I think the trick to the half loop is just to get past the name and think of it as a fully rotated loop jump that you happen to land on the other foot (which is what it is). You have to really check hard, pulling the free leg back on landing, bending the skating knee and getting your weight on the heel, just like you're about to take off on a flip jump. In fact, if you make yourself practice half loop-flip, the half-loop salchow will become smooth and easy pretty quickly.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Thanks, doubletoe! I know this advice will work for me....I'll try them tomorrow.

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Relative Judging System - the "old" 6.0 system.

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Mrs Redboots
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Yeah just think of it as a normal loop and also make sure you keep the R hip down when you check out of it....that's what my coach has been having me do and it seems to be working better. They've gotten much bigger than what I was doing at ANs.

I end up landing it as a real loop, not on the "wrong foot". My body just self-corrects.

I also know the difference - a falling leaf is supposed to land on a toe pick and push onto the FI edge of the takeoff foot. You never mentioned a "hop" or edge change in your original statement. I thought maybe you just typed the wrong name, which DOES happen occasionally.

Why the snark? My guess made sense since it lands on the correct BI edge for the salchow entrance.
I actually have a great half-loop (cross-checking the arms on landing helps with the runout, too.)

Now I'm intrigued. Walk us through the steps, please.

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The comment that I definitely know the difference is because I definitely know the difference between the two transition elements and that I am as unlikely to call a 1/2 loop a falling leaf as I am a loop a flip. I felt somewhat insulted that it was suggested I didn't know the difference.

Back on topic: She lands on the toe pick and edge almost simulataneously and bends and hops the Mohawk from front to back to a back inside edge. It looks really cool, it gets called a sequence (haven't seen her take a deduction for it in two or three years that she's been doing it nor has it been called out as two jumps in any critique she has received).

It may be OK under 6.0 but it could be a little dangerous under IJS, since the technical specialist might call a jumped mohawk or jumped 3-turn as a turn. That actually happened to one of the ladies in Gold III at AN this year. She did a sequence that had a one foot waltz jump (a one-foot LFO 3-turn) connecting the two jumps and the TS called it as a turn, which turned the sequence into two jump passes. As a result, her final 3-jump combination was considered a 7th jump element and it didn't count.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

She's not quite ready to move up to Gold FS yet but if she was, our coach would make it three combos to eliminate the sequence penalty anyway.

Another reason to stay away from sequences. Best to do all combinations.

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"It's not age that determines but the heart." "Skating is not just a sport for the young but it's a passion for the soul of the young at heart." Brigitte Laskowski

I am a nomadic adult skater who is a member of Windsor FSC (Skate Windsor) WOS SC again since Sept. 1st, 2008.

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My one training partner skates Silver, which is under 6.0 and isn't quite ready for Gold...yet which makes the sequence she's doing fine. When she's ready, it'll be three combos