Hello, everyone!
I'm new here, but I've been a long time lurker. I'm a new ish fan of the sport and I'm from a country where there is little to no FS presence. Nevertheless, I've come to love it and with the pandemic in full swing and some free time on my hands, I decided to finally join this forum!
As a new fan of the sport, there're many things I like about it, but I've noticed there's a gap in the fandoms between the admiration of jumps and things like SS. As in, SS are considered beautiful (they are!) and athletic, but jumps are admired only for the physical prowers needed to land them and for how well they're performed (technique). However, I happen to think that jumps by themselves can be beautiful too, based completely on subjective things and preferences, beyond technique or whatnot.
That's why I wanted to create this thread. To talk about jumps that we might consider pretty on purely subjective terms. To make myself clear, what I mean by this is that technique alone doesn't determine if I find a jump pretty or not. For example, there are skaters with flawless technique, but something about the way they position their head, hands, torso, etc. seems off putting to me. Like how some throw their heads back when they jump or how they just swing their arms around, I don't like how that looks (of course that doesn't take away from the fact that they have good technique that should be rewarded!). On the other end, there are skaters whose technique is far from perfect or down right "wrong" but there's something that I just find attractive about their jumps. Of course, there are also skaters that have beautiful jumps AND solid technique.
So without much ado, here's a list of my favorite skaters and their beautiful jumps!
Yuna Kim: I know, I said that technique didn't matter to me, so you may find it weird/hypocritical of me to name Yuna off the bat, but there's just something about her jumps that I find sooo pleasing to watch. It's a combination of awe inspiring height and distance, coupled with genius timing and the ease with which she jumps. She makes it look so easy and elegant. Just gorgeous. I honest to God find her jumps to be the most beautiful part of her routines
Jason Brown: If I had to name how Jason's jumps are to me, I would call them "cheeky". I don't know what it is, but he jumps just so big and “fun”, almost like every jump is a celebration. He may not have a quad, but every jump of his just feels A+++ to me. I think that just like Yuna, having a good choreography that helps to highlight the jumps just does it for me. I particularly enjoy his tanos, because it looks so strong, and balletic and well, “cheeky”, to me. I’m not sure why ladies don’t seem to jump with a straight arm, maybe it’s a strength thing, but it looks so athletic and beautiful to me that I wish more skaters jumped like that. Which leads me to the next skater!
Alena Kostornaia: I just said that I enjoy straight arm tanos, but Alena’s tanos are an exception. Hear me out! Like I said, I don’t know if it’s a strength thing or something for the ladies, but it almost looks like Alena went: “If I can’t keep my arm straight and I have to flail it around, then I’d do so beautifully!” And so she did. The way she just softly moves it looks so elegant and lovely. I also enjoy her rippons very very much. Again, the way she uses her hands/arms is just so pleasing to watch for me. In this case (rippons), I like how she extends her fingers during a rippon almost making her hands look like a flower. So aesthetic. Her powerful jumps (those +3T combos!), in general, are very pleasing to watch, but her 2A is just crazy. It doesn’t look “easy”, if I had to describe it. It almost looks like it’s hard for her to contain it because it’s just too powerful, however, her wrap leg somehow softens the wild 2A and the result is, like her tanos, an accent to the jump.
Mikhail Kolyada: His out of this world 4Lz is one of the main reasons I even considered doing this thread. It was a video of said 4Lz that first made me think: “Gosh, how gorgeous” about a jump. It looked like he was defying gravity and the general laws of aerodynamics but doing so in the most visually pleasing way. His jumps (when he lands them) are the epitome of jump aesthetic to me.They look soo big and high and powerful and athletic, but so elegant and dignified. If Jason’s jumps are cheeky to me, then Kolyada’s jumps are “chivalrous”. It sounds moronic, I know. However, there’s just an air of sophistication around his jumps and they look absolutely effortless and airy and so so pretty. Absolutely one of my favorite jumpers.
Tomoe Kawabata: I caught a glimpse of this junior on one of those random “this is how a lutz should be!” spaces of the internet. And while that post was rather patronizing, I couldn’t help but ogle what I consider to be the second best lutz I’ve ever seen (only behind Kolyada’s 4Lz)! I’m not much for technique nor do I think about terms like "pre-rotation" when appreciating the aesthetics of a jump. But damn, the way she seems to freaking fly off the ice the millisecond her toe pick hits the ice is just outstanding and awe inspiring. I wonder if it’s even humanly possible to have less pre-rotation than hers on a lutz. I especially like how superhuman it looks, like it takes some kind of Herculan power to jump like that and yet, at the same time, looks as graceful as a gazelle. The rest of her jumps are very Yuna like, so she’s definitely one to watch for me!
+3Lo combos: This is obviously not a skater lol, but I really really like how loop combos look. They look so springy and strong, yet stylish. I would call them "chic". I don’t enjoy all loop combos however. There are certain skaters that jump just the way I like and are always a pleasure to watch. Some of these skaters are:
Alexandra Trusova: She is definitely the one with the most “spring” to her loop combos.
Mao Asada: She used to make them look like the easiest thing in the world.
Alina Zagitova: The one who made me love them in the first place. She has just the right amount of spring, strength and power to her jumps.
I know I used a lot of terms not normally associated with jumps, like "cheeky", "dignified" and "chivalrous" (wtf!), but I couldn’t find better words to describe them. Rest assured though, that’s how I genuinely perceive them.
So, who are some of your favorite jumpers and why?
