#Tech talk

[illyria-and-her-pet]

Figure Skating Steps/Turns

I’ve made a guide to the ISU classified difficult steps/turns. For ice dance, the 6 difficult steps/turns are rocker, counter, bracket, choctaw, outside mohawk, and twizzle. For singles/pairs, the 6 difficult steps/turns are rocker, counter, bracket, choctaw, twizzle, and loop. For 3 of the difficult one foot turns (rocker, counter, bracket), I’ve also included examples from each of the 8 entry edges because in my opinion, they are the hardest to tell apart of the steps/turns. This is especially true for rockers and counters since skaters maintain the same entry and exit edge (inside to inside or outside to outside) in both. In singles skating, the direction of the step/turn (clockwise or counter-clockwise) is important because a skater must have 5 types of difficult steps/turns in both directions to achieve level 4 on their step sequence, so I will also separate them by their direction.

UPDATE: I now have a video guide to go along with this post/gif guide!!! This is the complete 20 minute guide.

Individual videos of each difficult step/turn: Loop: https://youtu.be/x3xAkP57wMk Choctaw: https://youtu.be/w6O-KpGNNU0 Bracket: https://youtu.be/i-ovZMy5CbQ Counter: https://youtu.be/oGHWd4qATyk Mohawk: https://youtu.be/Daf3c76gVxg Rocker: https://youtu.be/PpLRtsHEU0Q Twizzle: https://youtu.be/_XWfAesBijE

I now have examples of choctaws, outside mohawks, twizzles, and loops from every entry edge, meaning I now have examples of every difficult step/turn from every entry edge! I also now have examples of non-difficult (ie. those that don’t count for levels in step sequences) steps/turns (three turn, inside mohawk, toe steps, chasse, change of edge, cross roll, crossed step in front, crossed step behind, slip steps, swing roll, progressive, illusion). For three turn and inside mohawk I have examples from every entry edge as well. See twitter thread version of this post here 

Difficult Steps/Turns (those that count for levels in step sequences) 

Rocker

The skater changes from back to front or front to back, maintaining the same edge (outside to outside or inside to inside). The blade turns in the direction of the entry curve.

Rockers that Rotate Clockwise

The skater enters on an edge curving clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on an edge curving counter-clockwise. 

RFO-Rocker (RFO to RBO): Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov enter on right forward outside edges curving clockwise, turn clockwise, and exit on right back outside edges curving counter-clockwise. You can also see the ice marks of a rocker in this gif.

LFI-Rocker (LFI to LBI): Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir enter on left forward inside edges curving clockwise, turn clockwise, and exit on left back inside edges curving counter-clockwise.

RBI-Rocker (RBI to RFI): Scott Moir enters on a right back inside edge curving clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise. Tessa is doing a LFI-Rocker.

LBO-Rocker (LBO to LFO): Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter enter on left back outside edges curving clockwise, turn clockwise, and exit on left forward outside edges curving counter-clockwise.

Rockers that Rotate Counter-Clockwise

The skater enters on an edge curving counter-clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on an edge curving clockwise.

LFO-Rocker (LFO to LBO): Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir enter on left forward outside edges curving counter-clockwise, turn counter-clockwise, and exit on left back outside edges curving clockwise.

RFI-Rocker (RFI to RBI): Scott Moir enters on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a right back inside edge curving clockwise.

LBI-Rocker (LBI to LFI): Yuzuru Hanyu enters on a left back inside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise.

RBO-Rocker (RBO to RFO): Yuzuru Hanyu enters on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a right forward outside edge curving clockwise. You can also see the ice mark of a rocker in this gif. 

Counter

The skater changes from back to front or front to back, maintaining the same edge (outside to outside or inside to inside). The blade turns in the direction of the exit curve.

Counters that Rotate Clockwise

The skater enters on an edge curving counter-clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on an edge curving clockwise. 

LFO-Counter (LFO to LBO): Mikhail Kolyada enters on a left forward outside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a left back outside edge curving clockwise.

RFI-Counter (RFI to RBI): Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir enter on right forward inside edges curving counter-clockwise, turn clockwise, and exit on right back inside edges curving clockwise. In the 2nd gif, you can see a close up of a RFI-Counter being done by Igor Eremenko. He enters on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a right back inside edge curving clockwise. This is man step 10 of the Argentine Tango. 

LBI-Counter: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir enter on left back inside edges curving counter-clockwise, turn clockwise, and exit on left forward inside edges curving clockwise.

RBO-Counter (RBO to RFO): Scott Moir enters on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a right forward outside edge curving clockwise.

Counters that Rotate Counter-Clockwise

The skater enters on an edge curving clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on an edge curving counter-clockwise. 

