The loop jump is an edge jump without a toe pick. Understand prerequisites, build-up and safety – as a plan for you and your coach, not an imitation guide.
The loop jump (German "Rittberger") is an edge jump with natural rotation that takes off from a backward outside edge; in the scoring system its value depends on the number of revolutions [1]. The honest answer: it is the jump with no toe pick – so height and rotation come from legs, arms and trunk, not from a toe-pick push. That makes it hard to "feel" and easy to miss.
In this guide you will find no imitation instructions for the jump itself: jumps are learned with a coach who watches takeoff, flight and landing on the ice. Here you get the knowledge around it: prerequisites, build-up and safety. Double jumps are not part of this guide.
Realistically there is usually a year or more of training between a secure backward outside arc and the first clean single loop (experience, not study data).
Glide securely backward on the outside edge, knee soft, gaze over the shoulder. The loop jump starts from this edge [1].
Check the arc in the mirror or on the video: the knee stays soft, the back long, the free leg calm. An arc that breaks in the middle is a hint not to jump the edge yet (practice, not study data).
Milestone: 5 seconds calm on each side.
Master the landing on the backward outside edge with the free leg extended. A clean jump is half a clean landing.
Practice the landing first on jumps you already know, for example the waltz jump. The landing position is similar in most jumps: free leg extended, arms open, gaze in the glide direction (practice, not study data).
Milestone: 3 seconds of gliding after landing a simple jump.
The coach shows you the preliminary steps with a half revolution. In an edge jump: no toe pick, the power comes from the edge. In a study with 10 skaters, the triple loop differed from the triple toe loop in takeoff pattern: in the toe loop vertical velocity and angular momentum grew stepwise, in the loop simultaneously through coordinated leg lean and swing of the free leg [2] (TRANSFER, triple jump).
Milestone: 3 soft landings with a coach.
The jump arises in takeoff, flight and landing under supervision; I deliberately do not describe this phase step by step. In the biomechanics of the triple loop, angular momentum first arose in the arms, then more strongly in the lower body, especially in the free leg [3] – a hint that the swing comes from the interplay of arms, trunk and legs (TRANSFER).
Milestone: 1 revolution, controlled landing.
Do not repeat more than 10 attempts per session and take breaks. In a measurement of seven skaters with six different double jumps, whole-body angular momentum at takeoff was similar across all jumps; arms and free leg used it in different ways [4].
Milestone: 3 of 5 attempts clean.
Jumps are among the most demanding elements in figure skating. A review of figure skating injuries found more overuse than acute injuries in singles skaters and names stress fractures as the most common overuse injury in female singles skaters [5]; another review puts the prevalence of lower-limb stress fractures at 10 to 21.4 percent and names training volume, technical difficulty and repetition of complex elements such as multi-rotation jumps as contributors [7]. A systematic review found risk factors including previous stress fractures, more than twelve training sessions per week and skipped meals, but pointed to limited study quality [6].
Wear a helmet, train jumps only with a coach, keep rest days and eat enough. This guide explains and motivates but does not replace supervised training – takeoff, flight and landing belong in a coach's hands.
When you learn the loop jump, work on the landing first, not the takeoff. The jump gets good when the landing is calm. Have yourself filmed from behind and from the side and watch the recording with your coach before you start new attempts (practice experience, not study data).
An edge jump with natural rotation that takes off from a backward outside edge; the score depends on the number of revolutions [1].
An edge jump: it has no toe-pick assist at takeoff [1]. That distinguishes it from the toe loop.
Expect more than a year after a secure backward outside arc (experience, not study data). It depends on training and coach.
Like all jumps it carries fall and overuse risks. A review found overuse injuries more common than acute ones in singles skaters [5]. Learn it only with a coach.
Yes, strength and stability in hips and trunk help with takeoff and landing. In a study of 40 elite skaters, some showed inward knee movement in the one-leg squat; the authors see this as a possible sign of weak hip abductors [8]. Have a coach put together a program for you.
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