Mao wants to do a quad at Sochi in 2014
- Thread starter Phoenix347
- Start date
Somethings wrong with it? I thought the website is trustful, not like some crazy youtube videos. If you find any serious mistakes for their post, let me know.
I browsed around the website, great content and articles throughout the years!
Thanks for sharing
It's clear from the photo that her toe pick is ingrained in the ice as she lands her 2T. So she's 2-footing her landings again?
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2009
It's hard to see where the ice begins in the photo, but I looked really, really carefully, and it doesn't look like her toe pick is ingrained. It's above the ice.
By the way, their article, 'Hamilton Turns Darkness into Light' makes for an engrossing read.
The ingrained is probably the wrong word, but it does look like the toe pick is on the surface of the ice. Her double toe definitely looks 2 footed to me.
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2009
I would rather see Mao correct her technique on the jumps she already struggles with before attempting newer and more difficult ones. I would also like to see her focus on improving her overall programs. Also, Vancouver has shown us just performing the most difficult jumps alone is not enough to win the Olympic gold medal anymore.
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Yes, I agree with you. And it's the same posters who post these snarky comments about Mao not just on this thread, but other threads too.
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2004
I'm not sure if she got that memo....
Sorry, you seem to have taught us that history a few times in the forums.
Back to the topic, I just hope that Mao does not get injured.
I feel excited about the possibility that Plush and Mao practice together. Practicing with others is really a lot of fun. There is something magical about it. Just watching better spins and better jumps on ice help you move that way. It's a lot different from just watching videos or listening to the coach.
George Rossano, why am I not surprised, as I know he posts here and is a huge fan of Yuna Kim.
His bias marks him not to be trusted in my book, same goes for Joe Inman, and also this very board, as I know whom he is good friends with. FSU in this instance is a more objective & fair board when it comes to both Mao Asada & Evgeni Plushenko.
George Rossano's photos mark him the same as Philip Hersh, whom used youtube videos (specifically pro Yuna Kim supporter videos) at the beginning of the season to justify his point.
Back on topic, it has always been obvious (leastways to me) that the Japanese culture is more about honor versus reward, and this translates into their skating. Daisuke Takahashi could have easily taken the safe conservative route by not going for the quad in his FS in order to post a better result, mayhap even a gold medal. But as he himself said, that's not the way he wanted to win, he wanted to win by attempting the hardest element, so he went for it. It was about the S K A T E, not the end result. About honor & humility, which is the hallmark of the Japanese culture. Thus, I was not surprised this whole season to see Mao Asada go for the whole shebang, despite the public outcry. She knew what the judges wanted (& even the skatefans, lol), but she didn't care, she stuck with her guns and skated to Bells of Moscow (which she had specifically chosen over a light lyrical musical number in order to challenge herself). And the same goes for all three triple axels. Once again, it was about the skate itself, not the end result. It's just too bad she didn't skate clean at the Olympics, thus the tears, here's hoping she skates clean at Worlds.
Regards the quad, I'm thinking Mao has always had this planned, just like she kept talking about Sochi was her goal this past year. Lol, which got me mad, I said dang it why are you thinking about Sochi, you should be thinking about Vancouver!*mad* Now, in retrospect, I'm beginning to understand Mao, a little. I think she knew she wouldn't be ready for Vancouver, it was just a warmup for Sochi, her ultimate goal. To master three triple axels and a quad by the time Sochi comes round. And willing to forego the gold medal this year in order to concentrate on landing three triple axels (i.e. one in the SP & two in the FS). Whereas if she had reverted to her old programs & jumps from 2007/2008, it would have been a huge step backward for her, even if it might have gotten her the gold medal. Instead, she decided to go forward with the three triple axels, become consistent with them this year, and hopefully in the following years. But at the same time work on mastering a quad to her repertoire, which I honestly think will be thee biggest challenge of her entire career up until now.
