Appendix: Drill and Practice

Drills and Practice

Repetition and practice cements the basics and brings control.

WAIST HOOPING

Five minutes or more of hooping on the waist with no tricks. Encourage students to focus on holding their posture, keeping their hoop on an even plane, varying speed or tempo, pushing evenly. The practice gives you time to help new hoopers get the hoop going on their waists.

WALKING AND STEPPING

Have everyone follow along as you step it aerobics style. Step forward for 4, clap, step backward for 4, clap. Sidestep both directions. Turn. Hey, you’ve done the Hustle! Grapevine. March in place, knees high. Walk on tiptoe. Walk in a squat. Find variations to keep the students engaged.

WALKING CIRCLE

Bring everyone into a moving circle or snake through your hoop space to create sustained walking movement for two or three minutes. You can vary the pace (speed up, slow down), direction (backward, sideways), or walking pattern (big steps, tiptoe steps). This is also a great time to work on arm movements and positions. Play follow the leader.

RELAY RACING

Divide the class into even groups and use one hoop per group. Line them up and have each team walk to the other side of the room and back, handing off the hoop to the next person on the team. First team done, wins! When the students are ready for more than walking, try sidestep, grapevine, etc. Add in penalties for dropping the hoop.

CIRCUS LEVELS

30 or 60 seconds per position to improve control. To increase challenge, keep legs together and spin faster. Unless noted, arm position is held out to sides. Use a broomstick to enforce this if you are feeling extra strict.

  1. Hand over head (left and right)
  2. Neck
  3. Neck + left arm up inside hoop
  4. Neck + right arm up inside hoop
  5. Chest (arms in)
  6. Chest (arms up)
  7. Under nipples
  8. Ribs
  9. Waist
  10. Hips (position hands on hips to keep hoop from floating up)
  11. Under bottom
  12. Mid-thigh
  13. Lower thigh (“knee hooping”)
  14. Arabesque on right leg
  15. Arabesque on left leg

CIRCUS MULTIPLES

Start with one hoop. Add one hoop every 60 seconds. Keep the hoops moving together, without flowering out of synch or splitting vertically. This requires focus on your posture and core!

CIRCUS SPLITS

For each round, split the hoops to the correct position, hold 30 seconds, then control the hoops back to starting point, repeat 3 times.

Two Hoops

  • Waist – chest
  • Waist – neck
  • Waist – wrist
  • Waist – hand
  • Waist – hip
  • Waist – knees
  • Hand – Knees
  • Hand – Hip
  • Hand – Neck
  • Hand – Chest
  • Hand – Wrist
  • Knees – Neck
  • Knees – Chest
  • Hip – Neck
  • Hip – Chest

Three Hoops

  • Hand – Wrist – Neck
  • Wrist – Neck – Chest
  • Neck – Chest – Waist
  • Chest – Waist – Hips
  • Waist – Hip – Knees
  • Hip – Knees – Hand
  • Knees – Hand – Wrist
  • Hand – Neck – Waist
  • Neck – Waist – Knees
  • Hand – Chest – Hip
  • Hand – Chest – Knees
  • Hand – Waist – Knees
  • (there are more permutations…)

REVERSE CURRENT

Do any of the above drills entirely in the reverse current. Incorporate this drill in every class; hooping in both directions keeps the body even and strong.