Coolest Easy Hula Hoop Tricks
Hula hooping is rising in popularity as more people become aware of the health benefits, not to mention how much fun it is! Below are some of the coolest hula hoop tricks for beginners.
Lasso
The lasso hula hoop trick emulates the traditional position of a rope lasso, held rotating over the head. First you will need to decide which hand to use; if you use the right hand, the hula hoop with rotate right, and will rotate left if you use your left hand. The starting position is with your hand held out in front of you palm up, the hula hoop hanging from your hand. In order to gain the momentum necessary to get the hula hoop rotating, swing your hand quickly across your body and up into the lasso position, ending with your arm extended over your head, moving in small circles to keep the hula hoop rotating. Ideally, the hula hoop should remain positioned just above your extended thumb.
One-Handed Weave
The one-handed weave is when you move the hula hoop in a figure eight rotation from one side of your body to the other, moving across the front of your body. Start with your right hand holding the hula hoop with a loose underhanded grip on the right side of your body. Swing it up, still on your right side, until your grip is on the bottom center of the hoop. Once it is at the top of it’s arc, swing it down across the front of your body until your arm is across your body with the hoop hanging from your hand on your left side. Then swing it back up, still on the left side, swinging it back across your body to return to your starting position. Since each repetition of the trick brings you back to the starting position, you can do the move continuously without pause until you decide to stop.
Duck-In
The duck-in is a move where you rotate the hula hoop around the outside of your body with your hands, then duck into it as it comes back around. Timing and coordination are important to accomplish this one, but the only prerequisite skill you need to try this trick is waist-hooping. Practice passing the hula hoop around the outside of your waist, with a hands-down grip. After you get used to this motion, you can practice ducking into it as it comes back around to the front. An important thing to keep in mind is to use the momentum of the hoop as it comes around to the front of your body, so instead of adjusting the hoop’s movement, you adjust your body to duck into it. Keep your legs straight and bend quickly from the waist to duck into the hoop, then straighten quickly and begin swiveling your hips to start into the waist hooping movement.
Duck-Out
The duck out is the opposite of the duck in — ducking out of the hula hoop while waist hooping. This trick is best learned in stages; first you want to get the rhythm of waist hooping, so practice sticking your hands in and out of the rotation area as you waist hoop. After you get the rhythm down, practice ducking out. This requires crossing your arms over your chest and bending over far enough to let the hoop fly off. You should also practice braking, which means stopping the hoop with your hand on the outside of the hoop as it rotates during waist hooping. To master the duck out, combine the last two steps so that you are able to duck out of the hoop while braking the hoop. After you master the trick, you can use the braking motion to transfer the hoop into your next move.
