Jump Rope Videos

JRV Is On The Move

2007-05-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

JRV will be moving soon. We will continue to share the best jump rope videos from around the world, we will just be doing it at jumpropevideos.com. Once the move is complete we will also be able to do some cool new things like keep in touch and share ideas via the brand new JRV Jump Rope Forums. If you are just joining us and don't know what this is all about, feel free to stay a while and look around. We've seen a lot of amazing tricks and cool videos on this website over that last few months. If you don't know what Jump Rope is all about, here is a preview of the 2007-2009 USA Jump Rope All Star Team. Visit usajumprope.org for more info on the All Star Team including team member bios. Enjoy!

Human Jump Rope

2007-05-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

Check out these break dancers in NY. This is a cool take on the classic human jump rope trick.

Rope Skipping in the Vondelpark (Amsterdam)

2007-05-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is a cool street performance in Amsterdam. If you've never done a street performance, you should give it a try. They are a ton of fun. It's great to be that close to your audience and be able to interact with them and see their reactions up close. These guys rip through several styles of jumping including single rope, partner jumping with one rope, chinese wheel, and double dutch. They do a nice job playing to the growing crowd of people passing by. Fun stuff!

Indy Air Bears Group Routine

2007-05-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some members of the Indy Air Bears doing a single rope group routine choreographed to music.

Cirque de UCLA

2007-05-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

Jump Ropers tend to be great performers. By the time most jumpers hit college, they have a lot of valuable experience under their belts from being in front of audiences and playing to the crowd. It's no surprise that some jumpers gravitate to the performing arts, like Cirque du Soleil for example. In this video, jumper Brian Singleton puts his performance experience to use at the 2006 UCLA Spring Sing. You can tell Brian is very comfortable hamming it up for the crowd. This is a very fun performance with a good sense of humor. The "glow rope" also adds a nice touch.

You Can Never Say You're Too Tall To Jump Rope Again

2007-05-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Clowns. On stilts. Jumping rope. And I thought Roger Crozier was tall...

JumpSnap Ropeless Jump Rope Review

2007-05-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

Bret over at Exercise Equipment Expert has done a nice video review of JumpSnap, "The Ropeless Jump Rope". When I previously posted about the JumpSnap, I said that I wasn't sure what to think of it. Jump Rope is already a great exercise. A good jump rope is very cheap and ultra-portable. I just couldn't think of a reason why I would want to use JumpSnap instead of my standard jump rope. After watching Bret's review, I learned a few things about JumpSnap that have made me reconsider its potential uses. When Bret pointed out that you can add weights to the handles I had an idea. I wonder if JumpSnap would be a useful tool when conditioning for jump rope competitions. I think it might be particularly useful for the speed and triple-under events. The three minute speed event is particularly brutal.

As every top speed jumper will tell you, it is their arms that give out first. I could run in place for a full three minutes without any problems, but my arms would always start to feel the burn within the first minute. By adding a little weight to the handles and simulating a speed event while using the JumpSnap, it could potentially improve endurance in your arms. Of course, this is just a theory at this point. I have no empirical evidence to back this up yet, but I think it is worth a try. If you give JumpSnap a try, let us know what you think about it. Who knows, maybe JumpSnap will be the secret weapon for a future Grand National Speed Champion.

Jump Rope Videos Update and Highlights from April 2007

2007-04-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

As April comes to a close and regional tournament season is behind us, it seems like a good time to give you an update on how far Jump Rope Videos has come in a very short time. Jump Rope Videos (or JRV as some people are starting to abbreviate it) is almost three months old and is starting to take on a life of its own. JRV is already averaging more than 220 visitors per day, and continues to grow at an accelerating pace. We are getting more and more subscribers every day. It is also great to see all of the videos that our readers are putting together and submitting to JRV. We've seen some truly amazing videos. The greatest thing about this sport is that people are constantly innovating and trying new things. No matter how long you've been around Jump Rope, you will always be able to see something you've never seen before. Keep those videos coming! Because of you, JRV has become a great resource for showing people what Jump Rope is all about. Help us continue to spread the word about this amazing sport. Jump Rope will be huge if we get it in front of the right people. There are many ways you can help get the word out.

Add a link to Jump Rope Videos on your team website.
Email a link to your family, friends, classmates, or coworkers.
Bookmark posts on JRV using Digg, Reddit, del.icio.us, or the social bookmarking site of your choice using the very handy button that appears after each post.

Here are some of the JRV highlights from April in case you missed them the first time around... Cool Videos: Rope Skipping in South Africa: Some awesome single rope freestyle. USA Jump Rope All Star Team: Grand Central Station. Need I say more? Jump Rope with OK Go: The "wallpaper" music video for "Do What You Want" that happens to have some jumpers in it. Japanese Double Dutch Team - Kurui: Those crazy Japanese Double Dutchers wow us again. A Busy Month for Team DDF and Planet Jump Rope It was a very busy April for our friends from Belgium. They held the first ever DDCB AND they appeared on a popular Belgian tv talent show. DDCB - Welcome To The Jungle: Sweet video of the action from the first ever DDCB. Double Dutch Contest Belgium - Results: Guess what country the winner was from. Double Dutch on Talent Show in Belgium: DDF looks good on TV. 2006 Nationals on ESPN: Grand National Champs - Summerwind Skippers - The "Mad Scientist" Lee Reisig and his crew invent some cool new double dutch tricks and bring them to life at Nationals. Grand National Champ - Adam Pang: Adam's 2006 single rope freestyle. BTW, did you see Adam's cameo in the Disney movie "Jump In!"? Jump Rope Tips: A new feature at JRV this month was the addition of some tips for those getting started with Jump Rope. Getting Started With Double Dutch: These tips should help you choose the right double dutch ropes for your team. The Secret To Jumping Double Dutch - Good Turners: Once you've got double dutch ropes, learn how to turn them properly. How To Do Basic Chinese Wheel: Get those wheels spinning. Interviews: USA Jump Rope All Star Nick Woodard: Nick talks about becoming the first person in the world to do "The Money Maker". Doubletime Interview - Director Stephanie Johnes and USA Jump Rope All Star Tim Martin sat down with the folks from the movie-blog Spout to talk about their upcoming Jump Rope documentary.

DDCB - Welcome To The Jungle

2007-04-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a great video of the action from the DDCB. This is some of the best double dutch we've seen yet! The folks from Planet Jump Rope did a great job putting this together. I can't wait to get my hands on the DVD!

How To Do Basic Chinese Wheel

2007-04-29T07:26:00.000-07:00

The basic Chinese Wheel is a style of jumping rope that involves two jumpers and two ropes. The two partners stand side by side and exchange the handles in the hands closest to each other. The ropes are then turned on alternating beats. The jumpers share the responsibility of turning both ropes. Each jumper does a "double bounce" while jumping. This means that each jumper jumps twice for every revolution of their rope. You will want to use ropes that are slightly longer than you would normally use for single rope jumping. While a single rope normally comes up to your arm pits when you stand on it with two feet, a Chinese Wheel rope should come up to your ears. Beaded ropes are usually the rope of choice for Chinese Wheel since they are more visible to the audience. The most difficult part of learning Chinese Wheel is unlearning the arm motions that are associated with normal single rope jumping. You must turn the ropes in a sort of "swimming" motion; when one hand is up the other is down. This is completely different from the arm motions that have been drilled into your head ever since you first picked up a jump rope. The common mistake that beginning Chinese Wheel jumpers make is that they try to turn their arms together as if they were jumping single rope. They may start out with their arms alternating up/down, but they slowly drift back to jumping with their arms turning in unison. A good way to practice the turning motion is to forget about jumping for a little while. You will need 3 people to do this. The person practicing their turning stands in the middle. The other two stand on either side facing the turner and their job is to just hold the ropes, no jumping is required. Let the turner just focus on turning the ropes in the "swimming" motion. It is important that the two side rope holders do not help turn the rope at all. Make the turner in the middle do all the work. Focus on keeping an even beat (click.click.click.click and not click.click...click.click). Once the turner can keep an even beat, then the turner can try jumping in place while still turning the ropes. Nobody is actually jumping any ropes, this is just for the turner in the middle to practice the necessary arm motions. This is much harder than it sounds. The first few times you try it your natural tendency will be to start turning your hands in unison again. Chinese wheel can also be done with more than 2 people. You can actually make a wheel with as many people as you want, but the most common wheels are done with 2, 3, or 4 people. Before you start adding more people to the mix, you should be very comfortable with the basic 2 person Chinese Wheel. Here is a video that demonstrates what a basic 2 person Chinese Wheel looks like. Notice how the jumpers turn the ropes and how they do a "double bounce" for each turn of their rope.

