HOW TO LEARN THE AWESOME ANNIE?
The Awesome Annie is one of the most famous jump rope tricks, in part due to how recognisable it is and how fun it looks! An Awesome Annie is a side swing movement under the legs where the jumper switches between the Toad and leg-over-hand placements without ever jumping the loop of the rope. So how do we learn it? Let’s find out.
The Awesome Annie comprises two core leg cross-hand placements: the Toad and the Leg Over. Although the jumper never actually jumps either of these skills during an Awesome Annie, it’s essential to master both so the jumper can enter and exit from either position.
A Toad is a leg cross where the jumper crosses their arms over their hips and the bottom hand crosses under their opposite leg. So, if they cross their arms with their left hand on the bottom, they’ll cross it under the right leg. The Toad is exited into an Open.
The Leg Over is a leg cross where the jumper keeps their arms uncrossed but places one hand under their leg on the same side. So, they would either place their left hand under their left leg or vice versa. A Leg Over is exited into a basic Cross.
Both of these leg crosses can be learnt in Tricktionary+.
Once you have mastered both leg crosses, there are a few drills we can do as a prerequisite for the Awesome Annie. The first drill involves performing consecutive leg crosses. If you can comfortably jump five Toads or Leg Overs without any Opens in between you will be much better prepared for unlocking the Awesome Annie. Next, try the sequence: Cross, Toad, Open, Leg Over, Cross, Toad, Open, Leg Over and so on. This will feel almost like an Awesome Annie, except you’ll have to jump every leg cross.
To progress to the Awesome Annie from here, we need to study the timing of the swing transition from leg cross to leg cross. Once you enter the first leg cross, wait for the rope to pass overhead. As it falls in front of you, move your unrestricted hand across your body so the loop of the rope lands beside you. As the loop of the rope reaches the floor, shift your body weight to the other leg, lowering one and lifting the other. When you do this, the hand which is restricted under your leg will naturally switch, finding the space behind the newly lifted leg.
Since the Awesome Annie is a transitional skill, it can be performed as many times as desired until the jumper wishes to exit. To exit the Awesome Annie, transition to your final hand placement and hold that final leg cross, then exit that position whichever way you would ordinarily for that leg cross. For a single Awesome Annie, the sequences would be as follows:
Toad, Awesome Annie (to Leg Over position), Cross
Leg Over, Awesome Annie (to Toad position), Open
Both of these Awesome Annie variations are demonstrated in slow-motion on the Tricktionary+.
An easy way to remember is, for whichever leg cross you begin with, any odd number of consecutive Awesome Annies (1, 3, 5 and so on) will always end in the opposite leg cross position. Any even number of consecutive Awesome Annies (2, 4, 6 and so on) will always end in the same leg cross position.
Once you’ve unlocked the Awesome Annie, there are two useful drills you can try to continue advancing your technique. They are as follows:
Toad, Awesome Annie, Leg Over Swing, Leg Over, Awesome Annie, Toad Swing, Toad.
Toad, Awesome Annie, Leg Over, Awesome Annie, Toad, Awesome Annie.
Want to get a little more advanced? You can perform an Awesome Annie with Inverse Toad and Inverse Leg. Give those a try to spice things up even more!
