jump rope
| Dictionary: jump rope |
n.
A rope that is twirled and jumped over in children's games or in conditioning exercises.
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: jump rope |
For more information on jump rope, visit Britannica.com.
| English Folklore: skipping |
(children's game)
Nowadays skipping is almost entirely done by girls, but this was not always the case. The earliest references refer to boys, and through most of the 19th century boys regularly took part in the game. This has led some authorities to conclude that skipping was exclusively played by boys until the late 19th century but there are numerous illustrations in chapbooks, books, and magazines of girls skipping, back into the 18th century. Why the boys stopped skipping when they did is not clear. Skipping with a rope cannot be traced further back than the 17th century, to a work by Jacob Cats, Silenus Alcibiadis (1618), and references in England do not appear until the 1730s. As the Opies point out, this may be because in earlier times skipping was normally done with a hoop, or it may simply be an accident of history.
There are several basic variations in skipping, the most important being the distinction between short rope and long rope. Short-rope skipping can be solo, one child with a short skipping rope ‘turning’ over her head—or duo, with two girls face to face jumping a rope turned by one of them—or skilled practitioners can get three in at the same time. Alternatively, two girls can stand side by side, holding the rope between them, taking it in turns to jump by angling the rope one side to the other. There are numerous variations in footwork, speed of turning, actions to be performed, and so on. The basic game is static, but skippers can also progress along the street, again either singly or in pairs. The usual learning pathway for beginners is to start with short-rope skipping and, once the basic skills of timing have been mastered, to move on to long rope.
Long-rope skipping involves a person at either end turning a long rope while several others jump, either one at a time or in pairs or groups. A further complication, now called Double Dutch, and much more common in the USA than in England, is where two long ropes are turned simultaneously, in opposite directions. A different form, hardly skipping in the strict sense, is French Skipping or Elastics where a rope, tied in a loop, is placed around the ankles of two girls standing facing each other. Participants take it in turns to jump inside, outside, or on to the rope, in a set sequence of movements and when they have successfully completed them the rope is moved a bit higher up the legs of the end people and the whole procedure is repeated, until the rope is too high for the jumpers to reach. A length of elastic is now often used instead of rope, hence the alternative name.
Numerous skipping rhymes exist to accompany the action, many of which are apparently meaningless but rhythmic chants,
Salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper—to the initiated, however, these four words indicate different speeds. Some dictate the action:
Teddy bear, teddy bear
Touch the ground
Teddy bear, teddy bear
Turn right round
Teddy bear, teddy bear
Climb upstairs
Teddy bear, teddy bear
Say your prayers
Teddy bear, teddy bear
Turn off the light
Teddy bear, teddy bear
Say goodnight.
Commentators on children's games almost always lament that children no longer play like they used to and that traditions are dead. To the outsider, skipping appears to be one of those areas which is dying, but if so we are witnessing a very long and slow decline, and skipping is certainly not dead yet.
Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.
- Opie and Opie, 1997: 160-306
- Abrahams, 1969
- Opie and Opie, 1959
| Wikipedia: Skipping rope |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009) |
A jump rope, skipping rope, or skip rope is the primary tool used in the game of skipping played by children and many young adults, where one or more participants jump over a rope swung so that it passes under their feet and over their heads. This may consist of one participant turning and jumping the rope, or a minimum of three participants taking turns, two of whom turn the rope while one or more jumps. Sometimes the latter is played with two turning ropes; this form of the activity is called Double Dutch and is significantly more difficult. Jump-rope rhymes are often chanted beginning when the skipper jumps in and ending when the skipper is tripped up.
In contrast to running, jumping rope is unlikely to lead to knee damage since the impact of each jump or step is absorbed by both legs. Jumping rope also helps strengthen the arms and shoulders. This combination of an aerobic workout and coordination-building footwork has made jumping rope a popular form of exercise for athletes, especially boxers and wrestlers. Individuals or groups can participate in the exercise, and learning proper jump rope technique is simple compared to many other athletic activities. The exercise is also appropriate for a wide range of ages and fitness levels. Jumping rope is particularly effective in an aerobic routine combined with other activities, such as walking, biking, or running.