The Daring Dutchers Double Dutch Team

2007-04-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

This video was submitted by Logan of the Daring Dutchers. As you can see, the Daring Dutchers are practicing hard and getting better all the time. Keep up the hard work guys! Thanks for the video Logan!

Martial Skippers Jump Rope Practice

2007-04-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

Jump Rope is like anything else in life. To get really good at it you have to practice, practice, practice. Here is a video of a team putting in that hard work. This is the Martial Skippers training for a performance that we showed back in March.

Jump Rope News Round Up

2007-04-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

Fresh Look On Life: Jump Rope Team Just Jumpin' - This is a nice story from KUTV in Salt Lake City about Just Jumpin', a team that will be performing with Corbin Bleu (star of Disney's Jump In!) on July 3rd and 4th. Double Dutch Forces head to Big Apple - This is an article about Double Dutch Forces, one of the two teams featured in the new jump rope documentary "Doubletime." Look for Double Dutch Forces on TV this Friday. From the AikenStandard.com:

"[Double Dutch Forces] will perform on the "Today Show" Friday at the tentative time at 9 a.m., followed by an appearance on "Cold Pizza," an ESPN2 program that airs from 10 a.m. to noon. The team members also will see the documentary, "Doubletime," for the first time Saturday. It's the first of four showings as part of the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. The Discovery Channel will also air "Doubletime" later this spring or early summer."

Jump Ropers Go to Regionals - This is a brief article about the Palpitating Panthers Jump Rope Team competing at regionals. From La Cañada Valley Sun:

"The Panthers had a successful showing including a first place finish for Ethan Angold in both the one-minute and three-minute speed categories in the male 10-and under age group."

Fueled by movie, double Dutch makes a comeback - This is an article about the surge in the popularity of Double Dutch we are currently experiencing. Indy Air Bears take home gold at regionals - An article about the Indy Air Bears competing at Regionals and advancing to Nationals.

Super Skippers Win Gold in Toronto

2007-04-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a reader submitted video from the Cary YMCA Super Skippers. Special thanks to Maureen Tarquini for sending this in. Maureen writes:

"The Junior Female (12-14) team from the Super Skippers (Amanda, Lauren, Anna, Amy and Melissa) took the overall gold last summer in Toronto in the Maple Leaf International Rope Skipping competition. They started off with a couple of disappointing performances and were in 5^th place (out of the eight teams) after the morning speed events. But they managed to pull off a silver or gold in all four of the freestyle events and catapulted themselves to the Gold! Almost as exciting as getting to meet Corbin Bleu ;-) Team USA swept the age category with two Bulldogs teams capturing the Silver and Bronze, narrowly defeating Team Belgium."

Way to go Super Skippers!

The Secret To Jumping Double Dutch - Good Turners

2007-04-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

After watching the Disney movie "Jump In!" many people are starting to try Double Dutch for the first time and they are looking for help. I've heard many people ask "What is the secret to jumping in Double Dutch?" Ask any Jump Rope instructor and they will tell you the same thing. The turners are the key. It doesn't matter how good of a jumper you are, your turners will make or break your routine. Anyone that can jump more than two inches off of the ground at a fairly consistent beat can jump in Double Dutch, as long as they have good turners. The question people should be asking is: "What is the secret to turning Double Dutch?" Here are some tips that should help.

Keep your hands on the Chalk Board: Pretend you are standing in front of chalk board with a piece of chalk in each hand. Keep your elbows at your side and bend your arms at right angles with the chalk pointing forward. Step forward until the chalk touches the chalk board. With your left hand draw a circle clockwise and with your right hand draw a circle counter clockwise. When your left hand is at the top of the circle, your right hand should be at the bottom of its circle and vice versa. This is important: never let the chalk come off of the chalk board. You should always keep your hands on that plane. If you pull your hand off the chalk board, you will pull the rope tight and cause your jumper to miss. Also make sure you are drawing something that resembles a circle. Sometimes one hand makes a nice pretty circle, and the other one is drawing some sort of Egyptian hieroglyph. That would make it difficult for anyone to jump.
Turn at the Speed of the Jumper: A good turner matches the speed of the jumper. If the jumper speeds up, the turner speeds up. If the jumper slows down, the turner slows down. A common mistake beginning turners make is turning way too fast. Encourage your team to start out slow.
Keep the beat: The ropes should be turning at an even beat. You can listen to the ropes hitting the ground to find out if you are doing it right. You should hear the clicks at the same interval (click..click..click..click) not at an uneven interval (click.click........click.click).
Follow the jumper: Sometimes a jumper will start moving around. Always try to keep your jumper centered in the ropes. You may need to take steps forward, backward, or sideways to do this. Be prepared to move.
Keep your eyes on the body parts touching the ground: Most of the time you should be watching the jumpers feet. Sometimes more advanced jumpers will jump on their hands or even their butts. The point is, you need to be paying attention because when that body part jumps off of the ground that is your chance to get the rope under it. If something stays on the ground too long, you may need to stall the ropes until it gets off the ground.

Those are the very basics of turning Double Dutch. Like anything else, practice, practice, practice. Now, If anybody asks you what the secret to Double Dutch is, your answer should be "good turners." To further drive this point home, I found two videos of Corbin Bleu jumping. In this video Corbin has a hard time jumping in a single rope, because his turners are turning way too fast. In this next video he's doing some cool moves and it looks pretty easy. Why? Watch his turners to see what a nice job they do turning for him. Good turners make the jumpers look good. [Video of Corbin Jumping on YouTube]

Hong Kong Freestyle - Yip Suet Bun

2007-04-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

Here is another user submitted video from Hong Kong and further proof that Jump Rope is a global sport. Thanks to Flyer'X coach Wittman Au-Yeung for sending us this cool video. Wittman Au-Yeung writes:

"Yip Suet Bun performed a 0 mistake Master Freestyle in Hong Kong All Age Rope Skipping Championships 2007. He is in the 15-17 age Male group. He won the gold medal in the freestyle and over all champion with the highest freestyle score among all the age groups in this Championships. We call him "King of Release" as he has special talent in "release" tricks as you will see in the video."

If you have video that you want to share, send us a link.

USA Jump Rope All Star Team Video

2007-04-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here's another amazing video of the USA Jump Rope All Star team. This looks like it was taken in 2006 at the world championships. This video has some of the coolest tricks in it, including a three-person double dutch trick called "Gears" and an unbelievable five-person double dutch trick called "Grand Central Station." It's so cool to see all of the tricks that have evolved from the original "Subway."

