How to Ice Skate Backwards

Learning to skate backwards doesn't have to be difficult or scary. If you can glide forward, you can glide backward.

Step 1: Shake it Till You Make it

Kids affectionately call this first move the “butt wiggle.”

With your skates close together and parallel, rock your body weight forward slightly toward the front part of the blade. Take care to stay away from the toe pick. With your chest and chin up, bend your knees as if going to sit on a chair. Twist your knees side to side.

Dancers often call this move the “Suzie Q.”

(Adults performing this move look especially cute, but do it anyway, knowing you can show off your powerful backward stroking later.)

Your blades demonstrate simple physics as they react to your shifting pressure during the knee twisting. With practice, your edges will dig in to the ice and move you slowly backward.

Try putting more pressure on the outside skate during each wiggle. For example. When you twist your knees to the right, you have just drawn a small backward C. During that movement, your right skate was on the outside. Applying more pressure to the right skate during its outside movement should propel you backward quicker.

Step 2: C-Cut in to the Ice

Practice these “wiggles” until you feel stable and move slowly backward while doing them.

Visualize writing a small C on the ice with your blade every time you twist, because the next step is to enlarge that C.

All that takes is a deeper knee bend and a little pressure or push on the outside skate as it carves the top of the C into the ice.

Just like in Step 1, press and draw the C with the front foot, but, instead of wiggling, allow yourself to glide on the back foot.

Try to hold each glide for a couple of seconds before switching legs. Repeat on both sides until you can transition between feet smoothly.

Step 3: Find Direction

Once you feel confident performing smooth C-Cuts, it’s time to choose a skating direction – or rather, to find your natural “best side.” Finding this direction will help you to concentrate on learning to skate backward in the direction most natural to your body.

Once you get the hand of backward movement and technique on one side, it will be easier to repeat the movements in reverse on your other side.

Right-handed people often favor backward skating clockwise. In this case, your left foot will do much of the work. South-paws might find it easier to start skating backwards counterclockwise with their right foot working hardest at first.

Remember: You should learn to go both ways, but it’s helpful to choose a single direction to practice first.

Just as in the previous step, carve a C with the outside (front) foot. Allow the pushing skate to cross slightly in front of the gliding back foot. Pick up the rear skate and step stepped out to the side.

In other words: Step your back leg out. Drag your front foot on the ice until it crosses in front of the other skate.

At first you will push yourself in a tight backward circle.

Step 4: Crossover from “C” to “y”

As you begin to go faster and glide further with each stroke, focus less on pushing with the front foot and more on dragging your skates through the ice in a lower case “y.”

Your thighs will work hard when your wide-stepped back leg drags behind your front leg. The front foot will carry the glide after the back leg draws the bottom tail of the “y.”

Instead of skating in a small, tight backward circle, your circle will begin to open up.

Since you will now be gliding further and going faster, be sure to look over your shoulder to watch where you’re going.

If you’re having difficulties translating the directions into movements on the ice, it’s time for an off-ice break.

Sit on the edge of a chair with your feet on the floor. Keep your feet flat on the floor as you draw them up to cross your legs, the right in back of the left and then reverse.

Tip: Try this on-ice exercise to help you perfect your backward crossovers. Stand with both skates on a hockey line and twist your arms, hips and knees in one direction while not moving your blades off the line. Keep twisting 180 degrees until your ankles are crossed. Step out your back foot, and repeat. Add slight pressure to that front foot as you feel steadier in the movement. Congratulations on completing your first great backward crossover!

Note: If your coach wants you to practice backward stroking and crossovers on both sides in the beginning, remember that you pay your coach for personalized instruction. The instructions provided here are generalized and can enhance your overall training. These steps should work with your coach’s instructions, not against them or instead of them.

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