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YM handstand workshop, Day 2
Nov. 17th, 2015 10:29 amYM continued to be disorganized on Sunday, and I continued to have fun. We got into what he considers intermediate handbalancing work, skimming across a lot of things.
Presses -- nothing too new, but a lot of emphasis on cueing "butt forward, not just up". He talked about drilling the bottom part with press walks and similar, and the top part with three different straddles (open internally rotated, open externally rotated, and finally piked). Exactly person in the class could press up, the same little pole-dancing Microsoftie who wore the onesie on Saturday. Did I mention she was adorable? I kind of would totally date her, it's true. She couldn't balance the handstand after pressing, though.
Crocs -- very brief treatment. Praise for me, the only person with a pre-existing one-arm croc. He showed a "turtles" or maybe "turtling" movement that's kind of a b-boy thing, shifting back and forth between one side and the other of a tucked-up croc on the floor, and spinning it. Not a trick I get for free, but I could probably have it cheap with a few days of practice.
Handstand pushups -- several boys could, no girls could. I was closest. In here we worked on pressing up from frog stand / crow, and it felt more accessible than it has in the past. Although I still can't DO it, a light spot was enough to help, and once my butt is up I do have that range of the handstand pushup, so I wonder if that's actually something worth working toward. No doubt it's best to work the negative first. Face-plants, here we come!
One-arm shifting -- I liked this, actually, just shifting MOST of the weight onto one arm and holding it there. No need even to go to fingertips, really, for me. Just side to side shifting is good.
Stalders -- a nice drill for the negative is to start standing with a slight straddle, lift up slightly if possible, and come forward into the final position with as much control as possible. For me my feet drag on the floor, but if I'm trying to lift them then it's still the right work to be doing.
Walking -- I still suck at it. YM thought it would be really good for me to add some to my practice, and this does seem plausible. Maybe just once a week or so, like when I train on my own.
We did some random cartwheel tricks, spin-and-kick tricks, nothing I was really into. One thing I did like was a new move to end a fish flop with; just a graceful backbendy standup that I learned from a fellow student. (The same chest roll can be used as an "I meant to do that" exit from a handstand pushup negative, which is why I was practicing a fish flop in the first place.)
My left knee is tweaked now; it doesn't want to actively bend in tightly. I blame a random knee hang I did on the monkey bars, though landing from any of the jump/kick things could have done it.
Anyway, what am I taking out of this mishmash?
Something I WANT to try sometime is eyes-closed kick-ups. Maybe with a spotter, at LCS, not so much for me but so I won't be nervous about others coming within kick range while I'm trying.
Presses -- nothing too new, but a lot of emphasis on cueing "butt forward, not just up". He talked about drilling the bottom part with press walks and similar, and the top part with three different straddles (open internally rotated, open externally rotated, and finally piked). Exactly person in the class could press up, the same little pole-dancing Microsoftie who wore the onesie on Saturday. Did I mention she was adorable? I kind of would totally date her, it's true. She couldn't balance the handstand after pressing, though.
Crocs -- very brief treatment. Praise for me, the only person with a pre-existing one-arm croc. He showed a "turtles" or maybe "turtling" movement that's kind of a b-boy thing, shifting back and forth between one side and the other of a tucked-up croc on the floor, and spinning it. Not a trick I get for free, but I could probably have it cheap with a few days of practice.
Handstand pushups -- several boys could, no girls could. I was closest. In here we worked on pressing up from frog stand / crow, and it felt more accessible than it has in the past. Although I still can't DO it, a light spot was enough to help, and once my butt is up I do have that range of the handstand pushup, so I wonder if that's actually something worth working toward. No doubt it's best to work the negative first. Face-plants, here we come!
One-arm shifting -- I liked this, actually, just shifting MOST of the weight onto one arm and holding it there. No need even to go to fingertips, really, for me. Just side to side shifting is good.
Stalders -- a nice drill for the negative is to start standing with a slight straddle, lift up slightly if possible, and come forward into the final position with as much control as possible. For me my feet drag on the floor, but if I'm trying to lift them then it's still the right work to be doing.
Walking -- I still suck at it. YM thought it would be really good for me to add some to my practice, and this does seem plausible. Maybe just once a week or so, like when I train on my own.
We did some random cartwheel tricks, spin-and-kick tricks, nothing I was really into. One thing I did like was a new move to end a fish flop with; just a graceful backbendy standup that I learned from a fellow student. (The same chest roll can be used as an "I meant to do that" exit from a handstand pushup negative, which is why I was practicing a fish flop in the first place.)
My left knee is tweaked now; it doesn't want to actively bend in tightly. I blame a random knee hang I did on the monkey bars, though landing from any of the jump/kick things could have done it.
Anyway, what am I taking out of this mishmash?
- I plan to work on walking, not too seriously, once a week-ish.
- I should try the up and down from frog, because it's hard but not impossible. Negatives in front of a crash mat, maybe.
- Side shifts, too, are within my powers.
- Flexibility matters more than strength for the press. I think I have some fuzz to melt out of my right hamstring over the next little while, and it's back to pike work for me after that.
Something I WANT to try sometime is eyes-closed kick-ups. Maybe with a spotter, at LCS, not so much for me but so I won't be nervous about others coming within kick range while I'm trying.
