The fault almost always shows one phase later than it starts: typical small-hill fault patterns, their true cause and what belongs in the coach conversation.
The most important diagnostic rule in ski jumping is this: the fault almost always shows one phase later than it starts. A restless flight is rarely a flight fault. A failed landing is rarely a landing fault. Both are usually consequences — and the cause sits on the table or already in the in-run.
That is not an opinion, it follows from the mechanics: the take-off is the most important movement phase, because it sets initial flight speed, the angle of the early flight curve, angular momentum and aerodynamic body position [1]. And the force must be developed at the optimal moment at the optimal point of the table — in a window of fractions of a second [1].
That is why this guide is deliberately not a correction plan. It makes fault patterns recognisable and nameable so you ask the right question in training. Correcting happens at the hill, with a coach — not alone and not from a text.
Five typical fault patterns — as an aid to understanding and observation. Every block ends with the coach, not with the next solo attempt.
The most common pattern of all: the take-off comes after the table edge and the jumper pushes along behind it. The cause is almost never missing strength but timing: the force window at the table is fractions of a second long [1]. What belongs in the coach conversation: where exactly was the trigger point, and what shifted it — gaze, crouch or nerves?
Looks like a flight problem, but it is a take-off problem. The transition from table to flight is one single coordinated movement: hip and knee extend, the trunk tips forward, the skis are angled up [4]. If that becomes a two-beat rhythm — jump first, then lie down — rotation appears that nobody catches later in flight.
In-run speed is not generated, it is not lost. The in-run crouch is built exactly for that: trunk low and forward, knees strongly bent, arms close to the body, to minimise drag [5]. On big hills take-off speed is around 90 km/h, with a ramp of roughly 35 degrees and a table already pointing around 10.5 degrees downwards [5]; on a small hill everything is smaller — the physics stays the same.
Anyone thinking about the landing only on the ground is late. The telemark is mandatory in competition, and missing it costs around 3 to 5 style points per judge — five judges award up to 20 points each, highest and lowest scores are dropped, leaving a maximum of 60 points [6]. On the small hill the landing is the learning field with the shortest flights — which makes it the best place for it.
Hesitation is not a character flaw but usually a progression signal: the hill size does not yet match the skill. The system is built exactly against that — smallest hill first, moving up only when ready [2]. The right response is one step back, not a braver in-run. Dry-land drills keep the movement fresh in this phase, without pressure [3].
This guide is an aid to observing and naming, not a correction manual for practising alone. It deliberately describes no rescue reactions in the air and no limit-range technique: what to do in flight when something goes wrong belongs exclusively to training at the hill.
The small hill is no compromise here but the sport's safety system: everyone starts on the smallest hill, moves up only when ready, guided by experienced coaches — safety as the declared top priority [2]. Fault patterns are the reason this ladder exists; they are not a reason to skip it.
And the limit stands: this text explains and motivates, it never replaces supervised training in a club or at the hill. Separate understanding from execution.
Keep a two-column log: on the left what you felt, on the right what the video shows. After ten jumps you see the real pattern — namely how often your feeling locates the wrong phase. Almost every jumper describes flight problems while the video shows the table [1][4]. That gap between feeling and image is exactly what a coach is waiting for — with it, "it felt odd" becomes a precise task.
The take-off. It sets initial flight speed, the angle of the early flight curve, angular momentum and aerodynamic body position [1]. Accordingly almost every flight or landing problem begins there — and the force has to sit at the optimal point of the table within a window of fractions of a second [1].
In video, by the extension starting at or behind the table edge, with the body trailing the jump instead of leading it. The transition into flight is one single coordinated movement of hip and knee extension, trunk inclination and ski angle [4] — when that becomes a two-beat rhythm, timing is the topic [1].
Because in-run speed is not generated but not lost. The in-run crouch minimises drag: trunk low, knees bent, arms close to the body [5]. Every bit of straightening costs speed — on big hills take-off speed is around 90 km/h, correspondingly less on a small hill, with the same physics [5].
Usually not with more courage but with the right hill size: the training system prescribes the smallest hill first and moving up only when ready [2]. Dry-land drills of the crouch and the take-off movement keep the movement fresh in this phase [3]. What matters is raising the hesitation, not skipping past it.
Off-Hill Training: The Jump Power, Explosiveness and Core Stability Behind the Take-Off