My brother recently wrote this post, where he talks about some of the potential pitfalls and mistakes people make when they are trying to make progress in hand balancing. As is the case with many of his posts, I think there are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between hand balancing and ultimate; I go through some of Yuri's points below, with my comments in italics.
-You don't practice enough
Handstands take serious work, so if your practice consists of "messing around every once in a while", you're probably not getting better.
This is a skill you need to devote some real time to; on top of that consistency of practice is key. Luckily, it takes zero equipment so there should not be any excuses.
This one is pretty self explanatory. If you want to improve your throws, you need to be putting in time doing focused throwing and working on those specific things. If you want to improve your speed/acceleration/jumping, you need to be putting in time in the gym working specifically on those skills. Throwing casually is great, but it won't turn you into an elite thrower.
My freshman year I would show up an hour early to every practice and do the Kung Fu throwing drill with Matt Lee, who was a senior at the time. I went from playing the fewest points of any player in our first spring tournament to being a starting D line handler by the end of the season, and my ability to consistently and confidently complete throws was a big part of that.
-You move too fast
Wall handstand ->freestanding handstand -> one arm handstand. These are the progressions, right?
Not exactly. There are a multitude of concepts and steps in between that need to be addressed. Many people are too eager to see the final product that they miss the process to get there.
The basic rule is that you should feel complete control in your practice. Any "wildness" means that it may be worth it to regress a step or two or reevaluate your technique.
Similarly, there are a lot of steps and a lot of work that come in between completing an under and completing a huck. There are even a lot of steps between laying out on offense and laying out on defense.
-You haven't properly refined your basics
This is about optimization of technique. Understanding the concepts behind alignment, arm support, breathing, body tension and balance can help a lot when it comes to learning the more advanced skills.
As a beginner, it's worth it to build a base. As an advanced practitioner, it's worth it to keep refining your base. If you advanced learning a technique that is not ideal, it's worth going back to solidify your basics.
Case in point: if it takes you more than one try to find balance on two arms; you are not yet ready to progress to one arm work.
This is one of the biggest problems I see among younger players and a lot of teams. Having a strong core of fundamentals is absolutely critical to being consistently successful. However, you can find success without having the basics down - this is why many players and teams never really learn them well. It isn't until they run into a challenge that really tests them that they realize where they are deficient.
Take this example: a young player is in their first semester playing ultimate. Their throws aren't great, but they can usually hit a continuation if it is super open. They've gotten in the habit of throwing their around backhand dumps as quick-pivot high releases - they're able to get past the mark easily that way and it works pretty much every time. At the first tournament, there's a bit of a wind. Not super strong, but enough that in their first few points, they try to throw the high-release dump and it flutters over and is a turnover each time. Veterans on the team, however, have a stronger fundamental base and are still able to complete those throws by stepping out and throwing low release breaks which cut through the wind.
-You spend too much time working on basics
The base is important, but at the same time it's important to begin exposure to higher level skills. Some people spend so much time chasing perfection here that they don't get enough time to train what they're actually trying to work on.
Yes, working basics will help with the advanced skills. However, you won't achieve the advanced skills unless you actually practice them.
To be honest, I think ultimate as a sport is at a point where there are very few, if any, people that need to worry about this. You should spend time working on other skills, but I don't think any ultimate player could legitimately have the thought, "I'm practicing my fundamentals too much".
-You haven't addressed your physical restrictions
In most adults, excess tension and restrictions in and around the shoulder, wrist, and elbow can impede handstand progress. If you don't take care of these issues, they can have a significant effect on your practice, both technically and aesthetically.
Check out my Wrist and Shoulder sequences on Vimeo to help address some of these issues
This one is pretty important. Many ultimate players do not spend enough time training themselves physically for the things they want to be able to do (e.g. play 8 grueling games in one weekend). Thankfully, resources like Rob Dulabon, Tim Morrill, Ren Caldwell, and Melissa Witmer are making ultimate-specific training much more commonplace. Still, I think there are a lot of players that don't necessarily realize their own physical restrictions that are holding them back.
-You haven't addressed your psychological restrictions
Handstands are as much mental as they are physical. Being in a handstand can put people into an uncomfortable positions, and the tendency here can be either to collapse or fight.
The key is to feel comfortable every step of the way. If training handstands triggers a fear or panic response, it's worth it to spend some time developing comfort before moving on.
Probably the most common "psychological restriction" people have is being unable to layout properly, or layout at all. I know so many players who want to be able to layout more than anything, but just can't seem to get over that mental block. I'm still not sure what the best way is to help people get over that. Even people that do layout (myself included) sometimes get into a "rut" where they keep letting discs hit the ground, or keep bailing on potential layouts. It happens to me and is incredibly frustrating.
As Yuri says, maybe the best approach is to try to get as comfortable with the movements as you can in a setting that is lower risk (e.g. diving into foam, onto a mattress, into a pool, from your knees, etc.)
Stay tuned for part two coming in a few days!
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