How to recognize jumps in real time?

Part of the fun of watching figure skating competitions is to recognize jumps, see what jumps are the skaters' favorites, what jumps they struggle with, etc. I can recognize all the jumps in slow motion. However, I have a hard time telling them apart in real time. I went of the US Figure Skating Championships last week and found that, while it's a bit easier to recognize jumps in real life than on TV, it's still hard for me. It might also be because I sat too far away from the rink.

For the type of jumps, the Axel is the easiest one to recognize, because it takes off forward. The loop is also easy for me because of its unique setup. The Lutz is easy-ish to recognize because of its unique edge. The flip and the toe loop are a bit hard to tell apart if I look at it from far away because it's hard to tell which leg is left or right. The Salchow also happens so quickly sometimes that I'm not sure if it's a loop or a salchow. And I will never be able to tell if the second jump is a combination is a loop or a toe loop, because it happens so fast.

For the number of rotations, it's just too fast for me to count. So I just remember how fast it looks. If it looks fast, but not fast enough, it's probably a triple. If it looks really fast, it's probably a quad. But for some skaters, their quads look so similar to their triples that it's hard to tell them apart.

Does anyone else have this problem? What are your tips for recognizing jumps in real time, without watching the slo-mo video?

If you go onto you tube and search each jump you will find videos on them that would help you distinguish between them. Toe loop and flip take off from different edges. Flip takes off on a back inside edge and the toe loop on an back outside edge. There's a few variations of take off.

What I found useful personally is:

1. Focus on one jump at a time and learn to recognize that before moving on to the next
2. Focus on learning the typical entries into jumps rather than recognizing the jump itself

1. So for example, if you're always able to recognize an axel, and you can usually recognize lutz and loop, I'd start by watching programs focusing on "finding" the lutz. When you can always recognize the lutz and feel confident, move on to loop, etc. Much easier than trying to recognize everything all at once. I think the easiest order to learn the jumps is axel - lutz - loop - toe loop - flip - salchow (so you could say at the end, if you don't recognize a jump, it's a salchow )

2. The flip is easy to recognize because it's entered from a 3-turn (forward outside-back inside) or a mohawk (forward inside-back inside), which is completely different from the entry into a toe-loop, although the jumps themselves look similar. There are similar typical entries for other jumps (loops look like you're crouching with the legs crossed, salchow legs look like /\ etc.), and I think jumps are easier to recognize as set patterns of entry rather than thinking about "Wait which leg was that???" This is especially true of 6.0 programs.

As for whether the second jump is a toe-loop or loop: if the skater reaches back with their free leg after landing the first jump, it's the toe-loop. If the free leg stays down or almost wrapped around the landing leg, and the skater does another jump without raising the leg, it's a loop.

It's easier to tell if you have skated and done jumps before, because you can "feel" what you see. But if not, it's not impossible to learn to tell which jump is which, but I don't think definitions are effective in helping you identify jumps in real time.

First, the similarities between all jumps is that the skater enters with the left shoulder front and right shoulder back (for counterclockwise rotation). With the exception of Lutz, the entry edges on all other jumps have the skater moving counterclockwise around a large circle, regardless of preceding steps.

Now, the visual difference between a toe loop and a flip is which foot reaches back to pick, relative to the shoulder position. On the flip, it's the same right leg with the same right shoulder reaching back. It usually looks like a very comfortable open position to hold. On the toe loop, it's the left leg back with left shoulder forward, and it looks like a strong stretch (and feels to me like an awkward twisty position...lol).

To tell the difference between a Salchow and loop, the Salchow is like the flip, with the comfortable open position, except that instead of picking, the leg swings round to the front. The loop is like the toe loop, except that instead of reaching back to pick, the free left leg stays in front with the left shoulder.

I hope it helps to think of visual clues, rather than definitions. With this in mind, it's also easier to mirror image everything when you watch clockwise rotators.

I'm an adult figure skater, so I can tell you the differences between a Flip and a Toe Loop, and a Loop and Salchow jump.

CCW=counter clockwise
CW= clockwise

If a skater jumps and spins CCW, as Patrick Chan and Gabby Daleman do, the following is how the jumps are done except for the Axel, which everybody knows because it always takes off forward... Note each jump requires the skater to deeply bend on the take off leg and the spring up.

