Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.

My daddy never learned to do the hula hoop. He tried to do it when he was little, when he was middle and now that he is old. No go. He even tried to hold the hula hoop still and just run around in the middle. That didn’t work either.

So I showed him how the first video … sorta.

There are six steps to follow.

Step 1. Find a hula hoop.

It should be hoop that has extra space around it when you stand inside. This is not always the case for some people. Some people can wear a hula hoop like a belt. That will never be me.

Step 2. Stand inside the hula hoop.

No need to jump in. Just step in.

Step 3. Pick up the hula hoop and hold it waist high.

If you can’t get the hula hoop over your butt or down over your shoulders, refer to step 1.

Step 4. Give the hula hoop a very hard spin.

For most people this is the only spin they will ever get unless the next steps. If the hula hoop doesn’t spin, refer to Step 1.

Step 5. Shake you hips side to side and back and forth.

If you were a ship laying sideways, you’d be yawing.

Step 6. Wave your hands above your head like crazy.

If everything else fails, this step alone will make it fun for you and the watcher.

Send me your best hula hooping and I’ll blog about it here.And when you’re really good maybe you can do this: Watch Marina, a professional hula hooper.

Talk to Bill and others about their experiences raising bi-cultural Japanese-American kids.