LFI-Counter (LFI to LBI): Tessa Virtue enters on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a left back inside edge curving counter-clockwise. Scott is doing a RBI-Counter.

RFO-Counter (RFO to RBO): Scott Moir enters on a right forward outside edge curving clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise.

LBO-Counter (LBO to LFO): Yuzuru Hanyu enters on a left back outside edge curving clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a left forward outside edge curving counter-clockwise. This is also his entry to his triple axel and the “back counter” entry to make the axel look as if it “came out of nowhere” that skaters do, since counter-clockwise jumpers take off for the axel from a left forward outside edge.

RBI-Counter (RBI to RFI): Tessa Virtue enters on a right back inside edge curving clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise.

Bracket

The skater changes both direction (front to back or back to front) and edge (inside to outside or outside to inside) and the blade turns in the opposite direction of the overall curve of the turn.

Brackets that Rotate Clockwise

The skater enters on an edge curving counter-clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on an edge curving counter-clockwise. 

LFO-Bracket (LFO to LBI): Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir enter on left forward outside edges curving counter-clockwise, turn clockwise, and exit on left back inside edges curving counter-clockwise.

RFI-Bracket (RFI to RBO): Tessa Virtue enters on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise.

LBI-Bracket (LBI to LFO): Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter enter on left back inside edges curving counter-clockwise, turn clockwise, and exit on left forward outside edges curving counter-clockwise.

RBO-Bracket (RBO to RFI): Michael Parsons enters on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise. Rachel is doing a RFI-Bracket.

Brackets that Rotate Counter-Clockwise

The skater enters on an edge curving clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on an edge curving clockwise.

LFI-Bracket (LFI to LBO): Patrick Chan enters on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a left back outside edge curving clockwise.

RFO-Bracket (RFO to RBI): Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir enter on right forward outside edges curving clockwise, turn counter-clockwise, and exit on right back inside edges curving clockwise. 

RBI-Bracket (RBI to RFO): Nikita Katsalapov enters on a right back inside edge curving clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a right forward outside edge curving clockwise. Victoria Sinitsina is doing a LFI-Bracket.

LBO-Bracket (LBO to LFI): Quinn Carpenter enters on a left back outside edge curving clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise.

Choctaw

The skater changes feet (left to right or right to left), direction (back to front or front to back), and edge (inside to outside or outside to inside).

Back Outside Choctaws 

Back outside choctaws are the most common choctaws seen in singles and pairs skating. Alisa Efimova and Alexander Korovin are doing back outside choctaws here. Alisa does a clockwise LBO-Choctaw (LBO to RFI). She enters on a left back outside edge curving clockwise and exits on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise. Alexander does a counter-clockwise RBO-Choctaw (RBO to LFI). He enters on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise and exits on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise. 

Alena Kostornaia does a clockwise LBO-Choctaw (LBO to RFI). She enters on a left back outside edge curving clockwise and exits on right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise.

Singles Skaters “Double Choctaw”

It is very common for singles and pairs skaters to do “double choctaws” where the first choctaw is a back outside choctaw and the second choctaw is a forward inside choctaw. However, it is extremely rare for it to be done with excellent quality like Mikhail Kolyada here. He does a counter-clockwise RBO-Choctaw (RBO to LFI) to clockwise LFI-Choctaw (LFI to RBO). He enters on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise, changes to a left forward inside edge curving clockwise, and exits on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise. 

Rhumba Pattern “Double Choctaw” (Wd-XF-LFI-OpCho, Wd-XB-RBO-ClCho)

Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte enter on left forward inside edges curving clockwise, cross their right foot in front of their left, and exit on right back outside edges curving counter-clockwise in the first clockwise Wd-XF-LFI-OpCho (LFI to RBO). On the second counter-clockwise Wd-XB-RBO-ClCho (RBO to LFI), they enter on right back outside edges curving counter-clockwise (also the exit edge of the first choctaw), cross their left foot behind their right foot, and exit on left forward inside edges curving clockwise.

Open Choctaw

Maia Shibutani does a clockwise LFI-Open Choctaw (LFI to RBO). She enters on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise, places her right foot in front of her left, and exits on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise.

Alena Kostornaia does a counter-clockwise RFI-Open Choctaw (RFI to LBO). She enters on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise, places her left foot in front of her right, and exits on a left back outside edge curving clockwise. 

Closed Choctaw

Maia and Alex Shibutani do a clockwise LFI-XB-Closed Choctaw (LFI to RBO). They enter on left forward inside edges curving clockwise, cross their right foot behind their left, and exit on right back outside edges curving counter-clockwise. This is step 64 of the Finnstep.  