Jump Rope Competition Video

2007-04-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

This was sent in by Maureen Tarquini, a Super Skippers mom and future competitor. One of the dads on the Super Skippers put together this very cool compilation of some video taken at the 2006 region 2 competition. Thanks guys! Today marks the last day of the 2007 regional tournament season. I'm sure many of you have taken some great video at your regional tournament this year. Please be sure to submit videos of your jump rope competition to JRV so we can share them with the world.

Rope Skipping in South Africa

2007-04-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

Recently DDF team member Maarten Goedemé was in South Africa for 10 days to teach at a rope skipping camp. Maarten has been working for about 4 years now to promote the sport in South Africa. Judging by the skill level of the jumpers in this video, his hard work is paying off.

Flyer'X Double Dutch Freestyle

2007-04-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

This user submitted video comes to us all the way from Hong Kong. This is from Hong Kong based rope skipping team Flyer'X. Team members include Kam, Ting, Ching, Yi, & Yu. In this video, some of the team members perform their double dutch freestyle at the 4th Asian Rope Skipping Championships in New Dehli, India. Special thanks to their coach, Wittman Au-Yeung, for sending us a link to their video. If you have video that you want to share, send us a link.

Double Dutch Head Slide

2007-04-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of crazy jump rope tricks in my day. But this one is insane. B-boy AKI from GM8 does a head slide through the double dutch ropes. At first I thought he tripped and ate it. Then I realized he meant to do this. Like I said... insane. Here's another video of him doing it on YouTube.

Double Dutch Contest Belgium - Results

2007-04-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

We previously reported that there was going to be a Double Dutch Contest in Belgium. The DDCB took place this past weekend on April 14th and the results are in. First place for the Double Dutch Fusion event went to Tsukune (Japan), secund place went to DDF (Belgium) and third place to Oxycrew (Belgium). This is video of the second place team from Belgium, DDF. They are amazing, I can't wait to see the routine from the first place team.

2006 USA Jump Rope National Championship on ESPN2 This Weekend

2007-04-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

The 2006 USA Jump Rope National Championship will air this Sunday April 22nd, 2007 on ESPN2 at 11:00 a.m. Central/Standard Time. If you have never seen a jump rope tournament before, prepare to be amazed. This is an amazing single rope and double dutch competition that will display the best talent from across the United States. Here is a sample of what you can expect to see. This video is of Grand National Champion and USA Jump Rope All Star Adam Pang performing his single rope freestyle routine. Adam is an amazing athlete and his routine is flawless.

Malcolm McLaren - Double Dutch - Music Video

2007-04-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

In 1983, British artist Malcolm McLaren released the album Duck Rock. "Double Dutch" was one of the singles from Duck Rock. This video is a great bit of history. It is sort of like a "jump rope time-capsule". It's fun to look at all of the things that have changed in the 24 years since this was released. In this video, there are no guys jumping rope. It is 100% girls. Compare that to today where it is no longer a girls only activity. The USA Jump Rope All Star team has 12 boys and 12 girls. Overall USA Jump Rope has about 60% girls and 40% boys¹. Also, almost everyone in this video is African American. Today the sport is very ethnically diverse. There are jumpers from all backgrounds. Jump Rope is also now a truly global sport. FISAC/IRSF is the governing body for the World Championships. On their website they list membership numbers from at least 31 countries in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. References: ¹ - The Denver Post - Disney film spurs jump-rope sales

Single Rope Trick: The Boss Cross

2007-04-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

Today's jump rope trick came to us from the ERSO News Flash. Apparently you can subscribe to the ERSO News Flash email list to get the latest updates from Europe as they happen. This is probably also a good time to mention that you can get the latest updates from Jump Rope Videos by subscribing to the Jump Rope Videos RSS Feed. You can use the news reader of your choice and it's absolutely free! This difficult looking trick is demonstrated by Miranda Bosch from the Netherlands. It is called the Boss Cross. I'm not sure but you may also need to be double jointed to do this. You will definitely need long handles on your rope. Cool trick Miranda! If you have cool tricks that you would like to share with the world, be sure to submit them to Jump Rope Videos.

Interview with Stephanie Johnes and Tim Martin of Doubletime

2007-04-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

The folks at Spout got a chance to sit down with director Stephanie Johnes and USAJR All Star and World Champion Tim Martin to talk about their new Jump Rope documentary Doubletime. This video was taken the same day that Doubletime premiered at SxSW. They even got some footage of Tim jumping and showing off his amazing single rope freestyle skills.

High Five Jump Rope Team Halftime Show

2007-04-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a nice halftime demonstration by the High Five Jump Rope Team from Parkersburg, West Virginia. They have some fun elements in their show including double dutch inside double dutch and even a chinese wheel inside a chinese wheel. You also have to be impressed by the leap frog during the traveling routine. Cool stuff.

The Money Maker (aka Kamikaze Frog) - Interview with Nick Woodard

2007-04-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today we have a special treat... an interview with USA Jump Rope All Star Nick Woodard. For those that don't know, Nick is a superstar in the Jump Rope world. He is a three-time USA Jump Rope Grand National Champion and current member of the USA Jump Rope All Star Team. Last year Nick became the first person in the world to do a trick called "The Money Maker" (also referred to as a Kamikaze Frog), and he has graciously answered some questions for us about landing this insanely difficult trick. Also, be sure to check out the video of "The Money Maker" after the invterview. A big THANKS to National Champion and All-Star Lee Reisig for providing the video. UPDATE 4/17/07: This trick was incorrectly called a Kamikaze Frog in the original post. There is an informal tradition in the world of jump rope that the first person to land a trick gets to name it. Nick won a $100 bet as a result of landing this trick and therefore it has been dubbed "The Money Maker." Thanks to Lee Reisig for bringing this discrepancy to our attention. JRV: When and where was this video taken? NW: The video was taken at the North Carolina Workshop hosted by the Bouncing Bulldogs during the first weekend in November. It was a Saturday evening. JRV: Was this the first time you landed the Kamikaze Frog? NW: This was the second time I landed the trick. JRV: In total, how many times have you landed it? NW: I have landed it two times. JRV: How long had you been working on this trick before you finally made it? NW: I had been working on the trick for about a year and a half off and on not hard all the time but when ever I felt it I went for it. JRV: What was the secret to landing it? Do you have any pointers for others that are working on it? NW: The secret to that trick is there really isn't a secret. I muscle that whole trick through. It would be a little bit easier if I were to use my legs to get me a boost up but I use all my upper body which is the way I do it. Well for others trying to do it just push off hard and turn the rope extremely fast, that's what I have to think about. JRV: Did anyone else give you any pointers that helped you land it? NW: Jeff (Mauss) has helped me with the trick. He tells me where my legs are and if I need to keep them in some more or if I need to spin the rope faster, so he has been a big help for that trick. JRV: I know a few people have been working on this trick. Are you the first person to make it? NW: I am the first person to be able to land this trick in the world. JRV: Do you know if anyone else has been able to do it? NW: Nobody to my knowledge has ever really tried the trick or even thought about it. JRV: Do you think this is the hardest trick you've ever done? NW: This is by far the hardest trick I have ever done. Once I did it I was really excited but hurt at the same time, I hurt my wrist but it was all worth it. JRV: Are you working on any tricks that you haven't been able to do yet? If so, what are they? NW: As of right now I'm working on a trick called the "death wish". I have gotten close to it but not landed it yet. Lee (Reisig) from Summerwind came up with it but neither one of us have been able to get it. The trick is a double under A.S. frog. You jump your Double Under A.S. and land in a frog. I have gotten close just haven't hit it just yet but give me a little more time I will get it. JRV: Do you plan on putting this in your freestyle routine this year or is it too difficult to try in competition? NW: I do plan to put it in my routine. I have to get more consistent at it but the second I can do it all the time it will be in there. JRV: Is this your new favorite trick? If not, what is your favorite? If it is, what was your previous favorite trick? NW: I would say that yes that is my favorite trick because that is one I had been working on for a long time and I finally got it. So any trick that I finally get after a lot of work that is my new favorite trick. My previous favorite trick would have to be my back flip with a full twist with a rope. Nobody can do that trick right now so I love being able to do those type of tricks. It's a big crowd pleaser. JRV: In the video, you do a belch frog immediately after landing the Kamikaze frog. Was that planned or was it an accident? Can you describe what happened at the end? NW: At the end yes I did do a belch because I was on my way down and I didn't have enough balance to stay up right so I needed to get another trick so I wouldn't just fall so a belch was the only thing I could think of at the time. It wasn't planned but it added a nice little ending to it I thought. JRV: What was it like to land the kamikaze frog for the first time? NW: To land the kamikaze frog the first time was amazing. I actually did it at worlds. I was in the back with Jeff (Mauss) and Shaun (Hamilton) and they remembered me trying it a while back and they were like "come on Nick you got it". So I went at it for about 20 min and on one of my final tries I hit it. There were a lot of people in the back from other countries watching and they all saw it and applauded. It was awesome. It was funny because the competition was going on at the same time so I hope we weren't to loud.

