Shizuka Arakawa's beautiful 3lutz/3loop(!!) and professional skaters techniques

[hikki]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPQun-K9rQs#t=0m34s

This is her at present. What the!!!
She did 3t/3t/2lp/2lp etc in the same newsclip. If anyone has it please upload.

I wish professional skating was more prosperous like in the 90s so we can see Professional Championships. If Yuna turns pro, she can maybe bring buzz back to the field?? Imagine Shizuka vs. Yuna, the former vs. current Olympic champions!

So this thread is about 1) What daya say to Shizuka's 3lz/3lp? and 2) What skaters can youthink of who maintained, or even improved their techniques after they retired?

[MikiAndoFan#1]

The 3Lo actually looks more rotated than the 3Lz! And gorgeous height!

[janetfan]

With all of the comebacks for the Olympics last season I wondered if Shiz had considered it. I suspect if she was healthy and well trained she would have been a major factor.

But she seems busy and to be doing well - and since she is already an Olympic champion there really isn't much for her to prove.

It would be nice to see her competing in a professional championship and too bad that doesn't happen anymore.

[russell30]

They are enough skater in the pro ranks that could do these events ie arakawa, cohen, poykio, liashenko, rochette, sebestyen then as you say kim, ando, meier, meissner, em hughes, lambiel, plushenko, buttle, weir, lysacek, honda, eldredge, browning, stojko, othman, then as you say, van der perren, abbott, takahashi.

Perhaps not enough dancers or pairs as they all go separate ways but shen/zhao, inoue/baldwin, siudek/siudek, dubreuil/lauzon, belbin/agosto, domnina/shabalin, delobel/schoenfelder, drobiazko/vanagas,

Maybe there should be a professional grand prix, say four events 1 in europe, 1 in asia and 2 in north america (1 in canada and another in US)

With a grand prix final to see who is the pro champ of that year.

Would be good. IF it was a success they could do it every year.

It is a shame we only seem to have the Japan Open (which is a ama/pro event)

But skating is taking off in Korea and Japan in a big way thanks to its current skaters, Canada is still strong (they love their skating) but the US has declined and Europe is in a bad way too, maybe Japan and Korea will bring the figures up in other countries.

But a good idea to have a PRO Grand Prix and Final.

[blue_idealist]

That would be nice but I think some of the pros wouldn't want to do a grand prix, really. If they had wanted to continue with that much competition, they probably would have stayed amateur.. although it would be really nice to have a few comps back on tv.

[Layfan]

I'm amazed. Is that REALLY her recently? What is she doing these days? It would be fabulous to see Shiz skating.

[Olympia]

Wow! Amazing skating. Shizuka is just spectacular. I do wish there were more venues for pro skaters, and that somehow all the performances (whether in competitions or exhibition-style skating) would get televised or posted on YouTube. I loved that performance Shizuka did with Lambiel this summer, for example. Their elegant styles are so compatible.

By the way, could we somehow start a thread about that Canadian show, Battle of the Blades? A lot of the segments are on YouTube. Hockey guys skate with female figure skaters, and the quality of the skating gets pretty high. I watched Valeri Bure and Katia Gordeyeva's first performance, and it's lovely. Bure does that over-the-head carry lift with Katia sitting on his hands. She must be fearless, and he must really have great balance! I'd love to hear people on GS discuss this show.

[FlattFan]

I love her basic skating skill. The loop is fully rotated. The lutz is borderline. But what a combo!

[janetfan]

I'm amazed. Is that REALLY her recently? What is she doing these days? It would be fabulous to see Shiz skating.

Shiz seems to do a fair amount of shows. Here is a clip from last season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgHmj...next=1&index=2

Here is a clip of Shiz practicing her LP back in Torino '06 with her 3x3x3 and generally impressing the heck out of the NBC commentators.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SauJKulmYlU

There are lots more of her on YouTube with plenty of her professional programs.

[Layfan]

Shiz seems to do a fair amount of shows. Here is a clip from last season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgHmj...next=1&index=2

Here is a clip of Shiz practicing her LP back in Torino '06 with her 3x3x3 and generally impressing the heck out of the NBC commentatotrs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SauJKulmYlU

There are lots more of her on YouTube with plenty of her professional programs.

I hadn't been following her much but now realize how much she has been out there.

Just looked this up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K21c30qKSY

Lambiel talks about when he landed his first quad. He is such a cutie!! And wow, Shiz has become a total bombshell. Katarina Witt comments later than she should be more a "diva" out there. Whatever, Kat. Shiz looked totally sexy.

[Olympia]

You know, the further away we get from the anxiety and tumult of 2006 (when Kwan had to bow out and Cohen almost melted down in the long program, and Mao was deprived of a chance to compete and Irina had her last chance and didn't manage the win), the happier I find myself feeling about Shizuka's being the gold medalist. She wasn't a flash in the pan. She wasn't someone who snuck in when the sure things stumbled. She was and is a really substantial skater, with splendid skills and a few drop-dead stunning moves, like that one-of-a-kind Ina Bauer. She deserves to have the prestige of the OGM, and she wears it well. I'm so glad she's done so much in the intervening years, and yet again I say grace for YouTube. That duet with Lambiel is to die for--those two aristocrats of the ice, at their best. Simply grand! I'm so glad we started a Shizuka thread.

[Layfan]

You know, the further away we get from the anxiety and tumult of 2006 (when Kwan had to bow out and Cohen almost melted down in the long program, and Mao was deprived of a chance to compete and Irina had her last chance and didn't manage the win), the happier I find myself feeling about Shizuka's being the gold medalist. She wasn't a flash in the pan. She wasn't someone who snuck in when the sure things stumbled. She was and is a really substantial skater, with splendid skills and a few drop-dead stunning moves, like that one-of-a-kind Ina Bauer. She deserves to have the prestige of the OGM, and she wears it well. I'm so glad she's done so much in the intervening years, and yet again I say grace for YouTube. That duet with Lambiel is to die for--those two aristocrats of the ice, at their best. Simply grand! I'm so glad we started a Shizuka thread.

You know, I agree. I always thought of the 2006 Olympics as a disappointment. But as soon as I saw this thread I was struck with the thought: : "I would LOVE to see Shizuka in a show." And it made me realize that I appreciate her skating much more than I ever knew I did.

[chloepoco]

I hadn't been following her much but now realize how much she has been out there.

Just looked this up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K21c30qKSY

Lambiel talks about when he landed his first quad. He is such a cutie!! And wow, Shiz has become a total bombshell. Katarina Witt comments later than she should be more a "diva" out there. Whatever, Kat. Shiz looked totally sexy.

Wow! I've never seen this before--they are both AMAZING!! And Stephane is sooooo handsome; Shizuka absolutely gorgeous!

[dlgpffps]

Oh wow, what a combination. Leave it up to Shiz to nail quality jumps. THAT probably would have been ratified even in 2007-2008, the strictest UR season. She's such a talented jumper (and an amazing skater in general).

I still think 2006 was a let-down, though, not because Shiz rightfully won with one of the best performances in her career, but because so many other skaters faltered. It's always best to have everyone rise to the occasion and be "Olympic." Another Olympic cycle has ended, but I'm still not really over Turin. Olympia does a good job of summing up all the drama.

[dlgpffps]

Question: How does Shiz keep in such great shape?

You could throw her on competitive ice now & with that combo she could slaughter.