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Fresh Commentary
Philo on Shadjua: Inside The Hoop.

Helen K on Shadjua: Inside The Hoop.

Laurie on Shadjua: Inside The Hoop.

Rich on Shadjua: Inside The Hoop.


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video of the day


This weekend I was privileged enough to meet Deanne of HoopLovers.com at Hoop Camp 2008. Here she is with the other Tokyo Hoop Stars enticing everyone in Japan to join the love revolution.

trick of the week


This week's hoop trick is a foot interception that comes to us from Crissy Gugler of Santa Clara, California. She notes, "Corby calls this the 'Beckham Catch', which I think sounds pretty nifty."

track of the week

thievery corporation: mandala

This week's hoop track is from the new release by Thievery Corporation and it's called "Mandala" from the new album "Radio Retaliation." Merriam-Webster defines "Mandala" as "a Hindu or Buddhist graphic symbol of the universe ; specifically : a circle enclosing a square with a deity on each side that is used chiefly as an aid to meditation." Featuring the stylings of Anoushka Shankar, I can't help but think they wrote this specifically for us to hoop to. Check it out in our Hoop Sounds listening station up top, and listen to and download the other tracks from the new album on iTunes by clicking:

Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation - Mandala (feat. Anoushka Shankar)

Shadjua: Inside The Hoop

shadjua Shadjua, aka Joshua Parker, is an awesome 29-year-old hooper who has made quite a name for himself in San Luis Obispo, California, quite possibly the Carrboro of the West Coast. In addition to his work with Fluid Luminescence, a Circus Arts Collective, he also works doing HIV Prevention Education. Parker will be making history soon too when he makes his marriage to his husband Michael legal, thanks to a recent California Supreme Court decision calling for marriage equality in California. With many heading out to celebrate Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Pride this weekend, Hooping.org is celebrating with Shadjua, our Hooper of the Week. Find out more about him and his mind-boggling hoop skill in our interview below.

shadjua So how did it all begin? Shadjua explains, "My first hooping experience since childhood was at a party about a year and a half ago. There was a fire show and afterwards one of the performers, Laurie, who is now my very good friend, busted out a bunch of hoops. I remembered how much I loved hooping as a kid so I decided to give it a whirl. You all know what happened next. Love at first flight!

Has hooping changed his life? He told Hooping.org, "This may sound cheesey to some people, but hooping has changed my life immensely. I hardly know where to begin. Most basically it has been a great means of physical excercise. It has helped me keep in shape and has gotten me much more in tune with my body and movement. However, it is the mental and emotional benefits of hooping that have been the greatest. It's an excellent stress reliever and it has done wonders for my self esteem. It is such a blessing to have a hobby that makes me feel good on so many levels. And perhaps one of the best things of all has been the community that I have met as a result of hooping, both the greater hoop community and the one that we have created here in San Luis Obispo."

shadjua Something Shadjua is currently working on is getting over his fear of performing. "I can be terribly shy and my anxiety can be very overwhelming. Yet at the same time I love to
entertain! This past weekend I did my first actual hoop performance with fire. I had to take a ten minute pre-show time out to keep myself from vomiting. It did the trick, and the show went perfectly. Now I can't wait to do it again!"

How often does he hoop these days? He said, "My practice ebbs and flows. Between work and school, it seems like I never get enough time." When asked about his favorite hoop he explained that he doesn't have one in particular. One of his favorite hooping memories came from hooping as a kid. He said, "Well, when I was very young we had a track meet at our school every spring. I absolutely dreaded it. Every year all the other boys kicked my butt at all of the events. All except for the hula hoop! It was the only ribbon I got, but I could always count on getting that blue ribbon for hooping year after year!" These days he gets a blue ribbon from Hooping.org for his grown-up moves in this recent video:

shadjua What music does Shadjua love to hoop too? His favorite hoop track these days is "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado. "It always gets me going," he said, "but in all honesty, I'll hoop to anything!" When asked about a favorite hooping quality in others, his love for the community once again came through. He told Hooping.org, "Hoopers are amazing! Some of the kindest, silliest and most loving people I know." So what does he see as being his most marked hooping characteristic? His response, "I'm a silly queen with a lot of energy, I think that definately shows in my hooping." When asked if there was anything else he wanted Hooping.org readers to know he said, "Sure. Folks are welcome to check out our website at:
Fluid Luminescence.com.

In closing, we asked if he had one piece of advice to share with someone picking up a hoop for the very first time, what would it be? His answer: "Just give in. Let yourself go and have fun."

----------------------------

You can find out more about Shadjua:

Fluid Luminescence

Shadjua on Tribe.net

Shadjua: Vertical Shoulder Hooping

Shadjua's Behind The Back Pass

Shadjua: From Your Knees To Your Hips

Comments

Thank you for catching this amazing hooper. Josh is so humble and hardly realizes what an amazing hooper he is. This guy is unbelievable! He has such a great heart and moves with such grace. The San Luis Obispo community was such a wonderful place to evolve as a hooper because of the community and especially Josh.

Damn what a HOTTIE!!! : )

He's an amazing performer & even more amazing of a person. I'm lucky 2 call him a good friend!

Apologies, I accidentally deleted several comments that were supposed to be posted here. So if your comment isn't listed, my bad! Please post again. : )

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