Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The Best Hoop Advice I've Gotten

I've gotten a lot of great hoop advice over the years but these five have improved the way I think about hooping, and my progression with new moves and tricks, the most. The focus on both attitude and ability is why I believe these were so effective for me. Whenever I get stuck I think about at least one of these:

5) Focus on something challenging for the entire length of one song.
When moves are incredibly frustrating it's a little too easy to walk away from them. By doing this you add structure to learning. Hate that new move? Only work on it during one song - but focus solely on that move for the entire length and a few times after doing this, you'll have new confidence with the move.

4) Demonstrate the music in your movement
This always helps me out of a rut! If you are not in the zone, change your tunes and then try to think of people watching your practice with no sound. Could they tell the tempo and type of music?

3) Record yourself
Don't worry, no one has to see it but you if you don't want! Often I thought I was doing one thing, and then when I saw myself - my body was doing something completely different! Having a recording is like having a portable mirror. Get your body and mind in sync and you'll progress much faster

2) Practice 
Carving out specific time to learn something can be a challenge, but when you have a directed, focused practice moves come so much more quickly. It took me a year to get the kick start - mainly because I only practiced for 5 minutes every other month. As soon as I carved out time (and did #5) I finally got it!

1) Be willing to suck at something for awhile
This sentence has saved me more than once! You have to be willing to suck at something. This means that you know and accept that you are not going to be very good in the beginning. That is okay! Take the pressure off of yourself! You don't have to be the best - you're learning!

If you are having a really bad day - hoop or otherwise - just watch this. You'll feel better.

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