Shape shifting is arguably one of the first advanced skills you will master in handstands:
by the time you can go from one position to the other, you have acquired an undeniable level of body awareness and control.
Commonly, we see three initial levels of mastery when it comes to transitions:
- transitioning with the same shoulder angle
- transitioning through different shoulder angles
- changing the head position
This will build the way to Brown Belt shape shifts:
- changing 2 elements simultaneously
- Changing 3 elements simultaneously
1. Transitioning within your comfortable shoulder angle (lower body movement)
The first transition should quite naturally NOT be about changing your shoulder angle, therefore, not altering the pelvis position, and be more about the position of your legs.
This is why a transition from stag to charger is extremely easy (only the angle at one knee has to change), compared to a banana to tuck.
The first transition you should aim to master, therefore, is the transition into the charger.
2. Transitioning through different shoulder angles (upper body movements)
From there, it becomes obvious that transitioning from one family to the other will prove to be a completely different ballgame.
The shoulder angle has to change, meaning the counterweights have to be gradually re-adjusted, and the shoulder stack may have to move as well.
An obvious (but overlooked) pre-requisite here is to be able to balance with ease in both start and end positions, and to work on the stabilising the transitions (first, reducing the range of motion, as explained in the video above) with the wall.
3. Gaze shifting (optional but advised)
Quite prevalent in social media, the eye-catching category of transitions is head movements, or gaze shifts.
Here, the head moves (the loss of visual feedback is pretty unnerving at first), and once you get comfortable here, you learn to shape shift your legs and your head simultaneously.
Very rewarding.
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