see from the crowd this was a performance. Something to take into consideration if you ever perform. You need to be in a position that everyone can see you. If you don’t have a stage with theater seating you can simply raise yourself up on a table.
You’ll also notice the hand balancing stands Rafael is using. I guess these were common among professionals as they look very similar to the hand balancing stands I first received and have now made available. I just received a new shipment in from my manufacturer so they’re ready to ship out immediately. The hand balancing stands add a new dimension to what’s possible.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Rafael Guerrero's Block Building Handstand
One very impressive handstand stunt is to raise yourself off the ground by block building.
Start in a handstand with a stack of bricks or similar objects nearby. Shift over to one hand and grab a block with the other. Set that block down, shift your weight onto that arm then repeat on the other side. You build yourself up one block at a time.
This is an advanced skill as you’ll have to be in a one arm handstand much of the time even in just momentarily.
But its sure to impress anyone watching. And once you reach the top you can go down the same way or maybe jump off your blocks.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. The Halloween Sale is going strong. Check out how you can save on all hand balancing and acrobatic programs here.
A few comments were raised about the hand position in Rafael Guerrero’s planche in a previous post.
Why was he up on the fingertips? Is this necessary to do a planche in good form?
Unless you have hyper-flexible wrists you won’t be able to do a planche with the fingers pointing forwards and flat on the ground. Most people turn their wrists out to the sides to alleviate this sort of strain or come up on the fingers.
But there are other ways to do a planche with the hands not taking as much stress as these other pictures by Rafael show. You can do it on some sort of parallel bars.
Or completely on the fingertips.
Even in a hand-to-hand balance.
But if you do have the wrist flexibility you can do it on flat ground with the palms flat on the ground and facing forward. In the True Art and Science of Hand Balancing the chapter on planches showcases W.H. Mering doing just that.
And if you’re seeking to build incredible strength like these planches show I have an important announcement later this week. Stay tuned!
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Why was he up on the fingertips? Is this necessary to do a planche in good form?
Unless you have hyper-flexible wrists you won’t be able to do a planche with the fingers pointing forwards and flat on the ground. Most people turn their wrists out to the sides to alleviate this sort of strain or come up on the fingers.
But there are other ways to do a planche with the hands not taking as much stress as these other pictures by Rafael show. You can do it on some sort of parallel bars.
Or completely on the fingertips.
Even in a hand-to-hand balance.
But if you do have the wrist flexibility you can do it on flat ground with the palms flat on the ground and facing forward. In the True Art and Science of Hand Balancing the chapter on planches showcases W.H. Mering doing just that. Check out the book for more.
If you’re seeking to build incredible strength like these planches show I have an important announcement later this week. Stay tuned!
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
An older hand balancer recently sent me a CD full of pictures of himself and others hand balancing. There are some amazing pictures and I thought I’d start off with one of the best. And there will be many more coming posted up here. Without further adieu meet Rafael Guerrero.
What most people don’t realize is how to do the planche correctly. While any semblance of a planche is a great display of strength and skill, when you can pull it off in this form its that much better. Of course to do it like this being a much smaller size is a plus!
Here’s a small section from The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing talking about the correct form of the skill.
“As exemplified by Paulinetti, the planche on two hand’s finds the body straight, flat and horizontal from throat to toes, and especially from throat to pelvis. Since the chest is thicker than the waist, this means that the shoulders are decidedly humped, corresponding very much to the hips. The position is much as if the performer were lying on a bench with chin and toes extended over either end–there is no arch in the back, and the hips are NOT flexed at all. This is where much of the trouble comes in, just as in doing the straight handstand with the head between the arms. Usually the performer gets the chest fairly well positioned, but instead of leaving the hips straight and then flexing the waist area of the spine slightly, he leaves his arch in the back and jack-knifes the legs forward (pretty much as in Figure 6) in order to get the feet down into line with the trunk. Again, in trying the planche–especially if endeavoring to get the flat chest effect–he neglects to thrust the chin forward and as a result has his face looking right at the floor instead of raised about 45 degrees and looking straight ahead.
“All in all, the correct position is decidedly not a normal one to attain, especially to a balancer accustomed to arching his back, and nine out of ten aspirants never even approach it. They usually wind up in nothing other than a “horizontal handstand” position–back arched, head up, and latissimus muscles hooked against the triceps. Understand, this is much of an accomplishment in its own right…but it is not the true planche.”
If you want to find out much more on the planche the read the full chapter in the book for the full details. But now you know some of the specifics for what it takes to do a true planche.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
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