15 Figure Skating Jumps, Spins, and Other Moves, Explained

The axel is both the easiest figure skating jump to identify and the hardest one to execute. It's easy to see, even for untrained eyes, because it's the only jump that takes off from a forward edge rather than a back one. That forward outside-edge takeoff, however, means that there's an extra half-rotation in the air before the jump is landed on the back outside edge of the opposite foot. (This means a triple axel, for example, is three and a half rotations.)