Footwork is any type of lower body movement which is independent from the jumper’s rope manipulation. Footwork is very good for beginners to build up their coordination and timing. On top of that, footwork such as the High Knee forms the basis of leg crosses.

Side swings are skills where both hands are on the same side of the body, such that the loop of the rope swings past the body.

Toe Catches occur when a jumper stops the rope under the feet instead of jumping the loop of the rope. These are an invalubale tool for learning new skills, helping improve both balance and hand placements.

Crosses form the backbone of jump rope, they are the letters of our jump rope alphabet. Crosses can be grouped by whether they happen around the body, around the legs or on the ground.

There are basic two ways to change direction from forwards to backwards and vice versa. A jumper can turn their body whilst the rope continues moving in the same direction uninterrupted; they can also bring the rope to a complete stop and reverse its direction.

Multiples are skills where the rope makes two or more revolutions per one jump, either passing under the jumper’s feet or in a swing at their side. Multiples are described by how many revolutions or ‘unders’ they have, e.g. double under, triple under and so forth.

Step-throughs are skills where the jumper steps through the loop of the rope instead of jumping over it. They are an excellent active rest day option since they are zero-impact.

Wraps are skills where the rope is wrapped around part of the jumper’s body, usually their wrist or ankle. These skills usually require a swing to unwrap. Turning, stalling and releasing are all ways of unwrapping.

Releases are skills where the jumper releases one or both handles for a period of time. This includes mic releases, handle passes and floaters.

After learning dozens (if not hundreds) of jump rope skills, it can be a whole new challenge to try them backwards!