International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen discusses cheated jump landings, including causes and solutions as well as thoughts about the “benefits” of initially learning jumps with cheated landings. He begins with the attention grabbing statement, “Special news flash! Cheating is OK… Sometimes.” He goes on to explain that skaters learning a new multi-rotation jump often lack the necessary air time to complete the rotation in the air.
Jeremy argues that having a cheated landing in this case (especially for young/small skaters) is OK for a short period of time while the jump is improved. For a skater to stand up on an under-rotated jump, they often need to have a good “sense of axis” and learning that can be very beneficial. But Jeremy warns if they keep cheating the jump, “That’s not good.” He encourages off-ice training to improve the jump height, rotation speed, and air position to get the jump clean as soon as possible, and he says, “Never let them off the hook with staying at that cheated point.”
Next, Jeremy explains that air position can be a common cause of consistently cheated landings. Skaters that point their axis foot in the air typically have more under-rotation problems than those that flex the axis foot. Many if not most elite coaches teach a flexed axis foot because it usually helps a skater straighten the axis leg in the air, which creates more rotational efficiency. The desired air position is often referred to as a flox (flex + lock) because it combines a flexed axis foot and the a locked axis knee (and the non-axis foot tends to get “locked” into place).
The flox air position helps ensure the skater is not “prematurely” touching the ice with the axis toe pick, causing cheated jump landings. Jeremy mentions “flat footed” landings (which usually refers to landing on the blade without first hitting the toe pick), and although he does not offer an opinion on whether that is good or not, he notes that it does allow a skater to get maximum rotation before the blade touches the ice. He says, “Look at the cleanest landings in the world, and they’re close to flat.” So air position can be a major issue for cheated landings, and sometimes simply getting a skater to not reach for the ice with the landing toe while still in the air can really help.
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