Kozuka's father talks about Ladies Gold medalist at Worlds

[FSUSF]

五輪直後にほぼミスのない演技で金メダルを獲得した事は立派。素直に拍手を送りたい　が
今後の課題が見えた。

まずスピード。冒頭の３Aを慎重に跳ぶため演技全体にスピード感が生まれない。しかも単調。
対照的にキムヨナ選手は最初にスピード感ある3-3を跳び、その後は上手く強弱を付けてプログラムを表現する。
スケーティング技術や表現面など演技点で差が付く原因がここにある。

ジャンプも修正点は多い。
3Ａは確かに大きな武器だが、今季のプログラムは偏りすぎていた。
ルッツとサルコーを外し、フリップも流れるようなジャンプが跳べず加点を殆ど貰えていない。
バランス良く、質の高いジャンプを跳べば加点が稼げ、プログラム全体の印象も高くなる。
コーチを変えるなら、ジャンプの基礎からしっかりと教えられる人材を探す必要があるだろう。

グルノーブル五輪代表　中京大アドバイザー　小塚嗣彦

=====
From the Chunichi Shimbun

She won a gold medal performance at the Olympics after nearly faultless good.
I saw a future problem.

First, speed. To attempt 3A carefully, there is no sense of speed to jump into the whole action. Moreover monotone.
In contrast, Kim Jonah players speedy jump to the first 3-3, then with the strength to represent the program well.
This causes such differences in terms of performance and expressiveness aspects skating technique.

Too many jumps to be fixed.
3A is certainly a major weapon programs, but this season's jumps were too biased.
Removed Salchow, Lutz and not a little weighted flowing to flip jump.
Balanced and good quality jumps earn additional points, the greater the impression of the entire program.
If you change the coach will need to find good people and taught the basics of jumping.

Kozuka 嗣彦 Miyako Oonaka adviser Grenoble Olympics



I heard that many furious fans are showing their anger at Kozuka's fan thread.

[aurora100]

五輪直後にほぼミスのない演技で金メダルを獲得した事は立派。素直に拍手を送りたい　が
今後の課題が見えた。

まずスピード。冒頭の３Aを慎重に跳ぶため演技全体にスピード感が生まれない。しかも単調。
対照的にキムヨナ選手は最初にスピード感ある3-3を跳び、その後は上手く強弱を付けてプログラムを表現する。
スケーティング技術や表現面など演技点で差が付く原因がここにある。

ジャンプも修正点は多い。
3Ａは確かに大きな武器だが、今季のプログラムは偏りすぎていた。
ルッツとサルコーを外し、フリップも流れるようなジャンプが跳べず加点を殆ど貰えていない。
バランス良く、質の高いジャンプを跳べば加点が稼げ、プログラム全体の印象も高くなる。
コーチを変えるなら、ジャンプの基礎からしっかりと教えられる人材を探す必要があるだろう。

グルノーブル五輪代表　中京大アドバイザー　小塚嗣彦

=====
From the Chunichi Shimbun

She won a gold medal performance at the Olympics after nearly faultless good.
I saw a future problem.

First, speed. To attempt 3A carefully, there is no sense of speed to jump into the whole action. Moreover monotone.
In contrast, Kim Jonah players speedy jump to the first 3-3, then with the strength to represent the program well.
This causes such differences in terms of performance and expressiveness aspects skating technique.

Too many jumps to be fixed.
3A is certainly a major weapon programs, but this season's jumps were too biased.
Removed Salchow, Lutz and not a little weighted flowing to flip jump.
Balanced and good quality jumps earn additional points, the greater the impression of the entire program.
If you change the coach will need to find good people and taught the basics of jumping.

Kozuka 嗣彦 Miyako Oonaka adviser Grenoble Olympics



I heard that many furious fans are showing their anger at Kozuka's fan thread.

