Help with loop jump take-off?

Loop was also one of my worst jumps, I've just recently got it clean..I found it harder than flip and lutz.

Assuming your a counter-clockwise skater, you'll be taking off on your RBO edge. As you're gliding back on this edge your feet should be in a shape like this: ', (with your left foot infront and your right behind, you should be "sitting" on your right leg so it should be carrying most of the weight, this is important for the take-off of the jump)

Your arms should be pointing into the circle, with your left arm infront of your body and your right to the side, when you come to taking off for the jump, gather your arms upwards (actually pull them upwards towards your chest) to get the 'pull' for the jump.

Whilst preparing to take off your right knee should be bent almost in a slight sitting position (this is how my coach described it) and as you take off remember to GRIP the ice with your toe pick - the big problem I had with loop take-offs was that my toe pick was not gripping the ice securely enough so my foot was slipping, so as you take off your right foot should turn to the left as your toe pick grips the ice. At this point you use the momentum from both your arms (and your free leg) to jump into the air.

Loop takes a lot of work and practise to finally get clean, just remember to really bend that right leg and gather those arms up when you take-off. It's an awkward take off I must admit but if you continue working on it, it will improve.

When you're gliding in to take off remember that your left foot should just be 'touching' the ice, do not try and equally distribute your weight otherwise it would be classed as a two foot take off - you don't want to get into that bad habit.

Here's a good video that may help with the take-off:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh4EIzmvmYk

Hope I helped and good luck with your loop, it took me a while but you'll get it soon :)

The loop jump was the hardest single for me to learn, it took me longer to land than my single axel! But now it is my biggest and best looking single jump. It takes a ton of time and practice to get the hang of it. When you're on your back outside edge, be sure that its pretty deep right before the takeoff. Your left leg (assuming you jump counter-clockwise, if not just switch it) should be basically crossed over your right. And when you actually take off, if you do it right, you actually rotate a little bit on the ice before you're in the air. So like most single jumps, it's really not a full revolution in the air, it's more like 3/4 of a full revolution. Also, a big problem for me was that I would twist my right shoulder when I took off to try to get all the way around. It doesn't work, and it just makes your jump look horrible. Try to keep your right shoulder back throughout the entire takeoff and jump. Loops are hard, they are definitely a step up from salchows and toe loops. I promise you'll get it eventually if you keep working at it! Good luck :)

I had so much trouble with the loop takeoff on the backward edge, but my coach taught me that simply shifting my weight by standing straighter and leaning slightly to the left, it made a huge difference, and i had my loop landed. :) Another thing you can try is making sure your arms rotate at the same time that your legs do, so you aren't twisting.

make sure you keep you knee bend until you are ready to take off. Also, in the air, practice bringing your freeleg up with the jump.

I had this problem too.

Make sure to sit and ride the edge and let it come around. Make sure you're on a curve. As the edge comes around, scoop the arms up and in as you spring off the toe.