What Kick-Up Tips Or Techniques Made A Big Difference For You?

I don't believe in intentionally practising something incorrectly - i.e. something you continually get wrong and fail to perform properly. I've never known it to lead to improvements in anything - over any time scale - and I can't imagine that handstand work is unique in this respect.

Sometimes I can get 9 out of 10 kickup attempts (lunge style and variations thereof) into a balance, and sometimes it will be 0 out of 10. In a typical session it will be about a 40% success rate. I've been at this for quite a few years, actually, and I know I'm doing it wrong.

I feel that kicking up to a handstand tends to be a neglected skill on most forums and in most discussions - perhaps it tends to come naturally people? Not to me! Without a reliable kickup it becomes very frustrating and tiring, or simply impossible, to get enough time on your hands to work on cleaning up your line or anything else. Kicking up is also quite "stressful" - physically and, how can I put it, nervously? So they wear me down a lot each time I get one wrong.

I will try to get some videos of my attempts when I find somewhere larger than my bedroom to practice, when perhaps I could get some tailored advice. But the purpose of this thread is to collect some tips and tricks that you found useful when struggling with learning a reliable kickup to handstand. If indeed there ever was such a time.

I'll start with some that have helped me a great deal so far - yes, I was once much worse!

> Bring your legs up one at a time, and count them separately. One... two. Practice kicking up to a front/back split to train this.

> Go slowly at first, get all your hand placement and body position right - you don't have to do the whole thing at full speed right away. Do slow walk-throughs with slight hops at first.

Points like that, which are often completely overlooked, helped me tremendously. Would anyone like to share things that helped them get very reliable basic kickups? As usual, I'm particularly interested to hear from people who did once find this to be a problem (or those who have dealt with such people).

Thanks!

Here's some things that helped me...

Only kicking up with the leading leg, not using the back leg at all.

After kicking up, focus on aligning the shoulders with the wrists.

Hi, I'm new to the site so I figured my first post may as well be something useful.

I've never taken gymnastics but I taught myself the handstand a couple of years ago. I initially had the same problem you have with the kicking up being unreliable. At first, it was a matter of trying to dial in the power of the kick so I didn't go over, which can be a bit unnerving at first. I think you'd agree that the main problem is attempting the kick up several times with insufficient power so as not to tip over, and ending up not making it up into the handstand. The problem is only exacerbated by trying to hold it up anyway which just fatigues your shoulders before you're even in the handstand.

I tend not to kick up into the handstand anymore unless I just feel like doing a quick warm-up or something, but it's second nature to me now. I think the biggest difficulty with this move is simply impatience. I found that I'd tense up because I didn't want to tip over and it would hinder my flexibility, making the kick up more difficult. I would try several times and it was only after I'd stop and relax for a minute and take my time with it that I would have success.

Additionally, building up shoulder and wrist/forearm strength is crucial for being able to counteract a kick that is too powerful. Keeping your back straight and bending your arms slightly as if you're starting a handstand push-up and then raising back up when you're aligned can help adjust for variations in the kick as well. I'm not sure your level of strength, but the stronger you are, the easier it is.

Hope this helps!


PS: I really can't stress enough how important patience is when training for this. Don't think of it as an exercise you need to perform reps of, but rather think of it meditatively. Accepting that it was a slow process, allowed me to progress faster.

Cody said:

Here's some things that helped me...

 

Only kicking up with the leading leg, not using the back leg at all.

Interesting idea - I will try this. I guess that once your leading leg is up your hips and torso are necessarily also up and there's no need to really push with the trailing leg.

Cody said:

After kicking up, focus on aligning the shoulders with the wrists.

Does this make it easier to hold, or is it for a better line?

frolosophy said:

Hi, I'm new to the site so I figured my first post may as well be something useful.

I've never taken gymnastics but I taught myself the handstand a couple of years ago. I initially had the same problem you have with the kicking up being unreliable. At first, it was a matter of trying to dial in the power of the kick so I didn't go over, which can be a bit unnerving at first. I think you'd agree that the main problem is attempting the kick up several times with insufficient power so as not to tip over, and ending up not making it up into the handstand. The problem is only exacerbated by trying to hold it up anyway which just fatigues your shoulders before you're even in the handstand.

