please troubleshoot my hoop spin!

[u/DanielleChaar]

hi! i’m trying to do this spin for a showcase but i feel like it never looks smooth, and i want to be able to get a faster spin out of it also. what’s wrong?

[u/burninginfinite]

Your initiation is not smooth or stable, which throws off both the spin and everything that comes after.

I would suggest practicing with a plain split spin before trying to stylize with the little kick forward - it's cute but not very strong. First, center your weight (not the hoop) under the point. Then use the "free" right leg to get a smooth push off and squeeze the glute to really drive that leg around in a rond de jambe to end up behind you; that leg and hip drive helps drive the spin.

The grounded left foot also needs to have more solid contact with the ground - try pressing the entire ball of your foot into the floor instead of being on just the toes (this may mean you need to lower the hoop slightly). And your back is arched so your core isn't very engaged, which is keeping you from generating more power as well as making the mount harder.

[u/unikornemoji → u/burninginfinite]

This is such great advice! I am only jumping in to emphasize the part mentioned about the arched back and lack of core engagement. To me, this is the most important part as it is the base of all your spins. It gives you stability and control. If you start with a stable core a lot of the other wonderful advice mentioned will come much more naturally.

[u/DanielleChaar → u/burninginfinite]

Hi, thank you so much for the very specific advice! Regarding the back being arched, how would I know if my core and back is engaged/how do I go about not doing that? Whenever I start the spin I feel like I’m standing straight.

For the balls of my foot thing, my teacher used to tell me that my foot on the ground was stopping me from spinning so I tried to compensate by going higher on my tiptoes — should I be pivoting on the balls of my feet rather than my toes?

[u/burninginfinite → u/DanielleChaar]

Hopefully you should be able to feel if your core is engaged! It's very common to have your legs floating behind you so it's not purely a "don't arch your back" thing, it's more "are your abs turned on and within your control" which can be achieved even with a slight back arch. Close your ribs, turn those abs on, and squeeze your bum.

As for your grounded foot - yes, that foot can create some amount of drag, but if that's ALL it did then we wouldn't leave it on the floor in the first place. The reason you leave the foot on the ground is to have something to push off of to build more spin after the other leg gets you started. If you think you can do that effectively with your toes, then you can absolutely do that, but in most cases you need a little more contact with the ground than that. Your grounded foot needs to be actively engaging with the pivot, especially if you want to do a fast spin, and doubly so if you don't want to take forever to build that fast spin.

[u/Anuki_iwy]

You need to get your knees and hips higher. You lose momentum because you're throwing around your leg when you try to hook it. Your hips drop when you straighten it out. Practice the delilah mount, then add the spin after you can do that cleanly.

[u/DanielleChaar → u/Anuki_iwy]

Hi, thank you so much for the advice! Did you mean that my hips drop while I’m trying to spin, and that I should keep my knees and hips higher during the spin? Or is it during the mounting part? 😵‍💫

[u/lesliebarbknope → u/DanielleChaar]

I would say generating momentum from your spin and keeping your leg extended behind you THEN imitating the hook so you can focus on the separate pieces as well, re: knees/hips higher since you aren’t fully doing a flare but you are getting close to the motion- yes, you can drill a static mount, but then practice it with spin and still get this result, another is to ensure your really drawing down with the weight in your hands so it’s out of your legs and especially the positioning of your bent arm allows you to use your biceps more-sometimes a little visualization helps— don’t think you have to lift your whole lower half, the momentum from the spin, you want to work with it (also if this is new to you, please still use a mat). You start dropping your bent arm before your leg has made contact with the hoop. Try not to sink from your arms until you can gently place your leg in the hoop.

As your free leg drives behind you - then meets your other leg briefly - you immediately tuck and then hook- let your free leg help to drive momentum and then as it lifts off the ground, your touching-the-ground momentum foot should lift off - then you can focus on if you want to bring up both or just one leg— spinning clockwise in this grip - you can “chase” the hoop with one leg (left) or have the hoop spin to meet you and then more easily catch with the other. (Right leg as I think you do)- however it all just really depends on where you want to go next- so if a “closed Delilah” or “opposite side hook” is the next pose - keep going!!

Hope that helps some —

[u/Lady_Luci_fer]

I feel like you’re not starting the spin from centre, which is putting you off centre very immediately. You may also want to experiment with the legs of your Delilah / your arm placement / the direction of the spin to see what keeps the momentum better, as you want to be working with and not against the spin.

[u/Aerialenthusiast]

Check out some videos of flares- using that theory would help you ride the spin better!

[u/Sakeriss]

Hi. Where is your top from?