State of Russian Men's Figure Skating 2015-2016

[silverfoxes]

Artur is still my Prince, the only true heir to the King's throne.

But I would be happy for Mikhail, or Adian. I dare not hope the RuFed would allow Sergei or Konstantin to win. :sarcasm:

Speaking of Artur, he's rehearsing for an upcoming show...so he is back on the ice, but would he be in a show a week before Nationals if he was planning to compete?

http://vk.com/feed?z=photo-101976102_392241784/wall-13493551_5598

 

[Sofia]

Hmm...speaking of Russian Men, this could well be the most intriguing season in this Olympic cycle. Needless and tiresome to repeat all the cliché about the Federation's attitude towards different skaters, but at this point, what I'm most interested in is how the old guys will defend themselves.

 

[Tutto]

Mika's skating seems quite funny to me though - he has good SS but you can see he's so cautious not to stumble during his steps. I've watched almost all of his videos from junior till now and I've never known any other top skaters who stumble that often... I thought he had more speed and deeper edge at CoR Gala than in competition but then he fell :hopelessness:

Do you know that he actually broke his leg last year while practising steps? The blade stuck in some crevice in the ice and he fell and broke his leg so badly he had to have two surgeries.

 

[Interspectator]

Do you know that he actually broke his leg last year while practising steps? The blade stuck in some crevice in the ice and he fell and broke his leg so badly he had to have two surgeries.

Wow. I did not know that. What an amazing come-back!

 

[Layback11]

Do you know that he actually broke his leg last year while practising steps? The blade stuck in some crevice in the ice and he fell and broke his leg so badly he had to have two surgeries.

As a very injury-prone skater, that is terrifying. Kudos for coming back strong.

 

[Layback11]

Do you know that he actually broke his leg last year while practising steps? The blade stuck in some crevice in the ice and he fell and broke his leg so badly he had to have two surgeries.

I'm a very injury-prone skater, and that is terrifying. Kudos to Mikhail for coming back strong.

 

[Perdita]

Do you know that he actually broke his leg last year while practising steps? The blade stuck in some crevice in the ice and he fell and broke his leg so badly he had to have two surgeries.

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. I like teasing people and sometimes I don't realise it's getting too far, especially when I'm writing in my non-native language. Sorry about that.
And thanks for the information as always. I didn't know the step was what he was doing when he broke his leg - in the interview I read, he said he could't tell. But the amazing thing is that his steps are much much better after the injury really. His skating looked very relaxed and freed at the Gala so I do hope that he'll one day bring that kind of skating at the competition but for now it's totally understandable to be cautious enough if he has actually broke his leg. It just reminded me of Papadakis's case where she suffered a concussion after falling during the step. A step can be really costly indeed.

 

[Tutto]

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. I like teasing people and sometimes I don't realise it's getting too far, especially when I'm writing in my non-native language. Sorry about that.
And thanks for the information as always. I didn't know the step was what he was doing when he broke his leg - in the interview I read, he said he could't tell. But the amazing thing is that his steps are much much better after the injury really. His skating looked very relaxed and freed at the Gala so I do hope that he'll one day bring that kind of skating at the competition but for now it's totally understandable to be cautious enough if he has actually broke his leg. It just reminded me of Papadakis's case where she suffered a concussion after falling during the step. A step can be really costly indeed.

Oh I didn't mean it like this at all I worded it badly- no need to apologise especially as you were saying that Mika was always cautious doing steps as a junior too- thus before his injury!
I was curious about this TSL thing you mentioned in another post about his 'hunched' back - could you give a link please? I am really surprised becouse I think Mika has a really good posture and I am normally very picky in this respect.

