About

Harrison and Ford House Gymnastics is a crossbreed of yoga, climbing, break-dancing and gymnastics.

In the beginning

House Gymnastics originated from the endeavours of Harrison and Ford in a joint and convoluted attempt to put up a bedroom blind. A perfectly good ladder was available in the basement, but Harrison and Ford took it upon themselves to install the blind without the use of any conventional aids. 

Using their feet and backs for leverage, they took it in turns to wedge themselves into the window frame and attempt to screw the plastic blind in place. At times, they even tried standing on each other to try to add support and ease the process. It took almost an entire day to fit the blind, but the satisfaction gained from these alternative installation methods incited the pair to climb other things around the house and to name some of these newfound ‘moves’.

Installing blind
Brace

Vernacular

  • Moves – House Gymnastics manoeuvres and elevated positions
  • The Arena – the hallway of our house where most moves can be performed
  • Busted – this phrase means that a move has been performed successfully
  • Stacked it – this phrase means that a move has been performed unsuccessfully
  • Do you wanna bust some moves? – Would you like to perform House Gymnastics?
  • I’m amped! – I’m excited in anticipation of performing some Manoeuvres

Busting moves

Moves were being created on an almost daily basis. Everything was meticulously recorded as the house became a laboratory for the development of new moves. The naming of each new move became as important as the move itself. Language was appropriated to compliment the physical nature of House Gymnastics and let the participants communicate while performing. The hallway was renamed ‘The Arena’ as it became the main focus of Harrison and Ford’s exploits, and words such as ‘busted’ and ‘amped’ entered the house vocabulary as part of everyday speech.

House Gymnastics is an art-sport that has created a global community of like-minded domestic space-embracers. House Gym allows you to enjoy your home in new and exciting ways. When someone performs House Gymnastics they become both artist and art, creating ephemeral human sculptures that last for only three seconds. The names given to the moves can be a literal translation of their visual appearance, or a reference to something that influenced the move.

House Gym comprises of 25 classic moves and subsequent moves that have been submitted and chosen as Move of the Month. There are also challenges and performances, invented to test and push House Gymnasts ever forward. Some moves are a lot more difficult than others, or require specific strengths, so start with easy ones and work your way up. The moves have been divided into three sections: beginner, intermediate and expert. Each manoeuvre is also individually graded for difficulty using a star-rating system: one star being the easiest and five stars indicating the most difficult moves. Once the key moves have been mastered indoors, they can be performed in endless outdoor situations and spaces: pubs, trees, lamp posts, elevators, public toilets, strip clubs, hotels and offices.

Banister Snake
Elevated Dog Stretch

Tips and tricks

Preparation is very important to House Gymnastics. If all instructions are followed carefully, injuries can be easily avoided. But if the locations are not properly surveyed and checked for sturdiness, or if you have not warmed up and stretched properly, injuries are likely to occur. House Gymnastics is a spectator sport as well as a competitive one. Groups of people are always more fun and can help each other in terms of encouragement and taking turns to be each other’s spotting partners. A spotting partner to act as a trouble-shooter, support, or rescuer is essential and House Gymnastics should never be attempted alone.

It is always good to check structures for sturdiness. This is because the objects/structures could be weak and collapse whilst you’re performing, thus leading to injury. Some well-known domestic fittings that have been found to be weak on occasion are banisters, coat rails, door frames, worktops and shelving. If a structure is found to be unsafe, repair/reinforce it, or get a spotting partner to brace the structure. Another possible danger that can be avoided when using bare feet, is in relation to the wall surface. It is well known that bare feet can give good traction, but this is not always the case. If the wall has been painted with a vinyl-silk or eggshell finish, sweaty feet can make the surface very slippery. This can be remedied by either keeping a towel to hand to dry the undersides of feet when needed, or by dusting hands and feet with climbing chalk to absorb perspiration.