There are some key differences between muay thai skipping ropes and western boxing skipping ropes.
And some advantages and disadvantages to muay thai skipping ropes compared to western boxing skipping ropes.
But in Thailand, all gyms use traditional thicker and heavier muay thai skipping ropes at all training sessions, twice per day, six days per week.
If you’re training muay thai you need to spend time at each training session skipping using the muay thai ropes.
Skipping sessions can last up to 30 minutes but if you can handle three rounds before you begin your muay thai technique training, this would be great.
So if you do plan to join a muay thai gym or visit Thailand for some training I would suggest you get familiar with the muay thai skipping ropes and get in some practice on them.
What are Muay Thai Skip Ropes Made Of?
Thai skipping ropes are made from PVC plastic and are heavier and thicker than traditional boxing ropes that are made of leather, cable or wire and the licorice plastic ropes you can find in many gyms.
Compare the thicker green thai rope with the more common licorice boxing rope above.
Thai ropes can be up to 3 times thicker than a normal boxing rope. with thicker handles too.
Advantages of Muay Thai Skip Ropes
Muscular strength and endurance
As the muay thai ropes are heavier they help to develop strength and muscular endurance in the wrist and shoulders.
This is an added benefit to the cardio and leg endurance benefits of skipping.
Developing timing to avoid pain!
As the thai ropes are much thicker and made of PVC plastic then can really snap hard on your toes if you mis-time a jump.
Since muay thai is performed and practiced barefoot, skipping with muay thai ropes is a great way to develop your timing very quickly to avoid pain 😊 So it’s an advantage.
Varied resistance skipping
Skipping with heavier muay thai ropes will make regular skipping much, much easier.
If you can skip for an extended period with a 3 times thicker and heavier rope, then when you go back to regular jump ropes it will feel much easier.
Using heavy rope together with normal weight skipping ropes will allow you to vary your skipping .
This will keep skipping fresh and challenging in the long run as you put in many rounds with the ropes.
What are some Disadvantages?
Difficult to adjust the length
As muay thai ropes are made from PVC it is difficult to shorten the rope and also you will not be able to tie a know in the thick muay thai skipping ropes to adjust length as you can with boxing ropes.
Therefore its advisable to adjust where you grip the handles in order to adjust length of the thai ropes individually.
Cant do as many tricks
Due to the weight of thai ropes and the energy required to make turn them, most of the fancy tricks you see boxers like Floyd Mayweather performing are not as easy with thai ropes and almost impossible for beginners to perform with thick muay thai ropes.
So I think there are some movement and explosive footwork benefits being left on the table here if you just use thick thai ropes alone.
Double unders and other tricks can be much more difficult to do with thicker thai ropes than a normal boxing rope.
Cant really use them just anywhere.
Due to the thick PVC composition of the thai ropes it is advisable to use them only on rubber mats at your home gym or on other non abrasive surfaces.
With a normal boxing rope you can pretty much use them anywhere.
As muay thai ropes are not as commonly found in a lot of sports and fitness shops compared to normal ropes. You probably want to take better care of them and not use them except for on non-abrasive surfaces and rubber mats.
Where Can I get Thai Skipping Ropes?
If you train at a specialized muay thai gym then chances are they will stock the thicker and heavier muay thai skipping ropes and use them in their training sessions.
As these ropes are made in Thailand, if you are visiting Thailand for a vacation or training trip you should be able to find them pretty easily.
Otherwise most of the big name muay thai brands such as Twins will be able to ship the ropes to your location if you order from them directly or off of Amazon.
Final Thoughts
There are definitely advantages to using thicker thai ropes and some disadvantages as well.
I feel all these are equalized when you use both ropes together in your training.
They could be on different times or different rounds in a single session.
Overall its great if you can use both ropes to vary the resistance and develop the strength and muscular endurance through the thicker ropes while also improving your footwork utilizing the lighter boxing ropes.
I would highly recommend getting a thicker thai skipping rope and to use this together with normal weight boxing ropes to get the benefits of both worlds.