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir do a clockwise LFI-Closed Choctaw (LFI to RBO). They enter on left forward inside edges curving clockwise, place their right feet behind their left, and exit on right back outside edges curving counter-clockwise.

Elena Ilinykh does a counter-clockwise RFI-Closed Choctaw (RFI to LBO). She enters on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise, places her left foot behind her right, and exits on a left back outside edge curving clockwise. This is lady step 37 of the Ravensburger Waltz. 

Swing Choctaw

Scott Moir does a clockwise LFO-Swing Choctaw (LFO to RBI). He enters on a left forward outside edge curving counter-clockwise, swings his right leg forward, and exits on a right back inside edge curving clockwise. 

Scott Moir does a counter-clockwise RFO-Swing Choctaw (RFO to LBI). He enters on a right forward outside edge curving clockwise, swings his left leg forward, and exits on a left back inside edge curving counter-clockwise. 

Outside Mohawk

The skater changes feet (left to right or right to left) and direction (front to back or back to front), but maintains the same edge (outside to outside). This only counts as a difficult step in ice dance, not singles or pairs. 

Open Mohawk

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat do a clockwise LFO-Swing Open Mohawk (LFO to RBO). They enter on left forward outside edges curving counter-clockwise, swing their right leg forward and place their right foot in front of the left foot, and exit on right back outside edges curving counter-clockwise. 

Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin do a counter-clockwise RFO-Swing Open Mohawk (RFO to LBO). They enter on a right forward outside edge curving clockwise, swing their left leg forward and place their left foot in front of their right foot, and exit on a left back outside edge curving clockwise.

Closed Mohawk

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir do a clockwise LFO-Swing Closed Mohawk (LFO to RBO). They enter on left forward outside edges curving counter-clockwise, swing their right legs forward and place their right foot behind the left foot, and exit on right back outside edges curving counter-clockwise. 

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat do a counter-clockwise RFO-Swing Closed Mohawk (RFO to LBO). They enter on right forward outside edges curving clockwise, swing their left legs forward and place their left foot behind their right foot, and exit on left back outside edges curving clockwise. 

Back Outside Mohawk

Scott Moir does a clockwise LBO-Open Mohawk (LBO to RFO). He enters on a left back outside edge curving clockwise, places his right foot in front of his left, and exits on a right forward outside edge curving clockwise. Tessa is doing a LBO-Closed Mohawk (LBO to RFO). 

Scott Moir does a counter-clockwise RBO-Open Mohawk (RBO to LFO). He enters on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise, places his left foot in front of his right, and exits on a left forward outside edge curving counter-clockwise. Tessa is doing a LBI-Mohawk.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir do a clockwise LBO-Closed Mohawk (LBO to RFO). They enter on left back outside edge curving clockwise, place their right foot behind their left, and exit on right forward outside edges curving clockwise. 

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir do a counter-clockwise RBO-Closed Mohawk (RBO to LFO). They enter on right back outside edges curving counter-clockwise, place their left foot behind their right, and exit on left forward outside edges curving counter-clockwise. 

Twizzle

A continuous traveling turn that must not turn into checked three-turns or a pirouette.

Alisa Efimova and Alexander Korovin perform mirrored back inside twizzles here. Alisa does a left back inside twizzle that rotates counter-clockwise. Alexander does a right back inside twizzle that rotates clockwise.

Clockwise Twizzles

Anastasia Gubanova performs a right back inside twizzle that rotates clockwise.

Yuna Kim performs a left back outside twizzle that rotates clockwise. You can also see the ice mark of a twizzle in this gif.

Patrick Chan performs a left forward inside twizzle that rotates clockwise. 

Alena Kostornaia performs a right forward outside twizzle that rotates clockwise. 

Counter-Clockwise Twizzles

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir perform a right forward inside twizzle that rotates counter-clockwise. 

Alena Kostornaia performs a left forward outside twizzle that rotates counter-clockwise. 

Satoko Miyahara performs a right back outside twizzle that rotates counter-clockwise.

Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter perform a left back inside twizzle that rotates counter-clockwise. 

Loop

A 360 degree turn that maintains the same edge and direction. This only counts as a difficult turn in singles and pairs, not ice dance. 

Clockwise Loops

Anastasia Gubanova performs a left back outside loop that rotates clockwise.

Yuna Kim performs a right back inside loop that rotates clockwise. You can also see the ice mark of a loop in this gif. 

Adelina Sotnikova performs a right forward outside loop that rotates clockwise.

Daisuke Takahashi performs a left forward inside loop that rotates clockwise. 

Counter-Clockwise Loops

Sui Wenjing and Han Cong perform a left forward outside loop that rotates counter-clockwise. 

Alina Zagitova also performs a left forward outside loop that rotates counter-clockwise. I’m including this example as well since you can see the ice mark of a loop.

