Can you cite some examples where Kozuka was "favored" by the federation politics and special considerations?
What will the 2010/2011 Season bring us from the MEN
- Thread starter ImaginaryPogue
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Can you cite some examples where Kozuka was "favored" by the federation politics and special considerations?
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- Feb 17, 2010
Totally agree!
And even his skate is gorgeous, Kozuka also receive relatively too low PSC from judges many times.
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Last year, the National judges gave Kozuka with 3 errors 21 points higher score than Machida with 2 similar errors. His flawed SP scored 5 points higher than clean Machida. I assume they are obliged to give Sato Sensei an Olympic ticket by any means, because everyone expected Nakano would lose to Suzuki. Kozuka's GOE on all "clean" jump are on par with Oda's. That's not going to happen under normal conditions.
I have to admit I'm getting a bit worried for the American Men because #1 none of them does a quad, or if so on a consistent basis. Hmm....
This is karma, unfortunately, because of Evan Lysacek winning the Olympic Gold without a quad. Now it's coming back to bite the American men in the posterior, thinking perhaps they too could win competitions without a quad. Well, no, that is NOT the case anymore.
Like Evgeni & Joubert said, true men quad, and I have to agree. Have always agreed.
This is a wake-up call -- get cracking!
!SOCHI WILL BE A QUADFEST, GUARANTEED!
This is karma, unfortunately, because of Evan Lysacek winning the Olympic Gold without a quad. Now it's coming back to bite the American men in the posterior, thinking perhaps they too could win competitions without a quad. Well, no, that is NOT the case anymore.
Like Evgeni & Joubert said, true men quad, and I have to agree. Have always agreed.
This is a wake-up call -- get cracking!
!SOCHI WILL BE A QUADFEST, GUARANTEED! 
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Jeremy's boot troubles are the reason he didn't attempt one at NHK. He had to revert back to his old boots from last season and lost weeks of training time trying to get the adjustments comfortable. I can see him attempting the quad if he makes the GPF and at Nationals. If he makes the World team, I'm sure it will be attempted there too.
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- Nov 22, 2009
Crock of karma.
I don't think the American men are thinking any such thing. Any man with a reasonably reliable quad would likely put it out there. Most coaches like to see a jump hit in practice about 75-80% of the time before considering putting it into a program. (On the other hand, anyone watching Skate Chanada and seeing the credit still given for wipeouts might reconsider this policy if they think they, too could get away with it...)If the COP incentivizes men to jump the quad regardless of ability, and has the penalties for failure set low, then you'll see more quads and attempts. I'm not sure if this will make the world spin on its own axis any faster. My problem with the quad is that those skaters who make it their life's focus, usually come up short with other aspects of their skating, their program construction, and their execution. IMO, that's NOT progress.
Thank you, I totally forgot about the boot problems!
Your post is much appreciated by me.Hmm, I've been thinking in actuality there really are only a handful of skaters that are *consistent* when it comes to the quad, and out of that handful there is only ONE that is a danger to all because not only is he consistent with the quad, but also the 3A, and every other triple out there ~ Evgeni Plushenko.
So ALL the men (not just the Americans) really have nothing to fear, thus far, because Evgeni isn't competing this season.
I mean if one really thinks about it, the handful of men that have the quad in their arsenal (meaning they have landed it more than a handful of times in competition), are either A. retired (Stephane Lambiel), B. not competing this season (Evgeni Plushenko), or C. not consistent with either their quads or other jumps or both (Brian Joubert, Kevin Reynolds, Ryan Bradley, KVDP, Daisuke Takahashi, Nobunari Oda, et al). Please feel free to add those I might have overlooked unintentionally, thanks.
Then there are those that I call second-tier, because until they show they can manage to land the quad more than a handful of times, and aren't just lucky, they haven't earned the right to join the true Quad Kings, just yet. And in this group I would put Jeremy Abbott (he landed the quad at SC in 2009 & 2010 US Nationals), Patrick Chan (once at 2010 SC), Adrian Schultheiss, Evan Lysacek, et al.
