Hugo Schwyzer

15 Responses to “In other news…”

1. 1 Lauren
   Jan 31st, 2006 at 2:19 pm

   First, you have to jump. And white boys can’t jump. I’m afraid you’re out of luck.

2. 2 Hugo
   Jan 31st, 2006 at 2:22 pm

   Ouch!

   Oh, I’m jumping just fine. It’s the rhythm bit I’m struggling with, getting the rope’s swing and the jumping to work in synch. Now, if we want to talk about white boys and rhythm…

3. 3 kate.d.
   Jan 31st, 2006 at 2:23 pm

   other than travel back in time and turn into a girl, so then you can just know how to do it without ever really remembering how or when you learned? that seemed to work for me (minue the travelling back in time part, as i didn’t have to do that). it was just one of those mandatory little girls things one learns.

   funny, the strange skills we randomly pick up along the way due to our gender!

4. 4 Mr. Bad
   Jan 31st, 2006 at 2:45 pm

   Heh, white boys and rhythm (Mozart was a “white boy” are wrote some of the most complicated music of his time, while Frank Zappa - another “white boy” - wrote some of the most rhythmically complcated music of modern times), men and jumping rope (tell that to all those boxers), white boys can’t jump (you mean like Larry Bird(sp)?), etc.

   Negative stereotypes anyone? All this stuff sounds like the “girls can’t do math” comments that people used to make back in the 1950s. I’m betting Hugo wouldn’t put up with this kind of thing if we were making such broad-based negative stereotypes women.

5. 5 Jaime
   Jan 31st, 2006 at 3:23 pm

   You’re having problems with rhythm?? Turn your music on while you do it!

6. 6 zuzu
   Jan 31st, 2006 at 3:32 pm

   How are you jumping? One foot, two feet, one after another?

7. 7 bb
   Jan 31st, 2006 at 4:20 pm

   I also learned to jump rope as a white male adult, so I know it can be done. :)

   A few suggestions:

   Don’t actually jump: give the tiniest of hops.
   The rope will fit under your feet if you’re only about an inch off the
   (smooth, clean, level) floor. the higher you try to jump, the more erratic
   everything is and the less successful you’ll be. If you’ve watched boxers
   jump rope, you know the tiny hop I mean - you barely get off the floor.

   start with the rope in one hand, not two
   To get the rhythm down, put both ends of the rope in one
   hand. swing both arms like as normal, and try to get rhythm going.
   You can get both arms and legs going for an extended time and get
   things ‘lined up’ in time because you’re not tripping - the rope
   is going to the side of your feet.

   start with a heavy rope
   The extra inertia will help smooth out bumps. It’s more of a workout,
   but easier to keep moving.

8. 8 Hugo
   Jan 31st, 2006 at 5:20 pm

   bb, thank you — excellent advice! I will look for a heavy rope!

   Zuzu, I’m trying to jump with two feet together. My feet want to come apart, however.

9. 9 Antigone
   Jan 31st, 2006 at 5:23 pm

   To add to a poster above: jump to music, but make sure it has a good, hard beat. If your too focused on the rhythm of the music, you’ll lose concentration. Music makes it more fun, but you could just use a metetron.

10. 10 Deb
    Jan 31st, 2006 at 5:34 pm

    Jumping rope is tricky, but it’s an amazing workout — and it’s a key part of the boxing regimen. I’ve been working with a boxing trainer for a few years (at the Wild Card in Hollywood). It took me a little while before I got the hang of it. Since you’re a runner, just try to take short, tiny steps — going back and forth from foot to foot like a jog in place. Here’s a link to a good site with more tips:

    http://www.rossboxing.com/thegym/thegym26.htm

    Good luck! Boxing is an incredible workout.

11. 11 Hugo
    Jan 31st, 2006 at 5:59 pm

    Thanks for the link, Deb!

12. 12 Lynn Gazis-Sax
    Jan 31st, 2006 at 6:10 pm

    I learned to jump rope by jumping on one foot. Actually, by jumping backwards on one foot. It helped, because every other girl in the entire world could jump rope forwards with both feet a million times before I could do it once, so teaching myself the one-footed way, I felt I was winning at something.

13. 13 zuzu
    Jan 31st, 2006 at 7:45 pm

    Zuzu, I’m trying to jump with two feet together. My feet want to come apart, however.

    I always had more luck with the one-foot-in-front-of-the-other thing. But others have had good tips, including keeping the jumps low, starting with the rope in one hand until you get the rhythm and all that.

    If all else fails, go find some teenage girls doing Double Dutch and be awed.

14. 14 Arwen
    Feb 1st, 2006 at 7:33 pm

    I always had to mutter the little syncopated songs under my breath. Skipping songs straight from the schoolyard.
    (Cinder-ELLA Dressed in YELLA)…

15. 15 Anne
    Feb 5th, 2006 at 2:23 pm

    Ummm…can I recommend starting (or always) jumping rope on the grass and not on the sidewalk or driveway? Jumping up and down on a concrete surface is a really, really rude thing to do to your ankles, knees, and back.

    As far as that goes, everyone else has said what I’d have said if I’d have said it earlier :) so my only other suggestions are:

    1) Start slowly. If you’re not getting the rhythm, start with a slower rhythm.

    2) Practice hopping without the rope if you’re having Foot Issues.

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