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November, 2008:

Hoop Camp, Grant & Rich

Nov 30th, 2008
by rich.
1 comment

This is a clip shot by Kit, Astrohoops, at Hoopcamp 2008. This video demonstrates a sloppy version of what we call isodancing. Grant came up with the idea and it lends itself very well to isopops, isobreaks etc. Essentially two people hold an isolation between them. Each reinforces the isolated circle while breaking out.

(According to Baxter, Grant is the “best hooper you’ve never heard of” and I’ll second that. Once he get’s some clips up, I can’t wait to share. This guy taught me how to hoop!)

Check out some of Kit’s recent preformances. She has recently appeared on CSI and Kimmy Kimmel Live. She’s got skills to spare. Look for the woman working the fire fingers. Kit on Jimmy Kimmel

Technorati

Nov 24th, 2008
by rich.
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Technorati Profile

【ポイ動画】 Squares of Darkness: Poitato Sushi Poitvch1

Nov 23rd, 2008
by rich.
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Khan showed me this video last night. The technical skill level of Yuta and Ronan is unbelievable. If you get a chance and have the interest, look up “Vulcan Tech Blog” on YouTube.

Khan & Rich playing with mini hoops.

Nov 23rd, 2008
by rich.
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We couldn’t figure out what to call Khan’s hand role move. I think the wrist break that I do should be called a contact double wrist break. We really need a more descriptive language to describe these types of moves. Khan was checking out my wrist break and came up with his version which is actually far more challenging than it looks.

Baxter “Touch Technique”, MCP contact staff

Nov 22nd, 2008
by rich.
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This video demonstrates some cool new advancements in hoopdance techniques. Many who have taken one of Baxter’s classes will recognize this as a development on his point meditation exercises. Bax nails some incredible moves in this video, in particular check out 1:30 – 1:50. Most of the development in this video shows contact stalls, in the vein of sustained stalls, very meditative slow motions.

I’ve been playing with some “Touch Technique” taking inspiration from contact staff. I’ve been calling it contact hooping. Essentially I’m playing with off-body hooping without ever gripping the hoop, which is exactly what a lot of Bax’s video demonstrates. I have been focused exclusively on dynamic moves rather than stalls. Bax’s video demonstrates a whole new direction to take it.

If you haven’t witnessed MCP, check out the video below. If you look up “contact staff” on google, her website is the first thing you find and for good reason. I’d recommend checking out her website too http://mcp.tepookatoys.com/. I would love to see a technical hoop move website like MCP’s (Silverstar?, where ya at?)

HooperPower Hoopdance Practice 10.23.08

Nov 20th, 2008
by rich.
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This video is hot. Like re-entering orbit hot. Heather has speed to spare and moves to boot. All I can say is damn!

Hoop Dome

Nov 18th, 2008
by rich.
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What the hell does hooping have to do with architecture anyway?  Well me for one thing… but also this dome, designed by Mass Studies.

“The Ring Dome is a dome-shaped structure with a diameter of 8.65m, composed of about 1000 plastic    hoola hoops. The hoola hoops, each with a diameter of 80cm, are randomly layered, fastened together by about 10,000 zip ties, increasing structural integrity until a dome is formed. This structure was designed to be easily assembled by non-professionals such as students, artists and other volunteers, taking advantage of common objects. Designed for experimentation, adjustments and an almost primitive assembly method, this project’s main objective was not the final result but more the celebratory, shared experience of constructing the piece in the vein of the annual Burning Man Festival. The Burning Man Festival ends by burning the final product of collective effort, and likewise the Ring Dome was simply dismantled by severing the zip ties. The hoola hoops were then distributed not discarded, returning them to their original purpose in a more environmentally-friendly conclusion.”
- Mass Studies website

Hero Hoops chimes in on Isopop class.

Nov 18th, 2008
by rich.
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“I attended Rich Porter’s IsoPop class tonight. I learned some great new ways of thinking about the hoop in space, rather than the hoop in connection to my body. We drilled several techniques for isolations and what Rich calls “Pops”.  I haven’t hooped in a bit, and I felt really great by the end of the class. I saw marked progress in my technique of the class moves, which Rich had taught me before, but which I had yet to have  a good grasp on (pun intended, lol).

-Miss Rosie’s on her blog

http://herohoops.com/blog/rosie/isopop

Tube Experiments

Nov 11th, 2008
by rich.
16 comments

$150 invested in industrial tubes from McMaster-Carr.  Here are my results so far.

Polyethylene is the standard hoop tube.  Of all the tubes I’ve tried, in my opinion, it’s the best tube for most hoopers.  For those who hoop extremely fast, I think High Pressure Polyethylene (HPPE) is a better tube.  It’s slightly lighter and slighty stiffer.  Polyproplyne is also a great tube.  It’s even lighter than HPPE but springier and less stiff than HPPE.  It almost feels like kids hoop tube.  If you have questions, feel free to send me an email.

Attached you can find a table of the 9 tubes I’ve tried so far.  I’ve attached weight information so you can compare how heavy the tubing is.  I’ve used 120 in. lengths of tube as the comparative length for weight as my standard large is around 120 in. in circumference.

See a pdf of my tube table here.

Isolation Diagrams

Nov 11th, 2008
by rich.
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These diagrams illustrate how off body hooping can be thought of as either isolating the central point of the hoop, illustrating a point on the hoop, or a combination of both.

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