Lutz Jump Technique: How to Fix a Flutz for Good

Correct lutz jump technique requires taking off from a back outside edge, with hips and shoulders held square (checked) over that edge until the toe pick taps the ice. A flutz happens when the edge rolls to the inside before takeoff. Fixing it means rebuilding outside-edge control through slow, deliberate edge drills — not adding speed or rotation.

I see this on almost every freestyle session I coach. A skater lands a lutz, feels good about it, and then finds out at their next competition that it got called as a flutz on the protocol. It’s one of the most common technical corrections in figure skating, and it happens to skaters at every level — including ones who’ve been landing the jump for years without knowing the edge quietly slipped.

Here’s the good news: this is fixable. It’s not about talent or athleticism. It’s a technical habit, and habits respond to the right process. In this post I’ll walk through what makes a true lutz, why the flutz happens in the first place, and a real correction progression you can start using at your next practice — whether you’re a parent trying to understand what your skater’s coach keeps talking about, or a skater who wants to know exactly how to do a lutz the right way.

What Is a Lutz Jump, and Why Does the Outside Edge Matter?

A lutz is a toe-assisted jump that takes off from a back outside edge and lands on the back outside edge of the opposite foot. That takeoff edge is the entire identity of the jump — it’s what separates a lutz from every other toe jump in the book.

For a typical counterclockwise jumper (which is most skaters), the mechanics look like this:

1. A long glide on the left back outside edge (LBO)
2. Reaching back and tapping the right toe pick into the ice
3. Rotating counterclockwise in the air
4. Landing on the right back outside edge

What makes the lutz so tricky is that it’s counter-rotational. The edge curves one direction, but the body rotates the opposite direction. That’s not a natural pairing — your body wants to rotate the same way the edge is already curving, and fighting that instinct is exactly what makes the lutz feel awkward compared to other jumps.

Compare that to the flip: same toe-assisted setup, same landing, but the flip takes off from a back inside edge. The inside edge lets the body rotate with the curve instead of against it, which is part of why the flip generally feels more natural to learn first.

The lutz’s outside edge goes against a skater’s instinct to rotate into the circle they’re gliding on. That instinct is exactly what causes the flutz — and understanding that tension is the first step to fixing it.

How Do You Set Up the Correct Lutz Outside-Edge Takeoff?

You set up a correct lutz takeoff by building a clean, sustained back outside edge well before you reach the corner, then holding your shoulders and hips checked over that edge all the way through the toe tap.

The Approach — Building the Edge Before You Even Get to the Corner

The standard entry into a lutz is clockwise back crossovers flowing into a shallow, sustained left back outside edge, held all the way into the corner of the rink. That edge needs to be established early — not manufactured in the last half-second before takeoff.

I’d rather see a skater take off from a shallow, controlled outside edge with less speed than a fast, unstable edge that’s fighting to hold its shape. Speed doesn’t fix a bad edge. It just makes the mistake happen faster.

Here are the setup mistakes I see most often that destroy the outside edge before the jump even starts:

• Entering on a flat or weak edge, then trying to force it outside right at the last second
• Rotating the upper body into the circle too early, before the toe even taps
• Ending crossovers or transition steps on the wrong edge — flat or inside — with no time left to correct it
• Bending forward before takeoff, which shifts weight onto the inside of the blade without the skater even realizing it

A simple self-check: does your path curve away from the direction you’re about to rotate? If your entry curve matches your rotation direction, you’re very likely already gliding on an inside edge before you’ve even picked.

Body Position at Takeoff — Shoulders, Hips, Free Leg, Arms

Correct body alignment at takeoff comes down to staying checked and square over the outside edge until the exact moment the toe taps.

• Hips and shoulders stay square — ‘checked’ — over the outside edge right up until the pick
• The skating knee stays bent, with the ankle rolled slightly outward for a true outside-edge feel
• The free leg and hip stretch back along a line that supports the edge, rather than swinging across the body
• The free arm (right arm, for a counterclockwise skater) draws back firmly to check the shoulder — this is what actually holds the counter-rotation in place

Opening up slightly and leaning into the outside edge protects it. Wrapping the free arm around the body does the opposite — it collapses the edge and rotates the shoulders in early, which is one of the fastest ways to turn a lutz into a flutz.