Mao's been doing 3axels since she was 11/12 yrs. old, so it's not unreasonable that one day she would accomplish what she just did (i.e. landing three 3axels at the Olympics). However, I question *any* skater adding such a hard element such as the quad later on in their careers. Seriously, how many skaters have actually managed to do it? I mean Tara Lipinski was doing 3/3s when she was a tween, same goes for Sarah Hughes, Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya, et al. OTOH, Oksana Baiul never did one, even when she was a tween, and the same goes for plenty of other female skaters I never saw did even one during their competitve careers. However, I know plenty tried the 3axel endlessly in practice, but never did one or landed one in competition. My point being in order to land a difficult element such as the quad in one's later career, one must have first started landing them successfully in their younger tween or teenage years. Right? I'm honestly hoping Mao Asada will be the exception to the rule, but history shows us the reality of such an undertaking. Case in point, Michelle Kwan, whom tried to add a more difficult 3/3 to her repertoire later on in her 20's, which might have led to her hip injury. And also Kristi Yamaguchi said she desperately tried adding the 3axel to her repertoire in her late teens/early 20's without success, thus she instead concentrated on landing the 3L/3T combo. to defeat Midori Ito, which she did master. Therefore, I don't know, it seems to me if you haven't mastered a triple axel or a 3/3 or a quad by the time your 19 yrs. old, statistics show you will never do so.
That said, I honestly wish Mao Asada all the luck in the world, and by sheer force of stubborness & will power, I wouldn't be surprised if she does prove all the statisticians wrong. *smile*
His bias marks him not to be trusted in my book, same goes for Joe Inman, and also this very board, as I know whom he is good friends with. FSU in this instance is a more objective & fair board when it comes to both Mao Asada & Evgeni Plushenko.
George Rossano's photos mark him the same as Philip Hersh, whom used youtube videos (specifically pro Yuna Kim supporter videos) at the beginning of the season to justify his point.
Back on topic, it has always been obvious (leastways to me) that the Japanese culture is more about honor versus reward, and this translates into their skating. Daisuke Takahashi could have easily taken the safe conservative route by not going for the quad in his FS in order to post a better result, mayhap even a gold medal. But as he himself said, that's not the way he wanted to win, he wanted to win by attempting the hardest element, so he went for it. It was about the S K A T E, not the end result. About honor & humility, which is the hallmark of the Japanese culture. Thus, I was not surprised this whole season to see Mao Asada go for the whole shebang, despite the public outcry. She knew what the judges wanted (& even the skatefans, lol), but she didn't care, she stuck with her guns and skated to Bells of Moscow (which she had specifically chosen over a light lyrical musical number in order to challenge herself). And the same goes for all three triple axels. Once again, it was about the skate itself, not the end result. It's just too bad she didn't skate clean at the Olympics, thus the tears, here's hoping she skates clean at Worlds.
Regards the quad, I'm thinking Mao has always had this planned, just like she kept talking about Sochi was her goal this past year. Lol, which got me mad, I said dang it why are you thinking about Sochi, you should be thinking about Vancouver!*mad* Now, in retrospect, I'm beginning to understand Mao, a little. I think she knew she wouldn't be ready for Vancouver, it was just a warmup for Sochi, her ultimate goal. To master three triple axels and a quad by the time Sochi comes round. And willing to forego the gold medal this year in order to concentrate on landing three triple axels (i.e. one in the SP & two in the FS). Whereas if she had reverted to her old programs & jumps from 2007/2008, it would have been a huge step backward for her, even if it might have gotten her the gold medal. Instead, she decided to go forward with the three triple axels, become consistent with them this year, and hopefully in the following years. But at the same time work on mastering a quad to her repertoire, which I honestly think will be thee biggest challenge of her entire career up until now.
Mao's been doing 3axels since she was 11/12 yrs. old, so it's not unreasonable that one day she would accomplish what she just did (i.e. landing three 3axels at the Olympics). However, I question *any* skater adding such a hard element such as the quad later on in their careers. Seriously, how many skaters have actually managed to do it? I mean Tara Lipinski was doing 3/3s when she was a tween, same goes for Sarah Hughes, Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya, et al. OTOH, Oksana Baiul never did one, even when she was a tween, and the same goes for plenty of other female skaters I never saw did even one during their competitve careers. However, I know plenty tried the 3axel endlessly in practice, but never did one or landed one in competition. My point being in order to land a difficult element such as the quad in one's later career, one must have first started landing them successfully in their younger tween or teenage years. Right? I'm honestly hoping Mao Asada will be the exception to the rule, but history shows us the reality of such an undertaking. Case in point, Michelle Kwan, whom tried to add a more difficult 3/3 to her repertoire later on in her 20's, which might have led to her hip injury. And also Kristi Yamaguchi said she desperately tried adding the 3axel to her repertoire in her late teens/early 20's without success, thus she instead concentrated on landing the 3L/3T combo. to defeat Midori Ito, which she did master. Therefore, I don't know, it seems to me if you haven't mastered a triple axel or a 3/3 or a quad by the time your 19 yrs. old, statistics show you will never do so.
