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Use the “C” cut to skate backward quickly. Bend your knees into an athletic position. Face forward with your skates shoulder-width apart. Take small steps backward. Point your toes inward. Push to the right with your right foot. Pull your right heel back to the center. Straighten your right skate. Push forward and to the left with your left foot. Bring it all together with quick, power cuts.
The “C” cut, named because your skates make small C shapes in the ice, is the most common way to skate backward with speed. Your knees are bent and your torso  is upright as you alternate pushing your skates out and then arcing them smoothly back in. Stay near a wall or lean on a hockey stick to help with your balance as you start to practice. Comfortably bend your knees so that you can quickly move your feet. It is difficult to spring into action with your legs straight. You should be able to easily lift your skates and balance. For a good athletic stance:  Knees bent. Torso upright, not slouching. Back straight. Shoulders relaxed. Point your skates in front of you, keeping them roughly shoulder-width apart so that you can balance and skate comfortably. Shuffle your feet as if you were slowly backing away from something. Think of pushing yourself back with each little step, building backward momentum. You can also push off of a wall to get started. As you’re shuffling backward, point the tips of your skates slightly towards each other. You should start to naturally move backward faster. With your toes facing inwards, push out and away from your body. This is the top half of the “C” shape. Push from the middle of your blade as if you were trying to sweep something off of the floor with your skate. Bring your skate back to the center of your body by leading with your heel. After pushing out and to the side, turn your heel to face your left foot. Your toes will turn to face forward as you return, completing the "C" shape. Your foot should return to where it started, with both skates facing forward. Once you've finished the "C," turn your right skate so it faces forward, returning to it's starting position. As you return your right foot to the center, start the "C" shape with the opposite foot by pushing it out and forward. Circle it back around to center and repeat, alternating each foot to gain momentum. Skating backward quickly is crucial for figure skaters and hockey players, so you need to practice all of the steps together to learn a smooth, speedy motion.  Start in a strong stance – knees bent, torso upright, feet facing forward. Point one toe in as you begin to push. Push forward and out with your skate, using the other foot for balance. Curve your foot back to the center in the shape of a C Repeat with the opposite foot. Alternate feet quickly to build speed.