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Laura Stamm s power skating 4th ed Edition Laura
Stamm Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Laura Stamm
ISBN(s): 9780736086240, 0736086242
Edition: 4th ed
File Details: PDF, 11.95 MB
Year: 2010
Language: english
This page intentionally left blank.
FOURTH EDITION
Laura Stamm’s
POWER
SKATING
Laura Stamm
Human Kinetics
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stamm, Laura.
[Power skating]
Laura Stamm’s power skating / Laura Stamm. -- 4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-7620-3 (soft cover)
ISBN-10: 0-7360-7620-4 (soft cover)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8624-0 (Adobe PDF)
ISBN-10: 0-7360-8624-2 (Adobe PDF)
1. Hockey--Training. 2. Skating. I. Title.
GV848.3.S7 2009
796.962’2--dc22
2009016093
ISBN-10: 0-7360-7620-4 (print) ISBN-10: 0-7360-8624-2 (Adobe PDF)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-7620-3 (print) ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8624-0 (Adobe PDF)
Copyright © 2010, 2001, 1989, 1982 by Laura Stamm
All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography,
photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without
the written permission of the publisher.
Acquisitions Editor: Justin Klug; Developmental Editor: Leigh Keylock; Assistant Editor: Laura
Podeschi; Copyeditor: Patrick Connolly; Graphic Designer: Fred Starbird; Graphic Artist: Tara Welsch;
Cover Designer: Keith Blomberg; Photographer (cover): Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images; Photog-
raphers (interior): Bruce Bennett, Erik Hill, Jerry Liebman, and Neil Bernstein; Visual Production
Assistant: Joyce Brumfield; Photo Production Manager: Jason Allen; Art Manager: Kelly Hendren;
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Wilborn; Printer: McNaughton & Gunn
Human Kinetics books are available at special discounts for bulk purchase. Special editions or book excerpts
can also be created to specification. For details, contact the Special Sales Manager at Human Kinetics.
Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper in this book is certified under a sustainable forestry program.
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To my beloved family, always and still the inspiration and cornerstone of my
life. To my beautiful grandchildren, our next generation. To the memory of
my parents, by whose example I learned to reach for the sky.
To my extended family—hockey players, big and small, pro and peewee;
parents; and coaches whom I’ve taught over these 38 years. You trusted
that my programs would help you and your players to skate great hockey.
To the sport of ice hockey. It has enriched my life beyond measure. There is
nothing else I could have done in life with such love, passion, and dedica-
tion.
To those whose lives I have touched in the teaching process. Please know that
you have touched my life in return.
Just as I learned that there is no difference between teaching and learning, I
also learned that there is no difference between giving and receiving.
To all Laura Stamm instructors. You underwent extensive and rigorous train-
ing to become certified to teach my power skating system. You now carry
on the tradition. You have enhanced my system and have spread it around
the world. You ensure that it will continue into the future.
To the hundreds of hockey players, coaches, and enthusiasts from around the
world who submitted testimonials on my behalf upon my nomination for
induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. And with very special recogni-
tion to Stan Fischler and Lori Fremaint, who spearheaded the nomination
process.
To all of you. You helped me fulfill dreams beyond imagination.
Contents
Foreword vi
Preface vii
Acknowledgments x
Introduction xi
Chapter 1 Skates and Equipment

for Superior Skating 1
Chapter 2 Balance
for Stability and Speed 11
Chapter 3 Force Application

for Explosive Speed 33
Chapter 4 Forward Stride

for a More Aggressive Attack 41
Chapter 5 Backward Stride

for Mobility on Defense 79
Chapter 6 Crossovers
for Acceleration on Curves 99
iv
Chapter 7 Explosive Starts
for Gaining the Advantage 141
Chapter 8 Stops
for Halting on a Dime 171
Chapter 9 Turns and Transition

for Multidirectional Moves 189
Chapter 10 Agility
for Maximum Coverage
of the Ice 223
Chapter 11 Training and Conditioning

for Faster, More Powerful
Skating 241
Afterword 265
Glossary 266
Bibliography and Suggested Reading 268
About the Author 269
v
Foreword
I met Laura Stamm in 1985. The Los Angeles Kings had hired Laura to be a power
skating coach for a few of their prospects. I was one of the fortunate ones to be
part of that group. I clearly remember the week I spent with Laura. She taught
me technical ways to improve and make me a better skater. Most important, she
didn’t try to change my style. I can honestly say that the one week I spent with
Laura, as well as the follow-through I had with her, changed my career.
As important as speed was to get into the NHL back in 1985, today’s game is
much faster and quicker. In those days it was the key to success, and it is even
more so now. While I only spent one week with Laura, I have kept up the exer-
cises throughout my career.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to play hockey and anyone who
wants to get to a loose puck quicker than his opponent to score goals and help
the team win. This book will also help players to improve their game and get to
a level they thought they would never reach.
Read this book, carry it with you, and always go back to it throughout your
career. It could make the difference between having a good career and a great
career.
Luc Robitaille
NHL Hall of Famer
vi
Preface
History and Legacy

of the Laura Stamm International
Power Skating System
When I was a youngster, there was no organized hockey for girls. I played on the
ponds with my brothers and their friends. Ultimately, I became a competitive
figure skater, then a figure skating coach. I taught at the ice rink where the New
York Rangers held their daily practices. Loving hockey as I did, I spent many
hours watching their practices.
The Rangers ran hockey schools at this rink each summer. In 1971, Rod Gilbert
and Brad Park, the hockey school directors, asked me to teach “power skating”
at the hockey school. Although I knew very little about power skating or about
technique training methods for hockey skating, I jumped at the chance. At the
time, I didn’t realize that this would be the start of the Laura Stamm International
Power Skating System.
Back then, very little was known about the science (biomechanics) of hockey
skating or about the importance of skating technique. Before I started to teach,
I was handed a one-page document titled “Power Skating.” This document
included some drills such as stops and starts; skate to the blue line and back;
skate forward, turn around, and skate backward, hurrying back to the starting
point; and skate the circles. Nothing on the sheet of paper addressed how to
teach players to skate correctly.
The hockey school had three groups of players. The youngest player was about
8, and the oldest was about 18. I watched, stunned, as these boys raced around
the ice, legs churning, going nowhere fast. It was instantly apparent to me that
these players needed to learn how to skate! I stashed the sheet of paper and
started experimenting. My brain reeled with ideas—ideas derived from a lifetime
of studying skating and watching hockey players skate. I knew immediately that
I was doing the thing in life that I was meant to do.
In the summer of 1973, Bill Torrey, general manager of the New York Islanders,
phoned and asked me if I could teach a promising rookie named Bob Nystrom.
Bob supposedly had a lot of promise, but to make the team, he had to increase
his speed. After watching him, I thought that by improving his skating technique,
he could definitely become faster.
In those days, professional hockey players did not use female instructors. So to
spare Bob any embarrassment, we kept our training sessions private. We worked
together from 6 to 7 a.m., 5 days a week, for 8 weeks. Bob didn’t miss a day.
After being a questionable rookie, Bob wound up with a 14-year career in the
NHL. In 1980, when the Islanders beat the Flyers in overtime in game 6 to win
vii
viii Preface
their first Stanley Cup, it was Bob who scored the winning goal—a crowning
achievement!
In 1995, the Islanders retired Bob’s number (23). In 1991, the team inaugu-
rated the Bob Nystrom Award, which is given to the Islander who best exemplifies
leadership, hustle, and dedication.
Bob’s words of praise helped to launch my career. After initially wanting to
keep our sessions secret, Bob subsequently told the world, “Without Laura, I
wouldn’t have made it to the NHL!” This led to jobs with several NHL and WHA
teams, including the Rangers, Devils, Kings, and Whalers. Well-known graduates
include Luc Robitaille, Steve Duchesne, Kevin Dineen, Doug Brown, Rob Nie-
dermayer, Scott Niedermayer, Brendan Morrison, Ted Drury, Matt Carle, Brian
Rafalski, and many others.
Radio and TV features followed. Then, in 1974, I was hired to teach at a
summer hockey school in British Columbia. I established the school’s power
skating program, and I taught it for 18 summers. During that time, thousands of
aspiring hockey players came through the program, and many went on to have
long and successful careers in the NHL.
As time went on, hockey associations around the United States, Canada, and
Europe hired me to teach their hockey players. Eventually, I focused on running
my own power skating programs, and I developed training courses for instruc-
tors who wanted to teach my power skating system. To this day, Laura Stamm
power skating programs are taught only by instructors who go through rigorous
training to become certified Laura Stamm instructors.
I didn’t know it when I first started teaching, but I was teaching the European
method of skating without ever having seen European hockey. What started as
bits and pieces eventually developed into a true system. After all these years, this
system is still the model by which all other power skating programs are measured.
My philosophy of teaching remains the backbone of my system. Each skating
maneuver is taught by first breaking it down into its many parts. As the parts
become integrated, we add more elements and complexity to the skill. The
goal is for students to master each maneuver so that they will skate correctly,
powerfully, and quickly—with and without the puck—in game situations. My
program syllabus is structured much like a pyramid. Students first establish a
strong foundation, and the training includes ever increasing subtleties as play-
ers reach the top.
Hockey skating has come so far in these 40 years. The game is played at light-
ning speeds. Players circle and weave, give and go. Defenders rush as if they were
forwards, and forwards go back to cover for the rushing defenders. Players who
can’t keep up have little chance of making it at the highest levels. And every
hockey school, almost every rink, offers some form of power skating instruction.
I’m teaching my second, even third, generation of players. I still can hardly
believe that I jump-started the careers of hundreds—maybe thousands—of pro
players, spawned the development of an entire industry, and was the model for
and often the teacher of an entire generation of power skating instructors who
have followed in my footsteps.
PREFACE ix
Over the past few years, I have started to reflect on my life’s work. I look back
on some of the things I accomplished:
I invented many terms that are now commonly used by most of the hockey
community: C-cuts, V-diamond, pivot-push-pivot-return, X-push, toe flick.
I received testimonials from numerous players and coaches in the NHL and
elsewhere.
I taught and mentored many successful hockey and figure skating instructors.
Some started their own organizations after learning from me or after teach-
ing for my organization.
I pioneered work in the field of power skating instruction. Many instructors
could not have had a career in this field had it not been for my pioneering
work.
I wrote many articles addressing hockey issues, such as violence, hazing, spring
tryouts, and proper training.
I taught many coaches who tell me that they still use my power skating system
with their youth players today—years after they took my program or learned
from me while assisting me on the ice.
I taught numerous individuals who became fabulous skaters at every level—
NHL, minor league, college, and recreational players (and instructors too).
I often volunteered my services in order to help players who otherwise could
not have afforded to play hockey or to pay to improve their skating.
As skill levels continue to increase, hockey becomes more and more exciting.
I feel very fortunate to have been there early on, to have catalyzed the sport’s
development, and in the process to have influenced so many lives.
Skate great hockey!
Acknowledgments
T his book has just one author, but it could not have been written without the
help of many. I express deep thanks and gratitude to all those who helped
me make this book a reality:
NHL players Doug Brown and Greg Brown, for your fabulous skating and
unending support.
NHL player Brian Rafalski, for being the featured player on the cover of this
book.
The other hockey players who graciously contributed time, energy, and skat-
ing ability: Gordon Campbell, Erik Kallio, Mark Pecchia, Louis Santini,
and Richard Stamm.
Marshall Rule, for your expertise, knowledge, and lifelong friendship. You
have been my mentor since even before the beginning of my career. Our
intellectual battles continue to further my education in skating.
Photographers Neil Bernstein, Bruce Bennett, Erik Hill, and Jerry Liebman,
for your excellent work and professionalism.
Leigh Keylock and Laura Podeschi, my editors, and Justin Klug, acquisitions
editor, for working tirelessly to produce a book far better than would have
been possible had I been deprived of your intelligence, dedication, and
meticulous attention to detail.
Jack Blatherwick, Eric Steenburgh, and Dan Tuck, for contributing your time,
insights, and scientific knowledge.
The Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford, Connecticut, and the rink staff, for
your help and cooperation: Marty Roos, Perry Roos, Debbie Schmarr, and
Bill Maniscalco.
Luc Robitaille, for writing the foreword to this book. Thank you for your kind
words and continuing support.
In Memoriam: The late and great Herb Brooks, for whom I had the honor
of working when he coached the New York Rangers, and from whom I
learned so much.
x
Introduction
W ayne Gretzky once said, “If you can’t skate, you can’t play our sport;
skating is an art.” Yes, skating is an art. Ice hockey is also an art—a
complicated art that is made up of many skills. Skating is the most fundamen-
tal and important skill. What Gretzky meant is that if you can’t perform every
hockey skating maneuver with speed, agility, power, quickness, and efficiency,
you won’t make it to the highest levels of hockey. Today’s NHL stars fly down
the ice at speeds unheard of even 10 years ago. Those players who are agile and
fast dominate the game.
Hockey starts with the skates and legs. If players can’t get from point A to
point B instantaneously and efficiently, nothing else will work!
Skating techniques are based on scientific principles—force generation, circle
physics, center of gravity, acceleration, momentum, and inertia. Many players
don’t realize that perfecting their skating technique is a long-term process. It
takes years to become a great skater, just as it takes years to become a great player.
Without dedication and lots of hard work in every aspect of the sport, it is almost
impossible to get to the big leagues.
Jack Blatherwick, a colleague of mine and one of the most knowledgeable
people in the field of biomechanics and conditioning, says the following: “Even
with all the training devices available in hockey today, skating technique is still
the single most important element. Kids need to be taught correct skating tech-
nique from the get-go so that by the time they are in their teens they will be able
to skate without having to think about it.” Training considerations for different
age groups are discussed in more detail in the upcoming section.
Coaches like players who have fast feet. Fast feet are important because hockey
is a sprint sport. But fast feet do not necessarily result in going fast. Because speed
is a measure of distance traveled in time (miles per hour, feet per second), every
time players move their feet (stride), they should cover significant distances.
Some players move their feet fast but have improper and incomplete leg drive.
These players may look fast, but they end up going nowhere fast. The goal is to
move efficiently fast.
To help players achieve efficiently fast movement with correct technique,
the most effective teaching method is one that has a systematic and integrative
approach. Like all skill development, the teaching of skating technique should
be structured like a pyramid—in other words, players first need to build a strong
foundation. More advanced and intricate techniques are incorporated as players
mature and as their abilities improve. The process that I adhere to is as follows:
First, teach players to skate correctly.
Then teach them to skate correctly and powerfully.
Then teach them to skate correctly, powerfully, and explosively.
xi
xii introduction
Then teach them to skate correctly, powerfully, explosively, and quickly.