THE MONEY MAKER:

Double Dutch on Talent Show in Belgium

2007-04-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

Belgian Double Dutch team DDF recently appeared on the tv show Supertalent in Vlaanderen. Supertalent is an American Idol style talent show where three judges watch your performance and then either like you, or they rip you to shreds. And I think one is required to say something like "I don't know, dawg, it was a little pitchy for me." Only on this show they say it in Dutch. Whatever language it's in, DDF did an outstanding job. Nice work guys!

Japanese Double Dutch Dancers

2007-04-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

This double dutch video was apparently taken in 2006 at Club Asia in Shibuya. Shibuya is one of 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan (Thank you wikipedia). The jumpers in this video incorporate hip hip and break dancing into their double dutch routine. It is well choreographed and looks like a lot of fun.

Double Dutch Pairs Freestyle - Grand National Champs 2006

2007-04-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Here is an awesome routine from the Summerwind Skippers at the 2006 USA Jump Rope Championships at Disney World. Kelsy Moe, Shane Winsor, Calli Wold, and Lee Reisig won the Grand National Championship in double dutch pairs freestyle with this routine. This same foursome also won the Grand National Championship in 2005 for the same event. Summerwind team member Lee Reisig is also a member of the USA Jump Rope All Star team.

Classic McDonald's Double Dutch Commercial

2007-04-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a very old commercial from the 80's for McDonald's that features some girls jumping double dutch. Classic.

Converse Commercial: Double Dutch

2007-04-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a cool little commercial for Converse shoes featuring some girls jumping double dutch in NYC.

Single Rope Freestyle Tricks

2007-04-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a pair of awesome jump rope videos demonstrating some cool single rope freestyle moves. There are some quality tricks performed by the jumpers in these videos. The guy does some difficult behind the legs crossing moves while jumping backward. The sequence with a combination of backward C.L., backward A.S., stall, forward A.S. cross-cross, forward C.L. is particularly impressive. He also does a nice one handed frog. The girl in the first video also has a nice multiple under sequence including a double-under T.S. and a double-under leg over cross.

Jump Rope with OK Go

2007-04-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

This is at least the second run in jump rope has had with rock band OK Go. Recently I reported on Bouncing Bulldog and USA Jump Rope All Star Tim Martin jumping on stage with OK Go at SxSW. In their latest video for "Do What You Want" OK Go features an eclectic mix of performers. Among the performers are a group doing double dutch and a jumper doing some single rope freestyle. You have to watch for it since each is only on screen briefly.

Getting Started With Double Dutch

2007-04-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

With the recent success of the Disney movie Jump In, a lot of people are looking to start jumping rope. In particular, there is a lot of interest in double dutch. People seem to have a lot of questions about getting started jumping double dutch. If you want to start but don't know where to begin, I'll try to help you out by answering a few common questions. Keep in mind that there are no absolute right answers here. You have to experiment to find what works best for you. There are many factors to consider such as what event you are jumping in, how many jumpers are in the ropes, etc. How long are double dutch ropes? Double dutch ropes are typically 12 to 16 feet in length. For speed events you should use 12 foot ropes. For freestyle you would typically use 12 foot ropes for 1 jumper only, 14 foot ropes for 1 or 2 jumpers, and 16 foot ropes for 2 or more jumpers. What kind of rope works best for double dutch? There are 4 different basic styles of jump rope: Licorice/Speed ropes, cable/wire ropes, beaded ropes, and cloth ropes. Each style of rope has its pros and cons.

Licorice/Speed ropes: These are good multipurpose ropes. They are good for speed and are usable for freestyle. The downsides are they stretch, they are hard to see, and they are not as easy to control as beaded or cloth ropes.
Cable/Wire ropes: These have very small diameter and are excellent for speed. They do not stretch like licorice/speed ropes. They are not good for freestyle. The top speed scores are typically obtained using this style of rope.
Beaded ropes: These are the easiest to see and are therefore most often used for demonstrations or teaching. The colors of the beads can also be customized to match team colors. The downside is that they are the heaviest ropes and can have a little "bounce" when they hit the ground.
Cloth ropes: These are the easiest ropes to control and don't "bounce" when they hit the ground. They are decently visible, but not as visible as beaded ropes. These are the ropes we used for double dutch freestyle routines on the Texas A&M Jump Rope team.

Where can I buy double dutch ropes? There are several shops on the internet that sell ropes. Jumprope.com and buyjumpropes.net are both official suppliers to USA Jump Rope. Where can I learn how to turn/jump double dutch? Where can I learn new double dutch tricks? Jump rope workshops or camps are a great place to start.

Workshops are often conducted by local teams as fund raisers. Single day workshops are an excellent chance to "jump in" and get your feet wet. Contact a team near you or check out the calender on the USA Jump Rope website.
Camps are an excellent chance to really dive in and improve your skills by learning from some of the top jumpers in the world. USAJR holds jump rope camps each summer. They are a ton of fun.

If you have more questions that were not answered here, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer them.

Jump Rope News Roundup - Jump In Edition

2007-04-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today's Jump Rope News Roundup is in celebration of The Disney movie Jump In! being released on DVD. The DVD will be available Tuesday, April 3rd. There are several reviews of the new DVD. Also, be sure to check out the article from the Contra Costa Times which features interviews with members of Jumping For Joy. People flocking to learn the ropes: Sport's popularity is jumping - CONTRA COSTA TIMES

"This is competitive jump-rope -- a jaw-dropping, high- speed athletic event that's suddenly all the rage, thanks to the new Disney movie "Jump In!" ... The Disney movie's January premiere drew a record 8.2 million viewers; millions more have tuned in with each repeated showing. And with Tuesday's release of the DVD, loaded with "how to double Dutch" extras, more converts will likely be wooed."

Jump In!: Freestyle Edition DVD Reviews:

CONTEST: Win Jump In! on DVD! - MovieWeb
DVD Review : Jump In! - MovieVine
Jump In!: Freestyle Edition DVD Review - UltimateDisney

Japanese Double Dutch Team - Kurui

2007-04-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest promotional video for the Japanese Double Dutch Team Kurui. They won the double dutch holiday classic at the Apollo in 2005. The Bouncing Bulldogs from USAJR placed 2nd in that same competition with their amazing double dutch routine.

Jump Rope is a Great Training Exercise for Boxing

2007-04-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

For a long time there has been a strong link between jumping rope and boxing. Jump rope is an excellent cross training and conditioning tool for nearly any sport. Boxers like it because it also helps with their agility and coordination. Undefeated boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. uses jump rope as part of his workout out routine. This jump rope video from Expert Village talks a little about why jumping rope is an important part of any boxers workout.