Oh dear, for Kozuka and his father. He is stating the obvious. Even the most supportive fans of Mao have been saying the same thing. Even Mao said she is looking for a new coach who will help her improve with her technics. It would be highly unfortunate if Kozuka gets punished for his father making such obvious and correct statement.

[Ren]

I am confused. Is he referring to Mao in the first sentence? "She won a gold medal performance at the Olympics after nearly faultless good."

Please somebody correct me if I'm wrong. Some things I'm getting from the English translation above are: 1. Kozuka's father offers his 2 cents (so to speak) about Mao's performance 2. he thinks there isn't great speed going into Mao's 3A (please remember, this is only my impression from the translation) 3. he's critiquing the fact that there's no salchow and lutz (?) in the program.

If he offered his opinion respectfully, I have no problem with that. He is entitled to it, and some of the things he's said has been echoed on these boards often enough. People are free to disagree.

If I remember correctly, hadn't he been also asked before what he thought about Yu-Na's high scores? I seem to recall he attributed her high GOE's to the speed, quality and flow of Yu-Na's jumps. (Am kicking myself now, because I can't remember anymore where I read that.)

[FSUSF]

I am not Japanese but maybe that's stupid translator's fault. But I am sure he was talking about Mao.

[Ren]

I am not Japanese but maybe that's stupid translator's fault. But I am sure he was talking about Mao.

Ok, thanks.

[hurrah]

You sure can't fault his impartiality! But I think it will be Kozu who might have to feel a bit awkward for his father's lack of emotional intelligence.

In my opinion, these Japanese figure skating specialists are impartial to an insane extent. It was a Japanese tech caller, after all, that downgraded Mao's triple-axels at Worlds.

Funny, quaint people they are.

[RumbleFish]

Kudos to Papa Kozuka for giving honest and constructive opinions, though I think he would have been more helpful if he said such things 6 months earlier.
From what I hear, Asada seems to be on right track in preparing for next season.
She really should work on triple-triple, lutz, salchow with a new coach as well as building programs that suits her.

[Bennett]

I saw a TV program a few days ago. The program compares Mao's and Yuna's LP scores and the commentator asked Fumie Suguri the rationale why Yuna's LP with mistakes won Mao's clean LP. Please note that no one brought up conspiracy theories or anything, no bashing, no criticism against the rules, but just questioning why. Then Fumie attributed it to the skating skills. She did not say whether or not she agreed that Yuna's LP should have won, but explained possible rationales for the results based on the current rules. I haven't seen any of these FS commentators, such as Yuka sato, Shizuka, Junko yaginuma, Takeshi Honda, Yutaka Higuchi, Minoru Sano, Midori Ito, or Machiko Yamada complaining or questioning the scores or the rules at any of the past events. I think it better to stay away from controversies, remain calm and accepting, and be as neutral as possible. Even though I also like it Johnny is pretty outspoken and conveys his own opinions about the judging system, it can possibly cost a lot to say something controversial on TV. TV is not the best media to convey your opinions; you are subject to various misinterpretations.

[miki88]

I saw a TV program a few days ago. The program compares Mao's and Yuna's LP scores and the commentator asked Fumie Suguri the rationale why Yuna's LP with mistakes won Mao's clean LP. Please note that no one brought up conspiracy theories or anything, no bashing, no criticism against the rules, but just questioning why. Then Fumie attributed it to the skating skills. She did not say whether or not she agreed that Yuna's LP should have won, but explained possible rationales for the results based on the current rules. I haven't seen any of these FS commentators, such as Yuka sato, Shizuka, Junko yaginuma, Takeshi Honda, Yutaka Higuchi, Minoru Sano, Midori Ito, or Machiko Yamada complaining or questioning the scores or the rules at any of the past events. I think it better to stay away from controversies, remain calm and accepting, and be as neutral as possible. Even though I also like it Johnny is pretty outspoken and conveys his own opinions about the judging system, it can possibly cost a lot to say something controversial on TV. TV is not the best media to convey your opinions; you are subject to various misinterpretations.

