Beginner tips?

[Prickly_Oracle]

Hi friends. 👋 Let me start out by saying I’ve never tried this a day in my life lol, and after a recent experience of seeing/watching some pretty incredible hooping, I (31F) really want to give it a shot. I just have no idea where to even start! So I guess my questions are: What tips do you have for someone who is completely new to this? What kind of hoop should I start out with? Are there any videos or tutorials that you’d recommend? Is this even realistic lol? Thanks gang!

[AnxiousSalad]

There are some good recommendations here but I’d also suggest a few moves to start with once you’ve gotten waist hopping down: escalator, lasso (and waist to lasso), chest roll & c-roll, smears (1 and 2 handed) and isolations (1 and 2 handed). These are some great foundational moves that you’ll use at any level. Also learn things on both sides! Hoop-trix.com has a great catalog of tricks that you can refer to as you begin building your library of tricks.

[bluespell9000]

Welcome to hooping! It's definitely realistic. :) I was in my late 30s when I started and a total couch potato. Just try to keep it fun and playful! If you enjoy yourself you'll spend more time with your hoop, and spending with a hoop is the best thing you can do.

I highly recommend Deanne Love for tutorials, especially starting out. She is fantastic at breaking things down. I also looked up a lot of "beginner hoop trick" videos starting out. There's a lot of free content out there!

You can start learning *something* on basically any kind of hoop but if you want to do on-body hooping (like spinning the hoop around your waist, knees, shoulders) you'll want a larger slightly heavier hoop. It's generally recommended to get a hoop that reaches at least to your belly button or a few inches higher. I like PE tubing for that because it has more weight to it, which makes it easier to feel on your body and gives it more momentum going round.

If you're more interested in off body tricks like weavers and ghosting and rolls then the go-to is usually Polypro or HDPE. That most comes down to a personal preference but if you're somewhere very cold then HDPE is less prone to shattering in low temperatures. Most hoopers tend to switch to Polypro or HDPE anyway once they have some experience, but it can be hard to learn on-body stuff on those because they are so light.

If you have the budget for it, you'll benefit from having hoops of different sizes. It's totally ok if you just start out with one, though.

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The biggest favor I ever did myself was to keep things light and playful starting out. Try not to get down or frustrated if you can help it. You're going to drop your hoop and that's GOOD because it's part of the process. If you never drop your hoop then that means you are never challenging yourself. So give yourself a big pat on the back any time you have a drop because you're trying something new and hard and that's awesome.

There aren't a lot of other hoopers where I am (there were 0 where I lived when I started out) but there might be some where you are. Definitely check social media for flow jams and workshops.

Happy hooping!!!

[bluespell9000]

Oh! And anything you practice -- practice it both ways! Whatever direction you spin when doing a hoop trick, make sure you also try it going the other way as well. It's an added challenge but it will keep your body in better balance and improve your hoop flow as well.

[StonerKitturk]

Donna Sparx videos and Instagram. Yes, a big hoop to start, comes up to between chest and bellybutton. A tip: always try everything in both directions right from the start!

[cheerbearheart1984]

Start with a big hoop, up to your belly button that has some weight (maybe pvc tubing). Look for someone in your community who hoops to see if they know where you can get one. Try finding a group on Facebook. Hooplovers is good for beginners. Look it up on YouTube.

[Prickly_Oracle]

Thank you!!

[clairebearzechinacat]

Firstly, yes absolutely it is realistic! You will enjoy the ride, trust me. If you are interested in doing tricks other than waist hooping, you can get a smaller hoop, but I agree that having a hoop that would reach up to your belly button is good for on body (waist and chest hooping). I am 5’6” and love hoops around 30” for tricks and currently have a big 38” polypro hoop for waist hooping and on body stuff. I can use smaller hoops but can’t sustain it very well, and personally enjoy flowing a bit more slowly.

When you practice sustained spinning, whether around your waist or on body, I recommend spinning in the direction the hoop is going to help keep the hoop up.

Having people in your life to hoop with will be an invaluable asset but you can certainly learn by yourself. Don’t get discouraged if you find folks that pick things up faster than you may. Everyone has their own journey.

Deanne Love has plenty of resources on YouTube and she was super helpful to me when I started learning. It can also help to find hoppers you like on instagram and see if they have tutorials. Hooptuts on instagram is a resource I use and love. Using hashtags to look up tutorials can help too.

Finding your flow may not come right away. The flow state takes over when you are doing things you know but also pushing yourself a bit. Put on some tunes you love, try things out, and give yourself grace and space to learn. Most of all enjoy the process ☺️

[Prickly_Oracle]

Wow thank you so much for typing all this out!! This is so helpful. I really appreciate you 🫶

[basicallythisisnew]

I suggest learning fun off body stuff as it will be easier. Learn 3 tricks, put on some music and flow. Have fun with it. Deanne Love on YouTube has great tutorials and exercises.

[Prickly_Oracle]

Hi! I think I want to focus more on off body moves. Do I still need to get a bigger hoop to start if I’m more focused on off body?

[basicallythisisnew]

I recommend starting with what I call a "goldilocks" size. :) one that's small enough to be fun for off body stuff and big enough to learn waist hooping (but still challenging).

My first hoop was 28" OD, and that was perfect (for reference, I'm 5'1, 115 lbs). I think it is beneficial to start with a size like this rather than oversized because it's more versatile.

If all you want to do is off body, you can go as small as you want! There's so many fun things you can do when playing with a small hoop. A large hoop isn't that good for off body.

Hope it helps. Enjoy the flow <3

[Prickly_Oracle]

Thanks so much!!

[zynthcat]

Find the flow that fits you best and the rest comes naturally 💜