Alena Kostornaia performs a right forward inside loop that rotates counter-clockwise.

Satoko Miyahara performs a left back inside loop that rotates counter-clockwise. You can also see the ice mark of a loop in this gif.

Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii perform right back outside loops that rotate counter-clockwise. You can also see the ice marks of loops in this gif. 

Non-Difficult Steps/Turns (those that don’t count for levels in step sequences)

Three Turn

The skater changes both direction (front to back or back to front) and edge (inside to outside or outside to inside) and the blade turns in the same direction as the overall curve of the turn. 

Three Turns that Rotate Clockwise

The skater enters on an edge curving clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on an edge curving clockwise. 

RFO-Three Turn (RFO to RBI): Carolina Kostner enters on a right forward outside edge curving clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a right back inside edge curving clockwise.

LFI-Three Turn (LFI to LBO): Carolina Kostner enters on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a left back outside edge curving clockwise. 

RBI-Three Turn (RBI to RFO): Mikhail Kolyada enters on a right back inside edge curving clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a right forward outside edge curving clockwise. 

LBO-Three Turn (LBO to LFI): Carolina Kostner enters on a left back outside edge curving clockwise, turns clockwise, and exits on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise. 

Three Turns that Rotate Counter-Clockwise

The skater enters on an edge curving counter-clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on an edge curving counter-clockwise. 

LFO-Three Turn (LFO to LBI): Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir enter on left forward outside edges curving counter-clockwise, turn counter-clockwise, and exit on left back inside edges curving counter-clockwise. 

RFI-Three Turn (RFI to RBO): Anastasia Gubanova enters on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise. 

LBI-Three Turn (LBI to LFO): Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje enter on left back inside edges curving counter-clockwise, turn counter-clockwise, and exit on left forward outside edges curving counter-clockwise. 

RBO-Three Turn (RBO to RFI): Anastasia Gubanova enters on a right back outside edge curving counter-clockwise, turns counter-clockwise, and exits on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise. 

Crossover 

The basic stroking technique in which the skater glides on 2 feet and then crosses their feet together without changing the skating edge. Skaters use this to gain speed. 

Backwards crossovers performed by Alena Kostornaia

Forward crossovers performed by Shizuka Arakawa 

Toe Steps

The skater moves from one toe pick to another.

Clockwise toe steps performed by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir

Counter-clockwise toe steps performed by Mao Asada

Inside Mohawk

The skater changes feet (left to right or right to left) and direction (front to back or back to front), but maintains the same edge (inside to inside). Inside mohawks are commonly used to enter skaters’ flip jumps.

Forward Inside Mohawk

Carolina Kostner does a clockwise LFI-Mohawk (LFI to RBI) where she enters on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise and exits on a right back inside edge curving clockwise. Carolina uses this to enter her flip since she is a clockwise jumper and takes off for the flip from a right back inside edge. 

Jason Brown does a counter-clockwise RFI-Mohawk (RFI to LBI) where he enters on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise and exits on a left back inside edge curving counter-clockwise. Jason uses this to enter his flip since he is a counter-clockwise jumper and takes off for the flip from a left back inside edge. 

Back Inside Mohawk

Scott Moir does a clockwise RBI-Mohawk (RBI to LFI) where he enters on a right back inside edge curving clockwise and exits on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise. This is man step 33a of the Finnstep. 

Alena Kostornaia does a counter-clockwise RBI-Mohawk (RBI to LFI) where she enters on a right back inside edge curving clockwise and exits on a left forward inside edge curving clockwise. 

Yuzuru Hanyu does a clockwise LBI-Mohawk (LBI to RFI) where he enters on a left back inside edge curving counter-clockwise and exits on a right forward inside edge curving counter-clockwise. 

Tessa Virtue does a clockwise LBI-Mohawk (LBI to RFI) where she enters on a left back inside edge curving counter-clockwise and exits on a right forward inisde edge curving counter-clockwise. Scott is doing a counter-clockwise RBO-Mohawk (RBO to LFO).

Cross Roll

The skating step made by crossing the free foot onto the outside edge behind or in front of the outside edge of the skating foot.

These are the cross rolls in the Argentine Tango ice dance pattern performed by Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko. Sofia does backwards cross rolls, while Igor does forward cross rolls. These are steps 27-31 of the Argentine Tango. 

Slip Steps

A step skated in a straight line with the blades of both skates being held flat on the ice. The weight is over the skating leg that may be well bent or straight while the free foot slides forward on the ice to full extension.

Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin performing slip steps in the Paso Doble ice dance pattern. Note: Elena does a XB-LBO after the slip steps and Ruslan does a XF-RFO after the slip steps, which will take us to our next steps: crossed step behind and crossed step in front. These are steps 8-10 of the Paso Doble. 

