Ambisinistrous: A Left-Hander's Guide to Developing Two Dominant Hands

Would you give your left arm to be ambidextrous?
You have a right hand, but you barely use it. Why?
Do you like being one-sided and handicapped?
Two dominant hands are better than one!
Learn how to unleash both sides of your brain and body.

I wasn't born ambidextrous, but I became that way with practice. Such people are called Penwald ambidextrous.

Actually, since the word ambidextrous is politically incorrect (being Latin for "right on both sides"), I sometimes say I'm ambisinistrous (Latin for "left on both sides"). That word has traditionally been regarded as an insult (e.g., "two left feet"), but in the 21st century people should know that left-handedness is not twisted or evil!

Over a period of a few months, I learned to do many things with my non-dominant hand, including writing, drawing, throwing, batting, bowling, tennis, using a mouse, striking a match, opening a jar, and more.

I even officially shifted from left-handed to right-handed, as measured by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Not that I was trying to, or that anyone should want to per se; it just kind of happened.

I decided to become ambidextrous after I realized that I was holding myself back. By needlessly restricting myself to one hand and one side of the brain, I was essentially wasting half my brain and body. Unfortunately, this has become the norm in today's world.

At a very early age, as soon as you discovered you had hands, you began grabbing things. You had two hands, so at first you used both of them. But at some point, you noticed that you had a preference. A crayon felt just a bit more natural in your left hand than in your right.

Preferring your left hand wasn't a problem. The problem is that because it was your favorite, you began using it all the time. Your right hand became weak after years of disuse. It got to the point where you probably can't even brush your teeth with your right hand.

A high degree of one-sidedness might have worked well in the olden days, but it doesn't serve us well now. Overusing your left hand puts you at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome, meanwhile your right hand isn't carrying its share of the load.

Just the other day, I watched Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor get called for intentional grounding against Alabama when he was forced to throw with his weak hand. All he had to do to avoid the penalty was throw as far as the line of scrimmage, but he couldn't even do that.

On the other hand, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning can throw with his weak hand when he has to. And when he had to last year against the Rams, he completed the pass and kept the scoring drive alive.

But wait, am I saying that we should be perfectly equal on both sides? No, not at all. That's probably not even possible, and certainly not necessary. I'm just saying that instead of being completely dependent on one hand, we should take control of our handedness and use our hands to their full potential.

Being strongly-handed means using one hand for every major task. Being mixed-handed means being more balanced in how you use your hands. Now why would you want to be mixed-handed?

For one thing, it can give a dramatic boost to your athletic performance. Here are just a few of the world-class athletes who have used mixed handedness to reach the top of their game:

In polo, left-handedness is flat out illegal so no one gets whacked in the head with a mallet. In field hockey, left-handed sticks are forbidden, for no particular reason.

String instruments all have to be played right-handed in an orchestra so you don't poke someone in the face with your bow. Guitars can't be played left-handed unless you want to play upside down, or if you can afford to have them professionally restrung. And good luck with re-keying a piano.

OK, but what if you're not a big athlete, or an aspiring musician? Well, neither am I. And neither were Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Albert Einstein, Alexander Fleming, Nikola Tesla, Robert Baden-Powell, James Garfield, Harry S. Truman, and many others who found advantages to being mixed-handed. The benefits of mixed handedness aren't limited to the physical ones.

Researchers have spent a lot of time over the years looking into the differences between left-handers and right-handers, and found very little. But recently, we discovered that all along we've been looking at the wrong thing. The important difference is not left-handed vs. right-handed, but strongly-handed vs. mixed-handed.

The corpus callosum, the bundle of nerve fibers that connects our brain hemispheres, is thicker in mixed-handers. And studies have shown mixed-handers to be better able to read people, see both sides of an issue, and recall details of an event and their context. Better integration and balance of the brain hemispheres allows a better kind of thinking.

Being ambidextrous technically means being perfectly equal with both hands at all tasks, but no one really lives up to that. When I talk about being ambidextrous, I mean being very mixed-handed, to the point where you really have two dominant hands.

Everyone is naturally drawn to and fascinated by ambidexterity. It has almost become a cliche to say "I'd give my left arm to be ambidextrous."

