Hoops

After we went to watch marching bands, I delightedly went to the shop and purchased myself son a hula hoop.

He soon got bored of it but for a week, I practised and practised until I could keep the thing up. I was so doggedly determined because when I was little, I was *always*always* the one who couldn’t do fancy things like hula hooping or roller skating or pogo sticking or double dutch.

But being the phasical creature that I am, it didn’t end there. Oh no. I’m hooked. Or hooped. When my kids go to bed, I practise tricks like the corkscrew. And, what is more, I have become a hoop evangelist: Now all the cool cats come over and spin some plastic.

I think I like it because it is so mesmeric — a bit like doodling. I’m doing quite a lot of thinking during my hoop time these days.

In my quest for tricks and whistles, I have got frustrated by how many “How To” videos on the web don’t actually tell you how to do something, they just show you. So here are my Beginner’s Tips:

1. Don’t assume that you have to propel the hoop or hold it up using your hips. No, no, no. Spin the hoop around your anchor-like core. It’s much more about your upper abs than your Beyonce hips.

2. Your movement should be more rodeo rider than belly dancer.

3. Bigger hoops are easier. Heavier hoops are easier.

4. Keep practising like a full-grown-fool in your yard– if your body accidentally does it right enough times, your clever muscles will start to magically remember the right way for you.

5. If you’re trying to do the corkscrew move, the key for me was to lift and spin with the hoop. The spin is the thing.