Crossed Step Behind

A step in which the free foot is placed on the ice on the outer edge side of the skating foot with the free leg tightly crossed behind the skating leg. (Note – the legs cross below the knees).

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron performing a XB-RFO. This is step 21 of the Tango Romantica. 

Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko performing a XB-LFI. This is step 9 of the Argentine Tango.

Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko performing a XB-RFI. This is step 10 of the Argentine Tango.

Crossed Step in Front

A step in which the free foot is placed on the ice on the outer edge side of the skating foot with the free leg tightly crossed in front of the skating leg. (Note – the legs cross below the knees).

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron performing a XF-LFI. This is step 20 of the Tango Romantica. 

Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko performing a XF-RFO. This is step 8 of the Argentine Tango. 

Chasse

A step in which the free foot is placed on the ice beside the skating foot, which is then lifted close to the new skating foot with the blade parallel to the ice. The two steps are skated on the same lobe, usually stepping from outside to inside edge.

Elena Ilinykh performs a LBI-Chasse, while Ruslan Zhiganshin performs a RFI-Chasse. This is step 4 of the Paso Doble. 

Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko perform a RFI-Chasse. This is step 4 of the Argnetine Tango. 

Swing Roll

A short or long, forward or backward edge, held for several beats of music during which, when skating backward, the free leg lifts and then first swings forward, then backward past the skating foot, then back beside to skate the next step. When skating forward, the free leg first swings backward, then forward and then back beside to skate the next step. The swing of the leg gives the sense of a “rolling movement”.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir performing a RFO-Swing Roll. This is step 20 of the Argentine Tango.

Illusion

Adelina Sotnikova performs a counter-clockwise illusion turn

Change of Edge

The visible tracing of a skate on one foot that changes from one curve and edge to a different curve and edge. 

Scott Moir does a RBOIO change of edge. He changes from a right back outside edge to right back inside edge and then back to a right back outside edge. 

Charlene Guignard changes from a left back outside edge to a left back inside edge. Marco Fabbri changes from a right forward outside edge to a right forward inside edge. This is step 9 of the Tango Romantica. 

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir change from right back inside to right back outside edges.

Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko change from left forward inside edges to left forward outside edges. This is step 9 of the Argentine Tango. 

Tessa Virtue changes from a right back outside edge to a right back inside edge. 

Progressive

A sequence of steps in ice dance in which the free foot crosses over the skating foot and is placed on the ice becoming the new skating foot and the skating foot lifts and becomes the new free foot.

Elena Ilinykh performs a LBI-Progressive, while Ruslan Zhiganshin performs a RFI-Progressive. This is step 2 of the Paso Doble. 

[the-real-xmonster]

Jump Takeoffs, Yuzuru Hanyu Style

Merry Christmas! I’m wondering if you girls and guys would like to look at some Yuzu takeoffs with me. I’ve found that watching his takeoffs in slow motion has the same effect on me as watching falling snow: it’s incredibly therapeutic. And we all deserve something nice this Christmas, after all we’ve been and are still going through.

Here’s a quad toe loop:

The thing I love about Yuzu’s toe loop, and all of his toe jumps, is how he always keeps his tapping foot low and his picking light, which give his jumps this appearance of effortlessness. His toe tap is also very quick and in tune with the connecting steps leading up to the entry, it’s like, step-turn-pick-jump, 1-2-3-4: no break in the rhythm, no loss of flow, easy and graceful. Furthermore, his technique is what I’d call a pure toe pick, in that he would tap with his toe pick straight down and leave the ice immediately without putting pressure on any other area of his blade. It is the kind of exemplary technique which leaves no room for pre-rotation.

Here’s a triple toe loop in combination:

The toe loop done at the back end of a combo is the most frequently cheated jump, so much so that the ISU feels the need to call it out in the section on cheated takeoff in the technical handbook. This is because the second jump in a combo must be done with little to no speed, thus it is very challenging for skaters to get enough elevation to complete the required number of rotations. The toe loop is also a jump which lends itself to pre-rotation, thanks to the completely open body alignment on takeoff. Both these factors make it very easy for skaters to end up rotating their combo triple toe on ice for more than 180 degrees before taking to the air, either deliberately or subconsciously due to lack of focus. Yuzu doesn’t do that. As you can see in that jump above: he pointed his toe at 45 degrees and left the ice immediately, exactly how he usually does it for his quad toe.

