The practice of natural.., p.45
The Practice of Natural Movement, page 45
First, practice following progressions as you did with the Two-Footed Standing position.
1 Establish the Single-Leg Balancing position with a tall posture, arms down and relaxed, minimal postural sway, and controlled abdominal breath.
2 Look down if it helps at first.
3 Learn to use your free leg for counterbalancing instead of your arms so you can keep your arms down and your head up. Extend your free leg to the side, ideally as low as possible.
Backward Standing Balancing Walk
Walking in balance is a common way to traverse narrow obstacles such as a fallen tree, a beam, or the ledge of a wall. Moving back to where you came from is sometimes necessary when your forward progression is stopped by an obstacle or danger that you may not have foreseen when you were standing some distance back. Reversing your orientation could be difficult or time-consuming, or it may be necessary to keep an eye on the situation in front of you as you move backward away from it.
You might think it’s counterintuitive to start with Backward Standing Balancing Walk, it is actually very beneficial from a practice perspective. Going backward immediately forces you to place the ball of your foot on the surface of support rather than leading with the heel before you shift body weight backward to the rest of your foot, which is also the safest way to walk in balance when you’re moving forward (except when the surface is wide and stable enough to walk with the usual heel-ball sequence). You’re also hard-pressed to look at your feet while going backward, which forces you to use proprioception and exteroception—in essence, feeling your way rather than using visual input to ensure positional control. Go slow at first and work on minimal postural sway and counterbalancing before you increase speed.
1 Start in a neutral Standing Split Stance, with tall posture, arms down and relaxed, head up and looking forward.
2 Shift your weight to your back foot, with your knee slightly bent, then release your front foot and pull your front leg toward the back while maintaining joint stability from feet to head.
3 Shift body weight to the back foot and move the front leg backward as in a regular forward step to place the ball of your foot on the surface behind you. At this point, almost 100 percent of your body weight is still on your front foot. Horizontally align the ball of your back foot and your ankle with the beam so that when you shift your weight to your back foot, your whole foot comes flat in a stable manner and is well-aligned with the supporting surface.
4 Push off your front foot and shift all your weight to your back foot, pressing down so your entire foot comes flat and is well-aligned with the surface. You will find yourself in a Split Standing stance with your back leg slightly bent and more body weight on the back foot, ready to repeat the same sequence.
Here are some progressions or variations that are just as beneficial and practical as only trying to walk faster across the beam:
• Bend your legs more, while keeping your upper body upright.
• Bend your legs more with a slight Hip Hinge (straight back).
• Bend your legs more while crouching (with a rounded back, see the next movement).
• Take wider steps.
• Slow your walk and lengthen the time you spend on a single leg.
• Walk across while changing your head position and field of vision.
• Practice walking with your feet at an angle with the beam. Although this is not recommended as a default pattern, it is beneficial to train this way as an option.
• Walk on slightly inclined and declined beams.
• Add light transverse bars perpendicular to the beam, which forces you to either step over or under as if branches or obstacles are in your way. If you don’t have such props, simulate them.
Standing Side Shuffle
The Standing Side Shuffle with your body parallel to the surface of support and your heels off the support is not as convenient or safe as walking forward because you cannot counterbalance through your legs and must mostly rely on shifting the hips and center of gravity forward and backward—but you can use it when you must keep looking straight ahead at something or when you anticipate stepping or jumping off the surface in a forward direction. How far you step to the side depends on how comfortable you are with the movement or how much friction you get on the surface. If the surface is slippery, it’s safer to take short steps. When practicing, start with small steps and then progressively increase the distance per step.
1 Assume a stable standing side stance, then shift your weight to your foot that’s in the direction you are headed (the front foot) so you can pull your other leg forward. Once your weight is on your front foot, you can pull your back leg (the one opposite the direction you’re going) forward close to your front foot. You may slightly lift your foot off the surface or slide it if the surface is sufficiently smooth and even. You may look straight forward, in the direction where you are headed, or in the opposite direction.
2 Place your back foot against your front foot. Alternatively, it can be safer to place it some distance forward, but not all the way against your front foot. Immediately shift your weight to your back foot so you can extend your front leg forward.
3 Pull your front leg forward and place your front foot on the surface, ready to repeat the sequence.
Reverses/Reversing
Reversing while balancing is an important skill. Reversing means changing body orientation but not necessarily changing travel direction. This simple concept can be confusing, as direction and orientation are often understood as being the same thing. Direction is where you go regardless of where you face. Orientation is where you face regardless of where you go. If you are facing and walking forward and then decide to step backward, you would be changing direction while maintaining the same body orientation. Conversely, if you are facing and walking forward then turn your body 180 degrees to face the opposite direction and resume stepping in a backward direction, you have reversed your body orientation while maintaining your original direction. In most cases, a reverse of orientation implies a change of direction as well because it’s always easier and safer to face the direction where you’re going.
