COVID CAPERS

---

During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns, I took photos of myself doing many different hoop moves on my garage hoop.  I've now made 15 collages with 9 moves each, all different moves, so that's 135 moves in total.

You can see all the collages individually here, labelled with the names of the moves, as well as the grade (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced).

This little project was very valuable to me in a number of ways and taught me some surprising things. You can read a personal account of this in my blog.
 

Below are the 15 collages I made from my lockdown garage hooping. There are 135 different moves. I've added the names of the moves, and a label to say whether the move is a Beginner (B), Intermediate (I), or Advanced (A) move. The names of hoop moves come from all sorts of different origins. Some are historical names from the circus of old. Some are from similar pole moves. Some are from aerial hoop schools and studios. And some I have made up.

A WORD ABOUT HOOP MOVE GRADES

Hoop moves are graded (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced...) to protect learners. It is often quite hard to tell just by looking at a hoop move how difficult it is to do it. Learners who are new to aerial hoop should work through a wide range of Beginner moves before graduating to the Intermediate syllabus, and so on. This will develop the necessary strength, balance, stability, flexibility, stamina, and robustness against discomfort. This rule applies regardless of which disciplines a person may have practised before, including other aerial activities.

Here are some very general guidelines with respect to the grading of hoop moves:

• Moves in which most of the weight of the body is focused on the bottom bar tend to be Beginner moves.
• Moves in which most of the weight of the body is focused on the top bar, with the body positioned below the top bar, tend to be Intermediate moves.
• Moves in which the body works above the top bar tend to be Advanced moves.
• Some Intermediate moves look like Beginner moves, but they require more strength or robustness against discomfort.
• Advanced moves include all moves in any area of the hoop that require a high degree of strength, stamina, balance, stability, flexibility, or robustness against discomfort.

So now you know! If you have any questions about any of the moves (or anything else) I would love to hear from you. You can message me on Facebook or email me at hello@ootheblue.com.