How is Mao doing at NHK? | Golden Skate

How is Mao doing at NHK?

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Mao Discussions Thread

Given her popularity and concerns about her struggles that we saw at TEB, I thought that her conditions and two performances might deserve an entire thread, esp for those who want to chat exclusively about Mao.:)

Currently, she seems to be still struggling with jumps. But she also seems to be focusing on addressing them.

I am also excited about her programs, esp. her LP. Hope she could skate to their potentials.
 
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Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
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Joined
Dec 28, 2006
Just look at the practice thread if you want info and dicussion on Mao.


I really hope she skates well too, but am bracing myself for the worst.
 

Bennett

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Joined
Nov 20, 2007
I know! She seems to be really focusing on jumps. But sounds like lacking confidence and sureness.

I do not feel that she would be clean at this comp. yet, it would be still shocking if Yukari beats Mao though.

she seems to do at least one 3A, hopefull 3A-2T and 3A. but I am worried a lot more about her 3-3, sal, and lutz. it is reported that she has lots of URs during her morning practice yesterday. TT encourages her to be confident and never miss the 2nd jump of 3-3.

at her interview, she says that she thinks too much now.
 
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propronia

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Well, you don't need to worry about beating Nakano et al. Basically Nakano with one error is on a par with Mao with five errors. I think this "gap" is even bigger at NHK. Nakano's base value (in total) is about 20 points lower than Mao's. The PCS advantages are on Mao's side no matter how. Nagasu with two errors could be more threatening.
 
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shallwedansu

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
at her interview, she says that she thinks too much now.
I read this at the practice reports thread:
What's bothering her is that she seems still unable to grasp the timings of jumps under tensed conditions.
This is the exact problem I noticed after her LP at TEB. Her LP music has such a strong waltz count that you can see she's skating to the beat. I think skating to the beat may not be that big of a problem, but the jumps are also timed exactly to the music. She's concentrating so hard on jumping to the exact beat that it's clouding her mind too much.

I think she just needs to get used to performing it in competition. I'm not going to quickly write off Mao's entire season after a second place finish at TEB.

Good luck, Mao!
 

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
I read this at the practice reports thread

Yeah, I know. But many ppl seem to be overwhelmed by the amount of Mao talks that have almost taken over the entire thread. I speculate that we will have a similar situation in SP and LP threads. So I thought it may be helpful if there is a thread that is entired devoted to Mao talks for those who want to discuss only about Mao. It is good for her to be so popular:) I myself have so much to talk about her!
 

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
mao sp

Mao looked anxious to death! I am glad that she landed everything.

I am still concerned about her LP because she still seems to have reasons to be worried.

I hope that she feels more confident tomorrow. my biggest concern is 3-3, followed by sal, lutz, and 3a in this order. she misses or URs her 3-3 very often since the last season.

I personally did not see her flutz here, even though I am no expert.
 
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Buttercup

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Joined
Mar 25, 2008
I did have one issue with Mao's SP, and it was the interpretation rather than the jumps. There were parts in which I'm not sure what she was skating to, but it most certainly was not Clair de Lune - the arm movements and her skating were overly dramatic and not at all relating to the softer, lighter music that was actually playing. Really, at times it was as though we were seeing Tosca as skated to Clair de Lune.
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
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Jan 23, 2004
I did have one issue with Mao's SP, and it was the interpretation rather than the jumps. There were parts in which I'm not sure what she was skating to, but it most certainly was not Clair de Lune - the arm movements and her skating were overly dramatic and not at all relating to the softer, lighter music that was actually playing. Really, at times it was as though we were seeing Tosca as skated to Clair de Lune.

You hit the nail on the head for me. Your last sentence is exactly how I felt about her interpretation. I thought maybe she was nervous or anxious and getting ahead of the music a bit. I did enjoy her performance and it was nice to see her big smile.
 

ae9177

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 28, 2006
Clair de Lune is wonderfully choreographed, it's one of my favorite SP of the season.

But Mao seems to have so much nerve wreck recently, not sure what's going on, but that really worried me more than the UR or wrong edge calls. Most of her problems seems to be mental issues, I hope she can get her confidence back by Worlds.
 

Bennett

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Joined
Nov 20, 2007
But Mao seems to have so much nerve wreck recently, not sure what's going on, but that really worried me more than the UR or wrong edge calls. Most of her problems seems to be mental issues, I hope she can get her confidence back by Worlds.

i agree. she had very scared face before and at the beginning of the performance. but she was like that last season as well. she had often looked almost painful. yet, i believe that TAT would be a great support. when Mao messed up at the TEB, TAT was like "if mao does well, you (the media) would not have anything to write about, wouldn't you? it's going to be interesting later." she seems to have great faith in mao, which i hope would help her.
 

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
I did have one issue with Mao's SP, and it was the interpretation rather than the jumps. There were parts in which I'm not sure what she was skating to, but it most certainly was not Clair de Lune - the arm movements and her skating were overly dramatic and not at all relating to the softer, lighter music that was actually playing. Really, at times it was as though we were seeing Tosca as skated to Clair de Lune.
This program has too many fast movements. I wish if Lori choreographed this program in the way she had done for Nocturne and So Deep at Night (name?): simple, understated, slow, and lyrical so that she (and we) can breathe in and out with the music.
 
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