I'm new here, but I've been a long time lurker. I'm a new ish fan of the sport and I'm from a country where there is little to no FS presence. Nevertheless, I've come to love it and with the pandemic in full swing and some free time on my hands, I decided to finally join this forum!
As a new fan of the sport, there're many things I like about it, but I've noticed there's a gap in the fandoms between the admiration of jumps and things like SS. As in, SS are considered beautiful (they are!) and athletic, but jumps are admired only for the physical prowers needed to land them and for how well they're performed (technique). However, I happen to think that jumps by themselves can be beautiful too, based completely on subjective things and preferences, beyond technique or whatnot.
That's why I wanted to create this thread. To talk about jumps that we might consider pretty on purely subjective terms. To make myself clear, what I mean by this is that technique alone doesn't determine if I find a jump pretty or not. For example, there are skaters with flawless technique, but something about the way they position their head, hands, torso, etc. seems off putting to me. Like how some throw their heads back when they jump or how they just swing their arms around, I don't like how that looks (of course that doesn't take away from the fact that they have good technique that should be rewarded!). On the other end, there are skaters whose technique is far from perfect or down right "wrong" but there's something that I just find attractive about their jumps. Of course, there are also skaters that have beautiful jumps AND solid technique.
So without much ado, here's a list of my favorite skaters and their beautiful jumps!
Yuna Kim: I know, I said that technique didn't matter to me, so you may find it weird/hypocritical of me to name Yuna off the bat, but there's just something about her jumps that I find sooo pleasing to watch. It's a combination of awe inspiring height and distance, coupled with genius timing and the ease with which she jumps. She makes it look so easy and elegant. Just gorgeous. I honest to God find her jumps to be the most beautiful part of her routines
Jason Brown: If I had to name how Jason's jumps are to me, I would call them "cheeky". I don't know what it is, but he jumps just so big and “fun”, almost like every jump is a celebration. He may not have a quad, but every jump of his just feels A+++ to me. I think that just like Yuna, having a good choreography that helps to highlight the jumps just does it for me. I particularly enjoy his tanos, because it looks so strong, and balletic and well, “cheeky”, to me. I’m not sure why ladies don’t seem to jump with a straight arm, maybe it’s a strength thing, but it looks so athletic and beautiful to me that I wish more skaters jumped like that. Which leads me to the next skater!
Alena Kostornaia: I just said that I enjoy straight arm tanos, but Alena’s tanos are an exception. Hear me out! Like I said, I don’t know if it’s a strength thing or something for the ladies, but it almost looks like Alena went: “If I can’t keep my arm straight and I have to flail it around, then I’d do so beautifully!” And so she did. The way she just softly moves it looks so elegant and lovely. I also enjoy her rippons very very much. Again, the way she uses her hands/arms is just so pleasing to watch for me. In this case (rippons), I like how she extends her fingers during a rippon almost making her hands look like a flower. So aesthetic. Her powerful jumps (those +3T combos!), in general, are very pleasing to watch, but her 2A is just crazy. It doesn’t look “easy”, if I had to describe it. It almost looks like it’s hard for her to contain it because it’s just too powerful, however, her wrap leg somehow softens the wild 2A and the result is, like her tanos, an accent to the jump.
Mikhail Kolyada: His out of this world 4Lz is one of the main reasons I even considered doing this thread. It was a video of said 4Lz that first made me think: “Gosh, how gorgeous” about a jump. It looked like he was defying gravity and the general laws of aerodynamics but doing so in the most visually pleasing way. His jumps (when he lands them) are the epitome of jump aesthetic to me.They look soo big and high and powerful and athletic, but so elegant and dignified. If Jason’s jumps are cheeky to me, then Kolyada’s jumps are “chivalrous”. It sounds moronic, I know. However, there’s just an air of sophistication around his jumps and they look absolutely effortless and airy and so so pretty. Absolutely one of my favorite jumpers.
Tomoe Kawabata: I caught a glimpse of this junior on one of those random “this is how a lutz should be!” spaces of the internet. And while that post was rather patronizing, I couldn’t help but ogle what I consider to be the second best lutz I’ve ever seen (only behind Kolyada’s 4Lz)! I’m not much for technique nor do I think about terms like "pre-rotation" when appreciating the aesthetics of a jump. But damn, the way she seems to freaking fly off the ice the millisecond her toe pick hits the ice is just outstanding and awe inspiring. I wonder if it’s even humanly possible to have less pre-rotation than hers on a lutz. I especially like how superhuman it looks, like it takes some kind of Herculan power to jump like that and yet, at the same time, looks as graceful as a gazelle. The rest of her jumps are very Yuna like, so she’s definitely one to watch for me!
+3Lo combos: This is obviously not a skater lol, but I really really like how loop combos look. They look so springy and strong, yet stylish. I would call them "chic". I don’t enjoy all loop combos however. There are certain skaters that jump just the way I like and are always a pleasure to watch. Some of these skaters are:
Alexandra Trusova: She is definitely the one with the most “spring” to her loop combos.
Mao Asada: She used to make them look like the easiest thing in the world.
Alina Zagitova: The one who made me love them in the first place. She has just the right amount of spring, strength and power to her jumps.
I know I used a lot of terms not normally associated with jumps, like "cheeky", "dignified" and "chivalrous" (wtf!), but I couldn’t find better words to describe them. Rest assured though, that’s how I genuinely perceive them.
So, who are some of your favorite jumpers and why?
