A choctaw turn is a turn in
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
that involves both a change of foot and a change of edge and lobe. Choctaws are the two-foot equivalents of
rockers and
counters, in the same way that
mohawk turn
A mohawk is a figure skating turn that involves a change of skating foot but not a change of edge. It is a turn from one foot to the other, from forward to backwards (or backwards to forwards) in which the entry and exit curves are continuous and ...
s are the two-foot equivalents of
three turns and
brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
.
The most familiar choctaw seen in free skating is the step from a back inside edge to a forward outside edge that is used as the entrance to forward
spins
The spins (as in having "the spins")Diane Marie Leiva. ''The Florida State University College of Education''Women's Voices on College Drinking: The First-Year College Experience"/ref> is an adverse reaction of intoxication that causes a state of ...
. Otherwise choctaws are most commonly used as elements of step sequences.
In Canada this turn is called an S turn due to its shape. It was changed on October 28, 2020 by
Skate Canada
Skate Canada (Canadian French: ''Patinage Canada'', lit. "Skating Canada") is the national governing body for figure skating in Canada, recognized by the International Skating Union and the Canadian Olympic Committee. It organizes the annual ...
. In this announcement they also changed the
Mohawk turn
A mohawk is a figure skating turn that involves a change of skating foot but not a change of edge. It is a turn from one foot to the other, from forward to backwards (or backwards to forwards) in which the entry and exit curves are continuous and ...
to the C turn. They stated this was done to "improve equity, diversity and inclusion in the sport." They also said that this change works toward the decolonizing of their terminology.
Choctaws are also prominently featured in several
compulsory dances in
ice dancing
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...
, including:
* The Kilian features a ''crossed open choctaw'' from a left forward inside edge to a right back outside edge, with the right foot placed on the ice slightly in front of the left foot at the turn. It is called an ''open'' turn because the left foot ends up behind the right foot after the turn.
* The Blues includes a ''closed choctaw'', again from a left forward inside edge to a right back outside edge, but in this case the right foot is placed just behind the left heel at the turn. It is called a ''closed'' turn because the left foot is extended in front after the turn.
* The Rhumba includes a double choctaw sequence. The first is a ''wide open choctaw'', once again from left forward inside to right back outside, but in this case the left foot crosses wide in back at the turn. From the right back outside edge, the dancers then immediately execute a ''wide closed choctaw'' to the left forward inside edge, again with the free foot crossing wide in back at the turn.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choctaw Turn
Figure skating elements