What makes skating so fun and interesting is that your skates free you from the
constraints of friction. So that you can enjoy the simple pleasure
of inertia. When you're experiencing no external
forces or, more generally, when the net force acting on you is zero, you move
according to Newton's first law, and travel at constant velocity.
If you're motionless, you remain motionless.
That's a velocity of zero staying zero. If you're moving, you move in the same
direction at the same speed. That's your velocity remaining constant
and you're coasting. On the other hand, if you are
experiencing a net force, other than zero, you move according to Newton's
second law of motion, you accelerate, and your acceleration is
equal to the net force acting on you, divided by your mass.
Moreover that acceleration is in the same direction, as the net force.
Well that's it for skating, glide away and I will see you next time for more of
how things work.