I'm supposed to watch the edge. Um, what's an edge?

Forget the edges. Forget the toe picks. Forget flutzing.

If you're watching the Olympics and can't tell what jump they're doing, here's some advice:

Don't worry about it.

Seriously, unless you're planning to become a fan, and watch all the time, and look at the protocols (never mind), it literally doesn't matter what jump they're going to do. They all look alike in the air. This is because they all ARE alike in the air. Once the skater has achieved orbit, the position and rotation and landing are identical for every jump.

Okay, incipient geeks, yes I hear you-- some skaters rotate to the left, some skaters rotate to the right. This changes the dominant side, but not the basic position. 'K? Can I get back to my post now?

Ditto the footwork-- 3-turns, choctaws, counters, rockers, brackets, walleys, twizzles, I could start making up words at this point and you'd have no clue.

But it doesn't matter. Just enjoy.

Now, that said, if you really want to know what's going on, forget about edges and toe picks. You have to watch a lot of skating to be able to pick up on this in the fraction of a second in which it occurs. You want to watch the entrance.

Axel
We'll start with the easy one. Everyone recognizes the axel because it takes off forwards. (Skating geeks shut up-- I know that all jumps take off more or less forwards. You're just confusing the issue.) The axel has no backwards set up. In fact, doing a challenging backwards pattern before entering the forward take-off edge will earn you points. (Listen for comments about "difficult entry to that axel.")

And this is the secret of recognizing jumps. You'll often notice that the commentators know what the athlete is going to do before they do it. This is partly because they have a cheat sheet, but also because they know the set ups-- they are primed to watch for a certain jump because the set up is part of the skill. Skaters who don't "telegraph" their jumps (Yuna Kim, Jason Brown, Patrick Chan, and Michelle Kwan come to mind) are a lot of fun to watch because of this; it is also one of the things that makes their programs flow so beautifully.

Lutz
Technically a toe-assisted counter jump off a back outside edge. Forget it. Watch for a long shallow edge, usually the longest entry edge of all the jumps, and skaters tend not to precede it with footwork. This is because it is a "counter" jump-- the rotation is in the opposite curve of the entry edge (for people who jump to the left, it will be a clockwise entry edge and a ccw rotation). This is changing, because any difficult entry gets you points. Again, listen for the comment about difficult entry.

Skaters often put the lutz in a corner, to give them the maximum entry distance. One of the things that used to make Yuna Kim's lutzes difficult to spot were short entry edges, and she would place them in the middle of the ice, where no one ever does lutzes.

The lutz is the jump where skaters put one or both arms over their heads, the "Tano" or "Rippon" positions. I've also seen this done with the axel.

This is the jump with the most "edge calls"-- taking off from the wrong edge-- because the counter rotation can force the foot onto the wrong edge at the last minute if you don't time it just right.

Flip
The flip is a toe assisted jump from a back inside edge, but watch for a long forward edge and/or a short (two-three moves) footwork sequence before the skater does a quick turn for the back take off.  Ironically, after judges starting really hammering skaters for "flutzing" their lutzes (flipping to an inside edge at the last moment, which makes it a flip), skaters fixed that and started "flupping" their flips-- turning to an outside edge, making it a lutz. The only reason you care, is because a take off from the wrong edge is one of the things that mysteriously lowers the scores.

Loop
Outside edge jump with no toe assist. However, you want to watch for another longish entry, on a much tighter curve than either the Lutz or the Flip. Skaters will often cross their feet and appear to be lifting off a crossed two-foot glide. This is also a common second or third jump in a combination.

Toe loop
Same entry as the loop, but with a toe assist. This is one of the hardest jumps to spot, as most skaters find it easy, so they throw it in willy nilly, especially if they've missed an earlier jump and need to add points. It's a common first quad jump, and also common in the "bonus"-- the second half of the program where you get extra points for every jump. Another common jump in combination.

