Handmade Hoops by Peachysteve

Arm One Lift Out

Taken from Chapter 4 of
"Hooping"
An Instructional DVD by Peachysteve

In lift outs you take the hoop from your waist with your hand,
take it up overhead and then bring it back down to the waist.
The lift out uses the same curling movement that we looked at in Pass Behind The Back
but in that move the hoop was outside of the body while this time it's around the body.
Lift outs with arm one and arm two are different and I will go through each one.
You can also do two armed lift outs as well as combining lift outs.
I will try to explain each move over the next few pages.

Here you can see an arm out lift out from overhead.
It's a very simple movement but I have lots to say about it.

I'm starting with the hoop on my waist. Arm one is my right arm as I'm hooping in a clockwise direction. I need as much time as possible to catch the hoop and take it up smoothly. So I must take the hoop at the earliest opportunity. I reach across to my opposite hip, palm facing upward, waiting for the hoop to come over my hip.
When the hoop comes forward of my hip I take it between palm and thumb . Taking the hoop is like catching a ball, in order to control it you need to keep the momentum flowing. When you take the hoop you are now responsible for its rotation so your arm has to start drawing out the circle that the hoop was on.
Start to circle your arm around and up, making the curl movement.
Once your hand reaches just over your head you need to make a circle. It's important to remember that you keep the hoop in a fixed grip throughout this move. Don't let go of the hoop! The curl movement means that you can keep holding on and it will flow. Keep your palm facing upward.
Keep drawing out the circle. Look at your hand throughout this movement. The main problem people have here is that the hand goes backward and they lose control. Keep your hand slightly forward and central as it circles.
A space will appear between your wrist and the hoop. Drop the hoop over your head at this point (you'll see this more clearly below). Remember that your hand leads while your elbow remains high. Try to keep the hoop as close as possible to your body as it drops.
As the hoop comes back to waist level try to keep your hand close to your body.
By the time you get to the end of your circle the hoop may have lost momentum. You need to build some more in order for the transfer to your waist to be successful. To this you need to touch the hoop to your back and then flick your hand upward to give it a boost.

Now to take a look at some of those points from a different angle.

Here you can see the hoop coming over my hip. I'm aiming to catch it at my hip but by the time I've reacted it's already a little forward cutting down the time I have to lift it.
The hoop has travelled through half a turn by the time it's overhead. Considering I caught it late that's actually a quarter turn so there isn't much time. Now I need to not let it go back over my head. I keep my eye on my hand as it makes a small circle overhead. Note that my palm is facing upward all the time.
Now I'm just waiting for the space to appear between my forearm and the hoop. Once I see that I can start dropping the hoop over myself.
I carry on the curling motion as the hoop drops back down to my waist. I try to keep the hoop close to my body. If my arm is straight when I try to throw off I will have no power and the hoop will stall.
I touch the hoop to my back and flick my fingers upward. By flicking upward I stabilise the hoop. If I didn't flick the hoop would tend to fall. So I give a powerful flick to speed the hoop around my waist.

I find that there are three major problems when learning this move.
First, not being to catch and lift in time.
One solution to this is to turn with the hoop. If you make a quarter turn, in the direction of the hoop, just before you catch it, it will appear to slow down.
Next is the hand going behind you and releasing the grip.
Keep a firm loose grip on the hoop and always keep it in view.
Last is a lack of power when throwing in.
Keep your arm as close as possible on the descent and flick your wrist and fingers up into your armpit as you release.
You must make sure that you make body contact before the throw in.
It doesn't matter how much umph you give it if it has no contact.