Japan Open | Page 5 | Golden Skate

Japan Open

wallylutz

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
So team North America won Gold in Men and Women and a Bronze in Women, but ended up behind Japan who only has two Silvers and one Bronze at Japan Open? Japan used only eligible skaters whereas North America and Europe each had one pro skater and especially Buttle who hadn't compete in years... :sheesh:
 

sigrid

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
About Adam's program I think that needs more work in the step sequences, and improve a bit the flow between elements, but still 1 month left for his 1st GP event, so I think he can change parts of the program yet.
I'm so happy he did so well in the Japan Open and I hope his "Romeo & Julliet" SP will have that quality. He seems so focused and excited about the season, and he deserves all the best... such a hard worker and kind guy.
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
I agree with Doris that Adam is more impressive live and there is some simplicity in his skate which is hard to find. At least this I noticed at worlds and Teb. As I didnt like last season his programs this is much better program, more mature, me I m only annoyed sometimes about his back in crossovers but he can be the next thing in USA although I hope Abott to be the one.
Being mentioned in AUnt Joyce page it is not necessarily a good thing for me. His opinion is useless for me. It is just his personal preferences, with no objectivity or explain. He is not Tony Wheeler.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
Being mentioned in AUnt Joyce page it is not necessarily a good thing for me. His opinion is useless for me. It is just his personal preferences, with no objectivity or explain. He is not Tony Wheeler.

Offering an opinion :think: - isn't that what you are doing? :confused:
Does that make what you say also worthless? ;)

In this case Aunt Joyce makes a good point. Skating well and especially wining helps boost a skater's rep and pcs may begin to rise.

Now you may not like "reputation scoring" either but that is a different issue, no?
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
In MY opinion, AJ is projecting every single phobia or complex he has under the label of humor through his blog , which is supposed to be a source for figure skating rather than just a fan opinion, and he is not AT ALL polite to people who think something different than him, he is never actually replying to people's comments with objectivity, if you dont agree with him you are crap. And he bashes 99% of skaters. If you cant discuss with people dont hold a blog. If I do the same, then yes I m worthless. Maybe he has changed I havent gone there for months.
Anyway
Some videos from the Gala
Jeff Buttle

Takahiko Kozuka

Evgeni Plushenko

Yuzuru Hanyu

Daisuke Takahashi

cant find the ladies for now :(
 
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janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
In MY opinion, AJ is projecting every single phobia or complex he has under the label of humor through his blog , which is supposed to be a source for figure skating rather than just a fan opinion, and he is not AT ALL polite to people who think something different than him, he is never actually replying to people's comments with objectivity, if you dont agree with him you are crap. And he bashes 99% of skaters. If you cant discuss with people dont hold a blog. If I do the same, then yes I m worthless. Maybe he has changed I havent gone there for months.
Anyway
Some videos from the Gala
Jeff Buttle

Takahiko Kozuka

Evgeni Plushenko

Yuzuru Hanyu

Thanks for the clips. Your opinions about AJ are OK with me. I read it coz it makes me laugh.....just like you do at times. :)
 

shine

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Someone said that everything Rippon does is nice and elegant, but there's just now "wow" factor. I agree. Him and Abbott may be similar in style, but I just feel so much more when Abbott performs.
 

FTnoona

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 26, 2009
Thank you for a clip of Hanyu :D He is my favorite Japanese skater and I was hoping that he would compete at Japan Open but an exhibition number is good too :D he was soooo close on the quad... hopefully he won't fall as much at NHK... Hanyu fighting xD
 

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
I haven't watched the others yet, but that's because I'm lazy, lol. :D And tired. :)

Though I admit I've watched Zhenya's performance quite a few times because I love it! *clapping* Yeah I know he didn't complete his usual x-amount of triples and the quad, but then again this isn't the Olympics, just a pro-am type of fun competition in Japan, for all the athletes to enjoy (I'm still over the moon about Julia being invited! *smiles*). The real competitions begin later on this month. For now, I will continue to enjoy Evgeni's "Nijinski" masterpiece, which he owns. He is Nijinsky!
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
I have seen a bunch of shows from the summer in Japan and Hanyu is attempting the quad in all shows :eek:, Kozuka also :)
 

cjsk8fan

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 11, 2005
About Adam's program I think that needs more work in the step sequences, and improve a bit the flow between elements, but still 1 month left for his 1st GP event, so I think he can change parts of the program yet.
I'm so happy he did so well in the Japan Open and I hope his "Romeo & Julliet" SP will have that quality. He seems so focused and excited about the season, and he deserves all the best... such a hard worker and kind guy.