Here’s a quad Salchow:

You might’ve noticed that Yuzu’s toe loop and Salchow look strikingly similar in real time. This is mostly because of the speed at which he executes them. One, as I pointed out above, his pick in the toe loop takeoff is subtle and blink-and-you-miss-it fast. Two, his spring on the Salchow is just as quick. Normally you’d be able to distinguish the Salchow jump by looking for that moment before takeoff when the skater brings the knees together to form a distinctive / \ shape: that position facilitates the shift in center of gravity from the push-off leg (right side) to the swing-up leg (left side), which is the mechanics of a Salchow. Yuzu also does that, but his transfer of gravity and the release of energy afterwards both happen in rapid succession, again, blink-and-you-miss-it. Another beauty of Yuzu’s Salchow is in how he keeps his upper body movement in perfect sync with his sweeping takeoff: see how the right side of his body rotates as one solid block? It is another measure which ensures no risk of excessive pre-rotation and is the hallmark of excellent jumping technique. You will see it in all of his jumps, not just the Salchow.

Here’s a triple Salchow done in combination, in which you’d see the same speed and synchronicity:

Here’s a quad loop: 

Yuzu has a very peculiar loop takeoff, of course: his left back outside edge on his quad loop is deeper than what many other skaters have on their Lutz (a jump which is required to be taken off from an outside edge). This in theory makes his loop unnecessarily counter-rotated and closes up his body alignment. The orthodox approach is to keep your free leg on a slight inside edge, which would prevent both those things from happening. I’ve always found it fascinating that Yuzu apparently can only jump a quad loop by making its takeoff more difficult than a triple.  

This, by the way, is one of his triple loops from back when he was still able to do such things:

See how his outside edge was visible but much shallower here? You might also notice he got such height on this triple that he finished rotating and started opening up his position for the landing when he was still way up in the air. It’s a side effect of practicing the quad loop.

Here’s a triple flip:

Look, I told you so, he has this pure toe pick technique that exudes an odd sense of tranquility. His love for everything contradictory is as present here as ever: see how he pointed his toe away from the rotational direction? Pre-rotation is a thing that doesn’t even exist in his flip, excessive or no. Because of how he picks and how fast he leaves the ice, he actually rotates his triple flip for more than the required degrees of revolution.

And if you are wondering if he also does that outward toe point thing for his Lutz, well what do you think? Here’s a triple Lutz:

The Lutz by itself is a counter-rotated jump, but this effect in Yuzu’s Lutz is extraordinary, owing both to that quirky toe pick and his cutting deep outside edge on takeoff. There is simply no question about the correct takeoff edge in such a jump, and, same as with his flip, he rotates this jump for slightly more than 3 revolutions in the air.

Going by his approach to the quad loop, obviously you shouldn’t expect anything less when it comes to how extra he is when he moves from a triple Lutz to a quad Lutz:

I have a running joke with my skating friends that Yuzu’s quads are actually under-rotated quints. That quad Lutz clearly has more than 4 in-air revolutions to it, you know? Any non-Axel jump with no less than 3.75 in-air revolutions is recognized as a fully rotated quad by ISU standard (a standard which they don’t even uphold that strictly) so, yeah, I do think I have a case for a quint here.

Saving the best for last, here’s a triple Axel:

I don’t have any word left to adequately tell you how perfect his Axel takeoff is, the elegance and the sureness and the power infused in it, so here, have a bonus gif instead, in which you can also confirm there is no sloppy takeoff even in the simplest of his jumps, a double toe:

You might also want to note, in all of these takeoffs, the uncanny speed at which he gets into an ideal tight air position: his feet are always tightly crossed at the ankles well within the first revolution. This adds to the height and distance he achieves, and further makes his jumps very aesthetically pleasing to watch, especially in slow motion. 

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and the next time you run into anybody saying that Yuzu cheats his jump or some such stuff, feel free to rub these gifs in their face, no credit required on my part. 

[exceptionally-minded]

Tech Talk Masterlist

As promised, I have amalgamated a collection of infodumps. Enjoy!

Technology

User Interfaces

Hyperdrives and Hyperspace

Phishing

Kaleidescopes (S2 Spoilers)

Flux and Metallurgy

Physics

The Physics of Ocean Waves

Movement of Objects Due to Pressure Changes (S2 Spoilers)

Quantum Field Theory

Multiverse Theory

Botany and Zoology

Botanical Gardens

Honey Bees

Nuna

Maths

Cod

Zillo Beasts

Empirical Rule

Logarithms in Nature

Decision Trees in Probability

Dividing by 0

Fractional estimates for π

Sequences

Sample Size

Exponential Growth

History

Serenno (S2 Spoilers)

Kamino

Etymology of the term 'plebe'

The Holonet

Plato's Theory of the Forms

Space

Cinematic depictions of the vacuum of space

De Marian's Nebula

Forces of Flight

LAAT

Miscellaneous

The Force

Code Cylinders

Vitamin U

[enby-axels]

she made that triple axel look so easy... i thought it was a double at first. and that spiral exit??? 😳

and that rippon triple lutz, so textbook and stunning + that exit 🤧

[arya-jaeger]

Now that's a stretch

Written by me!~ @techtalkpony Drawn by Gray--Day Asterisk belongs to Kinjareta Pun - @askpun

I do hope the Undertale joke is 'really' obvious.  But it's not the only reference there. Tech Talk is just always thrilled about being cheery and affectionate. Gray Day's policy seems to be entirely different.

