How To

How to Become a Good Skater

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(4 Ratings)

Becoming a good figure skater takes time and practice. Pay attention to your posture and learn the basic figure skating, and you'll become a good figure skater, perhaps even a competitive participant.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions
  1. Step 1

    Wear ice skates that fit properly and have sharpened edges. Good fitting, properly maintained skates make performing figure skating techniques much easier.

  2. Step 2

    Pay attention to your posture when on the ice. Slightly bend your knees, keep your back straight and your arms out to the side for balance when skating. You should also keep your head up and look in the direction you are skating, not down at the ice.

  3. Step 3

    Learn how to stop on the ice. Snow plow stops and T-stops are the two most common stops used in figure skating.

  4. Step 4

    Practice forward and backward swizzles. This is a figure skating technique that moves skaters forward and backwards without their skates leaving the ice. Although this is a basic figure skating technique, it is used in advanced skating.

  5. Step 5

    Start learning how to stroke, which is pushing off the ice with one foot after the other, by first learning how to glide across the ice. Begin with a two-foot glide, then transfer your weight to one foot and lift the other to practice one-foot glides.

Tips & Warnings
  • It takes practice to become a proficient skater so be patient when learning figure skating techniques.
  • Do not attempt jumps or spins until you have become proficient in stroking, gliding and turning. When you are ready to learn advanced techniques, do so with a professional skater or coach.

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