International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen compares split lutz and h-position lutz take-offs and offers opinions on which to teach. This is a continuation of his presentations on beginning lutz, 3 helpful lutz drills, different lutz entrances and reach details, lutz technique considerations. Jeremy begins this video by describing and demonstrating the split lutz. He says, “Split lutz is really an exercise in elevation and angle.” He uses the split lutz as an exercise even with his skaters that use the h-position take-off. The key is to keep the skater’s center of mass behind the toe pick while lifting up into the air. This creates a backward (or sideways) body angle sometimes referred to as a “power angle.”
A common error on split lutz is trying to split forward or facing the take-off direction. Instead, the skater should be sideways at the moment they leave the ice, then touch the feet together in the air to complete the rotation. Another common error is to lunge “forward” with the upper body towards the jump direction, rather than keeping the center of mass behind the toe pick. The “power angle” concept applies to both the split lutz or the h-position lutz techniques. Jeremy notes the same concepts also apply for the flip jump.
Next, he demonstrates at the wall how to teach an h-position take-off that uses a full pivot on the toe pick. Notice the effort to keep the body weight back behind the toe pick (behind in terms of direction of the jump) by keeping both hands on the wall after the pivot. This teaching method is initially separated into two parts – the pivot and then the jump. Once a skater does this correctly, they can slowly speed it up and make it one smooth motion at the wall. Eventually they can move away from the wall and do the jump moving on the ice.
The final discussion in this video addresses the theoretical concept of limiting a skater’s ultimate potential based on which technique they learn initially. The idea is a skater that doesn’t jump as high might want to use a full pivot to the forward h-position since part of the rotation is already done on the ice. The counter-argument is skaters can typically jump a little higher using the split lutz method. Jeremy does not worry about these details when initially teaching the single and double lutz. He believes coaches should teach skaters to do the technique that “is the most natural way for them first. And if that doesn’t work over a period of time, then start looking at other options. What’s natural for them is what’s going to work best in the long run.”
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