Taking off at Okurayama. The jumper is about half a second into his flight, but note how he has quickly shaped his skis into a V shape. This technique was developed by Jan Boklov, a brilliant Swedish ski jumper of the late 1980's. It has become the dominant technique and enables competent jumpers to leap on average about 10% longer than the length of the ramp.

You will notice the markers (leaves) used to clearly mark the end of ramp, this makes it easier for the ski jumper to brace for flight. The area immediately after the takeoff point is a safety section designed to reduce the risk of spinal injuries if something goes wrong during the glide. The most famous example of the need for a safety zone is that provided by the footage of Slovenian ski jumper Vinko Bogataj, who somehow managed to avoid serious injury.

The 4WD vehicle visible on the right of the image is actually nearly 200 meters from the position of the jumper in this photograph.

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