Bored by the Ladies and Pairs

layman said:

The "mule-kick" is actually a pretty position.

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layman said:

The "mule-kick" is actually a pretty position. It's an arabesque or back spiral position that comes straight from the ballet stage.

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I won't argue aesthetics, but I will point out that no matter how pretty some may find it, the mulekick has no place in solid jumping technique. The free leg is supposed to be stretched _back_ and not up. I think maybe Zhang is creating torque by kicking the leg up so high while whirling her arms around so that the pick comes down with more force and later than it would, allowing her to massively pre-rotate.

I guess layman must have a lot in common with tiara.

For a brief moment in time, Stephanie Rosenthal.

While I am not even going to begin to be techincal because that's just not my thing...my opinion is that since the COP all program tend to look the same in a certain way. Same spins, spirals, similiar footwook etc. Everyone wants the highest points which means the same moves...the originality is gone.

sillylionlove said:

While I am not even going to begin to be techincal because that's just not my thing...my opinion is that since the COP all program tend to look the same in a certain way. Same spins, spirals, similiar footwook etc. Everyone wants the highest points which means the same moves...the originality is gone.

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I saw the same thing with the 6.0... everyone copied the last big winner... went to the same choreographers, etc...

No matter what system you have you're going to have skaters copying "the best" to try to be the best...

Mafke said:

I won't argue aesthetics, but I will point out that no matter how pretty some may find it, the mulekick has no place in solid jumping technique. The free leg is supposed to be stretched _back_ and not up. I think maybe Zhang is creating torque by kicking the leg up so high while whirling her arms around so that the pick comes down with more force and later than it would, allowing her to massively pre-rotate.

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AMEN!

I feel that Michelle had such a strong presence on ice that programs always looked to me Michelle than anything else. I am not saying it's a bad thing. I like skaters who have that charisma. On the other hand, I feel that Lu Chen might be better at delivering different impressions in different programs although she also had charisma of her own.

Wrlmy said:

The only thing I have to disagree is that Yuna doesn't fit into the stereotype of baby ballerina. She's more like young Kwan IMO.

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I agree. I don't see any baby ballerina in Yuna. She reminds me of Kwan.

I miss MK so much ...

and I never thought of myself as that much of an MK fan! But I've been re-watching 2004 comps tapes, and goodness, I'm seeing all over again how much of an artist she was. And 2004 was definitely when her competitiveness was on the wane, at least technically, I suppose. And I'll admit, during her last few years, _at the time_, I was wondering if it was time for her to move on, with the new COP and the younger generation and all that. Oh, would that I could be watching her now and wondering whether it was time for her to "move on!" Wow, the poise, and the way she "sold" every performance -- but in a way that was appropriate to the tone of the music and choreography. That is, she could catch you and wrap you up in a performance no matter what the tone of the program -- it didn't have to be "in your face" or full of toe-tapping fast riffs -- but she'd still grab ya.

I've been commenting in various threads what a great time this is now for fans, with the young guns in the ladies, etc. But I'm starting to re-think that opinion. I enjoy Yu-Na but find Asada vastly overrated (I realize many will strongly disagree with that, and that's fine -- feel free to pulverize me with your rebuttals . But I DO hope that many of today's young skaters will stick around long enough to really explore this sport that is also an art -- MK was, of course, amazing in her longevity, but others also stayed through ups and downs -- Slutskaya, Arakawa (always amazes me when I remember she was in '98 Olys, didn't get named to the '02 team, then won in '06!), Shen/Zhao, Suguri, etc. Those with longevity really had time to mature and give us fans so much pleasure over the years.

Hope the newcomers will stay uninjured and continue to develop their skating.

Ok, I'm writing way too much, but am starting to agree a little bit with the OP, at least as far as the ladies are concerned.

Bennett said:

I agree. I don't see any baby ballerina in Yuna. She reminds me of Kwan.

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Although I don't see any baby ballerina in Yuna at all, I don't see Kwan in Yuna either. Kwan's physique (one of the reasons I didn't enjoy seeing her skate) is so different from Yuna. Look at their junior programs and this is more evident.

Bored by the ladies and pairs

Nobody seems to mention Tara Lipinski. I thought she was great, I think hers and Michelle's rivalry was great. Tara had no fear, and was so consistant. A breadth of fresh air.

With the ladies, we'll always be stuck in endless rambiling about spirals, pointed toes, perfect laybacks, extension, stretch, etc etc etc and that has really made me reluctant in the past few years over watching or discussing the ladies. I think Medusa got it right.