Unless you’re already in a low position, standing reverses are not the most stable options, but they are faster because you don’t need to lower your body then stand back up. For greater safety, you may decide to Straddle Sit to reverse your body orientation, and then stand back up (as in the Straddle Sit Reverse).
Cross Reverse
The Cross Reverse is a step-by-step approach to reversing that is more stable and therefore safer than other standing reverse options, but it’s a little slower. It is a good compromise when you must reverse relatively quickly but safely. The Cross Reverse can be easily modified and used to reverse from a standing side stance to the same stance facing the opposite direction.
1 Walk forward.
2 While keeping all your body weight on your back foot, bring the ball of your front foot perpendicularly across the surface of the beam. Another option is to start the Cross Reverse from a Split Standing position, shift your body weight to your back foot, and then rotate your front foot perpendicularly to the beam.
3 Once your front foot is in position, you can safely shift your body weight onto it. Bending at the knee helps you balance in this position because it allows more range of motion, such as to rotate your back leg externally.
4 With all your weight on your front foot, you can easily rotate your back leg externally so your back foot pivots on its ball and reverses orientation by 180 degrees. If your stance is too narrow, though, you either are forced to pivot on your heel instead of the ball of your foot or to let the ball of your foot slide forward after it pivots. Your back foot must be well aligned with the beam. You may turn your head in the same direction before, simultaneously, or after the rest of your body moves.
5 You now can shift your body weight to your back foot and rotate your hips. At this point, your back foot has become your front foot because you have fully reversed your body orientation.
6 Bring your back leg to the front and resume walking either in the same direction while oriented in the opposite direction, or in the direction opposite to your original direction (but in the same direction as your body orientation).
Pivot Reverse
The Pivot Reverse is the swiftest of the three standing reverse techniques, and it’s also the riskiest. It doesn’t work well for narrow or slippery surfaces because the risk of losing your balance is too great, including the risk that one of your feet will slide off the surface, which makes you fall instantly. Although it is possible to pivot relatively slowly, doing so might increase friction and cause instability, which defeats the purpose of choosing this technique over others for the sake of speed. If you can’t Pivot Reverse quickly, a safer option is to use the Cross Reverse. You can use the Pivot Reverse to change your orientation 90 degrees rather than 180 degrees; in that case it is not a reverse but a change of orientation from a front to side standing balancing stance (or the other way around).
1 Start in a Standing Split Stance.
2 Keeping your body weight evenly distributed between each foot, slightly lift both heels at the same time to shift your weight onto the balls of your feet. Lift them just enough to reduce friction. Elevating too high makes balancing more challenging.
3 Start turning your head then swiftly rotate your hips, which makes you pivot. Turning your head first helps your vestibular system get a sense of direction and position in space more quickly and helps you know where to stop your motion when your head and vision are aligned with the direction of the balancing surface. Your body weight must remain evenly distributed between both feet during the turn. Keep your arms relaxed and allow them to swing naturally and follow the rest of the body.
4 Your head should fully face the opposite direction before the rest of your body does.
5 You can now bring the rest of your body to align with your head. Once your whole body is lined up facing the direction opposite the one in which you started, lower your heels to the surface of the beam and resume moving either in the same direction you were moving (although your orientation is opposite what it was originally) or move in the direction opposite your original direction (which is the same as your new body orientation).
Deep Split Squat Reverse
The Deep Split Squat Reverse is a safer way to reverse than standing because your center of gravity is low. In case you go off balance, it’s easy and quick to lean forward to support yourself with your arms or lower yourself to a Straddle Sit position. You can do a Deep Split Squat Reverse in a slow and safe step-by-step fashion or in a swift pivot motion like the standing Pivot Reverse. I recommend starting with the slower version because it exposes potential stability issues and teaches you the pivot sequence better. Increase the speed of the movement progressively until you are ready to switch to the swifter Deep Split Squat Pivot Reverse.
1 Assume a stable Deep Split Squat Stance with tall posture and your arms down.
2 Shift a bit of weight to your front foot so you can externally rotate your back leg easily.
3 Rotate your front leg internally to position yourself in a Deep Knee Bend. You may pause here to stabilize if needed.
4 Turn your head and trunk in the direction you’re headed while externally rotating the leg on that side.
5 Complete the reverse by internally rotating your back leg, which puts you in the Deep Split Squat position facing the opposite direction.