Another thing I noticed is that Mika's programs of this season seem to be more appreciated by the posters here than the Russians who think them odd. I myself think it is really cool that he chose something which stands out of the crowd so to speak. I would though like to see something totally different next season. What do you think?
Mika himself about his choreo:
‘We’ve decided to experiment and chose music to the both programs from cartoons. The short is to the music from ‘Wait, Hare’ [It is a Soviet cartoon about a hare & wolf which is very similar to ‘ Tom & Jerry’ story] But I am neither a hare or wolf. I take the role of a sombre comedian in turmoil of the struggle between two opposites.
In the long program I take a role of the main character of ‘Nightmare before Christmas’, Jack Skellington. The idea is that I am at the same time the eternal vampire and society’s pariah. The program is about inner emotional struggle that the character goes through. The program’s got an open finale.’
http://www.sports.ru/others/figure-skating/1030920795.html

 

[Perdita]

Oh I didn't mean it like this at all I worded it badly- no need to apologise especially as you were saying that Mika was always cautious doing steps as a junior too- thus before his injury!
I was curious about this TSL thing you mentioned in another post about his 'hunched' back - could you give a link please? I am really surprised becouse I think Mika has a really good posture and I am normally very picky in this respect.

Glad I sounded okay. It wasn't your fault at all neither!

Here you go: https://youtu.be/nIbS7d1ljSc?t=1780
The context is that Jenny and Dave were very upset with Tarasova expressing a dismay that quad-less Adam won over Mikhail and making some rude comments about Adam. And I get that. But to say Mikhail is hiding a hunched back... I wonder if they saw his SP. (I know they hadn't watched the Gala, as they normally record things during the Gala)

So, what they say is not only about Mikhail since they say that a hunched back is a common issue among Russian men. But when I watched Mikhail for the first time, I thought he has an elegant, classic Russian style like Kulik or Yagudin. While I would say that Maxim and Lena got one, a hunched back is not really something that I would relate to Russian men. But, in regard to the point of this thread, what do the others think? Is a hunched back a common problem among Russians?

About Mika's next season prorammes, I think he has shown a lot of versatility. Something that amazes me is that he has done three tango programmes so far and they all look very different. So I believe he'll show us something new next year too.

 

[Sweet Dream]

Glad I sounded okay. It wasn't your fault at all neither!

Here you go: https://youtu.be/nIbS7d1ljSc?t=1780
The context is that Jenny and Dave were very upset with Tarasova expressing a dismay that quad-less Adam won over Mikhail and making some rude comments about Adam. And I get that. But to say Mikhail is hiding a hunched back... I wonder if they saw his SP. (I know they hadn't watched the Gala, as they normally record things during the Gala)

So, what they say is not only about Mikhail since they say that a hunched back is a common issue among Russian men. But when I watched Mikhail for the first time, I thought he has an elegant, classic Russian style like Kulik or Yagudin. While I would say that Maxim and Lena got one, a hunched back is not really something that I would relate to Russian men. But, in regard to the point of this thread, what do the others think? Is a hunched back a common problem among Russians?

I don't quite understand what "a hunched back" means. It refers to a skater's posture when rotating a jump in the air or his/her carriage on the ice? Can I say that Rika Hongo has a hunched back (sorry, Rika fans, I did not mean to be rude to her.)? These commenters are really picky on Russian mens skaters. Yeah, because of some technique flaws, Maxim and Elena usually carry themselves badly in the air, but I see nothing wrong with Kolyada's posture and I don't think "a hunched back" is a common problem among Russians. Can you say Plushenko has a hunched back while skating? Do most of the skaters from other countries take ballet courses in the training process? A sweeping generalization is always bad in any cases.

BTW, I don't know why the Men's bronze medal at the COR went to Ross Miner instead of Adam Rippon in the end. Maybe I misread the men's final standings when the game was over? :scratch:

 

[plushyfan]

Can you say Plushenko has a hunched back while skating?

Oh, no.. they wouldn't say that... they said Plushenko has ugly skating :yes: And during Sochi Dave wrote some bad comments about Plushenko on Twitter. If I right remember Tom Zakraisek rebuked him. And among their Facebook followers there are some disgusting Plushenko haters.( But that is not their fault, of course.)

 

[silverfoxes]

Dave knows no more than anyone else here (especially wrt Russian men!)...and he's been wrong more times than I can count, so his opinion means virtually nothing in the grand scheme of things.

