How to Hula Hoop

Transcript Hi. My name is Natalie McFancy Wise, I’ve been hula hooping for three and a half years. I have a degree in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. I’ve focused in choreography and also modern technique. And I’m now living in the New York city area …

Transcript If you’re buying your first hula hoop, a couple of tips that I can offer you are to notice the size, the weight, and the material that your hoop is made out of. I have a couple of examples here of different sizes. I would suggest for everyone buying their very first hoop, to …

Transcript To hula hoop longer you need to learn certain techniques for keeping the hoop up when it starts to fall. So start feet hip distance apart, one foot slightly in front of the other, knees nice and soft, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. I like to think about pressing forward …

Transcript The speed of your hooping has a lot to do with the size of hoop that you are hooping with. And I’m definitely going to show you how to hoop faster with whatever hoop that you happen to be using. If you use a larger hoop that maybe comes to about the belly button …

Transcript For a vertical shoulder duck-out it’s helpful to have your shoulders exposed so that the hoop can grip against your skin. It’s much easier that way. So we’re going to start vertical hooping around our neck. Make sure that your feet are a little wider than hip distance apart and nice and soft because …

Transcript To do a shoulder pop with the hula hoop, we’re going to start in a hand roll. My hand is out in front of me, my thumb is up. I’m keeping it nice and strong there, allowing the hoop to roll over my left hand. My hoop is rotating clockwise. Now, when the hoop …

Transcript Surface switching is a very important tool that a lot of hoopers use when switching the hoop from the front of your body to the back of your body, or over your head to on your body. And basically, what it means is the hand position in relationship to your hoop is moving from …

Transcript To do an illusion, you want to practice without your hoop, a lot, first. So we’re going to put the hoop down, and what you want to do is really do a lot of stretching, and practicing doing what is called a sanding split. So the way to do that is you stand on …

Transcript To hula hoop on one shoulder or to do what is called a Shoulder Duck-Out, you’re going to start with the hoop on your neck. You can also do this trick with the hoop around your shoulders, but I find that it’s easier to learn starting with it on your neck and then work …

Transcript To hula hoop on one leg, you’re going to first practice some balancing positions, because the hardest part about hooping on one leg is, obviously, being able to stand on one foot with the other leg above the hoop, and also make it look nice, you know, you don’t hoop like this because it’s …

Transcript Now we’re going to focus on the techniques for bringing the hoop up from your knees up to your waist. Before I start I’d like you to keep in mind that this is a very advanced maneuver. When I first started learning to hoop I started working on this and I only just now, …

Transcript To bring the hoop from your waist to your neck, you have to do what is called a shimmy. What you’re going to do is you’re going to work your arms inside the hoop and wiggle the hoop up to your neck. The technique for this is mostly in the timing. You’ve got the …

Transcript To do a foot pass or a scorpion, you’re going to begin by passing the hoop around your body. So I have my hoop in the horizontal plane in front of me, both hands grabbing, and I rotate around, palm down to pass off, and continue. So I’ve got this, pass, going around the …

Transcript To do a hula hoop drop on, we’re going to start in lasso, again, with our right hand over our head and our thumb out, hand directly over head. So starting with the hoop out to your right, swing to your left, keeping the hoop right over head, and the part where the hoop …

Transcript To do a duck in we’re going to start with the hoop and lasso in our left hand. So we’re rotating the hoop to the left, my thumb is out to keep the hoop from falling, and it’s directly over my head. As the hoop comes into my palm, I’m going to grab it …

Transcript To do an escalator with the hoop, you’re going to start with the hoop out to your side, in a flat plane. You’re going to take your right foot, that’s my right. So I’m going to take my right foot and step inside the hoop, so that the hoop is around my right leg, …

Transcript So, to do your Cat Eyes we’re going to start with our isolation. One handed. The hoop’s in front of you about top of your head height and belly button. I’m leading with my pinky finger to do my one handed isolation. And my hoop is rotating counter-clockwise. So, to start the Cat Eye. …

Transcript For iso-pops you want to start with your basic isolation. So, to quickly cover how we do isolations, we start with the hoop in front of you, slightly above your head, belly button height, framing your upper body. Hand is at 6 o’clock, tracing the inside of the hoop, and then releasing to go …

Transcript For a back isolation, there are a couple of different ways that you can get into this particular trick. I’m going to show the way I think is the easiest. Start with the hoop down in front of you, grabbing from the outside. You’re going to swing the hoop, pinky side to your right, …

Transcript To do a vertical back roll, you’re going to start in your hand roll with the hoop in front of you, rotating counter-clockwise. So, I’ve got my thumb up, my palm towards the left. Give it a push. My hoop is rotating counter-clockwise. I’m keeping it nice and strong in front of me, keeping …

Transcript For our across the chest roll we’re going to start the same way as we would do our across the back roll. The hoop is in my right hand. My grip is nice and loose. I just have my first two fingers making a loop. My other fingers are just cradling the hoop. And …

Transcript Across the back roll with the hula hoop is probably a favorite of everyone for hula hooping. So, we are going to start with the hoop in our right hand hanging loosely in your first two fingers. So, I’m making a loop here holding the hoop gently. Notice that my hoop is in the …

Transcript To hula hoop around your ankles, you’re going to focus on one foot at a time. So plant your right foot, make sure that your back is nice and straight, your knee is a little bit soft, not locked back. So knee a little bit soft, weight on your right foot. Your left foot …

Transcript For vertical chest hooping, you’re going to keep the hoop on your upper chest. Knees are soft. Feet are slightly wider than hip distance apart. You’re going to bend forward. Notice how my back is nice and straight, and the motion of the hoop comes from your knees. I’m going to do a little …