All this just solidifies what I've long known, that if the quad was so easy to master (just add one more revolution like some say), then more men would've mastered the quad by now. But as you can see that is not the case. It takes a lot out of the mind most of all, and then the body, thus the reward should be great, and rightfully so.
The sheer mental effort it takes to switch immediately from a quad to a triple axel is very telling. Cases in point:
Stephane Lambiel - lost his 3A all together because of the mental effort it took to master the quad.
Ryan Bradley - just look at 2010 US Nationals, wherein he missed making the Olympic Team due to missing his 3A in the SP (he did a gorgeous quad though)
Kevin Reynolds - ditto, it turns out the 3A has always been a problem jump for him, not just at 2010 SC wherein he turned out of it in the SP & then missed it all together in the LP. Quads are de rigueur for him, but in order to be a complete all-around skater he really does need the quad. And I have faith in Kevin, one of his hobbies is chess.
Patrick Chan - he landed his first, and thus far only, quad at 2010 SC, but it's telling that he missed his 3A in the process in both the SP & LP. As with the aforementioned, only time will tell if they can overcome their 3A problems, or end up like Stephane Lambiel, whom lost it all together.
All this just makes Evgeni Plushenko that much more special imho. Yep, I'm a fan, but I would think even the most unbiased fan can recognize his greatness. I mean the guy warms up on triple axels, for goodness sake, he even does spirals into them! And I know I must've stated this like a hundred times already, but it has to be mentioned that he has officially landed over 100+ quads in his senior career thus far. He's like a machine, the Terminator I call him, lol, taking three years off only to come back a year before the 2010 Olympics and land a quad right out of the starting block. Nobody but Evgeni Plushenko can do that, which is why I'm so hoping he comes back at least a year earlier this time, so he can put together a complete program that not only shows off his superior athleticism, but also his magneticism on the ice, ala "Nijinsky".
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MENS SKATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If anybody hasn't yet seen Kevin Reynolds Exhibition Skate at Skate Canada, I highly recommend you do so ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgGKlfOX_f4
This is what I had to say about it over in the SC forum (copied & pasted):
I saw this one late last night & cried...because it was so incredibly beautiful:
Kevin Reynolds ("Over the Rainbow" by Harry Connick Jr.) ~ I think this will be a signature piece for Kevin, already when I hear the music I think of Kevin's poignantly breathtaking rendition of this classic piece of music. It had everything, such a perfect union of skater & music, he was made for this piece. His fey-like otherworldly appearance, along with his beautiful long classic lines, shown to perfection when he glides into & out of triple jumps in a stretched camel position, is pure poetry. Ah, and then when he runs across the ice when Harry sings way above the chimney tops that's where you'll find me he literally b-e-c-a-m-e the music. And not only there, but everywhere! Like Peter Pan on skates, he makes one dream that anything is possible, I know Michael Jackson would've loved Kevin's skate. And lest I forget, his spins were also pure poetry, to go along with the music, especially the variation on the headless spin at the very end, as well as the very last one to end it all. ^)
For me personally, Kevin is the love child of three of my all-time favorite skaters ~ Evgeni Plushenko, Oksana Baiul, and Sarah Hughes (a touch of Sonja Henie as well) ~ and that's the best compliment I've ever paid to any skater, bar none.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KEVIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (one day soon you too will fly with them)
This is what I had to say about it over in the SC forum (copied & pasted):
I saw this one late last night & cried...because it was so incredibly beautiful:
Kevin Reynolds ("Over the Rainbow" by Harry Connick Jr.) ~ I think this will be a signature piece for Kevin, already when I hear the music I think of Kevin's poignantly breathtaking rendition of this classic piece of music. It had everything, such a perfect union of skater & music, he was made for this piece. His fey-like otherworldly appearance, along with his beautiful long classic lines, shown to perfection when he glides into & out of triple jumps in a stretched camel position, is pure poetry. Ah, and then when he runs across the ice when Harry sings way above the chimney tops that's where you'll find me he literally b-e-c-a-m-e the music. And not only there, but everywhere! Like Peter Pan on skates, he makes one dream that anything is possible, I know Michael Jackson would've loved Kevin's skate.
