Telegraphing Jumps | Golden Skate

Telegraphing Jumps

hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Hi. I would like to know what is and is not a telegraphed jump. Can someone give me YouTube links to examples of telegraphed jumps and exemplary jumps with absolutely no telegraphing?
Also, if a skater has a habit of telegraphing, how do they fix it?
Thank you!
 
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evangeline

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Elena Liashenko was well known for her VERY telegraphed lutz jump. Just watch the opening jumping pass of this video and you will understand what exactly telegraphing a jump looks like: http://youtu.be/qP5gh-Scfgg

That's a rather extreme example, though. Here is an example of a skater telegraphing her jumps, but to a rather less extreme (but still quite obvious) extent: http://youtu.be/Np9fDeX8vTQ

An exemplary example of a (fabulous) non-telegraphed jump can be seen at 0:22 of this video: http://youtu.be/Qnfn1LBVB-A
 

hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Thank you, evangeline, for directing me to those clips. It was really easy to see that there was absolutely no loss of speed or break before Ilia's triple-axel because the billowy white shirt indicated his blazing speed, but with the bad examples, it was not so easy to feel the loss of speed before the takeoff from the camera footage. In fact, if I didn't know to look for it, I would not have known it was there. I wish jumps would be shown on television from the 90-degree angle to make it more apparent.
I guess you must be very knowledgable to spot telegraphing on camera.
 

evangeline

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Thank you, evangeline, for directing me to those clips. It was really easy to see that there was absolutely no loss of speed or break before Ilia's triple-axel because the billowy white shirt indicated his blazing speed, but with the bad examples, it was not so easy to feel the loss of speed before the takeoff from the camera footage. In fact, if I didn't know to look for it, I would not have known it was there. I wish jumps would be shown on television from the 90-degree angle to make it more apparent.
I guess you must be very knowledgable to spot telegraphing on camera.

You don't have to be particularly knowledgeable to spot telegraphing on camera--it's rather obvious, actually! A major part of telegraphing can indeed be the loss of speed entering into a jump, but it's not that difficult to spot because the skater simply spends an excessive amount of time holding a position setting up for a jump (i.e. doing nothing, no transitional connecting moves, no interpretation, no choreography, etc). So when you see a skater holding a position (e.g. one foot on the ice with free leg dangling awkwardly) down half the length of the rink....that's telegraphing. It's sometimes accompanied by the skater staring down at the ice, or a clear significant backward glance (often before entering into a lutz), etc.

What makes Ilia's jump in that video so good is that it literally seems to come out of nowhere, with blazing speed and little set-up time. Spread eagle-BAM!-axel, right with the music and with an element of surprise especially if you've never seen it before. The minimal set-up time with the spread eagle makes the jump a lot more difficult than if Ilia spent a quite a bit of time stroking down the rink before the axel....
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Watch Adam Rippon's 3A. Most Ladies still telegraph jumps I think, or at least their intention for jumps is very obvious long before the happening. Many skaters still need long preparation into their jumps but a few are telegraphing their lack of confidence. Missing a jump completely after stalking is often a sorry or funny part of a program.

For non telegraphed jumps, watch Patrick Chan, and from 6.0 era, watch Kurt Browning. Theirs come out of "nowhere" or straight from foot work or some "moves in the field", and immediately into the choreography.

evangeline, that Ilia Kulik's skate is an excellent show of integrated jumps. :thumbsup:
 
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mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
Jeremy Abbott, too, is one to watch for well-integrated elements.

Ladies who telegraph: Carolina Kostner has been known for basically setting up at the other end of the rink and riding, riding, riding the entry. Caroline Z telegraphs her 2A badly.
 

hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Thank you for answering!! I had long wondered what 'telegraphing a jump' exactly meant. It had sounded so mysterious to me. I imagined that telegraphing had some relation to the word 'teleport'---like Star Trek---and so telegraphing was bad teleporting. And it was like, "Well I wonder how one teleports badly on figure skates?" And now I find out it's stalking!
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
To me telegraphing means advanced and sustained notice. It's like doggie pooping, some get the job done with no fuss and some put up a long patience testing show before the actual business, except that a dog makes elaborate moves whereas there is a long period of non action before a telegraphed jump other than cross cuts and slowing glide. :p
 
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mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
It's not always slowly gliding before the element, though (like in Kostner's case). Think of it as announcing "hey, I'm gonna jump now!" (ie, telegraphing my intentions)
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
It's not always slowly gliding before the element, though (like in Kostner's case). Think of it as announcing "hey, I'm gonna jump now!" (ie, telegraphing my intentions)

I didn't say slowly gliding as speed is usually built up with cross cuts into a difficult jump. I said slowing as the longer they hesitate to jump the more they dissipate the speed of the glide.
 

Sasha'sSpins

Medalist
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Country
United-States
I seem to recall Scott Hamilton always pointing out Surya Bonaly's telegraphed jumps-even Irina Slutskaya's although she was a superior skater to Bonaly.
 

lcd

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Holly Cook! Holly Cook! And her triple toe. She looked like she was "folding a napkin" or saying a prayer horizontally before she launched into her triple toe. TELEGRAPH!!!
 
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