To turn double dutch evenhandedly is essential.
There is no rhythm without it. The rope should
be clothes line with heavy wires in it not the
cheap lightweight kind. Tie the two ends parrallel
in a knot so that the line now doubled in half.
Person A grasps the knotted end in one hand and
the halfway end (knotting optional) in the other
hand and rolls them up around her fists. Person B
steps inside the rope and backs up with the
doubled rope around her waist until the rope is
taut. B must be perfectly centered. B then
grasps the double rope emerging from her waist
sides with each hand in order to turn. The length
is adjusted by the number of rolls around the
fists. Beginners start to turn by alternating
their hands up and down. Eventually, the turners
will be moving their hands in circles that move
inward from the top. The tops of the ropes should
alternately hit their apex at the same height and
hit the pavement in a steady rhythm. The test for
double handedness is to look upside down at the
turner in question. As previously mentioned, foot
patting, singing and hip swinging go a long way.
More advanced techniques include “hot-pepper”
very fast turning and turning in the reverse from
the top outward. Turning TOO slow is a crime and
makes it impossible to jump. To get into the rope,
stand with your strong side next to a turner.
When her closest hand goes up, leap with both feet
onto the spot where the ropes hit the ground and
start jogging in place. Moving your hands in and
out helps get the feel for entering the rope.
“Footsies” is jumping with both feet on the ground
simultaneously. Feet can also criss cross while
doing footsies. “Jack-be-nimble” is bounding up in
the air as if jumping single. Turning around 180
degrees involves hopping on the same foot twice
while turning. Bending down and touching the
ground while jumping is another advanced
technique. There are master techniques like doing
cartwheels and stuff into the rope, but let’s
stick to basics. Keep your heels, knees and hands
close into your body center. As you develop speed,
economy of motion becomes such that the feet
barely come up 2″ from the ground when the rope
passes under and the body and head become almost
still. The best way to count after all the songs
have run out and the champs are still jammin is
“ten,twen,thir, fort, fift, sixt, sevnt, eight,
nint, 1-ten, twen, thir……2-ten……3-ten”
and so on… ‘sixt seven eight nine” are
syncopated with the six and the eight being eighth
notes and the seven and nine being dotted quarter
notes. (Help on the music notation) That is the
West Philly style from the 60’s and 70’s. Enjoy!