Since the beginning of the year, some of the CDC classes have included skipping sessions into the warm up routine along with push-ups and sit-ups. This post will help you perfect your technique and ensure that you get the most out of your skipping sessions!
Skipping ropes are widely used by boxers and a variety of martial arts to improve power and stamina. Spending a good amount of time with the skipping rope can help you improve coordination, agility, quickness, endurance and footwork. All of these are essential components of a great capoeirista. Ten minutes of skipping is the equivalent of a 30 minute jog!
Check out these helpful tips on how to get the most out of your skipping sessions.
The Basics -How To Skip
- Stand tall but relaxed – breathing naturally.
- Elbows remain at waist level with arms extended sideways at about a 90 degree angle.
- Use a circular wrist motion to turn the rope.
- Hold the rope loosely, using thumb and index finder for control.
- Jump on the balls of the feet landing softly.
- Jump just high enough for the rope to pass under the feet.
The Cross-Over
Keep the elbows at waist level and bent at roughly 90 degrees. Turn the rope as normal and as soon as it passes over your head, cross your arms as far across the front of the body as possible, jumping through the gap and over the rope.
Double Unders
In this trick, the rope passes under the feet twice with every jump. You can try just one or do few in a row if you want to show off! Jump a little higher and use your wrists to whip the rope around as fast as you can.
Other Basic Skipping Moves
These include jumping forward and back (bell jump), side to side (skier), knees up in front (running step), rotate body from the hips from side to side (twist), feet apart then together (straddle).
How To Target Different Muscles
Changing your grip will emphasise different muscles of the upper body; holding the rope will focus more on the shoulders, whereas holding the handles works the forearms. Jumping from side to side will target the inner thighs, and jumping forwards and back increases the work of the front of the thighs. To focus on the lower stomach try the running step. To work the inner and outer thighs try the straddle.
There are numerous jumping patterns and training with the rope can be fun. The easiest technique is running with the rope. You can remain in one place and run by lifting your knees high to let the rope pass. You can also run along a path with the spinning rope. Another technique is called the double under. Both feet will be lifted at the same time when you jump. This style is little difficult to learn and also fatigues you more. As you get better at the rope, you can replace running with double under.
To get the coordination right, you can try the crisscross technique. This will also help break the monotony that other techniques are associated with. Over a period of time you can integrate crisscross to high speed rope turning.
There are various other techniques available which you can practice. Having a weighted rope helps you improve the power and speed of the punch. You can also make combinations of various techniques to come out with a sequence that suits you best. A simple way to bring in variety using the above three techniques is to move frontward and backwards while you are still jumping.
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