Everyone loves the ambidextrous swordfight in The Princess Bride between Inigo Montoya and the Man in Black. After a few minutes of southpaw sabering, each man drops the same bombshell - that he is not left-handed - before resuming the duel right-handed.

But wait, instead of becoming decent with both hands, isn't it better to spend the same amount of time becoming really good with one hand? That's what a lot of the critics say.

But that's like saying that you shouldn't learn a foreign language, or take up an interesting hobby, or really, do anything new. After all, you could have used that time to become better at the one and only thing you do.

But does it make sense to restrict all your efforts to one thing? Don't forget about the point of diminishing returns. You can spend the rest of your life trying to get a teensy bit better with your left hand, but you'll get much greater returns by bringing your right hand up to speed.

Learning to do something with both hands doesn't take twice as much time. At least, not if you practice the right way. That's why I go into the details of efficient and effective practice, so you can become ambidextrous in whatever time you have available. In some cases, working on your right hand doesn't have to take any extra time at all.

Furthermore, it should not be your goal to become equally good at every task with both hands. You have to be informed enough to know when there's an advantage to be gained by switching. That's why I point out both the pros and cons of a wide range of activities, so you can decide what's worth learning to do right-handed.

While left-handedness is not without its benefits, the world was most definitely designed for right-handers.

There are many examples like this. The point is that left-handedness and right-handedness both have their advantages. But the biggest advantage of all goes to the people who are free to pick the best hand for the job.

I used to be chained to one hand, unable to switch even if there was an advantage to doing so. Now I can write with both hands at the same time. I stopped wearing a watch because I no longer have a useless hand to put it on. I'm free to use whichever hand I want, all the time.

When I got started with this, I couldn't find any solid information about ambidexterity out there. After learning everything the hard way, I decided that I had to share it with people.

I was appalled to learn that some self-proclaimed experts charge $185 an hour for their pseudo-scientific insight into handedness and the brain hemispheres. And I figured that not only could I put together something more useful, more informative, and more fun, but I could also make it much cheaper.

That's what I present to you here. So get started right now. Learn how to integrate your brain hemispheres, master your handedness, and achieve a level of dexterity far beyond ordinary.

"Cultivating ambidexterity is one of the greatest ways to stimulate your brain. With this ebook, Hunter Nuttall not only tells us all the facts and myths behind ambidexterity, but also shows us how to actually become ambidextrous.

Whether you want to develop your non-dominant hand to avoid RSI injuries, to better use your brain capacity, or just for fun, this ebook is for you.

Just take the self-assessment and begin practicing: from opening jars to writing to sports, Hunter has them all covered!"

- Luciano Passuello, litemind.com

"When I first saw this book, I thought, 'Is he kidding? A book on... what? Becoming more ambidextrous?' But then I read it, and really it's almost unclassifiable.

It is highly entertaining. I was completely absorbed by it! I learned all kinds of completely nerd-elicious cool stuff.

And here's the thing: messing around with your hand dominance improves the way you think. It was a strange kind of magic. I highly recommend Hunter's book!"

- Michael Martine, remarkablogger.com

"I'm amazed at how much I depend on my dominant hand, and yet I realize that there are many benefits to being more ambidextrous.

One of the things that Hunter explains in his ebook is a message that I think is vitally important: that our brain never stops developing, and one of the best ways to create new brain connections is by challenging ourselves to use our non-dominant hand for activities such as writing, throwing a ball, and combing our hair.

I've read many articles on the benefits of stimulating both brain hemispheres by doing things such as Super Brain Yoga, standing on one foot and then the other, breathing out of one nostril and then the other, and so on. I find that when I actively try to balance both sides of my brain, I can think more clearly. Developing your non-dominant hand is another great way of achieving this balance.

Hunter provides lots of valuable advice and exercises in his ebook to help readers with their ambidexterity training. In fact, I'm trying one out as I write this. This is both a fun and practical ebook, and one I would recommend you get if you're interested in getting the full benefits from both sides of your brain."

- Marelisa Fabrega, marelisa-online.com

This ebook is just over 60 pages, so it's sufficiently thorough but it won't overwhelm you. The instant download includes both the left-handed and right-handed ebook versions, just in case you want both.

It's priced at a very affordable $37, a mere pittance compared to hiring your own coach to train your right hand. Download it now, and start unleashing the other half of your brain and body today.