Meet a Master Hooper with almost 40 Years Experience
In the above video, Mat is hooping last month at the World Diabetes Day Extravaganza on 11-14-2011. The following one is of Mat in 1975 on Dinah Shore:
Teaching Hula Hooping to the Blind
The Governor Morehead School for the Blind has started bringing kids on field trips to our hoop jams. It is such a delight!!! It has also been a learning experience. There are some challenges to teaching hooping to non-sighted people and I'd like to share what I've learned so far. I…
How to Craft a Square Hoop
For the Hoop Convergence a couple of years ago, I made this crazy square hoop, just for fun. And it was fun! Afterward, so many people asked me how I made it that I thought I would share it with you here. Here goes: I used 4 90-degree connectors and plumbing…
The Subtle Dance of Musicality
Musicality is a major aspect of all kinds of dance, including hoopdance, but absorption in tricks, technique, choreography, even costuming can get in the way of dancing musically. Even people who have taken dance classes often struggle with the concept of musicality. It can be hard to define and even harder…
Cultivating Non-Comparison
There are a lot of great hoopers in this world. We see them at festivals, in the park, on YouTube. Watching other hoopers can be helpful if we use our observations to learn and become inspired and try new things. It can be hurtful if we compare ourselves and judge either…
Arnica for Bruising and Pain Relief
Hooping comes with the occasional bruise. I am a big advocate for using topical Arnica cream to treat bruises. It is a homeopathic remedy that can be traced back to many Native American Indian tribes here in the United States but has even been found among the medicines of the Ancient…
Bruises – A Serious Health Risk for Hoopers
I have been reading with growing alarm accounts of people hooping on bruises and even getting hematomas (lumps of displaced blood under the skin) and still continuing to hoop. It is scaring the pants off me!!! This is the most common public health issue for hoopers and it is much more…