Contents |
Competition
Jump rope is a sport, practiced at a competitive level for young kids or adults. Athletes compete in individual and team events using single ropes or double-Dutch. In freestyle routines, jumpers have a set time limit to demonstrate a combination of skills; in many competitions these are choreographed to music. During the speed events, athletes try to complete as many jumps as possible within a particular amount of time. For example, the world record for 30 second speed is 188 jumps. The FISAC-IRSF World Jump Rope Championships is held in July every other year. In 2006 Toronto, Canada hosted the event and in 2008 it was held in South Africa. The 4th Asian Rope Skipping Championship was held on 9 February 2007 at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, India. Jump rope exhibitions are also frequently staged at events such as festivals, charity functions, and sporting half-time shows.
Though many only see jump rope as a simple, fun activity, those familiar with its development of a competitive side consider it a sport. Serious jump rope athletes train rigorously year-round. Jumping rope takes immense strength, endurance, focus, and patience, and can be much more than a schoolyard game of chanting rhymes.
In the United States, the main jump rope organization is USA Jump Rope. USAJR is composed of hundreds of jump roping teams and hundreds of jumpers from all over the country. These teams attend workshops, training camps, perform for the public, and compete against each other throughout the year. USA Jump Rope sponsors various regional competitions and a national competition at Walt Disney World's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida every June. In 2009 the Competition was held in Galveston, Texas. USA Jump Rope Nationals is broadcast by ESPN annually. Competing teams consist of athletes of all ages, but are most commonly graduate school to high school-aged individuals.
Historically in the United States there were two competing jump rope organizations: the International Rope Skipping Organization (IRSO), and the World Rope Skipping Federation (WRSF). IRSO focused on stunt-oriented and gymnastic/athletic type jump rope moves, while the WRSF appreciated the aesthetics and form of jump roping. In 1995 these two organizations merged to form The United States Amateur Jump Rope Federation (USAJRF), which was recently renamed USA Jump Rope to fit the trend of other Olympic and Olympic-hopeful sports.
Jumping rope techniques
Some of the techniques that can be used when jumping rope are:
- Basic jump
- This is where both feet are slightly apart and jump at the same time over the rope. Beginners should master this technique first before moving onto more advanced techniques.
- Alternate foot jump (speed step)
- This style consists of using alternate feet to jump off the ground. This technique can be used to effectively double the number of skips per minute as compared to the above technique.
- Criss-cross
- This method is similar to the basic jump with the only difference being that while jumping, the left hand goes to the right part of the body and vice versa for the right hand.
- Double under
- To perform a double under, the participant needs to jump up a bit higher than usual while swinging the rope twice under his feet. It is possible to have the rope swing three times under the feet (triple under). In fact, in competitive jump rope, triples, quadruples ("quads"), and quintuples ("quins") are not uncommon.
- Combination jumps
- There are many more difficult jump roping tricks that combine two or more of these techniques to make a single trick. These combinations can also be used in Chinese Wheel, Double Dutch, Egg Beater, triangle and Long Rope.
- Toad
- The toad is a complicated trick where the jumper performs the "Cross" manoeuvre with their leg intersecting the arms.
- Other
- Many other variations are possible, including: "skier", a side-to-side jump keeping the feet together; "bell", a front-and-back jump keeping the feet together; "scissors", a jump putting one foot forward and the other back, then switching back-and-forth; "jumping jack", a jump putting the feet apart and then together; and "can-can" a jump with one leg up and bent, followed by a jump with both feet on ground, followed by a jump kicking the foot out.
Further reading
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jump rope |
- Peter Skolnik (1975). Jump Rope. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN 0-911104-47-X.
- Elizabeth Loredo and Martha Cooper (1996). The Jump Rope Book. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7611-0448-8.
External links
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| Pick up Your Feet: The Double Dutch Show (1981 Sports & Recreation Film) |
| WWF: High Flyers (1989 Sports & Recreation Film) |
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| English Folklore. A Dictionary of English Folklore. Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Skipping rope". Read more |
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