For toe-pick placement, reach straight back behind the skating foot. Reaching across toward the inside of the body pulls the edge with it.

What the Correct Edge Feels Like vs. Looks Like

A true outside edge feels like steady, even pressure on the outside of the blade, with no wobble as the toe taps down. There’s often a sensation that the toe pick lands slightly inside the circle, even though the skating foot itself is clearly outside — that’s normal and expected.

On video, look for a clear outside arc traced by the skating blade, a toe pick planted straight behind the body rather than crossing inward, and a lifted upper body with no forward collapse. The free leg should look stretched back and reaching — not kicking or swinging toward the pick.

Entry Options — Using a Three-Turn or Mohawk

Skaters can arrive at the takeoff edge several different ways — a mohawk, a three-turn and crossover combination, or straight crossovers. What matters isn’t the entry pattern; it’s that the final approach into takeoff is a clean, sustained outside edge.

A simpler entry for developing skaters: crossovers into a brief right back edge, then crossing the left foot over onto the left back outside edge before picking and jumping. For very early learners, I like starting with a two-foot glide that transitions into a single-foot outside edge with a toe tap and no rotation at all — just building pure edge feel first.

Whatever entry you use, the transition into the takeoff edge needs to be smooth. Last-second turns or jerky crossovers are where flats and inside edges sneak in.

What Causes a Flutz, and How Can You Tell If You’re Doing One?

A flutz happens when a skater attempts a lutz but takes off from a back inside edge instead of a back outside edge — which technically makes the takeoff match a flip, even though the jump is intended and often initially scored as a lutz attempt.

What a Flutz Actually Is

Judges assess the lutz by watching the takeoff edge and entry curve, not the rotation or the landing. That’s an important distinction for skaters and parents to understand — a flutz can be rotated cleanly, land solidly, and still get flagged, because the call is about the edge at takeoff, not how the jump looks in the air.

There’s often a real gap between what the skater feels and what actually happened. Many skaters genuinely feel like they’re on an outside edge because the entry started outside — but the edge quietly rolls to inside as the body rotates or the free leg swings through, and the skater doesn’t feel it happen in real time.

The Real Technical Causes of Flutz (Not Excuses)

A flutz almost always comes down to one or more of these:

• Rotating the shoulders into the circle too early instead of staying checked over the edge
• The free leg swinging across the body, which drags the hip and the skating edge inward with it
• A lack of dedicated outside-edge control work, so the skater defaults to the more ‘natural’ inside edge once speed and rotation get added
• Rushing the takeoff — punching the toe pick down without a sustained edge first, which causes an accidental pivot to the inside

None of these are about effort or talent. They’re specific, identifiable habits, which is exactly why flutz correction is possible.

How to Confirm You’re Actually Doing a Flutz

I always recommend slow-motion video review, focused on three things: the entry curve, the blade’s tilt at the exact moment of the toe tap, and whether the edge visibly changes shape in that final glide before takeoff.

A few questions worth asking your coach directly:

• ‘Is my blade clearly on a back outside edge at the moment of toe tap?’
• ‘Where does my free leg go right before I pick — does it swing across my body?’
• ‘Do my shoulders stay checked over the outside edge until the pick, or am I rotating early?’

It’s also worth distinguishing a true flutz — where the edge is clearly inside — from a ‘soft’ outside edge, which is technically outside but shallow and inconsistent, and easy to lose the moment speed gets added. Both need work, but they’re not the same problem.

How Do You Correct a Flutz? (Step-by-Step Progression)

You correct a flutz by rebuilding outside-edge control from the ground up — not by adding speed, rotation, or trying to ‘muscle’ the takeoff into place. This is a rebuilding process, and treating it as one is what makes it stick.

1. Slow-motion outside-edge glides. Glide on the back outside edge alone, with no toe tap at all. Focus purely on knee bend, ankle lean, and keeping the shoulder checked.
2. Toe taps without jumping. Add the toe pick tap while maintaining that same outside-edge glide — still no jump. The goal here is simply feeling the edge hold through the tap.
3. Two-foot drills on the line. Glide on the outside edge, ‘pull’ it with a controlled arm position, and finish on both toe picks to feel the hip and foot rotation without losing the edge underneath you.
4. Small hop with the established edge. Once the edge is holding consistently, add a small, low hop directly from that correct outside-edge position — still no full rotation.
5. Full single lutz. Only reintroduce full rotation once the outside edge is holding consistently through steps one through four.

