WHAT TYPES OF JUMP ROPE TRICKS ARE THERE?
The beautiful thing about jump rope is how much creativity there is in all skills and styles. It’s truly endless. However, for someone trying to learn to jump rope, this can be intimidating and leave them feeling overwhelmed. Rest assured. Skills can be in eight simple categories. These categories help us make sense of the vast universe of possibilities in jump rope. Let’s look at them.
CROSSES
Crosses are skills where the jumper’s hands are crossed over their body (onto opposite sides) allowing the jumper to jump through the loop of the rope. A jumper can place their hands in 9 unique positions around their body from behind their back to under each leg to behind their head to 50+ crossing skills. These skills can be subdivided into body, leg and ground crosses depending on where around the jumper’s body they cross their arms. Click here to discover crosses.
SWINGS
Swings are skills where the jumper’s hands are both placed on the same side, thereby allowing the loop of the rope to swing past their feet. Like the crossing skills, there are 50+ possible swings. Swings function much like conjunctions in sentences, allowing us to connect many skills into cohesive sequences which we call combos. Click here to discover swings.
FOOTWORK
Footwork skills are where the jumper moves their feet into different positions around their body in between each jump of the rope. There is over 30 unique footwork which may be combined to form nearly a million possible 4-count footwork combos. Click here to discover footwork.
RELEASES
Releases are skills where the jumper lets go of one or both handles. These can be subdivided into floaters, mics and passes depending on how the handle is released and how this affects the rope. Click here to discover releases.
MULTIPLES
Multiples are skills where the ropes pass by or under the jumper’s feet more than once per jump. This can result in double, triple or even quadruple unders. Any combination of swings, crosses and more is possible in multiple unders. Click here to discover multiples.
DIRECTION CHANGE
Direction change skills are where the jumper transitions from jumping forward to jumping backwards. This can be achieved in two ways, either by stalling and reversing the direction of the rope or by turning around and facing the opposite way to the rope’s path. Click here to discover the direction change.
WRAPS
Wraps are skills where the jumper blocks a swing or crossing skills and allow the rope to wrap around a body part. The jumper must then unwrap the rope on the other side of their body. Wraps can be subdivided into arm, thigh and leg wraps depending on which body part blocks the rope. Click here to discover wraps.
POWER
Power skills are gymnastic movements with a rope, such as push-ups, handstands, back tucks and more. Jump rope and gymnastic teams have a shared history, so, unsurprisingly, many of these movements have made their way into the sport of jump rope. Click here to discover power skills.
WHERE TO GET STARTED?
If you’re just getting started with jump rope then I’d recommend you check out The Entry 20 which introduces you to the first twenty skills you should learn across all of the jump rope. Afterwards, you can dive into the Tricktionary, which is a huge catalogue of 500+ skills in slow-motion, organised by skill type.