Rope Skipping with Fitness Pro Lyen Wong

2007-04-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

Lyen Wong is a fitness competitor and personal trainer with an impressive resume. Some of her accomplishments include being 2005 NAC Miss Universe and German national fitness champion in 2005 and 2006. She is in amazing shape, and includes jump rope as part of her workout, as seen in this video.

Model Fitness: A Jump Rope Workout Is Great Exercise

2007-03-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here's more proof that jump rope is a great exercise. In this video, Kim walks us through her jump rope workout routine. Kim is a Ford fitness model and is obviously in great shape. Whatever she's doing must work. It's important for you to note that she keeps the tricks in her workout rather simple. In fact all of the tricks she does are considered basic jump rope skills. You don't have to know how to do advanced tricks in order to get a good workout. Just basic bounce, side straddles (which Kim calls "jumping jacks") and criss crosses are all you need to get a pretty thorough workout. However, you don't have to stop there. One of the great things about jump rope is the literally infinite variety of tricks you can do. There will never be a point when you run out of new tricks to challenge you. Just take a look around at all of the jump rope videos on this site, and you will see new and unique things in each and every video.

JumpSnap - The Ropeless Jump Rope

2007-03-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

Jump Rope is the best exercise I know. You can burn calories really fast. You work a lot of different muscle groups in your arms, legs, and core. The equipment is cheap. The best ropes cost less than $10. Not to mention that a basic jump rope workout doesn't require much space to do and storage space is non existent, unlike the giant treadmill currently collecting dust in my living room. Enter the latest fitness fad: JumpSnap. I first heard of this last year from a little blog called Gizmodo. As a lifelong athlete in the sport of Jump Rope, I'm not really sure what to think about this. I've spent a large portion of my life teaching others how easy and fun it is to jump rope. Do we really need to replace a $10 piece of equipment with a $60 one? Here is the promotional video for JumpSnap. You be the judge. Technorati Tags: JumpSnap, Exercise, Workout

Tennis Twins' Talents Span From Doubles to Double Dutch

2007-03-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

Twin sisters Jennifer and Danielle Murray play on the Varsity Tennis team for Dartmouth College. They also have a strong background in jump rope. From The Dartmouth Online:

"The duo has had a great amount of success jumping rope over the years. They competed in the Junior Olympics in Washington State. More impressively, they were able to win two titles in the Canadian National jump-roping championships, one in 2004 for pairs freestyle jump-roping that consisted of a choreographed routine created by the twins and the second for Double Dutch in 2003."

Here is their halftime performance during the women's basketball game against Harvard on Jan. 6:

Bouncing Bulldogs Dominate At Regional Tournmanet

2007-03-28T21:41:00.000-07:00

Apparently the Bouncing Bulldogs put on an pretty amazing display at the USA Jump Rope Region 2 tournament last weekend. From The Chapel Hill News:

"The Bulldogs won a total of 48 of 66 possible gold medals, 35 silver medals, 24 bronze medals and 21 fourth-place ribbons -- as well as first place in both the large and small Team Show. The top four finishers in each event qualify to advance to the next level, and 43 Bulldog team members won the right to compete in the USA Jump Rope National Championships in Orlando, Fla., June 22-24."

The article is accompanied by a couple of pictures from the tournament. One picture is of All-Stars Tim Martin and Mary Hunter Benton doing a frog during the pairs single rope freestyle event in which they won a gold medal. The other picture is of Suzanne Cash of SkipSations as she prepares to start her single rope freestyle routine.

Double Dutch Single Freestyle - Summerwind Skippers

2007-03-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

This double dutch freestyle routine was performed by Jeanette, Krystal, and Vanessa of the Summerwind Skippers. It is an excellent routine and earned them 3rd place at the 2006 Grand National Championship in Orlando, Florida. They have a lot of difficult turner involvement and they absolutely nailed it. Nice routine ladies!

Martial Skippers - Rope Skipping Street Performance

2007-03-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a great street performance by the Martial Skippers from Hong Kong. They incorporate many different styles of jump rope in this video including Double Dutch, Single Rope, Chinese Wheel, and Traveling.

4 Man Single Rope Freestyle - 1999 World Champions

2007-03-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here's another jump rope video from the FISAC 1999 World Championships in St. Louis. This is from the 4 person single rope freestyle. I think this was probably the hardest event to prepare for because it was an event we weren't accustomed to. This event doesn't exist in USA Jump Rope competitions. Since we didn't have long to prepare before the tournament, we had to keep it really simple. Our motto became "K.I.S.S." - Keep It Simple Stupid. We basically used a slightly modified version of my single rope single freestyle routine, since it was probably the easiest routine we had between the four of us. Besides, I had been doing essentially the same routine for years and the other guys had seen it enough times that they already knew it. I laughed because they quoted the tricks to me before we even started practicing it. "Double Under AS, double under cross, double under EB, double under, triple side swing cross, double under EB, double under, triple side swing cross, double under, triple side swing left, triple side swing right, TJ, Johmmy." That's how good my teammates were. We just had to modify the routine to add some more movement and partner interaction. Here is the end result:

Jump Rope News Roundup

2007-03-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of good press for the sport of Jump Rope recently. It seems appropriate to share some of it with you here. Rope-skippers hop to top of new sport - Features an interview with Tyler Perez of Impact Tri-Force and Anna Schimmelfing of the SkipSations at their AAU District Championship. Jump Rope's Big Leap - Quotes from Marcus Taylor (Corbin Bleu's stunt double in the Disney movie "Jump In") of the Cincinnati Ropin Rockets, Kelsy Moe of The Summerwind Skippers, Coach Ray Frederick Jr. of the Bouncing Bulldogs, Mary Hunter Benton of the Bouncing Bulldogs, and Krishinda Lee of the Bouncing Bulldogs. SXSW News & Notes: Jumping for doc - A review of the new jump rope documentary "Doubletime" by director Stephanie Johnes. SXSW Film Reviews - Doubletime - A review of Doubletime, mentions the Bouncing Bulldogs. If you know of any good articles in the news about Jump Rope, please let me know.

Double Dutch Holiday Classic 2005 - Japan Dominates

2007-03-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

Here's another jump rope video from the Double Dutch Holiday Classic at the Apollo. These freestyle routines are from a couple of Japanese teams. Kurui won best of show and Kirin took third place. Both teams are amazing. Teams from Japan have dominated the competition for the last several years. In these videos you can see why. They demonstrate excellent control over the ropes, very advanced tricks, great choreography, and great stage presence. What does the U.S. need to do to catch up? A few years ago some jump rope teams started hiring gymnastics instructors to train their jumpers. It's not far fetched to believe some teams will hire dance instructors over the next few years to teach some hip-hop inspired moves. With the recent success of the Disney movie "Jump In" and the good reviews for the new documentary "Doubletime", this new fusion of styles seems poised to become much more popular.

Jump Rope on Unicycles - The King Charles Troupe

2007-03-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

The King Charles Troupe is an amazing group of performers. They have a basketball-comedy act that is performed while riding on unicycles. Just in case that isn't difficult enough for you, they go ahead and throw in some jump rope while sitting atop their unicycles. Just like our All-Star team, a lot is expected of the King Charles performers both on stage and off. When I read through their website, I found a few quotes that really resonated with me and echo what I expect of the top jumpers in our sport.

