Gustave Lussi - The man who changed Skating

A 1989 documentary on Gus Lussi who revolutionised figure skating with his approach to teaching jumps and spins. His students included Dick Button, Ronnie Robertson, John Curry, Dorothy Hamill, Hayes Alan Jenkins, Don Jackson, Tenley Albright, Barbara Ann Scott, and Paul Wylie.

[@npe1]

Gus Lussi totally revolutionised jumping in figure skating. Without Gus Lussi there would be no triples or quads. Without the innovations in jumping that Lussi brought in, what we saw just a few months ago, the first quad axel landed by Ilia Malinin, would never have happened. Before Lussi skaters used to either jam their feet together in jumps or have their free leg dangling at one side. It was Lussi that first taught skaters to cross their feet in jumps to achieve a more aerodynamic position to enable them to do multiple rotations.

[@Timzart7]

Although I could be mistaken, I think one of his other contributions was getting skaters to float through the half turn on jumps, instead of spinning their jumps right off the ice. For example, on a double flip jump, the arms make a slicing motion in the entrance, and are held open through a half rotation in the air, and then arms and legs close fast. It gives jumps the suspended, floating, look that Button and Hamill and others had, and became the standard way to teach jumps through the 70s and into the 80s. For the blur spin like Ronnie could do, or a very fast scratch spin, Gus's innovation was the side-by-side knee position in the final position. It's one so few skaters today even use, as not many are really concerned with doing fast scratch spins. They take up too much time in a program. I tried to teach the side-by-side knee closure in a spin to a young friend at the Broadmoor years ago, but he was afraid doing anything to his spin position might screw up his jump position, and he was just a month or so away from a major competition, and also attempting to do the quad loop in practice, two decades before it was finally done in competition by Hanyu. Strangely, I couldn't fully benefit from the Lussi side-by-side knee closure for spin speed I learned in Europe in my 20s, until I was in my 40s and bought a pair of used skates that fit right, for the first time in my life, and then the other trick for me was using overheard arms to adjust my balance for that all important final position, where the speed happens, pressing the free foot heel down first, with toe flexed back, not pointed. Anyway, since Gus had been a ski jumper, I wonder if he thought up all these skating things himself. Probably did.

[@ringdoorbell3223]

(Sharon Shneyer), Thank you for bringing the Guys Lussi story to life. In my several decades of watching and following figure skating, I knew about him, I just didn't know the details. It is sad what has happened with figure skating these days.

[@lindaosika7648]

I have watched so much skating. I agree the skating now is flat. Part the scoring system is annoying,the female skaters are little jumping beans and most skaters choose terrible music.

[@SK82W]

I remember watching Mr. Lussi ( a coach of my coach) teach in Lake Placid. What a blessing for me to have seen him teach his lessons.

[@larhumba4233]

You're spoiling us Flo, with these two full length gems I've never seen before. Thank you! 🥰 💙💜💚

[@lydwinaofschiedam2685]

Wow!!! So interesting. I have been in love with figure skating since Peggy Fleming won the Olympics in 1968, and I had no idea that this gentleman was SO influential in the world of skating. Thank you, Flo, for sharing!!

[@robincochran7369]

A pioneer and a wonderful coach. Enjoyed this, thank you.

[@bevinboulder5039]

Love this! Thanks so much for sharing it with us.😃

[@Jude74]

He would be 124 years old. Dick Button is almost 95. Figure skaters have incredible longevity. Every single figure skating Olympic gold medalist from the United States is still alive. 😮Think about that. Maybe people need to look at this a little bit more, skating is actually good for you. Not just something that entertains you.

[@ferrucciot8053]

Veramente storicamente eccezionali. Innovatori e veri artisti, campioni e scopritori di generazioni di campioni nel pattinaggio artistico . Persone che hanno reso più bello e vivibile questo mondo 👏👏🙋‍♂️

[@franco75010]

Fantastic video !! Thank you so much !

[@bettycurry6752]

Good to see all my figure skating heroes…

[@candacecrocker352]

His skaters always skated with graceful curves not clumsy angles.

[@Jude74]

This is amazing!

[@juanantoniomoreno3409]

Respect!!!

[@franktorres2718]

Denise Biellmann, Lucinda Ruh and Stephane Lambiell 👑👑👑

[@morganrye7166]

would anyone know when this film was put together>

[@Timzart7]

It says 1989 at the end, although some footage is from archives, of course. Fassi looked about the way he did in 1989, as did Tracey Damigella, a young girl Gus trained, but a few years later she went with Fassi at the Broadmoor, which is where I first saw her. But those clips of a bearded Dick Button on the porch with Gus must've been from archives. He looks so young there.

[@franktorres2718]

Surya Bonaly👑

[@juanantoniomoreno3409]

Respect!!!