- Joined
- Jul 31, 2003
Rgirl said:It's not just you. Actually, I get almost Elvis Presley shooting the TV with a gun about it because there's just no reason for her not to have improved her stroking. As I've said many times before, for one thing, Sasha does not get down into the ice with a good deep knee bend. She also doesn't use her edges to create power, speed, flow, and ice coverage--exactly the things Kurt Browning said he worked with Takeshi Honda on. It boggles the mind that skaters like Cohen and Honda, the latter having been around even longer and with more coaches, have not gotten the basics of good stroking that will help them build to magnificent stroking. Russian skaters such as Kulik and Slutskaya have it, though I know some people don't like the way Irina uses her back. But believe me, when you see Irina skate live, three back strokes and she's half-way across the rink.
As for size, I'll use the example of comparing Sasha's stroking to Fumie Suguri's, who is pretty much the same size as Sasha. Fumie has breathtaking speed--again, when you see it live is when the difference knocks you back in your seat. Fumie covers the ice like nobody's business, I mean, she is everywhere and with magnificent efficiency. Sasha still seems to skate on the surface of the ice instead of down into it. Next time you see Fumie, notice the great knee bend. It's very difficult to actually see her edging on TV, but boy, you sure can see the effect. She's another one that can cross half the rink with three back strokes.
Just so it's said, Sasha has her strengths and she's made a great many improvements. But we're talking here about her stroking and jumps.
Bdreampixie, ITA with you that Sasha's jumps started looking strong and her stroking was better when she was with Robin Wagner. Plus, it was virtually an immediate difference after she started working with Wagner, at least to my eyes.
But unfortunately I also agree that since returning to Nicks, her jump technique and stroking have regressed. I find it sad, because I think she has the strength and work ethic to do it if her coach would guide her. Plus, I'm still going to be a broken record about wanting her to gain about 5 pounds of muscle, 2lbs. in her upper body and 3lbs. in her quads, hamstrings, gluteals, and lower leg muscles. I know 2lbs. in the upper body and 3lbs. in the lower doesn't sound like much, but if I were in the mood I'd calculate how much more energy she could generate with just that much more muscle. I'd actually like to see Sasha put on about 7 to 10 lbs. of muscle--basically one does it with high intensity weight training and a high protein diet; skaters at Cohen's level get enough aerobic work with skating--but that would have to be over a two year period so her body could adjust to the extra weight for jumps.
But for this season, I still think any gain in muscle mass would help. She may have done off-ice training during the summer to get stronger so she could save jumps she otherwise would have tanked. But if she did Pilates, which can do great things for a skater, but it's not good for building muscle mass. Without the additional muscle there's not the additional energy producing mass to help her get a deep knee bend for stroking, which builds more speed, which helps with jumps, or in the upper body, get more strength for pulling the arms in for maximum speed on rotation. I think the weakness in her upper body is the main reason she can't do a 3/3--JMO. Plus I think for Cohen more muscle, like she had at the '02 Olympics, would just help her all around. Sorry for going on and on, but the lack of improvement in her stroking and jumps irks the he!! out of me.
As an example, look what gaining muscle mass did for Michelle. She gained it mostly in her upper body--and doesn't she look great with it too!--but she also built some in her lower body. As a result, Michelle's jumps, IMO, got higher and more solid--at least in '03 when it seemed she had trained particularly hard in this area--greater speed with greater efficiency on her stroking, plus the ability to "move out" more. That is, stretch her movements out further and still maintain her center of mass/gravity. Example: The way Michelle was able to do her straight line footwork.
Regarding Cohen, I don't know who I want to kick in the butt more, Sasha or Nicks.
My last word on Sasha: I loved the spit.Really! My take on it is she didn't want to swallow the water, there was no cup available to do a "lady-like" hidden spit and it was time for her to go out on the ice. So she just spit over the boards. She had a little smile on her face right after she did it, which I interpreted as her knowing the camera was right on her when she spit and at least I saw the smile as an ironic, "So ya think figure skating is glamorous?" Also, one could spin the spit to say it makes figure skating look more like a sport.
In the future, in order to be concise, if I write "Sasha needs more muscle" I hope people will know what I mean. Of course it goes without saying that in addition to the added muscle she needs to be taught the techniques of edging and other skating basics so she can use it.
Okay, done now. Sigh.
Rgirl
P.S. Vash: You're welcome.
Rgirl,
Interesting analysis. I had not thought about how Sasha could get more power in her skating. She is beautiful to watch, but her 'skating' does not impress me. She looks almost fragile or like a little girl on the ice. I wonder if it is too late for her to improve her basic stroking, even if she added some muscle? Actually the judges still give her high component marks so where is the motivation? I will have to watch my 2002 tapes to see if Sasha had more muscle back then, as you mentioned. Why did she lose it do you think? I always thought that her natural body could not be changed, just like Irina will never have a ballerina type body.
Vash
