The MOST IMPORTANT Handstand Skill, Maybe EVER
Written by Travis Ewart
The idea of a balancing on your hands is not really a difficult one to understand. But time after time you see formidable athletes failing to reach a full balanced handstand position- but why? You can ask any therapist and they will tell you that the body holds on to trauma, and though we often times refer to PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) with heinous or horrifying events, an athlete who has fallen over in a handstand may also carry some PTSD from the event, even if there were no long-lasting physical injuries, or any physical injury at all!
Overcome the Fear of Handstands
Unless you were raised in a gymnastics club (like I was), handstands can be scary! Your whole body is supposed to balance over your head and neck, supported by those little limbs dangling from your shoulders? Yes, even if you have giant arm muscles you can very well feel vulnerable when upside down- feeling like death is just around the corner.
Learn How to “Cartwheel” Out of Your Handstand
If fear is your main cause for not getting into an inverted hand balance, you are not alone. But rest assured there is a fix! The fix is learning how to “cartwheel” out of your handstand (though it’s not a real cartwheel) and learning this technique can vary from just a few minutes working on the drill then moving to the open floor to spending weeks or months chipping away at the small incremental steps that will eventually get you enough confidence to give it the full go. Depending on how much fear you have to work through will determine how much time you will need to work on the cartwheel from handstand. But as long as you keep taking the little steps to do it and avoid any traumatic events along the way, you’ll get there and have the handstand of your dreams!
Many inexperienced people practicing freestanding handstands can naturally and safely fall out of a handstand if it tips over, but many others freak out and freeze until it’s too late. For all parties I would suggest learning the cartwheel out of the handstand, because even if you can safely fall out of a handstand, there still might be some discomfort during landing, and any discomfort is also an obstacle the brain will naturally avoid. So what’s wrong with that?
Our brains can be lazy and pretentious little things that don’t want to be bothered and will do their best to help the body find the easiest route to complete a task. If that task is balancing a handstand, yet the brain knows that every time you tip over there is some sort of bump on the knee, or slam of the feet on the floor, whatever it may be- if it feels less-than amazing, the brain will tell the body to avoid that, period. So even when someone can safely fall over in a handstand without mental or physical trauma, even the slightest inconvenience for the body will cause the brain to tell the athlete to avoid vertical, because kicking up less-than vertical will ensure they land the most comfortable way- back on their feet where they started.
When the hands are placed on the floor for the handstand hold, as a general rule the athlete can maintain a balanced handstand position if their center of gravity is above and between the vertical lines of where their palm and the tip of their longest finger touch the floor (see image). The way that you learn to balance in the handstand is to spend as much time as possible in this zone, and that is when you begin to learn to control the handstand! If you only get close to this position but never allow yourself to spend time there, no handstand hold gains will be made.
The goal of the Cartwheel from Handstand is to help train the brain to trust the body to spend time in this balanced zone. But even then… There is still one more problem!
Observe: The 50% Rule
Even if an athlete feels comfortable doing a full handstand freestanding and cartwheeling out of it, the majority of the time their attempts to the handstand will still land them on their feet where they started. Why so? Well, it’s just easier to come down straight than it is to make the small turn and land lightly on their feet (cartwheel). Seems crazy, right? Not so crazy. It’s still easier to not turn than it is to turn, and the lazy brain doesn’t want to deal with such petty, extra movements.
“But Coach, if they are okay with tipping over what’s the harm in landing where they started?”
Great question! You see, even if the athlete is finding a little time in the balanced zone and landing on their feet where they started they are solidifying a habit they probably already had (which is not going as far over their fingertips as they can). Fear or no fear, there is a general rule I call the 50% Rule:
The 50% rule states that, similar to flipping a coin, if there is nothing preventing you from tipping over, then on average you should be (tipping over) half the time. If you kick up and find that you did not kick hard enough to get into your balance zone, or you reached your balance zone and pushed too hard with your fingertips which caused you to fall down toe-side, your plan for the next attempt should be to make the necessary changes to allow your body to lean over your fingertips further, and I would also recommend you allow yourself to tip over so you can cartwheel out.
Whether the 50% rule makes sense to an athlete or not, I would say that on average 80% of athletes who are comfortable with the cartwheel exit will only tip over 20% of the time, so I strongly suggest that someone who is comfortable with tipping over should attempt to do so 75% of the time (which will likely produce the 50% we are seeking). It’s a bit goofy, but it seems to be true.
You can only make improvements if you learn to challenge your fingertips to hold you up, and to face that challenge you have to pass the comfort zone and ride the line between the balanced zone and tipping over. So, if I had to put this whole conversation into a simple line to learn how to balance a handstand, it would be:
“Spend as much time as absolutely possible leaning over your fingertips without falling, and when you do fall make sure that 75% of the time you fall over (and cartwheel out).”
Handstands Should Be Fun!
Handstands are a journey, and a fun one at that! After nearly 39 years (at the moment of writing this) I still love doing handstands, and I’m not sure why. Something about staring at the floor with my body feeling light and free over my hands, the little bit of excitement that I might have to react when I fall over, and seeing how long I can go without fatigue makes handstanding a fun and rewarding experience everywhere I go. Handstands on rocks, on the top of mountains, in front of famous architecture or fountains, in the middle of a beautiful forest or centered between old railroad rails make taking travel photos fun and it keeps the inner child alive inside.
If you haven’t yet got to the point where you are having fun with handstands, spend as much time as necessary with the Cartwheel from Handstand drill and learn the excitement of the inverted world, without fear, and soon you will be fulfilled with the new joy of playing upside down.
Learn More About Handstands
Check out Invictus Gymnastics to learn more skills about handstands and other gymnastics movements!