What defines the Lutz? Take-off from a backward outside edge, a wrong edge is called "e". Rules, a build-up with a coach and safety hints for the Lutz.
The honest answer first: the Lutz is a jump taking off from the backward outside edge. That is what the ISU handbook says: "Lutz take-off is from a backward outside edge" [1]. It differs from the flip, which takes off from the backward inside edge [1]. Both jumps look similar to untrained eyes; the edge is the difference.
If someone jumps the Lutz from the wrong edge, the scene speaks of a "flutz". Officially the technical panel shows the deviation to the judges with "e" (edge) or "!" (attention) [1]. With "e" the edge counts as definitely wrong and the base value of the jump drops. With "!" the edge is unclear, the base value stays and the error flows into the judges' grade [1].
Honestly: whether the Lutz is harder than the flip, the rulebook does not say. We classify both as intermediate skills, but for recreational skaters the road there is long. This guide explains the rules and a safe build-up but deliberately contains no step-by-step instructions for run-up, take-off and landing.
The Lutz starts from the backward outside edge [1]. Practise it in an arc until you can glide it securely at any time. Milestone: you glide a half circle backward on the outside edge on each leg without putting down.
The flip takes off from the inside edge, the Lutz from the outside edge [1]. Have the coach show you the difference on video, in run-ups without a jump. That way you see what the two edges look like.
Your coach takes you through preliminary steps, for example half-Lutz exercises and dry-land training off the ice. Build-up instead of shortcuts: you do not jump the Lutz before the preliminary steps and the landing work.
Film the run-up from behind and from the side and let the coach judge the take-off edge. Look at when the rulebook uses "e" and when "!" [1].
The coach decides when you try the single Lutz with one revolution. Milestone: you land it three times in a row on one foot without putting a hand on the ice, with a clear outside edge on the video.
Your progress shows in the video, not in your gut feeling (rule of thumb, not a study): is the outside edge clear in the run-up? Do you land calmly on one foot? How many of five attempts are without a hand on the ice? Aim to increase quality rather than quantity: better three clean landings than twenty hectic ones. Your coach tells you when the single Lutz is stable enough for the next step.
This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training. Jumps are the most fall-prone elements in figure skating. A review names among possible influences on injuries the repetition of complex elements such as multi-rotation jumps [2]; a systematic review states that the data are of low quality [3]. Both concern competitive skaters. Wear a helmet; in a video analysis of 216 ice-skating falls in children the head hit the ice in 13% of cases [4]. Practise only with a coach, not exhausted and not on crowded ice. Stop immediately if it hurts.
Make an edge checklist for the coaching session: which edge do I expect at take-off? Are run-up arc and shoulder position correct? Write down before the session what you want to ask. That way you use the time with the coach for the edge and not for basics (practical experience).
From the backward outside edge [1]. The flip, by contrast, takes off from the backward inside edge [1].
A scene term for a Lutz from the wrong edge. Officially the technical panel indicates this with "e", and the base value drops [1].
The rulebook makes no statement on this. The two jumps differ in the take-off edge [1]. What counts for you is that the prerequisites and the edge work are in place.
We advise against it. The jump needs a coach's eye and video analysis; safety comes before progress.
Two-Foot Turn Forward to Backward: Your First Change of Direction