Handstand Entries: Kick-Up, Wall Walk, Press and Jump Compared

The four common handstand entries are the kick-up, the wall walk, the press and the jump. All four end in the same straight line over your hands, but each asks for something different on the way up: timing for the kick-up, straight-arm strength for the wall walk, strength and flexibility for the press, and power for the jump.

Contents

The Four Handstand Entries at a Glance
What Comes First?
How the Entries Differ
Safety for Every Entry
Common Questions
Final Takeaway
Main Sources

Most beginners start with the wall walk and the kick-up. Jump entries usually come through coached vault practice, and the press tends to come last because it needs the most strength. This page compares the four, explains what comes first and points to our detailed guide for each.

The Four Handstand Entries at a Glance

Entry	How you get up	Good for	Full guide
Kick-up	From a lunge, kick the back leg up and push off the front foot	Most beginners, once they have a safe way down	How to kick up into a handstand
Wall walk	From a push-up position with your feet against a wall, walk your feet up as your hands walk in	Building straight-arm strength and the straight line, with no kick	Learning handstands at the wall
Press	Lift your legs off the floor with no kick or jump, in a straddle, pike or tuck	Gymnasts who can already hold a steady handstand	Straddle press to handstand
Jump	Spring from both feet so your hips rise over your hands	Coached practice on mats, starting on vault	The Level 1 and 2 vaults

What Comes First?

In beginner gymnastics programs, the kick-up comes first. On USA Gymnastics Level 1 vault, the gymnast kicks to a handstand on a stack of mats and falls to lie flat on her back, and judges deduct 0.50 for each extra kick. World Gymnastics’ age-group program for women puts a kick to a momentary handstand in its first beam routine, for gymnasts aged 7 and up.

Jump entries follow on vault. USA Gymnastics Level 2 vault is a run and a two-foot jump from the springboard to a handstand on a mat stack at least 16 inches high, again falling to the back. One of the two vaults in World Gymnastics’ first age-group class is a similar jump from both feet to the hands, with a straight body, falling to the back on a soft mat 80 cm (about 31 inches) high. A press to handstand comes much later in that program: the first one is in the high-performance beam routine for 11- and 12-year-olds.

The wall walk isn’t a competition skill, but it makes a good early drill because it builds the straight-arm strength and body line that every other entry uses. For a beginner, that suggests a simple order: wall walks and small kicks first, then kicking to a wall, then freestanding kick-ups. Our beginner’s handstand guide sets out that whole path.

How the Entries Differ

Kick-up

The kick-up is the standard gymnastics entry and the quickest way up once you have it. The challenge is control rather than strength: kick too softly and you drop back, too hard and you go over the top. Kicking to a wall is the usual bridge between small kicks and a freestanding handstand.

Wall walk

From a push-up position with your feet against the wall, you walk your feet up the wall while your hands walk in, until your chest faces the wall. There is no kick to carry you over the top, which suits nervous beginners. The drawbacks: it is tiring, you have to walk back down the same way, and it doesn’t teach the timing of a kick. Our comparison of chest-to-wall and back-to-wall handstands explains what each wall position teaches.

Press

A press lifts your legs off the floor and up to handstand with no kick or jump. It can be done with the legs in a straddle, together in a pike or bent in a tuck; our guides start with the straddle. It needs strong shoulders, the active flexibility to fold the legs close to the body, and balance from the moment your feet leave the floor.

That is why it usually waits until your handstand is steady. In a 2021 study of 59 male gymnasts doing a straight-arm press, the less skilled group had to work harder at the shoulders, while the highly skilled group folded into a tighter pike as their feet left the floor. Our guide to wall-assisted press handstands covers one way coaches break the movement down.

Jump

A jump entry springs from both feet so your hips rise over your hands, with the body tucked, straddled or straight. It adds speed, so it needs power and the control to stop at vertical. Gymnasts first learn it on vault, from a springboard onto soft mats, with a coach. Learn floor versions on mats with a coach too, rather than on your own.

Safety for Every Entry

Whichever entry you practice, learn the way down before you go higher: step down one leg at a time, or turn out to the side if you go past vertical. Use a soft, flat surface with clear space around you, and remember that a wall only stops you going over in one direction.

Children should learn handstand entries in a class: the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends trained coaches, with supervision and spotting available at all times. Every entry loads the wrists, and jumping onto the hands adds impact, so build up gradually. The AAP advises seeing a doctor if the wrists are swollen or painful the next day.

Common Questions

What is the easiest way to get into a handstand?

For most beginners, a wall walk or a kick-up to a wall. The wall walk needs no kick, and kicking to a wall catches a kick that is too strong. Both lead toward the freestanding kick-up used in beginner routines.

How do you get into a handstand without kicking up?

Walk up a wall, press up with strength, or use a tuck-up or a headstand entry. Our guide to entering a handstand without kicking up describes six options.

Is a press handstand harder than a kick-up?

For almost everyone, yes. A kick-up uses the swing of the leg to get you up, while a press has to lift your body with shoulder strength and control alone. Our article on whether the straddle press is harder compares the two in detail.

Final Takeaway

The kick-up, wall walk, press and jump all finish in the same straight handstand; they differ in what they ask of you on the way up. Wall walks and kick-ups come first, with kicking to a wall as the step between small kicks and a freestanding kick-up.

Leave the press until your handstand is steady and your shoulders are strong, and learn jump entries on mats with a coach. Whatever the entry, practice the way down first.