Finally, teach them to skate correctly, powerfully, explosively, and quickly—
with the puck, under lots of pressure and in game situations.
The last element of skill development is speed. No one can learn a new skill
or skating maneuver going fast. It’s too much for the brain and body to accom-
modate. Players must learn to skate correctly before worrying about skating power-
fully, explosively, or quickly—no matter how long it takes. And, when performing
powerfully, explosively, and quickly, doing so correctly is still the number one
priority. This combination is what makes efficiently fast skating so difficult.
My teaching methodology uses the senses (feeling, acting [doing], seeing
[visualizing], and thinking [decision making] = FAST) in a process that involves
multiple building blocks. This process takes time, patience, experimentation,
and years of practice.
Hockey Training
for Various Age Groups
When teaching and coaching, you must be aware of the needs of the age group
and level of skaters you are working with. Young athletes have specific needs, and
premature or overly intense athletic training can be harmful. Hockey programs
for youngsters are often too intense—competitions are too numerous, seasons
are too long, and the emphasis on winning is too great. Young children are
pushed by parents and coaches to choose and specialize in hockey long before
they are mature enough to do so.
Up to the age of 8, children should enjoy a variety of fun and stimulating activi-
ties. They should engage in many different movement activities; children in this
age group need to develop a broad base of movement skills. Dancing, tumbling,
and jumping are excellent activities. These youngsters have very short attention
spans, so instruction should be unstructured and fun. Teaching should be short
and simple; the best teaching strategy is to use “show and tell” methods. Struc-
tured practices provide no long-term advantages for children in this age group.
Intensive training and competition at too early an age will inhibit the devel-
opment of balance, agility, and coordination. They also prevent youngsters
from learning other sports and developing the varied motor skills necessary for
maximum athletic performance in later years.
Between the ages of 8 and 10, children’s postural and balance skills mature
and become more automatic. These children are able to master some of the basic
movements needed for organized sports; however, they still have short attention
spans, and it is difficult for them to make the rapid decisions that are involved
in complex sports. These children should participate in several sports in order
to develop balance, agility, and coordination. Sports such as hockey, soccer,
and basketball—as well as martial arts, swimming, tee ball, and lacrosse—are
excellent choices if approached in a fun and balanced way. In hockey for this
age group, fundamental skating skills can be introduced and practiced, but
practices must be fun.
introduction xiii
From ages 10 to 12 (prepubescence), children show great improvement in

coordination, motor skills, and decision-making capabilities. In hockey, skating
skills must now be strongly emphasized; skating techniques should continue
to be emphasized and built on in the ensuing years. Players in this age group
are now ready for some endurance and quickness training. They should engage
in activities and drills that incorporate core strength, quickness, coordination,
body awareness, balance, and rhythm. Fun and variety are still important, so
these kids should be encouraged to participate in multiple sports.
From ages 13 to 16, athletes are able to incorporate complex skills, and they
can integrate large amounts of information. They can focus appropriately, and
their decision-making capabilities improve dramatically. These young people are
ready to specialize in their sport of choice and to practice with true dedication
and intensity. This is also the time of the adolescent growth spurt, which is the
period of greatest and most obvious change in a young person’s life.
Skill Training
Skating is an extremely complicated activity, and hockey is an extremely com-
plicated sport. Skating moves are not natural to the human body; in fact, they’re
often the opposite of natural. Skating moves are numerous, intricate, and inter-
dependent. Each hockey maneuver consists of many parts. Each part must be
learned separately and then integrated into the whole move. Proper technique
training is essential for players to become fast, powerful, explosive, quick, and
efficient skaters.
As previously mentioned, I believe in the pyramid method—that is, building
a strong foundation and working up from there to integrate and refine each part
into the whole. When teaching young skaters, we have them learn the skill with-
out the puck first. Once the skill can be performed correctly, we add the puck.
As players mature, we focus on developing power, explosiveness, and quickness.
Finally, we focus on applying the skill under pressure and in game situations.
At the end of each practice, players should be allowed to skate fast and have fun
without worrying about correct technique.
Skill (technique) training programs for young hockey players—and for begin-
ning players of all ages—should include simple skating fundamentals done at a
comfortable level. The focus should be on helping players develop comprehen-
sion, smoothness, and efficiency.
For players age 11 and up, skating technique must be combined with power,
explosiveness, and quickness. Training should include some interval training
(work–rest training). Whether workouts are for sprinting, strength training,
agility, skating, or athletic attributes—such as balance, rhythm, and coordina-
tion—the workouts should include some interval training.
Long, slow training (without quickness training) has been shown to teach
muscles to perform slowly. Therefore, slow-moving activities such as jogging,
without some interval training, will not train quickness.
Note: Long-distance running needs to be carefully monitored. If young people
overdo it or if they perform this type of running on hard or uneven surfaces, this
can result in growth plate injuries, especially during the adolescent growth spurt.
xiv introduction
Work (i.e., sprint) periods for all young players, including adolescents, should
be short (a maximum of 15 seconds) in order to avoid the accumulation of
lactic acid. Enough rest time for full recovery must be included between each
work (sprint) period.
While players are still learning skating techniques, quickness training should
be done mostly off the ice. This helps ensure that the quickness training does
not interfere with skill development. Coaches must remember that develop-
ing players cannot learn, perform properly, or perform effectively when they’re
fatigued. These players need a healthy mix of work time and rest time. Exhaus-
tion prohibits skill development. Proper execution is the key to learning any skill
(only perfect practice makes perfect).
Strength Training
With prepubescent children, any strength training that is done should involve
submaximal resistance, such as one’s own body weight, light dumbbells, or
medicine balls. Whole-body activities are the most important and beneficial,
especially for improving core strength.
For skating, developing players should work on two-leg and one-leg strength
training. When players strengthen their legs at a young age, this increases their
chances of learning to skate correctly. Skating ability and leg strength (especially
single-leg strength) are synergistic, so they should be developed at the same age.
But the training should be fun.
Modifying Training During

the Adolescent Growth Spurt
During the adolescent growth spurt (AGS), kids often lose coordination and skill.
Core strength, postural stability, concentration, technique, explosive power, and
foot speed are all affected. The AGS has a negative (but temporary) impact on
the learning process in general.
During growth cycles, kids don’t have the biological base of one-leg strength
or muscular endurance that is required for getting into a good skating position.
On-ice practices should focus on skill and technique rather than on power. Off-
ice work should include two-leg and one-leg exercises for coordination, balance,
and agility. Exercises that help improve core strength and postural stability are
critical. Heavy strength and power workouts should be postponed until the
muscles are stronger.
During puberty, players’ training should include speed, quickness, and explo-
sive power as part of all workouts.
On-ice work to improve skating. Players should continue to work on devel-
oping sound skating fundamentals. Skating technique should be incorporated
into all practices.
Off-ice work to improve skating. Players should work on two-leg and one-
leg postural stability. Players should do exercises for foot speed and explosive
introduction xv
jumping (power) from a position of good knee bend with the shoulders and
head up.
When this combination of training is used, players are being prepared to reach
their skating potential.
The three to four years just after puberty are the most critical for developing
foot speed and explosive power. However, players must continue training for
technique, power, quickness, and foot speed during and after the AGS; many
players lose these qualities during their periods of rapid growth. Patterns are fairly
well defined by puberty. But if players have a solid base of skating mechanics
and quick feet, the elements of explosiveness, quickness, and efficiency can be
improved after puberty and for several years beyond.
Competition is an important part of a young person’s development. Hockey
is one of the great competitive sports. It can be an excellent training ground
for teaching youngsters how to compete successfully in life’s many competitive
and challenging situations. However, the value of hockey depends on how it is
conducted. Parents and coaches have a critical role in ensuring that development
occurs in an intelligent, well-structured, and well-thought-out process. This pro-
cess should teach positive life lessons, maximize each player’s inherent potential,
and provide a positive learning experience as the players mature.
Coaching Guidelines
For youngsters, skating is not the most exciting part of hockey. Kids want to
play the game, not practice skating. The challenge for a coach or power skat-
ing instructor is to teach the skating mechanics in a way that makes them well
understood, easy to remember, and fun to practice. Once players realize that
their game is improving because their skating is improving, they become willing
students. As players get more ice time—and as they get some experience playing
on the power play or when the team is shorthanded—the connection between
skating ability and ice time becomes obvious. Here are some ideas for keeping
skill training effective and fun for young players:
• When possible, explain your plans for the practice session before going on
the ice. Ice time has a way of flying by. If players know your plans before-
hand, they will be ready to work immediately.
• Establish an effective talk–skating ratio. Alternate short and frequent expla-
nations with longer periods of skating.
• Remember that although each player’s skating style is unique, certain skat-
ing principles are universal and must be adhered to. Make sure you teach
and reinforce these principles.
• Don’t expect instant success. It takes many years to become a finished skater.
• Keep youngsters skating as much as possible—they tend to get restless
easily. Organize the ice with this in mind. Skate the entire length of the
ice when the group is small, but skate from sideboard to sideboard when
xvi introduction
the group is large. Use small-group stations when applicable. Try to sense
when the group is becoming restless, and change the activity before you
lose the group.
• Don’t allow players to skate sloppily. Make them concentrate on skating
correctly. Stop them if the skating disintegrates into sloppiness. Let them
know that your goal is to take them out of their comfort zones.
• Finish practices with fun and high-quality skating. Even stops and starts
can be fun if players are working on improvement instead of just on con-
ditioning!
Suggestions for Incorporating Skating Technique

