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The Crumple Papers exercise aims to improve hand strength.
Crumple Papers 1
This exercise is aimed at children younger than six years.
For this exercise, one needs an old telephone directory or sheets of any other paper that is as soft as, and about the same size as, a telephone directory page.
The tutor tears a page from the directory and gives it to the learner. They must then crumple the piece of paper into a tight ball. It is very important, however, that they must use one hand only for this task. The learner may also not press their hand against their body.
Then the tutor tears another page from the directory and lets the learner crumple this also, but this time with the other hand.
The learner must crumple at least three sheets of paper with each hand at every practice session.
See the demonstration video below.
Crumple Papers 2
This exercise is aimed at children older than six years.
For this exercise, one uses scrap paper of 8½ by 11 inches (A4-size). The tutor gives the learner one sheet of paper in each hand. They must then simultaneously crumple both papers into tight balls. It is very important that each hand must strictly do its own work. The learner should sit with their hands wide apart so that one hand cannot offer any help to the other. The learner may also not press their hands against their body or on any other object, like a table. The learner should crumple at least three sheets of paper per hand per session.
Important note: If the learner finds it hard to crumple the stiffer paper with both hands simultaneously, one can temporarily allow them to crumple one sheet at a time until their hands have become stronger. Then let them crumple two sheets of paper simultaneously. If crumpling the stiffer paper with one hand at a time is also too hard, one can start with Crumple Papers exercise 1.
See the demonstration video below..
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