Have you given up hope of ever being able to recognize jumps because
every description you have ever seen describes the jumps in terms of
inside edges, outside edges, free legs, etc.? (e.g salchow - " A jump
taking off backward from an inside edge and landing in a backward
outside edge of the opposite skate.") When you read a definition
like that do you say to yourself, "Geez, I can barely tell an inside
edge from an outside edge when the skater is in a stationary position.
Never mind when they are cruising across the ice at 20 miles per hour
while constantly changing directions and edges and feet!"
Well, I felt the same way a few years ago but I set out bound and determined to be able to recognize all the jumps by all the elite skaters. Armed with several books filled with those vaguely helpful technical descriptions, my VCR with a slow-motion feature, and lots of patience, I was able to achieve my goal. The first thing I did was to throw out all of those definitions based on take-off edges. I cut it down to basics - terms that any layperson can understand. Terms like swinging legs and picking legs - descriptions based on things an untrained eye can actually see while the skater is jumping in real-time.
Here is the result. What follows is my "Guide to Jump
Recognition"
It includes:
This is how I learned. I have been in ice skates a total of maybe five hours in my entire life. I never had a lesson. So if I can learn to recognize jumps then you can too! In fact, after becoming 100% comfortable with recognizing jumps using this method, I found myself able to actually notice inside edges and outside edges and appreciating all of the in-between steps, etc. as well.
Part 1: Jump Descriptions
These descriptions are all based on a skater who rotates counter clockwise (i.e. the majority of skaters). For clockwise jumpers, replace "left" with "right" and "right" with "left" Note that all jumps are landed on the right leg (left leg for clockwise jumpers). (Be sure to see the Cheat Sheets below in Part 4)
TOE LOOP - Skater skates backwards. Keeps his right leg on the ice. Puts his left leg behind him and picks the ice with his left toe.
FLIP - Skater skates backwards. Keeps his left leg on the ice. Puts his right leg behind him and picks the ice with his right toe.
LUTZ -. Skater skates backwards. Keeps his left leg on the ice. Puts his right leg behind him and picks the ice with his right toe.
OK, don't panic. I know what you are thinking - I described the flip the SAME way. (Technically, the takeoff for a flip is
on the left inside edge and for the lutz it is on the left outside edge but I promised you - no edge talk…) However, almost every skater needs that VERY LONG backwards glide on the left leg usually into a corner of the rink for the lutz jump.
You won't see that VERY LONG backward glide for the flip. (WARNING: Some skaters don't
need that VERY LONG takeoff glide. That's OK. Ignore them for now.
Wait until you get very comfortable recognizing jumps before you
tackle those skaters. But believe me, in time you will be able to
differentiate a flip from a lutz even without the telltale long
setup.)
AXEL - Skater skates forwards. Keeps his left leg on the ice and swings his right from back to front while jumping up. There are no toes picked into the ice for this jump. It is the easiest jump to recognize because it is the only jump that takes off from a forward position.
SALCHOW - Skater skates backwards. Keeps his left leg on the ice and swings his right leg from back to front while jumping up. There are no toes picked into the ice for this jump. (Note: Some skaters keep their swinging leg on the ice rather than lifting it up and swinging it over the ice surface.)
LOOP - Skater skates backwards. Keeps both feet on the ice
(right foot crossed behind the left foot) while gliding backward.
Then the skater seems to just jump into the air from both feet.
(Actually the skater is getting the power only from his right leg but
it looks like he jumps from both feet.)
You need a VCR with a slow-motion feature. Familiarize yourself with
the pause, play, rewind, and slo-mo buttons
Step 1: Get out a tape of your favorite skater's long program.
Step 2: Determine if your skater is a counter clockwise
rotator or a clockwise rotator.
Get out the corresponding cheat sheet from the section below.
Step 3: Turn off the sound on your TV so you can't hear the
commentator identifying the jumps.
Step4: Play the tape at the normal speed until you get to the
first jump. Watch the jump looking for the telltale signs enumerated
in the previous section. Pause the tape right after the skater lands.
Did you catch any of the telltale signs? Were you able to narrow it
down at all? If not, rewind the tape to the start of the jump and
watch it again in slow motion. Were you able to notice any of the
discerning characteristics this time narrowing it down to at least
1-2 jumps? Keep pausing and rewinding and watching in slow motion
until you think you know what jump it is. Then turn up the sound
and let the commentator tell you what jump it is. Were you right?
If not, review my layperson's description for the given jump and
look at the cheat sheet. Now watch the jump again looking for the
discerning characteristics of that jump.
Step 5: Repeat step four for every jump in the skater's
long program.
Step 6: Now do the same for different skaters including at
least one skater who rotates clockwise.
| CHEAT SHEET FOR COUNTER CLOCKWISE SKATERS | |||
| JUMP | LEG ON THE ICE | "PICKING/SWINGING" LEG | NOTES |
| TOE LOOP | Right | Left kicking leg/picking toe | |
| FLIP | Left | Right kicking leg/picking toe | |
| LUTZ | Left | Right kicking leg/picking toe | Almost always preceded by a LONG backward diagonal glide on left leg from center of the ice into a corner of the rink |
| AXEL | Left | Right leg swings back to front | Only jump where skater is skating forward prior to takeoff |
| LOOP | Both (but technically right leg is takeoff leg) | No swinging leg No kicking leg/picking toe |
Right leg is crossed behind left leg prior to takeoff |
| SALCHOW | Left | Right leg swings back to front | Skater appears to turn in a circle before jumping. |
| CHEAT SHEET FOR CLOCKWISE SKATERS | |||
| JUMP | LEG ON THE ICE | "PICKING/SWINGING" LEG | NOTES |
| TOE LOOP | Left | Right kicking leg/picking toe | |
| FLIP | Right | Left kicking leg/picking toe | |
| LUTZ | Right | Left kicking leg/picking toe | Almost always preceded by a LONG backward diagonal glide on right leg from center of the ice into a corner of the rink |
| AXEL | Right | Left leg swings back to front | Only jump where skater is skating forward prior to takeoff |
| LOOP | Both (but technically left leg is takeoff leg) | No swinging leg No kicking leg/picking toe |
Left leg is crossed behind right leg prior to takeoff |
| SALCHOW | Right | Left leg swings back to front | Skater appears to turn in a circle before jumping. |
I hope this helps you. It worked for me and now I can discern inside edges from outside edges and I even have an intuitive understanding of the technical definitions for jumps given in most figure skating books. Enjoy.
