[Z3R0]

Ok, lets see. This is my first guide. So, how should I start this.

Alright. A handstand is a gymnastics position which you hold yourself up with just your hands. Simple? No, it aint. There are a lot of ways to do handstands but most of them are incorrect either because your back is arched and your body aint straight.

Now, I have been gymnastics for a long time. So, I am jsut reciting what I have been taught myself. A real, CORRECT, handstand is one when your WHOLE body is tight or in 'HOLLOWBODY POSTION' - meaning you lock your shoulders in, squeeze your ass, straight your legs and point your toes HARD. Doing all that will make your body like like this - | ... Except that your back is naturally arched, but your should not feel ANY extra straign on your back doing this.

Now it is time to explain how to get in a handstand. Oh and by the way, you are GONNA NEED TO read the extra notes at the bottom. Some nice tips down there.

Getting into a Handstand:--------------------------------------

Ok, now for most people who have not done anything like this, your gonna suck at the beggining. Handstands come with practise. I mean do it 1000 time practise. I have probably done it about 100,000 times now as practise. Trust me, it WILL come to you over time.

1. Stand straight, feet shoulder width apart and hands by your side, or up it's your choice.
NOTE: I tend to suck in my belly and go into hollow body first on impulse. Don't lock up completly just yet.

2. Put your hands down. Not to far, unless you are an expert and you know how to press your shoulders forward to balance your body out. So put them about 12 inches away, about the size of a ruler. Not to far, but remember experiment with spacing as a begginer. You will want to find out where it is best to put your hands to go in a hand stand but after a while it should not matter.

3. Now here is the hardest part for beginners, the kick up. Most beginners I take it are not that flexible in there groin but it will work its self out. When you kick up, kick up with the leg you feel most comfortable with. REMEMBER, tight your legs up when you kick up, having floppy legs is gonna do the following:

-Push you over on you head or back
-Make you look like a retard and not even get close to handstand
-AND make you look like a donkey

KEEP YOUR LEGS STRAIGHT! ALWAYS!!! It is essential, I swear......

Another thing, kick one leg up at a time. You will eventually get the feel for kicking up. Keep those toes pointed also, and keep them pointed hard.

4. Holding your handstand

Ok, it is one thing to actually get your self in a handstand for a half a second. But that is NOTHING compared to holding it for 2 second. Trust me, holding it for 2 seconds will make your happy, it will feel like you held it for 10 sec.

Now, learning how to hold your handstand WITHOUT walking is an art of its own on endurance and weight to strength ratio. Trust me there is so much you have to learn in order to get it down, it might just take a whole year for you to hold it for 20.

When you are up you will want to lock your elbows in, sqeeze your ass tight and point your toes, also keep the legs straight. Any failure to do these and you will not hold your self and it will use energy. HANDSTANDS USE A LOT OF ENERGY. You need to learn how to minimize the energy you use and I will explain just how you accomplish that. You will find that you cannot breath when you are in a handstand, you wanna know why? -> The oxygen in your body is gonna head to all your upper body muscles so they can hold you up. There for you will not breath and will get a headache, and this will happen especially if you are not tight! NOT BEING TIGHT IS GONNA USE EXTRA ENERGY! THIS IS ABOUT ENERGY CONSERVATION ALSO!

You will eventually find out how to breath... Might as well find a BREATHING tutorial for yourself because it aint gonna be in here.

Now, holding your handstand will need only one part of your body. Your hands. You will want to press your fingers into the ground almost to push your self foward, and press bony part of the bottom of your hand in the ground to go back. This will take some quick reflexes, since this is the only thing you should be moving if you want to hold a handstand without walking. Wiggle those fingers if you feel your self falling back down and if your going foward press those palms in the ground and hard. Make sure you control your movements. You only need your hands to keep you balanced, everything else should be LOCKED and TIGHT! THIS HERE IS VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT.

----CONGRATS! YOU HAVE SUCCESFULLY COMPLETED THIS HANDSTAND GUIDE----

EXTRA NOTES:

- Breath! Breath Breath! I breath through my nose. You will only be able to breath when you are tight then you know you are doing it right.

- If your legs come back down on there own it is because your ass is not tight enough.

- Press palms and fingers in to maintain balance. Fingers are foward, palms are backwards.

- Keep your elbows, Legs, Ass locked and your stomach sucked in! EVERYTHING SHOULD BE COMPACT AND TIGHT AND IN HOLLOW BODY POSTION! I cannot stress this enough. You will never i guarantee never get it right if you cant do this.