Into Practices
Teach the fundamentals of skating technique early in the season.
• First month: Spend one-half of each practice teaching skating fundamentals.
These should include forward stride, backward stride, crossovers, starts,
turns, transition, and so on.
• Second month: Spend one-fourth of each practice reviewing at least one
or two of the fundamentals.
• Third month: Spend one-fourth of each practice reviewing at least one or
two of the fundamentals while using pucks.
• After the third month: Spend a few minutes of each practice working on
skating technique, and keep reminding players of correct technique when
they have the puck, even in scrimmages.
Note: Remind players to skate correctly during all practices (and eventually in
games).
Suggestions for Incorporating Skating Moves

Into Scrimmages
Create scrimmages or games that have skating technique as the focus. Specific
skating maneuvers can be enhanced in these scrimmages by establishing rules
such as the following:
• Player with the puck must take four or five forward strides before passing
or shooting.
• Player with the puck must take four or five backward strides before pass-
ing or shooting.
• Player with the puck must do two or three forward or backward crossovers
before passing or shooting.
• Player with the puck must do one or two pivots (tight turns) before pass-
ing or shooting.
• Player with the puck must transition (from forward to backward or from
backward to forward) one or two times before passing or shooting.
• Player with the puck must spin around (360 degrees) one or two times
before passing or shooting.
introduction xvii
• Player (with or without the puck) must accelerate from slow to fast each
time he enters the offensive zone.
• Player (with or without the puck) must start from a complete stop—using
toe starts—before passing or shooting.
• Player with the puck must do two or three stops and starts before passing
or shooting.
• Player with the puck must make at least two lateral moves before passing
or shooting.
• Players must practice the give-and-go two or three times before shooting.
• Player with the puck must go through an obstacle course before passing
or shooting.
You can also make up more rules—or let the kids make them up. This kind
of creativity is what young players thrive on.
Suggestions for Incorporating Races Into Practices

Use races and prizes to stimulate the competitive spirit. But keep in mind that
races are only helpful with players who have reached a certain skill level; races
can be detrimental when players are just learning new skills. Players caught in
the frenzy of trying to win will by necessity ignore technique. Races can include
forward skating, backward skating, cornering, turning, agility maneuvers, and
so on.
Suggestions for Monitoring Improvement

Time your players and keep a record of their progress on different skating maneu-
vers. This should include the following:
• Straight skating—forward and backward
• Explosive acceleration from a complete stop
• Stops and starts
• Lateral mobility (this can be done using two skaters—one as a forward
and the other as a defender)
• Turns, transition, 360s, and so on
• Obstacle courses (these should include several different skating maneuvers
and agility moves)
Points to Remember
• A coach or instructor should develop a philosophy of teaching and should
adhere to it.
• Affection and discipline are not mutually exclusive.
• Teaching can sometimes be like pulling teeth, but insistence on high stan-
dards pays off. Whenever possible, learning should be fun, but sometimes
players must be made to learn in spite of themselves.
• Inventiveness, creativity, and analytic thinking should be valued and
encouraged. Screaming coaches stifle creativity and build pressure. Wayne
xviii introduction
Gretzky was not the product of intimidation—he was given the freedom
to feel, act, see, and think (FAST), as well as to create and make many
mistakes along the way.
• Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect. There-
fore, coaches should encourage their players to practice perfectly.
• Coaches must commit to the long term. Eventually, the techniques will
click and the players will skate great hockey!
Format of the Book

Each chapter of this book is divided into two sections. The first section includes
a detailed explanation of the skating maneuver being discussed. The second
section includes drills that can be used to practice that maneuver.
The drills progress from the simplest to the most difficult. The book indi-
cates which drills are appropriate for young and learning players and which are
appropriate for more advanced and elite-level players. The skill levels for the
drills are defined as follows:
Basic: These drills are geared to a range of players whose ability and back-
ground are fairly basic. This means they probably have been playing for only
a year or two. Players in house leagues and youth competitive leagues as
well as learning adults would fit into this category. The skating maneuvers
covered are fundamental and very important to the proper development
of hockey players. Pucks are used, but on a limited basis, because students
need to focus on their skating skills without the added distraction of pucks
and the complicated skills of puck control.
Intermediate: These drills are geared to players with more experience. Students
may or may not have taken Laura Stamm power skating programs in the
past, but they have more hockey experience than players at the basic level.
The drills include intermediate skating maneuvers and a faster pace. Pucks
are also included more often.
Advanced: These drills are geared to players with extensive experience and
strong skating skills (high-level players). The drills include advanced skat-
ing maneuvers and a rapid pace. Pucks are used in combination with all
skating maneuvers and drills.
The drills in this book can be combined. Here are some examples:
• Combine turn drills with knee-drop drills.
• Combine crossover drills with pivots.
• Use obstacle courses.
• Use a stopwatch to time players.
Drills alone do not make an accomplished athlete. The goal is to learn proper
technique and to use drills designed for practicing and enhancing that technique.
The purpose of this book is to help players and coaches achieve this goal.
Chapter 1
Skates and
Equipment
for Superior Skating
Y ou wouldn’t start a trip without a map and some plans. In the same way,
you shouldn’t start skating until you’ve considered and followed the sug-
gestions in this chapter.
The most important piece of equipment for hockey players is their skates. The
skates are instrumental in preparing players to develop the skating skills neces-
sary for speed, agility, and power. The quality, fit, manner of lacing, sharpening,
and maintenance of your skates all affect performance, so choose your skates
wisely. A cheap pair of skates is a bad investment; buying boots big enough for
a youngster to wear for a few years is penny-wise and pound-foolish. To skate
well, skaters must have well-constructed boots that fit properly and that have
properly sharpened blades made of well-tempered steel.
Hockey Skates
Skate boots that are well constructed and that fit properly enhance performance;
poorly constructed boots hinder performance. The function of a well-made boot
is to support the feet firmly while still allowing skaters to perform intricate skat-
ing maneuvers.
Well-made boots have a reinforcing material in the instep area of the foot
(counter area). The reinforcing material provides support for the arches and
ankles as skaters lean their feet inward and outward. If boots are well made, it
is not possible to squeeze the counter and ankle areas together. Top-of-the-line
boots fit better, provide more support, last longer, and offer better protection
against injury from pucks or sticks.
Note: Unless there has been a specific injury to the foot, weak ankles are
generally a myth. If ankles cave in, the cause is usually boots that are ill fitting
or have poorly constructed counters. Lack of good ankle support almost guar-
antees that correct skating will be difficult and even uncomfortable. Ankles that
cave in cause pain!
1
2 Laura Stamm’s Power Skating
Guidelines for Selecting Skates

Get fitted for hockey skates at shops that specialize in skating equipment. The
employees at these shops are knowledgeable about different brands and models,
and they can help you choose the skates that meet your specific needs. Here are
some guidelines for selecting skates:
• Boot sizes differ from shoe sizes and also from one brand to another. Each
manufacturer builds boots on a different mold; therefore, one brand might
fit well, and another might not.
• Boots should fit like a leather glove—snug but comfortable—and should
support the feet firmly. Toes should come up to the front of the boot but
should not be pinched or curled up on one another. Boots should fit snugly
at the instep and across the balls of the feet.
• To test the fit of the boots, lace them snugly—there should be a spread
of 1.5 to 2 inches (3.8 to 5.1 cm) between the eyelets on the same row.
If the laces are closer together than this, the boots are probably too wide
for your feet, and your ankles will cave inward when skating. If the spread
between the eyelets is more than 2 inches, the boots may be too narrow.
If your heels slip or if you can lift them when you stand and lean forward,
the boots are too long.
• When being fitted for boots, wear the same weight of sock as you will wear
when skating. A sock of a different weight can change the fit. Thin socks
are preferable because they allow the boots to hug your feet. Do not wear
two pairs of socks because that disconnects your feet from the boots.
• If you wear corrective orthotics in your shoes, you might also wear them
in your skates. They will improve your balance and performance. But
remember that the size of the boots must accommodate the orthotics, so
you need to bring them along when being fitted for new skates.
• Before putting your feet into the boots, unlace the boots most of the way.
Trying to jam your foot into a boot that is three-quarters laced is an exer-
cise in frustration—your feet just won’t go in, and you’ll think the boots
are too small.
• Today’s boots tend to be extremely stiff and difficult to break in. Players who
skate hard and wear their skates for hours at a time on a daily basis prefer
stiff boots because they last longer. But youngsters, small adults, females,
and recreational skaters will have a difficult time breaking them in. These
skaters should consider a brand or model that is a bit less stiff. Another
option is to choose a good pair of secondhand skates. Since growing play-
ers outgrow their skates before breaking them down, these skates are often
in excellent condition. It’s far better to get good-quality used skates than
poor-quality new skates. If you are getting secondhand skates, be sure the
blades are in good condition and not sharpened down excessively. Many
hockey shops carry secondhand skates, and many hockey organizations
skates and equipment for Superior Skating 3
hold skate swaps at the beginning of the hockey season. Once broken in,
the boots should feel as though they are a natural part of your feet.
Lacing the Boots

Proper lacing of one’s boots is essential to good performance. Many players
lace them too tightly. This limits foot mobility and cuts off circulation, which
in turn causes numbness and cramps in the feet. Boots should support the feet,
not immobilize them as if they are in casts. Properly laced boots support the feet
while allowing players to readily bend their knees and roll their ankles inward
and outward.
The tightest area of lacing should be from a point above the ball of the foot to
a point just above the ankle
(figure 1.1). This is where the
most support is required. The
toe area and the area high
above the ankles should be Moderately
moderately snug. Some elite snug
players prefer to lace the Area of
area above the ankles fairly tightest lacing
loosely; some even choose to Counter
area
not lace the top set of eyelets. Moderately
snug
Do not wrap tape around
your ankles. This inhibits
foot mobility and is totally
unnecessary.
I recommend that players
place their shin pads inside
the tongues of their boots
rather than over the tongues. Figure 1.1 Correct lacing of the boot.
This allows more freedom for
bending the knees. Just be
sure the shin pads are long Coaching Tip
enough to come all the way
down your legs. You don’t If laces are too tight at the top, bending
want an exposed area where your knees and ankles becomes difficult and
a puck or stick could find an uncomfortable. Snug is good; pain is not.
unprotected spot.
Tips for Breaking in New Boots