And lest I forget, his spins were also pure poetry, to go along with the music, especially the variation on the headless spin at the very end, as well as the very last one to end it all. ^)For me personally, Kevin is the love child of three of my all-time favorite skaters ~ Evgeni Plushenko, Oksana Baiul, and Sarah Hughes (a touch of Sonja Henie as well) ~ and that's the best compliment I've ever paid to any skater, bar none.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KEVIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (one day soon you too will fly with them)
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When they said Kevin had been working on his "artistry" this year, they really meant it!
His final spin was particularly lovely!
His final spin was particularly lovely!
Yes, I knew you would appreciate it, doris.
I'm the type of figure skating fan that thinks with my heart most of all, which is why this piece touches me on an emotional level, but everything really was exquisite ~ the long held edges, the glides, the hydroplane move, the Mazurka Jump, the skating ~ Kevin is simply wonderful.
I still can't get over how far he's come in one year ~ amazing! Lol, my entire attention span was just on Zhenya, the other male skaters on my peripheal vision, some I noticed, others not so much. And then out of the blue I recall hearing about this kid with the funny hair who could do quads but nothing else, so I checked him out for myself when he skated at COC, curious. His Led Zeppelin montage caught my attention right away, as Led Zep is one of my all-time favorite bands, he even looked like a very young version of Robert Plant. And, yeah, at first I laughed along with everybody else because of the unusual hair & nothing really but the quads. Yet I can't deny he had caught my attention, so I followed him throughout the Olympic Season, noticing how he appeared to be getting stronger as the season progressed, culminating in a wonderful fight to make the Canadian Olympic Team at his Nationals, only missing it by the slimmest of margins, I truly felt for him when he barely missing making the team (yet I agreed with it because Vaughn Chipeur's jumps are simply out-of-this-world). Btw I notice that Kevin's IN competitive history has been wrong for a long time, listing him as coming in 4th place at 2010 Canadian Nationals, when in actuality he came in 3rd place.
Anyhow, missing out on skating at the Olympics in his own backyard really seemed to spur him on, capturing the bronze medal at 2010 4CC, which would've been gold if he hadn't fallen apart in the FS (same scenario as at 2010 SC), and then working maniacally during the Olympics itself to land two quads in his SP during practice, and all throughout the summer as well, which eventually DID result in him being the first man to land two quads in the SP at 2010 SC! *clapping*
All that said, Kevin totally shocked & surprised me with the new & improved him this past weekend! It kinda reminds me of Michelle Kwan's transformation when she first debuted "Salome" at 15 yrs. of age, having undergone a complete transformation that summer. In my mind, Kevin's is exactly the same, except it's still him, he doesn't need to wear makeup or change his hairstyle, et al. In fact that is what makes him so unique, just like the mullet is synonymous with Evgeni Plushenko, while this racy edgy hairstyle is synonymous with Kevin (skating on the edge, so to speak). ^)
This is an important integral part of skating, that is to find your OWN style, which Kevin always has (unlike Artur whom is trying to copy Evgeni and it isn't working). In fact one of my all-time favorite quotes is from Scott Hamilton, whom touched upon this very subject at the 1996 Riders Ladies Professional Championships:
"She's got the strength of her skating in artistry...her approach to her skating is unique to everybody else in the skating community...and young skaters out there, if you want to be special, follow your own path, she has." (referring to Oksana Baiul, of course)
I'm the type of figure skating fan that thinks with my heart most of all, which is why this piece touches me on an emotional level, but everything really was exquisite ~ the long held edges, the glides, the hydroplane move, the Mazurka Jump, the skating ~ Kevin is simply wonderful.
