Last year the USA Jump Rope All Star Team performed on “Ellen’s Really BIG Show”. This was a variety show hosted by Ellen DeGeneres that aired on November 18th, 2007. Unfortunately I missed the original airing of the show and was unable to find video of it anywhere. Thankfully, Mike Fry recently found it on YouTube and sent a link my way. THANKS MIKE!!!
Once again the All Star Team does a brilliant job of exposing our sport to a larger audience. In the process they demonstrate just how great they are. How often do you see an entire performance with absolutely NO misses?? They look very professional and represent our sport very well. Great job guys!
Note: The All Star Team isn’t introduced until about 4m50s into the video.
This is easily the most original jump rope video we’ve seen yet. This is the trailer for “Welcome to Jumptown”. “Jumptown” is a film by USAJR All Star and current Grand National Champion Lee Reisig. Lee has been called the “Mad Scientist of Jump Rope”, and for good reason… the guy is a jump rope genius. He is bursting with creativity, which should be readily apparent once you watch his video.
I’m very impressed at the level of effort and dedication that went into making “Jumptown”. Lee says that it took “about 2 years” to make. The actual movie is 2 hours 4 minutes long, with about 20 minutes of bonus materials. It not only stars Lee, but several other jumpers as well including Peter Caracciolo, Bryan Diebels, Karen Hay, Jeanette Hronek, Shane Winsor, Ali Reisig, Kelsy Moe, and Calli Wold. What a cast! If you are interested in purchasing a copy you can contact Lee via email (yessuzzy123@hotmail.com) for more information. I can’t wait to see it. I’m sending off for my copy tomorrow.
Nice work, Lee, and congrats on the win at Nationals!
There are only a handful of professional rope skippers in the world, and Peter Nestler of Rope Masters is one of them. That’s right, you heard me, he makes a living jumping rope. We should all be so lucky. Actually, luck isn’t much of a factor here. Peter’s success is the direct result of a lot of hard work and a drive to constantly get better at everything he does. Peter may just be the hardest working jumper in the world. In the coming school year he will be going on a tour of nearly 350 schools! He has produced 2 jump rope DVDs and is working on his 3rd. And if that doesn’t wear you out, he recently started the worlds first jump rope video podcast.
I first met Peter in the early 90’s and got to jump with him on several occasions at camps and got to see him compete and win in international competitions. He’s easily one of the best single rope jumpers in the world and is a lot of fun to watch. When I discovered earlier this year that Peter had “gone pro” I had to check out what he was up to, so I ordered a copy of Revolve.
Revolve is a lot of fun to watch. In it Peter teams up with some of the top jumpers in the world to demonstrate some pretty amazing rope skipping. On a stop in Juneau, Kaitlyn Hart and Nicole Lim jump with Peter to demonstrate some Chinese Wheel. Trent Cunningham (Peter’s old jumping partner) also stops by to demo some Traveler.
By far my favorite section of the DVD is when Peter visits Houston to join forces with USA Jump Rope All Stars Nick Woodard and Jeff Mauss. Nick and Jeff show off a little of their pairs single rope freestyle which has always been amazing. The Double Dutch section that follows is also worth watching for some one-of-a-kind stunts that I won’t spoil for you. Just watch it. Peter is also joined by a unique cast of characters including strong man Dennis Rogers (rips phone books in half and bends metal with his bare hands) and extreme unicyclist Dan Heaton (can jump steps and park benches while riding). It’s all very entertaining to watch.
Revolve is exclusively a performance video. There is no attempt to break down or teach any of the tricks contained in this DVD. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn from it. I’ve watched several sections in slow motion to see how Peter pulls off some of his single rope tricks, and I’ve picked up some valuable information from that. I’m currently working on a rope release called the Mamba that Peter does with ease, and being able to watch him do it in slow motion is extremely helpful. In fact my favorite special feature on the DVD is the “Slow Motion Gallery.” For me that was worth the price of the DVD alone. If you are looking for more traditional instruction on how to jump rope, Peter has a Single Rope Skills DVD and is currently working on a new Double Dutch instructional video. Also, be sure to subscribe to his podcast on iTunes in which he teaches 2 new tricks on every episode.
Here is a preview of Revolve. I highly recommend you pick up your copy today.
The Grand Central Station may just be the hardest double dutch trick ever invented. Here is a video of it submitted by USA Jump Rope All Star Jeff Mauss. The Grand Central Station is the last trick in this sequence. You’ll know it when you see it. It is an amazing trick.
The jumpers are Jeff Mauss, Nick Woodard, Lee Reisig, Mike Fry, and Billy Jackson. The turners are Shane Winsor and Lisa Brown. Great trick guys!
Here’s another amazing video of the USA Jump Rope All Star team. This looks like it was taken in 2006 at the world championships. This video has some of the coolest tricks in it, including a three-person double dutch trick called “Gears” and an unbelievable five-person double dutch trick called “Grand Central Station.” It’s so cool to see all of the tricks that have evolved from the original “Subway.”
The 2006 USA Jump Rope National Championship will air this Sunday April 22nd, 2007 on ESPN2 at 11:00 a.m. Central/Standard Time. If you have never seen a jump rope tournament before, prepare to be amazed. This is an amazing single rope and double dutch competition that will display the best talent from across the United States.
Here is a sample of what you can expect to see. This video is of Grand National Champion and USA Jump Rope All Star Adam Pang performing his single rope freestyle routine. Adam is an amazing athlete and his routine is flawless.