• Lace new boots loosely during the breaking-in process.
• Wear new skates at home—put the skate guards on and walk around in
them for 30 to 60 minutes at a time. Some players like to wet their feet
(with socks on), then put the skates on and walk around in them. Water
acts like sweat; sweat breaks in the boots.
• Do not wear new skates for an important skating event or hockey tourna-
ment. Break them in during practices or at public sessions.
• Consider using your new skates on the ice for short periods and wearing
your old ones for the rest of the session. The hope is to limit the uncom-
fortable breaking-in time and also to avoid blisters.
• Keep in mind that it’s not uncommon to get blisters during the breaking-
in process. This is one of the unfortunate realities that all players must
deal with. If you feel a blister starting, take off the new boots or insert
a second-skin material on the affected area. You can also cut a hole in a
foam sponge to make a doughnut and place this over the affected area;
this helps eliminate pressure between the boot and that part of the foot.
Skate Blades
Good hockey skates have high-quality blades made of heat-tempered steel that
retain a sharp edge despite extremely rough use. Poor-quality blades nick and
dull easily and have to be sharpened frequently. Some players buy their favorite
blades separately and have these mounted on their boots.
Skate blades are only to be used on the ice. Off the ice, always wear skate guards,
even when walking on the rubber mats in rink hallways and locker rooms. Never
expose the blades to cement, steel, concrete, or wood surfaces, because they will
get nicked and dulled. As mentioned, most high-quality boots also have high-
quality blades, but there are several brands of blades. Regardless of the brand,
new blades must be sharpened before you skate on them!
Blades rust easily. After getting off the ice, dry the blades thoroughly with a
towel and put terrycloth skate guards on them. When you get home, take the
guards off and air-dry the blades. Then put dry terrycloth skate guards back
on the blades and put the skates back in your hockey bag. Never store blades
in rubber skate guards; these guards retain moisture, and the blades will rust.
When you’re away from skating for long periods, store your skates without any
guards on in a dry environment. You don’t
want to be that unlucky player who goes to
the rink at the beginning of a new season,
takes the skates out of the hockey bag, and
finds they’re totally covered with rust. No
skating that day!
Blade Design Edge Edge

Each skate blade, from toe to heel, is
designed with two knifelike edges separated
by a groove in between (called the hollow)
Hollow
(figure 1.2). The function of the hollow is
to expose the edges, enabling them to cut Figure 1.2 Cross section of the blade,
into and grip the ice more effectively. showing the edges and the hollow.
E4609/Stamm/fig.1.2/333388/alw-pulled/r1
The shape of the hockey skate blade

is convex (curved). This curved shape
is called the rock, or radius; the shape
resembles a crescent moon or the legs
of a rocking chair (figure 1.3). The rock
of the blade allows the skates to curve
so that players can maneuver in tight
curves and circles. If the blades were
long and straight like those of speed-
skates, it would be difficult for players
to weave, cut, or execute sharp turns.
Because they need to move in a
straight line forward, backward, or
sideways—rather than perform weaving
or circular maneuvers—goalies’ blades Figure 1.3 Hockey blade, showing the rock.
are almost straight instead of convex.
Goaltenders also need blades that are fairly dull so they can slide sideways across
the goal crease. Curved blades would also hinder a goalie’s ability to make skate
saves.
Sharpening the Blades

Blades should be sharpened when they no longer dig crisply into the ice, and
they should be sharpened by an expert. Some pro hockey players sharpen their
skates after every game; some even sharpen them after each period. However,
this isn’t necessary or even desirable for most nonprofessional players; exces-
sive sharpening shortens the life of the blades. Here are some guidelines for
sharpening blades:
• Blades can be sharpened so that the hollow is either shallow or deep. A

deep hollow can make it difficult to execute a smooth, effective stop because
the edges can grab the ice. Too shallow a hollow can make it difficult for
the edges to dig into the ice.
• Children and small adults require sharper blades and a relatively deep
hollow in order for the edges to dig into the ice. Heavier people can use
less sharp blades and less of a hollow.
• Today, many high-level hockey players have their blades sharpened with
a longer radius and a shallower hollow than in the past. A longer radius
means more blade length is in contact with the ice, which in turn means
that more distance is covered on each glide. A shallower hollow means the
edges won’t overly grab the ice; as a result, there is less friction against the
ice during each glide (so more distance is covered on each glide). These
two factors combine to enhance speed.
• Sharply rockered blades (shorter radius) allow for tighter turns, but the
benefits of this do not outweigh the benefits of the increased speed that a
longer radius provides. Blades with a shorter radius also make balancing
more difficult because there is less blade length in contact with the ice.
• When getting your skates sharpened, make sure not to have too much
blade ground off from the very front or back of the blade. The front (toe)
is needed for quick starts. The back (heel) is like the rudder of a ship; it is
needed for stability.
• Ask the sharpener to hand stone the blades after each sharpening. This will
guarantee smooth, finished edges.
• If the sharpener isn’t careful, the radius (curve) of the blade may increase
with each progressive sharpening. When this happens, too little blade will
be in contact with the ice.
• Let the sharpener know precisely how sharp, how much hollow, and how
much rock you want. Also tell the sharpener where you want the high point
of the rock to be. Forwards generally prefer the high point of the rock to
be just behind the middle of the blade; defenders prefer that it be just in
front of the middle of the blade.
Coin
If the blades are properly sharpened, the inside and
outside edges will be level with each other. To test the
accuracy of the sharpening, place a coin horizontally
on the upturned blade. Study the angle of the coin.
If it is perfectly level, the edges are even (figure 1.4).
If the coin tilts to either side, the edges are not level
and your skating will be impaired. Take the skates
back for resharpening!
Some players make and keep a template of their
Figure 1.4 Blade cross blades. To do this, trace an outline of the blades after
section with level, properly
the first couple of sharpenings. After each sharpening,
sharpened edges.
measure the blades against the template and make
sure that they conform to it.
Remember, your skates are your most important hockey equipment. Choose
them wisely and take good care of them.
Note: When practicing, playing a game, or performing the skating drills in
this book, wear full protective hockey equipment: helmet, face mask or shield,
mouthpiece, neck guard, shoulder and chest pads, elbow pads, pants, shin guards,
and gloves. Keep the chin strap securely fastened at all times. In a fall, you need
to rely on the helmet to protect you from a head injury!
Because skating drills require experimentation, falls are inevitable and should
be considered as normal as breathing. By wearing protective equipment, you
lower the risk of injury and also become accustomed to skating at your game
weight.
Edges
Every skate blade has two edges. The edges toward the inside of the boots are
called the inside edges (figure 1.5a), and those toward the outside of the boots
a b
Figure 1.5 (a) Inside and (b) outside edges.
E4609/Stamm/fig.1.5a/333391/alw-pulled/r1 E4609/Stamm/fig.1.5b/333392/alw-pulled/r1
are called the outside edges (figure 1.5b). The edges have a specific purpose: to cut
into the ice. In doing this, they perform two completely different and separate
functions. One is to create motion (the power or pushing edge); the other is to
establish direction (the gliding edge that travels on a curved path). Understanding
how the edges function and how best to use them is key to all movement on ice.
Pushing
When used for pushing, the edges of the blades must dig into the ice to provide
the grip that the pushing leg thrusts against for movement (power). If you push
without first digging the edge into the ice, the skate will slip. You might attribute
this to the ice being slippery, but the ice should never feel slippery. If you use the
edges properly, they should be able to grip the ice strongly. Try to feel the edges
cut into the ice. Even when gliding straight ahead on two feet, skaters incline
slightly toward the inside edges for balance and stability.
Gliding
When used for gliding, the edges establish the direction of travel. Because blades
are rockered, edges glide in a curved path. When gliding on the left forward
inside edge (LFI), you travel in a clockwise direction. When gliding on the right
forward inside edge (RFI), you travel in a counterclockwise direction. When
gliding on the left forward outside edge (LFO), you travel in a counterclockwise
direction. When gliding on the right forward outside edge (RFO), you travel in
a clockwise direction.
When you are going backward, the directions are reversed. When gliding on
the left backward inside edge (LBI), you travel counterclockwise. When gliding
on the right backward inside edge (RBI), you travel clockwise. When gliding on
the left backward outside edge (LBO), you travel clockwise. When gliding on the
right backward outside edge (RBO), you travel counterclockwise.
Glide Direction Edge
Clockwise LFI, RFO, RBI, LBO
Counterclockwise RFI, LFO, LBI, RBO
How the Skates and Body

