Discussion - Is Sasha's Skating Brittle or Fragile? | Golden Skate

Discussion - Is Sasha's Skating Brittle or Fragile?

Joined
Jul 11, 2003
A dear friend of mine who happened to be in Portland for the Nationals joined me during the Singles competitions. I prefaced what I thought would help her understand some of the skaters. In Sasha's case I mentioned that some fans think her skating is brittle. My friend really liked Sasha best of the whole group of skaters including the Men. She described Sasha's skating as fragile and not brittle.

How would you describe Sasha's skating? (Please, this is not for bashing!)

Joe
 

brad640

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
I do not find Sasha’s skating brittle or fragile at all. I love to watch her because I find her skating to be extremely powerful and muscular. It takes incredible strength and balance to achieve her positions on the ice. It is one thing to be flexible enough to do Biellman positions, but it takes more strength to extend the free leg without assisting with the hands. I think Sasha has the best spins and spirals and footwork of any female skater because of the strength she has to achieve amazing positions.

One reason she is criticized for being fragile is that she is heavily influenced by ballet, and her movements are light and controlled like a ballet dancer. Many people find ballet dancers to be fragile because of their lithe bodies and airy movement, but dancers are extremely strong. In fact, although Sasha is praised in the skating world for her balletic quality, I doubt she could make it as a professional dancer because most dancers are capable of achieving even more difficult positions than Sasha.

Another reason her skating is described as brittle is because of her poor jump technique and her wobbly landings. Some people are not able to enjoy performances without solid jumps, and Sasha is lacking in that area compared to her competitors, but her triples are decent enough that she can compete with great jumpers. Thankfully, she is not as deficient at jumping as Lucinda Ruh, so Sasha has been able to rise through the ranks by compensating for weak triples with superb quality on her other elements.
 

orchid

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
I believe Sasha's skating is neither brittle or fragile rather I think of her as an unfocused and uncomitted skater. Hmmm, lucky perhaps.
 

mzheng

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
If I have to use chose between these two, I would say fragrile. However what she gave me the fragile feeling was not her ice, but when she sit at K&C with TT at 2003 Nationals and Worlds, 2004 with Robin. She looked so disapointed and fragile. Especialy in the interview with Peter when she sit with Michelle and Sarah after Lady's final. She looked so fragil, just make me wanted to hug her.
 

ladybug

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I think some people think she is fragile because she is of small build and very tiny. What people don't see is all that muscle she is hiding.

Sasha may appear fragile and or brittle but she really isn't.

Ladybug
 

Peggy

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 13, 2004
Sasha's skating looks fragile and delicate but it takes a lot of strength to do what she does.
She is simply stunning and that is how I'd describe her skating
.


Peggy
 

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
I don't know if it's brittle, but I do find her jumps very distracting because of the wobbly landings, flutzing, and sometimes two footed landings (exception: double axel, which she almost always lands well). The rest of her skating is beautiful to watch. She appears fragile because of her small build, except during spins because she gets a lot of speed in them. She does not have the power of some other skaters in her stroking or jumping, but she partly makes up for it by getting into difficult positions and presenting a beautiful picture. However, she does appear brittle when she makes a mistake because the program unravels from that point. I have seen her improve in the last 6 months in that respect though. It may simply have to do with growing up.
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
Fragile or brittle? LOL, I don´t know. All I can say, is that Sasha´s skating and interpretation very, very much pleases my eye.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Brittle or fragile? Interesting adjectives to describe a skaters style. However, I would think neither - instead I would describe Sasha's skating as flowing and graceful. I suppose the word delicate could also be used, but this girl skates with such bravado she is more like a ballerina on ice. Her extension is phenomenal. She is simply beautiful to watch and other skaters could learn from her wonderful attention to detail - such a pointing her toe and using her arms in interesting positons. Figure skating is not all about jumping, the inbetweens count as well and Sasha does moves in the field to perfection.
 

nymkfan51

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I don't think I would call her skating brittle or fragile either. Her problems I believe, are a combination of poor take-off and landing positions on her jumps, plus loss of focus/concentration during her programs.
Her spins are the best in the business ... her extensions on her spirals are magnificent ... and her posture and positions are exquisite as well.
I think if she ever skated a perfect competition (both short and long programs), she would probably win hands down. I'm just not sure anymore that this will ever happen. At one point I really felt it was just a matter of time for her, but the longer she goes without actually doing it, the more of an obstacle it becomes.
Maybe she's saving it for Torino.
 

Skate Sandee

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
When I think of brittle skating, I think Maria B. and those stiff knees of hers. Sasha is not a brittle skater. I think of Sasha as a powerful skater always on the edge of being slightly out of control.
 

bronxgirl

Medalist
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
I think of her simply as Splasha. When she is on form, she can be gorgeous and breathtaking to watch. When she loses concentration, as she has proven she can do so often in her career, it's hard to use either adjective when sitting on your behind on the ice.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Sasha's JUMPS are fragile, and they are her nemesis. I think they are that way because she just doesn't have time to unwind herself from a gumby position to get herself in the proper balance to start a jump.

As Peggy Fleming once said, Sasha's skating "lacks warmth", meaning her level of 'interpretation' is rather shallow. The only time she shows emotion is when she's doing her spiral, and then it's on the level of "hey, look at me, aren't I stunning?". We don't really see any musical interpretation. It's all pretty positions.
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I find Sasha's skating unsteady. You never know if where she will trip and her falls look like Maria B (just all over the place).
 

gezando

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Peggy said:
Sasha's skating looks fragile and delicate but it takes a lot of strength to do what she does.
She is simply stunning and that is how I'd describe her skating

Not sure your description applies to Cohen, now Katia is the one who looks fragile, but has a lot of strength, wow quiet deep strong edges with speed.
 
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Kwanford Wife

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 29, 2004
hmmm...

not sure if I think fragile or brittle... more like a series of pretty positions with a dramatic splat somewhere. i just never get the feeling she's having fun, so the descriptive I'd give her is: "ambitious." now how's that for pc?

KW
 

kyla2

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Sasha

Exquisite is the word that comes to mind when I think of Sasha. We will never see her like again. I firmly believe that. No, her jumps are not solid all the time, and yes, she does two foot them periodically, but even her jumps can be absolutely beautiful. No, she doesn't skate with alot of emotion, but her form and line are so perfect I really don't notice it. It's like when Michelle skates all out with that in the music/moment passion that is so uniquely hers, I don't notice that her layback position isn't the best. Sasha and Michelle's outstanding qualities transcend the ntipciky as far as I am concerned. So Sasha isn't brittle or fragile or perfect, but she is exquisite, unique and mesmerizing.
 
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