Advanced OAHS Shapes
The One-Arm Shapes program provides a guide to evolving your straddle one-arm handstand into a variety of classic shapes including: the diamond, half straddle, legs together, one leg bent, tuck and twisting one-arm handstands. Dive deep into advanced handbalancing with our exposition on technique and training methodology in this online program.
Master the Classic One Arm Handstand Shapes
Learning the basic straddle one-arm is a major achievement, and moving beyond it requires a lot of time and determination. The goal of One-Arm Shapes is to provide the technical understanding and training methodologies you need to master what we call the straight shapes of the one-arm handstand. These skills take you towards the echelons of professionals, so brace yourself with patience and dedication if you want to master them. The progression outlined in this program will take you from the easier to the harder shapes and moving between them.
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What it’s like to use the Handstand Factory programs:
It’s like being in school and having lecture, lab and study – between the podcast, training, and text. I’m learning so much… really feels more personalized, “connected” and HUMAN.
Joyce – @cirquepath, San Fransisco, USA
Are You Ready To Learn The One Arm Shapes?
One-Arm Shapes is an advanced program for handbalancers who have a stable one-arm straddle handstand. As such, in order to get the most out of this program we recommend you meet these suggested benchmarks:
Minimal Prerequisites
Recommended Prerequisites
Not Quite Ready for One-Arm Shapes?
Check out our other programs, which teach the pre-requisite skills we use for the one arm shapes.
How We Teach The One Arm Shapes
If you’re considering this program we assume that you already have several years of experience with handbalancing. Thus, One-Arm Shapes is written as an exposition on technique and training methodology rather than a step-by-step program to aid you in incorporating these new shapes into your training regiment.
For many years, an unofficial “standard” procedure in the circus has been to teach the one-arm in three basic stages: straddle, half straddle and then legs together. While this is not wrong in itself, we propose to add additional steps and shapes into the progression for several reasons.
First, the half straddle is considerably more difficult than a wide straddle (the reasons why will be explained). Since the half straddle is a tough nut to crack, more preliminary alternatives will ease the progression towards it. Positions such as the one leg bent and diamond give you more easily accessible milestones before the harder steps, especially legs together.
The shapes covered in this program are one leg bent, diamond, tuck, half straddle, legs together and twist. We call these shapes “straight” because the arm, shoulder, torso and hips should stay in the same place when you do them (the one-arm twist is sort of an exception to the rule). There are of course many positions you could do other than the ones in this program. We have chosen these shapes not only to create a smoother progression but also because these positions represent a classic aesthetic.
After mastering these individual shapes, we cover twisting and moving between the shapes in aesthetic sequences. The ideal goal is attaining full freedom on one arm.
ONE-ARM SHAPES
Your Handbalancing Instructors
Mikael Kristiansen and Emmet Louis are both international teachers of handbalancing and flexibility and have spent big chunks of their lives studying and understanding all aspects of these skills professionally both as performers and teachers. With Handstand Factory, they now want to demystify and simplify the process of learning handstands, and make it accessible to anyone wanting to learn to stand on their hands. To learn more about Handstand Factory, head over to our about page.
FAQ
How long can I use the One-Arm Shapes program?
Unlike the lower-level programs in the Handstand Factory syllabus, you will never be finished with One-Arm Shapes. While you should of course master and maintain all the basics, you will eventually get diminishing returns from working on, say, a pike handstand or a straddle one-arm. The complexity and precision of one-arm shapes, however, are on a different level. Their difficulty is so high that constant maintenance and refinement are indispensable.
Is step-by-step programming included?
Since we assume that you already have several years of experience with handbalancing, this manual is an exposition on technique and training methodology rather than a step-by-step program. We do provide some strategies on how to craft a training regiment focused on learning these new shapes.
What are the requirements to begin this program?
One-Arm Shapes is an advanced program for seasoned handbalancers looking to level-up their practice with one-arm balances. As such, in order to get the most out of this program we recommend you meet these suggested benchmarks:
Recommended Benchmarks: 45 second freestanding two-arm handstand and holding/transitioning between straight, tuck, and straddle leg shapes
Nice-To-Haves: Press to handstand from the floor, head-in handstand without losing balance, and confidence using handstand blocks
Can I combine training One-Arm Shapes with other training?
Technically yes, but it depends. Mostly, it depends on the time (both training and recovery time) you have available. If you have all day to train your various disciplines and full nights to sleep and recover, then yes, you can easily integrate this program into your normal training schedule. If you have time constraints such as work, a family and/or other commitments, choose your training wisely.
Do I need equipment to train the one-arm shapes program?
We highly recommend using blocks and canes to progress your one-arm handstand shapes as you learn them. While it is possible to train this program without them, it will result in longer plateaus when learning new shapes.
Are the Handstand Factory programs follow along videos?
No, all of our online programs are educational in nature, they don’t contain videos in which you follow the training in real time like a class. The video library for each program contains explanation and demos for each exercise, with valuable cues and insights. These exercises are also explained in the manual, and lastly, programmed into comprehensive training templates that you can follow in your own time.
ONE-ARM SHAPES
What You get With One-Arm Shapes
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