Salchow Help!

I'm having a hard time learning the single Salchow jump (single). I know that it's technically considered a full rotation jump, but when I try to do it, the actual jump is only a little more than a 1/2 rotation jump. It might be about a 3/4th of a rotation but it's definitely not a full one. I've tried searching on the Internet and some people say that the jump is more like a 3/4th jump because the lead up to the jump (after the 3 turn when you are moving around on your blade with the assistance of the free leg) is only about 1/4th of a rotation and the actual jump portion is 1/2 a rotation (similar to a Waltz jump). Under this explanation, it sounds like I'm doing it correctly. But when I watch videos, it looks like many skaters are doing a full rotation after their 3 turn because they end the jump facing the same direction as where they ended their 3 turn. So should my waltz jump portion of the Salchow be more than 1/2 a rotation? If so, then why do some people say that the jump is like a waltz jump? Or should I be spinning around more than a 1/4th of a revolution on my blade as the lead up to the waltz jump? As you can see, I'm very confused by the whole thing!

Hey, everyone. After re-reading my post, I realized that I needed to clarify something. I said that my actual Salchow jump is about 3/4ths of a rotation. The 3/4ths includes everything after the 3 turn. In other words, it includes the lead up to the jump (where you bring your free leg around and you rotate on your blade before jumping) plus the jump itself. My actual jump is only 1/2 a revolution but if I count the lead up to the jump with it, the rotation ends up being about a 3/4ths. I hope what I'm asking makes sense. Please let me know if I need to clarify further. Thanks in advance for your help!

The reason it ends up being closer to 3/4 than full, is that part of a revolution is lost on the take-off. Also, jumps are still considered completed if a quarter revolution is lost on landing, so that is how salchow-toe that are supposed to be a full revolution, can end up being closer to a half of a revolution.

Thanks so much, Treesprite. This makes a lot of sense to me now. I didn't realize that the back edge landing was considered part of the revolution amount. So if I have this straight, it sounds like after the 3 turn, if I do 1/4 of a rotation as lead up to the jump, a 1/2 revolution waltz jump, and then a 1/4 of a rotation on my back edge after I land, that all of that is added together to give you a full rotation jump. It sounds so simple now Thanks again!

sarahspiral said:

Thanks so much, Treesprite. This makes a lot of sense to me now. I didn't realize that the back edge landing was considered part of the revolution amount. So if I have this straight, it sounds like after the 3 turn, if I do 1/4 of a rotation as lead up to the jump, a 1/2 revolution waltz jump, and then a 1/4 of a rotation on my back edge after I land, that all of that is added together to give you a full rotation jump. It sounds so simple now Thanks again!

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It should technically be more than 1/4 rev after the 3 turn, if you’re making the right amount of ‘hook’. It should be almost half rev on the ice. A lot of people learning this jump take off too soon or turn on the toe, not the edge. This is a good link for singles in slow motion- https://youtu.be/yqGcZ6WBZnY

Thanks jf12 for the info. I checked out the link you posted and it's very helpful. It was nice to see the Salchow in slow motion