Mao Asada | Page 72 | Golden Skate

Mao Asada

cohkaix said:
Thank you for posting this. That was the very first time I watched Mao live in a competition. I'll always remember her in the ballerina moves and the fluid performance from that program.
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You watched this masterpiece live? You are so lucky!
 
yhmafan said:
Here are the pictures of Mao ‘s wax figure at Madam Tussaud Tokyo. Very well done.　:yay:

①　②　③　④　⑤　⑥
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This wax facsimile of Mao is amazingly lifelike.

Here are some interviews that Mao has done in English. She sounds so charming.

Mao Asada Interview - 2007 GPF- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBVlu_OG9UM

Mao Asada SP&FS Interview - 2008 Worlds- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfs-5VZyDjk

Mao Asada 2011 Rostelecom cup- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA-UJNMNw1A


MAO ASADA INTERVIEW 2009.03.25- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P0d5eSvsY8


Mao Asada - 2008 4CC FS & Interview starts at 6:42- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvCn6YT6p2A

Mao Asada - 2006 SA SP ＋Interview- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmyUwtmch9w at about 6:00 minutes
 
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http://www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/general/2015/06/07/0008101153.shtml

It says that whether Mao will participate in GP will be announced by ISU on 15th when they announce the list of all participants.

ISU is such a greedy gold-digging organization. They are so desperate to have Mao participate, and yet, as soon as she agrees to help them make money, they would sell her performance to the highest bidder and slap her with under-rotations.
 
hurrah said:
http://www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/general/2015/06/07/0008101153.shtml

It says that whether Mao will participate in GP will be announced by ISU on 15th when they announce the list of all participants.

ISU is such a greedy gold-digging organization. They are so desperate to have Mao participate, and yet, as soon as she agrees to help them make money, they would sell her performance to the highest bidder and slap her with under-rotations.
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Very well said hurrah! I have never understood why Mao's respresentatives don't stand up to them and threaten to take away the money she brings in for the excessively harsh ur calls, low GOE and low PCS (for her skating skills) that she gets.

rosewood mentioned that Mao said in an airweave interview that she felt back pain during training and that Mao had asked her manager to bring her an airweave mattress to her hotel to help alleviate it. I know she has battled chronic back pain before as recently as between Nationals and Sochi, but I hope that Mao doesn't feel it's necessary to push herself too hard to make a comeback because she has already proven what a magnificent skater she is. I just hope the pain goes away.

Here is the post: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...say-figure-skating-is-wonderful.89260/page-29 post number 870

Here is the interview where Mao mentioned her back pain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ods_Ed01zAo
 
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gotoschool said:
Chapis posted this picture of Mao with Zijun Li in Canada on another forum. That makes two years in a row they have been together there. It looks like they are becoming good friends. They are really beautiful together.

https://instagram.com/p/3rl8LFTX44/?taken-by=lizijunn
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One more ;) This time with a fan (?) https://instagram.com/p/3rmS8VPthF/

+ Han Yan https://twitter.com/gogohanyan/status/608034356502753280
+ Team China https://twitter.com/gogohanyan/status/608050031447445504 :)
 
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Zijun is looking slim and is so pretty. And so happy to see happy Mao. Hope she has a great time in Canada with everyone.
 
