Mohawk or Three-turn?

[jjane45]

Random poll: which turn do you prefer, mohawk or three-turn? To keep it simple, just the basic forward outside three-turn and basic forward inside mohawk, on both feet.

When I learned them in ISI gamma, three-turns clicked immediately while mohawks gave me a lot of trouble. After several weeks of frustration mohawk suddenly clicked. From there on I strongly favor mohawks to three-turns, it just feels like a much more stable transition, without much chance to lose balance like in three-turns. The difference can be clearly seen in the speed difference between alternating mohawks and alternating three-turns, at least for me.

(ETA: I have open hips too and bet it factored into the preference. Wondering what do skaters with closed hips generally prefer?)

So which one to you prefer then and now? Why?

[Clarice]

Mohawk, no question.  It's how I naturally turned from forwards to backwards back when I was a kid pond skating, long before I formally took up the sport.  I'm naturally open-hipped, so these have always been very easy for me (although not necessarily pretty - I've had to work hard to do them to ice dance standards!).  Three-turns have always been much harder for me - I have more of a tendency to force them.

[Fiorano]

oddly enough, I prefer to use a mohawk to turn counterclockwise (my jump/spin direction), and three-turns clockwise (RFO, LFI).
for backwards to forwards though, I easily prefer mohawks, as it just seems really natural and intuitive...but I'm just starting to get my back 3's to look decent, so maybe I'll have a different preference once I've mastered them.

[jjane45]

I never three-turn if mohawk can be done, simply not the comfort level. Oddly skating at full speed, I now tend to do RFI mohawks with a hop. Just feels easier that way

[JHarer]

I prefer mohawks. I am still terrified to attempt a 3-turn with any speed.

[Skittl1321]

Doesn't matter to me as long as it turns CW.  I hate counter-clockwise three turns and counter clockwise mohawks (though I hate the mohawk more).  However, for the ones I prefer- I like them equally.

[sampaguita]

Mohawks, definitely. Bad mohawks can be corrected during the turn, but 3-turns at full speed are just plain scary.

[SK8N]

CCW, definitely mohawk.  I can do the mohawk at speed.  CW, I tend to do a mohawk but I have to slow down first.  My CW 3-turn is probably actually better than my mohawk.  Because I mohawk in one direction, I tend to want to do the same thing in the other direction. 

And I have very closed hips.

[CrossStroke]

At good speed - mohawk, no doubt.

[Rachelsk8s]

I guess I'm the odd ball lol I prefer 3 turns, but I use Mohawks too, depending upon what jump or element I'm about to do.

[VAsk8r]

I'm odd, too. I strongly prefer 3-turns, and as a result, those are much more polished. It took me ages to get mohawks down. I rarely do them unless I'm working on some specific footwork or entrance my coach told me to do.

[jjane45]

Oh oh I forgot about the jump entries! My flip jump has three-turn entry not mohawk, actually I have never tried mohawk entry for full-flip yet. Guess the preference there involves more like rotation and checking...

[sarahspins]

I think for a general moving forward to backwards I prefer a mohawk (either direction, at any speed) but it really just depends.. sometimes a 3 makes more sense, sometimes a counter does, and sometimes as in the case of jumps, it's simply what I am used to doing, and in almost all cases I prefer a 3 turn for jumps preceded by a turn, except for before loop jumps - those I prefer to set up from back XO's.

[platyhiker]

I definitely prefer three-turns.  I do have closed hips.  But, I think the main reason is the order I was taught the various elements.  The lessons I took in my teenage years (long ago) taught us three turns early on and used them as entries for the various jumps.  I learned the mohawk quite a bit later as an alternate entry to use for jumps (maybe for the flip?).  As a result, I stuck with three turns and never used the mohawk much.

My lessons were not part of a USFS or ISI program, so I find it interesting to look at my daughter's USFS skills book (she just started lessons this winter) and seeing the various elements I never learned.  I don't remember learning three turns in both directions - I think I may have learned them only as jump entrances.  Interesting, just this week, my group class did a bunch of edge work, and I have just learned how to do CW three turns.

[jjane45]

Yesterday in dance class, I watched how people go into backward pumps from forward skating. LFO three turns outnumbered RFI mohawks by a bit...