- Handstands come with practise and you will need to do them almost every day. You will not be able to get these perfect in a month, unless your are familiar with it. But then again, anything is possible.

-Dont look foward keep your head in between your shoulders or kinda near them but stare at your hands.

-Don't arch your back, it will make you go foward, unless you know how to distribute your weight you can do different things with your HS.

[Alen]

great guide man helped me out alot.

[Vice President]

man, get your gymnastics shit outta here. this is hip hop, we don't want any of that pointed toe shit. who gives a fuck if your toes are pointed and if your back is perfectly straight. don't give me that "REAL handstand" elitist crap, cuz that's straight up wack.

all you gymnasts look alike when you do your shit. where's the style? everyone should have their own way of doing their moves because there's no REAL way to do it, as long as it's done. if you're balanced on your hands with your legs in the air, that's a handstand enough for me. doesn't matter if your legs are open, closed, toed pointed, back arched, stomach in, that shit's irrelevent.

i respect gymnasts in their own right, but not for bboying. peace.

[Elbee]

a bboys handstand is different from and gymnasts handstand the same way a bboys flare is different from a gymnasts flare

[sum1datbboys]

The "Holding your handstand" section was pretty useful, even though I already knew most of the stuff. Yeah keeping your body stiff does help with balancing my handstands a little. If I'm falling back to my feet, pushing down with my palms never works for me

[Humanoid.r3v]

I dunno about keeping the whole body straight thing. It may work wonderfully well..but when I feel I'm falling over I simply change the position of my legs to compensate for the motion. even if it means arching your back a little farther or bending your knees a little more. It may look messy to you..but trust me, it's a hell of a lot easier for me. I agree that bboy's handstand is different from a gymnasts handstand. There's no "proper" way, that's only in context with something.

If you're gonna handstand, just do it.

[dragon29125]

agree,handstand is a handstand,as long as u stand with ur hand,lolz.We dun care incorrect ways anyway,cuz handstand is oways a handstand.ROFL!!!btw,u r actually giving some gd tips

[MaDD]

Isn't the idea to handstand in a way that looks appealing? To a gymnast it would be in the predescribed highly restrictive and formulated way.

To a bboy its completely different. We don't care about the form, as long as the end product looks good.

[sum1datbboys]

Even still, I would prefer a straight handstand over a fully arched handstand.

[Z3R0]

Yeah, you all have a point. When I breakdance I tend to leave all the shit out but when I am doing gymnastics it comes back in. There are many ways to do a handstand but I have been taught to accept one, call it elitist, i agree but old habbits die hard.

To VP: I don't give a fuck how you do your handstand wigga. Just do it your way, sure gymnastics looks the same, its limited. So, sit down, light a blunt and go back to your dancing.

The reason I say dont arch your back is not because it is wrong, its fine but its gonna hurt you. I used to do that when I was a kid and had some minor back problems. I just don't think noobs should suffer the same, so I am simply giving an alternative.

To SUM1DatBBOYS - When you are falling back to your feet you press your fingers in the ground not your palms lol.

[Vice President]

don't go around called your gymnastics handstand a REAL handstand. that's bullshit. a handstand is a handstand is a handstand.

i appreciate your tips and i'm sure you can do some sick shit, but you're just not hip hop, man.

[sum1datbboys]

Originally Posted by Z3R0 To SUM1DatBBOYS - When you are falling back to your feet you press your fingers in the ground not your palms lol.

No I meant when I fall back the way I started.....I can't push with my palms. You push with your fingers when you're falling towards your back. Meh, I guess I wasn't making much sense before any help? Thanks

[Vice President]

well you dont actually push with your palms, you can just put less weight on your fingers, even take them off the floor if you have to. it helps to have planches too, cuz then you can angle your body a bit and just let your legs hang down like a high planche.

[sum1datbboys]

Originally Posted by Vice President well you dont actually push with your palms, you can just put less weight on your fingers, even take them off the floor if you have to. it helps to have planches too, cuz then you can angle your body a bit and just let your legs hang down like a high planche.

Oh....right. I was just thinking that it was physically impossible to push with your palms coz it's already bending in that way
So it's a good idea to learn planches and handstands together huh, well that's good to here coz that's what I've been practicing lately Thanks VP. Oh yeah, I saw your practice session video on youtube........ELBOW AIRFLARES

[Vice President]

whaaat. hey that's supposed to be relatively secret footage, man. keep it on the dl.