I don't think footwork was ignored in the previous years. It was used as a confirmation of the clean elements that the skater executed. When footwork came into being with scoring, we got a lot arms going in all directions, but the feet were the same. And Yags did do the Sonia Henie toe-pick footwork and it really was new for his era. It sold big!
yes it "sold big" but even he said it wasn't that difficult... it just looked cool... that's all I'm getting at.
skaters that had difficult footwork didn't get any higher marks for their footwork. it was just a move in the field in most aspects
You know plush was offered to switch to ballet at early age?He has the body lines and long hands (not flail arms comment pleasee) and i remember plush selling to the audience even at 16, he couldnt do it on purpose back then with his tricks, i think it is just him, he can ultra speed from 0 to 60mph and he has strong legs and has said he can look at spectators even when he is competing, so I think he could not skate like stephan and the opposite, it is his style and either you like it or not, as other people may dont like lambiel's fragile knees style of skating (i cant explain it in english but me I love it). I dont think it has anything to do with his nationality, at least for me.
Pleasing the audience is a talent in my opinion, as audience is not an allien body, it is you, me and everybody else.
Yagudin's Winter footwork blew the roof off the place. Everyone rushed to Morozov, including Michelle Kwan, begging him to do it for them, too. They all ended up looking foolish, especially Joubert.
As Toni says, under the CoP Yagudin's footwork would be a level 1. That's what I don't like about the CoP. It rewards crap and punishes genius.
I only halfway agree with Joe, though. Yes, CoP footwork gives you extra points (instead of taking away points, as it should) for windmilling your arms and bobbing your torso up and down. But I think the skaters ARE doing other things with their feet -- stopping, starting, stuttering, racking up the points for each change of edge -- and that's why the footwork sequences nowadays are so slow and boring, compared to Yagudin's. (Kurt Brwoning made the same comment on the CBC coverage of Four Continents.)
Last edited by Mathman; 02-16-2009 at 09:25 PM.
I wouldn't call Yag's straightline genius... it's entertaining, but other than that...
That eye of the beholder thing again.Originally Posted by Tonichelle
I liked it as much as a Dorothy Hamill scratch spin (also level 1 by CoP standards).
well saying it's genius gives Morosov way too much credit, for one
I don't know when they whole cast of SOI can do the footwork as well if not better than he can... it kinda loses the magic.
^ Well, sure, SOI. They're pros.
not according to some on GS, they're has beens
And that's a pity that judges actually buy that. If audience likes it - ok. But judges should not be influenced by tricks, and sadly, they were and they still are (the example that comes to my mind when it comes to current skaters is Joubert. Fist pumping, macho posing etc, works for him, apparently)
^Oh come on, give Joubert and Plushenko more credit. They were rewarded for their strong jumps. And Plushenko had solid spins and footwork. Of course, there are ''tricks'', but those only make up a small part of their skating.
for me, no one does it better than kurt browning!!! and he did musical footwork long before the cop. Yagudin's footwork was theatrically effective for those fans who are new to figure skating.^ Well, sure, SOI. They're pros.
One more reason for disagreeing with CoP. Who decided what was difficult or not? to give out those Levels? Let a consensus of skaters tell you what is difficult - not some official.
Well, he did have that 'half-way down' sitspin which was credited as a true sit.
^^Geez, can you even see us mere mortals from that high horse of yours?
I think that is really one of the main problems of COP (next to the "PCS"). I found it very poignant what Nathalie Pechalat said about this
It's actually quite funny: there is an element that according to the skaters is quite simple - but the powers that be think that the element is really hard to do and reward it with level 4. Like a bunch of schoolchildren who find out how to cheat in the math exam and the teacher thinks that they are all really blessed with high intelligence.
I think it's quite a dilemma. On the one hand the levels are there to reward a skater for every element, not just the jumps. Look at spins of some former Champions (e.g. Browning) - do we really want to go back to that? Joubert's and Plushenko's spins look fabulous compared to those. But then again it's such a shame that nobody does simple beautiful moves anymore, because they aren't rewarded. Or that creativity is not the way to go, because the move isn't classified in the rulebook.
Just get rid of the levels for good and only award GOEs? That way simple and beautiful could be just as worthy as difficult and ugly? Problem with that would be that it's very subjective. But then again, it's a subjective sport and COP only tries to conceal the fact that it is subjective. Hmm. Rant over.
Look, he's no Lambiel, but there was nothing truly bad about his spins. No skater has it all. You can't find a skater with Plushenko's jumps, Lambiel's spins and Takahashi's footwork can you?Well, he did have that 'half-way down' sitspin which was credited as a true sit.
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