That's what I recall hearing. He wasn't against Mao fixing her lutz technique; he was just against her attempting to fix it mid-season.Originally Posted by mskater93
That's what I recall hearing. He wasn't against Mao fixing her lutz technique; he was just against her attempting to fix it mid-season.
I can't confirm that in 100%. I've seen one fan (C_T_T @FSU) mentioning that earlier, but I've never seen or read an actual interview (and I'm a compulsive interviews collector), while I have the one where Rafael mentioned that the new rule is unfair to the skaters. Whichever case it was, the fact remains that by the time the flutz rule kicked in, Mao has already been with Rafael for 2 off-seasons, while the frowning upon flutzes/lips started already during the previous Olympic season and the rumours about the upcoming rule change soon followed. As loulou said here:
http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...9&postcount=34
Mao's jumping issues were already noticeable back then and other coaches and skaters took notice of the fact that they may cause Mao grief once her body matures.
I don't want to sound as if I were putting the blame on Rafael, though. At that time the concept of "textbook technique" was still pretty new, and most coaches preferred the "if it doesn't seem to be broke, don't fix it" approach - even now a lot of coaches prefer not to mess with their pupils' jumping technique as long as the 'flaw' isn't explicitly penalized by the rules. He choose his course according to his experience and the data he had at that time.
And me? Now I have the knowledge that since then the rules became even more strict, that Mao grew up a lot and her old technique became incompatible with her body and that she's determined enough to fully commit to reworking her jumps and not become disheartened halfway. But would I be able to take the risk back in 2006 if I were in position to make the decision?
Rafael's position wasn't to be envied, IMHO. At that time Mao's jumps were still fairly consistent, so if he started messing with Mao's technique and her jumps became as unsteady as they were during the past season, he would most likely be blamed for Mao's "failures". And who knows, maybe JSF would end up taking Mao away from him, as they made Shizuka switch from Callaghan to Tarasova. At least he fixed Mao's 3T, which came in handy later.
Rafael he had a point - the sudden introduction of a new rule was in a way unfair to the skaters, as most of them had the wrong technique ingrained while they were still kids. And it wasn't exactly fair to some of the coaches, who ended up "inheriting" skaters with flawed jumps. But, in the end, I don't think it could be helped. I don't think the judges could keep on overlooking the jumping flaws when the arrival of Yutube and ubiquitous slow-mo cameras made them painfully noticeable.
Happy birthday Mao!
Happy birthday Mao-chan!!
Happy birthday Mao! You are dearly loved little Miss genius fearless twinkle toes!
It's her birthday? Awesome! Happy birthday, Mao. May this be your best year yet--and may the year after this one be even better.
^Happy Birthday, Mao!
Happy Birthday Mao!! May 2011 be your best year!!!
Happy Birthday Mao!!!
A very happy birthday to Mao-chan!! I hope she had a wonderful day!
Happy, happy birthday, Mao!
Mao Asada reminds me of a delicate little bird who flies, soars, and lands gracefully whereever she goes. She makes all of her maneuvers look so natural and easy - there isn't a feeling that she's expending the slightest amount of effort and/or energy to land her jumps, spins, spirals, and footwork. There is absolute perfection in her technique, and the promise that, if she remains in the eligible ranks, she will be a top contender (if not THE top contender) for gold in 2014.
Good luck, Mao!
Short practice clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuphJ...&feature=share
Glad to see Mao looking good! I wish she'd work on a little more speed (her jumps used to have so much speed coming out of them) but she looked very secure in her landings in that clip.
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