Definition of a handstand

jimmurt wrote: »

I always thought that once you were able to stand on your hands you were able to do a handstand.

A friend of mine can do a decent HS with his legs and back curved. We were messing about the other day and another friend who used to do gymnastics told us he wasn't able to do a handstand as your legs, spine etc have to be straight.

Is he right about that or is that just the Olympic definition and there are many variations?

I know this is trivial but I'd like to hear opinions on it.

If you can stand on your hands then technically your doing a handstand. In gymnastics the only accepted form is the perfectly straight line. It really depends what your training for. Usually you'll see the banana HS that people can hold with their back arched quite often. The straight line HS also know as gymnastic HS where the body is in perfect alignment from hands to feet isn't as common but IMO there's no comparison when you compare the two. The straight line is so much better in terms of appearance and it offers more potential to transfer to other bodyweight skills. The banana will strengthen your lower back. Again depends what your training for.