Tricks



Learning how to do “tricks” with your hula hoop is really fun and entertaining. Doing the hula hoop tricks or “moves” are a big part of hula hoop dancing because that is what makes hooping different from ordinary hula hooping. Some examples of tricks are: the vortex, chest hooping, shoulder hooping, chest rolls, knee hooping, isolations, etc. Once you have learned tricks with your hula hoop it becomes more fun and easier. All hula hoop dancing really is, is just combining all the tricks you have learned into a routine like dance. Also once you get good and have learned many tricks it is really fun to do and people enjoy watching you do it.  There are tons of tricks that you can learn and some people make up their own tricks or put their own spin on tricks. There are certain basic hula hoop tricks that are usually learned when you first begin hooping because they will be needed to learn other more advanced tricks later on. It is actually really easy to get started and learn these basic tricks. You can either have someone you know show you or you can watch video tutorials online that will teach you step by step what to do. I think the tutorials on you tube are very beneficial because they’re easy to see and most of the people do a very good job giving clear step by step instructions. Almost all the tricks that I have learned I watched on you tube at some point because it makes everything clearer. Also if you try it a couple times and can’t get it, don’t panic and give up because it takes a lot of practice. The most basic hooping trick is lifting the hula hoop from your waist up above your head. This is a good first trick to learn because it helps you get the hang of having the hula hoop in your hand and just having coordination while grabbing the hoop. Once you have mastered lifting the hoop up above your head it’s good to make sure you can keep the hoop spinning on your hand above your head. The next part of this trick is bringing the hula hoop back down to your waist with your hands (the videos below will give a clearer picture of what this looks like). After learning these two basic things other tricks you learn will probably come easier because you are now more comfortable with your hoop. The key to learning new tricks is keep practicing because it does take a lot of practice and if you keep doing it you will eventually get it!


This video above is a really good tutorial to teach you how to lift the hula hoop from your waist to up above your head into “lasso position” (which is just spinning the hoop on your hand above your head). I like this video because he is very clear when teaching it step by step and also teaches it both ways whether you hoop to the left or right because it does make a difference.

This video relates to the journal post I wrote above because it is a tutorial or a trick I was discussing. This is one of the most basic hula hoop tricks and is a very good and easy trick to learn if you just started hula hooping.



This is another trick tutorial created by the same guy who did the one above, but teaching a different trick. This trick is called the vortex and it is a little more complex but a really fun and entertaining trick to learn how to do! I really like this guy’s tutorials and how he explains the tricks because it is easy to follow what he is saying and doing.

This tutorial is relative because it is another video of someone teaching step by step how to do a hula hoop trick called the vortex. This trick (as he mentions in the video) is pretty simple but it is necessary to know how to lift the hula hoop up above your head and also bring it down because they are incorporated in this trick kind of. This is one of my favorite tricks and people really like it.


This is just a random you tube video that I found but I really like it because it shows a lot of different tricks all put together into one kind of “routine” dance, even though she is probably just free styling and hooping for fun!

This video relates to my journal post because as I talked about hula hoop dancing is just being able to combine a lot of tricks together and do it to music. This girl in the video does a good job showing how she incorporated tricks into dancing to music and making it look awesome. J







My experience with learning tricks


When I first started to learn how to hula hoop I was ready to learn how to do all the tricks I had seen and wanted to be good at it. At first you think that everything is going to be really hard and all the tricks are impossible, but they’re not. When I made my first hula hoop it was fun to just play with it and see what I could already do (which wasn’t much). Mostly it was just to get a feel of my hula hoop and get used to having the hula hoop around my waist and in your hands because getting used to your hula hoop is a very important part of hooping. After I had played around with my first hula hoop in my backyard I discovered that I was able to lift the hoop from my waist up above my head into lasso position so I was really excited that I was able to do something without much practice. One way that really helped me learn how to do tricks when I was first learning how was watching tutorials on you tube because there are so many that are extremely helpful because everything is broken down step by step so that it is easy to understand. The first time I tried to learn a trick from a you tube video I set my laptop on a table in my living room and was watching the tutorial and doing it at the same time. Once you realize and understand what you are supposed to do for the trick, the rest is just practicing over and over again until you get it right. Sometimes certain tricks are easier to learn and they can be learned in only a few minutes while others sometimes took me days to learn with practicing constantly. Once you do a trick the right way for the first time it just feels right and usually easy to repeat it after you do it at least once. Another helpful tactic in learning new tricks is having a friend or someone around whom already knows how to do the trick so they can help you and give you advice as you are practicing the trick. In the end there are no specific helpful pointers that make it easier to learn tricks besides just practicing over and over again by yourself or with a friend.



The YouTube video above is a tutorial done by a guy who makes really great tutorials for people looking for new tricks to learn. His tutorials are really easy to follow and they all make sense. In this tutorial he is teaching you how to do a trick called the helicopter duck-in.

This video is relative to the journal post because it is giving a well explained tutorial on how to do a certain trick called the helicopter duck-in. It is also one of my favorite ways to learn a new trick, as I stated above, by watching a tutorial on YouTube because they are very beneficial.


This is a YouTube video just that someone put together so show their own skills, not a tutorial, but the video is still helpful to just see different tricks and styles. The video shows a lot of variations of hooping, for instance using two hoops or hooping on different parts of your body.

I liked this YouTube video just because it showed a lot of different moves and ways to do certain tricks in one short little video and she wasn’t doing a whole intense routine like some people in these types of videos. This video also shows variation between the types of hula hoops she uses, some a larger and wider piping and some a smaller skinny ones, used for certain things.


This is a picture of what looks to be a class for hula hooping. This would obviously be a good way to learn how to do new things with your hula hoop because you are getting different peoples’ input on what you are doing. However this picture may just be people hula hooping normally as an exercise.

This picture is relative because this way of learning in a dance class room like environment could be a good way to learn new things with the hula hoop. Like I said in the journal post, sometimes it is helpful to have a friend who knows what they’re doing around to give guidance, so having a class like environment might also be helpful in learning new tricks. 


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