I guess most Japanese commentators are like Dick and Peggy always making politically correct statements. However, it is refreshing to see someone like Johnny who isn't afraid to state his opinions once in a while.

[Bennett]

I guess most Japanese commentators are like Dick and Peggy always making politically correct statements. However, it is refreshing to see someone like Johnny who isn't afraid to state his opinions once in a while.

I would not compare with Dick or Peggy. They are pretty opinionated about performances, IMO. Japanese commentators not only never criticize rules or scores AFAIK, but also barely criticize skaters or performances, either. Dick shows his own likes and dislikes and Peggy also shows who's her favorite. But Japanese commentators barely do that. They retreat to safe ground. They do cheer for Japanese skaters, which is a politically correct thing to do, but not in a way as Dick does. Like Shizuka, she never says anything politically controversial. She can be sometimes boring for that, but I can feel trusting.
Perhaps the only exception is Midori Ito who literally cheers for skaters with great excitement and emotions. But she does not say anything negative even though she makes often mistakes explaining rules etc.
I recall Onda Yoshie said something that some of the audience took as very negative about Mao at among her first appearances as a commentator in a TV show and she has barely appeared in the media since then (not that she appeared in the media often before that incident though).

[sunny0760]

You sure can't fault his impartiality! But I think it will be Kozu who might have to feel a bit awkward for his father's lack of emotional intelligence.

In my opinion, these Japanese figure skating specialists are impartial to an insane extent. It was a Japanese tech caller, after all, that downgraded Mao's triple-axels at Worlds.

Funny, quaint people they are.

I think Japanese people SHOULD be proud of the fact that there are some cool, level headed specialists who can give constructive advice to a Japanese athlete?
I heard the Kozuka's mother got attacked by some die hard Mao fans after she mentioned what she thought about the result of olys but I guess there are also many Japanese who agree with Mr. Kozuka's statements. Well, others might disagree... each to their own.

(from 中日新聞 article. Mr. Kozuka says...)
演技後半、浅田真央選手の二つのミスが大きかった。課題だった3回転フリップを跳ぶ時のスピードが足りなか った。
勢いがなく、回転不足。
必死になって後に2連続2回転をつなげた。

3回転トーループの体勢に入ろうとした時、左足のエッジを氷に引っ掛けた。跳び直したが1回転。
この二つのミスで基礎点だけで8点強、低くなった。出来栄えの加算も違ってくる。
全体の演技点にも影響する。パーフェクトにやれば総得点でそんなに引き離されることはなかった 。

一つの物語を最初から最後まで完璧に演じきったキムヨナ選手と途中で物語が途切れた浅田選手の 違いだった。
ただ、成功したジャンプでも出来栄えに差が出た。浅田選手はジャンプの着地が課題。次の動作にいく時に流れ が途切れる。キムヨナ選手は滑らかでギクシャクしたところがない。本来のフィギュアスケートが目指す滑りだった。

Kozuka's father explains why there was such differnce of points, contrasting Mao's technique or program with Yuna's, saying Mao's are plain and slower but Yuna's are what the figure skating basically aims for. (I like this! )

[hurrah]

I think Japanese people SHOULD be proud of the fact that there are some cool, level headed specialists who can give constructive advice to a Japanese athlete?
I heard the Kozuka's mother got attacked by some die hard Mao fans after she mentioned what she thought about the result of olys but I guess there are also many Japanese who agree with Mr. Kozuka's statements. Well, others might disagree... each to their own.