"Our group is not really about expertise on unicycles. It's about the character of our members, what type of people we are and become." - Floyd "Sweets" Harrison

"Unicyclists are a dime a dozen. What makes you a King Charles Rider is what you do when you get off that unicycle." - Jerry King, 1908-1996, Founder, The King Charles Troupe

Part 1: Part 2:

Advanced Double Dutch Trick - Suicide Kip

2007-03-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

In today's jump rope video Mathias De Jans does a nice demonstration of a "Suicide Kip". Mathias is one of the top jumpers in Belgium and he makes it look easy. Don't be fooled, this is a very advanced double dutch trick and takes a lot of practice. A suicide kip is different from a regular kip. In a regular kip you roll on to your back before launching to your feet. In a suicide kip you actually jump back on to your shoulders and hands before launching to your feet. First, here is a nice walk-through of how to do a basic kip by "BBoy Frostbite". Here is Mathias showing the more advanced suicide kip.

Tim Martin Jumps Rope with OK GO

2007-03-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

This is really cool. USAJR All Star Tim Martin of the Bouncing Bulldogs Jump Rope Team recently performed on-stage with OK Go at SxSW in Austin. Tim was there to promote the new jump rope documentary "Doubletime" that was playing at the SxSW film festival. Unfortunately, Tim doesn't have the room on stage to really cut loose and show what he is capable of, although he does an excellent job of adapting to the situation. Here is what Tim can do of if you give him just a little more space to work with:

Single Rope Freestyle - Billy Jackson - LA Jazzy Jumpers

2007-03-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is USA Jump Rope All Star team member Billy Jackson competing in the 2006 USA Jump Rope Championship. Billy is from the Louisiana Jazzy Jumpers. He has a great single rope freestyle routine with some incredibly difficult rope releases.

Double Dutch at Futbol de Calle

2007-03-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some cool Double Dutch tricks performed by the Dynamic Diplomats of Double Dutch. They were part of the entertainment at Red Bull's Futbol de Calle, which was a freestyle soccer event.

Jump Rope Team Websites

2007-03-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

On this page I plan to keep a list of links to all the Jump Rope Team Websites I can find on the internet. If you know of a Rope Skipping or Double Dutch team website that is not listed here, please leave me a comment on this post with the team name, website URL, and the city the team is from and I will add it to the list. Not all teams have websites. If you are looking to find a jump rope team in your area, check the USA Jump Rope Website for more information.

Bouncing Bulldogs - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Comet Skippers - Mason, Ohio
Double Dutch Divas - New York, New York
Double Dutch Forces - Columbia, South Carolina
Extreme Air - New Market, New Hampshire
Footnotes - San Antonio, Texas
Forbes Flyers - Torrington, Connecticut
Greenbelt Sity Stars - Greenbelt, Maryland
Heart Throbbers - Tyler, Texas
The Heartbeats - Strongsville, Ohio
Hoppin' Hawks - Hartford County Maryland
Hopping Hoosiers - Huntington, Indiana
Hot Dog USA - Kirkland, Washington
Impact Tri Force - Cary, North Carolina
Indy Air Bears - Indianapolis, Indiana
Iowa Skippers - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Jump Company USA - Parkersburg, West Virginia
Jumpin' Allstars - Brighton, Michigan
Jumpin Jammers - Euless, Texas
Jumpin' Jaguars - Bowling Green, Kentucky
Jumping Buddies - Woodbridge, Virginia
Jumping Eagles - Littleton, Colorado
Jumping For Joy - Santa Clara, California
Juneau Jumpers - Juneau, Alaska
Kangaroo Kids - Simpsonville, Maryland
Lakewood Jazzy Jumpers - Modesto, California
Montana Super Skippers - Missoula, Montana
Red Hot Peppers - Dallas, Texas
Rope Masters - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Ropin Rockets - Cincinnati, Ohio
Shasta Skippers - Redding, California
Skip It - Boulder, Colorado
Skip Wizards - Jefferson, Maryland
SkipSations - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Snazzy Steppers - Central Islip, New York
Steppin' Higher - Chicago Heights, Illinois
Summerwind Skippers - Boise, Idaho
Super Skippers - Cary, North Carolina

Double Dutch Contest Belgium

2007-03-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

There is going to be a Double Dutch Contest in Leuven, Belgium on Saturday, April 14th, 2007. The contest rules say that there will be 3 events: 2 minute speed, Fusion, and 115Free (aka Double Dutch Pairs Freestyle). It is an international open competition. For details on entering, check out the website at www.ddcb.be.

DDF - Double Dutch Fusion From Belgium

2007-03-15T18:26:00.001-07:00

Here's some excellent double dutch freestyle from DDF, a team of world champion jumpers from Belgium. I met team member Maarten Goedemé before when I toured Europe in 1998 and again at the 1999 world championships. He is an excellent jumper and all around nice guy. DDF is actively bringing the Fusion style of Double Dutch to Europe.

Another Good Side Show Jump Rope Performance

2007-03-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

This is another nice side show jump rope demonstration.

Jaw Dropping Double Dutch Trick In Slow Motion

2007-03-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

I've been around the sport of Jump Rope for a very long time. I've seen A LOT of tricks and I've even invented a few. But no matter how long I've been jumping, people are always showing me something I've never seen before. One of the coolest things about being invited to judge the all star tryouts this year was the chance to watch the candidates perform at the staff show following the workshop. I saw a lot of new things in that show. I know there were several times when I actually felt my jaw drop. One of those times was when they busted out this trick in Double Dutch.

Rope Skipping From The Netherlands

2007-03-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today's jump rope video from around the world displays some nice single rope jumping from the Netherlands. For those of you that know the Dutch language, check out the offical Rope Skipping Web Portal of the Netherlands at ropeskipping.nl.

Disney's Jump In on DVD April 3rd

2007-03-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering, Jump In! will be released on DVD on April 3rd. The soundtrack is already out. According to Wikipedia, the soundtrack debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 on January 17, 2007 and has already gone gold.

Single Rope Pairs Freestyle - Shaun Hamilton and Willie Amos

2007-03-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

Here is some more video from the 1999 World Championships in St. Louis. As I said before, I was very fortunate to have some truly amazing teammates. Here is the single rope freestyle routine from Shaun Hamilton and Willie Amos. Both are very gifted athletes. Shaun is now the head coach of the USA Jump Rope All Star Team and Willie played football for Nebraska and is now a professional football player for the Chicago Bears organization in NFL Europe.

Exercise With A Jump Rope Workout Like Boxing Champ Floyd Mayweather Jr.

2007-03-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

As you know, jump rope is an excellent exercise. Many people workout with a jump rope to lose weight. I've seen it claimed that you can burn up to 1000 calories an hour by jumping rope. That's probably only realistic if you weigh 220 lbs. You can find out how many calories you burn based on your weight and the time you spend jumping using this nifty calories burned estimator from healthstatus.com. To lose one pound you must burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Jump Rope is also used heavily as a cross training tool for other sports. Many professional athletes use jump rope to improve their endurance, agility, and coordination. Boxing is probably the most often cited example of a sport that uses jump rope as part of it's training regimen. Even undefeated boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. jumps rope as seen in this video:

Rent A Sportstar - Rope Skipping - Sebastian Deeg

2007-03-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

The next stop on our tour of rope skipping from around the world is Germany. This jump rope video is of a performance by Sebastian Deeg of Rent A Sportstar. Sebastian's solo rope skipping demonstration is just one of many acts that Rent A Sportstar offers as entertainment for charity, advertising, or corporate events.

Double Dutch Delight 2005 - Team Kurui

2007-03-10T06:58:00.002-08:00

Here's another Jump Rope Video from Japan. This is team Kurui. I'm really impressed with the Double Dutch routines that I've seen coming out of Japan.

Submit a Jump Rope Video

2007-03-09T20:31:00.000-08:00

Do you have a jump rope video that you think is worthy of being posted here on Jump Rope Videos? We would love to see it. Here's how to let us know about it.

