I have a question on the arms for 3 turns and mohawks. I never know exactly which way to place them at the beginning of the turns. Could anyone maybe break it down for me?

i also when i skate backward mix up CW and CCW, but that's another story all together. it's like trying to teach me left and right, it took me a long time to remember which is which.

I kept getting contradicted with the arm thing with three turns, so my instructor told me to be more natural and just hold them out to the side, as opposed to say one arm infront of the other.

__________________
http://www.yourphotoalbums.co.uk

Keep your arms over your circle. On Forward threes, your body faces into the circle. On Back threes, your body faces out of your circle. Always look (keep your head turned) in the direction of travel.

__________________

The easiest way to think about "which arm AND shoulder in front" is to think about either hugging a huge beachball or hugging a sequoia tree.

I turn my body to face the direction of the 3-turn, and point the arms accordingly, one arm forward and the other back.

For instance, on a forward right inside or left outside 3-turn, I'll turn my shoulders to the left, with my right arm pointing forward and left arm pointing behind - I try not to move the arms/shoulders when I change directions, just the hips.

I don't know if this is exactly proper - any input on the subject is appreciated.

what do you mean by arms over the circle? i'm trying to picture it in my mind, but i can't seem to visualize it.

i'm sorry if it seems like such a basic question, but one day, my arms will be in one position, the next they'll be in another, and i never know which way to put them. i usually know when it's wrong though because my balance gets thrown way off, but the problem is when i think i do it correctly, i don't notice where my arms were.

arm over the circle:

pretend you have a marker in your hand and you are drawing the circle that you are skating on.

Here is how I teach arms: Do a 2 foot glide straight down the ice with you arms at the sides. Now turn one shoulder and GASP....your feet will follow! Turn your left shoulder to the left, and you will go left. Turn your right shoulder to the right, and you will go to the rights. No other movement is needed.

So if you are wanting to do a left outside 3turn, then you can think, "OK, to go to the left my left shoulder has to go to the left. Therefore my left arm has to be behind, and my right arm in front."

If you want to do a right inside 3 turn, you are on the same circle as you were for the left outside 3 turn. and again, you want to turn to the left. So again, your left arm is back so your left shoulder is back and your right arm is in front.

Hope that helps! Skating is really all about shoulders.