THE WHAT:
Floor-contact lateral rolls generally carry the intention of “softening” and “melting” into the floor, an emphasis on the “ironing out” of “bumps” & “creases” toward an aesthetic of effortlessness, and are “driven” by the legs in their cyclical, piston-like pushing against the floor. The ‘hollow-body’ lateral-roll, however, explores the potential to use INTRINSIC effort (i.e. generated from WITHIN the body) as opposed to the pushing of limbs against the floor, to locomote through space.

Rather than emphasis on “opening” the chest/ribs into the ground, then, the major “wheel” along which the body travels is now the ‘circle of the PELVIS’, facilitated by the alternating extension & flexion of the ‘hollow’ form. Combined with variations in which the body is extended/flexed and arms used as “whips” to generate momentum to feed back into the roll, these variations represent altogether more powerful rolls which can move faster and with greater control over the gradations of that speed & force output.

Based on the fundamental 'hollow-body' concept. Their practice contributes both toward patterning local/global movement of the spine (timing & coordination of extension & flexion), as well as developing spinal mobility/stability through contexts which demand dynamic stabilization, whilst in motion. Once learnt, they add another dimension to fundamental floor-work locomotion patterns in which the magnitudes of speed and form can be played with toward ends of aesthetic optionality, efficiency, or simply increasing the vocabulary of floor-contact locomotion patterns.

THE HOW:
Whilst it is recommended to have developed experience & proficiency with all other of lateral floor-rolls before embarking on a study of these related, but characteristically different, variations, for the enthusiastic floorwork practitioner they can also be studied in tandem, albeit ideally SEPARATED into different sections of practice. As the ‘hollow-body’ concept carries an innate physical demand (i.e. strength & mobility of the entire globally-extended form) which is entirely absent in patterns such as the ‘Arm-tucked’ and ‘Fundamental lateral floor-roll’, taking this into account can justifiably place its practice in a section or session coming from a perspective of CONDITINOING, as well as patterning.

In either case, it is recommended to begin simply with practice of the ‘Hollow-body turnover’, which is versatile & non-specific enough in its pattern to take the place of anywhere the fundamental ‘hollow-body hold’ had been previously practice. Notably, there is also a place for this movement in the preparation phase of HANDSTAND practice, as the manipulation of the mid-section in its globally-extended structure can teach the practitioner the difference between the two extremes of the desirable “straight & rigid line”, which lies somewhere in the middle, as well as the patterning to manipulate it more proficiently. In its isolated form, the ‘Turnover’ can be practiced simply for time (e.g. 30-45”) for 1-3 sets 1-2x per week, or, once proficient, for repetitions up to 10x ‘there & back’ EACH side.

After a 6-8 weeks phase of practicing the ‘Hollow-body roll’, or optionally at the same time, but in the ‘main body’ of practice’, the basic ‘Hollow-body lateral roll’ can be implemented with some existing “information” (and conditioning) to draw from. Again, it can simply replace the practice of other lateral-roll patterns which came before it in a round of other complementary ‘floorwork’ patterns for 3-4 sets 1-2x per week. Lengths of ca. 10m/30 feet remain the standard prescription, or, where preference or space decide otherwise, ca. 60” of non-stop practice, changing directions equally at will.

From here, the ongoing practice is left very open – if the concept is truly understood and “embodied”, the variations are only slight and can even be practiced in rotation from set-to-set in the same 1-2 phases of practice. It is recommended, however, to spend a least one full phase simply integrating ALL of the patterns, rolling back & forth for time in 60-90” sets or opening a space of 5-10 mins per session in which all rolls are practiced, taking minimal, self-directed rest as needed. Lastly, as always, another phase at least should be spent INTEGRATING the rolling patterns either into a self-directed sequence, or in an open time/space in which the patterns are implemented with priority status in ca. 90” of non-stop floorwork improvisation for sets.

Resources contents:

0:05 - Hollow-body 'turnovers' ("there & back" = 1x roll)
0:35 - Hollow-body lateral roll
1:24 - Hollow-body roll (UNsync arms)
2:17 - Straight-arm hollow-body roll (UNsync)
2:48 - Open/close hollow-body roll (syn)
3:16 - Open/close hollow-body roll (UNsyn)

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