Jumping rope is more than a little girl’s pastime

When I was a kid on the farm, one of my favorite pastimes was to jump rope. It was one activity that I could do outside or inside the house, in all seasons. All I had to do was push the kitchen table against the wall. Of course, it was much better outside, on the front porch, where no one interrupted me.

And then there was the jump rope, on the front porch, of my one-room schoolhouse where my girlfriends and I did double dutch (two long ropes are turned toward each other while one jumps in the middle). Boys much preferred a rough sport, like baseball. This is where I learned a variety of rope jumping rhymes. Here are a few that I can still recall from grade school days. Cinderella dressed in yella, Went upstairs to kiss a fella, Made a mistake, kissed a snake. and Jack be nimble Jack be quick Jack jumped over a candlestick.

When the rhyme is completed, the counting began. Most times the name of the person jumping was used in a rhyme. Depending on someone’s skill in jumping, there was a fast-turning we called “hot pepper.” Occasionally, two people jumped in the center.

Jumping rope has been practiced around the world for centuries. There is little evidence to its exact origin. Some researchers claim it originated in Egypt, while others say China, even Phoenicia. The first concrete evidence is from Medieval paintings showing children rolling hoops and jump ropes in the streets.

What we do know is, in some form or other, jump roping spread throughout Europe, to the Netherlands, and eventually to America.

It was the Dutch settlers who, in the 1600s, became the first rope jumpers in America. Their children often jumped rope in front of their homes, accompanied by songs they sang in Dutch. The English, called their rope game by a disrespectful term, “Double Dutch.” They considered themselves superior to anything the Dutch did.

I myself always thought jump rope to be a girl’s game. It turns out, due to the culture, in the 1700s, rope jumping was not encouraged for girls. Undoubtedly, a book The Girl’s Own Book, by Lydia Maria Child, published in 1833, didn’t help girls to want to jump rope. In her book, Lydia cautioned, “I have known instances of blood vessels burst by young ladies, who in a silly attempt to jump a certain number of 100 times, have persevered in jumping after their strength was exhausted.”

However, in the ’40s and ’50s, both girls and boys continued in the enjoyment of jumping rope. It not only was popular in inner cities, but it spread throughout the country.

The following are those who helped evolve the jump rope in the United States:

It was 1960, when Wally Mohman became a physical education teacher, in Bloomer, Wisconsin. He valued exercise, especially in the long, winter months. As an incentive for his kids, he started a speed jumping contest. Interest grew each year and today Bloomer is noted for its rope jumping tournaments.

The “Double Dutch” jump I so enjoyed during my one-room school days, took a back seat in the late ’50s. It seems teens preferred TV and radio shows more so than jumping rope.

Thanks to two police detectives, David Walker and Ulysses Williams, who, in 1973, brought Double Dutch back in the police department’s outreach program, calling it “Rope, not Dope.” During the ’80s New York City had 1,500 jumpers.

In Boulder, Colorado, Richard Cendali, a former football player, remembered his coach insisted the team exercise running the stadium steps for one hour, or jump rope 15 minutes. The idea is you burn more calories jumping rope than running the steps. In time, Cendali decided the kids were to learn to jump rope. In order to make it more fun, he started doing different techniques. In 1976, as a physical education teacher, he remembered his jump rope days with his coach. He started “Rope Skipping” with his students, calling them “Skip-its.” Soon, with his students, the Rope Skipping Display Team, they traveled together all over the world.

Last, we have another physical education teacher, Jean Barkow, of Riverside High School, Milwaukee, who was asked to come up with something new for both boys and girls for the National Physical Education and Sports Week. She came up with “Jump-Rope-A-Thon,” raising money for the

American Heart Association. By 1979, different organizations adopted Barkow’s idea calling it “Jump Rope for Heart,” which brings in millions of dollars for research and education about heart disease.

Through the years, jump rope competition teams formed in schools, churches, and other organizations, such as The Jump Rope Institute, founded by U.S. Olympian Buddy Lee, in 1996. The World Rope Skipping Federation and the Int’l Rope Skipping Federation, both merged into The U.S. Amateur

Jumping rope is not only an exercise, but a competitive sport. So if any of my readers wish to loose a couple calories in a hurry, research has found, jumping rope for 15 minutes burns as many calories as a 30 minute jog.

Jump Rope Federation, now called USA Jump Rope. There are similar organizations in other continents, such as Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America.

Jumping rope is not only an exercise, but a competitive sport. So if any of my readers wish to loose a couple calories in a hurry, research has found, jumping rope for 15 minutes burns as many calories as a 30 minute jog.

Perhaps its best to start slow — very slow, in my case. I got so enthused by this jump rope article, I placed a jump rope on my Christmas list for my husband. I did get one, but I had the idea of a 15 minute jump rope, and instead I only lasted one minute. Although I can still jump rope, my heart just couldn’t keep up with the jumps. I’m not telling anyone to give up. Just start out at one minute and work up to 15 minutes— maybe it will take a year, who knows! Slow is the word.