That said, I honestly wish Mao Asada all the luck in the world, and by sheer force of stubborness & will power, I wouldn't be surprised if she does prove all the statisticians wrong. *smile*
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
She landed 3 3As this time but it would be pretty hard to deny that, she landed them by a narrow margin. Plus she had to reduce her body fat to 7%. It's too harsh for her to keep her condition that way for 4 years, b/c her body will change over time. She can't stop that. A quad and 3 3As by the time Sochi... I don't know. I get your point, but she's not playing the game smartly, that's for sure.
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- Joined
- May 15, 2009
I think Mao is already taking a health risk with all of the practice required for the 3A's. Should she keep practicing them while adding a quad - with all the practice required for that jump - would seem to be putting alot of wear and tear on her body.
She seems to be made of steel - but I have to wonder how much stress her body can take?
I think the lack of a coach has taken a toll on Mao. Sure her 3A's are quite an accomplishment - but we also see her losing other jumps and with urs on 2Loops and 2 toes.
The sacrifice Mao made for the 3A's seems to show up with diminished skills on her other jumps. Adding a quad may excite fans who live for jumps but I think Mao is such an exquisite skater and I would rather see her show a more well rounded approach to her skating.
Of course Mao has every right to do it her way and while I congratulate her for being the first Lady to land three 3A's I can also say how much more I prefer Yuna's programs this season.
I worry that Mao may not be physically able to keep up this jump oriented style through to 2014. It would be a great loss to skating if that were to happen. As to her dream of becoming Olympic champion all she has to do is see how Yuna and Orser did it. A successful, long term plan based on refining as many elements as possible.
In today's skating it has been made clear that big jumps alone are not enough to win the OGM.
We do talk alot about the Yuna-Mao rivalry but what we saw in Vancouver was a total win for Orser/Wilson over Mao's obsession with the 3A and lack of good strategic coaching.
Ok guys, I think it's too early to judge. The article mainly said it was a possibility and Mao herself never voiced an opinion on this issue, so who knows how valid this is. There have been rumors of her practicing a quad for a while now, but it doesn't seem it's her goal.
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
I watched the Oly Ladies, and for me, Mao executed the 3 Axels perfectly. She had the proper takeoff, the proper air turns, the proper landings, and she got the proper base values for them. It seemed to me good scoring by the judges. I do not understand why some fans thought that she should have gotten plus GoEs. Did she do anything unique with those axels?
Photographs are actually very objective evidence and undisputable. Rossano did make several claims, but backed it up with concrete evidence.
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2009
I think not just fans but also both former and present figure skaters have said or suggested that she deserved higher GoEs for the quality of those jumps. Of course, there seem to be others that want to deny that they were good triple-axels, but according to you, they were done 'perfectly'. If something's been done perfectly, might that be reason to give positive GOEs? If something's perfect, it can't be any better, right?
I think others have argued that she deserved positive GOEs because it was a historical feat, that it was the first time that a woman succeeded in executing three triple-axels, of which one was done in the short! That Mao is the only woman to be able to depend on the triple-axel as a point getter in competition is truly unique.
I know this could never happen, but I wish she could get GOEs for the fact that she perfected her triple-axel under a system that seemed to punish her for striving to bring the sport to another level. To me, that's what makes Mao so special, that's what makes her ability to do the triple-axel special in a way that no other triple-axel jumper's ability will ever be.
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- Joined
- Nov 10, 2009
Interestingly i consider Mirai to be a worthier representative from the U.S. and better athlete than Rachael. She reverted back to her crappy lazy habits at the Oly. Crowning her as the US Champ was a huge mistake. I think she only bothered so she could get into the best college she could.
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