Upload your video to YouTube
Send us an email with a link to your video (aka the Public URL).

Here are some guidelines for submission:

Don't submit copyrighted content.
Don't submit anything that might be deemed inappropriate. This includes song lyrics.
Show us something unique, show off a new trick, teach us how to do a trick, or show us something you haven't seen on the site before.
Provide me with some background info on the video that we can use in the post. Who/What/When/Where/Why/How
If possible we would appreciate it if you could include a reference to jumpropevideos.blogspot.com. Good ways to accomplish this are to put text on the video and/or a link in the description of your video on YouTube.

We look forward to seeing your videos!

USA Jump Rope All Star Stunts

2007-03-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

This is our first viewer submitted Jump Rope Video. This video was taken at the 3rd Annual All-Star Workshop Staff Show. Thanks to Becky Zelewski for sending the video.

Grand National Champion Justin Meier - Three Minute Speed

2007-03-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

Today's jump rope video is of Justin Meier the 2006 Grand National Champion in Male Three Minute Speed. Justin won with a score of 900. That's only 8 jumps shy of the national record set by Veyom Bahl in 2004. Justin averaged 5 jumps a second over three minutes which is very amazing. If you are working on speed, pay very close attention to the form that Justin uses while he jumps. He leans slightly forward, his arms are at his waist. He makes small tight circles with his wrists and his feet barely come off the ground. Nice work Justin!

Introducing the 2007-2009 USA Jump Rope All Star Team

2007-03-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

Today I'm pleased to bring you our first look at the 2007-2009 USA Jump Rope All Star Team. USA Jump Rope has put together a very exciting video to try to get people pumped about the sport. I think they did an excellent job. Operations Manager John Fletcher deserves a big THANK YOU and a pat on the back for filming, editing, and providing us with this awesome video. There is a longer version of the video on the USA Jump Rope website that gives a more complete introduction of the individual team members. A link to the extended video can be found at the very bottom of the All-Star Team page. Enjoy!

Double Dutch Pairs Freestyle - 1999 World Champions

2007-03-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

In 1999 I had the privilege to jump for Team USA at the World Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. I was lucky to be placed on a team with Shaun Hamilton, Willie Amos, and Cliff Forbes. All three of them were amazing athletes. As you may know Shaun went on to become a board member for USA Jump Rope and is now the head coach of the USAJR All-Star team. Willie was an excellent football player. He played for Nebraska and was signed last year by the Chicago Bears to play in NFL Europe. To say I was fortunate to have such great teammates would be an understatement. They were very easy to work with and picked up the routines very fast. We all had to learn fast... we had very short notice that we would be jumping together and were only able to hold three practices together before heading to the competition. Considering we lived six hours away from each other, I'm surprised we were able to get even that much practice in. In the end we ended up winning the all-male senior division. It remains one of my proudest accomplishments, but most of the credit belongs to my extremely talented teammates.

Side Show Acrobats

2007-03-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been at a tourist attraction or sporting event or festival of some kind and stumbled upon a random jump rope performance? I'm not talking about the kind of jump rope performance that is typical for our sport, but more of a side show acrobat style of performance. It's happened to me a few times. It always serves to remind me that there are many different styles of jumping out there. I didn't have a good category for this type of video. I don't really consider it performance art like Cirque Du Soleil, so the best I could come up with was "Side Show". I think I'll stick with that for now unless someone else has a better suggestion.

Double Dutch Speed

2007-03-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

Molly is fast. REALLY fast.

Double Dutch Contest Japan

2007-03-02T23:22:00.000-08:00

There is a Double Dutch Contest taking place in Japan on March 25th at CLUB CITTA' Kawasaki. This promo video reminds me of the Double Dutch Holiday Classic at the Apollo. If you're in the neighborhood, you should definitely check it out, especially considering teams from Japan have won "Best in Show" at the Apollo 8 of the last 10 years.

Double Dutch Holiday Classic Fusion

2007-03-01T17:31:00.000-08:00

The Double Dutch Holiday Classic is held every year at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Teams compete in speed and compulsory events, but the main attraction is the Fusion event. I've only recently discovered the Fusion format online, but I wish I had known about it years ago. Fusion features some of the most innovative Double Dutch Freestyle happening anywhere in the world. Fusion routines can have anywhere from 3-6 team members and are set to music. They combine elements of dance, gymnastics, and jump rope into an electrifying visual display. Since the format allows up to 6 people, it reminds me of the Double Dutch routines we always saved for the finale of staff shows at workshops and camps. Those were always my favorite routines because that's where we traditionally had the most innovation. It was in one of those staff show finales where we introduced "The Subway" to the world. Unfortunately we only got to scratch the surface of what was possible because everyone always came from different parts of the country and we never had enough time to practice. Imagine what could be done if you focused on perfecting one of those routines all year long. The result would be a "Fusion" routine. Here's a video report on the Double Dutch Holiday Classic from the NY Times:

Bouncing Bulldogs Basketball Halftime Show

2007-02-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

One of the primary performance venues for jump rope teams is basketball half-time shows. Through the years I performed at too many college games to count and even a few San Antonio Spurs games. If you attend many basketball games, chances are you will eventually see a jump rope demonstration if you haven't already. Today's video is of the Bouncing Bulldogs performing at the Duke vs. Maryland Women's basketball game. Halftime shows usually only last 4-5 minutes, so they are fast and furious, and contain many different elements of jump rope. For example, in this video the Bulldogs demonstrate the following jump rope styles in this order: Single Rope Single Freestyle 3 Person Chinese Wheel Traveler Double Dutch Single Freestyle Double Dutch Single Freestyle Single Rope Pairs Freestyle single Rope Single Freestyle Double Dutch Pairs Freestyle Single Rope Single Freestyle Traveler

USA Jump Rope All Star Team Roster Announced

2007-02-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

The 2007-2009 USA Jump Rope All Star Team Roster has been officially announced. I've reprinted it here in case you missed it. It was an absolute honor for me to get the opportunity to judge the tryouts. The future of our sport looks very bright. Mary Hunter Benton, Bouncing Bulldogs Tori Boggs, Jump Company USA Chris Brown, Heartbeats Lisa Brown, Heartbeats Kaylee Couvillion, Heart 'n Soul Joe Edney, Bouncing Bulldogs Mike Fry, Heartbeats Cara Hassler, Hot Dog USA Anna Holdaway, Bouncing Bulldogs Billy Jackson, LA Jazzy Jumpers Rae Krucoff, Bouncing Bulldogs Jeremy Lindstrom, Pro Form Airborne Nikki Lyman, Hot Dog USA Timothy Martin, Bouncing Bulldogs Jeffery Mauss, Razz-Ma-Tazz Courtney McBroom, Hot Dog USA Colleen McCary, Hot Dog USA Adam Pang, Heart 'n Soul Andrew Pang, Heart 'n Soul Lee Reisig, Summerwind Skippers Scott Simpson, Kangaroo Kids Lindsey Wallace, One Jump Ahead Nick Woodard, Razz-Ma-Tazz Erica Zenn, Bouncing Bulldogs

Cirque Du Soleil - Quidam - Jump Rope Performance Art

2007-02-27T16:43:00.000-08:00

I tend to think of Jump Rope primarily as a sport. If you've had the opportunity to see the U.S. National Jump Rope Championships on ESPN or the new Disney movie, Jump In!, you likely agree with me. It's easy for me to look at it that way since I've grown up with it. However, it's important to realize that there are many other facets of Jump Rope. Jump Rope is equal parts competition, cross training, sports entertainment, and performance art. Rene Bibaud was the first person I knew to achieve success in all aspects of Jump Rope. According to her website, "Rene is a five-time world champion, ESPN commentator and former artist and coach of Cirque Du Soleil." Here is the ultimate example of jump rope as performance art from Cirque Du Soleil.