(from 中日新聞 article. Mr. Kozuka says...)
演技後半、浅田真央選手の二つのミスが大きかった。課題だった3回転フリップを跳ぶ時のスピードが足りなか った。
勢いがなく、回転不足。
必死になって後に2連続2回転をつなげた。

3回転トーループの体勢に入ろうとした時、左足のエッジを氷に引っ掛けた。跳び直したが1回転。
この二つのミスで基礎点だけで8点強、低くなった。出来栄えの加算も違ってくる。
全体の演技点にも影響する。パーフェクトにやれば総得点でそんなに引き離されることはなかった 。

一つの物語を最初から最後まで完璧に演じきったキムヨナ選手と途中で物語が途切れた浅田選手の 違いだった。
ただ、成功したジャンプでも出来栄えに差が出た。浅田選手はジャンプの着地が課題。次の動作にいく時に流れ が途切れる。キムヨナ選手は滑らかでギクシャクしたところがない。本来のフィギュアスケートが目指す滑りだった。

Kozuka's father explains why there was such differnce of points, contrasting Mao's technique or program with Yuna's, saying Mao's are plain and slower but Yuna's are what the figure skating basically aims for. (I like this! )

The points Kozu's father made are really obvious and I think fans accept it, Mao accepts it. However, his communication style leaves something to be desired, and is not something that I would be particularly proud of.

It's just sort of eye-brow raising to have someone whom you could expect to be emotionally biased toward Mao to lay it out so clinically.

I actually saw the interview where he made these points on TV, and his whole self-presentation was one of emotional detachment---expressionless face, eyes not looking at the interviewers but kept downcast, monotonous tone of voice. It was actually kind of interesting to see, particularly in contrast to young Kozu, who actually doesn't have such a dramatic presentation style himself, but is far more expressive than his father.

Anyway, it's cool. I think Kozu's father's kind of neat.

(Incidentally, you do realize that the article you quote is where Kozu's father is talking about Mao's Olympic performance, and not Worlds? The original article that FSUSF found is meant to be an article where he talks about what Mao needs to do to improve her skate in the coming season.)

[Morning Glory]

I am confused. Is he referring to Mao in the first sentence? "She won a gold medal performance at the Olympics after nearly faultless good."

The first sentense will be " It's admirable that Mao won the Gold medal with almost flawless performances right after the Olys. "

Please somebody correct me if I'm wrong. Some things I'm getting from the English translation above are: 1. Kozuka's father offers his 2 cents (so to speak) about Mao's performance 2. he thinks there isn't great speed going into Mao's 3A (please remember, this is only my impression from the translation) 3. he's critiquing the fact that there's no salchow and lutz (?) in the program.

1.Yes, he admires Mao' performances
2.Yes, and he thinks it gives the impression that whole Mao's performances are lacking of speed.
3.He doen't criticize it, but he advises having 3Lz and 3S in order to enhance the value of the whole program.

I heard that many furious fans are showing their anger at Kozuka's fan thread.

Really? I'll go and check it later...
I havn't noticed Kozuka's father's article until I read this thread.

[hurrah]

Ah, okay, I see why there's some confusion. As per usual, I didn't care all that much so didn't bother to correct it initially, but the first two sentences of Kozu's father's interview:

五輪直後にほぼミスのない演技で金メダルを獲得した事は立派。素直に拍手を送りたい　が
今後の課題が見えた。

Should be translated as follows:

Getting the gold medal (at a tournament) that occurred right after the Olympics with a performance that had approximately no mistakes in it was was admirable. (I want to) applaud her wholeheartedly, but it was also an opportunity to identify future tasks.

[Bennett]

I heard that many furious fans are showing their anger at Kozuka's fan thread.

Could you please cite the source where you read that many furious Mao fans are showing their anger at Kozuka's fan thread?

If you are talking about his major fan site, Go Takahiko!
http://takahikokozuka.com/top.html
I do not see any such posts between the date of the Worlds and today. According to the guidelines, the administrator checks all the messages that are sent to the fan board before accepting to let them appear on the board.
http://takahikokozuka.com/notice.html
Their guidelines sound pretty relaxed in that they mention nothing about manners but the issue of copyrighted videos. Yet, it is hard to believe that the administrator would have accepted any angry messages directed at Kozuka's father even if anyone has ever sent such messages.