gotoschool said:
rosewood mentioned that Mao said in an airweave interview that she felt back pain during training and that Mao had asked her manager to bring her an airweave mattress to her hotel to help alleviate it. I know she has battled chronic back pain before as recently as between Nationals and Sochi, but I hope that Mao doesn't feel it's necessary to push herself too hard to make a comeback because she has already proven what a magnificent skater she is. I just hope the pain goes away.
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This! I loved her programs, and I'm sure I would greatly enjoy seeing her skate competitive programs with artful choreography and top-level elements again, but not at the expense of her health. Not having any knowledge on this topic, I don't really know how to feel about Mao's anticipated comeback. On the one hand, I remember that Tuktamysheva experienced back pain in the 2013-2014 season and into the 2014-2015 season, but she said that later it disappeared, despite a very rigorous competition schedule. On the other hand, I have no idea if Mao's back problem is similar to Liza's or not. I gathered on the thread at fsuniverse that most people think it would be better for her to have fewer than usual competitions this season, and that makes me worried about her health. I also amn't sure if her comeback is her own decision, or the result of pressure applied by her sponsors and other interested bodies (JSF, ISU, and their sponsors). It's one thing if it's her own desire to compete, and quite another if she's being pressured by financial circumstances or powerful skating interests. After all, she has already won everything that Tuktamysheva won this season, three or four times over, so, as you point out, she doesn't have anything left to prove, and I think it would be sad if she had to go through the competition mill again for three seasons not by her own free will after she's already spent a decade at the top of her sport.

On a different note, I understand that she's graduated from the university this spring. I wonder if it's known what her major was, or maybe it was an honorary degree?
 
Spiral said:
This! I loved her programs, and I'm sure I would greatly enjoy seeing her skate competitive programs with artful choreography and top-level elements again, but not at the expense of her health. Not having any knowledge on this topic, I don't really know how to feel about Mao's anticipated comeback. On the one hand, I remember that Tuktamysheva experienced back pain in the 2013-2014 season and into the 2014-2015 season, but she said that later it disappeared, despite a very rigorous competition schedule. On the other hand, I have no idea if Mao's back problem is similar to Liza's or not. I gathered on the thread at fsuniverse that most people think it would be better for her to have fewer than usual competitions this season, and that makes me worried about her health. I also amn't sure if her comeback is her own decision, or the result of pressure applied by her sponsors and other interested bodies (JSF, ISU, and their sponsors). It's one thing if it's her own desire to compete, and quite another if she's being pressured by financial circumstances or powerful skating interests. After all, she has already won everything that Tuktamysheva won this season, three or four times over, so, as you point out, she doesn't have anything left to prove, and I think it would be sad if she had to go through the competition mill again for three seasons not by her own free will after she's already spent a decade at the top of her sport.

On a different note, I understand that she's graduated from the university this spring. I wonder if it's known what her major was, or maybe it was an honorary degree?
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Hello Spiral. To answer your questions, this is a summary of an article from rosewood at fsuniverse. Mao received an undergraduate degree in Physical Education. She took classes in nutritional science and psychology, and she also did judo, volleyball and scuba diving for practical skills. rosewood said that Nutritional science and psychology must be useful for her, so I am assuming she took these kinds of classes as well. I also know that she took some Russian classes and I believe some more science classes. She also got a scuba diving licence last summer, which she seemed to enjoy the most.

http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...say-figure-skating-is-wonderful.89260/page-23 post #664

From Mao's comments, I firmly believe that it is her own decision to come back, just as it was her own decision to take last year off.
In her blog, before announcing her intention to return to competition, she said the following: "During the break, I came to feel I can still compete, and naturally I felt like experiencing the joy and the sense of accomplishment again which I got when I showed my best skates in competitions. And then I came to wish to make a comeback to competitions."

http://mao-asada.jp/mao/news/2015/05/18/859/

My guess is that Mao is just a natural skater who loves it so much that she feels an urge within her to continue to perform in front of large crowds to get the great sense of satisfaction that she says comes from competitive skating. I have always got the sense in Mao that her personal satisfaction with a performance is at least as important as the actual scores or placements. As she said after her Sochi LP, she changed her mind slightly about retirement to 50 / 50 because she thought she might want to have that kind of feeling of accomplishment again. I think her tears of bittersweet joy in reacting to her Sochi LP, Grand Prix Final LP 2007 and Worlds LP 2007 says everything about that. Mao's greatest performances which are more precious than diamonds have often not resulted in a gold medal.