Jump In! - Learning the Ropes with Corbin Bleu and Keke Palmer

2007-02-26T19:50:00.000-08:00

It's great to see that there is a lot of buzz surrounding the Disney movie Jump In! I'm impressed with how well Disney did their homework on the sport. Of course some things had to be somewhat contrived for the sake of the movie, but overall I thought they represented Jump Rope very well. Even though some of the more advanced moves were performed by stunt doubles, the actors definitely did their share of training before filming started. I'm impressed with what they learned in a relatively short amount of time. In this video Corbin Bleu and Keke Palmer talk a little about the training process.

The Texas A&M Jump Rope Team

2007-02-24T19:37:00.000-08:00

I jumped for 10 years with the Footnotes Jump Rope Team in San Antonio before going to college at Texas A&M. At Texas A&M I met another guy that used to jump and we decided to form our own college team. In the fall of 1996 we started the Texas A&M Jump Rope Team and recruited some of our friends and taught them to jump. Some of our jumpers had never picked up a rope before joining our team. I'm very proud of what those guys learned to do in just a couple of years. I believe our team was the first college jump rope team. Certainly there were jumpers before me that continued to jump in their college years, but usually with the same teams they jumped with before college. I think ours was the first actual college team. We practiced hard, did a few shows around town, and even managed to make it to nationals a few times. As I said before, I used to be able to jump. Well, here's the proof that I could actually get off the ground once upon a time. This is the double dutch routine that we spent the majority of our time working on.

The Heartbeats - Jump Rope Team Show

2007-02-24T18:10:00.000-08:00

The Heartbeats are one of the best known jump rope teams in the world. The team was founded in 1992. By the time the U.S. Nationals started in 1996, the team was ready to shine. I seem to remember them doing very well during the years I was at Nationals ('96-'01). They've also had a lot of success in the AAU Junior Olympics. According to their website they've captured numerous individual and team medals along with the Team Show trophy at both the USA Jump Rope Nationals and the AAU Junior Olympics. Here is a video of their team show performance that earned them 2nd place at the 2006 Worlds in Toronto, Canada.

Jump In with Corbin Bleu - Double Dutch on Live with Regis and Kelly

2007-02-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

The new Disney movie Jump In may be the most exciting thing to happen in Jump Rope since the U.S. Nationals began airing on ESPN in 1996. The entire Jump Rope community is buzzing with the attention that this movie has brought to our sport. According the The Houston Chronicle, the original airing of Jump In had 8.17 million viewers, which makes it the most watched program in Disney history. As a result, interest in the sport of Jump Rope has skyrocketed in recent months. Corbin Bleu, the star of Jump In, appeared on Live with Regis and Kelly in early January to promote the movie. The impressive thing is that he learned to do his own jumping for the movie in a relatively short time. He demonstrated some of his new skills for Regis and Kelly.

Single Rope Freestyle - Tori Boggs

2007-02-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

Tori Boggs is one of jump rope's youngest and brightest stars. She currently holds the U.S. national records for 1-minute single rope speed and 3-minute single rope speed. Her 1-minute speed record is an amazing 359. That's nearly 6 jumps a second for an entire minute. I think my fastest speed score ever was 284. A mere 4.7 jumps a second. The girl is fast. Not only is she good at speed, she's also got a great single rope freestyle routine. See for yourself...

Five Person Double Dutch With Outstanding Choreography

2007-02-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

This is some of the best choreography I've ever seen in a double dutch routine. It's an excellent routine, but I wish they would have landed the basket toss inside the ropes rather than doing it completely outside of the ropes. It would have been very easy for them to do.

2006 USA Jump Rope All Stars

2007-02-19T17:16:00.000-08:00

Here's more video from the 2006 USA Jump Rope All Star team.

USA Jump Rope All Star Update

2007-02-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

I just got back last night from judging the 2007 USA Jump Rope All-Star Team tryouts and my adrenaline is still pumping! The future of this sport is in great hands. Out of 50 candidates, we selected 24 jumpers that will spend the next 2 years being ambassadors for the sport of Jump Rope as they travel around the world performing and teaching. These 24 jumpers were selected by a panel of 12 judges that observed each candidate of the course of the last 3 days. Each candidate had to go through a very rigorous selection process. On Friday they had to dress up for a 5 minutes taped interview in front of our panel of judges. On Saturday they had to teach an all day workshop while the judges observed and scored them on their teaching ability. On Sunday they had to go through a very difficult day of demonstrating their jumping ability. They were judged in 4 separate events. Each jumper had to learn a very difficult single rope group routine. After that they had to do a single rope freestyle. Then they were randomly assigned to a 3 person team and had to create a double dutch freestyle. Finally they had to demonstrate their mastery of 3-person chinese wheel. I was very impressed at how far the sport has come in the last few years. These jumpers have taken everything I was doing 10 years ago to an entirely new level. They didn't just pass me in skill level, they leap frogged me and did a backflip TJ triple before landing. Here is a taste of what these kids can do. I had the chance to meet some of the jumpers in this video this weekend. They are great kids and amazing athletes. I can't wait to see what tricks they will come up with next. [update 4/2/07] This video is of the Bouncing Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are the subject of the new jump rope documentary "Doubletime" by director Stephanie Johnes.

Dr. Jump - Ken Solis

2007-02-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

Ken Solis (aka "Dr. Jump") has been involved with jump rope since the late 70's. I had the opportunity to work with Ken on the board of directors for USAJRF in the late 90's. As an engineer myself, I really appreciate Ken's academic approach to the science and history of jump rope. Ken has a distinct performance style that is unique in the world of Jump rope, which is demonstrated in this video. I think he deserves a lot of credit as an early innovator in the area of rope manipulation.

Japan Worlds Double Dutch Routine

2007-02-12T17:13:00.000-08:00

One of the things I really love about jump rope is the infinite variety of things that can be done. The opportunity to be creative is literally unlimited in this sport. I've been involved with jump rope for over 20 years, and I still see new things all the time. This team from Japan has a series of unique double dutch tricks that are really cool. I really love the spin move that the girl does with her leg raised while the turners stall the ropes. I also like their incorporation of break dance moves.

Xbox 360 Commercial - Jump In

2007-02-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

This was an ad that appeared last year for the XBOX 360. It's got a great pace and energy about it that I love. I like how they incorporate so many different elements in rapid succession. They start with Chinese Wheel, focus mostly on Double Dutch, and then end with some Traveling. Very cool.

USA Jumprope All Star Team

2007-02-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

Next week I am traveling Dallas to be a judge for the USA Jumprope All-Star Team tryouts. This is a really exciting opportunity for me. It's going to be a lot of fun to see some old friends and make new ones. I can't wait to see what this next generation of jumpers can do. I know they will have invented things that I never dreamed of when I was jumping just a few short years ago. Here is a video of the previous All-Star team in action. These kids are simply amazing.

Introducing Jumprope Videos

2007-02-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, I was a world class jumper in the sport of Jump Rope. I traveled all over the world to perform and compete. I won several national championship titles and one world championship title. I even started my own team in college with the help of some good friends. Then I graduated college and got a desk job. Let's just say I've let my skills atrophy a little since then. Now I'm looking to get back into Jump Rope. I miss it. It was a ton of fun and kept me in great shape. I need to drop some weight and get back in good shape, and jumping rope is the best way I know to do that. I'll let you know how that goes. My goal with this site is to let everyone know how cool this sport is, and how good it can be for your health and physical fitness. If you have never seen it before, prepare to be amazed. I'll try to collect as many videos as I can from around the web to show you how amazing Jump Rope is.