Salchow
A common "warm up" jump (the other is the double axel), that is, a jump in the first few seconds of the program to get the feel of the ice. This is another "edge" jump, with no toe assist, often telegraphed by a very curvy entry edge and an upper body wind up. This and the toe loop are generally the only quads you'll see (this has to do with the actual number of rotations in the air, which is fewer than four, trust me.) Matthew Savoie used to do a triple (quad?) salchow out of a back hydroblade position. Amazing.

Footwork sequence: jumps
Walleys, bunny hops, albrights (also called scissor and mazurka), splits, falling leafs (falling leaves?), Russian splits (Jason Brown anyone?), and this year one of the women has a one-foot axel in her footwork. (Can't remember who it was, but I almost dropped my coffee.) These generally don't count as jumps; they're calculated in the necessary turns and changes of direction for the footwork.

Footwork sequence: turns
WHO CARES. This is the part of the program where the skaters generally have the chance to create some art, to connect with the audience, to sell the program, to tell a story. If they aren't doing this, if they're just "technical" skaters with the requisite number of turns, edges, changes, etc. then they are doing it wrong.

Any questions?

To compete or not to compete, that is the question

There's one at every rink--a fantastic skater who can't win a competition because the jumps just aren't there. Maybe she falls, maybe the jumps are small, or underrotated, or she doesn't have the doubles, or the triples that she needs.

One skating mother asked me whether it makes any sense for a skater to quit competing and focus on the skills for a while instead?

It depends. It would be impossible to make a blanket judgment, but in general I would say, no. A skater who wants to win competitions, who wants to go to Nationals eventually, needs to keep competing.

However, at the developmental levels (through Novice), competing, and especially winning, should never be the focus of the skating career. They call these levels developmental for a reason. A major club competition like Broadmoor, Detroit or DuPage, a local club competition, and regionals is plenty of competing for a skater who needs to work, to develop, skills. You may have seen the headlines the last couple of years about skaters who have medaled at every level, or won a developmental level twice. This sort of thing makes headlines because it is rare--developmental level skaters--Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice--are notoriously volatile. Skaters move up and down the ranks is wild disarray.

There's a certain value to staying in front of the judges--not just you but also your coach. Your coach is learning what the judges think about you, and getting advice on how to help his skaters develop. Further, however well you jump in practice, putting those same skills out there in competition is a completely different animal.

Being able to compete well is a skill in itself.

Competing is also a good way to get an unbiased assessment of your improvement. Especially with the Code of Points scoring system, you can actually see, by increasing or decreasing point totals, and through the very detailed protocols (which mark each skill in isolation), whether and where you are improving, devolving, or struggling.

This mom is right that preparing for competitions takes away from practice time, especially if the skater is like most skaters with limited time, scarce financial resources, and non-skating interests. The skating world, in fact, divides the year into "Rest, off-season (early and late) pre-season, and in-season." You never never compete during Rest, and you need a really good reason to compete during Off-season. So you should always work a long stretch of time--3 months or more--during the year when there are no competitions to distract you.

One of the things that concerns skaters and their parents is losing time--getting stuck at a level for multiple years. Skaters stay at a level for numerous reasons. Foremost, because in most cases there's no rush. Even if a skater ages out of Juvenile (at 13?) and ends up skating Open Juvenile for a couple of years, they are still competing and improving, and have plenty of time to compete a year or two at Intermediate. Coaches will often hold even a successful skater back if they are young for a level. This has happened with the last 3 Intermediate Men's champions- all in their tweens, the coaches kept them at their level, to allow their bodies to catch up to the maturity needed for the more challenging Novice level. Skaters below these lofty heights can also stay at a level, to bring their repertoire up to par.

How long do you stay at a level, if you're not doing well at it? First, define "well." With Code of Points, "doing well" no longer needs to mean "winning a medal." Doing well can now mean all positive GOEs, or increasing point totals, or full credit for jumps that you used to underrotate. If you don't compete, you're not seeing these very important assessments of your skating.

In other words, winning medals, especially at the lower levels, is not the only value in competing.

The limits of talent and desire

I'm the sort of person who does not believe in limits. I especially get my hackles up when confronted with the suggestion that I "can't" do something. My philosophy, and the one I share with discouraged students, is "if someone is doing it, it's possible, and if it's possible you can do it."

