Backward outside choctaws & forward inside counters

An extended back outside edge into a closed choctaw, with a forward inside counter and a change of edge on the way out.

BIS Skills 7exercise 2In the syllabus both before and after 01/10/2026

Not checked yet. The requirements on this page are a first draft by a non-expert, and no coach has seen them yet. Read them as a starting point and check them with a coach. Corrections are very welcome.

The mirror of exercise 1, and the first learning objective gives away what it is really about: holding a strong back outside edge in order to perform the choctaw. The assessment is the edge before the turn, because a choctaw taken off a weak edge cannot be placed and has to be jumped into.

That edge is extended, which means the skater arrives at the hardest change of foot in the test in a position they have held for the whole length of the edge. It is the Skills 1 extended edge doing a job four levels later, the way this syllabus reuses its early elements.

Coming out, the forward inside counter goes straight into a change of edge. There is no settled lobe after the turn: the check has to hold only long enough for the edge to be rolled to the other side of the blade, and if the rotation is still running when that happens the new edge never takes and the next crossover has nothing to push against.

Elements

Right backward outside choctawRBO to LFI: a step onto the other foot, changing edge and reversing onto a new one. No cusp.
Left backward outside choctawLBO to RFI: a step onto the other foot, changing edge and reversing onto a new one. No cusp.
Extended edgeA plain edge held for a third of a circle, long enough to be a position in its own right.
Left forward inside counterLFI to LBI: half a turn against the circle, holding the edge and leaving on a new one.
Right forward inside counterRFI to RBI: half a turn against the circle, holding the edge and leaving on a new one.
Left backward inside change of edgeLBI to LBO: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling backwards, and the lobe reverses.
Right backward inside change of edgeRBI to RBO: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling backwards, and the lobe reverses.
Right backward outside crossoverRBO to LBI: the free foot crosses in front of the skating foot onto the same lobe, still travelling backwards.
Left backward outside crossoverLBO to RBI: the free foot crosses in front of the skating foot onto the same lobe, still travelling backwards.

This page lists which elements the exercise calls for and what it is working on. It does not reproduce British Ice Skating's sequence, pattern or wording. For the exercise as published, go to their own document.