Does anyone have news about her possible/probable retirement ?
I watch too much skating. I was watching an Hawaii travelogue and thought these fried dough treats were named after Mao. After all, she is sweet.
http://www.leonardshawaii.com/malasadas/
could someone who understands japanese please give a brief translation of what Nobu said about Mao:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fyg2BJqKMA
This is more than "brief" but here is a translation of almost everything Oda says about Mao.
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Oda says that the fundamentals are really important in skating but he wasn't stoic enough to endure the fundamental skating practices. The person who has the skills to be stoic to enhance herself is Mao. She practices like a monk in training.
Oda: 3A is a really difficult technique even for men and the fact that she succeeded in jumping 3A when she was just 14 is a result that comes from nothing but her efforts. Also, she spent 4 years correcting her jumps from scratch. Her jumps suffered for 1~2 years but she overcame them. I had a problem where I'd crouch before doing axels and the judges used to advise me to correct them, but I ignored them. Usually, people don't correct jumps after reaching maturity because they're extremely difficult to change so they give up after 1~2 months. Mao broke down her old techniques and spent 2 years redoing her fundamentals step by step with her coach and showed us the compilation of her skating skills in Sochi.
MC: She didn't do well in her SP. Weren't you shocked?
Oda: Totally shocked. The skater before Mao was Sotnikova and she skated really well and the cheer from the crowd was enormous.
MC: And how much time did she have to start her program?
Oda: 1 minute. When the crowd cheers like that for the skater before you, you curse your bad luck and just want to run away. The crowd was so loud and the fence between the rink and the coach is wider at the Olys than at other competitions so I was afraid she'd be unable to hear what her coach was saying, then she went off to start her program so I was really concerned, then she made mistakes like I'd never seen before. I think they were caused by the pressure from the crowd, pressure of the Olys. But I thought her skating was beautiful as a result of the 4 years of hard work so I sent her a message on LINE saying that "there were mistakes, but thank you for your beautiful skating" and she replied "Thank you" and we exchanged a few words like "I'll do my best tomorrow" and "You can do it. I trust you" then after she skated the FS, I cried.
MC: I think everybody cried. She's like the "national daughter".
Oda: I just want to say that the scoring was really strict. She skated in the earlier group as a result from her SP so I don't think the judges knew what to do when she skated so well. I think they should have scored her higher. She received URs for a couple of the jumps. When I was watching her in slow motion, I was shouting "That was NOT a UR!", "That 3-3 was rotated!", "She needs to be scored higher!". Of course, I was shouting at the TV because I can't say it to their faces…
MC: You're retired now. You're the only one who can say those things.
Oda: I think they were extremely strict on her.
MC: Those jumps were fully rotated right?
Oda: Those jumps were fully rotated! Anyone could tell that they were perfect! What were they looking at!?
Although I assume that is one of her strengths, I recall Coach Sato saying it's also one of her weaknesses. Seems she'll often practice something like 5 hours a day, and Sato's opinion was that this can create a habit of only skating at "70%" all the time (because you can't practice that long, unless you're holding back)The person who has the skills to be stoic to enhance herself is Mao. She practices like a monk in training.
So with the reappearance of !/e calls, do you think this will impact Mao's decision to retire....?
If she continues, this would rule out the possibility of an "ultimate SP" from Mao (3A, 3F-3Lo, 3Lz) for the immediate future. In the LP, she might replace the 3Lz with a 2A, though continuing her current layout really wouldn't cost her that much; she gets -GOE already, another 1.8 point deduction isn't that much when she has 7 other triples planned. I do wish she'd try once more to at least improve her Lutz to a '!' but that's probably too much to expect.
Off topic but the way you said "seedlings" makes me imagine the skaters as little trees. I don't know what the deadline is, but it seems like the ISU doesn't care too much. Yuna Kim was scheduled for two events but she pulled out due to her foot injury. I'm sure competitors can cancel pretty close to the competition date.I'm wondering the same thing. When is the deadline to notify ISU of intent to compete. You would think in fairness to the Feds and skaters there should be at least a week or two to know their seedlings before selecting the first events.
On a personal level and for many reasons, I hope she takes an entire year off and starts training the day after 2015 Worlds for her return in the 2015-2016 season :yes:
I am a bit ambivalent about Mao continuing, so I will be happy with whatever she decides, so long as it is what she wants. The suspense is really getting to me though. I decided to write a few lines about Mao.
Pirouetting on a pliant blade
that glides lightly across the ice
as sharply clipped wing tips
soaring through the sky,
forming acrobatic arabesques
that carve serpentine arcs into the ice.
Fully stretched leg extensions
rotating in a tight semi-circle.
Mesmerized by multi-directional step sequences
that dig into the emotions from every angle,
tapping channels into the tear ducts
like peeling layers off an onion
to reveal the full depth of human expression.
The pulse pounds as she tackles the triple axel.
With arrow straight back
and beautifully tight symmetrical spirals,
she drills whip-saw chills into the tingling spine.
Then in an exquisite wave-like motion
she releases us into the ebb and flow
of redemption and melancholy.