Bollyball

Bollyball is a great game in which to practice  relaxation and root. The action is live: it's not just a stationary target such as a heavy bag. The game also provides an opportunity to practice balanced kicking and ambidextrous kicking and striking.

Simple rules to heighten the competition between unequal competitors? Retrieve on one, two or three bounces. The first serve must touch the front wall. After that, any wall counts. If you hit the ball and it bounces back into yourself, that's a lost point. If the other person hits you with the ball, that's a let. If the other person hits you with the ball, and it then hits the wall, the ball is still in play!. The games ends at 15.

Real handball is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp3d5Sik_sQ&feature=g-hist

Of course, they only use one wall!

Biellmann Spin: rotation of the vertical center line.

The Biellman spin is a staple for ending performances in figure skating. In the bottom picture, a friend of my daughter's is doing a Biellman spin. She hasn't been on skates for a couple of years, but you can see how the rotation of the centreline must be precise or she quickly spins off to a calamitous ending! She is playing on three Lazy Suzans, 16 inch ballbearing spinners sandwiched between a couple of plywood circles. By stepping from one Lazy Susan to the other, you will perfect your vertical rotational balance and make more precise your walking The spinning practice will strengthen the ankle, hip and waist muscles, which in turn will improve your push hands practice. 

The dance with the umbrella adds a top-weighted resistance to play with. The base of the umbrella handle rotates 360 degrees so the umbrella can always spin against the push of the wind. Again, it's a superlative balance exercise. 

repetitive separation kick exercise

Ideally, chasing the ball is unnecessary. If you don't stay in your three foot circle and maintain  constant rebound height (and placement), what usually happens is what you see in the video. You chase the ball!

Despite the chase, this practice tests balance and rooting. On a good strike, sense the pointed toe of the kicking foot, formally named the separation kick. On a good strike, sense the relaxation in the body. The shoulders sit in their girdle; the weighted foot stands immoveable. The hands could move to any position to connect with another's opposing arms. While the groin muscles and the hamstrings stretch, the quads continually contract.  This is a great exercise that comes in handy if in push hands you both agree to use the feet.

Hacky sack next?