Coordinate to Produce Curves
A common misconception in hockey is that the skates should always be held
straight up. When skates are held straight up, you ride simultaneously on the
inside and outside edges (the flats) of the blades. Since the flat of each blade
describes a straight line on the ice, you will travel either straight forward or straight
backward. But you cannot glide on a curve nor grip the ice with the flat of the
blade. You must use the edges—both for pushing and for traveling a curved path.
To get an edge to cut into the ice, lean the engaged boot so that the desired edge
forms a sharp angle with the ice. To do this, press the engaged foot (the pushing
or gliding foot) onto its side—this can be either the outside or the inside—and
bend that knee in the same direction. Here are two important points:
1. When the pushing skate is on an edge, the more
the foot presses, the boot leans, and the knee bends,
the more the skate will grip the ice and the greater the
potential for thrust against the ice. An edge that digs
into the ice at an angle of 45 degrees (when traveling
fast) is the optimum cutting edge (figure 1.6).
2. When the gliding skate is on an edge, the more
the foot presses, the boot leans, and the knee bends,
the sharper the curve or circle will be. Try to achieve
a knee bend of 90 degrees as measured between the
thigh and shin of the gliding leg.
Figure 1.6 Pushing skate The skate alone cannot achieve the edge. The entire
on a strong inside edge; body coordinates to produce an effective pushing
90-degree knee bend. or gliding edge. To apply an inside edge, lean the
boot, knee, and thigh toward the inside of your body
(figure 1.7a). To apply an outside edge, lean the boot, knee, and thigh toward the
outside of your body (figure 1.7b). The angle of your knee and thigh must line
up above the skate so that all three (knee, thigh, and skate) describe the same
angle to the ice. The rest of your body weight (hips, torso, shoulders) is balanced
over the engaged skate and presses downward toward the ice to assist the edge
in gripping the ice. If your body weight is not totally over the engaged skate, or
if it does not press downward sufficiently, the edge will grip less effectively, the
curve will be shallow, and balance will be impaired.
When skating on a curve or circle, remember the following:
• The faster you skate, the deeper the edge you must apply to the ice, and the
more you need to bend your knees and press your body weight downward
above the engaged edge.
• Centripetal and gravitational forces are at work; they must be equalized
and in proportion to your speed in order for you to balance over the edge.
a b
Figure 1.7 (a) Gliding forward on an inside edge (left skate); (b) gliding forward on an out-
side edge (left skate).
• The skate blade travels as if it were on the outside rim of a circle. The body
rides slightly inside the rim. The lower body (skating foot, knee, thigh, and
hips) presses toward the center of the circle; the hips always face the line
of travel. The upper body (chest and shoulders) rests above the hips but
still within the rim of the circle. If the upper body presses into the circle
more than the lower body does, stability is jeopardized.
• Figure 1.8 shows the body position that is essential to effective forward
movement on a curve. Expert hockey players frequently employ this
position for difficult maneuvers such as tight turns, forward crossovers,
or pivots.
Coaches often tell skaters to lean
into the circle to obtain their curve.
However, this advice often leads to
the misconception that the entire
body should lean (tilt) into the
circle. Only the lower body (skates,
knees, thighs, and hips) leans into
the circle. The upper body (chest,
shoulders, and head) does not lean;
it should be essentially upright,
with the shoulders level with the
ice. Correct body positioning is one
of the most important aspects of
balance on skates. It must be mas-
tered if you are to become a good Figure 1.8 Body position for skating forward
hockey skater. on a curve.
This page intentionally left blank.
Chapter 2
Balance
for Stability and Speed
G reat hockey players have such great balance that they appear to be linked
to the ice by a magnetic force. Players commonly take it for granted and
overlook its importance, but balance is one of the most important aspects of
hockey. Perfect balance is critical for all players. Balance enables players to skate
with greater maneuverability and speed, perform high-velocity turns, execute
explosive starts and stops, change direction quickly, shoot more powerfully, and
deliver and withstand crunching body checks.
Many different balance situations exist in hockey; all of them should be
mastered. Some players can balance well on two skates but not on one. Some
can balance on one skate on the flat of the blade but not on an edge. Some can
maneuver adequately when skating forward but not when skating backward.
Others can balance well when skating slowly but not when skating rapidly (or
vice versa), or they are competent when skating on counterclockwise curves but
struggle when skating on clockwise curves (or vice versa). Still others skate well
but have trouble recovering their balance and stride after a jump off the ice or
a fall onto it.
Lack of balance when skating backward is a common and serious weakness.
All players, not just defenders, should strive for excellent balance on backward
skating moves. This will give them greater versatility in game situations.
Balance is controlled by proper weight distribution over the skates along with
proper upper body positioning. Correct use of the back muscles is critical. Many
players are unaware of how important it is to use the back muscles properly. While
the legs are the engines and are used for power and motion, the back muscles
are used to hold the upper body still—and balanced—above the moving skates.
Goalies need to have superb balance. They often need to fall to the ice to make
saves and then quickly return to their feet. Balance, strength, and quickness are
necessary for these instantaneous recoveries. Making a kick save without falling
also requires excellent balance. Goalies who have not mastered balance often
flop on all fours—not because they want to, but because they cannot stay on
their feet. When this happens, they are slow to recover and are at the mercy of
the opposition.
11
Falling
Everyone falls! And all players need to learn two major things about falling—how
to protect the head and how to get up.
You must prevent your head from hitting the ice or the boards. Padding usu-
ally protects the rest of the body, but even with a helmet, it is dangerous to hit
your head. If you feel yourself falling forward, quickly lift your head and chin
as high as possible and look up toward the ceiling to prevent your head from
hitting the ice. This is called heads-up hockey (from USA Hockey). If you feel
yourself sliding headfirst toward the boards, flip around so that your feet hit the
boards instead. If you feel yourself falling over backward, tuck your chin into
your chest to prevent your head from flipping back and hitting the ice.
The following drill will help teach you how to protect your head from hitting
the boards: Start from one goal line and skate forward with speed. At the first
blue line, fall flat forward (headfirst) in a Superman dive position, pretending
that the red line is the boards. Just before reaching the red line, flip over quickly
so that you are now on your back with your skates facing the red line (boards).
Be sure to bend your knees, which will cushion the blow of your skates hitting
the boards. Practice this over and over until it becomes second nature (figure
2.1, a-b).
Learning how to get up after a fall is challenging for beginning skaters. To
practice getting up, do the following: After falling, get on all fours. Now put one
knee on the ice and place the entire blade length of the other skate on the ice,
directly under the center of your body. Press down against the ice with the flat
of the blade and try to stand up. Be sure to keep your back straight during this
process. After a few tries, you should be able to get up readily. See figure 10.2
on page 227.
Figure 2.1 Protecting the head from hitting the boards.

balance for Stability and Speed 13
Balance on Two Skates

Balance on two skates is important in many different game situations—for
example, when gliding slowly or when waiting for a pass or for a play to develop.
It is also important when checking or being checked by an opponent. The follow-
ing sections explain how to balance on the flats and edges while on two skates.
Balance on the Flats of the Blades—

Skating Forward
In certain situations, players must glide forward on the flats of the blades—for
example, when the play stops and players coast to a face-off circle. Here are some
guidelines to follow when gliding forward on the flats of both blades:
1. Hold your skates about shoulder-width
apart and bend your knees. In this posi-
tion, you are stable and you can prepare
to push off and skate forward (see chapter
4 for an explanation).
2. Hold your shoulders back. Maintain a ver-
tical upper body position; use your back
muscles to keep your back straight. Look
straight ahead and keep your head and
eyes up (figure 2.2). Slumping or looking
down results in a loss of balance because
it causes your body weight to pitch for-
ward over the curved toes of the blades
(figure 2.3, a-b). Holding the upper body
still is critical for balance and control in
skating. Figure 2.2 Proper balance.
a b
Figure 2.3 Result of slumping forward.

3. Keep your body weight on the back halves (middle to heels) of the
blades.
4. Keep the skate blades in full contact with the ice. If you lift your heels off
the ice, your weight will pitch forward over the curved toes of the blades.
Never lean on your stick for balance or support. It is not a crutch or a
third leg!
Balance on the Flats of the Blades—

Skating Backward
The rules for forward balance on two skates also apply to backward balance;
however, when skating backward, your body weight must be on the front halves
(middle to front) of the blades—but not on the curved toes. Do not lean back.
If your weight is over or behind the heels, you may fall over backward.
Balance on Two Skates on the Inside Edges

When gliding slowly forward or backward (i.e., to wait for a play or pass), keep
the skates somewhat wider apart than your shoulders, with your knees flexed
and both skates on the inside edges (figure 2.4). This stance provides excellent
stability and thus is called the ready or stable position. You are prepared to move
laterally, fake, check, or take a check. You are also prepared to push off and skate
straight forward or straight backward. All you need to do is shift your weight
onto the pushing skate and thrust off.
The more you dig in the inside edges and bend your knees, the more traction
you will get into the ice, and the more
stable you will be. If you are about to
be checked and do not have time to do
anything else, widen your stance, dig in
the inside edges, and bend your knees as
much as possible. In this position, you’ll
be much tougher to knock down.
Goalies almost always stand on the
inside edges. Having good balance on
the inside edges and knowing how to use
these edges are extremely important skills
for netminders.
Note: When a player is in the ready
position, even minimal use of the inside
Figure 2.4 Gliding in a wide stance on edges is more beneficial than being on the
the inside edges. flats of the blades.
Balance on One Skate

Except when you are in the ready or stable position, moving on skates is primar-
ily a one-leg activity. In most maneuvers, only one skate is weighted at a time.
This means that the body weight is totally committed to one skate. When you
are pushing, your body weight is totally balanced over the pushing skate. After
pushing, your body weight transfers so that it is totally balanced over the glid-
ing skate.
Balance on one skate must be mastered for all skating moves—when skating
forward, skating backward, crossing over, starting, stopping, or turning. You never
know when you will be startled with a body check while on only one skate—for
example, following a hard jolt—or when you will have to lunge, jump, evade,
or leap over another player and land on one skate.
Learning skaters should first try to balance on the flat of the blade and then
on the inside and outside edges. You will not be a proficient player until you
are perfectly comfortable on one skate—whether skating forward or backward
and whether skating on the flat or on an edge.
To balance on one skate, imagine that you are gliding on a tightrope. Imagine
what would happen if your body weight moves forward and backward or from
side to side. Imagine what would happen if the foot you are standing on is not
centered under your body weight. These factors apply whether balancing on
the flat of the blade or on an edge. To balance on an edge, imagine that you are
gliding on a curved tightrope.
Balance on One Skate on the Flat of the Blade—

Forward and Backward
To balance on the flat of the blade, you must
have your body weight totally over the gliding
skate; the full blade needs to be in contact with
the ice. Concentrate your weight totally over
the gliding skate, and press the blade against
the ice so the skate cannot wiggle or move
around (figure 2.5). Keep your hips facing
straight ahead. If you lean to either side or
lean forward or back, you may lose your foot-
ing—that is, you may fall off the tightrope.
Posture is critical for balance. Hold your
shoulders back and use your back muscles to
keep your back straight and still. Look straight
ahead; keep your head and chin up. If your
head and shoulders slump forward or if you
look down, your weight will pitch forward over
the curved toe of the blade, and you will lose Figure 2.5 Proper balance on the
your balance. flat of the blade.
Balance on the Inside Edge of One Skate—

Skating Forward
Players glide, push, shoot, and check with the inside edges of the skates. Balanc-
ing on the inside edge is more difficult than balancing on the flat of the blade,
but it is a key component of skating.
To get on an inside edge, bend the

knee of the working leg deeply, and lean
the boot inward so the inside edge of the
skate forms a 45-degree angle to the ice.
Try to stand on the inside edge in this
position. Impossible? Maybe at first. But
with enough practice, you will be able to
balance comfortably on a single edge. In
fact, you will find it not only possible, but
a vital prerequisite to skating.
To skate and balance on the inside edge
of the left skate (LFI), lean the left boot,
knee, and thigh strongly inward (toward
Figure 2.6 Gliding forward on the left the center of your body) so the inside
inside edge. edge cuts into the ice at a sharp angle (an
effective edge angle at high speeds is 45
degrees, and it is accompanied by a 90-degree knee bend).
To glide forward on the inside edge, push with the right skate and leg, and
glide forward onto the left inside edge (LFI). After the push, lift the right skate
off the ice and hold it close to the left (gliding) skate (figure 2.6). Keep the left
(skating) knee deeply bent; your body weight should be on the back half of the
blade. Keep your hips facing the direction of travel (curve). You will curve in a
clockwise direction. The more you lean the skate, knee, and thigh, the tighter
the curve or circle will be.
Now do this on the right skate (RFI) by mirroring the previous procedure.
You will now curve in a counterclockwise direction.
Note: This drill should also be applied when practicing the push of the for-
ward stride.
Balance on the Outside Edge of One Skate—

Skating Forward
Balancing on the outside edge is initially
more difficult than balancing on either
the flat or the inside edge. Regardless of
its difficulty, balancing on the outside
edge is an essential aspect of skating on a
curve or circle.
To skate and balance on the outside
edge of the left skate (LFO), lean the left
skate, knee, and thigh strongly to the
left (toward the outside of your body)
so that the outside edge cuts into the
ice at a sharp angle (an effective edge
angle at high speeds is 45 degrees, and
Figure 2.7 Gliding forward on the left it is accompanied by a 90-degree knee
outside edge. bend).
To glide onto the outside edge, push with the right skate and leg, and glide
forward onto the left outside edge (LFO). After the push, lift the right skate off
the ice and hold it close to the left (gliding) skate (figure 2.7). Keep the left
(skating) knee deeply bent; your body weight should be on the back half of the
blade. You will curve in a counterclockwise direction. The more you lean the
skate, knee, and thigh, the tighter the curve or circle will be.
Now do this on the right skate (RFO) by mirroring the previous procedure.
You will now curve in a clockwise direction.
Note: This drill should also be applied when practicing forward crossovers.
Balance on the Inside and Outside Edge

of One Skate—Skating Backward
Skating and balancing on one edge when skating backward is just as important
as when skating forward. The procedure is essentially the same as for forward
skating, with two major differences:
1. Body weight must be on

Coaching Tip
the front half of the blade
(middle to front) rather When gliding on edges, keep the shoulders
than on the back half. level to the ice. Dropping the inside
2. The direction of curve is shoulder into the curve or circle is a
opposite of the direction common error. This tilts too much body
produced by forward edges. weight into the circle, resulting in a loss of
See the section on gliding in balance. When skating at fast speeds on
chapter 1 (page 7) for the a sharp curve or circle, it is safer to hold
directions of travel. the inside shoulder slightly higher than the
Note: The previous drills should outside shoulder than it is to lower (drop)
be applied when practicing the the inside shoulder into the curve or circle.
backward stride and backward
crossovers.
Drills for Balance and Stretching

Balance should not be taken for granted. It is one of the first skills to deteriorate
after a layoff (even a brief one). Many balance drills can also be used as warm-up
and stretching drills. When used in combination with warming up, these drills
should be done as the first moves of the day. Muscles require the opportunity
to warm up and stretch gradually. If ice time is limited, stretching drills should
be done off the ice; however, in this case, they will not help to develop better
balance on the ice. Use balance drills in combination with warming up and
stretching on the ice whenever possible.
Unless otherwise specified, the drills in this section can be done skating
backward as well as forward. They are presented in a specific order that takes
into account the ability of the skater as well as the need for gradual stretching.
Forward O Drill
All Skaters
This drill stretches the groin and inside thigh muscles. It also helps players
improve their balance on the inside edges. In this drill, both skates are on
the ice at all times. The skates move simultaneously out and in to create the
letter O. This drill is especially helpful for beginning skaters.
Start with the skates on inside edges and in a V position—heels together
and toes apart (figure 2.8a). Bend your knees, keeping your weight on the
back halves of the blades. As you glide forward, move the toes of the two
skates as far apart as possible. As the toes separate, straighten your knees
(figure 2.8b). When both knees are straight, pivot the toes inward and draw
them together (figure 2.8c). When the toes touch each other in an inverted
V position, you will have completed one full circle, or the letter O (figure
2.8d). Now put the heels of the skates together in the original V position
and repeat the maneuver.
a b
c d
Figure 2.8 (a-d) Forward O drill; (d-a) backward O drill.