But if this was the case, wouldn't every skater have a double axel?

And not to mince words, yes. Every skater that put in the work required IS capable of that double axel. A naturally athletic skater will get it sooner, and more easily. A naturally motivated skater will find the longer athletic slog less onerous because of their inclination to accept hard work. A skater with a lot of time to skate will appear to have learned it quickly, even though they've devoted the same number of hours to it. A more timid skater will have more difficulty than a courageous one. A courageous one may accept falls that she doesn't need to accept, and slow down her progress.

I never tried the harder jumps. I could probably eventually have done them, but I was too scared. So I never tried. In other words, my ability to do an axel is not in question. I believe it. It was my desire to do an axel that got in the way.

This is what I see over and over--skaters, and their mothers, blame their failures, if you want to see it that way, on their native ability, narrowly defining that as meaning athletic ability. But ability is the same thing as body type; it's just another quality that you need to understand and accommodate. The skater gets discouraged, and stops being responsive in lessons. She doesn't practice. She takes one lesson a week. She won't make attempts when the coach isn't there. She jumps from coach to coach, looking for the one who will "give" her the axel (or the double, or the jump sit...).

It is okay to give up a goal. But be honest with yourself. If this goal remains important in itself, for you and not for your mother or your popularity, then don't give up on it. If you're just going through the motions, then rethink the goal. I decided the skating tests and higher freestyle skills were not the best use of my time, and put my energy into the PSA ratings instead.

Understand what you desire and why you desire it. Understand where your talent lies and use that to achieve your goal. Pointless to rely on athletic ability alone, if your talent is persistence.

There are no limits to talent or desire. You only limit yourself.

Lefty

About one in five skaters will jump and spin clockwise. Despite this meaning that they jump to the right (think about it), this tendency is called "lefty" jumping. It is somewhat, but not entirely, correlated with left-handedness, although there are right-handed skaters who jump lefty (me) and left-handed skaters who jump righty.

First, let me state emphatically that it doesn't matter which way you jump. There is no benefit or deduction for choosing one over the other. It is easier to teach a skater to jump and spin in the same direction, but again, nothing in the rules or in general technique would theoretically prevent a skater from jumping one way and spinning the other. Most highly competitive skaters now have spins in both directions. Ballet dancers have always done multiple rotation jumps in both directions.

Here's a basic guide:

How can you tell which way a skater jumps
If you are a parent, you basically don't need to worry about it. The coach will figure it out. If you're the kind of parent that feels a little smug and happy when your kid is different from everyone else, and you've got a lefty, I give you leave to brag (lefty skaters are cool, everyone knows it).

The easiest way is to just ask them to jump and do a half turn in the air. Most reasonably talented kids can do this on the ice by the time they're working on back crossovers. You can also watch their bunny hops (kicking with the right foot generally, but not always, indicates a righty or counter-clockwise skater; left kick is a clockwise skater,). There are other tests- have the skater face away from you, then give them something. They will automatically turn in their dominant direction. Ask them to spin. Then ask them to spin the other way and inquire as to which one they liked better (they won't always spin right off the bat in the dominant direction, strangely). Have them skate to the exit and step out without stopping. If they lead with their right foot, they're probably righties. Watch to see which foot they lead with going upstairs. Righties will generally lead with the right foot.

Which hand they write with is not the best indicator. A lot of right-handed people skate lefty.

Very young children have sometimes not established a dominant spin direction, or will change. Don't worry about it.

When should you choose
Most coaches will settle in on one direction or the other as soon as the skater starts to jump and spin (around Basic 6/7 or ISI Freestyle 1). But really you can play around with this all the way up to the back scratch or the axel if the skater really doesn't seem to have a strong dominance. I've turned a FS2 skater around; she was fine. I switched in FS3 (see the whole story below).

