International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues a seminar class on building axels. In Part 1 he began by describing and demonstrating aspects of good and bad waltz jumps and began analyzing some waltz jump examples in the class. In this video he continues analyzing waltz jumps, commenting on a variety of errors and corrections.
One of the recurring issues is a free leg that is stretched too far back and too straight after the step forward. Nick says, “I prefer the more modern way of teaching this with the leg bent and cocked back bent.” Looking down, especially during the flight of the jump is another common error and Nick notes that the audience and judges tend to look where the skater looks so looking down makes the jump seem smaller. He says, “If you want a jump to look bigger, keep your eyes going up. Even if you don’t jump very high, it will look like you’re jumping high.” Nick also acknowledges that looking up can dramatically affect (distract) skaters’ awareness of their bodies and sensations during jumps if they normally look down. It takes time and patience to retrain this.
Many skaters also struggle with scratching the toe pick on the back outside preparation edge just before the step. Nick notes that this is usually “left over from when you were first learning a waltz jump and you were scared and you had to slow yourself down.” But he also explains an exercise to help keep this edge/step/push quiet, focusing on pushing from the heel of the axis skate rather than the ball or toe of the foot. For skaters that really struggle with this, he suggests a “heel scratch” exercise on the step/push onto the take-off edge.
Another error Nick discusses revolves around how far through the arms go as the jump lifts into the air. On a waltz jump he likes the arms and hands to go to shoulder height but on an axel or double axel he prefers them a little higher, “in front of the face.”
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