When failure is inevitable - your only choice is how to fail

Right so Internet program advises not trying a freestanding handstand until you can hold it off the wall for at least 20 seconds.  I am not even close to this - my record is *almost* 4 seconds lol.  

However, coach friend Elaine suggests that I’m getting lazy about relying on the fence and stands may not improve as long as it’s there.  Hmmmm

Internet program also suggest a series of off-wall prep exercises, but caution that one should not attempt these till one is comfortable “bailing” on a handstand.  They, and many competitors, recommend a cartwheel bail.   Okay great.  Except that when I tried that I failed *hard*.   Going one step back, they recommend practicing cartwheels.  Which I can’t do.  Booo.

Okay so alternative bails.  Gymnasts say land in a bridge.  Yeah.  Fine when I was 12.  Rn there’s a distinct possibility I’d end up seriously injured, esp as I can’t even do a bridge from the ground so one that’s gravity enhanced seems a really *really* bad idea.  Even by my standards (says she who decided being able to do a handstand for the first time in her life was a completely appropriate 45th bday present, despite having the weakest wrists in history, combined w no upper body strength).

Asked Elaine who’s been hugely helping me if she had any ideas; she seconded the cartwheel, but also sent a somersault possibility.  Win!   Even now I can still do somersaults (although apparently I can’t spell them lol - I definitely want two m’s involved).   Being not a complete idiot, I started this practice from a frog squat.   And I was very careful to land on my shoulders and to round my back.  And I’ll tell ya, I did it exactly once.   Lol.  First of all - the ground is friggin hard!   This is not on a yoga mat remember!   Not fun.  And second - I got dizzy and nauseous *really* fast.  I wasn’t susceptible to motion sickness till I was in my 20s, so last time I tried it, it wasn’t an issue.

So now what?

Well maybe if I could introduce the cartwheel in a safer manner?   So now I was creating my own playbook.   I went back to the fence and tried an L-hold (which - for the record - is still terrifying and WAY harder than a handstand, BUT - I can do it now ;).  From the L, I put one leg straight up and then kicked up the second.  And…. Not shockingly, went over backwards.  Impressively, I *was* able to turn it into a cartwheel and not cause permanent injury.  Woohooo!  Lol sometimes the bar is pretty low in the sand.   The first time admittedly I did not land on my feet - the cartwheel kinda resulted in a giggling mess on the ground.  But it *was* injury free.

It may not be pretty, but it made learning a critical survival skill possible!

It turns out that cartwheels that you care absolutely nothing about doing correctly, or gracefully, or even resembling what most people would consider a cartwheel, are not actually challenging at all.  Who knew?

I tried a couple more just to ensure I could repeat the movement but after the last couple days my body was SO sore and uncooperative that I figured I’d let it go and take the next 48h off.   One last fence kick up just to end strong and done.

In unrelated news, I’m pretty sure the neighbours think I’m nuts.  They might not be wrong ;)