I tend not to kick up into the handstand anymore unless I just feel like doing a quick warm-up or something, but it's second nature to me now. I think the biggest difficulty with this move is simply impatience. I found that I'd tense up because I didn't want to tip over and it would hinder my flexibility, making the kick up more difficult. I would try several times and it was only after I'd stop and relax for a minute and take my time with it that I would have success.

Yes, it's one of those "I've almost got it!!!" skills that tempts you to keep trying and trying and making yourself worse. One certainly has to restrain oneself. I remind myself that at the end of the workout I can do other movements to fatigue if I must, but not these.

frolosophy said:

Additionally, building up shoulder and wrist/forearm strength is crucial for being able to counteract a kick that is too powerful. Keeping your back straight and bending your arms slightly as if you're starting a handstand push-up and then raising back up when you're aligned can help adjust for variations in the kick as well. I'm not sure your level of strength, but the stronger you are, the easier it is.

Good point. I certainly find that I catch more balances when I'm fresher and feeling stronger - as we'd expect. Working small-ROM freestanding HSPUs also helped me with correcting bad underbalances.

frolosophy said:

Hope this helps!

PS: I really can't stress enough how important patience is when training for this. Don't think of it as an exercise you need to perform reps of, but rather think of it meditatively. Accepting that it was a slow process, allowed me to progress faster.

Patience within a workout - certainly. Patience over time... only to a certain extent. It's possible to be too patient as well as too impatient, I reckon. I was once far too patient - literally letting years go by just thinking that if I wait and "keep trying" then one day I'll get there. But it obviously doesn't work like that.

So long as there are signs of consistent progress, being patient is good. If not - then I'm not on the right track and better fix something ASAP.

I've experienced much pain and grief with kicking up myself. Thankfully, I went from nearly always failing for months to a very reasonable success rate in about a week after a bit of video watching/experimentation so I definitely agree with what you say: it's important to practice the right things.

I usually go into a handstand from a lunge type position, and push lightly with my lead leg, lift the back leg (I try not to kick). Here's a few things that helped me personally, that you can try out:

• Rotate your elbows inward, make the insides face each other and consciously maintain that
• Focus on a single point on the ground (for me it's around 2-3 inches behind my wrists), and maintain that focus until you're up in the handstand and stable
• Don't be floppy - I try my best to maintain a degree of tension before even kicking up - extending upward through my shoulders, pulling my ribs in (still haven't fully mastered this yet - but working on it)
• Warming up with some body tightening/alignment drills before freestanding work also helps me from being too floppy
• I try my best to get my upper body and hips as close to a handstand shape as possible before my feet even leave the floor (if that makes sense...) i.e. I try to keep my wrists, shoulders, hips as best aligned as possible before I even leave the ground - this means I don't have to launch myself quite as much, which means I have less momentum to deal with and there's less chance of me overbalancing. I have absolutely embarrassing pike/pancake flexibility though, which I feel is a limiting factor as it means I can't align myself very well. I think if I improve on this, I'll be able to ease myself into a handstand better, as opposed to launching into it - sort of like an assisted press to handstand.
• As soon as my feet leave the ground, I sort of focus on extending through my feet to help maintain the tightness (the reason I personally overbalance is that I become too loose in the midsection, my hips end up going too far ahead, and I'm left with either a weird, kinked handstand, or I just fall over)

My handstand is far from what I want it to be, but these little things have at least helped my somewhat nail the kickup - now it's one less thing to worry about and my main concern is my shape.

Hope I worded all that well enough and hope it helps.

Quick edit: I just tried some handstands and wanted to make a slight change - I said I align myself as best as possible before leaving the ground. This is true, except that my shoulders are ever so slightly closed, so that I have some tension in the anterior delts to help with the control. When I'm up, I open them.

emos said:

Patience within a workout - certainly. Patience over time... only to a certain extent. It's possible to be too patient as well as too impatient, I reckon. I was once far too patient - literally letting years go by just thinking that if I wait and "keep trying" then one day I'll get there. But it obviously doesn't work like that.

 

So long as there are signs of consistent progress, being patient is good. If not - then I'm not on the right track and better fix something ASAP.