More comics

For me I think that everyone can traverse clouds =) You’ve seen Rainbow Dash's Room? Not everything is made of clouds, so how can solid objects be on clouds but not other species?

[theaveragepenguin]

yoi tech talk (I think??)

So people are always like, "Victor's coming back after a skipping a season of skating."

This doesn't really matter much but because I'm particular about stuff and because there's no harm in spreading the word, I'd just like to point out that Victor has only missed half a season and not an entire season. 

Here are the following facts:

• Victor goes to Hasetsu on April after Worlds, which is the end of the previous skating season.

• Victor announces his return to skating during the GPF in December, which means that he's going to compete in probably two to three weeks after the events of the show in Russian Nationals, especially if he wants to qualify for Europeans and Worlds (unless the Russian Fed. agrees to send him there anyway, regardless of whether or not he competes in Nationals because of his consistent skating quality).

For those who don't know, the skating calendar, in summary, goes something like this:

August - September: B-level competitions and Junior Grand Prix Events (skaters usually use this to warm up for the season)

October - November: Senior Grand Prix Events (Skate America, Skate Canada, Cup of China, Rostelecom Cup, Internationaux de France--or in YOI’s case, Trophee de France--and the NHK Trophy not necessarily in that order)

December: GPF, Russian Nationals and All-Japan

January: Europeans

January/February: Four Continents

Late March-Early April: Worlds

(A link to the most recent figure skating season can be found here.)

As we can see from the show, Victor has only missed the Grand Prix, which yeah, is important to note but is hardly out of the norm. Lots of skaters have sat out the Grand Prix before in order to focus on more important events (i.e. Worlds or the Olympics). Lots of skaters have also had injuries that forced them to sit out most if not all of the Grand Prix series. 

You may be thinking now, “Okay, that’s great! But why exactly are you pointing this out?”

Many fics put it out there that Victor misses an entire season of skating, which actually, isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but again, it’s inaccurate in that it implies that the ISU Grand Prix is the entirety of the figure skating season. It’s just a bit annoying. Trivial but annoying.

(read: I’m just being pedantic.)

So yeah, just putting this out there—not super important, but I'm going to repeat it anyway:

Victor Nikiforov has only missed half of the figure skating season.

[tangledtech]

So like, whose decision was it to send Cass to a convent as punishment? I assume the king's, but is it like, an established rule for ladies-in-waiting or staff who put their ward in danger? "Do a bad, get sent to a convent."

Worse, was it Cap's decision? "This decision brings me no pleasure" sort of sounds like admitting responsibility but it's vague enough one can't really tell.

[hershellaytonlovespuzzles]

Ron's Gone Wrong wasn't a bad movie. At first I really thought I was going to dislike it but I think it ended well.

What surprised me now that I think about it, this is the first movie I've seen where the asthmatic doesn't toss his inhaler in the end when he becomes "cool." I appreciate that they showed asthma isn't something that just goes away and it doesn't make you a loser to need an inhaler to breathe.

I've had asthma since middle school and I always need an inhaler with me just in case. It kind of bothered me seeing so many characters just toss theirs. I liked that not only does Barney keep his inhalers but his asthma actually matters in the story. He has an asthma attack and needs to go to the hospital. And that isn't treated as uncool. His friends were worried about him.

I also liked the stance on technology not being fully bad but the way it is used can be harmful. Also Ron's little song is stuck in my head I liked it.

[4evamc]

He is so fucking gorgeous,I can't even think properly 😍😍

[foldingfittedsheets]

So I’m retaking Rigging II for practice and because I had to take it as an independent study. I’m learning a lot of foundational stuff I missed which is cool. Tech talk incoming, feel free to ignore.

Right now we’re rigging an excavator. Mechanical things are always kinda pleasant to rig since there’s not much skinning associated but the file the professor is having us work off is haunted as fuck.

Maya keeps losing its mind and from the moment I booted up the file it had several errors just. On the mesh itself, before any rigging took place. A terrible omen we can all agree.

Almost everyone is having issues with joints that just fly 180 degrees when their controller is touched and either he told us to set it up jank or the mesh is full of demons. It’s the worst kind of bug where it only happens sometimes, too, so Maya is just making fork in the garbage disposal sounds of pain.

