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Permalink Reply by circularlogic on August 16, 2009 at 8:28pm

Hey there, welcome to Hoop City!

The one secret I remember about learning to shimmy up on my arms was to put the first arm in, stretching it WAY down, & let the hoop come around once before inserting the other arm. Don't have to do it that way anymore but it really helped get the feel of it.

And gaffer's tape really does help. Worth buying a roll. If you can't find it easily & don't want to order online, hockey tape is also grippy (but doesn't look as good over time). Also, is your hoop big enough? Remember your chest is a lot bigger than waist or knees, especially with arms in!

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Permalink Reply by Jenna Rae on August 16, 2009 at 8:32pm

thanks :) sometimes its a little frustrating, as my sister started showing me moves and we would hoop together, and then she left (plus working full time/going to school limits the amount of time that i have to try to hoop everyday!) I think the hoop I have is big enough, its one she left for me, and I've used her huge hoop before, but couldn't really gain much momentum to do any tricks because of its size. I should measure my hoop, but i think its probably around the average size.

I'll have to try that trick to see if I can get it up. I can get my right hand in fine (i hoop to the right), but as soon as I get the left in, it just dies! Its the one move i'm really trying to master haha.

I started reading about gaffer's tape, and i think its accessible enough to me (i live in minneapolis so I have a lot of places to check out), but if i can't, ill try the hockey tape!

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Marie on August 16, 2009 at 11:46pm

i love hooping with my little sister too :) she's 10. it's really fun to have someone to laugh with if you eff up or just show eachother new tricks

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Marie on August 16, 2009 at 11:42pm

maybe try hooping a little slower (not super slow)as you attempt to do the shimmy trick. that way you can see the opening as it spins in front of you. as you put in your other arm, speed it up by turning just to give it some momentum...i'm kinda spazzy, so when i first tried the shimmy it was going way too fast and as my arms went thru, it sent the hoop way out of wack! LOL but you just gotta find your feel. now i can do it with the greatest of ease, i tried different speeds as i put my arms through-its good to experiment. if you get frustrated, just hoop at the waist for awhile and then go back to trying 5 min later :) sometimes you can be just messing around and you do the trick by accident

the size really does help too, my first hoop was huge! like 47 inches.(but it was a good size for starting out) now i hoop with a 40 incher (both hoops are 3/4 inch tubing)

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Permalink Reply by Nichole Bair SenseSublimity on August 17, 2009 at 1:54am

Hi! So glad you have joined the community! Im sorry your missing your lil sis so much....i bet that is a hard change to get used to :( Maybe you should try finding other hoopers in your area to get you motivated and give you company while you play!

That "shimmy" move is pretty hard when your first learning it. I find it easier to turn in the direction of my hoop to slow it down a little as I drop my arms in...also video taping yourself helps soooo much...a lot of people think they are doing it right but arent for example most people start to push their arms out like a penguin when learning this move. Its a natural reaction when your thinking about lifting it up....but you want to keep them by your sides. I also found this move easier to learn after I could chest hoop (keep the hoop going at my chest with my arms outside of the hoop). I think its because to lift it up....... there is a combination of the arm shimmy into chest rotations as it gets higher :) I hope this helps!

Oh also you can find hockey tape easier than gaffers locally but MAKE SURE you cover the edges of the hockey tape with electrical or vinyl because it starts to oooze out sticky stuff or fray which is no fun!
<3 Nichole

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on August 17, 2009 at 11:40am

Hey Jenna Rae, welcome to Hoop City

Another tip is to keep your arms very loose, like you're a doll.
That tip really helped me.
And no worries, it took me a while to learn the shimmy too... Just hoop at the waist, have fun and give it a try now and then.... you'll get it eventually ;)

Lots of love and happy hooping

Lisa

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Permalink Reply by Chantal Dings on August 17, 2009 at 12:18pm

I found that hooping with just one arm in and doing the slight shoulder shrug helped me just to get the feel of the hoop passing over my arm and helped me work on the timing. Try hooping with your right arm in and doing a light shoulder shrug and then take it out and put your left arm in doing a slight shoulder shrug and really just focusing on the proper timing as it rolls over the back of your forearm and starts moving towards the front. And turning in a circle really does help give you more time to get that arm in there ! ! Good luck and happy hooping

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