Transcript To do a Vertical Barrel Roll you want to start by chest hooping in your vertical plane. So we’ll start with that. Make sure that your feet are hip distance apart, your knees are nice and soft, because that’s going to give you the momentum to make the hoop continue. So we’re going to …

Transcript So to start hula hooping around your knees or your legs there are a couple of different techniques that you can try, and I suggest trying them all to see which one will work best for you. I am going to teach it my favorite way first. Legs together, as close together as you …

Transcript So to start shoulder hooping, we want to make sure that our chest hooping is nice and solid first. We start with our chest isolation, moving your chest around in a circle, giving the hoop a push, arms out of the way. And notice that I’m pushing with the left side of my chest …

Transcript Isolation is probably everyone’s favorite trick to watch, and I’m going to teach you how to do it. Okay. So you’re going to start with the hoop in front of you, in the vertical plane. You want the top of the hoop to be slightly above the top of your head, and the bottom …

Transcript To do a vertical jump through, you’re going to start in your hand roll. With your thumb out. Your palm facing forward. The hoop is rotating forward on the right side of my body. Palm is forward. Then, notice when the hoop touches your palm. When it touches your palm you’re going to grab …

Transcript With horizontal jump throughs we’re going to treat the hoop as if it’s like a jump rope. You’re going to hold the hoop out in front of you horizontally. Palms are down. Swing the hoop down towards your feet. And we can practice this slowly first. Just step through one foot at a time. …

Transcript For our hula hoop tuck toss, you want to start with the hoop in a hand roll, thumb up, like you’re giving a handshake, rotating the hoop forward. And you’re going to notice when the hoop touches your palm, with palm, palm, palm. When it touches my palm I’m going to grab the hoop …

Transcript For a hula hooping vertical step-through, there’s a couple of things that you want to think about first. First is the size of your hoop. If your hoop is very small, it will be difficult to step your body through it. So, keep that in mind. Usually 39 inch diameter is a really good …

Transcript So, we start with lasso. You’re going to pass off, switch the hand that’s inside the hoop. I always switch the hand at the top. I find that that’s the easiest way to get this trick. So we start with lasso, with our left hand rotating the hoop around. Your thumb is out, keeping …

Transcript So, to start your hula hoop vortex we’re going to start with the hoop around our waist. You can also start in lasso with the hoop above your head. I’ll demonstrate both of those. But you learn each section in two parts. Basically the first section, you learn how to lift the hoop off. …

Transcript For sustained spinning with your hoop, you’re going to put yourself in one spot, so find a spot on the ground that’s nice and level because you’re going to be turning in that same spot for a while. What you want to do with your hoop is you want to try to keep the …

Transcript So, for chest reversals, you’re going to start with your basic chest hooping. Hoop is going around your chest. Arms are up. You’re rotating your rib cage to keep the hoop going. Then, you’re going to notice when the hoop is touching you across the front of your body. When the hoop is coming …

Transcript Hula hoop stalls are basically the idea that the hoop stays still for a few moments, maybe even a few seconds in time. So you can do stalls in a variety of ways. We’re going to focus today on stalls on the waist, and I will give you some examples of other versions of …

Transcript To learn your hula hoop breaks and reversals we’re going to start around our waist. Notice when the hoop is in front of you, making a space in front of your body. So, one way to practice this and noticing it is to watch it. And then count. Front, front, front, front, front, front, …

Transcript To hoop around your neck, you’re going to want to start by noticing your stance. Your feet should be a little wider than hip distance apart. Your knees should be soft, your belly should be nice and strong, spine nice and straight. So, we’re going to keep our neck nice and straight. Not too …

Transcript So, how to hula hoop around your chest. You’re going to start without the hoop. Practice the movement that happens in your body. So, similar to a jazz dance warm up, you want to practice isolating your chest and ribcage area. So, put the hoop down. Hands on your hips. You’re going to press …

Transcript So for your vertical behind the back pass, you’re going to start with your vertical hand roll in front of you. You’re going to rotate your body, so that the hoop is beside you. Your thumb is up, like a handshake. Thumb is up, palm is forward, to keep the hoop from coming up …

Transcript For your helicopter, you’re going to start with your palms up, pinkies together, with the hoop in front of you. You’re going to let go with one hand, rotate the hoop so that your wrist is forward, so we’re going from up to forward, and as the hoop goes around behind you, you’re going …

Transcript So for the behind the back pass, your hoop is going to stay mostly horizontal. You’re going to start with the hoop in front of you, thumbs together, palms down. You’re going to let go with one hand, swing the hoop around to your side behind your back. Now, when the hoop gets behind …

Transcript The idea behind the lasso is similar to that of trick roping, if you’ve ever seen cowboys lasso with the trick rope and lasso a cow, a calf, I guess. We’re going to take the same idea from hand hooping, where we have our hand out like a handshake, with our thumb up. And …

Transcript To start hand hooping, you’re going to reach your hand out in front of you like you’re going to give someone a handshake. Your thumb is up and out, so you’re making this L shape with your hands, either your right or your left hand, whichever is more comfortable for you. And you want …

Transcript To walk while hula hooping, you’re going to start obviously, with your basic hula hooping around your waist. And then you should start to practice shifting your weight from one foot to the other. Practice hooping on your left foot, switching to your right foot. You don’t have to hold it quite as long …

Transcript All right. Hula Hoop Basics. To get started, you want to start with your feet hip distance apart, maybe a little bit wider. Comfortable stance, not too wide. You want to keep it just outside your shoulders. One foot should be slightly in front of the other. It doesn’t matter which one. You can …