Mao's Recent Training Clips
- Thread starter yuriyuri
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2009
Umm, hmm.
Japanese media is also widely reporting that Mao and Tarasova said during the interview that they are practicing (have been practicing since last year) the triple axel-triple toe loop combination, and would like to put it in competition. I wonder if that's really possible?
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
Wow. She looks amazing. Her jumps are effortless and that salchow looks like she could do a quad.
that rink is really nice as well! I would like to skate there :yes:
that rink is really nice as well! I would like to skate there :yes:
Yes and yes.
She actually landed 3S in her LP at NHK and GPF, but it looks much, much better in those clips.
She also visibly worked on the entry to her toe jumps. She used to reach very far back on 3F and 3Lz, so much that her body and free leg were almost parallel to the ice. (Like here.) Her 3F entry is normal now and it obviously helped her combinations with 3F. :thumbsup:
She also did a 3T-3T in one of the clips - although it was underrotated this time, it's very impressive that she is able to land a combo consisting of 3Ts - the jump that (next to Salchow) used to be Mao's weakest jump.
Also, according to the reports, Mao is working on 3L-3L. Her jump layout for Olympics is not finalized yet, and they try to find such layout that would be comfortable for Mao, and yet challenging and (preferably) impossible for other ladies to do.
hurrah said:
Actually Mao had practiced 3A-3T in the last off-season, but not during the actual season (because she got side-tracked by struggles with fixing 3Lz and 3S).
Is it possible for Mao to land this combo in a competition? We'll see, I guess. Many thought it would be impossible for Mao to land two 3As in one program and she accomplished that this season. Maybe not in this year, maybe in the next one, but I think that if Mao wants to accomplish something, she will not give up easily.
Mao looks great.
Tarasova also looks very beautiful as always. I find her a very charming lady. She looks fresh and young with the new hairstyle, too. She is cute and adorable, too. She looks SO happy whenever Mao does well. It is very lovely to hear her always give Mao the greatest support and compliments.
Tarasova also looks very beautiful as always. I find her a very charming lady. She looks fresh and young with the new hairstyle, too. She is cute and adorable, too. She looks SO happy whenever Mao does well. It is very lovely to hear her always give Mao the greatest support and compliments.
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
:chorus:
Well I think she for sure needs a 3/3. She should do a triple axel combo in the short, with her solo jump the loop or the flip.
I think her Freeskate layout should be:
3 axel
3 axel/2double toe
3 salchow
3 flip/2toe/2loop
3 lutz*
3 loop/3loop*
2 axel
Yes and yes.
She actually landed 3S in her LP at NHK and GPF, but it looks much, much better in those clips.
She also visibly worked on the entry to her toe jumps. She used to reach very far back on 3F and 3Lz, so much that her body and free leg were almost parallel to the ice. (Like here.) Her 3F entry is normal now and it obviously helped her combinations with 3F. :thumbsup:
She also did a 3T-3T in one of the clips - although it was underrotated this time, it's very impressive that she is able to land a combo consisting of 3Ts - the jump that (next to Salchow) used to be Mao's weakest jump.
Oh that's right, I forgot she already did salchow this season. It does look much better now. You'd hardly know she used to dislike it so much.
I've noticed that she picks far back too. Guess Mao's just too flowly and soft to be accused of a mule kick.
But good that she's worked on it. I wonder how her lutz is coming along... It was still a bit shaky at the end of last season, but I'm sure it'll be fine for next season. Very smart of her to start working on it last season. :thumbsup:Though it's usually the other way around, I feel like Mao underrotates 3T more than 3L. I can't really see her adding 3T-3T in. When she had two 3-3's in her 2008 LP, it was the one with 3T that was more questionable. And that's why she always does 3F-3L in the short. It was scary for a while in '07-'08 when she lost her 3-3... I guess she's planning 3A-2T for next season's short?
Almost normal, yes. It looks so much better. Now, the lutz.
There's now some Japanese media reporting that Tarasova said to the press that they are prepping Mao to start doing quadruple jumps after the Olympics! Mao gets no rest
AFTER the Olympics?
(if true) there goes the speculation on her imminent retirement
I don't think Mao will retire after Vancouver, whether she wins a Gold or not.
The rink she trains in in Japan is the one at her university's.With all the support she is receiving from them, I don't think it's likely that she'll retire and go "professional" while she's in college.
Plus, since the last season ended, Mao has mentioned many times about Sochi.
okay, maybe I'm posting on the wrong thread....
well it's great that her practices look fantastic!
You think she's great one season, but she keeps on getting even better.
It must be really tough and risky for a skater to change their way of jumps, but look at her... wow.
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2004
I would agree that be a good lay out - but the final 2A could be a solo 3T to get a few extra points out (she'll have already done two axel type jumps earlier), unless of course she does manae to land a 3A/3T in which case the solo double axel coudl be plan B!
Ant
Why the :chorus: ? This is what TAT said, and I don't think it's contradictory or impossible. It would be simply taking the advantage of Mao's 3A.
For exemplification's sake...
Let's take YuNa's jump layout from last season. Now, replace 2A with 3L and add 3Lz-3T in the second half of the program. And let's say YuNa skates clean.
