Watching all the skating on TV lately, I recently took note of a turn I hadn't noticed before. I had to replay a tape several times before I decided it was a BO closed Mohawk. It is done only by singles skaters, and happens so fast that both my daughter and husband thought it was a one foot turn until I made them watch it over and over. I mentioned it to my coach, and she hadn't heard of anyone doing it and was sure it must be a BI Choctaw. After that, I replayed a tape frame by frame to verify what I knew I was seeing. There is a perfect example of it in the very beginning of Timothy Goebel's LP in the Crest Whitestrips. competition. Watch for the turn from B to F right after the three turn.

I love this turn because it is so crisp. The free leg comes forward immediately as a result of the turn being closed. I tried it on the boards, as I realized the new foot had to take the ice behind the heel of the skating foot in order the hips to be closed.

Have any of you noticed this turn also, or better yet, do any of you do it?

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can you describe the steps & edges so we can picture it?

OK. From a RBO, place the L foot instep to heel of the R, take the ice forward on the L foot. The R foot is now in front and you are on LFO edge. I've seen this turn in prep for a flip, as it puts the freeleg in position to toe the ice prior to a FO three.

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This sounds like a choctaw to me, can anyone confirm this?

no its a mohawk. a choctaw changes edges and direction, and would therefore have the skater going from a BO edge to a FI edge.

It could also be some sort of inverted spread eagle (on outside edges). I have seen show skaters do this - wish I were flexible enough!

OH, gees guys, we do these all the time to set up our waltz/axel jumps. No big deal. Also we do them after landing a jump that is not in combination. It is called a RBO closed mohawk if you're a CCW skater and a LBO closed mohawk if you're a CW skater.

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singerskates:
I've never seen this as a set up for an axel and don't understand it for that purpose as the free leg should be in back for an axel or waltz. I could see it working after landing a jump, although I don't think I've seen it in elite competition.

Jasmine:
Any kind of spread eagle has both feet on the ice at the same time for a noticeable amount of time. This turn is done so fast that it's easy to mistake it for a one foot turn. That new free leg is just there, in front, the moment the turn is completed. I did a few today, and while they weren't pretty, they did work as I expected.

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Singerskates is right, a BO mohawk is most commonly seen as the preparation for a waltz jump or axel - crossovers onto long BO edge, step forward onto FO edge. The free leg position is different than what DBNY describes, but it IS the same step since the edges are the same.

Perhaps the confusion is coming from Goebel's "neat feet"? Having tight footwork like dancers can make a move look very different. I haven't seen the move you talk about but it does sound familiar.

Jasmine, if you made a BO mohawk into a spread eagle it would be just a normal outside spread eagle. Many skaters start their BO spread eagle from a BO edge by stepping with the other foot onto a FO edge.

Edited to say, this sounds a lot like the Junior MITF choctaw sequence - with your body rotated almost facing forwards, you do RBO, L toe to R heel then step to LFI with immediate foot in front extension, RBO, LFI, etc and alternating on a diagonal down the rink. They're beastly hard but I like them better than the power pull double rockers.

Jocelyn

There is no confusion. I watched Goebel frame by frame. A closed Mohawk is different from an open Mohawk and would not make a good entrance into an Axel at all. This is not a case of "neat feet', but of a difference in freeleg and hip position. What Singerskates is talking about is a BO Open Mohawk. This is a very common turn, done almost without thinking by just stepping forward. In order to do a BO closed Mohawk, the free leg must take the ice with the instep to the heel of the (backwards) skating foot. This puts the hips in closed position and brings the new freeleg forward. If you don't pick up your backward skating foot very quickly and crisply, you will be on the ice in the blink of an eye. You could actually turn a BO open Mohawk into a spread eagle, but never a closed one.

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