Flip: turns into the flip can either start from a forward left outside 3 turn or a forward right inside Mohawk, which both put the skater on a back left inside edge to take off when the skater picks in with the right skate's to pick.

Toe Loop: can be entered via a forward left outside 3 turn and then cross the right foot over the left placing it on the back outside edge, or from a right forward inside 3 turn which also gets the skater on a right back outside edge, and then bend the skating leg and reach back with the left skate and pick in.

Loop: Enterence starts from either a right back crosscut going CCW holding a deep right back outside edge on the right leg with the left foot crossed in front, or from a forward right inside 3 turn using the right leg. No picking in with a the left skate/ foot.

Salchow: usually starts from a forward left outside 3 turn putting the skater on a back left inside edge on the left leg/skate, or from a forward right inside Mohawk which also puts the skater on a back left inside edge. The right leg stays behind the left leg until the skater does a deep quarter turn on the left skate to take off while they swing their left right leg/knee up and in front of their body pulling their arms up in front to their chest tightly.

Lutz: can be entered by either doing a forward left inside 3 turn using the left leg putting the skater on a left outside edge, or a forward left inside Mohawk which puts the skater on the right foot on a back right inside edge and then cross the left foot over the right placing it on an back left outside edge, then the skater reaching back with their right arm while the left knee bends and then as soon as the left knee starts to straighten out and skater picks behind the left skate with the right skate, the skater pulls the right arm forward , up and into their right chest and the left arm meets the right arm there. The Lutz is the only jump to have an elastic band action where it looks like the skater first turns CW to set up the jump but then turns CCW to take off on the jump.

For skaters who are CW skaters like #KaetlynOsmond just reverse all the above, from right to left for Loops and Toe loops, and from left to right for Flips, Lutzes and Salchows.

Here is a quick list of how to easily identify jumps in real time if you don't want to get very technical. So for a skater that spins in the air counter-clockwise (the usual direction)...

Axel: This is the only jump that has the skater enter forward and is thus the easiest to identify.

Toe Pick Jumps - Jumps that use a toe pick where the skater jams the pick of the skate into the ice to vault into air

Toe Loop: Toe pick is off the left foot
Flip: Toe pick is off the right foot and the entry edge goes into the skater
Lutz: Toe pick is also off the right foot but the entry edge goes away from the skater (which makes it harder)

Edge Jumps - Skater presses deeply into an edge to generate rotation, so no toe pick (Axel is also an edge jump, btw)


Salchow: Skater uses the left foot to press into the ice
Loop: Skater uses the right foot to press into the ice

Doesn't work for every skater due to different take-off preferences, but a quick and dirty way to tell a toe loop from a flip is that most skaters will change feet after the turn or step into the toe loop. This almost never happens when entering the flip.

For the Salchow, it's the only jump that swings the free leg through other than axel. It's also a rare jump at the higher levels unless it's a quad.

For the loop, it takes off and lands on the same foot. Technically, so do the flip and lutz, but the loop is the only edge jump to do so. That's what makes it so difficult, especially when it comes to quads.

For the rotations, that's something you just have to pick up from watching a lot of skating. Usually, quads are more explosive than the triples, but that doesn't always help. Some skaters have giant triples and some have tiny quads, so it's not always easy to tell without a lot of time watching them.

silver.blades said:

Doesn't work for every skater due to different take-off preferences, but a quick and dirty way to tell a toe loop from a flip is that most skaters will change feet after the turn or step into the toe loop. This almost never happens when entering the flip.

For the Salchow, it's the only jump that swings the free leg through other than axel. It's also a rare jump at the higher levels unless it's a quad.

For the loop, it takes off and lands on the same foot. Technically, so do the flip and lutz, but the loop is the only edge jump to do so. That's what makes it so difficult, especially when it comes to quads.

For the rotations, that's something you just have to pick up from watching a lot of skating. Usually, quads are more explosive than the triples, but that doesn't always help. Some skaters have giant triples and some have tiny quads, so it's not always easy to tell without a lot of time watching them.

Click to expand...

When entering a flip if it is done from a Mohawk turn, the skater changes feet. Mohawk turns happen by starting on one foot and then changing to the other. It happens half of the time going into a flip. Also, if a flip occures after a half loop (like a loop in the take off, but instead of landing on the back outside edge of the same foot, it lands on the opposite foot on the back inside edge) it allows the skater to perform either a Sawchow or a Flip.