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StudentPermalink Reply by Tink in Tokyo on March 2, 2012 at 8:28pm

**Challenge Completed**

Let's hoop on our waists. You are standing in the middle of your hoop, holding it lightly in both hands.

We'll start by standing up straight and tall. Imagine there is a string tied to the top of your head and a giant is pulling on it. Your head is lifting up a little; your spine stretches, your bottom tucks under, and your feet stay on the floor. Can you feel how tall you've become?

Now, keeping our tall selves, let's take a step forward with either foot. Your weight is balanced evenly on both feet now with one foot in front of the other. Let's rock back and forth, shifting weight from one foot to the other - forward and back, forward and back. You might even go up on your toes as you move forward and back. Feel how your hips move as you shift weight. Press your hips forward, then move your bottom backwards. forward, back, forward, back.  Now see what it feels like to move your hips without shifting the weight on your feet. Can we speed it up? 1-2-1-2-1-2. Great!

This is the motion you'll use when we get the hoop going. 

So about that hoop. It's getting a little bored just waiting there. Bring it up to your waist and let it rest on your lower back so that the big hole of the hoop is out in front of you, and the back of the hoop touches your body. Your hands should be on either side of you, holding the hoop comfortably.

Before we get the hoop going, let's double check our position - the giant is still pulling you tall and your feet are one in front of the other. Your hips are ready to rock!

First we're going to spin the hoop without rocking. When you spin the hoop, it doesn't matter which direction you go. Hold the hoop on your back and give it a strong, fast push straight to your belly button. You can actually tap your hand on your stomach as you push. As you give it a push, let go with both hands and move them out of the way. If you give it a straight, strong push, it will spin around your waist a few times without any help before it falls to the floor. If it falls to the floor right away, then maybe the hoop wasn't touching your back, or it started at an angle. (practice this until the starts are smooth and even)

Ready to try rocking? This is what keeps the hoop from falling down. You will to catch the rhythm of the hoop and rock forward and back as it goes around you to give the hoop energy and momentum. So try the spinning the hoop again and this time as it goes around, feel when it reaches your stomach - that's when you rock forward - and your back to rock backward. At first, it's going to seem very fast. You have to match the speed of the hoop to begin, but once you get the timing, you can control the hoop - speed it up and slow it down by rocking more quickly or slowly.

Ready, set, go! (And from here on, it's music on and helping with hints, tips and adjustments)

StudentPermalink Reply by Tink in Tokyo on March 21, 2012 at 1:26am

Gosh, where are all the other entries? This was a fun challenge, like writing a "how to tie your shoelaces" paper in 7th grade.

Permalink Reply by Mira on March 22, 2012 at 3:52pm

---------------------------------- CHALLENGE COMPLETED!!---------------------------------------------------------

Let me start off by saying, hooray! My first monthly challenge : D haha. Onto the learning!

For this tutorial, we'll be hooping on our elbows! To begin, we start by standing with our arms stretched out in front of us, palm facing up, with the hoop resting on your hand. If you're right handed, you would use your right hand, and vice versa. I'll be using my right hand, so if you're, left handed, just do the OPPOSITE of what I say.

Okay so our arm is stretched in front of our body, about chest level, palms facing up and the hoop is at rest. We begin moving the hoop in a counter clockwise rotation around our hand, by first giving a small burst of momentum to the hoop.Do this by grasping the hoop with your leading hand, and moving your wrist in a counterclockwise direction as you release your grip. Note where the hoop is on your hand, it should be rotating after your thumb, but before your fingers, rolling over your palm. If you're left handed, your hoop will be going in a clockwise rotation.. After you get the hang of hooping on your hand in front of you, and give a minute to sort of feel it and get comfortable with that, we can start slowly turn our bodies ONLY to the right if you're right handed,  and to the left for lefties. Do not move your arm, or hand, beyond keeping the hoop in motion. When you've finished turning your consecutive directions, your arm should be outstretched at your side at about shoulder to chest level. Keeping your body still, begin slowly bending your elbow so that the hoop keeps rotating parallel to your body, but comes about 8 inches from your shoulder. Stay there for a minute to get the feel of it.

Alright- now the fun part! As you're hooping in a counterclockwise motion around your right hand, arm pulled in towards your side, watch the hoop and notice when there is a space around the bottom of the hoop, where you could put your elbow in. Watch for a few rotations, and prepare to stick your elbow out, perpendicular to your body. Now all you have to do is replace the momentum your hoop was getting from your hand, with momentum from your elbow. Do this by doing the, what I like to call, "mini chicken wing", all it means is just flapping your little birdie "wing" or arm in a tiny counterclockwise circle.

There you go! You are now officially hooping on your elbow.  To switch back to hand hooping, wait for a space above your elbow, when you feel the hoop move over the back of your bicep, replace your elbow with your hand, replace the momentum, and move your arm out straight to the right or left side again.

Remember practice makes perfect!

Permalink Reply by Jennifer on April 2, 2012 at 7:07am

I just discovered this challenge!  A bit late to the party as usual... haha
Looking forward to the next challenge.. :)