3F-3T 9.50
3L 5.00
2A-2T-2L 6.30
3Lz-3T x 11.0
3S x 4.95
3Lz x 6.60
2A x 3.85
Total: 47.2
That's 47.2 points just for jumps. Nice! :thumbsup:
Now, let's say Mao gets incredibly lazy and decides she does not want to do any challenges anymore. No second 3A in combo, no 3-3, no 3Lz! [CAUTION: THIS IS A FICTIONAL SCENARIO! ...Just in case somebody was about to mistake it for a fact.
)3A 8.2
3S 4.5
3T+2A [SEQ] 6.0
3F-2L-2L x 9.35
3F x 6.05
3L-2L x 7.15
3L x 7.50
Total: 48.75
That's 1.55 points higher than YuNa's maxed out jump layout.
Actually, as exemplified above, she does not need 3-3. She could rely just on her strong jumps.
But that's about 'need', not 'want'. I'm pretty sure Mao wants to go for at least one 3-3. And what she needs to do is not to underrotate anything. It's a triple loss: base point deduction, GoE deduction*, loss of potential positive GoEs.
*According to the new rules the judges will not be shown whether or not the jump was downgraded by the Tech guy and might award positive GoEs if they feel like it. The question is whether they will feel like it or not.
51.95. I would move 3Lz to the first half to make it less risky and open with 3A-2T (so that if she can't add 2T to the first jump she can tack it on the 2nd one). 3L-3L as the first jump pass in the 2nd half, followed with 3S, 3F-3L-2L (why replace 2L with 2T if 2L scores higher and she always does loops) and 2A. If too challenging, move 3-2-2 to the first half.
Or:
3A 8.20
3L-3L 10.0
3Lz 6.60
3F-2L-2L x 9.35
3S x 4.95
3F-2L x 7.70
2A x 3.85
Total: 50,65 - a bit less of base value, but a higher potential to go clean and not get anything downgraded.
But, actually, from what I've gathered from interviews, Man and TAT are keen on keeping the WTT jump layout, just replacing 3F-2L-2L with 3F-3L-2L, 3A-2T with 3A-3T and 3T with 3Lz (and probably 3L with 3S). If possible, of course. It would increase Mao's jumps base value to 55.5.
Is it worth the risk? Point-wise, no. It is very possible that even in to form Mao could underrotate something simply because of stamina loss in such a demanding program. Meanwhile she could easily earn over 55.5 with the easiest jump layout that I posted by getting positive GoEs on every jump.
But I don't think that Mao & TAT are looking for the easiest option. They want to make history. It's pretty stressful to be a fan.
Personally I would prefer Mao to go for a simpler layout, maybe with one 3A and 2A-3T or 3L-3L (since it looked rather easy for her in the clips). But I admit it's very exciting to see Mao tackle new challenges. :yes: I can never predict what she'll improve next, and it's not just about the jumps: her spins, spirals, steps improve with every season as well - not to mention the presentation (fabulous Caprices!). LeCygne said:
Actually, it's 3F-3T that seemed to be more preferred by the judges. Mao got ratified 3 out of 4 attempts, while her 3F-3L got downgraded more often and she struggled with landing it in the SP, popping or doubling it.
In the last off season I've seen a clip of her landing 3F-3T in her LP and it looked like it was in the 2nd half. She had two 3-3s planned in her LP at TEB... Then, suddenly her 3-3s got unreliable. Maybe it's because Mao grew a little, maybe it's because of her "Mao-kick" on 3F, which was not so significant earlier, but got worse with every competition in 08-09 season. Or maybe it was the added height that caused Mao to reach more and more back in her 3F and in result changing the timing and balance on the jump and making it difficult to add a combo on the end of it..?
Anyway, I'm glad to see that Mao and TAT are working on it and her 3-3s look much better now.
I'm positive she will not add it. 3T is still a fairly "fresh" jump for Mao and more difficult to tack a combo on than on 3F or axel. I think it's just a tactic to make Mao's toe jumps stronger.
In the last off-season she used to do sequences like Tano 2T - half loop - 3T and 3T out of steps to make her solo 3T more reliable. Mao said that TAT recommended this approach to her and it made her 3T much stronger.
Red Dog said:
One of Mao and TAT's goals is to achieve a body resistant to injuries. They don't start training high-level jumps without preparation. Mao is constantly under care of her trainer Makino and they work on improving muscle strength, balance of the body, etc. Trainer Makino used to work for Marines, so he's probably pretty knowledgeable about how to create a tough body.
Mao's practice time on ice also got significantly reduced. She used to sake all days when she was with Arutunian. Now she spends more time on off-ice training instead (gym, ballet, etc.) She even played badminton to improve her coordination.
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2007
I hope the 3A-3T will work out. It would be great if she could do it as the combo in the short program, though that's probably a long shot. But if she could do 3A-3T, 3F out of steps and 2A - that would be 21,2 points base value in the jumps alone. 2.2 points more than Kim's layout - probably exactly the two points Kim often gets more in the PCS.
And with the new rules it wouldn't be the end of the world if the 3T is underrotated, she would still get good points for the combo if it looks good.
And with the new rules it wouldn't be the end of the world if the 3T is underrotated, she would still get good points for the combo if it looks good.
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