Why would Adam change anything thing with scores like he recieved. I thought he did a wonderful job and deserved his score. His jumps seemed effortless, and had difficult transitional elements. Anytime the step sequences are of a higher level they look and are slower.
 

treeloving

Medalist
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I can't wait to see when Hanyu does his program cleanly with faster speed, because it will be great!!! He really seems to enjoy skating even with many many fall and he never give up; that why I like him very much.

And he's still cute even he grow up a lot:biggrin:


By the way I wonder who design his LP costume, make him much less elegant than he should be:bang::bang::bang: His sp costume is much better.
 
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sigrid

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Why would Adam change anything thing with scores like he recieved. I thought he did a wonderful job and deserved his score. His jumps seemed effortless, and had difficult transitional elements. Anytime the step sequences are of a higher level they look and are slower.
I think that everything can be improvable, and if he thinks that all the work is done it'll be a big mistake. I'm sure Adam and his team will keep improving the program, as they did the last season (there're a lot of differences between TEB's LP and Nationals LP, for example), and if they do, they can create a masterpiece.
This said, I agree about the scores, Adam won derservedly and his program was wonderful, but IMO it can be upgraded ;)
 

hikki

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Country
Japan
I can't wait to see when Hanyu does his program cleanly with faster speed, because it will be great!!! He really seems to enjoy skating even with many many fall and he never give up; that why I like him very much.

And he's still cute even he grow up a lot:biggrin:


By the way I wonder who design his LP costume, make him much less elegant than he should be:bang::bang::bang: His sp costume is much better.

This program might just be the most CoP-savvy one EVAH! And an extremely musical and energetic one at that! I love it!
 

amateur

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Mao's program, and her presentation, is stunning! It was perhaps worth her taking that strange detour in style last year, for now the refeshing impact of this one will be all the greater. Beginning of the season and an error-filled performance, and yet this to me is already one of the most moving ladies' programs I've seen in a long time.

No comments about Cynthia here yet - I thought she was beautiful too! Though it's a good thing I watched her program before Mao's, as it's simply not even cose to being in the same tier in terms of content and nuance. However, I think the music is really well chosen, and Phaneuf has that understated elegance, simplicity, power and shows a good intensity that does surprisingly well by Rachmaninoff. She's not skating so timidly any more. She does have to be build on this though - her style favours simplicity, which I like, but the music is underused in some spots, and she has to guard against occasionally sloppy lines. But I really liked what I saw here.

Miki on the other hand, bored me, and i didn't make it through her program. I think the first offense for me is the music - that Grieg concerto is just not a piece I enjoy. Miki has a certain sophistication to her, but has to work a lot harder to pull off the elgance the likes of Mao or even Cynthia, and it shows. There is potential in this program, though, I'll give it a chance as she smoothes it out.

It was nice to see Joannie so relaxed! She kept that entirely in her comfort zone, the slightly watered down jump-content a wise decision, as the jumps she did were all excellent, and she showed command of that program. And there was a softness there. Well done.
 

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
I finally got around to watching Daisuke Takahashi and Takahiko Kozuka. :)

Here are my thoughts:

1.) Daisuke's such a passionate powerful skater that it's a joy to simply watch him skate. However, I'm not loving this program nor the music particularly, but he's such an exceptional skater that over time I think I'll grow to like it. :)^) But for now, when compared with his program from last year, there's no comparison, La Strada was a masterpiece. Btw, the quad was gorgeous! If I had to nitpick about any one thing, I would like to see him stretch his legs more, especially in his camel spin, but that's being overly nitpicky, I love him the way he is. ***Note: one day I'd like to see him tackle Beethoven's 9th!***

2.) Takahiko is such the complete opposite of Daisuke, that I find it fascinating to see them skate one after another. Takahiko's skating is soft, lyrical, introspective, classical, all about gliding, edges, beauty. I particularly enjoyed the spread eagle into the triple jump, which looked effortless. I can't wait to see what this program will look like skated clean, and after it has a few miles to it. :)^)


It looks to be a battle, just like the American men, for the Japanese men at their upcoming Nationals. Obviously Daisuke is #1, which can't be said for the Americans (way too close), with the spots for #2 & #3 up for grabs! I hope Takahiko will break through this year. It looks to be exciting!

