rope control

Rope control is the ability to alter the rope’s speed without losing tension. This is achieved by carefully adding and removing energy to the rope. Good rope control enables a jumper to more easily perform complex crosses and rope manipulation regardless of how restricted the positions are.

The following drills use a 4-count cycle, with three jumps followed by a pause for one count. In the pause, the rope is slowed down as it passes overhead.

  • In Drill 1, the three jumps are all Opens:
    Open, Open, Open, pause

    Top tip: lift your hands gently upwards as you begin the pause to help alter the rope speed. As you improve, try to lift your hands less and less so they remain at your hips.

  • Drill 2 changes things up a little by including a basic Cross on jump 3:
    Open, Open, Cross, pause

    The pause happens immediately after you jump the Cross and proceed to uncross back to Open. Drill 2 will help with using your elbows to transition efficiently.

  • Drill 3 is the same as Drill 1 except every jump is a Cross:
    Cross, Cross, Cross, pause

    Being in a constant restriction can make it harder to relax enough to maintain good rope control, which this drill will help with.

  • Drill 4 builds upon Drill 3, by making all three jumps leg crosses:
    Toad, Toad, Toad, pause

    This drill is a significant step up in difficulty from the previous since the bottom hand is completely restricted by the leg, so the rope control must completely come from the handle grip and wrist.

  • Drill 5 also builds upon Drill 3, but by making all three jumps half crosses:
    EB, EB, EB, pause

    Like in Drill 4, this is a significant step up in difficulty from Drill 3 since the ‘bottom’ hand is behind your back and therefore completely restricted by the body.