i love this!! I got to have a couple lessons with him about a month ago in LA and it was transformative. I got intimidated right before the first lesson (what am i doing taking a lesson from PAUL WYLIE???!? and is he going to think i'm so bad???) but he was just so nice, thoughtful, down to earth, funny, and really invested in the lesson. He actually got me to think about skating differently and look at the ice as a partner rather than the enemy that's always trying to take me down. :-) and i'm no longer petrified of the loop jump.
I’ve never met him although I’m a long time fan but he just seems like he would be the nicest person. He always so gracious in interviews. A class act on and off the ice and one of the best skaters to ever grace the ice.
Paul is the most gentle yet informative teacher I have ever seen on ice. That's what makes people want to learn to skate... not the drilled, yelling instruction. Thank you for sharing your lesson with Paul! He has always been one of my favorites! I guess you CAN meet your idols after all!
Wow! I love people who coach with those specific visuals and critiques - that always really helped me! This is a great example of positive coaching that works - we can see the improvements! I had no idea that's where the spin technique I was taught in the late 70's came from. I love history in general, so find this fascinating!
@@TheSkatingLesson You know, you were so right that Paul was doing so many details that weren't appreciated then! IJS skating could learn a lot from watching him - how doing complicated body positions can look beautiful!
The sad part is what Paul was teaching was actually the basics. The quality of skating has deteriorated so drastically that people literally can't do spread eagles. You notice how Trusova came up with this squat spread eagle that looks like she's taking a dump. It's atrocious. And Valieva imitates the damn thing. Yet, with all those ballet and dance classes they take, none of them are able to get their legs straight enough to do a clean-looking spread eagle. If I were them, I'd fire the ballet teacher and get my money back (oh, that's right, they're not paying. Well, you get what you pay for. Ha!) But it is sad that something like a STRAIGHT LEG and some minor toe pointing is like such a breath of fresh air. (Side note: I wonder if Paul's heels on his skates are slightly higher than normal. That might allow you achieve more of that toe point effect.) This is where good boot-making comes in. Those Italian ski boots everyone is using today ... no wonder they all look like crap. Don't get me started.
@@dmp7252 I feel like, for the past 10 years, I'm channeling my loud coach and screaming at Eteri girls on TV, "POINT YOUR TOES"!!! The ironic part being, if they were at the Vaganova or Bolshoi academies, those damn feet would be pointed!
Paul is one of my favorite skaters ever. He is so elegant and expressive. Is it the hands? The arms? The back? The thoughtfulness? He's like the thinking person's skater. Jumps are not necessary!
Paul is a skaters skater. He has the IT factor. All of his programs were wonderfully performed and choreographed. Always about telling a story and taking you on a journey. Dave you are improving so fast! Great to see.
First, I love seeing how much you have progressed and how much you want to learn things correctly. Paul is a great teacher and kind and fun too. Having a video of the lesson is great as a memory tool and giving you a chance to examine how Paul does the moves along with your own progress. So many skaters could benefit from a few lessons with Paul!
Amazing how a positive gentle coach can allow you to just breathe and focus on yourself so the teaching really sinks in. I hate realizing I’ve wasted mental energy trying to read an instructor’s mind or make sure they’re not getting annoyed with me, but it has happened before. Much prefer someone like Paul, who is more of an angel on my shoulder than an animal trainer with a whip 😅
Dave you look better every time I see you skate! It’s a courageous thing to post yourself going through this process and each attempt at the element was better than the last. Your hard work and dedication is really showing tangible results! Bravo! 👏👏👏
OMG ... you got to skate with Paul Wylie. How did you not die? What's next? Lutzes with Brian Boitano? My inner 80s-90s fangirl is dying on your behalf. 😂❤
Dave, your sit spin is now officially better than all the Eteri girls. Paul really whipped you into shape. You're looking better and better. Now, we just need Paul to look at those hands - you are giving me very brick hands at the moment. The hands and fingers have to come alive. This could be a natural progression - as you become better, you'll MENTALLY be able to focus on several parts of you body simultaneously. Currently, there's so much energy spent on just getting from point A to point B, there's no mental bandwidth to focus on hands and fingers, perhaps. But I think the time has come. Take off the gloves and record yourself doing arm movements. To a certain extent YOU have to see it for yourself. You need to have that mental awareness that says: "Ugg, that looks terrible." It will get to a point where you will REFUSE to allow yourself to skate with sloppy hands because you simply can't skate any other way. I wish the ISU would crack down on people using gloves. It's a crutch. If you can't skate without gloves, you're not ready for prime time - period. Unless it's a part of the costume (Katarina Witt's short program - is the ONLY exception in my book) - everyone else, they now have an asterisk next to their name, including Hanyu (ha!). But the point is, by wearing the gloves, it can hide that some people are not very expressive with their fingers. So in practice, take off the gloves sometimes. I love what Paul is doing. Record your HAND-movements off the ice, in your living room, and pay attention to WHAT YOUR FINGERS ARE DOING - send Paul the tape - wash and rinse 50 times. You won't be sorry.
My dream, as a skater growing up, was to have a lesson with Paul on double lutz. I’m starting to skate again since I’m in the rink a lot anyway as a coach. Maybe my dream can still come true!❤
Your sit spin was like night and day after 10 minutes with him. Edited to clarify: your sit spin before has been improving steadily and was not bad. I also can learn physical things with the monkey see monkey do method, and you were not just absorbing his technique but when you watched him you were also copying his particular grace and absorbing that, and the combination is amazing.
