World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby shares some thoughts on how to teach a good waltz jump. Although a waltz jump is a basic and easy jump to learn, Robert says “There’s a few things you want to try to incorporate into your waltz jump that are going to help you down the road on more difficult jumps like axel, double axel, and triple axel.” Therefore he focuses on the “stability of the entry,” having skaters glide backward on two feet to get the upper body position set to increase success on the step forward into the jump. When actually jumping Robert wants the skater to look in the direction of the jump as they go up into the air, looking as long as possible and noting that as the skater lands they “won’t be able to see it anymore.”
Robert also explains the arm movement. He wants the arms to pass through and get in front before the jump and touch at the wrists (notice left over right, or non-axis over axis wrist). Robert teaches the free leg as slightly bent on waltz jump, with the knee up in an h-position at lift off. Returning to the arms, he has the hands touching in front on the push, with the arms starting back as soon as the pushing foot leaves the ice. The free leg is bent and in a “layback” spin position on the initial glide after the step/push, with the non-axis hip slightly behind the axis hip.
Robert acknowledges, “That’s a bit much detail for a waltz jump,” meaning most skaters initially learning a waltz jump won’t be able to perform it in this way. In those initial stages he often simply has a skater learn by gliding forward on two feet and then pushing and jumping forward over a line on the ice. Being on two feet allows the skater to be “stable” and “straight.”
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