To help ensure that your wood carving experience is positive, safety should be a top priority. When wood carving (especially as a beginner), you should always wear a Kevlar glove and thumb guard. These will not stop all potential injuries, but they can help to eliminate them or at least lessen the severity if it does happen. Always try to look where the blade of your wood carving knife or wood carving tool will go if it slips or the wood breaks out.
Another safety tip, is to use only the muscles in the wrist and hand when wood carving. If you are using your upper arm or shoulder, you are asking for trouble and may even be hampering your wood carving potential. Controlled cuts are the type of cuts that wood carvers want to use. If you control your cuts and where the sharp edge of your wood carving tools is going, you will lessen injury and also produce cleaner, more satisfying wood carvings.