I got a request this past week based upon a mixed transition diagram I'd posted to Facebook for instructions on how to do one of the transitions outlined in it: namely switching from root horizontal cateye to ET vertical cateye. Primarily I'm using gravity to help in this case, but there is a way to snap the poi head vertically to do it as a mixed transition with the hand soft--it's damned hard, though.

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This blog starts off with a demo of a 5-beat behind the back waistwrap that is still awkward and sloppy but I'm noticing I'm reaching for it in my BTB weaves now. Next is some explorations of the use of Yuta stalls to create horizontal flowers by stalling into an inversion rather than outswing as one usually does with this type of plane-bending. There's also some theory here as to how to use the Rastaxel stall shift pattern to create octagonal planes and finally a very special shout-out and a couple pieces of tech courtesy Mike Icon.

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By popular demand: a follow-up to my last hoop tutorial, this time on the horizontal equivalent of the cateye pattern I demoed last time. It breaks down in a very similar fashion to the vertical, but requires a bit more wrist strength at a couple intervals. I've also included a brief discussion on how you can use both vertical and horizontal cateyes in conjunction with isolations and extensions to flow between tricks. This is a variation on Alien Jon's unit circle theory. For more info on this, visit his YouTube channel. Enjoy! :)

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Nothing new this week, just polishing tricks I've shown in previous video blogs. I'm trying harder to get the nice circular pattern with the hand in the horizontal cateye and working on being able to do it both directions. Plus I've put a lot of practice into the unit circle grid--it's flowing better but still needs work. Finally, my buzzsaw fountains are getting cleaner and I'm getting better at switching between standard, antispin, and split-time butterfly variants. Happy holidays, all!

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Finally! After months of practice I can demo a horizontal cateye! At least, I think I can. At points it looks suspiciously like a linear extension, though when I practiced it in the mirror I could definitely see my hand trace a circle. Maybe it's a function of the low angle? At any rate, here's some work with unit circles inspired by a video made by Noel based upon Alien Jon and Arashi's unit circle concepts. View the vid that helped me crack this here:

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