Often one of the first things new or casual fans of skating want to learn is how to tell jumps apart. Technically speaking, you differentiate between jumps by identifying which edge a skater takes off from and how they propel themselves into the air. Sometimes edges can be tough to see in real-time and camera angles aren’t always helpful, but thankfully there are some tricks you can use in these situations too. What I’m laying out in this post isn’t meant to be an expert breakdown, but rather a pragmatic look at what works for me.
For those starting from scratch, here are key terms to know:
Toe Jumps: Jumps where the skater uses their toe-pick to help propel themselves into the air. For toe jumps, you’ll see the skater reach back with one leg and strike the ice with their toe pick to take off. Toe loop, flip and Lutz are toe jumps.
Edge Jumps: Jumps where the skater takes off from the edge of their blade without the assistance of the toe pick. Salchow, loop and Axel are edge jumps.
Inside Edge: When the skate leans on the edge of their blade closer to the inside of the foot.
Outside Edge: When the skate leans on the edge of their blade closer to the outside of the foot
Also note that all jumps are landed on a back outside edge of the skater’s dominant foot.
Some General Tips
- Before you start looking for individual jumps, learn to tell the difference between edge jumps and toe jumps. This won’t take too long, and once you have it down you’ll be able to focus on smaller details more easily.
- Don’t necessarily start with the best-of-the-best. Top skaters can be harder to read at full-speed since they telegraph jumps less and execute more complicated jump entries.
- Try to find videos with no commentary and a score bug that tells you elements after they’re completed. That way you can guess the jump for yourself without the commentator spoiling it and check yourself against the score bug afterward.
Now, on to the good stuff!
Toe Loop (T)
Jump Type: Toe
Execution: Takes off from the back outside edge and lands on the same foot
How to Identify a Toe Loop:
- Toe loop is unique among toe jumps because the skater launches off of the same leg they land on (right, on most skaters). This means the leg that reaches back to strike the pick will be off the ice when they land.
- Toe loop is also the only toe jump which is “open,” meaning the skater’s body rotates towards the space opened up by the leg reaching back behind them.
- If you see a toe jump immediately following another jump in combination, it’s almost always a toe loop.
- Look at Boyang’s 4T in the gif above, Notice how he reaches back to strike the ice with his left leg then lands with that same leg off the ice? That’s a toe loop.
Salchow (S)
Jump Type: Edge
Execution: Takes off from the back inside edge and lands on the opposite foot
How to Identify a Salchow:
- The keys to identifying a Salchow are (1) identifying an edge jump and (2) differentiating it from a loop. The easiest way to do this is to look at the position of the skater’s legs when they take off. For Salchow, the legs will be separated and for loop they will be crossed.
- For a Salchow, the skater will take off from one foot and land on the other. Loop takes off and lands on the same foot.
- Skaters use their free leg to help propel themselves into the air on a Salchow. This means they lift and follow their dominant leg across their body when they take off. See how Elizaveta in the gif above follows her right knee into the jump? That’s a Salchow.
Loop (Lo)
Jump Type: Edge
Execution: Takes off from the back outside edge and lands on the same foot
How to Identify a Loop:
- Loop is an edge jump where the skater’s legs cross to make and “X” prior to launch. The easiest way to differentiate a loop from a Salchow is looking for the crossed legs
- Like a toe loop, a loop can immediately follow other jumps in combination. If you see an edge jump in this situation, it’s a loop.
- You can tell Nathan is jumping a 4Lo in the gif above because (1) he clearly doesn’t use his toe pick, (2) his non-dominant leg is crossed in front of his dominant leg to form an “X” shape and (3) he takes off and lands on the same foot.
Flip (F)
Jump Type: Toe
Execution: Launched from the back inside edge and landed on the opposite foot
How to Identify a Flip:
- Unlike a toe loop, flip and lutz both take off on one foot and land on the other. That means for both you’ll see the skater reach back to pick with their dominant leg.
- Also unlike the toe loop, flip is a closed jump. This means the skater jumps towards the leg still planted on the ice.
- Once you can tell a flip and a Lutz from a toe loop, that’s when things get fun. The only technical difference between a flip and a Lutz is takeoff edge. If you look at Daisuke in the gif above, you’ll see he takes off from his left foot while on the inside edge of his blade.
- A quick-and-dirty way to differentiate a flip from a Lutz when you can’t see the skater’s edges is the jump entry. A flip will be preceded by a turn while a Lutz is executed from a deep backward glide.
Lutz (Lz)
Jump Type: Toe
Execution: Takes off from the back outside edge and lands on the opposite foot
How to Identify a Lutz:
- A Lutz is a closed toe jump which takes off from one foot and lands on the other, exactly like the flip.
- The difference between a Lutz and a flip is the takeoff edge. Look at Adam’s left foot in the gif above. Right before he launches, notice how he leans into the outside edge of his skate. This is what makes this a Lutz.
- Unlike a flip, a Lutz is preceded by a backward glide rather than a turn.
- To get onto their outside edge, skaters will lean overtop of their takeoff foot for a Lutz. The takeoff foot for a flip won’t be as far underneath the skater’s body as it is for the Lutz.
Axel (A)
Jump Type: Edge
Execution: Takes off from the front outside edge and lands on the same foot
How to Identify an Axel:
- Axel is the only jump that takes off facing forward. Seriously, that’s it.
- Because of the forward takeoff, Axels require an extra half-rotation. So 1.5 rotations for a 1A, 2.5 for a 2A, etc.
- Often you’ll see a skater glance over their shoulder while gliding backward before turning to execute an Axel. Yuzuru does not do this in the gif above because the jump entrance he’s executing is crazy. I should have chosen a different Axel to gif but whatever. It’s beautiful and I wanted to use it.
That’s it, kids. I hope this breakdown was helpful. Please feel free to reach out for clarification on anything I’ve written here or if you have any questions. Good luck, and happy watching!
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