The foundational inverted balance: hands, shoulders, hips and feet stacked in one straight line, arms locked, legs glued together with toes pointed. The standard entry is a deep lunge, tilting forward like a seesaw so the straight back leg rises as the hands take the weight, then drawing the second leg up to meet it. Balance lives almost entirely in the hands — press through the fingers when tipping over, through the heel of the palm when falling back — while the rest of the body stays rigid like one stiff piece; a floppy line cannot be balanced from below. The head stays neutral with the ears between the arms, since craning to look forward pulls the shape apart. Bail safely by cartwheeling out or tucking the chin into a forward roll. The position hides inside half the catalog: cartwheels, handsprings, gumbi, macaco and 1990s are all handstands in disguise.
Key cues
- Kick up from a deep lunge with a straight back leg
- Lock the arms and keep the palms flat
- Stack hips and feet directly over the hands
- Squeeze the legs together and stay rigid
- Balance with the fingertips and palm heel
- Tuck the chin and roll out to bail