My First Jump

[Mergen Tatara]

After almost a year of "casual" skating, I finally made the decision to go beyond moving forwards, backwards, change direction and forward crossovers. 

Without a coach and never attended LTS, I'm 100% Youtube-educated.  I decided to step up the skating ladder by doing....JUMPS   That means starting from the bottom, Waltz Jump.  Simple and trivial to the forum members here, but a giant leap (forgive the pun) for me.

Until today, I've always been wary of Mr Super Big Toepick.  But this afternoon, I went for broke, expecting to fall over many times.  But I fell only once, despite numerous landing stumbles.  Mr Super Big Toepick kept me balanced and I was able to put the left foot down when the landings went awry.  I managed to land smoothly a few times but the right back outside glide petered out after only a very short distance.  Guess I haven't done the shoulder check.  At other times, I came to an abrupt stop after landing (no glide).

Right now, I'm just trying to practise to get it right.  In my preferred end corner of the rink, I do a short run up, lean on my left outside edge and kick low.  My priority is not height or distance, just trying to practise getting the landing correct without stumbles.

My observations are as follows:

1) I need to correct my tendency to lean forward.  That probably accounts for my stumbles upon landing because the middle toepicks hit the ice, instead of just the lowest one.

2) I need to stop looking at the ground.  I have this subconscious fear of under-rotating and not making the half revolution.  If I keep my head straight, is there a way of knowing that I'm rotating enough (visual reference sights when in the air)?  This will also help me to know when is the right time to shoulder check in the opposite (clockwise) direction.

3) Lack of shoulder check upon landing.  I know because on the few lucky occasions that I manage to land smoothly on right backward edge, it turns into a sharp backwards curve instead of a long (5 secs or more) gentle wide arc.  But how to know when is the right moment to shoulder check?  In the split second spent in the air, everything moves so fast. 

4) Stop pointing right foot down.  I kept reading "keep the foot pointed!" instructions.  So there's the subconscious directive in my mind to point my right foot down.  Maybe that's why I stumble too, because pointing my foot means the middle toepicks hit the ice instead.  On my Ultima Mirage blade, the ground clearance of the lowest toepick is really VERY LOW.  So I reckon by keeping my foot level, it would hit the ice precisely. 

Anyway, I'll keep working on improving the Waltz Jump for the next few months.  My priority are as follows:

1) Get the landings right.
2) Then go for height (kicking right foot up higher and higher).
3) Then go for distance (lifting off with more power).
4) Finally go for speed in the approach to jump.   

[davincisop]

I'm sure someone else will chime in and say this, too, but YouTube educating yourself in skating is going to lead to bad habits. I admire your bravery, but you may be better off looking into a class or coaching.

Start with the two foot hop and bunny hop to figure out where your toe pick needs to hit. Good luck!

[treesprite]

Congratulations on your progress!

I taught myself to do waltz jumps - in both directions - back when there was no You Tube. I learned by watching other skaters. Then when the winter-only rink was closed and I started at the new indoor rink to take private lessons, the instructor was able to have me do  her standard test to determine best rotational direction, which was to ask a skater to do waltz jumps in both directions.

Sounds to me like you are doing well for having not taken any lessons, meaning you are talented. But I bet you are wasting some of your talent on time - you could learn much more a lot faster by taking formal group or private lessons. 

[ONskater74]

Don't de afraid to grind a wee bit off the bottom toe pick. I have the same boot/blade, and I had to shave a bit off, about half the pick.
I too have started working on waltz jumps last time on the ice. I seem to do better jumping clockwise, but I want to learn them both ways. I just started messing around and then I realised...holy crap! I just landed a waltz jump 
Also managed an okay inside spread eagle... keep on trying

[phoenix]

Don't de afraid to grind a wee bit off the bottom toe pick. I have the same boot/blade, and I had to shave a bit off, about half the pick.

OMG, please don't do this!!!

[ONskater74]

too late....
why do people get obsessed about this??  If I could order a blade with a smaller bottom pick I would have, and then you would have nothing to say... As it is the bottom pick is huge. I just had it taken down the same size as the other picks. Stay cool... I have another old pair of skates and they have tiny picks way up high...and I don't see anyone having heart attacks about that...
It is like saying "I had my boots stretched and punched out" and then you come along with "OMG DON'T DO THAT!!!!!!!!!!"
gimme a break

[sampaguita]

There's nothing wrong with the Mirage blade. I have the same blade, so I know it very well. Spins are harder on this blade than on those with 7ft rockers, but I have nothing to complain about on jumps.

Most likely, it's a problem with technique, not boot or blade. Don't do anything to your blade (except for professional sharpening), because you can't undo any change you make.

I did take formal lessons, and was afraid to try any jump without proper instruction for fear of falling and learning the wrong technique. I admire you for your bravery, and I know quite a few people who self-taught themselves and actually perform better than those who took formal lessons. There is such a thing as talent -- it may be raw, but it still is talent.

For the waltz: I am still mastering this jump. What helped me most here was practing the EDGES: do consecutive backward outside and forward outside edges. Once you have mastered that, it's about using your arms and legs simultaneously to get that jump.

If you could post a video, we can help you better.

[JSM]

If the blades are relatively new, and someone is having problems with the bottom toe pick, then they are probably skating on the wrong part of the blade.  Over time I've heard of people adjusting the size of the toe pick as the blade gets worn down and flattened by many sharpenings.  It's a minor adjustment even then.

Another possibility is that the boot isn't fitted properly, forcing your weight too far to the front.  I've tried (multiple times) to tell an adult skater here that her boots are probably too big for her, shifting her foot too far forward, resulting in her scratchy skating.

When you are landing jumps, you NEED that bottom toe pick, so don't take it away entirely if you plan on jumping!

[Mergen Tatara]

Most likely, it's a problem with technique, not boot or blade. Don't do anything to your blade (except for professional sharpening), because you can't undo any change you make.

You are correct that the issue is with my technique, primarily body posture and lack of shoulder check (don't know when to check?  how to tell when I'm in the air?).  But for a first time jumper, it's all about building initial confidence and minimizing falls.  That's why for now, I just want to work continously on stable landings with graceful exit glide.  Then we move on to other improvements.   

No, I won't alter my toepick.  It's a matter of positioning my right foot to hit the lowest pick.  Thanks to all for your generous advice. 

I'll see what I can do about video posting because my rink has strict stipulations about filming.  I need to talk to the staff.

[hopskipjump]

Just a thought - my daughter's coach would rather see perfect jumps with a fall than an imperfect jump without a fall.  So you might consider video if only for yourself so you can see what is happening.  If you have an ipod or iphone you can use a program like Coach's Eye.  (a win-win would be perfect-perfect )

Instead of youtube, there is also that subscription website - for under 40 a month you can get a lot of GOOD info vs looking for a couple good things in a lot of bad info.