Absolutely. I don't mean being static in training. I should have been more clear. I practice handstands everyday. However, my greatest progress came from strength training peripheral to the handstand, rather than focusing directly on training for balance, which I find gradually improves as your strength improves and as you get used to being in that position, which is more of what I was getting at. Sorry for the confusion.

Of course, I taught myself from scratch, so there were probably many times during my training where I was making mistakes and not knowing it. I'd be curious to see a detailed response from an experienced gymnast/handbalancer. 

Do you tend to have more of an issue with overbalancing or underbalancing? I kick up from a lunge position as well. Usually underbalancing for me is caused by several factors:

• Tightness in the wrists or shoulder girdle. 
• Not enough push from the leading leg.
• Failing to keep the back leg straight.

To avoid tightness I find it helpful to perform wrist and should mobility exercises before practicing handstands. This usually consists of overhead extension against the wall and placing my hands flat on a bench or chair, fingers facing my body, arms straight and leaning back to stretch the forearms. As far as not pushing hard enough goes, I usually find it is better to push harder because overbalance is easier to correct. I notice a big difference in my handstand consistency when I focus on keeping my back leg straight, and picture my back heel going in an arch, as if my back leg is a windshield wiper. Visualizing my straight leg arching up and stopping at 90 degress, and picturing the back leg coming up to meet it is a helpful technique for me.

Overbalance is usually the result of

• Lack of tension in the core
• Lack of tension in the forearms and hands.

To correct this, as you kick up actively focus on tensing your abs. Keep a very slight tension in your fingers so that if you overbalance it is easy to apply the appropriate pressure to correct it. 

Thanks for the replies - I can't respond to all the points but there are a number I've never heard before so will definitely be trying, and some that I certainly should have remembered to be doing but lately have forgotten or struggle to enact every time. I must write myself a form checklist and stick it on the wall where I practice!

red1392 said:

I usually go into a handstand from a lunge type position, and push lightly with my lead leg, lift the back leg (I try not to kick). Here's a few things that helped me personally, that you can try out:

Just a clarification - I think I referred to the "lead" leg as the one that goes up first, rather than the one that steps forward on the ground first. I don't know which is the proper terminology, but hopefully it's clear from the context what we each meant.

red1392 said:

• I try my best to get my upper body and hips as close to a handstand shape as possible before my feet even leave the floor (if that makes sense...) i.e. I try to keep my wrists, shoulders, hips as best aligned as possible before I even leave the ground - this means I don't have to launch myself quite as much, which means I have less momentum to deal with and there's less chance of me overbalancing. I have absolutely embarrassing pike/pancake flexibility though, which I feel is a limiting factor as it means I can't align myself very well. I think if I improve on this, I'll be able to ease myself into a handstand better, as opposed to launching into it - sort of like an assisted press to handstand.

Quick edit: I just tried some handstands and wanted to make a slight change - I said I align myself as best as possible before leaving the ground. This is true, except that my shoulders are ever so slightly closed, so that I have some tension in the anterior delts to help with the control. When I'm up, I open them.

This point is particularly intriguing - I've watched a lot of different kickups and the shoulder angle one makes before leaving the ground varies quite a lot. I quickly found that the more open (i.e. straight with the body, "good" form) my shoulders are before leaving the ground, the harder I have to kick/swing/push to get up, and the more closed (i.e. <90 degrees with the front of body, "bad" form) the more gently I can do so, and therefore the easier it is to modulate the energy put into it.

Go to 2:30 in this video to see an example of what I mean: 

Typically, placing your hands closer to your feet necessitates this kind of initial shoulder angle, and though it's not proper in gymnastics it seems to be more common in other situations.

How does your pre-kickup shoulder angle compare with that of the man in the video?

I suspect that the relative lengths of one's arms, torso and legs significantly affects how one's kickup looks. So trying to copy someone else too closely is a bit like trying to copy their squat form or running stride - I guess everyone's will look different but hopefully achieves the same thing.

frolosophy said:

Absolutely. I don't mean being static in training. I should have been more clear. I practice handstands everyday. However, my greatest progress came from strength training peripheral to the handstand, rather than focusing directly on training for balance, which I find gradually improves as your strength improves and as you get used to being in that position, which is more of what I was getting at. Sorry for the confusion.
 

