What is the best strategy for amazing Asada to challenge incredible Kim at the Games? | Page 3 | Golden Skate

What is the best strategy for amazing Asada to challenge incredible Kim at the Games?

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Well, you see, until recently Yu-Na was actually a vampire. She tried to contain her emotions and relent from engaging in affectionate embraces with the blood drinker she fell in love with, but it was too much. Her heart yearned too greatly. Soon after being turned (actually very uncommon, most people simply die, which is why more vampires don't exist in our world), her lover abandoned her for another. Apparently this vampire, an acquaintance of Tatiana Tarasova, has a fetish for turning famous Asian women. They were never actually in love with Yu-Na and just feigned it in order to get a taste of her sweet blood.

Yu-na, now heart broken and ashamed of her vampyric state, paid an extraordinary sum of money to a group of mystic experts so that they would quest into the Arirang mountain and hopefully procure an ancient remedy for her malady. It's said that only few extremely talented and lucky individuals are able to complete the quest every century. People are plucked out of childhood and trained in the arts their whole lives just to fulfill this purpose, but the task is nearly impossible. While living out her days as a vampire, uncertain if she would actually be cured, Yu-Na decided to also experiment with radical scientific procedures in order to cleanse herself.

One very diabolical scientist said he had a cure for Yu-Na, which had so far been successful on mice. She was willing to try anything and underwent the surgery. The scientist had lied to her, though. What he actually wanted was to experiment on her supernaturally altered body, trying genetic mutations that would quickly kill any normal human. His experiment was successful; he altered the DNA of the bones in Yu-Na's legs to make them nearly unbreakable, which was tested by trying to slice through part of her lower leg with a silver saber. However, a side effect was caused by this procedure: Yu-Na was in immense pain daily as the genetic mutation constantly created internal pressure within her body. Enraged by the scientist's treachery after discovering what he had really done, Yu-Na quickly consumed his blood and used his corpse as kindling for her fireplace.

Luck shined upon Yu-Na, though! One of the mystics had returned from the Arirang mountain and actually been able to obtain the cure for her vapirism! She immediately drank the potion and found herself returned to a warm-blooded human state the next morning. The pain in her legs was even gone. Upon returning to the ice rink to train for the glorious Golden Spin of Zagreb competition and get back on track with her life, she found her legs to feel a little heavier than before. The experiment performed on her had carried through back to her human state and she now had unbreakable leg bones that were a little denser then before. At first this extra weight threw her jumps off, but every time she fell her legs were never in danger. This quickly gave her the confidence to jump without fear and adapt to the additional weight gain.

In summation, it's going to take a lot of strong hits with a nice heavy crowbar to really hurt Yu-Na's legs. Her bones are super-reinforced now and one wimpy little Nancy Kerrigan whack won't be enough.

I see this being adapted into a K-drama, yes. :biggrin:
 

hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
A lot of her fans weren't sure if she could do it again...ever...and she did in London. So she sort of has a cred now.

Yuna had a lip call at London, so she wasn't perfect, but she was nearly perfect.

It' seems awfully harsh to think that what looks to be a 'perfect' performance could be deemed not perfect due to under-rotation and edge calls.:scowl:
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
Negative. A few in the scientific field are still looking for a way to fuse the two together.

According to a certain skating blogger, when Michelle Kwan split into her two selves, the dark, sensual Salome became Kim and the angel from Lyra Angelica became Asada. Doesn't that mean that in a successful fusion, Kwan will come back for Sochi?
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
According to a certain skating blogger, when Michelle Kwan split into her two selves, the dark, sensual Salome became Kim and the angel from Lyra Angelica became Asada. Doesn't that mean that in a successful fusion, Kwan will come back for Sochi?

Damn it, that was supposed to be top secret! I need to have a word with that agent and his partner about leaking classified information ...

Erm, I mean, certainly not!
 

Ambivalent

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 29, 2011
Well, I just hope all skaters at Sochi will have outings they can be proud of whatever the results. Even if Yu-Na is my favourite.
 

spikydurian

Medalist
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
According to a certain skating blogger, when Michelle Kwan split into her two selves, the dark, sensual Salome became Kim and the angel from Lyra Angelica became Asada. Doesn't that mean that in a successful fusion, Kwan will come back for Sochi?
Oooh... I would love it! Kwan!:love:

Look seriously, Kim and Mao are great skaters and different qualities. And yes, Krislite, your analogy above is pretty accurate. May the best skater win on that day. :)
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
Reading over these discussions of Yuna and Mao, I am a bit amazed that almost four years since Vancouver, this is still the rivalry that dominates the ladies' discipline and will be the focal point of the ladies competition in Sochi. So many (including myself) thought Yuna would retire soon after Vancouver, and that Mao would soon be overshadowed by some prodigies who will dominate the stage in Sochi. Nope. Didn't happen. This may actually have more longevity than Kwan/Slutskaya, assuming they both finish on the Sochi podium.
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
Now that the GPF ladies free skate is over, it seems like the 2 triple Axels in the LP don't work that well for her, but given how stubborn she can be, I think she'll probably keep at it.
 

hurrah

Medalist
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
I hope her team will go back to the original layout with a planned 3flip-3loop because it's alot safer option.

