World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby provides a relatively thorough discussion of proper loop jump mechanics. In the process, he builds a walk-through for the jump. The details covered here are applicable to single loop, double loop, and triple loop as well as the quad. He begins with the “single loop with the tap” exercise which is a large and open single loop with a quick movement to make ankle/foot contact in the air. This drill is commonly performed incorrectly as most skaters don’t open the jump through the take-off and then collect the feet, but they instead adjust the take-off to making foot contact is easier. As part of this discussion, Robert offers a clear explanation of correct air position in terms of the feet and legs. As he notes, elite skaters from all over the world do it this way, so it makes sense for ALL skaters to model (landing toe up, landing knee locked straight, ankles tight – often referred to as the flox position by others on this site).
Next Robert offers a step-by-step drill to build a quality loop jump. He talks about the setup position and the necessary alignment (including the neck!), the crossed-feet position with foot separation, upper leg contact. He then wants knee bend without core or trunk rotation, then arm movement and finally a “release” where the hips and core turn through to a forward take-off. Robert talks about jumps that are leaning forward and inside the circle (good) versus those that are leaning backward and outside the circle (bad). One helpful tip is feeling like the axis elbow and the free knee are “coming towards each other” during the take-off movement. Notice the focus on head over the axis shoulder on the turn-through to the forward take-off.
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