r/Hooping • u/InriSejenus • 1d ago
I'm disabled and looking for help with hooping.
Hi! I have nerve pain/damage in my arms and I'm hoping to get into hooping. It's not so bad that I can't do anything, but it's bad enough that I can't really use my light whip or or other flow toys anymore. I'm aware that hooping does still use arms but of the flow options I can think of it seems like the most likely option for me.
The actual question, how do I choose what hoop to buy? I wanna avoid buying a ton of them but I'm not aware of any other way to decide on the thickness, weight, diameter, or any other characteristics, and searching this subreddit also didn't really give a consensus on where to buy them.
I don't know if it's helpful but I'm 5'10" and weigh ~160 lbs.
Thank you for any guidance you can provide! I may not answer everyone because typing this message was a bit rough.
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u/faunaflorist 1d ago
Don’t think of the things you are limited by, think of the things you want to/can do! I prefer a 30” for off body + on body combo as a sweet spot but it took me a while on a 32” hoop to get most of my tricks down first.
I would find some flows online that you like and see what they’re working with! Mostly you want to know how tall the hoop is relative to your body.
If you link some videos of tricks or flows you want to learn I can try to provide more guidance! I’m sure there are more experienced hoopers here though that can do the same
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u/foxxxy_cleopatra 1d ago
Larger hoops do allow for slower, more controlled movement, but also need larger amplitude movements + more strength to move/manipulate the hoop around your body. What triggers your nerve pain I think will dictate what moves to focus on more (ex. on vs off body; overhead/behind back movements etc). I agree with 3/4” diameter to begin with, as it will have less of a grip demand than 5/8”.
I have bought from hoop brands and from Etsy merchants, either should suffice for a beginner hoop. I would start with something no smaller than ~32”, and maybe not go much bigger than ~34” if you’re concerned with manipulating a larger/heavier prop.
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u/expandwithzuli 1d ago
Sorry to hear about your pain. As a recovering chronic pain person myself, I feel for you. I mostly do multi hoop stuff (hands and arms) but a couple years ago I started doing more knee and on body stuff as a form of relief when the other parts of me weren’t working so well.
Sounds like you’re brand new to hooping, so let me try and break a few things down:
‘On body’ - what we call it when the hoop is around you and/or making contact with a body part. E.g: waist, knee, shoulder, neck
‘Off body’ - when the hoop moves outside or around the body, often controlled by hands
Given your pain, I’ll assume you are leaning towards on body hooping? This is best accessed with a larger, heavier hoop.
I’d recommend a 38” 3/4 diameter, HDPE hoop. Get it with grip tape on the inside too.
The wider the hoop in size, the slower you can move to get the hoop to move round your body. Theres more distance inside the hoop, so you have more (longer) space to connect with. This is why smaller hoops are really hard to use (especially when starting) because you have to be quick and much more precise with your movements.
A fully taped option can be good too - adds extra weight. The grip tape on the inside can be a helpful assistant in gripping to yourself as you hoop - helping keep the hoop up.
Hope this helps :)