Exercise 3 – Skating on one foot on the floor

Once you are comfortable standing on one foot off skates and in skates, it’s time to take what you’ve learned on the skating rink floor. Begin skating on two feet at a moderate speed, in a straight line and then just like you’ve done without skates and on the carpet with skates, shift your weight to the side that you want to skate one foot on and then lift your free foot. It doesn’t have to be high and make sure you have enough roll so you don’t come to a complete stop. When you lift your foot, also keep a little bend in the knee of the foot that you are skating on. Once again, focus your mind, balance and weight on the shoulder of the employed side, extending down the arm into the hand. All of your tension should be on the side of the body, in the same side shoulder of the foot that you are skating on. This is your control!

When you’re comfortable, try to shift your weight to the other shoulder and change feet while you are still rolling. Practice this until it becomes comfortable and you can do it without thinking about it.

Take it one step further by moving your free leg and arm anywhere while maintaining the control in the employed side shoulder.