Can you jump one way, spin the other
This is great, but the way skating is taught in the U.S. a skater will have a much easier time if they spin and jump in the same direction. This is because the basic backscratch spin position is identical to the air position in all jumps. So then you only have to learn it once. However, if the skater and coach are willing to devote the practice time to it, no harm in being able to spin both directions. ISI Freestyle 9 has a reverse axel as an optional element, and FS7 has a reverse jump as a required element. Opposite direction spin in the IJS competitions counts as a feature, and therefore earns points.

Can you do both
Yes. Awesome.

What if the first coach gets it wrong
Eventually someone will notice.

What it the class coach gets it wrong
This happens a lot, especially with new coaches who don't know the kids in the program, and with inexperienced coaches. With adults it's not an issue because they'll announce their preference, but children need to be taught to tell the coach that they are reverse/lefty/clockwise jumpers (whatever terminology is in use at your rink.). In particular, coaches who don't know the kids very well will assume incompetence before they manage to get their brain cells lined up and manage to ask the poor child which way they jump. I've seen it happen over and over. Further, if you've got a pretty talented skater who suddenly gets incompetent when the jumps start, gently ask the coach if they've thought about trying the student jumping in the other direction. When I started skating I did not know anything about this. Couldn't jump or spin to save my life. YEARS into training, after laboriously learning to jump and spin counterclockwise, a Patch coach finally noticed that everything was stronger clockwise. He tried me jumping and spinning that way and glorioski.

Landings

I love to quote an old coach of mine (imagine Russian accent): "Most important part of jahmp is JAHMP"

True. But I'd almost now say that most important part of the jump is the landing. You hear more masturbatory commentary at competitions about jump landings than about any single other issue in figure skating. The figure skating world has gotten so obsessed with the so-called "clean landing" that they actually have changed the rules to parse out the turns by quarters, so that good strong jumps get credit, even if the landing is not quite "clean." Essentially, an attempted triple that is a little short will now get credit for the attempt, rather than a harsh downgrade to the double, because the skaters were starting to go for the GOE on the lesser jumps rather than risk the point loss associated with downgrades (think Lysacek and the infamously nonexistent quad).

The parts of a jump are the entry (lift off), the creation of rotation, air position, and landing. Interestingly, one of the first things you teach a beginning free style student is not the entry, but the landing, starting with the touch down and the check-out position. A classic landing touches down toe first on a straight leg, free leg in front and head turned towards the direction of rotation.

That's right-- you land on a straight leg, with your free leg in front. The misnamed "landing position"-- bent skating knee, free leg extended behind-- is actually the checkout. That's the position you hit to stop the rotation as you glide out of the jump. If you don't land correct position, you'll pitch forward, digging your toe pick across the ice, in a spray of snow, kicking out a big divot. Snowy landings are dramatic, but they indicate technical problems. A clean landing is not just full rotation. It's also a light, snow-free touch down with no rotation on the ice.

There are lots of drills to teach that moment, and here's a few:

Backward pumps to backwards outside edge glide: Strong pumps on a circle, then back outside edge glide on a straight leg, free foot in front, pull the leg through to a back extension while bending the skating knee. Arms are in an L (skating arm pointing into the circle, free arm in front) and head turned towards the center of the circle. You should be able to hold this without letting the edge get tighter for at least halfway around a hockey circle. I make my students do this in both directions, no matter which way they rotate.

Moving hops: Once a student has mastered the above, add 5 short hops to the final glide: just up and down from the landing foot, pushing off the toe. Bonus points for staying on the curve.

Stationary hops: Skater stands in a neutral position, arms and head in landing position, then balances on landing foot and does several small hops, first in actual landing pose (free foot in front), and then jumping up in landing position and doing landing-check (extended free foot behind). Again, both these exercises should be done by all students on both feet.

Rotating hops: Otherwise known as back scratch-loop. Student enters a back scratch spin from any entry- inside three or back pivot- and then does a serious of increasingly rotated hops while still rotating- half way, single loop, double loop. Arm position is optional: in checkout position, or pulled in tight.

There are also numerous moving exercises you can do using turns and both two-foot and one-foot jump combinations and sequences to help you feel the sensation of full rotation while moving at speed across the ice.