"Happiness is to insist on doing something well." Ma Jiajun, an 18-year-old rope skipping boy, said. In the New Year of the Year of the Dragon, Ma Jiajun received a special gift - a Guinness World Records certification. It says "Most consecutive jumps with four swings (male)." Wi

“Happiness is to insist on doing something well.” Ma Jiajun, an 18-year-old rope skipping boy, said.

In the New Year of the Year of the Dragon, Ma Jiajun received a special gift - a Guinness World Records certification. It says "Most consecutive jumps with four swings (male)." With talent and hard work, Ma Jiajun broke the Guinness World Record (82 times) previously held by Japanese player Kazuki Uzawa by jumping rope 86 times with four consecutive swings.

What makes Ma Jiajun even more praised is that this is the second time he has broken the Guinness World Record. In 2022, he broke the 35-year-old world record of "the most consecutive three-swing rope skipping (male)" with 701 times. The record holder is also Japanese player Kazuki Uzawa (423 times).

What are three-shake and four-shake skipping ropes? "It means shaking three times for a jump, shaking four times for a jump." Ma Jiajun explained that the four-way jump has higher requirements for hand speed and bounce.

Seeing that the same person holds the Guinness World Records for three-shake and four-shake rope skipping, Ma Jiajun also wants to challenge and work hard to keep these two records in China.

In order to challenge the Guinness World Record for the quadruple jump, Ma Jiajun prepared for half a year. Warm-up, ball-shaking jump, rhythm jump, waist and abdominal strength training, leg training, physical endurance training, 8 hours of training every day are Ma Jiajun's "must-do tasks".

When he first tried the quadruple jump, he could only jump more than 50 times in a row. In order to continuously improve his hand speed and jumping ability, he increased the weight of the hand-cranked ball and held a 10-pound dumbbell in each hand when practicing box jumping. In addition, there are 20 sets of four-swing jump exercises every day, each set of 100.

For rope skipping athletes, it is very important to balance the strength of the left and right hands. In daily life, Ma Jiajun will intentionally use both hands at the same time.

Ma Jiajun received the Guinness World Record certification for four-swing rope skipping. Photo provided by the interviewee

National champion of individual figures in the finals of the National Rope Skipping League, champion of 30-second single-swing rope skipping, champion of consecutive three-swing rope skipping, champion of 2×30-second double-swing relay of World Rope Skipping Championships... In addition to challenging the Guinness World Record, in 2016 By 2023, Ma Jiajun has won 56 championships in domestic and international competitions, and has been selected for the Chinese national rope skipping team for three consecutive years.

The beautiful report card made many people marvel at Ma Jiajun’s talent in rope skipping. But in his opinion, talent and hard work are equally divided, and hard work is more important than talent.

When he was 7 years old, Ma Jiajun saw fancy rope skipping for the first time at school and was deeply attracted. At that time, the coach who went to school to perform rope skipping was not optimistic about Ma Jiajun, who could only do two or three consecutive jumps in the single swing jump. Ma Jiajun, who likes to skip rope, has been practicing for half a year with his grandma and father. When he saw the coach again, he was impressed by Ma Jiajun's progress.

Seeing his child’s talent and love for rope skipping, his father Ma Defu sent Ma Jiajun to a professional rope skipping club in Jilin City and began a life of professional training. In order to better accompany his children's training and growth, Ma Defu gave up his job and devoted himself to spending time with his children.

Starting from elementary school, he goes to school in the morning and does rope skipping training in the afternoon and evening. This is Ma Jiajun’s schedule that he has insisted on for many years. The coach found that Ma Jiajun's unique advantages in rhythm, endurance and coordination were very suitable for practicing three consecutive rock jumps, so he suggested that he make three consecutive rock jumps a key training item.

From being fond of skipping when he was young, to being tired from training and suffering from hypoxia and vomiting, persisting in boring training, constantly challenging himself, and winning championships in competitions... Ma Jiajun said that the happiness and confidence in growing up were brought to him by skipping. .

In recent years, under the influence and leadership of Ma Jiajun, more and more local teenagers in Jilin City like to skip rope. After seeing Ma Jiajun's success, many parents also want their children to learn rope skipping professionally, hoping that it will help them get into higher education in the future.

“As a niche sport, rope skipping can give you extra points in the high school entrance examination, but not in the college entrance examination.” Ma Defu often explained to the parents around him. As a parent, Madford has also considered letting his children choose a sports program that is conducive to the college entrance examination."But the child likes skipping the most." Madford supported the child's choice.

Because he spends more time on rope skipping training, Ma Jiajun’s academic performance is not outstanding. In Ma Defu's view, the most important thing is a suitable way for children to grow and become successful. It is impossible for every child to be an "academic master". Madford said that professional training in rope skipping will be of great benefit to children in choosing a sports major in college, and the confidence and happiness gained in this sport can benefit children throughout their lives.

In the past year, Ma Jiajun has been invited to participate in many variety shows and rope skipping promotion activities. In Ma Jiajun's view, participating in these programs and activities can not only gain exposure to the world and gain knowledge, but also promote the sport of rope skipping. He hopes that more and more people can enjoy health and happiness in the simple and easy sport of skipping.

Ma Jiajun rarely gets injured in training and games. He said that you must fully warm up and perform auxiliary exercises before jumping rope, and stretch afterward, so as to avoid or reduce sports injuries. At the same time, practice and train according to the correct requirements.

“Optimistic, cheerful, loves to laugh, and has a good attitude”, the teachers and coaches around Ma Jiajun said of him. During training, when he made mistakes or things didn't go well, he would not stop to get anxious or sigh, but would continue to practice and look for breakthroughs. After training, Ma Jiajun likes to sleep the most. He said: "You can fall asleep when you fall down, and you will be full of energy when you wake up."

Ma Jiajun will also be nervous before every game. He patted his thigh repeatedly to relax his muscles and heart. Ma Jiajun said: "Past results will not be a pressure on you. Every time you compete, just go all out and leave no regrets."

In the new year, Ma Jiajun is preparing for the college entrance examination and the 2024 Asian Rope Skipping Championships. In addition, he has a new goal: to continue to work hard and challenge the Guinness World Record for the five-rock jump.

China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Wang Peilian Source: China Youth Daily

Source: China Youth Daily