Chris Sinagoga | Monday, April 24, 2017 at 5:00PM Jumping with your feet together can definitely be a hassle sometimes. I distinctly remember a Summer 2014 incident where Jesse Junkin just about ran out of the gym frustrated after a few missed attempts of double unders w/ foam in the feet.
The concept of blocking movement is set in place so you can go faster and more smoothly without having to worry about your position; the blocking keeps the position good for you.
When looking at jump ropes, we honestly could not care less about your ability to make a rope go under your feet; that point needs to be clear. What we do care about is your ability to leave the ground and land back down repeatedly in a good position so you will be set up for both safety and longer endurance. For this reason, we require feet together on jump ropes - it forces the feet to stay straight and knees to track out (or at least not in). Have a look at our 8:30 session.
Rachael Kroll, bless her, has put up with a very interesting week capped by arriving at the doctor's office at 5:45 am on Friday only to find out her surgery to remove bunions on her feet would have to be pushed back because the doctor basically slept in. So while she is still waiting for the surgery, I allowed her to jump with feet apart because her bunions hurt to the touch. She tried to keep the knees out and still could not met the standard. Sabal and Shakes were able to keep feet together and their knees reflected it.
Stay patient peeps! This is a long process and a difficult habit to break (Mr. Carey!) It will be more efficient in the long term.
blocking movement, feet, feet together, jump rope, katie shakes, knees, kroll, sabal in Coach's Corner 