When I think of Mao and why she wants to continue to skate competitively, these "moving" photos speak louder than any words I know:

http://keepcalmandfigureskate.tumblr.com/post/87802913005/mao-asada-redemption

I also thought Mao gave a heart warming answer to the question of "What can I do?" when she heard about the Great Earthquake in Japan in 2011. She said, " "I can skate" "My heart can touch people through my skating." I've been skating with a hope to encourage people as much as possible and let people forget about the difficulties during my skates."

translation by rosewood: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...say-figure-skating-is-wonderful.89260/page-22 post number 633


In regards to her back pain, I know she has had recurrent back pain for a long time, but I don't know when it began. I have heard that she had numbness in her legs and back pain during her freeskate in 2013 Worlds and that she had pain that affected her skating in the World Team Trophy after that. She also had back pain around the time of Nationals just before the Sochi Olympics resulting in a break in training for several weeks in January to let it heal. I have also heard people mention that the Biellmann spin, the triple flip and loop combination and the triple axel put a lot of stress on the back, so these are the most likely causes.

Since she is a true samurai, I guess Mao is intent to battle through the pain, but I do hope the pain goes away and that her spirit remains.
 
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Ughh Mao and Zijun are so close to me, Zijun & Co goes my local Costco but I never go because I work in the day. I remember last year I was wondering if I could run into them because I kept seeing them at various places I've been to but luck is not on my side.

If what people have calculated is correct, then Mao has some of the highest jumps so landing with her back straight while doing so many triples over the years will do that to you. I wouldn't be surprised if Mao has had ankle injuries over the years too, she's landed so many 3Fs and Yuna did a lot of toe jumps during her career and she was plagued with ankle injuries. Mao has never been very open about her injuries and I don't think she ever will be but I hope her team is looking out for her health.
 
gotoschool said:
http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...say-figure-skating-is-wonderful.89260/page-23 post #664

From Mao's comments, I firmly believe that it is her own decision to come back, just as it was her own decision to take last year off.
In her blog, before announcing her intention to return to competition, she said the following: "During the break, I came to feel I can still compete, and naturally I felt like experiencing the joy and the sense of accomplishment again which I got when I showed my best skates in competitions. And then I came to wish to make a comeback to competitions."
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I agree. There's nothing to suggest it isn't her own decision. She was already on the fence since Sochi/Saitama, and I had a feeling that the warrior in her would want to return. I don't see finances playing a role--she could make all the money she wants via ice shows, if that's the route she wants to take.

And call me optimistic, but I don't think the Japanese Federation are so desperate at the moment that they'd "force" Mao. Firstly, because Mao can't be forced. Secondly, because they're not in such dire times. They have a megastar in Yuzuru and a World silver medallist for the ladies in Satoko. If the Japanese ladies had bombed down to 10th, 11th, and 12th at Worlds, then lost spots, the situation would be a little different. As things stand, I think Mao is free to make her own decisions (And I'm really glad to see her come back, as long as she's careful about her health).
 
Sandpiper said:
I agree. There's nothing to suggest it isn't her own decision. She was already on the fence since Sochi/Saitama, and I had a feeling that the warrior in her would want to return. I don't see finances playing a role--she could make all the money she wants via ice shows, if that's the route she wants to take.

And call me optimistic, but I don't think the Japanese Federation are so desperate at the moment that they'd "force" Mao. Firstly, because Mao can't be forced. Secondly, because they're not in such dire times. They have a megastar in Yuzuru and a World silver medallist for the ladies in Satoko. If the Japanese ladies had bombed down to 10th, 11th, and 12th at Worlds, then lost spots, the situation would be a little different. As things stand, I think Mao is free to make her own decisions (And I'm really glad to see her come back, as long as she's careful about her health).
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I agree. I don't think Mao was forced. Also, not to take anything away from Yuzuru he is a start, but I doubt he is bringing the amount of money that Mao brings to JSF. Mao has a 94% recognition in Japan an advertisers dream. Also, the JSF did not only lose Mao last season, they lost Dai, Akiko, Nobu all whom have a large fan base. So, it was almost imposible for Yuzuru to make up for all those people on his own. I am not talking about performance, I mean money. And at the end of the JSF only cares about money.
 
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