I am looking for information on the hand games played with a Chinese jumprope. I used to play with my sister and would like to play them with my daughter now. I, like one other person who left a message, can only remember the first two moves. Any information on where to get the directions would be appreciated.
Boy, we have these wonderful memories of childhood games but not the recollection of how to play them exactly. I fondly recall playing with the stretchy elastic chinese jumprope and tried searching the Internet looking for some direction on how it was done. I found some sort of essay in some forum that had a pretty good description of what I remember the game to be like. Try www.streetplay.com/discus/messages/75/77.html. It covers the In, Out, Side, On, Scissors, and then “smallies and Widies which I don’t think rings a bell with me.
We used to play “chinese jump rope” too in the 60s at our elementary school in northern British Columbia, Canada. I can’t for the life of me remember what we called this game but it certainly wasn’t “chinese jump rope”. The rhyme we used with it was a version of “Flying Purple People Eater”, not the whole song. It started like this: One-eyed one-horned Flying purple people eater Bees wear Don’t stare Flying purple people eater The game was played in the manner that Eirene from Australia described. If anyone knows the rest of the verse I’d love to hear it.
we also did the chinese jumprope as MISSISSIPPI with “M” as both feet inside the elastic, “I” as each foot outside the elastic, “S” as one foot inside the elastic and one foot outside the elastic and the second “S” as the other side, I outside again, repeat the double “S”, “I” again and then the “P” was both feet on the elastic (twice for the double “P”)and then outside again for the last “I” so as we jumped it was “in, out, side, side, out, side, side, out, on, on, out” then we would do the cross over of the elastic so that our feet were inside a diamond shape and you had to jump up and extricate your feet landing outside the elastic. once you did that, you moved on to the next level. it started easy on ankles, then to knees, then thighs and then it started over as doubles (bouncing twice at each position). As the game continued you might be bouncing 4 or 5 times each time you did a jump leaving you breathless, especially when you got to thighs. i can’t even imagine trying to get my body to jump and bounce like it did in the fourth grade. i’d surely pass out now. I have been thinking about the game recently and wanted to get one for my neice. I never made one out of rubber bands. I had a store bought one that was a pink and blue pattern. Do they still exist? I’d love to get her one. glad to know someone besides me still rmembers them.
Eirene, you might want to check out a book called “Anna Banana: 101 Jump-Rope Rhymes” compiled by Joanna Cole. It doesn’t seem to have the rhyme you’re looking for, but it has a list of further sources at the back. Chinese jump rope — I too am racking my brains trying to remember how we played. When I saw one in a toy store it brought back great memories and I bought one for my daughter… unfortunately those memories are very fuzzy. I think I remember playing a game where you stood on one foot and twisted the two sides of the elastic around your other ankle in various configurations (Cat’s Cradle for the feet?) and said a rhyme at the same time. I think one of the rhymes was M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I. By the last “I” in the rhyme you had to have your foot extricated from the elastics. Can anyone else add to this?
The way I always played Chinese jumprope was “In, out, side by side, on, in, out.” In- jump with both legs inside of the ropes. Out- jump out of the ropes. Side by side- Straddle one side of the rope (with one leg on each side of it), then straddle the other side of the rope. On- step on one side of the rope with each foot. out-jump out to one side. If you did it without messing up, then the rope gets higher, and so on. I was ok at double dutch, I didn’t get to play much because most of the kids I knew didn’t play it. I was GREAT at turning the ropes, though, hehe…
Here are a few I remember that weren’t for clapping, just to sing/say: Have you ever in your life seen the devil with his wife? No I’ve never in my life seen the devil with his wife. Have you eever iver over in your leefe life lofe seen the deevil divil dovil with his weefe wife wofe? No I’ve neever, niver… etc etc. Then there’s anna, banana, banana SPLIT! Which is either for doing the splits or for chinese jumprope… Here’s a funny one you say. There’s also a version of it in the movie The Labyrinth. Person 1: You remind me of a man! 2: What man? 1: The man with the power! 2: What power?? 1: The power of Whoodoo! 2: Who do? 1: You do! 2: I do what!? 1: You remind me of a man!! And on and on… The way I did it, we would keep acting more frustrated as we went on. Another one like that is where one person says “thank you” the other says “you’re welcome” first says “thank you for saying you’re welcome” second says “thank you for saying thank you for saying you’re welcome” and on and on… I also remember the X marks the spot one. You do it on someone’s back to give them the chills. My friends and I LOVED that one, we’d do it over and over hehe… It was something like this: Circle circle, (mark circles on their back) X X, (mark x’s) spider running down your back, (tickle your fingers lightly down their back) Tight squeeze, (squeeze em) cool breeze, (blow on their back) now you’ve got the chillies! Another game is where you say “I won a _____ (whatever) such as: First person: I won a bicycle Second person: I two a bicycle first person: I three a bicycle second: I four a bicycle first: I five a bicycle second: I six a bicycle first: I seven a bicycle second: I eight a bicycle first person: You ATE a bicycle?!?! This works best with an ‘unsuspecting’ person, hehe… My sister made one up where you don’t stop at 8. You say “I one a turner” and you go up to eighteen, so the person says “I eighteen a turner” and you say “You ate Tina Turner!?” heh.
I know some jumprope songs: I like coffee, I like tea. I like the boys and the boys like me. Yes, no, maybe so. Yes, no, maybe so. You keep going, whenever you trip up, whatever answer you were on, that’s the answer to whether the boys like you. Then there’s teddybear. You do whatever it tells you: Teddybear, teddybear, turn around. Teddybear, teddybear, touch the ground. Teddybear, teddybear, jump up high. Teddybear, teddybear touch the sky. We always used the bluebells one to start jumping. If someone didn’t want to jump in, we’d swing the rope back and forth instead of all the way around, and at Over we’d go over. Bluebells, cockleshells, evy, ivy, over! Then we’d start whichever rhyme we were doing. The way I played Chinese jump rope is I just would sing/do: in, out, side by side! On, in, out. Then if you do that without messing up, the people make the rope higher. In is both feet inside the ropes. Out is both feet out of the ropes. Side by side, you jump so your feet are “straddling” (one on each side of) one rope, the you jump up and over so both feet are straddling the other rope. On is one foot on each rope. That’s the hardest part!
I too want the “how to’s” on Chinese Jump Rope, thus leading me here to this web site. I just tried playing with my 10 and 7 year old daughters – the cardboard the rope came on had very basic jumps but can remember it being more involved as a child, I believe Catriona from G.B. is the closest on the moves only too hard to understand what she wrote – only remember that the last move was landing on both elastics as Catriona stated. Hopefully one of us ole timers will remember – more Gingseng . . . . P.S. However, I did impress my girls with my jumps
I am looking for the rules for Chinese Jump Rope. I work for an Elementary School and the girls don’t know the true rules…they make-up their own…please e-mail me if you have or know the true rules… Thanks