I still can't get over how far he's come in one year ~ amazing! Lol, my entire attention span was just on Zhenya, the other male skaters on my peripheal vision, some I noticed, others not so much. And then out of the blue I recall hearing about this kid with the funny hair who could do quads but nothing else, so I checked him out for myself when he skated at COC, curious. His Led Zeppelin montage caught my attention right away, as Led Zep is one of my all-time favorite bands, he even looked like a very young version of Robert Plant.
And, yeah, at first I laughed along with everybody else because of the unusual hair & nothing really but the quads. Yet I can't deny he had caught my attention, so I followed him throughout the Olympic Season, noticing how he appeared to be getting stronger as the season progressed, culminating in a wonderful fight to make the Canadian Olympic Team at his Nationals, only missing it by the slimmest of margins, I truly felt for him when he barely missing making the team (yet I agreed with it because Vaughn Chipeur's jumps are simply out-of-this-world). Btw I notice that Kevin's IN competitive history has been wrong for a long time, listing him as coming in 4th place at 2010 Canadian Nationals, when in actuality he came in 3rd place.Anyhow, missing out on skating at the Olympics in his own backyard really seemed to spur him on, capturing the bronze medal at 2010 4CC, which would've been gold if he hadn't fallen apart in the FS (same scenario as at 2010 SC), and then working maniacally during the Olympics itself to land two quads in his SP during practice, and all throughout the summer as well, which eventually DID result in him being the first man to land two quads in the SP at 2010 SC! *clapping*
All that said, Kevin totally shocked & surprised me with the new & improved him this past weekend! It kinda reminds me of Michelle Kwan's transformation when she first debuted "Salome" at 15 yrs. of age, having undergone a complete transformation that summer.
In my mind, Kevin's is exactly the same, except it's still him, he doesn't need to wear makeup or change his hairstyle, et al. In fact that is what makes him so unique, just like the mullet is synonymous with Evgeni Plushenko, while this racy edgy hairstyle is synonymous with Kevin (skating on the edge, so to speak). ^) This is an important integral part of skating, that is to find your OWN style, which Kevin always has (unlike Artur whom is trying to copy Evgeni and it isn't working). In fact one of my all-time favorite quotes is from Scott Hamilton, whom touched upon this very subject at the 1996 Riders Ladies Professional Championships:
"She's got the strength of her skating in artistry...her approach to her skating is unique to everybody else in the skating community...and young skaters out there, if you want to be special, follow your own path, she has." (referring to Oksana Baiul, of course)
I felt it the same way, however, not yesterday. He scored very close to Joubert in PCS, a year ago there was quite a gap between Brian and youngsters like Taka, I was glad to see this happen. he gets recognition now by the judges, just about time, after beeing 3 years in a row a top 10 skater in the world.
Do you see now, how ridiculous is all your mischevious negative rambling about Kozuka? He is one of the best chances Japan has to medal in any competitions, all over the place and he deserves to have the Japanese federation backing him up.
Dai won't skate forever, and he is still young at 21, and believe me, for Sochi, he will be among the frontrunners.
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- Nov 12, 2009
After CoC, Kozuka looks to be a threat, Verner is back, Mroz is a force when he lands the big jumps, and the judges aren't feeling classical Joubert.
I'll be rooting for Kozuka and Brezina all season.
Chan has such quality in his ss, and his recent quad was lovely. Hope he can find some jumping consistency.
Thank god Lysacek and Plushy are gone. They added nothing to the sport. Just blah, dirty, grungy performances with no flow.
Chan has such quality in his ss, and his recent quad was lovely. Hope he can find some jumping consistency.
Thank god Lysacek and Plushy are gone. They added nothing to the sport. Just blah, dirty, grungy performances with no flow.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
I have to say that after I watched his program from COC, I'm a bit dissapoint. He skated beautifully but didn't sell his program. Anyway, this is just first competition so he has time to get fimilar with the program and will be able to present it well like he did last season later on.
You are certainly right, but he never sold his programs before. That is the aspect still missing in his repertoire, how to perform to the audience and judges.That is why Taka and Nobu are deficient in comparison to Dai.