Yep, I understand - and definitely sensible. I remember a quote I have wheeled out a few times now, that also revolutionised my handstand work - years before I found this sort of website - it was something like, "yes, it's balance, but it's balance through strength."

I'll work on some finger/forearm stuff separately and maybe more time with wall handstands and less failing at kickups.

adidashred said:

Do you tend to have more of an issue with overbalancing or underbalancing?

I have to think about this before answering. I'm pretty sure that when I'm fresh, overbalancing is by far more common. And when I'm attempting them on softer ground (e.g. plyo in the gym) overbalancing is far more common, as of course the efforts of my fingers are dissipated and wasted, moving the surface instead of my body. If you've ever tried a handstand on fairly soft sand then you'll have experienced an extreme example of this.

Then as I get more tired, if I get careless then I may underbalance a few times but I usually know at the time it was a terrible kickup anyway, so maybe we don't count those.

adidashred said:

Overbalance is usually the result of

• Lack of tension in the core
• Lack of tension in the forearms and hands.

To correct this, as you kick up actively focus on tensing your abs. Keep a very slight tension in your fingers so that if you overbalance it is easy to apply the appropriate pressure to correct it. 

Do you initiate that finger tension before you feel the impending overbalance? Pre-empting it, so you can over-kick slightly, intentionally? Doesn't doing that merely set your balance point back slightly but not make it any "wider" and easier to find?

Good tips, everyone - good thread.

First off, to clarify - by 'lead leg' I mean the leg in front, i.e. the one closest to my hands.

emos said:

This point is particularly intriguing - I've watched a lot of different kickups and the shoulder angle one makes before leaving the ground varies quite a lot. I quickly found that the more open (i.e. straight with the body, "good" form) my shoulders are before leaving the ground, the harder I have to kick/swing/push to get up, and the more closed (i.e. <90 degrees with the front of body, "bad" form) the more gently I can do so, and therefore the easier it is to modulate the energy put into it.

I suspect this is because the more closed your shoulders are, the more you can use your upper chest/anterior delts for support. You're right in that I do have to push quite hard at the moment with my hips up higher as, like I said, my pike sucks and my hips are quite far behind my hands in my starting position. Trying to improve my pike flexibility to get my hips higher and closer in line with my hands. The kick-up right at the beginning of this video is what I'm trying to achieve:

(Note: this is not me...)

emos said:

Go to 2:30 in this video to see an example of what I mean: 

Typically, placing your hands closer to your feet necessitates this kind of initial shoulder angle, and though it's not proper in gymnastics it seems to be more common in other situations.

 

How does your pre-kickup shoulder angle compare with that of the man in the video?

At the moment, my shoulders are slightly more open than the guy in the video before I kick up. My hips are also a bit higher and my feet a bit closer. The guy in the video has his eyes focused on somewhere around his thumbs, I tuck my head in more and focus a few inches behind that. Looks similar, but everything's a bit closer together, I guess - the 3/4 angles make it hard to tell exactly.

Again, it's like I'm trying to get as close to a press handstand shape as possible, - but as I cannot do one yet, I simply assume a lunge-like position and use a push off the lead leg to assist myself up.

I know my descriptions are rather vague and flaky but I am also just a beginner. 

I would go to Yuri and Mikael for more reliable answers. 

BTW, as a side note, while I'm no expert myself - I wouldn't really recommend emulating the strengthproject guy's handstand shape (his shoulders are a bit closed, ribs out- thus there's an arch in his lower back and his butt sticks out etc.) You probably already know this if you frequent this forum, but just throwing it out there so that people aren't misled. I think the video I linked is a much better example of a handstand.

Basically what I meant was to stay tight while kicking up. If your abs aren't tensed, you're likely to overbalance. Same for the fingers and forearms. If they are loose, you will overbalance. You don't have to apply preemptive pressure with your fingers, but just stay tight and you will be more consistent.

I just had 30 attempts - no more than three in a row, with lots of rest. Four were successful!

Ten more, none successful.

I know a handful of people who can do very reliable handstands and none of them ever went through this phase, I have to say.

Hmm another thing I changed before my kickups got better was to narrow my hand position to exactly shoulder width, front delts touching ears. The further apart my hands are, the harder I find it to catch my balance.

Can you post a video of some of your attempts?

Also, how long can you hold the handstand when you successfully kick up?