Have you ever jumped rope?
I'm not talking about the children's game you used to play on the elementary school playground, I mean real jump rope.
Where the only thing you can hear is the whip sound of the rope hitting the ground, the sounds of the gym, and your own breathing. No fun and games here. Jump rope is hard work!
An MMA fighter, boxer, and kickboxer jump rope for the same reasons that basically every athlete jumps rope:
Great reasons to start jumping rope
1. Endurance
Jump rope is much harder than some people think, until they try it. Those people may be used to other forms of cardio, but not to the relatively explosive nature of jump rope.
It may not seem that difficult to get your feet a centimeter (or less) off the ground. But try it. When you do it very often per minute, it becomes much harder at some point. Your heart rate goes up, you start sweating. It’s a great boost if you want to work on your conditioning.
As you practice more often, you will also notice that you can jump longer and more frequently than you did at the beginning.
2. Footwork
Jump rope requires much more foot discipline than you might think, just like endurance. Small, precise, and well-controlled movements, even under stress (or exhaustion, at the end of a training session) are not easy. Jump rope teaches that.
Precise footwork becomes part of your natural muscle memory. Jump rope, especially more advanced moves like the cross-over, double skips, switch-skips, etc., and see how your footwork improves.
Do you know that light-footed, almost bouncing movement some top fighters use? The kind of quick stance switching that looks smooth? A big part of that is also made possible by jump rope.
3. Coordination
This is related to footwork, but it involves the whole body. Helping your feet up requires the ability to mentally establish timing while your body runs in sync with your awareness.
If you watch someone who is good at jump rope and also advanced, you can see how the rhythm has been established.
With good concentration you can go very far. This will lead to more coordination and skill. All day, every day. Coordination is one of the most important parts of developing an effective fighting game.
Everything works, there is total control, and there are tight reaction times; these things make someone a better athlete and certainly a better fighter.
4. Mental state
Jump rope is terribly annoying at first. You mess it up constantly, the rope hits your toes, your body is out of sync, or you misjudge a turn. There will be at least one time you throw the rope out of frustration.
It just happens, and just when you think you’re getting good, new techniques are added and that can be very frustrating.
It’s also one of those exercises where you’re ‘in your head.’ There must be concentration, but there is also room to think, and it’s harder not to get frustrated with yourself.
It’s physically tough, and pushing through burning calves (and arms) therefore also requires mental endurance and discipline.
Jump rope is just one of those things required in martial arts, or often required. There’s a reason it has been a basic training method for a very long time; because it matters.
MMA fighters, boxers, and kickboxers jump rope because they want to get better, and it’s a great way to sharpen the things that will make them better.
Try it and see for yourself! Here at Fight2Win, we have a wide range of jump ropes from various brands in our assortment.
So if you’re looking for a good and high-quality jump rope, take a look in the Fight2Win webshop or visit the store.