r/Hooping • u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 • Jul 08 '16

July Monthly Hooping Challenge!

Hello all! Welcome to version 2.0 of /r/hooping's monthly challenges!!

Each month, a challenge will be posted for any level hooper to attempt - beginner, intermediate, or advanced! Some months, there will be specific categories for each level to attempt, while other months will have what I'll be calling "bonus rounds," which tack on an additional trick, technique, or thoughtfulness to your hooping for the month (because I know some of you asked for more advanced challenges - I didn't wan't to exclude you! <3 I'm more of a beginner hooper so I would love suggestions from advanced hoopers too!).

To share your challenge video with r/hooping, simply reply in the comments below leaving a link to your video. Feel free to use instagram, youtube, facebook, or any website of your preference! Also, if you have any comments about this month's challenge, or if you have any ideas for next month's challenge, feel free to include that with your video as well!

....----~~==July Monthly Hooping Challenge!!!==~~----....

This month, we will be exploring our circle from a new perspective, one that I think most hoopers are somewhat unfamiliar with. Since this is the first month of the challenges, I wanted to start off with something everybody, beginner to advanced can do. This month's challenge is...

~Silent Flow!!~

  • Hoop for about one song's length (3-5 minutes) in COMPLETE AND TOTAL SILENCE with only you and your hoop! Ambient noise is of course okay, but take the time to really form your own rhythm with your hoop. Dance to your own song, move with the hoop, and really take the time to think only about your hooping!!! Don't think about your drive to work, your grades in school, or if you look as good as your favorite hooper, just imagine the movements you want to make and focus on the natural rhythm you are creating with the hoop and flow with it!

Bonus Round!!:

  1. If you normally hoop without music, put on some of your favorite jams and try really dancing with the music.
  2. Hoop BLINDFOLDED AND SILENT!!
  3. Hoop silently during the day when the sun is up, but also adventure outside and hoop silently at night if you can. Think about the "mood" of your hooping and how this can change from day to night, or if it changes at all. (I personally feel a sense of privacy at night and I tend to get really weird when nobody can see me)

I'll be posting my submission later this month, but in the meantime I can't wait to see what you all have to share! Don't forget to tell us if you learned anything about hooping silently, if you hated it, or if it's something you'd like to explore more, or if it's already part of your normal routine.

Good luck, and happy hooping!!~ <3

EDIT: Here's a really interesting video by Caterina Suttin about focusing on the breath. This could be a really nice addition to this month's challenge! Bonus bonus points if you include breathing breaks in your practice at any point this month! :)

EDIT (part 2): I've also decided to add an aspect of competition to the challenges as well, I'd like to feature the "winner" of this month's challenge on the /r/hooping subreddit. Whoever has the most upvoted video in the comments will be listed as the "Hooper of the Month" in the sidebar for the following month. The link will be to the previous month's challenge video. Happy hooping ~ <3

17 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

3

u/sonichoop Jul 13 '16

I hoop with or without music. silent flow

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 13 '16

I love how you really move with your hoop with your two handed isolations, there's a lot of emotion in that movement. Also you've definitely inspired me to practice my handspins/palmspins, I really think they add texture. Thank you for posting!!!

I know you said you hoop with or without music, which do you prefer then?

2

u/grapholalia hooper since March 2012 Jul 09 '16

I'm excited to participate! I'll be posting my video in the next few days. <3

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 11 '16

Can't wait to see :D thank you so much for participating!

2

u/sassy_chassis Hooping since 2009 in Western NY Jul 11 '16

Thank you for starting this challenge! I hoop without music frequently so you can expect to see something from me soon :)

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 12 '16

Same here! It's actually a little more difficult to hoop with music, since I'm so used to silence. Can't wait to see!

2

u/oscoxa Jul 11 '16

Thank you for starting this! I usually hoop with music in the background so it'll definitely be a challenge for me. Ill try to post something up in the next week or so. :)

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 12 '16

Of course! Thank you for challenging yourself this month and pushing yourself further! I find that counting a 1-2-3-4 beat in my head while I hoop really helps give me a baseline for a tempo, just like the beat of a song would. Maybe that will help! <3 can't wait to see!