The folks at Spout got a chance to sit down with director Stephanie Johnes and USAJR All Star and World Champion Tim Martin to talk about their new Jump Rope documentary Doubletime. This video was taken the same day that Doubletime premiered at SxSW. They even got some footage of Tim jumping and showing off his amazing single rope freestyle skills.
Today we have a special treat… an interview with USA Jump Rope All Star Nick Woodard. For those that don’t know, Nick is a superstar in the Jump Rope world. He is a three-time USA Jump Rope Grand National Champion and current member of the USA Jump Rope All Star Team. Last year Nick became the first person in the world to do a trick called “The Money Maker” (also referred to as a Kamikaze Frog), and he has graciously answered some questions for us about landing this insanely difficult trick. Also, be sure to check out the video of “The Money Maker” after the invterview. A big THANKS to National Champion and All-Star Lee Reisig for providing the video.
UPDATE 4/17/07: This trick was incorrectly called a Kamikaze Frog in the original post. There is an informal tradition in the world of jump rope that the first person to land a trick gets to name it. Nick won a $100 bet as a result of landing this trick and therefore it has been dubbed “The Money Maker.” Thanks to Lee Reisig for bringing this discrepancy to our attention.
JRV: When and where was this video taken?
NW: The video was taken at the North Carolina Workshop hosted by the Bouncing Bulldogs during the first weekend in November. It was a Saturday evening.
JRV: Was this the first time you landed the Kamikaze Frog? NW: This was the second time I landed the trick.
JRV: In total, how many times have you landed it? NW: I have landed it two times.
JRV: How long had you been working on this trick before you finally made it? NW: I had been working on the trick for about a year and a half off and on not hard all the time but when ever I felt it I went for it.
JRV: What was the secret to landing it? Do you have any pointers for others that are working on it? NW: The secret to that trick is there really isn’t a secret. I muscle that whole trick through. It would be a little bit easier if I were to use my legs to get me a boost up but I use all my upper body which is the way I do it. Well for others trying to do it just push off hard and turn the rope extremely fast, that’s what I have to think about.
JRV: Did anyone else give you any pointers that helped you land it? NW: Jeff (Mauss) has helped me with the trick. He tells me where my legs are and if I need to keep them in some more or if I need to spin the rope faster, so he has been a big help for that trick.
JRV: I know a few people have been working on this trick. Are you the first person to make it? NW: I am the first person to be able to land this trick in the world.
JRV: Do you know if anyone else has been able to do it? NW: Nobody to my knowledge has ever really tried the trick or even thought about it.
JRV: Do you think this is the hardest trick you’ve ever done?
NW: This is by far the hardest trick I have ever done. Once I did it I was really excited but hurt at the same time, I hurt my wrist but it was all worth it.
JRV: Are you working on any tricks that you haven’t been able to do yet? If so, what are they? NW: As of right now I’m working on a trick called the “death wish”. I have gotten close to it but not landed it yet. Lee (Reisig) from Summerwind came up with it but neither one of us have been able to get it. The trick is a double under A.S. frog. You jump your Double Under A.S. and land in a frog. I have gotten close just haven’t hit it just yet but give me a little more time I will get it.
JRV: Do you plan on putting this in your freestyle routine this year or is it too difficult to try in competition? NW: I do plan to put it in my routine. I have to get more consistent at it but the second I can do it all the time it will be in there.
JRV: Is this your new favorite trick? If not, what is your favorite? If it is, what was your previous favorite trick? NW: I would say that yes that is my favorite trick because that is one I had been working on for a long time and I finally got it. So any trick that I finally get after a lot of work that is my new favorite trick. My previous favorite trick would have to be my back flip with a full twist with a rope. Nobody can do that trick right now so I love being able to do those type of tricks. It’s a big crowd pleaser.
JRV: In the video, you do a belch frog immediately after landing the Kamikaze frog. Was that planned or was it an accident? Can you describe what happened at the end? NW: At the end yes I did do a belch because I was on my way down and I didn’t have enough balance to stay up right so I needed to get another trick so I wouldn’t just fall so a belch was the only thing I could think of at the time. It wasn’t planned but it added a nice little ending to it I thought.
JRV: What was it like to land the kamikaze frog for the first time? NW: To land the kamikaze frog the first time was amazing. I actually did it at worlds. I was in the back with Jeff (Mauss) and Shaun (Hamilton) and they remembered me trying it a while back and they were like “come on Nick you got it”. So I went at it for about 20 min and on one of my final tries I hit it. There were a lot of people in the back from other countries watching and they all saw it and applauded. It was awesome. It was funny because the competition was going on at the same time so I hope we weren’t to loud.
Here is an awesome routine from the Summerwind Skippers at the 2006 USA Jump Rope Championships at Disney World. Kelsy Moe, Shane Winsor, Calli Wold, and Lee Reisig won the Grand National Championship in double dutch pairs freestyle with this routine. This same foursome also won the Grand National Championship in 2005 for the same event. Summerwind team member Lee Reisig is also a member of the USA Jump Rope All Star team.
“The Bulldogs won a total of 48 of 66 possible gold medals, 35 silver medals, 24 bronze medals and 21 fourth-place ribbons — as well as first place in both the large and small Team Show. The top four finishers in each event qualify to advance to the next level, and 43 Bulldog team members won the right to compete in the USA Jump Rope National Championships in Orlando, Fla., June 22-24.”
The article is accompanied by a couple of pictures from the tournament. One picture is of All-Stars Tim Martin and Mary Hunter Benton doing a frog during the pairs single rope freestyle event in which they won a gold medal. The other picture is of Suzanne Cash of SkipSations as she prepares to start her single rope freestyle routine.
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