I finally got mine unstuck, but we’re doing review and almost everyone has some kind of ghosts in their joints, it’s a bit of a shit show. Also to be clear he is aware this might be on him since it's so pervasive but it's more like, what is Maya up to this time?

[cryptidize]

I'm getting increasingly startled by how much AI is being added to things when it doesn't work. Like. They don't work. They're not accurate, they're even dangerous. The time it will take to untangle websites from AI becomes exponential the more you integrate it into systems.

Maybe one day, we will figure out applications for it that actually matter but web searching is not the answer. The internet was supposed to be our digital library and knowledge base that anyone can access, but now AI and Google together are single-handedly destroying all the hard-earned trust the Alphabet monopoly has.

They're, quite literally, commiting to the enshittification of the entire web. All because they wanted to push out competition. Because they think AI is going to be the new search engine. I hate you projections I hate you modern business degrees, I hate you advertising majors becoming CEOs i hate you Google.

[illyria-and-her-pet]

Requirements for Level 4 Step Sequence:

Complexity: Must include at least 11 difficult turns and steps. None of the types of turns and steps can be counted more than twice. 5 types of turns and steps must be executed in both directions.

Rotations in either direction (left and right) with full body rotation covering at least 1/3 of the pattern in total for each rotational direction

Use of body movements for at least 1/3 of the pattern

Two different combinations of 3 difficult turns on different feet executed with a clear rhythm within the sequence. Only the first combination attempted on each foot can be counted.

Yuzuru Hanyu’s “Let’s Go Crazy” Step Sequence:

14 difficult steps/turns attempted. 12 difficult steps/turns counted when only counting each step/turn twice. 6 types of steps and turns executed in both directions.

Rotations in either direction (left and right) with full body rotation covering at least 1/3 of the pattern in total for each rotational direction

Use of body movements for at least 1/3 of the pattern

Three different combination of 3 difficult turns on one foot: one on the right foot, two on the left foot.

Right foot cluster: RBO-Three Turn (RBO to RFI) CCW/RFI-Twizzle CCW/RBO-Rocker (RBO to RFO) CCW/RFO-Counter (RFO to RBO) CCW

First left foot cluster: LFI-Rocker (LFI to LBI) CW/LBI-Counter (LBI to LFI) CW/LFI-Twizzle CW

Second left foot cluster: LFO-Twizzle CCW/LBI-Rocker (LBI to LFI) CCW/LFI-Bracket (LFI to LBO) CCW

I already posted this on twitter and this was my first request I have finished: I want to look at singles and pairs step sequences more so send me step sequences you want to know the difficult steps/turns for. Only step sequences from 2015-2016 season and beyond though please since step sequences before that season had different requirements for level 4. 😅

[the-real-xmonster]

Ballade No.1 Third Edition: Technical Breakdown (non-comprehensive because Tumblr only allows me so many gifs)

Bonus: How to: Post-skate React Like a GOAT

[exceptionally-minded]

Are you a honey bee? Cause I want you to extract the pollen from my flower.

☝️Technically, pollen collects on the furry bodies of the bees: as bees fly through the air, their bodies become positively charged with static electricity, such that when the bee lands on a flower, thus knocking the pollen from the delicate anthers, some of the pollen particles stick to the static-charged hair covering the bee's body.

The bee thus becomes covered in pollen, and then uses its legs to wipe the pollen from its body down to stiff hairs on the abdomen or back legs. These tufts of stiff hair are called scopa, but on the back legs, they are sometimes referred to as pollen baskets or 'corbiculae' on bumble bees and honey bees (‘corbicula’ if singular). Once the bee returns to its hive or nest, the pollen is stored to be eaten by developing larvae.

[enby-axels]

i think figure skating's most athletic feat possible is making all those difficult elements and components look artistic. for instance, to not just jump a quad, but to do it beautifully: with pristine technique, a relaxed upper body, huge height and distance, unimpeded flow and delicate musicality from beginning to end, difficult and creative transitions in and out. that's why i dont understand the forced dichotomy between athleticism and artistry in this sport. they are literally one in the same. there is athleticism in PCS (the so-called "artistic" half of the score): rhythmic knee bend, buttery smooth edges, good carriage & posture, just like there is artistry in TES (the so-called "athletic" other half): aesthetic jumps, spins, step/choreo sequences. it requires immense athleticism to produce artistry on ice.

or as yuzuru once said, "artistry is founded upon absolute technical prowess"

[arya-jaeger]

The Pun Squad

Drawn by Gray--Day Commissioned by - @techtalkpony​ Pun - @askpun​ Westwood and Adamant - @askthenightguards​

All Characters separately:

Pun Pony Adamant Without Helmet - Adamant With Helmet Westwood Without Helmet -  Westwood With Helmet