WAG Freestanding handstands - technique or training?

[mandy]

I have a question that bothers me since a week now so I thought it might be a good idea to ask you guys

Is there a certain technique for free standing handstands? DD can rarely hold a free standing handstand for some seconds, but most of the time just falls over after 1 or 2 seconds. She does all the drills (good posture, pressing against the ground with fingertips etc.)

I just wanted to know if there is a certain "click" you need and then you can suddenly hold it for20secs+ or if this just developes gradually (5 secs, 10 secs and so on)

For example, she was never able to do a press handstand (from standing). She just could lift her toes off the ground a little, but was not able to press up, even not from an elevated surface. But within in a week she learned it after trying many times, there was this "click" she needed and now she can press up all the time. So actually from 0% to nearly 100% in a week.

How is it with free standing handstands?

How long does it take the average person to learn it?

 

[Muddlethru]

I think it is technique and then strength to hold it past 30 secs. My daughter at first could only hold her handstand for maybe 7 seconds and was fighting to stay up. I looked up how to do handstands in the Internet and used the information I got on her. And I kid you not, overnight she increased her time to about 30 seconds. Going to a minute (which was what was required for TOPS at the time) was just building up the strength and tolerating the fatigue she was feeling on her wrists. This was a few years ago. So, I can't remember exactly what I had her do. But I do recall reading it is about stacking parts of the body a certain way (vertebrae by vertebrae-like building blocks). I think I also had her lie on her stomach with hands and legs extended straight and put my hand underneath her belly (or was it her chest) to show her the proper body position she should have while in a handstand. I don't know if this was the key to her being able to hold the handstand. But after we did this drill, she had no problems holding it.

 

[cbifoja]

Mine has just gradually gotten better and better at holding it. Not sure how long she can actually hold one but she frequently wins the handstand contests at gym and does pretty decently during "college meet contests".

Now that being said, she also loses plenty of times too! It's like if she can hit her sweet spot, she can stay forever, but she doesn't always hit that spot and will come down within 3 seconds.

And of course, she can hold longer if she walks to correct for balance. The gymnasts do handstand walks up and down the floor as part of their warm up and most of the girls can get at least halfway down before having to step down.

I think that if your gymmie spends a lot of time upside down, she will just gradually get it. Or you can take 4 loves approach and find some helpful hints to see if that makes anything click. I didn't look for tips because quite frankly, I get so tired of her being upside down in my house.

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

I think also it requires serious core training/control to keep the lower (well in the handstand case, I guess it's higher) part of the body straight and upright.

 

[iwannacoach]

I think the click takes place once a kid learns to keep their body in good posture and physically calm, and react early with slight adjustments in the pressure they use at their finger tips and heel of their hands.