Lyra: It’s more than Hula Hoop
Kim Cuppett is a graduate of Penn State and currently works with underprivileged children on a daily basis. She is also an avid hula hooper, but that's not the only hoop she play's with.
For the past several years Cuppett has been going to local venues such as Levels and Indigo with her friends to show off her hula hooping skills. They began making their own hoops to fit their unique styles. Cuppett uses various materials and tapes with her hoops to get just the right weight and desired durability for the best performance.
She loves hooping so much, that she has decided to take it to the next level.
Cuppett began practicing the lyra, known as the aerial hoop. Lyra is commonly seen in circus acts. The lyra is a hula hoop that is suspended in the air. The acrobatic sport requires spinning in any conceivable way. There are many aerial 'shapes' that acrobatics incorporate into their routines, the lyra being one of the most standard.
For the past year, Cuppett has trained and built up her skills on the lyra. Her other hooping friends have tried it out as well; though most get too dizzy too fast and cannot proceed with the training. Cuppett says that it’s a toll on your body such as building up callus on your hand.
She says that one gets used to the aerial hoop with practice and patience. Even with all her training, she says it's still difficult sometimes to keep her orientation, as well as pulling herself in certain directions as the hoop spins. Despite the difficulty, Cuppett is convinced that the circus attraction is one of the greatest exercises for the body and one of the best to perform.
Footbag: It's more than Hacky Sack
Marc Peralta has been kicking Footbag in competition for the past year. He says it's a great individual sport, and seriously addicting. Peralta stresses how Hacky Sack is a brand name bag in the sport of Footbag, and is not a sport in itself. The steryotipic style of kicking a Hacky Sack between your friends is much less intensive than the serious sport of Footbag, which requires speed, stamina and practise.
