Here are some of the differences between the strict and kipping handstand push-up.

1. Tension
With the strict handstand push-up, you want to maintain tension throughout the movement so your power is moving you up and down the wall. If rest at the bottom of the handstand push-up, you're going to lose all that power and pushing out of the bottom will be nearly impossible. Keep tension throughout the movement, especially as you head touches the mat and you start to complete the rep.

With the kipping, it's perfectly fine to rest on the ground and let go of tension because it's mostly power from the hips and not the shoulders that's going to push us back up the wall.

2. Hand Positioning
With strict, set your hands about 6" from the wall (since you can stay more vertical with the wall) but with kipping, aim for something closer to 12" to give you hips room and allow yourself to create a full tripod position between your hands and head. Practice finding your sweet spot for both movements.

If you find you're often falling away from the wall, try setting ups 1-2" farther back and see if that help.

3. Core Stability
Keep your core and glutes tight to keep a nice handstand push-up line. If you find your butt isn't coming off the wall when you're locked out at the top, practice kicking up to wall and engaging core and glutes. This is important since most handstand push-up standards only allow for the heels to make contact with the wall and you could get no repped if you're not properly engaging the core or not creating enough length.

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