Handstand

[robinturner]

Whoopee, I can do a handstand! Well, almost - I only stay in the air for a few seconds, but it's a start. I also tried leaning back into a bridge position, but in this case I failed miserably. I arch my back, bend my knees and then at the point when I'm supposed to throw my arms over my head and touch the floor, I find the floor is further away than I'd thought and I come crashing down.

I reckon it's psychological, since the first time I tried, with the teacher there to support me, I could do it without needing much support. Maybe it's the primordial fear of falling backwards, or maybe it's because after two years of hapkido, there's a voice in my head whispering, "Do a back fall!" After all, when you've been thrown on your back a few hundred times, it becomes pretty instinctive, and produces the opposite reflexes to the ones you need.

Oh - I nearly forgot to mention that this was in capoeira training, just in case you were starting to think that I was considering abandoning academia and running away to join a circus.

Comments

[lilactoga.livejournal.com]

I have this overwhelming desire to do a handstand, but I have that psychological problem that's keeping me from doing it.
When I was young, I could do handstands just fine. Now that I have a greater sense of pain, it seems impossible.

circus tricks

[ironed_orchid]

If you don't have someone to support you, try doing handstands against a wall, so if you start to lose balance, your feet can rest on the wall and your arms get use to supporting your weight.

I also walk my hands down a wall in order to do a bend back, there's a bit where you have to let go, but my hands are only about a foot from the floor by then, so it's easy.