Backward O Drill
All Skaters
This drill stretches the groin and inside thigh muscles. It also helps players
improve their balance on the inside edges. In addition, this drill is often used
to teach elementary-level skaters how to move backward.
The procedure is the reverse of the forward O drill. Start with the skates on
inside edges and in an inverted V position—toes touching and heels apart.
Bend your knees, keeping your weight on the front halves of the blades. As
you glide backward, pull the heels as far apart as possible. As the heels sepa-
rate, straighten your knees. When both knees are straight, pivot the heels
inward and draw them together to form the letter V. When the heels touch
each other in the V position, you will have completed one full circle, or the
letter O. Now put the toes of both skates together in the original inverted V
position and repeat the maneuver (see figure 2.8, d-a).
Upper Body Twists (Stretch for the Neck, Back, and Waist)
All Skaters
Glide on both skates, with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Hold the
hockey stick behind your neck with a hand on each end of the stick, and
twist (rotate) your waist and arms gently from side to side (figure 2.9, a-b).
While twisting, reach your right elbow toward your left knee. Hold the stretch
for approximately 10 seconds. Now reach your left elbow toward your right
knee. Look toward the knee that your elbow is reaching for. Repeat slowly
four or five times.
a b
Figure 2.9 Upper body twists.

Balance on the Flats of the Blades (Back and Hamstring Stretch)

All Skaters
Glide forward on both skates, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the
hockey stick horizontally and fully extended above your head. Keeping your
knees straight, reach the stick behind you and arch your back. Stay in this
position for approximately 10 seconds. Still keeping your knees straight,
bend forward and reach the hockey stick toward your toes. Keep your body
weight on the back halves of the blades (figure 2.10, a-b). Hold the stretch
for approximately 10 seconds. Repeat four or five times.
Do the same drill gliding backward; your body weight is now on the front
halves of the blades.
Note: Keep the entire blade lengths in contact with the ice. If your heels
come off the ice, you may fall forward over your toes. Do not bounce; bounc-
ing may cause muscle pulls.
a b
Figure 2.10 Hamstring stretch.
Balance on the Flat of the Blade—One Skate

(Quadriceps Stretch)
Basic
Skate from the goal line to the blue line while holding the hockey stick hori-
zontally at arm’s length and at shoulder height in front of you. At the blue
line, glide on the flat of the left skate and raise your right knee as high as
possible toward the stick. Try to glide all the way to the far goal line before
putting your right skate down. Repeat the drill, gliding on the flat of the right
skate and lifting the left knee (see figure 2.5 on page 15). Raising the knee
of the free leg gradually stretches the quadriceps (thigh muscles).
Many skaters are able to balance better on one skate than on the other.
Give extra attention to the weaker skate in order to equalize the right and
left sides.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
seas of thought alone”, and another image of a stone rolling
downhill, combined with the words “how different!” Or you may think
of the difference between composing a lecture and eating your
dinner. It is only when you come to expressing your thought in words
that you approach logical precision.
Both in introspection and in external perception, we try to
express what we know in words.
We come here, as in the question of testimony, upon the social
aspect of knowledge. The purpose of words is to give the same kind
of publicity to thought as is claimed for physical objects. A number of
people can hear a spoken word or see a written word, because each
is a physical occurrence. If I say to you, “mind is different from
matter”, there may be only a very slight resemblance between the
thought that I am trying to express and the thought which is aroused
in you, but these two thoughts have just this in common, that they
can be expressed by the same words. Similarly, there may be great
differences between what you and I see when, as we say, we look at
the same chair; nevertheless we can both express our perceptions
by the same words.
A thought and a perception are thus not so very different in their
own nature. If physics is true, they are different in their correlations:
when I see a chair, others have more or less similar perceptions, and
it is thought that these are all connected with light-waves coming
from the chair, whereas, when I think a thought, others may not be
thinking anything similar. But this applies also to feeling a toothache,
which would not usually be regarded as a case of introspection. On
the whole, therefore, there seems no reason to regard introspection
as a different kind of knowledge from external perception. But this
whole question will concern us again at a later stage.
As for the trustworthiness of introspection, there is again a
complete parallelism with the case of external perception. The actual
datum, in each case, is unimpeachable, but the extensions which we
make instinctively are questionable. Instead of saying, “I am
believing that mind is different from matter”, you ought to say,
“certain images are occurring in a certain relation to each other,
accompanied by a certain feeling”. No words exist for describing the
actual occurrence in all its particularity; all words, even proper
names, are general, with the possible exception of “this”, which is
ambiguous. When you translate the occurrence into words, you are
making generalisations and inferences, just as you are when you say
“there is a chair”. There is really no vital difference between the two
cases. In each case, what is really a datum is unutterable, and what
can be put into words involves inferences which may be mistaken.
When I say that “inferences” are involved, I am saying something
not quite accurate unless carefully interpreted. In “seeing a chair”, for
instance, we do not first apprehend a coloured pattern, and then
proceed to infer a chair: belief in the chair arises spontaneously
when we see the coloured pattern. But this belief has causes not
only in the present physical stimulus, but also partly in past
experience, partly in reflexes. In animals, reflexes play a very large
part; in human beings, experience is more important. The infant
learns slowly to correlate touch and sight, and to expect others to
see what he sees. The habits which are thus formed are essential to
our adult notion of an object such as a chair. The perception of a
chair by means of sight has a physical stimulus which affects only
sight directly, but stimulates ideas of solidity and so on through early
experience. The inference might be called “physiological”. An
inference of this sort is evidence of past correlations, for instance
between touch and sight, but may be mistaken in the present
instance; you may, for instance, mistake a reflection in a large mirror
for another room. Similarly in dreams we make mistaken
physiological inferences. We cannot therefore feel certainty in regard
to things which are in this sense inferred, because, when we try to
accept as many of them as possible, we are nevertheless compelled
to reject some for the sake of self-consistency.
We arrived a moment ago at what we called “physiological
inference” as an essential ingredient in the common-sense notion of
a physical object. Physiological inference, in its simplest form,
means this: given a stimulus S, to which, by a reflex, we react by a
bodily movement R, and a stimulus S′ with a reaction R′, if the two
stimuli are frequently experienced together, S will in time produce
2
R′. That is to say, the body will act as if S′ were present.
Physiological inference is important in theory of knowledge, and I
shall have much to say about it at a later stage. For the present, I
have mentioned it partly to prevent it from being confused with
logical inference, and partly in order to introduce the problem of
induction, about which we must say a few preliminary words at this
stage.
2
E.g. if you hear a sharp noise and see a
bright light simultaneously often, in time the
noise without the light will cause your pupils to
contract.
Induction raises perhaps the most difficult problem in the whole

theory of knowledge. Every scientific law is established by its means,
and yet it is difficult to see why we should believe it to be a valid
logical process. Induction, in its bare essence, consists of the
argument that, because A and B have been often found together and
never found apart, therefore, when A is found again, B will probably
also be found. This exists first as a “physiological inference”, and as
such is practised by animals. When we first begin to reflect, we find
ourselves making inductions in the physiological sense, for instance,
expecting the food we see to have a certain kind of taste. Often we
only become aware of this expectation through having it
disappointed, for instance if we take salt thinking it is sugar. When
mankind took to science, they tried to formulate logical principles
justifying this kind of inference. I shall discuss these attempts in later
chapters; for the present, I will only say that they seem to me very
unsuccessful. I am convinced that induction must have validity of
some kind in some degree, but the problem of showing how or why it
can be valid remains unsolved. Until it is solved, the rational man will
doubt whether his food will nourish him, and whether the sun will rise
tomorrow. I am not a rational man in this sense, but for the moment I
shall pretend to be. And even if we cannot be completely rational, we
should probably all be the better for becoming somewhat more
rational than we are. At the lowest estimate, it will be an interesting
adventure to see whither reason will lead us.
The problems we have been raising are none of them new, but
they suffice to show that our everyday views of the world and of our
relations to it are unsatisfactory. We have been asking whether we
know this or that, but we have not yet asked what “knowing” is.
Perhaps we shall find that we have had wrong ideas as to knowing,
and that our difficulties grow less when we have more correct ideas
on this point. I think we shall do well to begin our philosophical
journey by an attempt to understand knowing considered as part of
the relation of man to his environment, forgetting, for the moment,
the fundamental doubts with which we have been concerned.
Perhaps modern science may enable us to see philosophical
problems in a new light. In that hope, let us examine the relation of
man to his environment with a view to arriving at a scientific view as
to what constitutes knowledge.
PART I
MAN FROM WITHOUT

