PE11 Setup problem

Wrist Wall Handstands - I've been working on this one for a while.  I can only get my wrists within 4" of the wall.  Any more and I overbalance.  I have found that when I get assistance, I can get to within 2-1/2".  And hold it without assistance.  It's that moment of instability when I'm walking the hands in that is the problem.  Not the end position.  

 

Is that assistance into the position cheating?  Do I need to be able to get myself into position before I can consider it mastered?

 

I also noticed that in the video, the athlete's feet hang over the top of the mat against the wall.... maybe that is the slight difference between getting into position and overbalancing.

 

Anyone else find they just can't quite get there on a flat wall?  Any tricks for walking in without overbalancing?

Yes, you must learn to maneuver into this position on your own. Yes, this will be difficult. Yes, it will take time to master.

No, an athlete who can free balance 90s-120s is not going to gain an advantage from his toes edging up over a mat. Nice try though.

Hello Zac,

 

I'm not at that level in H1 yet, but before H1 was released I played around with trying to get a wall handstand with hands nearly touching the wall.

 

Lookup wall extensions in youtube and try doing these before the wall handstand. 

 

After that mind your PPT, keep your body in such a shape such as the hips do not touch the wall, as per the focus points. I've found that if you concentrate on that it's easier to get into the correct position. If your hips start brushing the wall it becomes too difficult to correct and you overbalance.

Interesting.... I've been beating myself up for months because I just can't seem to get close enough.  In asking the question here, I've been analysing and reanalysing everything.  And ended up finding my own answer.

 

There are a couple of things I noticed in the video:

 

1. Firstly, the feet.  Hanging them over the top of the mat puts his toes roughly an inch 'inside' my flat wall. If he was to bring them in line with the wall and maintain the EXACT same alignment, then his hands have to move out an inch.  If he hinges at the wrist and keeps the hands there, then his centre of mass moves out.  Probably about half an inch.  Maybe fractionally less.  That's just physics. Undoubtedly, he's got the wrist strength to accommodate that.  He doesn’t need the advantage of the overhanging toes, but if he's using that to demonstrate the required standard, then....

 

2. Then the really interesting thing was when I looked closely at the hands and the wall.... I scaled off the video.  Obviously this is VERY rough and depends on many different variables such as the size of his hands and where exactly you measure from and the limited capacity to measure accurately.  But  unless this guy has tiny hands, they appear to be 3-4" away.  Certainly absolutely nowhere near the 1" end of the target zone and only just touching on the 3" end at best.

 

Clearly, this guy has a much better handstand than I ever will and if he's not getting much closer than 3" it's not realistic to expect that I will.  And I suspect that what I was measuring as 4" in my own handstand is probably very close to his.  (I was measuring from pretty much where my hand meets the floor - the furthest part of the wrist, not the nearest.  That’s probably a ¾” difference, right there.)

 

But, aside from deconstructing the video, I also broke down my own technique and found the flaw I've been looking for.  I've been too focused on moving the hands in and have been breaking alignment to watch them come in.  THAT is why I've been overbalancing. 

 

When I figured that bit out, they came in without too much trouble.  Not quite as smoothly as the athlete in the video, but then, I'm also confident that they are coming in closer than he is, too.  I’m reasonably smooth up until that point.

 

Could he come in closer?  I'm sure he could.  But if he's doing what is required then I'm now confident that mine is too.  The sensation at that point is that there is very little pressure against the wall.  I'm just brushing it.  I occasionally tip away from the wall slightly, if the wrists relax a little, but am able to recover through the wrists rather than overbalancing.

 

I've still got a long way to go in terms of building up the time.  I'm stuck on about 40s.  But at least I can stop beating myself up about not being able to get myself in position like I have been for months.

 

Thanks dritar for the technique cues.  Turned out not to be exactly what I needed, but the input was constructive.

 

Coach, I know it isn’t easy and takes time, but I’ve been stuck on this little hurdle for months and was looking for the technical glitch that was responsible.  (Not easy to diagnose without seeing it, I realise.)  I’ve now found it.  And if I could already free balance, I wouldn’t have any problem with it either.  

Hi Zac-

 

It sounds like you're having some angst with this drill. Being frustrated is no fun.

 

I can share my experience with it to reflect back on your own.

 

I did not have capacity to close within 3 inches when I began handstands. However I consistently incorporated shoulder mobility and flexibility exercises (most of which are in the H1 course, actually) and now I am able to close 1-2 inches. For me it was opening the shoulder angle.

 

Finally, it seems for you that a 10 second video might help Coach Sommer more accurately diagnose what's going on.

 

Best of luck,

jason