A figure skate has 2 edges. Figure skating has 8 edges.
The blade of a figure skate is sharpened to have two edges as shown in the image below. The inside edge is inside (between) your legs. The outside edge is outside.
When a skater skates on the inside edge of their right foot while moving forward the edge move is called a "right forward inside edge". This means there are eight possible skating edges. Here is a list with their associate abbreviations. You will often see these abbreviations used on skating instructions such as dance diagrams, moves, and tests.
- RFI - Right forward inside edge
- LFI - Left forward inside edge
- RFO - Right forward outside edge
- LFO - Left forward outside edge
- RBI - Right backward inside edge
- LBI - Left backward inside edge
- RBO - Right backward outside edge
- LBO - Left backward outside edge