For now, since they haven't retired nor taken a break (still competing!), each competition will be a test of wills between all the Japanese men. Like here, even if just a pro-am, this competition will set them up for the rest of the season. It will be exciting to see which stars will emerge. :)
 

russell30

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 14, 2004
I have managed to see Joannie and Miki so far. I will catch up with the rest later.

My thoughts:

I thought Miki's program was tame but much better too previous seasons in terms of her choreographic content. Transitions are better, but Miki still performs inwardly rather than to the crowd and mentally she focuses too much on the jumps. Grieg Piano Concerto has not been used for some time but when I do hear this, it reminds me of Elena Liashenko's program from 00/01 which was simply "gorgeous" and Miki's does not seem to be on the same par. But early days, sure there be changes and it will get polished. I did enjoy it but it didn't move me.

Joannie, well, I did not expect her to be in the shape she was in and I thought Joannie you cannot turn pro just yet, she looked like a worthy world champion despite the triple lutz flaw but we can forgive Joannie here. I like the program but I feel ger Don Juan and Aranjuez was marginally better. I think the spanish flavor would suit Joannie well in a new LP as she can draw the crowd in. I just like the way she has power and athleticism and grace at the same time a bit like Arakawa. Maybe Joannie was using this to see where she was and knowing that she was ahead of Ando and Asada feels like she may have a shot at Nationals to take her to world's. We will see......
 

Phoenix347

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 24, 2009
It's a shame that Rochette is not competing this year because she already looks really good. However, I can understand taking some time off after all that went through during the Olympic. I hope we haven't seen the last of her in competition. I'm sure there are a lot of ladies breathing a sigh of relief that she's not competing this year!

As for Mao, once again she has a very ambitious agenda. I do applaud her for trying to put all the triples (including the 3A) in the free program and I'm glad that she going to try to fix her Lutz and do the Salchow. She also need to work on more speed though. That will help her with her jump combinations. It will interesting to see this program later in the season. Good luck to Mao.
 

prettykeys

Medalist
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Mao's program, and her presentation, is stunning! It was perhaps worth her taking that strange detour in style last year, for now the refeshing impact of this one will be all the greater. Beginning of the season and an error-filled performance, and yet this to me is already one of the most moving ladies' programs I've seen in a long time.
Your comments made me smile. I don't recognize your name, but I agreed with a lot in your post.

It's strange to say this, given that I am a few years older than Mao, but I am beginning to regard her as one to look up to. The dress could be a bit better, but the mauve colour is gorgeous, and her new program/music does not only fit her wonderfully, but there is a LOT that comes through about her personality.

It doesn't seem like the Japan Open is a serious competition, so it's nice to see all the participants smiling and relaxed. It's clear that Mao's ambitions to fix her jumping technique starting from the basics are not yet complete, but it looks like she is shrugging that off and just going for it and enjoying the event.

Has anyone else here been very good at something with some unconventional technique or habits? I have--and it's not easy, technically or on the ego, to go back to the beginning and start all over. However, the investment on the time and effort proved worth it in the long run (6 months for me--may take longer for Mao since figure skating is more difficult than what I do) and my final performance surpassed what I could have expected using my previous methods. Though, my ego couldn't handle people seeing me in my moment of err...change...so I actually trained in seclusion. :eek:: With Mao, there is more and more evidence that she is humble, patient, and dedicated. Do I think she has the capability to do an 8-triple FS? Yes. Is it likely? I don't know...maybe not (the idea seems unbelievably difficult.) But even if she falls short of that goal...I get the feeling things will fall into place and she will, within the next few years, achieve a performance that is nothing but amazing--technically and artistically--because of her attitude and approach.

I looked at some of the other skates at Japan Open. Noticed Adam Rippon got a nice score for a great FS (good for him!) but the program itself didn't excite me.
 
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