Height of HS Stand

I'm planning to build a platform for practicing hand stands. I was thinking of making a wooden stand similar to the one in the Jackie Bender video

-N1us-TR7X8

My question is what is a good height to start with? Is it better to be higher or to start lower and build up? When i see handbalancers using canes it almost looks like the height is used to their advantage.

A related question, i like the idea of a wooden stand because it feels psychologically more stable. Is there an advantage in using canes? Is the slight wobble somehow desireable?

Mr. Brady,

This is not exactly as in the video, but perhaps this might be useful to you.

Scroll down a bit for the plans for the platform:

http://community.simplycircus.com/tutorials/acrobatics/handbalancing.htm

best,

jason

I started with mine 6 inches off the deck. Then I wanted to do shoulder stands so I raised them to 18 inches of the deck. They dont really wobble all that much and are a ton of fun to play on. I do have to work on them outside because I would hit the ceiling in my town home.

There are three advantages to canes that I'm aware of.

1. The wobble is advantageous; it won't help you at first but once you get used to it it makes anything you do on one arm much easier because rather than having to adjust your entire body position only by pressing through the ground with your fingers, you can actually move the cane slightly underneath your center of gravity.

2. If you are doing presses from an L-sit but don't have the active flexibility to press through on the floor, you can get the clearance you need by being elevated.

3. If you are ever performing, the extra hight makes you more visible to an audience, and it just looks more impressive to people who don't know that the canes make it easier