It's better to do a 3flip-3loop (under-rotated) than do a triple-axel that only counts as sequence, or worse yet, double-axel counted as a sequence.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
I find Asada's situation with Kim rather similar to Hanyu's situation with Chan. Asada can potentially beat even a clean Kim if she does everything in her programs, due to having higher difficulty. Just like Hanyu can theoretically beat even a clean Chan if he does everything in his programs. However inconsistency with 1 element, the 3A, (or the 4S in Hanyu's case) makes it an unlikelihood. And as mentioned, Mao has yet to skate a clean program with both axels (as Hanyu has yet to do with a 4S and all the fixings). Not out of the realm of possibility but Asada (and Hanyu) will really have to be at literally the peak of their game to be able to upset a clean Kim (or Chan).
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Yuna had a lip call at London, so she wasn't perfect, but she was nearly perfect.

It' seems awfully harsh to think that what looks to be a 'perfect' performance could be deemed not perfect due to under-rotation and edge calls.:scowl:

I agree. To me, a performance with lips or flutzes that has everything landed/rotated and no other errors (in spins, footwork, etc.) can be deemed "perfect". Otherwise, one could argue that Michelle Kwan hasn't ever had any perfect skates.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Reading over these discussions of Yuna and Mao, I am a bit amazed that almost four years since Vancouver, this is still the rivalry that dominates the ladies' discipline and will be the focal point of the ladies competition in Sochi. So many (including myself) thought Yuna would retire soon after Vancouver, and that Mao would soon be overshadowed by some prodigies who will dominate the stage in Sochi. Nope. Didn't happen. This may actually have more longevity than Kwan/Slutskaya, assuming they both finish on the Sochi podium.

In a way it is exciting to see familiar names at the top, but it is also a bit disappointing. Two years ago, when Adelina debuted as a senior, I fell in love with her skating and was sure she would be part of the gold medal conversation in Sochi. While she may still medal, it's pretty clear that she won't stand atop the podium. Gracie was another whom I thought would have vastly improved her artistry and kept her jumps in the last two years. Neither has happened.

What I do hope is that if Mao and Yuna skate in Sochi like they did this weekend and another top contender has the skaters of her life, the judges don't put the top two out of reach on PCS alone. Yuna and Mao getting 70+ in PCS for very uninspired LP performances will make it hard for them to be caught if the others can only get 66 for perfect programs.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I hope the latter doesnt happen either but I fear it will. The only one I could see maybe sneaking gold out over even a subpar Mao and Kim is maybe Wagner in fact if she can perfect her jumps, her triple-triple, and improve her spins. I would say Kostner more than Wagner, except I cant see Kostner doing a clean SP and LP together ever.

It will be hard. To put it in perspective, the total score that Mao and Yuna each had this weekend (~204) has never been surpassed by ay other skater ever: http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/pbslto.htm and both are capable of scoring so much higher than they did this weekend.
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Off-topic and nitpicking, but can we change the thread title to have some consistency in terms of names? "Mao and Kim" or "Asada and Yuna" sound really weird to me.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Off-topic and nitpicking, but can we change the thread title to have some consistency in terms of names? "Mao and Kim" or "Asada and Yuna" sound really weird to me.

Another comment re the thread title: "What is the best strategy for wonderful Mao to challenge/upset Kim at the Games"

My answer would be to have a fan start a thread with a title identifying only Mao as wonderful -- and implying that Yuna is not. :confused2:

Not fair, because both women are wonderful. :yes:

(Sorry, I haven't read the entire thread. Apologies if my comments above repeat what someone else said. And OK, my answer obviously is not the "best" strategy, but it could be a tiny little strategy. ;))

aftertherain makes a good point as well. I daresay that the OP's shameless favoritism toward Mao also is evident from the affectionate use of her first name -- juxtaposed with Kim's last name.

Nothing wrong in general with preferring one skater over another. BUT thread titles should be neutral, IMHO.
 

minze

Medalist
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
Another comment re the thread title: "What is the best strategy for wonderful Mao to challenge/upset Kim at the Games"

My answer would be to have a fan start a thread with a title identifying only Mao as wonderful -- and implying that Yuna is not. :confused2:

Not fair, because both women are wonderful. :yes:

(Sorry, I haven't read the entire thread. Apologies if my comments above repeat what someone else said. And OK, my answer obviously is not the "best" srategy, but it could be a tiny little strategy. ;))

aftertherain makes a good point as well. I daresay that the OP's shameless favoritism toward Mao also is evident from the affectionate use of her first name -- juxtaposed with Kim's last name.

Nothing wrong in general with preferring one skater over another. BUT thread titles should be neutral, IMHO.

LOL. the OP has not favoritism towards Mao read he/she post and you will see.
 

YesWay

四年もかけて&#
Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 28, 2013
Based on Mao's interviews on Japanese TV in the last year or two, I think her outlook has changed/matured since 2010. It seems she is less concerned about winning gold at the Olympics (although obviously she would like that). Rather, she wants to end her career with a performance that she can feel "satisfied" with.

She will not be "satisified" doing a watered-down program. She will include the 3A's, which she considers her "signature".

If she manages to skate to a level that she feels satisfied with, that may well mean taking home a gold medal too, as a happy by-product. But I think it's an important mental distinction.

I think her "stategy" is to skate for herself, and not concern herself with "winning" or what her competitors are doing. I think that's the right strategy for her, at this stage of her career. It can be a psychological advantage too.

I think it would be bad for her to devise a "strategy for winning". Better if she chooses a strategy for herself.
 
Top