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Friday, March 24, 2006

When is a jump "consistent"?

Our ultimate goal is to have our jumps be "consistent". BUT, what does "consistent" mean?
Landed >50% of the time? Landed >80% of the time?
Landed >80% of the time in program?

Actually, what does "landed" mean? OMG, this is another topic for another time. For now assume we each have a definition of "landed" that we are comfortable with!

When I started working on the Axel, I was happy to land one in a skating session.
Now, I worry when I don't land one of them in a skating session.

It has been a long road from then to now, and, honestly, my definition of consistent has changed. I used to think my Axel is "consistent" if I could land it more than half the time in my program. That is certainly an honorable achievement!

Now, I want jumps consistent so that even if I don't feel like doing the jump, even if my blade slips in take-off, even if there is a rut I end up in, the jump will be landed (i.e. no falls, no touchdowns, etc). It may not be the nicest jump, but it should happen!

I probably am being a little too stringent... But that is what I have achieved on the Axel. During the Nationals 2 weeks ago, I actually amazed myself by going into a half-hearted Axel, and still being able to pull off the Axel-loop-toe loop combination (which, unfortunately, felt very ugly!)

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