Games We Played
as Children
Jump Rope Games
Jump Rope games have always
been popular in countries around the world. One version of a jump rope
game played with rubber bands connected together to make a long rope is
played in many countries, including China (see Rubber Band Jumping), Colombia
(see Resorte-Chicle), and Indonesia (see Lompat Tali).
Rubber Band Jumping
Chen Qiu Rong (Kelly) from
China
Rubber band jumping was popular
in my primary school, which was only for girls. This game can help you
to practice your jumping skills, develop coordination, and also meet lots
of friends.
Rubber-band jumping is a
low cost game. You only need some rubber bands. We looped rubber bands
together tightly until we had a larger one (You can select the length you
like). When we got three persons together, we could start our game.
How We Played? Here's how
to play this special jump rope game:
Two persons stood opposite
each other and extended the rubber band. One player jumped and stood on
one side of the rubber band, carrying the two sides together.
Then she jumped again and
made the two sides separate. Then she jumped again into the middle of the
rubber-band and after that she jumped outside it. If we finish these steps
without any mistakes, we started the next level.
As the game continued, the
level of jumping got higher and higher. There were four jumping levels:
ankle high, knee high, waist high, and under the shoulder. More and more
girls tried to jump and we competed as teams. The game was fun, and I think
it taught us competition and cooperation.
Resorte-Chicle
Jimena Baquero from Colombia
When I was a little girl, I
used to play a very fun game. It was a girls' game; boys never played with
us. We played at school during the break or in my neighborhood in the afternoons.
We spent hours playing it, and we never got tired of it because we had
such a good time.
To play the game, you will
need three or more people. Two players, one in each corner, hold an elastic
band and the rest play. If one of the players loses, she has to change
places with one of the girls who is holding the elastic band.
A player starts by jumping
the elastic at ankle height. Then it is raised to the middle of the leg,
then to the knees, the hips, the waist, the chest, the shoulders, the neck,
and head. In the last level called heaven, the elastic band is held up
with raised arms.
The Steps for this Jump Rope
Game
Players follow these steps:
Jump into the middle of the
elastic band. Open and close your legs three times.
Jump to one side of the
elastic band and step on it. Jump to the other side and do the same.
Jump out of the elastic
band.
Jump from the outside to
the inside and try to take the elastic band with you.
You have to cross the elastic
from the right to the left.
Jump to open and close your
legs three times.
Make a big hop, and try
to keep the elastic band between your legs.
Jump out and go to the next
level.
You have to play like that
until you get to the fifth level, then you can do the same thing but this
time you are not going to use your legs, rather you will use your head.
In the last level (Heaven),
you play with your arms.
Sometimes two or three people
played at the same time. Whoever fell or stepped on the elastic band at
the wrong time lost her turn. I had forgotten how much fun it is to play
this game, and I realize times are changing. We were so creative and innocent;
we had fun in a simple way. You can't compare our old games in those times
with today's games.
Back
to Columbian Index
Lompat Tali
Hasanuddin Rachman from
Indonesia
Rope Jumping is a children's
game of physical perseverance. It requires a piece of rope about 7 feet
long. Any kind of rope of light material can be used to play this game.
A very simple piece of rope can be made from groups of rubber bands notched
together one after another. Nowadays, people still play this game, but
they use a commercially manufactured plastic rope with a handle on each
end. You can buy this kind of rope in most sports stores. The game can
be played individually or in groups.
Individual Game
The player holds the two
ends of the rope with two hands on each side of the body, each at the height
of the shoulders. Then, he or she moves the rope around clockwise and rhythmically.
Just when the rope touches and passes the floor, the player jumps up, either
with one leg or two legs simultaneously. It requires good timing of the
player between the act of jumping and the movement of the rope. The pace
of the rope movement can be controlled, depending on the skill and stamina
of the player. This movement is repeated over and over u until the player
trips over the rope, or when he or she gets tired.
Group Game
Two players hold each end
of the rope, and move the rope in circular motion, either clockwise or
counter-clockwise. The third player jumps over the rope as it passes over
the ground. When the third player trips over the rope, he or she stops
and holds the rope while the other player takes turn. The game can continue
as long as 30 minutes to one hour.
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