CHAPTER II
MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT
If our scientific knowledge were full and complete, we should

understand ourselves and the world and our relation to the world. As
it is, our understanding of all three is fragmentary. For the present, it
is the third question, that of our relation to the world, that I wish to
consider, because this brings us nearest to the problems of
philosophy. We shall find that it will lead us back to the other two
questions, as to the world and as to ourselves, but that we shall
understand both these better if we have considered first how the
world acts upon us and how we act upon the world.
There are a number of sciences which deal with Man. We may
deal with him in natural history, as one among the animals, having a
certain place in evolution, and related to other animals in
ascertainable ways. We may deal with him in physiology, as a
structure capable of performing certain functions, and reacting to the
environment in ways of which some, at least, can be explained by
chemistry. We may study him in sociology, as a unit in various
organisms, such as the family and the state. And we may study him,
in psychology, as he appears to himself. This last gives what we may
call an internal view of man, as opposed to the other three, which
give an external view. That is to say, in psychology we use data
which can only be obtained when the observer and the observed are
the same person, whereas in the other ways of studying Man all our
data can be obtained by observing other people. There are different
ways of interpreting this distinction, and different views of its
importance, but there can be no doubt that there is such a
distinction. We can remember our own dreams, whereas we cannot
know the dreams of others unless they tell us about them. We know
when we have toothache, when our food tastes too salty, when we
are remembering some past occurrence, and so on. All these events
in our lives other people cannot know in the same direct way. In this
sense, we all have an inner life, open to our own inspection but to no
one else’s. This is no doubt the source of the traditional distinction of
mind and body: the body was supposed to be that part of us which
others could observe, and the mind that part which was private to
ourselves. The importance of the distinction has been called in
question in recent times, and I do not myself believe that it has any
fundamental philosophical significance. But historically it has played
a dominant part in determining the conceptions from which men set
out when they began to philosophise, and on this account, if on no
other, it deserves to be borne in mind.
Knowledge, traditionally, has been viewed from within, as
something which we observe in ourselves rather than as something
which we can see others displaying. When I say that it has been so
viewed, I mean that this has been the practice of philosophers; in
ordinary life, people have been more objective. In ordinary life,
knowledge is something which can be tested by examinations, that is
to say, it consists in a certain kind of response to a certain kind of
stimulus. This objective way of viewing knowledge is, to my mind,
much more fruitful than the way which has been customary in
philosophy. I mean that, if we wish to give a definition of “knowing”,
we ought to define it as a manner of reacting to the environment, not
as involving something (a “state of mind”) which only the person who
has the knowledge can observe. It is because I hold this view that I
think it best to begin with Man and his environment, rather than with
those matters in which the observer and the observed must be the
same person. Knowing, as I view it, is a characteristic which may be
displayed in our reactions to our environment; it is therefore
necessary first of all to consider the nature of these reactions as they
appear in science.
Let us take some everyday situation. Suppose you are watching
a race, and at the appropriate moment you say, “they’re off”. This
exclamation is a reaction to the environment, and is taken to show
knowledge if it is made at the same time as others make it. Now let
us consider what has been really happening, according to science.
The complication of what has happened is almost incredible. It may
conveniently be divided into four stages: first, what happened in the
outside world between the runners and your eyes; secondly, what
happened in your body from your eyes to your brain; thirdly, what
happened in your brain; fourthly, what happened in your body from
your brain to the movements of your throat and tongue which
constituted your exclamation. Of these four stages, the first belongs
to physics, and is dealt with in the main by the theory of light; the
second and fourth belong to physiology; the third, though it should
theoretically also belong to physiology, belongs in fact rather to
psychology, owing to our lack of knowledge as to the brain. The third
stage embodies the results of experience and learning. It is
responsible for the fact that you speak, which an animal would not
do, and that you speak English, which a Frenchman would not do.
This immensely complicated occurrence is, nevertheless, about the
simplest example of knowledge that could possibly be given.
For the moment, let us leave on one side the part of this process
which happens in the outside world and belongs to physics. I shall
have much to say about it later, but what has to be said is not
altogether easy, and we will take less abstruse matters first. I will
merely observe that the event which we are said to perceive, namely
the runners starting, is separated by a longer or shorter chain of
events from the event which happens at the surface of our eyes. It is
this last that is what is called the “stimulus”. Thus the event that we
are said to perceive when we see is not the stimulus, but an anterior
event related to it in a way that requires investigation. The same
applies to hearing and smell, but not to touch or to perception of
states of our own body. In these cases, the first of the above four
stages is absent. It is clear that, in the case of sight, hearing and
smell, there must be a certain relation between the stimulus and the
event said to be perceived, but we will not now consider what this
relation must be. We will consider, rather, the second, third, and
fourth stages in an act of perceptive knowledge. This is the more
legitimate as these stages always exist, whereas the first is confined
to certain senses.
The second stage is that which proceeds from the sense-organ
to the brain. It is not necessary for our purposes to consider exactly
what goes on during this journey. A purely physical event—the
stimulus—happens at the boundary of the body, and has a series of
effects which travel along the afferent nerves to the brain. If the
stimulus is light, it must fall on the eye to produce the characteristic
effects; no doubt light falling on other parts of the body has effects,
but they are not those that distinguish vision. Similarly, if the stimulus
is sound, it must fall on the ear. A sense-organ, like a photographic
plate, is responsive to stimuli of a certain sort: light falling on the eye
has effects which are different for different wave-lengths, intensities,
and directions. When the events in the eye due to incident light have
taken place, they are followed by events in the optic nerve, leading
at last to some occurrence in the brain—an occurrence which varies
with the stimulus. The occurrence in the brain must be different for
different stimuli in all cases where we can perceive differences. Red
and yellow, for instance, are distinguishable in perception; therefore
the occurrences along the optic nerve and in the brain must have a
different character when caused by red light from what they have
when caused by yellow light. But when two shades of colour are so
similar that they can only be distinguished by delicate instruments,
not by perception, we cannot be sure that they cause occurrences of
different characters in the optic nerve and brain.
When the disturbance has reached the brain, it may or may not
cause a characteristic set of events in the brain. If it does not, we
shall not be what is called “conscious” of it. For to be “conscious” of
seeing yellow, whatever else it may be, must certainly involve some
kind of cerebral reaction to the message brought by the optic nerve.
It may be assumed that the great majority of messages brought to
the brain by the afferent nerves never secure any attention at all—
they are like letters to a government office which remain
unanswered. The things in the margin of the field of vision, unless
they are in some way interesting, are usually unnoticed; if they are
noticed, they are brought into the centre of the field of vision unless
we make a deliberate effort to prevent this from occurring. These
things are visible, in the sense that we could be aware of them if we
chose, without any change in our physical environment or in our
sense-organs; that is to say, only a cerebral change is required to
enable them to cause a reaction. But usually they do not provoke
any reaction; life would be altogether too wearing if we had to be
always reacting to everything in the field of vision. Where there is no
reaction, the second stage completes the process, and the third and
fourth stages do not arise. In that case, there has been nothing that
could be called “perception” connected with the stimulus in question.
To us, however, the interesting case is that in which the process
continues. In this case there is first a process in the brain, of which
the nature is as yet conjectural, which travels from the centre
appropriate to the sense in question to a motor centre. From these
there is a process which travels along an efferent nerve, and finally
results in a muscular event causing some bodily movement. In our
illustration of the man watching the beginning of a race, a process
travels from the part of the brain concerned with sight to the part
concerned with speech; this is what we called the third stage. Then a
process travels along the efferent nerves and brings about the
movements which constitute saying “they’re off”; this is what we
called the fourth stage.
Unless all four stages exist, there is nothing that can be called
“knowledge”. And even when they are all present, various further
conditions must be satisfied if there is to be “knowledge”. But these
observations are premature, and we must return to the analysis of
our third and fourth stages.
The third stage is of two sorts, according as we are concerned
with a reflex or with a “learned reaction”, as Dr. Watson calls it. In the
case of a reflex, if it is complete at birth, a new-born infant or animal
has a brain so constituted that, without the need of any previous
experience, there is a connection between a certain process in the
afferent nerves and a certain other process in the efferent nerves. A
good example of a reflex is sneezing. A certain kind of tickling in the
nose produces a fairly violent movement having a very definite
character, and this connection exists already in the youngest infants.
Learned reactions, on the other hand, are such as only occur
because of the effect of previous occurrences in the brain. One
might illustrate by an analogy which, however, would be misleading if
pressed. Imagine a desert in which no rain has ever fallen, and
suppose that at last a thunderstorm occurs in it; then the course
taken by the water will correspond to a reflex. But if rain continues to
fall frequently, it will form watercourses and river valleys; when this
has occurred, the water runs away along pre-formed channels,
which are attributable to the past “experience” of the region. This
corresponds to “learned reactions”. One of the most notable
examples of learned reactions is speech: we speak because we
have learned a certain language, not because our brain had
originally any tendency to react in just that way. Perhaps all
knowledge, certainly nearly all, is dependent upon learned reactions,
i.e., upon connections in the brain which are not part of man’s
congenital equipment but are the result of events which have
happened to him.
To distinguish between learned and unlearned responses is not
always an easy task. It cannot be assumed that responses which are
absent during the first weeks of life are all learned. To take the most
obvious instance; sexual responses change their character to a
greater or less extent at puberty, as a result of changes in the
ductless glands, not as a result of experience. But this instance does
not stand alone: as the body grows and develops, new modes of
response come into play, modified, no doubt, by experience, but not
wholly due to it. For example: a new-born baby cannot run, and
therefore does not run away from what is terrifying, as an older child
does. The older child has learned to run, but has not necessarily
learned to run away; the stimulus in learning to run may have never
been a terrifying object. It would therefore be a fallacy to suppose
that we can distinguish between learned and unlearned responses
by observing what a new-born infant does, since reflexes may come
into play at a later stage. Conversely, some things which a child does
at birth may have been learned, when they are such as it could have
done in the womb—for example, a certain amount of kicking and
stretching. The whole distinction between learned and unlearned
responses, therefore, is not so definite as we could wish. At the two
extremes we get clear cases, such as sneezing on the one hand and
speaking on the other; but there are intermediate forms of behaviour
which are more difficult to classify.
This is not denied even by those who attach most importance to
the distinction between learned and unlearned responses. In Dr.
Watson’s Behaviorism (p. 103) there is a “Summary of Unlearned
Equipment”, which ends with the following paragraph:
“Other activities appear at a later stage—such as blinking,
reaching, handling, handedness, crawling, standing, sitting-up,
walking, running, jumping. In the great majority of these later
activities it is difficult to say how much of the act as a whole is due to
training or conditioning. A considerable part is unquestionably due to
the growth changes in structure, and the remainder is due to training
and conditioning.” (Watson’s italics.)
It is not possible to make a logically sharp distinction in this
matter; in certain cases we have to be satisfied with something less
exact. For example, we might say that those developments which
are merely due to normal growth are to count as unlearned, while
those which depend upon special circumstances in the individual
biography are to count as learned. But take, say, muscular
development: this will not take place normally unless the muscles
are used, and if they are used they are bound to learn some of the
skill which is appropriate to them. And some things which must
certainly count as learned, such as focussing with the eyes, depend
upon circumstances which are normal and must be present in the
case of every child who is not blind. The whole distinction, therefore,
is one of degree rather than of kind; nevertheless it is valuable.
The value of the distinction between learned and unlearned
reactions is connected with the laws of learning, to which we shall
come in the next chapter. Experience modifies behaviour according
to certain laws, and we may say that a learned reaction is one in the
formation of which these laws have played a part. For example:
children are frightened of loud noises from birth, but are not at first
frightened of dogs; after they have heard a dog barking loudly, they
may become frightened of dogs, which is a learned reaction. If we
knew enough about the brain, we could make the distinction precise,
by saying that learned reactions are those depending upon
modifications of the brain other than mere growth. But as it is, we
have to judge by observations of bodily behaviour, and the
accompanying modifications in the brain are assumed on a basis of
theory rather than actually observed.
The essential points, for our purposes, are comparatively simple.
Man or any other animal, at birth, is such as to respond to certain
stimuli in certain specific ways, i.e. by certain kinds of bodily
movements; as he grows, these ways of responding change, partly
as the mere result of developing structure, partly in consequence of
events in his biography. The latter influence proceeds according to
certain laws, which we shall consider, since they have much to do
with the genesis of “knowledge”.
But—the indignant reader may be exclaiming—knowing
something is not a bodily movement, but a state of mind, and yet you
talk to us about sneezing and such matters. I must ask the indignant
reader’s patience. He “knows” that he has states of mind, and that
his knowing is itself a state of mind. I do not deny that he has states
of mind, but I ask two questions: First, what sort of thing are they?
Secondly, what evidence can he give me that he knows about them?
The first question he may find very difficult; and if he wants, in his
answer, to show that states of mind are something of a sort totally
different from bodily movements, he will have to tell me also what
bodily movements are, which will plunge him into the most abstruse
part of physics. All this I propose to consider later on, and then I
hope the indignant reader will be appeased. As to the second
question, namely, what evidence of his knowledge another man can
give me, it is clear that he must depend upon speech or writing, i.e.
in either case upon bodily movements. Therefore whatever
knowledge may be to the knower, as a social phenomenon it is
something displayed in bodily movements. For the present I am
deliberately postponing the question of what knowledge is to the
knower, and confining myself to what it is for the external observer.
And for him, necessarily, it is something shown by bodily movements
made in answer to stimuli—more specifically, to examination
questions. What else it may be I shall consider at a later stage.
However we may subsequently add to our present account by
considering how knowledge appears to the knower, that will not
invalidate anything that we may arrive at by considering how
knowledge appears to the external observer. And there is something
which it is important to realise, namely, that we are concerned with a
process in which the environment first acts upon a man, and then he
reacts upon the environment. This process has to be considered as
a whole if we are to discuss what knowledge is. The older view
would have been that the effect of the environment upon us might
constitute a certain kind of knowledge (perception), while our
reaction to the environment constituted volition. These were, in each
case, “mental” occurrences, and their connection with nerves and
brain remained entirely mysterious. I think the mystery can be
eliminated, and the subject removed from the realm of guesswork,
by starting with the whole cycle from stimulus to bodily movement. In
this way, knowing becomes something active, not something
contemplative. Knowing and willing, in fact, are merely aspects of the
one cycle, which must be considered in its entirety if it is to be rightly
understood.
A few words must be said about the human body as a
mechanism. It is an inconceivably complicated mechanism, and
some men of science think that it is not explicable in terms of physics
and chemistry, but is regulated by some “vital principle” which makes
its laws different from those of dead matter. These men are called
“vitalists”. I do not myself see any reason to accept their view, but at
the same time our knowledge is not sufficient to enable us to reject it
definitely. What we can say is that their case is not proved, and that
the opposite view is, scientifically, a more fruitful working hypothesis.
It is better to look for physical and chemical explanations where we
can, since we know of many processes in the human body which
can be accounted for in this way, and of none which certainly cannot.
To invoke a “vital principle” is to give an excuse for laziness, when
perhaps more diligent research would have enabled us to do without
it. I shall therefore assume, as a working hypothesis, that the human
body acts according to the same laws of physics and chemistry as
those which govern dead matter, and that it differs from dead matter,
not by its laws, but by the extraordinary complexity of its structure.
The movements of the human body may, none the less, be
divided into two classes, which we may call respectively
“mechanical” and “vital”. As an example of the former, I should give
the movement of a man falling from a cliff into the sea. To explain
this, in its broad features, it is not necessary to take account of the
fact that the man is alive; his centre of gravity moves exactly as that
of a stone would move. But when a man climbs up a cliff, he does
something that dead matter of the same shape and weight would
never do; this is a “vital” movement. There is in the human body a lot
of stored chemical energy in more or less unstable equilibrium; a
very small stimulus can release this energy, and cause a
considerable amount of bodily movement. The situation is analogous
to that of a large rock delicately balanced on the top of a conical
mountain; a tiny shove may send it thundering down into the valley,
in one direction or another according to the direction of the shove.
So if you say to a man “your house is on fire”, he will start running;
although the stimulus contained very little energy, his expenditure of
energy may be tremendous. He increases the available energy by
panting, which makes his body burn up faster and increases the
energy due to combustion; this is just like opening the draft in a
furnace. “Vital” movements are those that use up this energy which
is in unstable equilibrium. It is they alone that concern the bio-
chemist, the physiologist, and the psychologist. The others, being
just like the movements of dead matter, may be ignored when we are
specially concerned with the study of Man.
Vital movements have a stimulus which may be inside or outside
the body, or both at once. Hunger is a stimulus inside the body, but
hunger combined with the sight of good food is a double stimulus,
both internal and external. The effect of a stimulus may be, in theory,
according to the laws of physics and chemistry, but in most cases
this is, at present, no more than a pious opinion. What we know from
observation is that behaviour is modified by experience, that is to
say, that if similar stimuli are repeated at intervals they produce
gradually changing reactions. When a bus conductor says, “Fares,
please”, a very young child has no reaction, an older child gradually
learns to look for pennies, and, if a male, ultimately acquires the
power of producing the requisite sum on demand without conscious
effort. The way in which our reactions change with experience is a
distinctive characteristic of animals; moreover it is more marked in
the higher than in the lower animals, and most marked of all in Man.
It is a matter intimately connected with “intelligence”, and must be
investigated before we can understand what constitutes knowledge
from the standpoint of the external observer; we shall be concerned
with it at length in the next chapter.
Speaking broadly, the actions of all living things are such as tend
to biological survival, i.e. to the leaving of a numerous progeny. But
when we descend to the lowest organisms, which have hardly
anything that can be called individuality, and reproduce themselves
by fission, it is possible to take a simpler view. Living matter, within
limits, has the chemical peculiarity of being self-perpetuating, and of
conferring its own chemical composition upon other matter
composed of the right elements. One spore falling into a stagnant
pond may produce millions of minute vegetable organisms; these, in
turn, enable one small animal to have myriads of descendants living
on the small plants; these, in turn, provide life for larger animals,
newts, tadpoles, fishes, etc. In the end there is enormously more
protoplasm in that region than there was to begin with. This is no
doubt explicable as a result of the chemical constitution of living
matter. But this purely chemical self-preservation and collective
growth is at the bottom of everything else that characterises the
behaviour of living things. Every living thing is a sort of imperialist,
seeking to transform as much as possible of its environment into
itself and its seed. The distinction between self and posterity is one
which does not exist in a developed form in asexual unicellular
organisms; many things, even in human life, can only be completely
understood by forgetting it. We may regard the whole of evolution as
flowing from this “chemical imperialism” of living matter. Of this, Man
is only the last example (so far). He transforms the surface of the
globe by irrigation, cultivation, mining, quarrying, making canals and
railways, breeding certain animals, and destroying others; and when
we ask ourselves, from the standpoint of an outside observer, what
is the end achieved by all these activities, we find that it can be
summed up in one very simple formula: to transform as much as
possible of the matter on the earth’s surface into human bodies.
Domestication of animals, agriculture, commerce, industrialism have
been stages in this process. When we compare the human
population of the globe with that of other large animals and also with
that of former times, we see that “chemical imperialism” has been, in
fact, the main end to which human intelligence has been devoted.
Perhaps intelligence is reaching the point where it can conceive
worthier ends, concerned with the quality rather than the quantity of
human life. But as yet such intelligence is confined to minorities, and
does not control the great movements of human affairs. Whether this
will ever be changed I do not venture to predict. And in pursuing the
simple purpose of maximising the amount of human life, we have at
any rate the consolation of feeling at one with the whole movement
of living things from their earliest origin on this planet.
CHAPTER III
THE PROCESS OF LEARNING IN ANIMALS
AND INFANTS
In the present chapter I wish to consider the processes by which,

