Right forward inside mohawk

RFI to LBI: a step onto the other foot, holding the edge and staying on the same lobe. No cusp.

Also called C step, open C step or closed C step. Other names.

Not checked yet. The mechanics 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.

Forwards on the inside edge, stepping onto the other foot to travel backwards on its inside edge, staying on the same circle throughout. This is the mohawk most skaters mean when they say the word, and it is usually the first change of foot they learn.

Where it goes wrong is in the placement. The free foot wants to arrive too far in front or too far away, and either produces a jolt as the weight transfers. Open and closed describe where it goes (heel to the inner side of the skating foot for open, instep to the heel for closed), and they feel like different moves even though the tracing is identical.

Derived

Build on

• Right forward inside edgeRFI: the right foot travelling forwards on an inside edge, tracing an anticlockwise lobe.
• Two-foot turnBoth turn from forwards to backwards, and the mohawk changes feet as it turns. Ice Skating Australia teaches its forward inside mohawk after the two-foot turns.

Leads to

5 elements in the guide are built on this one.

• Right forward inside choctawRFI to LBO: a step onto the other foot, changing edge and reversing onto a new one. No cusp.
• Right backward inside counter-mohawkRBI → RFI → LBI: 2 turns on two feet.
• Right backward inside rocker-mohawkRBI → RFI → LBI: 2 turns on two feet.
• Right backward outside three-mohawkRBO → RFI → LBI: 2 turns on two feet.
• Right forward inside double three-mohawkRFI → RBO → RFI → LBI: 3 turns on two feet.

From RFI

• Right forward inside step wideexits LFI · changes foot, the edge holds, the direction holds, the lobe reverses
• Right forward inside change of edgeexits RFO · same foot, the edge changes, the direction holds, the lobe reverses
• Right forward inside three turnexits RBO · same foot, the edge changes, the direction reverses, the lobe continues
• Right forward inside rockerexits RBI · same foot, the edge holds, the direction reverses, the lobe reverses
• Right forward inside choctawexits LBO · changes foot, the edge changes, the direction reverses, the lobe reverses
• Right forward inside bracketexits RBO · same foot, the edge changes, the direction reverses, the lobe continues
• Right forward inside counterexits RBI · same foot, the edge holds, the direction reverses, the lobe reverses
• Right forward inside loopexits RFI · same foot, the edge holds, the direction holds, the lobe continues

Clusters from RFI

• Right forward inside double three-mohawkRFI → RBO → RFI → LBI
• Right forward inside bracket-counterRFI → RBO → RFO
• Right forward inside rocker-counterRFI → RBI → RFI
• Right forward inside rocker-counter-double twizzleRFI → RBI → RFI → RFI
• Right forward inside bracket-cross rollRFI → RBO → LBO
• Right forward inside counter-mohawkRFI → RBI → LFI
• Right forward inside counter-threeRFI → RBI → RFO
• Right forward inside counter-2½ twizzleRFI → RBI → RFO
• Right forward inside double threeRFI → RBO → RFI
• Right forward inside rocker-choctawRFI → RBI → LFO
• Right forward inside rocker-mohawkRFI → RBI → LFI
• Right forward inside three-mohawkRFI → RBO → LFO
• Right forward inside choctaw-three-rockerRFI → LBO → LFI → LBI
• Right forward inside 3-turn-change of edge-double twizzleRFI → RBO → RBI → RBI
• Right forward inside triple threeRFI → RBO → RFI → RBO

Appears in

• BIS Skills 2BIS · level 2
• BIS Skills 4BIS · level 4
• BIS Skills 5BIS · level 5
• BIS Skills 6BIS · level 6

• BIS Skills 2, exercise 5: Skating exerciseA full circuit of the rink built from an open mohawk into backward edges, a step wide and a crossover, on both sides.
• BIS Skills 4, exercise 5: Backward choctawsA held back outside edge into a closed choctaw, an open mohawk immediately after it, and crossovers between the lobes.
• BIS Skills 4, exercise 6: Mohawk & 3-turn exerciseOpen mohawks alternating with backward 3-turns, inside on the first side and outside on the second.
• BIS Skills 5, exercise 5: Skating exerciseA serpentine of backward inside 3-turns and open mohawks, two lobes on each foot, joined entirely by crossovers.
• BIS Skills 6, exercise 1: Backward rockersBackward inside and backward outside rockers, each followed at once by a mohawk, on both sides.
• BIS Skills 6, exercise 2: Backward inside countersBackward inside counters, each one leaving into an open mohawk, repeated across the full ice surface.