# Do you remember how to skip? Prove it! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 6, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179 "2023-12-06T14:05:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/21 "2023-12-06T20:27:05Z")
All you “no” folk must not have young grandkids! Just on Thanksgiving we were walking to a playground and my 8 yr old started skipping, so I joined her. It was never a question of whether I knew how, just - given all my ankle and hip issues - how WELL I could skip or for HOW LONG! A few skips was plenty! It is a pretty high impact activity. Next question - anyone gallop recently? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/22 "2023-12-06T20:30:06Z")
I still skip. My coworker caught me at it once and expressed shock - not surprise, shock. I was like YEAH IM SKIPPING. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/23 "2023-12-06T20:47:46Z")
I know _how_ to skip; I just cannot do it. Also cannot run. Nor walk much more than a kilometer. Skipping is one the three natural gaits for a human. You don’t have to learn how. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/24 "2023-12-06T23:05:18Z")
I started CrossFit a few years back. Turns out they do a lot of skipping, including some of the fancy steps boxers use to train. With much practice, I once again became mediocre at it. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/25 "2023-12-06T23:23:32Z")
Yeah.I can still do it, I just press this button. [![](https://cdn-icons-png.flaticon.com/512/6398/6398909.png) ](https://cdn-icons-png.flaticon.com/512/6398/6398909.png) (someone had to do it) ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/26 "2023-12-06T23:26:26Z")
Yes I can still skip. I do it occasionally while working out. However, I am on crutches with a fractured fibula head so I won’t be skipping for quite some time. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/27 "2023-12-06T23:40:20Z")
Within the past month, I skipped down the hallway at school, as a joke response to something a student said (I can’t remember exactly what it was). It seemed to amuse them. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/28 "2023-12-07T00:04:40Z")
My seven-year-old grandson and I skipped our way across a parking lot just on Monday. He’s better at it than I am. But it’s good aerobic exercise for us both. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/29 "2023-12-07T00:23:56Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Damn Skippy! That freaked me out a bit. Actually more than a bit. I was medicating and picked up my phone and read your comment. My gf’s best friend for some reason has always called me Skippy. No idea why. She’s cool. For just a few seconds I thought you were her. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/30 "2023-12-07T01:01:49Z")
Yes can and intermittently do. Even though they are all grown now I still enjoy embarrassing my children in public. They won’t skip with me though … ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/31 "2023-12-07T01:25:09Z")
Of course I can. You need to start with a very thin, flat stone, no smaller than a quarter and no wider than 2" or so in diameter. Any larger and you won’t get a proper spin. Hold the rock in your dominant hand parallel to the water and with your index finger wrapped around it so that when you throw it the rock will sort of “roll” down the length of your finger giving it the spin needed to skip across the water. Keep the arc of your throw parallel or perhaps a few degrees above parallel to the water and then throw using a sweeping motion, releasing the rock at the last moment by extending your indext finger. If you do it right the rock will spin on the x-axis as it travels in a straigh-ish line across the water. When gravity does it’s thing and the rock impacts water, the angle should be such that it will ricochet several times before finally succumbing to gravity and friction and sinking into the drink. That’s how I skip. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/32 "2023-12-07T01:53:33Z")
I’m pretty sure I can. However, I’m absolutely sure I shouldn’t try, and the physical therapist who’s trying valiantly to prevent me from needing a hip or knee replacement in the next few years would almost certainly agree. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/33 "2023-12-07T02:16:08Z")
Oh, and I’m also completely incapable, if I see a hopscotch drawn on the sidewalk, of just walking past it. One time, on my way to an arts festival, someone had drawn a hopscotch that went up past 1000, on the way to the festival. I arrived exhausted. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/34 "2023-12-07T02:34:14Z")
Yes. No problem coordination-wise. But I was very happy that my bed was there to collapse on after the third step, and I’m not sure how I would have stopped otherwise. Anything that stresses my lower back is a struggle, and I will probably pay dearly for that tomorrow morning. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/35 "2023-12-07T02:55:52Z")
No issue here. I have a 9- and 7-year old, though, so that keeps me relatively spry. It’s never occurred to me that this was something one forgets, so I learned something today. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/36 "2023-12-07T03:15:34Z")
My mother forgot how to get up off the ground, and had to ask me to help her relearn it when she tried to take an exercise class involving getting down onto and up from mats on the ground. She was in her 70’s at the time. I’m in my 70’s now, but pretty good at getting up off the ground, whether it’s floor or field – but then, I generally at a minimum do that at least a couple of times a day, and most days a lot more often. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/37 "2023-12-07T04:42:54Z")
Let’s see, the left leg does a forward aerial half turn every alternate step, right? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/38 "2023-12-07T04:57:35Z")
Tried it just now. Was able to skip just fine but now my ankles are mad at me. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/39 "2023-12-07T05:13:55Z")
Early to mid 50s and just did it without issues, both remembering how and physically being able to pull it off. I skipped often with my young relatives so I’ve done it plenty as an adult. If they gave out skipping achievement awards, I’d at least have an adult participation ribbon but I tend to think I’d be in the gold or silver medal range. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179/40 "2023-12-07T20:25:38Z")
Early 60s - do it all the time. I coach little kids in athletics, and it’s a good exercise for warm-ups, and also for some long jump technique. I can still perform the ‘this is how you do it’ example, but I do admit that if I have an older athlete in attendance, I defer the demonstration (‘Here’s one I prepared earlier’). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-how-to-skip-prove-it/994179.md?page=3)