toeloop lutz and flip help?

The flip and lutz land on the same foot with which they pick, the toeloop lands on the foot opposite to the one with which they pick. It can be a little complicated to spot which jump is which because not all skaters jump counterclockwise - Johnny Weir for example jumps clockwise, so he uses his right foot to pick in for the toeloop where other skaters use their left foot, and he uses his left foot to pick for the flip and lutz where other skaters use their right foot. However, no matter what direction one spins and jumps, for the lutz and flip one will always land on the same foot as the one used for picking behind, and for the toeloop always on the opposite foot to the one used for picking behind. :)

Flip and lutz are essentially the same jump, but the flip takes off the inside edge, and the lutz takes off the outside edge. The lutz is usually jumped from backward crossovers with a long glide, where as the flip is usually jumped from a mohawk or a 3-turn (more frequently the 3-turn). Oftentimes, skaters cheat the lutz by switching to an inside edge just before the take-off, making it a flip. This is also called a "flutz". Some skaters manage to do the opposite, and jump the flip off the outside edge. That one's usually called a "lip", lol I used to do that, it's also wrong (but it's very rare, usually people only flutz - I think Brian Joubert both lips and flutzes though?). Both lipping and flutzing results in less points awarded for your jumps. Distinguishing what edge one used for take-off is complicated (hence the slow-mo zoom-ins on the take-offs of jumps), so distinguishing whether something IS actually a lutz or a flip is also complicated. However, distinguishing whether a skater INTENDED for it to be a lutz or a flip is easy - backward approach with a long glide before takeoff means lutz, turning from forward to backward about 2 counts before takeoff means flip. The good news is, most skaters tend to jump exactly what they intended, especially with the flip.

The reason the flip is almost never a lutz but the lutz sometimes is a flip, has to do with the way the edges work on skating. You see, when you're on an edge, you are skating in a circle - a very large circle, but a circle nonetheless. So from the point of view of physics, you're already making a rotation, and to speed up this rotation (to rotate really fast in the air), all you really have to do is pull your arms and legs in as tight as you can. Now, for the flip, the rotation of the edge you're on before takeoff is rotating you in the same direction as the one you're jumping in. However, for the lutz, the rotation of the edge is rotating you in the OPPOSITE direction to the one you'll be jumping in, so you're kind of fighting the rotation of the edge there on top of having to initiate your own rotation. This means that the single revolution lutz actually takes more strength and effort to do than the single revolution flip. This is also why point wise, the single lutz scores more points than the single flip - it scores closer to the axel in points (an axel is 1,5 revolutions). The same thing goes for the double and triple lutzes and flips (no one does quad lutzes in competition to my knowledge, so that is a moot point anyway, though supposedly Joubert and Plushenko have landed them in practice trainings).

This "fighting the edge rotation" thing is also why the lutz is never jumped from a 3-turn - in theory, an inside 3-turn will have you on an outside edge as well, after all, just as well as a long backward outside-edge glide from crossovers. However, from a backward glide one can easily do a very "flat" edge, almost no edge at all, where as from the 3-turn one tends to get a deep edge. If you try to jump the lutz off a deep edge, you will virtually necessarily over-compensate and switch to an inside edge just before take-off, making it a flutz. However, it requires less effort to fight a shallow edge, so lutzes are always done from a long backward glide during which the skater tries to get as shallow an edge and as much "checking" (with the shoulders) as possible.

During this approach, the skater can't see anything behind them - if there's more than one skater out on the ice, all the other skaters know to stay out of the way so as not to cause collisions. This is also why two corners of the rink are sometimes called the "lutz" corners - if you're practicing in those corners, you have to be on the watch-out for counterclockwise jumpers doing their lutzes there and not seeing you. Clockwise jumpers use the other 2 corners of the rink, but clockwise jumpers are more rare (less than 1 in 10 skaters) so they don't call the other two corner lutz corners.

All are toe-assisted jumps, which means the entry is begun on an edge, but takes off from the toepick of the opposite foot. An edge jump, like the salchow or loop, is done from one foot.

Skates have two basic edges: inside and outside. The difference between ALL the jumps is which edge is used for the entry. Let's assume you're watching a skater who turns counter-clockwise in the air. Here is how these jumps are different:

Toe Loop:

Enter from a RBO edge, uses left foot to toe in and turn CCW in the air, landing on right foot.

Toe Walley:

Enter from a RBI edge, uses left foot to toe in and turn CCW in the air, landing on right foot.

Flip:

Enter from a LBI edge, uses right foot to toe in and turn CCW in the air, landing on right foot.

Lutz:

Enter from a LBO edge, uses right foot to toe in and turn CCW in the air, landing on right foot.

A Flip is less difficult than a Lutz because of the entry edge. The skater's body feels that turning to the left (CCW) is easy on the Flip, but it wants to turn to the RIGHT (CW) on a Lutz. That LBO Lutz edge requires the skater to put their right toe-in foot behind the left, jump straight up, then rotate the "wrong" way. That is why the Lutz has a higher base point value.

In addition, the toe-in "feels" different - a Lutz feels like you've picked on the opposite side of the skating foot, a Flip feels like the foot is right behind the heel of your skating foot, and a Toe Loop feels like a backward pivot - sort of like what a male pairs partner does during a Death Spiral.

Key:

RBI - Right Back Inside; LBI - Left Back Inside; RBO - Right Back Outside; LBO - Left Back Outside

CW - Clockwise; CCW - Counter Clockwise

EDGE CALLS:

There are nicknames for these: a planned Lutz that takes off from a LBI edge is called a "Flutz" and a planned Flip that takes off from a LBO edge is called a "Lip." Those are unofficial names, though.

In a perfect world, skaters maintain the proper edge all the way through the toe-in and vault. In real life, the reach causes weight to shift and ankles to turn the wrong way, making the skater roll over to the wrong edge.

HOW THIS AFFECTS SCORING:

Skaters have to send in a list of their planned elements before the competition. The Technical Specialist watches their actual performance and notes any discrepancies, such as a Flip that is done with the wrong edge. The judges then decide if the edge violation was glaring enough to merit a negative Grade of Execution on the jump. They do not "downgrade" a lutz into a flip, nor do they "upgrade" a flip into a lutz. The score sheet shows that the skater receives the base points for the planned jump - Single Flip=5.5, Single Lutz=6.0. But...the jump wasn't done correctly, so the skater receives a "negative GOE" score (between -1 and -2 points) based on how poorly they executed the planned jump. That lowers the overall point value of the jump and gives away points to the competitors.

This was done to simplify and streamline the scoring, plus penalize skaters who plan one thing and then do something different. Some people feel the jump should just be switched from a Lutz to a Flip (or vice versa) on the score sheet and be graded. Others believe that the planned elements should be done correctly and penalties like this should result from poor execution.

The biggest problem is that different competitions involve different tech specialists and judges. Some are more strict and unforgiving than others. It needs to be more consistent and explained better to the audience. It's like a Balk in Baseball - to the spectators, every fakeout results in the boo-birds calling "BALK!" The umpires are the real judges with the authority to put it on the scoresheet.

A toe loop is used in an inside edge and you jump from the outside which makes it easier. The flip is when you use an outside edge but it's not curving, it's a flat edge. The wrong edge means their edge was too curved and it turns into a lutz when you jump from a curved edge. The difference is that the flip is a straight outside edge and assisted with a toe pick and the lutz is the curved outside edge assisted with the toe pick.

oh man I just wrote this on my iPod in the wrong box lol. well my source is I'm a skater!!