Overview and Focus

• Overview: This session is "Week 2" of an off-ice figure skating jump preparation course. It builds upon the alignment principles introduced in Week 1.

• Focus: The class focuses on parallel rotation jumps (taking off and landing on both feet) with added height and explosive power. The emphasis is on maintaining a tall, supported posture, keeping shallow/squishy knees without dropping into a deep crouch, pushing evenly out of both feet, and holding a square upper-body alignment throughout rotation.

Key Exercises

[01:06] - Explosive Jumps with Bounces (Square Arms):

◦ How to do it: Begin with continuous small bounces, then explode straight up using shallow knee bends and squeezing the glutes at the peak. Keep the arms square and tall.

[02:16] - Quarter Turns with Explosive Bounces:

◦ How to do it: Maintain the continuous bounce and execute explosive quarter turns around a circle in both directions. Ensure equal pressure from both feet so the rotational axis stays vertical.

[03:02] - Rebounding Quarter Turns ("Punching" the Floor):

◦ How to do it: Perform rapid quarter turns in succession with high power, rebound off the floor while keeping knees soft ("squishy") and the torso lifted. Keep eye level straight out on a horizontal plane.

[05:08] - Quarter Turns with Variable Arm Positions:

◦ How to do it: Perform quarter-turn jumps with arms set in specific static alignments without twisting the torso:

▪ Against the wind: Traditional checked position over the right or left side.

▪ Into the wind: Reversing the arm position relative to rotation direction.

[06:48] - Half-Turn Jumps (Single & Rebound):

◦ How to do it: Take off from both feet and perform 180-degree half-turns. First try single half-turns without a wind-up to rely on vertical push and tight posture, then practice rebounding continuous half-turns in both directions.

[08:01] - Full Rotation Jumps (Arms Against Wind to Square):

◦ How to do it: Start with arms set against the wind. Take off and bring the arms into a controlled square placement in the air before landing. Focus on level chin alignment and vertical axis.

[12:19] - Reverse Direction Full Turn Experiment:

◦ How to do it: Attempt a full-turn rotation against your natural direction, starting with arms set inside the opposite circle and moving to square upon takeoff.