Archive for category: Single Rope

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.