Straddle one-arm handstand


Difficulty	Herculean
Velocity	Static
Symmetry	Unilateral
Athlete	Teagan
Video length	46 s

Technique

If you have done all the prerequisite drills and made it this far into your Handstand journey… Congratulations! The One-arm handstand is an incredibly rare display of strength. Regardless of one’s reason for pursuing it, the shared experience of patience, determination, practice, skill, and strength is a path few have the pleasure of experiencing. You will fall. A lot. Maybe even 20,000 times. Frustration is normal, but patience and consistency with the basic drills will significantly accelerate the process.
See Straddle handstand with 5 fingers support series and use this as the starting position. It is recommended to start with 1 finger support position while learning, but switching to simply tenting and lifting can be done at a more advanced level.
The lifted arm should be on the same plane as the bottom leg. However, arm angles and positions are a fun component to learn while balancing on one arm. Experimentation with slight position changes is encouraged to build up a better road map of what is possible to balance.
The forearm and fingers should be very engaged and making frequent corrections. From an onlooker, it may appear as if your hand and forearm are rapidly twitching. (Personal preference: I do not like to grab the floor the entire handstand, as it wastes energy and creates too much tension resulting in a lower margin for error. I prefer to keep my wrist and fingers engaged and stable but relaxed enough to make quick floor grabbing twitches - Teagan)
Both shoulders should be elevated and engaged - Do not let the Upper trapezius relax as the arm lifts from the floor. Both shoulders should be shrugging ( Shoulder elevation) the whole time.
The hips should be slightly bent to allow a wide and stable Straddle position. The legs should be tense but relaxed enough to make quick corrections. The toes can be pointed or flexed - some people prefer to point the toes to assist in cueing global leg tension and creating straighter lines.