6 Boxer Jump Rope Tricks For Beginners | Boxing Training

One of the most important skills a boxer can demonstrate in the ring is to be active on their toes. You want to be quick, mobile, and agile. This helps in all facets of the sport, from defense to offense, and translates to being able to deliver explosive punches. An excellent way to hone footwork skills and stay on your toes is by jumping rope. Not only is it an incredible cardio workout, but jump rope drills and tricks improve endurance, condition the calf muscles, and have numerous other benefits.

Today, FightCamp Trainer Rocky will demonstrate the “ropes” as she breaks down six (6) boxing tricks to add to your jump rope routine.

Basic Jump Rope Tricks

In order to master each jump rope trick, it is important to have an understanding of the basic two feet bounce. From there, practice doing each trick for a minimum of one (1) minute at a time, ultimately performing it for a full consecutive minute with no stops or breaks.

Equipment needed: Jump rope - Don’t have one? Check out FightCamp’s Endurance & Conditioning Kits.

Basic Two Feet Bounce (1 minute)

• Begin in an athletic stance with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent

• Start jumping rope

  • Focus on landing each bounce on the balls of both feet

  • Keep your elbows tucked in towards your hips at a 90-degree angle

  • Utilize small wrist circles to propel the jump rope in a circular motion

• Continue jumping for 1 minute

Skip Knees (1 minute)

• Start with the basic bounce

• Once you’ve established your rhythm, perform two (2) high knee skips in a row on your right foot

• Immediately follow the right knee skips with left knee skips for two (2) bounces

• Continue alternating back and forth for the rest of the minute

Key: Visualize skipping in place when performing each knee skip

Heel Toes (1 minute)

• Start with the basic bounce

• Once you’ve established your rhythm, perform a left foot heel tap by slightly kicking your left foot out in front of your body

• Tap your heel on the ground, while your right foot bounces normally

• Return to a normal left foot bounce and perform the opposite right heel tap

• Continue alternating back and forth, every bounce on opposite heel taps

• Keep bouncing for the remainder of the minute

Side Swings (1 minute)

• Begin by performing a side swing with the jump rope on the right-hand side of your body

• Immediately follow up with a left side swing

• Continue alternating back and forth creating a “figure-eight” shaped motion with the swings

• Once you feel confident, transition into a basic two feet bounce by separating your arms out to your sides at a 45-degree angle from your body

• Jump over the rope, transitioning into the two feet bounce

• Continue swings for a minute

Make it creative: Start with multiple side swings, then transition to different bounces

Tip: Start with the basic bounce breaking it up with occasional side swings

Rocky’s preferred method: Combine and mix up high knee skips with side swings

Criss Cross (2 minutes)

The key to this swing technique is to visualize giving yourself a hug to give the rope enough width to pass through your entire body.

Part 1 (1 minute)

First, master the cross technique with the jump rope. Then perform the following motion without jumping over the rope:

• Start in an athletic stance with the jump rope behind your heels

• Flip the rope over your head

• As the rope falls down, cross your arms as if you were giving yourself a hug

• Continue this 4-5 times to get the motion down

• Once you feel comfortable, perform the motion with a single jump

  • Key difference: Once you jump over the rope, open your hands back up to the traditional hand position with your elbows at a 90-degree angle, tucked into your body

• Continue practicing single jumps for 4-5 repetitions, or the rest of the minute

Part 2 (1 minute)

Once you feel confident with Part 1, continue on to Part 2.

• Start by performing double leg bounces

• Every fifth repetition, perform the criss cross motion

• Focus on giving yourself a “big hug” to allow the rope to cross underneath your feet

• Once you jump over the rope, open your hands back up to the normal position

• Continue for the remainder of the minute

Keep Calm and Jump On

As with all of the FightCamp drills, whether boxing, kickboxing, strength, or conditioning, practice makes perfect. A key thing to remember when starting to jump rope, and especially when adding tricks, is to have patience. Professional boxers make it look easy, but that all came with time and practice. Adding in jumping tricks takes the difficulty up a notch, so just keep practicing, and in time, you will be jumping like a pro. Including jump rope drills into your training will help your boxing footwork, endurance, and conditioning.

Are you ready to train like a fighter with Rocky and the other FightCamp Trainers? Get access to hundreds of boxing, kickboxing, strength, conditioning, recovery, and stretching workouts that will push you mentally and physically. Download the FREE FightCamp App and train with real fighters from the comfort of your own home.