(Poor) Attempt at Multi-hooping

So I thought I'd give it a go at spinning two hoops at once. Get ready for a video with lots of drops!

After practicing this some, I went online and learned that knee/waist hooping was the hardest one to get down. D'oh! For this particular combination of multi-body hooping, I don't think it's necessary to have two hoops of the exact same size, as the rhythm isn't going to line up between your waist and knee regardless. My biggest tip would to be practicing knee hooping and locking in a beat and never losing it. Practice phantom waist hooping while hooping at the knee. It's harder than you think!

For this I'd really recommend using the heaviest hoops you own. I started with some 2.5 pound duct tape-covered hoops. It really helped me to be able to feel what side of me the hoop was pressing against. Being able to tell where the hoops are at all times is going to be key to getting down knee/waist hooping, as the rhythm just continuously changes.

One thing this taught me is that if you have an unbalanced body shape (i.e. top-heavy or bottom-heavy), you're going to have a hard time waist/chest mulit-hooping. It's the same problem that the rest of us encounter when hooping at the knees: your hoop isn't traveling across the same amount of space on your waist as it is on your chest. The hoops aren't going to spin at the same rate, and you're going to have to use some wonky rhythm because the movements likely won't sync up. But don't give up! You can find a work around.

Indoor Hooping

Today my roommate Blu and I rearranged the furniture in the apartment so I have this great big hooping space now! It's really great, and I'm much less likely to break things now.

For some reason, its not letting me embed this video, even though embedding is enabled. View my video HERE.

I celebrated by playing inside with the new PolyPro. I'm still working on getting used to it, and I always forget to add brakes to any song I'm playing to. I think my isolations are getting better, but I need to work on looking less intense/focused when I hoop and just have fun with it! Smile! WHY SO SERIOUS?

Sorry the video is a little close, I should have checked the distance before making it. I'll have to rig some kind of stand or something to get a shot a little further away next time.

Anyways... I'll work on those things. Everyday improvements. Step by step. That's why I'm making this blog.

Getting Used to the PolyPro

So hooping with this new PolyPro feels pretty awkward, but it looks less awkward than I was expecting (which is nice). It goes pretty much where you tell it to, and it's easy to keep up, but if you lose momentum, you're screwed. And it's pretty easy to screw up and lose all your momentum.

I'm working on breaks with the PolyPro because it's supposed to be easier than the PE hoops, but I think I'm just too used to my PE hoop. I'm all *raptor hands* so the hoop doesn't fly up off the plane. Definitely need to work on those.

I like the PolyPro because it's super easy to manipulate the tempo to whatever you need it to be to match the music! This song is just an overlay, I was listening to other music on my earphones. I'm looking forward to hooping to some fast-paced songs now that I have a lighter hoop. Nick has a lot of techno to go through :)

PolyPros and Hooping at the Gym

PolyPros arrived today from HoopMamas! It is so different from all my other hoops! I'm glad I had a 1/2" hoop that I've been practicing with. I can't imagine going straight from a 3/4" to a 1/2" PolyPro. I've heard a few horror stories of people shattering them, so I'm a little scared to go wild with it.

Also, I went to the gym on campus for the first time and used the big mirrored room to hoop. Don't mind the person in the corner. UH's rec center is pretty swanky, and at least one of the four multi-purpose rooms is open at night. Spent an hour there, made a video. Need to work on breaks some more. They're way easier with my PE hoop rather than the PolyPro hoop. I think I just need to get used to it.

Foot Hooping

So this was something new... and it felt amazing! Great way to stretch and work out your legs. Took me about 20 minutes to get it down so I could switch from foot to foot. Can you tell how excited I am at the end of the video?!

Tips and pointers that helped me learn to get this is start spinning with your dominant foot. It's usually the same as your dominant hand (right for me). Start by spinning the hoop in the direction so it travels over the top of your foot towards the inside of your foot. This way you have the curve of your foot to help keep the hoop in place. So if you're spinning with your right foot, looking up at the hoop, spin counter-clockwise.

For the pass, bring your feet as close together as you can when the hoop is over your body. You can also change when the hoop is opposite your body, but I found having the hoop against the sole of my feet gave me more grip and control. See which is easier for you!

Play with it and see if there are any other tricks you can do just with the feet! Did you come up with anything fun? Post your ideas below!

Practicing Brakes

Brakes are HARD! There are NO good tutorials, and I really just can't tell why they work sometimes and why they send the hoop at angles other times. It's so frustrating! But I'm starting to get a handle on it.

I think I worked on one thing too long, because I got some fun bruises on my arms. Time to take a break from brakes!

First Flow Video

This is a great song by Dub FX that is created entirely by one guy's mouth! The tempo is perfect for hooping, so I tried to make my first flow video. My inspiration for movement was this video.

I know there are a lot of drops and mistakes, but I didn't want to edit it. I want to be able to look back and see how far I've come since I started. So! Sloppy first video :)

This is shot on the walk up to my apartment door. I really like the way the hallway frames the shot.

New Hoops!

My new hoops from Hoop Mamas arrived today! I got one 3/4" 100 psi 39" tube and one 1/2" 125 psi 38" hoop. Getting used to the smaller, lighter hoops was a little tough at first. Now it just feels like my duct tape hoop weighs 5 pounds! The difference is crazy obvious! I ordered these hoops because they're collapsible, and my current hoop doesn't fit well in the Miata.

Used the new smaller hoop to practice duck-ins. I love the mirror in my apartment, it's great to practice in front of. It's helped me get better at isolations too!

Circus Kick Start

Circus kick start.... a cool way to fix a drop, make it look intentional. Sounds like a good idea.... after an hour, my foot was black and blue!

Took a while to get, until my friend Michelle told me to think like I was doing knee-highs. That finally made it click! One hour and 2 fuzzy socks later:

For this move, you really want a lighter hoop. Use the lightest large-diameter hoop you own. There are really 2 ways of starting up this move: kick the foot outside the hoop backwards against the hoop, or kick the foot inside the hoop forwards so that the hoop pushes against your other foot. I was always practicing the first version, which how most tutorial videos start.

However, I was finally able to nail this move when I tried the second starting technique, kicking your inside foot forward. If you're stuck on this move, I'd really recommend giving this a try. It feels awkward, but it gives your lifting foot more time to get into the hoop and lift up. This way, you don't have to kick the hoop, bring your foot back in the hoop, then lift. It takes out a step and gives you more time to react.

Let me know if this tip helped you nail the move!