The most famous boot slide in ice-skating is the drag. If you are interested in learning boot slides this is a really good trick to begin with because it can have many different variations. It can be done forwards, backwards, with a half turn, with a full 360-degree turn, or you can add a clever stop at the end of a drag. You can also try going front to back, over and over as fast as you can. Push the possibilities.
Most boot slide tricks originate from a few basic positions. Just as there are only so many blade edges, there are a limited number of combinations for boots toslide on. There’s the double inside, front out/back in, front out/back out. From these it is possible to experiment with various edge combinations. Create new tricks by altering the entry, the exit, adding spins, twists, and stops. The fun part is layering onto the base trick to create new ones. For example using the front outside and back inside of the boots creates the base trick for a split boot slide. Just stay on one spot and practice getting down on the boots and then pulling yourself up.
- Jason Graetz