Hey Red,

I noticed that when you were jumping rope, that your arms were sticking out way too far. I think that the problem is that your jump rope may be too long for you, so you'll need to find out the right length. Using a rope that's at the right length will enable you to train with proper form and thereby allow you to train longer and more efficiently.

To find the right length, start by holding the handles like ski-poles (upside-down in other words), and then take a small step forward with one foot stepping on the rope. Pull the handles up to your chest, and at the right length the tip the handles should come up no farther than the center of your chest (just above your nipples and below your arm pits). Cut a piece off of the rope until it's the right length, but not too short because that leads tp more problems with no chance of going back.

With your technique when skipping the rope, try to keep your elbows close to your body, and your hands should be near your waist. The motion comes from your forearms and the small twirl of your wrists. Your shoulders should stay relaxed, and don't raise your shoulders or the rope will catch on your feet. With your legs keep a slight bend in your knees, and you want to aim to jump just high enough to clear the rope.

As for the "slip bag", use something other than a bicycle helmet. You could fill a tube sock with sand/dirt (weight is important, you don't want it to be too light), or find a small sac (about the size of a boxing glove is ideal) or something else that would be appropriate. Also make sure that the rope that the bag hangs from is long enough that the bag comes to about head level, right now it's too short.

As for the technique of slipping, it's a deliberate movement that's all about timing. You shouldn't be moving your head about haphazardly (or moving around haphazardly for that matter), you want to move your head just out of the way of the bag right before it would hit you in the face. Remember that the bag simulates a punch and therefore you should treat it with as much respect. The bag should move in straight lines simulating a jab or straight right.

Anyways it's getting late over where I am, so I'll pick up where I left off to talk about how to slip properly, some counterpunches and some tips to go along with that.

By the way if boxing is something that you want to do, I recommend that you put in some time to find a qualified person to teach you boxing properly, and introduce you to sparing which is an absolute necessity if you want to make any kind of progress. Although there are no gyms by you locally, you should find out where the closest gym is and see what you would have to do to go there. Aside from the yellow pages, there are some some online directories that can help (boxinggyms.com or boxinghelp.com), but the best thing to do is ask around and talk to people that can show you where you should go.