I like using a few extra tools throughout this progression: mirror work off the ice, edge tracings marked directly on the ice, and video review at each stage before moving forward. Skipping ahead because ‘it looked fine that one time’ is the most common way skaters undo this work.

Be patient with this process. A few clean attempts don’t mean the flutz is fixed — you’re looking for a repeatable pattern across multiple sessions, not one good rep. Relearning an edge is completely normal, even for skaters who’ve already landed the jump for years. I’ve walked plenty of skaters through exactly this rebuild, and it’s a normal part of my coaching approach whenever a technical habit needs to be corrected properly instead of patched over.

How Do You Train the Lutz Outside Edge for Long-Term Consistency?

You maintain a clean lutz outside edge long-term by continuing dedicated edge work even after the jump is landing consistently, since small edge drift gets more exaggerated as speed and rotation increase.

Edge Work That Should Continue Even After the Lutz ‘Works’

Outside-edge glide drills shouldn’t stop the moment the single lutz starts landing. They need to stay part of regular practice, not just something you return to when there’s a problem.

A small amount of edge drift that’s barely noticeable at low speed becomes a much bigger issue once more speed and rotation get added. Ongoing edge maintenance work is what keeps the flutz from quietly creeping back in months later.

Progressing from Double to Triple Lutz

The back outside takeoff requirement doesn’t change as rotation increases — not for a double, not for a triple. What changes is that the skater has to hold that checked outside-edge position longer and generate more rotational power once airborne, all without letting the edge slip early.

Here’s a simple way to think about readiness at each stage:

Stage	What to look for before adding rotation
Single lutz	Consistent outside-edge tracings on video across sessions
Double lutz	Stable balance under increased speed, clean shoulder/arm check
Triple lutz	No early shoulder rotation even under full speed and power

A common regression pattern shows up when rotation gets added: the shoulders start turning early again, or the free leg swings wider to try to ‘help’ generate rotation. The fix is the same every time — step back to single lutz edge drills temporarily before reintroducing the extra rotation.

How Lutz Edge Control Helps the Rest of a Skater’s Technique

The lutz and the loop are both counter-rotational jumps, so real mastery of controlled outside edges pays off well beyond just the lutz. It sharpens overall edge awareness and jump control across a skater’s whole program.

That carryover shows up in toe jump entries built on outside edges, and in edge-based turns and step sequences that require precise lean and balance. It also matters competitively — judges score heavily based on takeoff edge clarity, so solid lutz technique protects a skater from edge calls as they move up through the levels.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a lutz and a flip?
A lutz takes off from a back outside edge; a flip takes off from a back inside edge. Both are toe-assisted jumps. The takeoff edge is the one defining difference, and it’s exactly what judges are watching for.

Can you fix a flutz at any age or level?
Yes. Flutz correction is technique-based — it comes down to edge control, timing, and body alignment, all of which are trainable skills no matter a skater’s age or current level.

How long does flutz correction usually take?
There’s no fixed timeline. It depends on how ingrained the inside-edge habit is, how consistently the skater practices outside-edge drills, and the quality of coaching feedback and video review along the way.

Should I video my lutz takeoff?
Yes. Slow-motion video is one of the most reliable ways to see the true takeoff edge, since a flutz can feel correct in the moment but clearly show an inside-edge change on replay.

What if I can land the jump but the edge feels wrong?
Landing the jump doesn’t mean the edge is correct — plenty of flutzes get landed successfully but still show up as inside-edge takeoffs. Treat it as a genuine technical project and return to outside-edge drills rather than relying on the jump’s success as proof the edge is fine.

I’ve worked through this exact correction with skaters throughout the Bay Area, at every level from first attempts at a single lutz to skaters preparing triples. It’s slow work, and it takes real patience from both the skater and the coach. But a clean, honest outside edge is worth far more in the long run than a lutz that only holds up until someone slows the video down.