Lock Offs are a fundamental position of strength for any moments when an aerialist is holding themselves up in the air. Training proper lock offs on Aerial Hoop requires patience and persistence and a discipline for detail. Lock Offs can be done on the bottom bar, side bar or top bar of the hoop as well as in the spanset. This tutorial will cover all of these different locations.
We typically start students with lock offs on the bottom bar or if there isn’t enough room then we’ll use the side bar because their feet will reach the floor. Then once students are proficient with lock offs close to the floor we will have them train them from the top bar and eventually from the spanset.
Lock offs can be a long journey for students because they require the whole body to work together as a unit. Many students will rush to get their feet off the floor and lose their form which means they don’t ever get the chance to build the strength in the places they will need it in the future. A better approach is to let the body build strength over time and emphasize smaller motions done well over larger motions done poorly.
Become an Aerial Fit Online member to access the video for Lockoffs. This in-depth video will explain how to properly train this skill. It also includes cross references to the most important Building Blocks, Common Mistakes, Related Drills, Ground Drills, Variations, Next Steps and Sequences.
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Some of the most important aerial hoop skills, related movements, and prerequisites from our aerial video tutorial library that students should be very comfortable doing to succeed at Lockoffs.
These are the most common mistakes we see with students when they are learning how to do the aerial hoop skill Lockoffs and detailed directions on how to fix these problems to make the skill look and feel easy.
These similar aerial hoop skills and aerial drills are helpful to troubleshoot and help with problems. Students don't need to have mastered the Lockoffs to work on these related skills and drills. These drills may help your students make important connections and answer the question "What am I doing wrong?".
These are some of our favorite ground drills for aerialists for Lockoffs. They can be used as part of the ground warm up or as part of the aerial class teaching progression.
These are different variations of Lockoffs. Students should be very comfortable with the current skill before working on these different or more advanced variations. They can be used for further exploration, managing students with different levels and adding variety to aerial hoop choreography.
These are the next steps we teach to our aerial hoop students after they’re comfortable with Lockoffs. The next steps can be started right away and they lead toward specific future goals which are often the most advanced aerial hoop skills.
These are some of the more advanced hoop skills that build on the strength and control taught in Lockoffs. They are not the next immediate steps, but rather long term planning goals.
These are aerial hoop sequences, transitions, and combinations that include the aerial skill Lockoffs. They are fun, creative, and challenging sequences from our aerial video tutorial library.
