In this video, the next skating skill we’re going to touch on is jam turns. What a jam turn is, basically, is a tight, tight, tight turn that you might use along the boards or in a tight area that you want to get out of really quickly. A jam turn allows you to get out of that area quickly but also pick up speed as you’re coming out of it, so you’re not stopping. You’re doing a nice, quick turn on your edges and then taking off.
What is a Jam Turn?
Jam turns are part of the same family as a tight turn or a glide turn, so we’re going to have a lot of the same principles: with our wide base, leading with our inside foot, and making sure that we’re in a good body position as we’re coming through. When we turn, we’re always going to make sure that we’re leading with our head and shoulders, keeping our upper body and our stick in front of us, and making sure that we’re coming out nice and quick.
Step 1 – Lead Foot
So, we’re going to break down our jam turn into three simple steps. If I were turning to the left, I would want to lead with my left foot. My left foot is going to come out in front. “Jam” is basically a slang term for a one-foot stop. So, as you see in the video, I’m going to come in, I’m going to jam that front foot for a one-foot stop on the ball of my foot, using both my edges, almost in neutral, and I’m going to slide my skate. Alright, that’s step one.
Step 2 – Inside Foot
Step two is going to be that same idea, jamming my inside foot. So that left foot is going to jam, and my right foot is going to be on my inside edge. I’m going to let it glide all the way around my body. Now, as I’m doing that, it’s very important that I lead with my head and shoulders. So, as I jam my foot, I lead with my head and shoulders, and then that right leg comes gliding out and around on my inside edge.
Step 3 – Crossing Over to Finish Jam Turn
The third and final step is going to be crossing that foot over and taking off in the other direction. So, I’m coming in one way, I jam (step one), I glide on my inside edge (step two) with my right foot, and then I cross and take off going the other way, which would be step three and would finish my jam turn.
Key Points to Watch For
A couple of key points would be making sure that you control your body. So as you come into this jam, you’re in a nice, good hockey player position. You’re coming in, stepping with that left foot or that inside foot, jamming, colliding with that outside edge, and keeping your body under control, and making sure that when we cross, we’re taking off nice and smooth. We haven’t gone up and down too much; we’re staying nice and low, controlling everything step by step.
So, make sure that we move, we jam, we turn our head, our shoulders, and then our hips will swing with us, driving that leg around, crossing over, and then taking off the other way. When you’re performing a jam turn in a tight area, you want to make sure that the inside foot is jamming and that as you bring around the outside foot—so in this video, the right foot comes around—you want to turn those hips nice and quick. That’ll allow the right foot to come around, then cross, and then take off in your forward skating.
Conclusion
A lot of times, what we see is players are unable to jam that inside foot; they end up getting caught on their own side edge, and they aren’t able to just jam and slide that outside foot like a one-leg stop. This takes practice and some time, but once you get that turn and that jam, you’ll see you’ll be able to use this in tight areas very effectively.
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