For this tutorial we’re going to go over the handstand kick up. This is a skill that any hand balancer should be proficient with. However, many people fail to realize that it is in fact a skill, and therefore should be trained as such. A lot of people, when they train their handstand, aren’t able to get into a balanced handstand every time because their kick-up is lacking. Therefore, because their kick-up is not yet proficient,  they are spending half their time training the handstand, and half the time is wasted on performing the kick-up without intention. In getting a good, consistent kick-up, we want to eliminate as many factors as possible. 

If you are a beginner, there is some good in entering a handstand through a kick up. However, make sure that whatever you’re doing, you’re doing with intention. That is to say, if your intention is to practice the handstand, make sure you are practicing the handstand! If you are only able to get into a handstand 1/10 times because your kick-up is not adequate, you are not practicing the handstand. You are practicing the kick up! Therefore, since your intention is to practice the handstand, use the wall if need be, so that 10/10 times you are actually practicing the handstand. Separately, set aside some time in your training to intentionally practice your kick-up. 

The goal in this tutorial is to simplify the kick up. In other words, I want you to think about as few steps as possible when entering the kick-up, and still perform it as effectively as possible. 

Rather than: 

• throw hands down with correct force 

• place hands with correct force 

• kick up first leg with correct force 

• kick up second leg with the correct force 

• readjust head positioning and sight

• gain balance 

… we are going to simply focus on: 

• kick with right force

• create balance 

Seems a lot easier, no? I think so :) 

Of course, there is quite a bit more to it than just those two steps, and there are many drills which we can focus on, which I will get into. But it does really help to eliminate unnecessary things - some of which you might not even realize you’re doing! 

Now, rather than talk about what not to do, let’s talk about exactly what you should do: 

Full Handstand Program

For a full handstand program, with stepwise progressions, structured workouts, and scheduled workout sessions, you are more than welcome to check out my app :). And, if the price seems a bit out of the range of what you’re willing/able to spend at the moment, you can apply for a discount of 25-75%, and there is a high likelihood that discount application will be approved. 

Starting position

Start with your hands already on the ground! This will eliminate how much force to put your hands down with and your hand positioning. If you watched the handstand form cues(link) video, you’ll remember that you should always be looking between your hands when practicing the handstand. That also applies to when you are doing the kick up. 

So, start with your hands already on the ground, and look between your hands. By doing this, we eliminate three unnecessary steps that we might have been doing before! Efficiency :) 

One thing to note is that, once your kick up gets consistent and good, you can re-introduce throwing your hands down, to enter the kick up from a standing position. 

How to kick up into a handstand

For this part I want to introduce some cues to keep in mind, which should make things easier:

1. Get your hips over your shoulders(which, in turn, should already be over your hands)  / get hips as high as possible. 

2. Use your shoulder strength to kind of push back, and prevent them from falling forwards when you kick up. Keep them tight, and in position over your hands. 

3. When you kick, also make a small jump with the other leg. 

4. Let the second leg stay down until you’ve gained balance. When you’ve created balance, then slowly bring the second leg together with the first. Throwing up your second leg too soon or too hard is a major source of inconsistency in correctly performing the kick-up. 

Kick up Drills 

Headstand kick-up

The most basic kick-up drill we can do is the headstand kick-up. Practicing the headstand kick up will teach us to use the correct amount of force with our legs. You can use the wall as a safety net when you practice this drill. Kick with one leg, and jump with the other. Remember to let the second leg stay down until you’ve created balance. 

If you’d like to learn more about the headstand, you can check out my absolute beginner’s guide to a handstand here, where I cover the headstand more in depth :)

Wall Assisted Kick Up 

When you’re ready to move on to practicing kick ups on your hands, the wall will be your best friend. 

In the beginning, you can use the wall purposefully. As you get better and better, try moving further away from the wall and only using it as a safety net. The point here would be to only use the wall if you really need it :) 

One tip to keep in mind is that your head and upper back should never be on the wall when you’re doing wall assisted kick ups. The wall, in this case, helps teach us to bring our line of sight between our hands and thus bring our heads into the correct position. 

Free standing kick up 

Whenever you feel ready, I recommend you start trying the free standing kick up. 

Summary:

How to handstand kick-up

• start with your hands already on the ground 

• look between your hands 

• kick, and keep your second leg down until you’ve achieved balance

You should train your kick-up as a set of repetitions. Strive for a set of 5-10 successful kick ups, where you kick up into a balanced handstand for 1-3 seconds, making sure you are in a set, balanced position. Then return your feet to the ground and do another repetition.  

Of course, you should also be practicing your handstand holds and handstand drills, to get the most out of your handstand practice.

Take care, movers! :) 

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