Hand Balancing: the expression of the body

What is Hand Balancing?

Hand balancing is a job that involves extreme and fine control of the body and excellent motor coordination .
Understanding the basic idea of ​​this work is extremely important to appropriately address all the learning steps of the different skills that can be tackled and proposed, which are numerous, even infinite, and can be carried out by anyone with correct and well-planned training.

Before starting to specifically address the topic it is necessary to establish fixed points from which to start for understanding and approaching the method presented:

• Muscle activation and joint mobilization before each execution (even of mild complexity);
• Dynamic and static activation of the abdomen (“core”);
• Positioning of aids for possible external help in the event of an error in order to avoid unwanted injuries (mats, supports of any kind);
• Carry out step by step progressions without immediately approaching the most difficult exercise in such a way as to allow the nervous level to adequately recreate the starting motor scheme.

At the basis of hand balancing is the idea of ​​body control which is synonymous with impeccable mastery of the coordinative and conditional abilities of the human being. It is not simple and usual for man to have to manage all the weight and balance on the upper limbs, since life is carried out mainly with the lower limbs resting on the ground.

Initial difficulties and fears

We need to turn our vision of the world upside down and look at it from another angle

The first block to overcome is the consideration of not having your feet on the ground at all and having to learn to push and brake only with your hands and for this reason it is advisable to increase and train the upper limbs proprioceptively and bring a good dose of strength and stabilization on the shoulders and across the entire trunk .
The work carried out by the “core” is also of great importance, which aims to stabilize the trunk and support the upper limbs in the task of managing the destabilizations caused by the lower limbs placed in suspension.

The initial difficulties can be numerous, but with the right will and the right technique you can quickly improve and begin to believe in your individual abilities.
Let us now select and divide up the first doubts that one encounters in the first approach to this training method:

• Fear of shifting weight to the upper half from the lower half;
• Fear of not being able to control destabilizations and risking injuries;
• Fear of leaning too far forward and not knowing how to control the fall;
• Consider yourself incapable of succeeding in the exercise, labeling it as “impossible”

As a result of overcoming the first difficulties, the second step involves total understanding on a theoretical level of what you are doing and what you are facing, essentially you need to understand the reason for what you are doing.

Why work on hand balancing?

Some advantages in the following points:

• Improvement of general and special coordination skills
• Improved conditional abilities
• Improved resistance and strength of upper limbs and core
• Improved joint stabilization and mobility
• Improved self-image and evaluation in space
• Improved self-esteem and self-confidence

Learning to support the weight of the body only on the hands when everyone is standing is no small feat and allows the individual to grow in great self-esteem and their potential.

Always progress, some examples of hand balancing:

The last step to face is to always try to pursue new objectives and never stop progressing and constantly set new challenges:

Having said that, let’s consider some examples of hand balancing:

1. Gymnastic Style
2. Breakdancing (breakdance style)
3. Parallettes (low parallel style)
4. Equalizer (high parallel style)
5. Parallels (classic parallel style)
6. Acrobatics style

These are some of numerous examples, but at the basis of everything there is self-confidence and the desire to succeed in difficulties and in overcoming new things correctly.

Try, try and try again to overcome your personal challenges.

Hand balancing is an ideal job for those who love to test themselves and for this reason I invite you to try it immediately.