2

u/pharmakong Jul 12 '16

Awesome idea! I love challenges, I've always found this sort of thing to be such a great way to stay motivated. I'll make a video soon! Woowoo!

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 13 '16

Awesome, can't wait to see! If you have any ideas for challenges in the future be sure to let me know- I'm always open to ideas, and I'll credit you in that month's post too :) Happy (silent) hooping!

2

u/sonichoop Jul 13 '16

I like to hoop with or without music. silent flow

1

u/sassy_chassis Hooping since 2009 in Western NY Jul 15 '16

I love it! Just subscribed too .^

2

u/sonichoop Jul 13 '16

I feel like while I preform it's easier and better with music because it adds to the whole performance. The audience has some thing to listen to as well as beautiful dancing to look at. Overload their senses! Music always makes me move!

1

u/sassy_chassis Hooping since 2009 in Western NY Jul 13 '16

/u/sonichoop here's the challenge

1

u/sonichoop Jul 13 '16

I'm new to reddit so bare with me. Is this where I post my silent video. I have no idea what I'm doing.

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 13 '16

Welcome! Yes, this is where you post your silent video. If you want to link to your youtube channel, just copy and paste your url. Like this https://www.youtube.com/

If you want to link it all fancy and give your video a title

format like this: [sonichoop's silent video]](https://www.youtube.com/) without the second ] bracket.

I hope that helps! You can feel free to upload wherever you want (instagram, facebook, etc) if you don't use youtube :) Can't wait to see!

1

u/sonichoop Jul 13 '16

I prefer music for videos, and performing. Silent hooping for drilling tricks. And thank you for your feedback.

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 13 '16

Of course! Thanks for yours as well! It is easier to make videos with music now that you say that, because every time I make a video without one it's like all I can think about is the camera. I've never performed though, I'm sure music would help take your mind off of that as well!

1

u/hoopkat87 Jul 18 '16

Hey everyone! I am excited to grow with these new hoop challenges. So can we incorporate a few separate clips into 1 video? Some emergency vehicles ruined my silence halfway through my first recording attempt but I still wanna use some of the footage. I wanna try maybe at night as well. Thoughts? Feedback? :)

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 19 '16

Of course! I was actually thinking of doing a few different cuts in mine. I think that since it's an entire month-long span of time, that you should have the entirety of the month to film, edit, post, cut, copy, paste and post again as you see fit.

It's not as much like a hooping game one-take-and-post thing, but more of an, "Ok, I had to work on this before I was comfortable with showing it to the internet, but it's the end of the month and here's my progress!" sort of thing.

(PS: Hooping at night is awesome if you aren't used to it, especially in the next few days because of the full moon :) Happy hooping!)

1

u/hoopkat87 Jul 30 '16

Well here is my silent hooping video. Not that great as I am still not that comfortable in front of a camera. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHl_hurx-SY

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 30 '16

Well I hope you get more comfortable in front of a camera, because I really loved watching you hoop!! Especially some of your chest rolls, I've never thought to start the roll on my chest instead of my forearm. Thank you for the awesome video, I love how much time you really put into the challenge this month!

Do you normally hoop silently? Or was this something totally new for you??

1

u/hoopkat87 Jul 30 '16

Hey thanks!!! :) No I don't normally hoop silently unless I am drilling something. I just wish I could hoop as freely as i feel I do when I am not in front of a camera. Its like as soon as the camera is on I get really self conscious.

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 31 '16

I'm the same way... I've totally been self consciously camera hooping before, making mental notes of everything I'm messing up, only to find out that I didn't hit record :( It's weird how different I feel when I'm in front of a camera. I can hoop in front of people no problem, but I get weirded out in front of a lens :p

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 30 '16

Sorry for the cell phone orientation, I haven't had much time to get a great video. I just wanted to post since July is almost over! I'm still not too great so sorry for all the hoop-dropping and booty shots :p

Silent Hooping Video

Thanks for watching! <3

1

u/hoopkat87 Jul 30 '16

Wow! You are really great for only 2 months of hooping!!! :) Love it :)

1

u/alikat_sunflower May 22 2016 Jul 31 '16

Thank you!!! <3