However, from a completion of all his elements point of view, I am watching Taka for the last 2 years , since SA 2008 and I have never seen him skating without one error in his last half of his LP or taking the splat on his opening quad.
This was the best delivery he has had ever as far as technical content.
After the GP series and before the GP Final, I can assess pretty mcuh the season so far:
A. Highlights:
1 Kozuka in breaking through from a contender into one of the main favorites
2. Verner is on the comeback trail, Very nice to see this happening.
3. Amodio becomes a consistent competitor, and this will take him far, first chance to take by horn the Europeans...
B Downers:
1. Brezina's injury
2. Joubert's struggle
3. Abbott's failure to make the GPF.
C Puzzles:
1. Chan's marks
Things to look forward to:
The battle of the 3 japanese men. IMO this is the season, when two of the world medals will go to japan for the very first time. The Question mark will be how they will cope with consistency and nerves.
A. Highlights:
1 Kozuka in breaking through from a contender into one of the main favorites
2. Verner is on the comeback trail, Very nice to see this happening.
3. Amodio becomes a consistent competitor, and this will take him far, first chance to take by horn the Europeans...
B Downers:
1. Brezina's injury
2. Joubert's struggle
3. Abbott's failure to make the GPF.
C Puzzles:
1. Chan's marks
Things to look forward to:
The battle of the 3 japanese men. IMO this is the season, when two of the world medals will go to japan for the very first time. The Question mark will be how they will cope with consistency and nerves.
Well imho it is looking terribe for the American Men. After all the promise they showed last year, but the cream always rises to the top, and the cream last year was Evan Lysacek. I have no idea who it will be in this quadrennial, I only know it will be the hardest working male skater out of all of them (ala Evan).
A little off-topic now, but I was heartbroken to read about Scott Hamilton at People magazine's site: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20445123,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines
This prompted me to return to the f.s. boards today, as I took a break after TEB, and express my utmost condolences to Scott, his family, friends, and fans. Yes, I may get after Scott every now & then, but in my heart I love him & care about him as a fellow human being, not just a skater. He's done so much for the skating community, and people in general, that it's heartbreaking to read about his struggles. Now losing 2/3rds of his vision in his right eye. It pains me and brings to mind my sister's best friend's father, whom underwent surgery on his hunch back about 10 yrs. ago, and as a result he was that one in one million person whom lost his vision, unfortunately. However, after being depressed for the first year, he made a remarkable comeback in his 80's to lead a full life once again! I know Scott isn't totally blind, but yet he reminds me of the latter because they both have incredibly strong spirits, and a will to survive. And as the old saying goes "God doesn't give us more than we can bear".
"The only obstacle in life is a bad attitude" ~ Scott Hamilton (one of my all-time favorites quotes from anyone; there should be a picture of Scott underneath this saying; he embodies it, lives it to the utmost!)
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SCOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!arty:
A little off-topic now, but I was heartbroken to read about Scott Hamilton at People magazine's site: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20445123,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines
This prompted me to return to the f.s. boards today, as I took a break after TEB, and express my utmost condolences to Scott, his family, friends, and fans. Yes, I may get after Scott every now & then, but in my heart I love him & care about him as a fellow human being, not just a skater. He's done so much for the skating community, and people in general, that it's heartbreaking to read about his struggles. Now losing 2/3rds of his vision in his right eye. It pains me and brings to mind my sister's best friend's father, whom underwent surgery on his hunch back about 10 yrs. ago, and as a result he was that one in one million person whom lost his vision, unfortunately. However, after being depressed for the first year, he made a remarkable comeback in his 80's to lead a full life once again! I know Scott isn't totally blind, but yet he reminds me of the latter because they both have incredibly strong spirits, and a will to survive. And as the old saying goes "God doesn't give us more than we can bear".
"The only obstacle in life is a bad attitude" ~ Scott Hamilton (one of my all-time favorites quotes from anyone; there should be a picture of Scott underneath this saying; he embodies it, lives it to the utmost!)
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SCOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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