Okay I have heard of a ballet jump, yet not the mazurka. Does someone know where I can find a video so i can watch how this is done. I'm one of those people who needs to see it rather then hear about it.

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No video clip but an explanation:

from http://www.skatejournal.com/jumpposition.html

The mazurka is also referred to as the Scissor jump. Tenley Albright was the most-talked about skater to do this jump. Scott Hamilton also did it quite well, if I remember. Sorry, couldn't find any video, but if you have some at home, you'll see it.

I'll describe it for a CCW skater. From a back edge (I usually use a RFI 3-turn entry) you pick in with the left foot. You then bring the right leg across and in front of the left leg. You land on the the right toe and glide onto the left inside edge, checking the exit.

There are different variations. Somehow I remember Maribel Vinson crossed IN FRONT of the picking foot, but Tenley Albright crossed BEHIND.

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For two years, we were incorrectly taught to do it as a side-hop.....until someone taught us the correct way

I'm not coordinated to get it right yet.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

It can be done both ways. I learned it as a kick through in front first, later the cross behind. (Which is brutal and terrifying.)

I took the description from the ISI skater's manual, thinking I learned it in the wrong order.

I think I got the Albright/Vinson versions correct, but I haven't been able to confirm. It could be the opposite.

I've seen descriptions that make it seem like a non-rotational jump, but the ISI lists it as a half-rotation.

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Hm, my ISI Handbook doesn't mention the Mazurka at all... what level freestyle is it supposed to be required for?

I did find it listed unter the Basic 8 requirements for USFSA though.

I don't know if I've ever seen it done this way. Here's how I learned it:

Takeoff is exactly like a toeloop (RFI 3-turn or other way to get onto a RBO edge, then pick with left toe). Rotate just 1/4 turn to the left when you take off, so that you are facing sideways. Point both toes and cross your right foot in front of the left, with the foot turned out so that your hips are open and you are leading with the right heel. Land forward on the right toe, then push onto the left forward edge, just like a bunny hop.

There's also something my coaches call a "side toe tap" which is also called a mazurka by some. It's basically just a sideways skip, without the feet crossing, so it's much easier. You just start on a RBO edge, stick the left toe in sideways and hop off of it to the left, then stick the right toe in sideways and hop off of it to the left, landing forward onto a left forward edge.

check out www.sk8stuff.com and look under "recognizing element" they have a video for a ballet jump on the site that you can even play in slow motion.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IbdNDlZ9Dy8

This link is a low resolution video of my instructor, Vitaliy, demonstrating a mazurka to me. This was over a year ago.

It wasn't until late last fall that I finally caught on. The picking foot has to plant way inside the tracing of the skating foot. You can't be tentative! When you have the timing right you can bounce pretty high and get all twisted up in the air.

I think it's fun.

In ISI, it's an Uncaptured Jump, not a test element.

ISI Competitor's Handbook, p. 61 - "MAZURKA JUMP"

"1/2 rotation jump, takeoff any edge backward using toe for assistance, rotate to forward,crossing the opposite leg used for picking in the BACK, landing on this toe, push to opposite foot for glide."

ISI Competitor's Handbook, p. 61 - "SCISSORS JUMP (Tenley Albright Jump)"

"1/2 rotation jump, takeoff any edge backward using toe for assistance, rotate to forward,crossing the opposite leg used for picking in the FRONT, landing on this toe, push to opposite foot for glide."

Just to make it more interesting, there's a current book called "The Complete Book of Figure Skating" written by the former PSA director Carole Shulman that has a good explanation of the Mazurka. (I can't believe my old reliable "Figure Skating with Carlo Fossi" let me down.)


On page 137, the book describes the Mazurka as:

"the right (free) foot swings across the left foot in a scissor action so that the feet are actually crossed in the air with the RIGHT foot in front and the left foot behind. The arms should be held out to the side with the head erect and the back straight."

It goes on to say:

"Olympic champion Tenley Albright varied the scissor action of this jump by crossing her free foot BEHIND instead of in FRONT."

Yes, they are contradicting each other, so here's a picture of Dr. Albright in the air: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/photocredit/achievers/alb0-027

Whatever works for you; I think the front version is easier to learn first. I hated the cross-behind version. The key is to pick in behind, as Russiet says, and you really need to get height and hang time.

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Yeah, that's what we learned as the mazurka; then a year later we actually learned the real mazurka and it created a bunch of confusion.....I like the ballet jump much better.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

That's the USFSA definition of a "Toe Tap" and it's on the Basic tests.

The ISI has an Uncaptured Jump called a "TAP toe" (note reversed wording) that's a half rotation from a BO edge. Think of a "half toe loop" and you've got the idea. It is similar to a mazurka/scissors jump, but it doesn't have the scissors action of the legs.

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Ok that explains why it's not in my handbook, it only lists the test elements.

That's why the ISI Test and Competitor handbooks should be merged. Much of the information is the same, yet each book contains some unique information as well. It's a pain keeping TWO books up to date when the ISI makes changes, although that's not very frequently.

If you compete, you should have the Competitors Handbook.

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I agree. We have both books.
The ballet jump is in ISI fs 2.

I don't know for sure, I always assumed it was named after the Mazurka dance (Not an ice dance, is it?)

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Never worried about that... hey, that's what I paid the coach the big bucks for!

So it is... having just tested FS2 a few months ago I know well. The problem was that I couldn't find the Mazurka anywhere and now we know why.

I've seen some "big-bucks coaches" get a skater penalized because of illegal program moves. In one case, a coach didn't know about the Dance Step Sequence changes made in 2003 and had the kid do the wrong footwork for her test level. Devasting for the skater, embarrassing for the coach.

The Competitors' Handbook is IMO, better than the test book. It has a wealth of information that helps you as a competitor, such as what the judges are looking for in a program, what elements you can add legitimately to raise your program score, even costuming notes. Don't compete without it!

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Was the video clip I posted of any help? I was very pleased to actually have what you were seeking.

The "side toe tap" is very much easier to do. I was able to do that before I was able to scissor into a mazurka.

When scissoring the legs, the arms will counter in the opposite direction.

Jon

I've watched it a few times and yeah...seems pretty hard.

I still totally suck at the ballet jump. I mean really bad.

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I have watched this over and over. I still cannot see which foot he lands on. I can't play it slowly and steadily enough to make the distinction. I have always had trouble w/ the mazurka, and now I wonder if it's b/c I was doing it wrong.

Kay

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After launching off of the left pick and crossing up in mid air, he taps the right pick & glides out on the left foot.

Annoyingly, he can do it equally as well CW.

Jon

PS, I just watched the video from the link I gave. Wow....the resolution wasn't so good to begin with, but its really bad from that download site that I used. It's a QuikTime .mov file that's about 3.5 MB. When I watch the original file at home, it can be slowed down and all frames are viewable. I'm not saying it has extraordinary cinematic qualities, but it is better than the link I uploaded it to.

If you want the original video file, let me know & I'll email it to you.

Jon

That would be great!
kay@skatejournal.com

Kay

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do NOT trust your coach w/everything. When i had my old coach she taught me an incorrect pattern for my preliminary moves and ofcourse i failed the test. I fired her and made her pay for my test...what a waste of time that was. Coaches can be careless too no matter how expencive they are.