 

[mrrice]

Oh, no.. they wouldn't say that... they said Plushenko has ugly skating :yes: And in Sochi Dave wrote some bad comments about Plushenko on Twitter. If I right remember Tom Zakraisek rebuked him. And among their Facebook followers there are some disgusting Plushenko haters.( But that is not their fault, of course.)

Anyone who doesn't think Plusy is one of the greatest skaters of all time is either lying, or doesn't know anything about skating. What they most likely are...Is Jealous. He's spectacular. In fact, I still can't pick between Plushy and Patrick as my all time favorite skaters. Yagudin, and Todd Eldridge are also at the top of my all time favorites that I have seen perform. I know there are other great skaters but I'm just listing the ones I've seen live.

 

[Abraxis12345]

Watching the GPF highlighted the need for the Russian federation to cut Voronov and Kovtun loose and focus on Pitkeev, Aliev, and Kolyada. Voronov and Kovtun lack the basics to get strong PCS and they will continue to have to pray that their competitors bomb in order to be near the podium.

 

[Weathergal]

I would say the top 3 right now are Voronov, Kovtun, & Pitkeev - based on the past couple seasons. Kolyada's making a strong case for himself, though.

There is a lot of bias on this forum against the older Russian guys because they aren't the sort of lyrical skaters who are in fashion (especially in the US), they are more power skaters than "artists" and their jumps are stronger than their skating skills - but frankly, I don't care. I appreciate different styles & they all are exciting to me in their own way.

It is sad. And even in the fan thread for "promising young Russian skaters," 95% of the posts are about the girls, even though there are some really talented young boys too.

Once again silverfoxes we are in agreement! :thumbsup:

 

[Weathergal]

Yes, I'm glad to see other people here who are excited for the Russian men in general, as they seem to get short shrift here a lot of the time! The field is getting really deep!

Artur G. has a bye to Nationals because he was the host pick for Rostelecom Cup. However, I haven't heard that he is back to training after his injury. It doesn't seem to make sense for him to compete, unless there is some really compelling reason (like if his funding for next season depends on it).

Weathergal - I could have almost written your post word for word! I also enjoy Kovtun's programs this season, and I think Kolyada actually stands a good chance to win the whole thing. He's been skating like he wants it all season. But I also hope Pitkeev, Voronov, & Menshov bring their best. And Dmitri, Anton, Moris, Gordei...so many guys I enjoy right now!

Thanks Silverfoxes! I'm glad you reminded me of Moris Kvitelashvili. His short program music cut from "I Believe I Can Fly" to "What Is Love?" makes me think of all the interesting music cuts in Voronov's FS last season. But like Voronov, he somehow makes it work. And I really enjoy his energy.

 

[Perdita]

It is quite magical how these Russian men pull off those weird music editing... Sergei's FP last season, Kovtun's FP this season and Moris's SP this season, they all shocked me at the first glance but throughout the season, I start to realise that somehow I'm liking it. Now I'm starting to like Sergei's FP this season, if not that jammie looking costume...

Congratulations to Dmitri for wining silver at the JGPF :hap93:
I think his flip technique is something many Russian men can look up to since almost all of the top Russian contenders avoid flip. I heard Dmitri used to get edge calls for flips too but fixed it by jumping with that insane entry. The fed should employ him as a special coach for flip

 

[Abraxis12345]

I don't think the bias against the older generation has anything to do with their packaging. After all, Todd Eldredge is one of the more well-liked skaters, and he usually skated to soldier type programs. But even with the non-classical presentation, Todd managed to display great edges, speed, flow, and line. And his jumps were also high quality (just never could do a quad)The problem with Kovtun and Voronov is that their skating looks labored, and even their jumps, despite the difficulty aren't even high quality. It's as if they just hurl themselves up into the air and hope for a good result.

 

[Sweet Dream]

The problem with Kovtun and Voronov is that their skating looks labored, and even their jumps, despite the difficulty aren't even high quality. It's as if they just hurl themselves up into the air and hope for a good result.

 

[paulusfr]

http://fsrussia.ru/intervyu/1611-al...l-povod-zadumatsya-nad-mnogimi-veshchami.html
Lakiernik's comments on Russian Mens Single Skating after watching the GPF

Sadness.