To perform the faster Pivot Reverse from a squat, lift both heels simultaneously and use a swift rotational motion from your hips to reverse all the way to the opposite direction, which is like the standing Pivot Reverse but is in a Deep Split Squat position. It is essential to constantly keep the balls of your feet centered on the beam during the pivoting motion to maintain foot and ankle stability. With both options, let your arms naturally follow the motion of your body, or you can rest them on your knees.
Balancing on Feet and Hands
Going on all fours to lower your center of gravity can be a safer approach to balancing because you are balancing on three or four points of support instead of two. Also, you might be able to transition quickly to the more stable balancing positions of sitting and lying, which is helpful if the surface is slippery, unstable, or both, or if you’re loaded with a backpack. (However, the safest approach of all is to traverse while sitting, which I cover later in this section.) Together with the squatting, lying, and sitting balancing positions, balancing on all fours is the balancing version of ground movement, with a very low center of gravity.
Foot and hand positions also can be transitional stances when you are getting up onto a narrow surface from climbing or sitting or when you’re moving from standing to lower positions, including hanging underneath the surface of support.
I cover positions that start on all fours, two feet and one hand, one foot and two hands, and even one foot and one hand. I cover these plank positions when I talk about ground movement, but practicing them while balancing is a whole different story. Not all of them have the same importance in balancing because some are less likely to be used than others. All the positions require great levels of core and joint stability, and for that reason are excellent ways to develop stability—especially in the case of the positions that have a base of support of fewer than four points. The effort required to elongate your spine and keep it level with your hips as you maintain abdominal breathing also holds phenomenal benefits for postural rehabilitation that can carry over to a whole spectrum of movement.
Positions and Movements on Feet and Hands
1 Long base with extended legs, level feet and hands for the foot-hand position. Joints are aligned from ankles to neck, and your arms are in the lockout position.
2 Same as position 1 with your arms fully flexed.
3 Long base with extended legs, slightly staggered hands, and a single-foot support. Joints are aligned from ankles to neck, and your arms are in the lockout position.
Foot-Hand Crawl
The pattern, sequence, and timing of this balancing movement is like the Foot-Hand Crawl movements described in Chapter 24, “Ground Movement 1.” The difference is in the position of the points of support; in the balancing variation, all four points of support are aligned with the body’s midline, which narrows the base of support. If you were to take a photo from the front, all you would see would be a head and two arms, with most of the rest of the body hidden behind. The narrow base of support makes stability quite challenging.
My advice and reminders for efficiency are the same here as they were for the ground movement variation except that I want to stress the importance of all aspects of efficiency in this technique even more than I did before. Any mistake will cause you a moment of imbalance from which you may not able to recover, and that will make you fall off the surface where you’re balancing. Focus on keeping your back level, locking out your arms (especially during the phase where you hold the position on one arm), and breathing abdominally to avoid unnecessary tensions.
This is especially the case when you practice the balancing variation of the 4-2 points of support technique, where you must hold a contralateral stance on one foot and one hand only every cycle. From a practical standpoint, the 4-2 points-of-support sequence is less stable and riskier than the 4-3 sequence, so I don’t recommend using it in a real-life situation unless you are in perfect control. However, from a practice standpoint, it is a formidable way to develop optimal stability in the Foot-Hand Crawl.
One of the most common reflexes when performing the balancing Foot-Hand Crawl is to try to use your hands for stabilization by strongly grasping the narrow surface that’s supporting you. Although this occasionally can be useful, you want to train to rely on positional control rather than grip strength. If you lose balance while on all fours, no amount of grip strength will save you from falling into a hanging position. A better training strategy is to refrain from superfluous tension in the hands and forearms, and a better recovery strategy is to push your body weight away from your hands and toward your feet, which have a much greater ability to support body weight and provide stability.
Before I finish this section about foot-hand balancing, I want to address a few more positions that use feet and hands and can be held and used for a variety of practical reasons but also prove particularly useful in various get-up strategies and techniques. As usual, it’s a good idea to practice these positions so they become stable and efficient before you integrate them within complex movement sequences.
Balancing Sitting on Your Rear
Sitting allows you to rest, observe, communicate, look for something in your bag, throw or catch something light from a steady position, and recover your balance or sense of safety.
You may sit on your rear, with both legs on one side or straddling, with or without the support of your hands and feet. You could even traverse in such Straddle Sit positions by using your arms. It creates many possible position variations.
The following sit positions also represent important stances that are essential to getting up and down.
These positions are ideally practiced separately. Once you have mastered them and become comfortable, they naturally integrate with more complex sequences.
1 Side Straddle Two-Hand position. Your rear and back of the upper part of the supporting leg bear most of the weight (which is different than the Double-Hand, Single-Leg Hook climbing position).
