Elements · 34 basics

Basics

New to the rink? Your first session covers getting on and off the ice, which way to skate and never standing on metal.

• Falling and getting upSitting down onto the ice on purpose, to one side, and getting back up from hands and knees.
• MarchingWalking on the ice with each foot lifted clear in turn, forwards first and later backwards.
• Two-foot glideBoth blades flat and parallel, carrying speed you have already got.
• DipA two-foot glide taken down into a deep knee bend and back up without a wobble.
• SwizzleBoth blades on the ice throughout, drawing two mirrored curves that open and close.
• Snowplough stopHeels pressed outwards so that one or both blades skid, taking the speed off in a straight line.
• Backward wigglesBoth feet on the ice, the body twisting to zigzag backwards. The first way of travelling backwards.
• One-foot glideThe same glide with the other foot lifted, which is where balance stops being shared.
• Scooter pushesOne foot glides while the other pushes, two or three times in a row, before the feet change roles.
• Backward two-foot glideThe same flat glide travelling the other way, where you cannot see where you are going.
• Backward swizzleThe same two mirrored curves, pressed out and drawn back while travelling backwards.
• Two-foot turnBoth blades on the ice, turning through a half circle from forwards to backwards.
• Two-foot hopStanding still, bending both knees and jumping straight up off both feet, landing on both in the same place.
• Forward strokingThe push itself: one blade drives against its inside edge while the other glides away, first out to the side, then from a T.
• Half-swizzle pumpsOne foot glides the circle while the other presses out and in to feed it speed.
• Two-foot change of edgeBoth blades rolled from one set of edges to the other, in one movement, without a step.
• SlalomBoth blades held parallel and swung side to side, drawing a wave down the ice.
• Backward one-foot glideBackwards on one blade in a straight line, the free foot carried at the skating knee.
• Backward half-swizzle pumpsThe same circle, the same pumping foot, travelling backwards.
• Backward snowplough stopThe snowplough's skidding stop, made travelling backwards.
• Backward slalomThe same wave, drawn travelling backwards.
• Backward two-foot turnThe same half turn on two blades, backwards to forwards.
• Backward strokingThe push off the inside edge, travelling backwards, with the free foot carried in front.
• T-stopThe trailing blade laid across behind the glide, braking on its outside edge.
• Bunny hopA forward leap from one foot onto the toe pick of the other, straight back into a glide on the take-off foot.
• Hockey stopBoth feet turned sideways together, parallel, and skidded to a stop.
• PivotOne toe pick set in the ice as an anchor while the other foot scribes a circle round it.
• DragThe free leg extended behind and turned out, the inside of the boot on the ice and the blade lifted clear.
• Half flipA half turn in the air off the toe pick from a back inside edge, landing on the other foot's toe and stepping forwards.
• Half LutzThe half flip from a back outside edge, the take-off of the Lutz, landing on the other toe and stepping forwards.
• Tap toe jumpA half turn off the toe pick from a back edge, landing toe to toe and pushing straight off onto the other foot.
• Cross strokesA push from the outside edge of the foot about to leave the ice, the legs crossed above the knee.
• Power change of edge pullsOne foot changing edge after edge down the rink, forwards for one length and backwards for the next.
• Power pullsRepeated changes of edge on one backward foot down the rink's diagonal, broken by quick rockers.