How to Ice Skate - Ten Tips for Absolute Beginners

First time on ice?

Don't worry! Here are ten tips for you!

#1 Hold the Board

Careful when you first enter the ice. Hold the board while getting used to the feeling of wearing skates on ice.

Or perhaps can I use one of those?

#2 Bend Your Knees

Bend your knees! Stay low! It really helps. It makes it so much easier to keep your balance.

#3 Wide Base

Skates shall not be too close, nor too far apart. It's a good idea to keep one skate a little bit in front of the other.

#4 Arms for Balance

Don't forget your arms. My monkey arms have saved me from falling many many times.

#5 Penguin Wobble

Okay, to gain speed, the easiest way is to wobble like a penguin.

#6 Proper Stride

But the best way is to push your skates to the side.

Don't run! Skate!

#7 T-Stop

Drag one foot behind. That's the easiest way to stop. But not the most efficient.

#8 Plow Stop

Try to plow with one skate. It's a better way to stop. Later, not today, but sometime in the future you'll learn the hockey stop ... and with the plow you're already half way there.

#9 Standing Still

Lock your skates together at an angle. I do this when standing still. It prevents me from suddenly falling backward or forward.

#10 Tie Skates Correctly

Loosen the laces before putting on the skates. The foot shall enter the skates with no force applied.

Then make sure the heel is all the way back.

Tighten the laces from the bottom up.

If the laces are too long, I make a double or triple knot. I do not recommend lacing around the ancle but that's a matter of personal preference.

Exercise #1

Try not to bend the skates inward or outward. This mistake is very common among beginners, so don't worry, just be aware of it.

Exercise #2

Try to keep balance on one leg. If you manage half a second, great! Skating is a balance exercise and shifting balance from one skate to the other is the key to become a good skater.