Welcome! This guide will take you trough the elementary things of a backward roll to a handstand. For those of you who have read my other tutorials you will notice that this is a transition, one of the coolest ones.

Backward Roll Handstand

A 4 step beginner guide

First of I’ll start with some terms I’ll use throughout this guide.

• Transition:
  This is the term on the technique between your normal stand and into a handstand
• Handstand Hold:
  The term of standing still in a handstand. I sometimes also refer to this as the Basic.
• Core:
  When I talk about core, i mean the core muscles. These are your abdomen and lower back in this article.
• Pressup:
  From a position where your arms are tucked beside your head and you need to push them over your head. In this case, In a Handstand.

Preparations: Explosive Pressup

This in a rather advanced move and requires good upper body strength and handstand hold technique.

Knowing how to do a good backwards roll and to be explosive in the pressup helps a lot. This because the more explosive you are during the pressup, the less chance there is to fall forward before being in a handstand hold. If you have rather good strength you can do it slower. I advice you to attempt this on a soft underground.

Step 1: Let’s Roll

Start in a tucked position and lean backwards creating momentum, fall back until you feel that your neck/head meets the floor. Then roll back up in the tucked position. Do this a few times, get the hang of the roll. You have to feel comfortable rolling backwards and onto your head. I encourage you to do this on soft layers, simply sparing you for the pain of knocking your head or spine into hard ground.  Make a notice of your arms and where they are. If you can’t seem to get hang of the roll try this

• Kick with your feet
• Try to be a ball – it helps thinking you can be a ball.
• Tuck your legs up against your chest

Step 2: Where to put your hand

I presume you feel comfortable with your roll, now is the time to make use of your hands. They need to be placed in a position close to your head. This is because your going to press yourself up in a handstand, when pressing you can’t change where your hands is placed. In other words; where you plant your hands when you roll is the same place they are when you’re pressing yourself into a handstand. Usually this comes automatically, however if you can’t seem to place your hands right try this:

• Adjust your rolling pattern, go back to step 1
• Don’t be afraid to bend your wrists
• Perform a single pressup and notice where your hands at, imagine your hands there when you roll.

Step 3: Kickback

When your finish your backroll and your hands is placed firm on the ground, kick your feet up as hard as you can while you extract your hands into a full straight length. Almost everybody ends up back to start, on their sides or on their feet at their first attempts.
If you can’t get up, then this is your first priority. If you fall on the sides or fall on your feet try these tips:

• Look for your feet, your body is supposed to be straight
• Push yourself up, not backwards.
• Think of your handstand hold.
• Practice more and more

The last tip is the most valuable here. Rarely this move is – as any other moves – successful at the first attempt. Keep practicing it, try to get in that hold. If you need to take a few steps on your hands to regain balance, do that; but always try to stand still in hold. I can’t stress this point enough. Your handstand hold is the most important part of any handstand move. Having a good handstand hold is much the same as having a good technique, control and strength. I will push it so far to say that your handstand hold defines your handstand abilities.

Step 4: The Final Hold In Depth Tips

When you get trough the kickback phase your next struggle is the handstand hold. As mentioned above the handstand hold is one of the most important part of your handstand. However, the momentum you create while doing the roll, or kickback, can cause problems to withstand the force or fail the handstand hold, and you end up on your feet or knees. You can work on this problem in two ways; Go back to step 3 and train on your kickback, or follow the advices below:

• Set your mind on kicking yourself up, reach for the roof.
• Be more explosive, get your body in straight line upwards as fast as possible.
• Tilt your legs slightly forward to greater withstand the force created from the roll.

That’s the tips. Missed something, or in the mood for a discussion.
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Happy Handstand
-Tor