and the laws according to which, an animal’s original repertoire of
reflexes is changed into a quite different set of habits as a result of
events that happen to it. A dog learns to follow his master in
preference to anyone else; a horse learns to know his own stall in
the stable; a cow learns to come to the cow-shed at milking time. All
these are acquired habits, not reflexes; they depend upon the
circumstances of the animals concerned, not merely upon the
congenital characteristics of the species. When I speak of an animal
“learning” something, I shall include all cases of acquired habits,
whether or not they are useful to the animal. I have known horses in
Italy “learn” to drink wine, which I cannot believe to have been a
desirable habit. A dog may “learn” to fly at a man who has ill-treated
it, and may do so with such regularity and ferocity as to lead to its
being killed. I do not use learning in any sense involving praise, but
merely to denote modification of behaviour as the result of
experience.
The manner in which animals learn has been much studied in
recent years, with a great deal of patient observation and
experiment. Certain results have been obtained as regards the kinds
of problems that have been investigated, but on general principles
there is still much controversy. One may say broadly that all the
animals that have been carefully observed have behaved so as to
confirm the philosophy in which the observer believed before his
observations began. Nay, more, they have all displayed the national
characteristics of the observer. Animals studied by Americans rush
about frantically, with an incredible display of hustle and pep, and at
last achieve the desired result by chance. Animals observed by
Germans sit still and think, and at last evolve the solution out of their
inner consciousness. To the plain man, such as the present writer,
this situation is discouraging. I observe, however, that the type of
problem which a man naturally sets to an animal depends upon his
own philosophy, and that this probably accounts for the differences
in the results. The animal responds to one type of problem in one
way and to another in another; therefore the results obtained by
different investigators, though different, are not incompatible. But it
remains necessary to remember that no one investigator is to be
trusted to give a survey of the whole field.
The matters with which we shall be concerned in this chapter
belong to behaviourist psychology, and in part to pure physiology.
Nevertheless, they seem to me vital to a proper understanding of
philosophy, since they are necessary for an objective study of
knowledge and inference. I mean by an “objective” study one in
which the observer and the observed need not be the same person;
when they must be identical, I call the study “subjective.” For the
present we are concerned with what is required for understanding
“knowledge” as an objective phenomenon. We shall take up the
question of the subjective study of knowledge at a later stage.
The scientific study of learning in animals is a very recent
growth; it may almost be regarded as beginning with Thorndike’s
Animal Intelligence, which was published in 1911. Thorndike
invented the method which has been adopted by practically all
subsequent American investigators. In this method an animal is
separated from food, which he can see or smell, by an obstacle
which he may overcome by chance. A cat, say, is put in a cage
having a door with a handle which he may by chance push open with
his nose. At first the cat makes entirely random movements, until he
gets his result by a mere fluke. On the second occasion, in the same
cage, he still makes some random movements, but not so many as
on the first occasion. On the third occasion he does still better, and
before long he makes no useless movements. Nowadays it has
become customary to employ rats instead of cats, and to put them in
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Chapter 1 Skates and Equipment

Chapter 3 Force Application

Chapter 4 Forward Stride

Chapter 5 Backward Stride

Chapter 9 Turns and Transition

Chapter 11 Training and Conditioning

History and Legacy

Then teach them to skate correctly, powerfully, explosively, and quickly.

From ages 10 to 12 (prepubescence), children show great improvement in

Modifying Training During

Suggestions for Incorporating Skating Technique

Suggestions for Incorporating Skating Moves

Suggestions for Incorporating Races Into Practices

Suggestions for Monitoring Improvement

Format of the Book

Guidelines for Selecting Skates

Lacing the Boots

Tips for Breaking in New Boots

Blade Design Edge Edge

The shape of the hockey skate blade

Sharpening the Blades

• Blades can be sharpened so that the hollow is either shallow or deep. A

Figure 1.5 (a) Inside and (b) outside edges.

How the Skates and Body

Figure 2.1 Protecting the head from hitting the boards.

Balance on Two Skates

Balance on the Flats of the Blades—

Figure 2.3 Result of slumping forward.

Balance on the Flats of the Blades—

Balance on Two Skates on the Inside Edges

Balance on One Skate

Balance on One Skate on the Flat of the Blade—

Balance on the Inside Edge of One Skate—

To get on an inside edge, bend the

Balance on the Outside Edge of One Skate—

Balance on the Inside and Outside Edge

1. Body weight must be on

Drills for Balance and Stretching

Figure 2.8 (a-d) Forward O drill; (d-a) backward O drill.

Figure 2.9 Upper body twists.

Balance on the Flats of the Blades (Back and Hamstring Stretch)

Figure 2.10 Hamstring stretch.

Balance on the Flat of the Blade—One Skate

Induction raises perhaps the most difficult problem in the whole

MAN FROM WITHOUT

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