I think they are addressing it. It's hard to tell at this event since the jump was pretty MIA. But in her recent practice clips, some have noticed that she doesn't raise her leg as high as before and lean forward as much for her flip entrances.Originally Posted by dlgpffps
I actually shudder at the thought of purists taking over the sport. I can't imagine how many ratified jumps won't go through under their scrutinizing eyes.
Yes, it's hard to tell by her actual performances. She had an obvious high kick at JO and NHK Trophy, but that's probably because her mastery of the technique's imperfect. When in panic, she probably returns to it by instinct (muscle memory). I'll check out her practice clips sometime soon.
I'm sort of a puristwhich is why I'm glad Mao's reworking her jumps. Once you hit rock bottom, the only place left to go is up. I'm sure Mao will emerge even stronger because of this difficult period. Kudos to her and Sato for making such a difficult decision.
my thoughts on ladies NHK
I thought the ladies programs were very good in terms of musicality and choreographic content. I feel Mao has not done many run-throughs even with the technical change to flip and lutz, this maybe due to all the media attention and shows she has done. Rachael Flatt looks good at first showing, all her jumps look secure. Kiira Korpi has had her best training season to date and it shows her programs are GORGEOUS but still having problems on her jumps, if she fixes these she could be a lock in for her first European title. Good to see Carolina go back to Michael Huth, her overall package is THE BEST (IMO) but beacuse of knee injury her jumps are limited, i hope she recovers soon. Caroline Zhang for all the effort she has put in (which is very creditable) I feel the growth spurt may have hampered her career. I dont think she can challenge for the World team?. Gedevanishvili - Robin Wagner is a good choice and her lutz is excellent, but still has some mental blocks in concentration to get over. My surprise really was of Viktoria Helgesson who has gone from strength to strength since her 10th place finish at worlds, she is in good shape and her flip and loop have been so good in recent competitions, must have had a bad day here.
How nice to read a list of such sympathetic and positive comments!
During the press conference carolina was asked of what she think of mao asada's result and she said:
"I couldn't see her programs but I really hope she will recover soon from this difficult time! Everyone knows that she has extrordinary skills. For me the Olympics were a disaster and every athlet has bad moments. In this difficult time you ask yourself what really means figure skating to you and I was at the point of retirement. I strongly believe that she will return stronger than ever!"
I love how skater always support each other...we should learn from them!
Huh? Mao's jumps have many problems, but this is not one of them. Her blade (free leg) barely brushes the ice on the take-off. Her 3S is similar to Michelle's or Joannie's.
3S @GPF 2008: http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6725/mao3sgpf08.gif
3S in practice: http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3...3spractice.gif
I went back to rewatch Mao's LP from JO 2010 and NHK 2010 to see if maybe Mao changed something about her take-off, but it doesn't look as the technique was modified, which is perhaps why she managed not to fall or pop the jump in both competitions. (The camera angles in the actual competitons were not quite helpful, but the replays at CBC showed 3S in slowmo).
As for 3T - I don't think Mao has problems with this jjump (as a solo jump) anymore. She had it in her LP for the last two seasons in the second half and out of steps, and I think the only time she missed it was when she tripped on the steps leading into the jump (Olympics). She even did it in her exhibitions once or twice. It's not planned in her LP right now as a solo jump, because she wants to do it as the second part of a combination (and she landed it at JO, although it got downgraded).
I don't think it got "worse" - it's better than late in the 08-09 season where her free leg went nearly over her head.I hope her overhaul process addresses the developing mule-kick. It's gotten worse.
And yes, she's working on fixing it. In the practice clips aired around Japan Open she was doing 3F/3Lz with no hammer toe and improved approach (she wasn't leaning so much to the inside on the take-off - an issue that makes it difficult to achieve an outside edge on 3Lz).
Here's a clip of her 3F in practice:
http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/3...ag01slowmo.gif
The clip pauses at the moment the free leg is at its highest point (no hammer toe) and the take-off.
Mao mentioned that her jumps are 50% along - there are days when she can jump without problems, but there are days when she can't help reverting to the old technique. Sadly, at NHK she happened to have those bad days, but she said that she's "not falling to pieces", and that she had started reworking her jumps with the knowledge that it might take a season or two and will cause her jumps to be unstable at first.
Oh, and on a related note: Nobuo Sato mentioned that Mao will not withdraw from TEB. The competitions are a part of the learning process - Mao needs to learn to jump under the pressure of performing in front of the audience. Her practices are already fairly strong.
Her NHK and 2010 JO salchows are clearly two-footed. They were obvious enough to jump right at me in real-time. I checked the slow-mo just in case. Two-footed. I won't bother to check her other salchows, but based on what you've given, I'm guessing it's a recent development or maybe a result of fatigue. The practice one you give is weird, though. It looks like she's toe-picking. Her GPF one looks fine.
Look, the two-footed salchow is not a big deal. It's accepted by the ISU. Goebel won an Olympic bronze with it. I just happen to find it very disturbing. I'm hoping Sato will address it.
There is nothing wrong with the way Mao does salchow. I was taught that way and all of my fellow skaters as well.( It can be done from a forward outside 3 turn or inside mohawk turn or back cross over). I always felt it was easier to spring up with this technique. I am very impressed by the fact that she is trying to put all the triples(including triple axel) in the future. This is the way the world top level skaters are supposed to be doing instead of repeating same jumps only to get high scores. I really admire her. She never stop challenging herself. She also takes her show program as serious as her competitive program. I am sure she wants to make sure that audiences can enjoy her skating as much as possible whether it is competition or show. She is a kind of skater who gives her best to everything she does.
Last edited by PROKOFIEV; 10-25-2010 at 08:07 PM.
Slightly off topic but I'm wondering if anyone has any news on Diane Szmiett....I know she skated poorly but I'm wondering if injury was an issue or just plain nervousness...Will she skate her 2nd GP or does her performance at NHK have anything to do with what happens next? She's kinda' young and new to the GP circut and I'm hoping she does better at her next assignment and gets another chance.
I have never heard of a case where the organizing committee of a Grand Prix event said, we have invited such-and-such skater but she did so badly in her last event that we will rescind the invitation.
I saw Diane skate at her first GP (2009 Cup of China), and while she had a rocky SP, her FS at that competition was quite good, coming in 4th in that segment over Flatt, Nagasu, Kostner and Suguri. And her scores at Four Continents were a little lower but not horrifically so. This NHK was so low that I've got to believe something is going on--if not injury, then maybe "bad sushi" or jet lag that just wouldn't go away.
John, I've been meaning to ask you, is that Rachael in your avatar? It looks like her, gorgeous pic if it is her, that particular turquoise color looks fab on her!
p.s. always good to see another long-time Oksana Baiul fan posting. (:^) I still remember that music box you gave her one year.
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