Thoughts on Satoko Miyahara's skating

[sweetwater]

Since the summer of 2012 I have been seeing her performances live at least once or twice a year and I gradually became her fan.

In the first year she was small and so were her jumps. Her style was rather introverted but she looked very focused and collected. There was nothing childish about the way she moved. To me she was a strange little person who looked young and old, delicate but strong.

In the second summer she was much faster than the year before. She still looked introverted, but I could feel her joy through her skating. And at the end of the season I witnessed (on TV) her casting a challenging glance at the judges and that made me so thrilled. It was like witnessing someone finally breaking out of her shell.

In the third summer she no longer looked small or introverted. Just seeing show version of Miss Saigon I could see what would happen later in the season. She was so beautiful and confident on the ice. After that I officially became her fan. I could not stop smiling when I saw her punching the air after her FS at WTT. I never imagined that I would see such thing in the future when I saw her for the first time in 2012.

Seeing someone making a breakthrough is a part of the joy of watching figure skating I think, and for me Satoko is one of those skaters who give me such joy.

 

[matmuh]

Since the summer of 2012 I have been seeing her performances live at least once or twice a year and I gradually became her fan.

In the first year she was small and so were her jumps. Her style was rather introverted but she looked very focused and collected. There was nothing childish about the way she moved. To me she was a strange little person who looked young and old, delicate but strong.

In the second summer she was much faster than the year before. She still looked introverted, but I could feel her joy through her skating. And at the end of the season I witnessed (on TV) her casting a challenging glance at the judges and that made me so thrilled. It was like witnessing someone finally breaking out of her shell.

In the third summer she no longer looked small or introverted. Just seeing show version of Miss Saigon I could see what would happen later in the season. She was so beautiful and confident on the ice. After that I officially became her fan. I could not stop smiling when I saw her punching the air after her FS at WTT. I never imagined that I would see such thing in the future when I saw her for the first time in 2012.

Seeing someone making a breakthrough is a part of the joy of watching figure skating I think, and for me Satoko is one of those skaters who give me such joy.

what a great post, i envy yoou got to see her live many times and witnessed her progress, hopefully you will continue to watch her and gives us more reports!! and i agree that fist bump and the joy she has at WTT bring me happpiness cause its so sincere :luv17:

speaking about progress, just because she cant jump higher as quickly as people want her to doesnt mean she isnt working on the issue, thats why i dont understand posters claiming that " ohh she know she wont be punised because of her prerotated jumps thats why she wont bother correcting her technique", worlds 2016 proves that she wont be on the/top of the podium if she doesnt fix her issues. i doubd she&her team is that naive, as ioanna quoted from various interviews they are all aware of it

 

[chuckm]

I never considered Akiko Suzuki a 'pretty Princess' and don't think Rika Hongo fits that description either. As for Kanako Murakami, she is far more of a drama diva than a pretty princess. Mao Asada is one of the icons of figure skating who has played many roles in her long career; she is no 'pretty princess". IMO, Satoko Miahara is the only 'pretty princess' in the current crop of top Japanese senior skaters.

 

[FlattFan]

I never considered Akiko Suzuki a 'pretty Princess' and don't think Rika Hongo fits that description either. As for Kanako Murakami, she is far more of a drama diva than a pretty princess. Mao Asada is one of the icons of figure skating who has played many roles in her long career; she is no 'pretty princess". IMO, Satoko Miahara is the only 'pretty princess' in the current crop of top Japanese senior skaters.

Would a 'pretty princess' skate to Poeta?
Satoko is a polished skater, polished is not the same as princessy. If I have to put her in a category, she would be a Kristi Yamaguchi type of skater. Super polished, super dedicated, super hard working. Naturally un-gifted, but determined to push through.

 

[moriel]

I personally find Satoko plain boring.
Cannot deny she is a fierce competitor and incredibly consistent too, but it just doesn´t work for me.
Specifically for last season, her Firedance was a major fail imho, the choreo with not enough accents for that music, and overall skating too small.

 

[noskates]

Agree with moriel And that doesn't constitute me as a hater. I just don't get inspired by her skating. When you're as tiny as she is it probably is natural to think her overall skating is "too small" but she doesn't cover the ice, her jumps are tiny, and I always picture her with a dress that is too poufy and balletic.

 

[aftertherain]

Would a 'pretty princess' skate to Poeta?
Satoko is a polished skater, polished is not the same as princessy. If I have to put her in a category, she would be a Kristi Yamaguchi type of skater. Super polished, super dedicated, super hard working. Naturally un-gifted, but determined to push through.

I wouldn't say she's "naturally un-gifted," but more that she's noticeably working hard with the gifts she's got! It's true that she isn't *as* "naturally gifted" as some other skaters are, but I do appreciate that she's trying to chip away at her weaknesses. I do agree with everything else though.

This thread is so funny. I'm glad the Internet is the only place where I see (some of) you folks and not IRL.

 

[chuckm]

I do have to admit that I, too, find Satoko a little boring. Her jumps are small, and her skating is small in that she doesn't cover a great deal of ice, and her emotions are inward rather than shared with the audience. She is a tiny, closed system that for me is hard to get excited about. Yes, she works hard, and yes, most of the time she is perfect, but she is never thrilling.

 

[hippomoomin]

I consider myself a fair observer. I noticed Satoko since her first junior year, when Zijun Li, Liza and Adeline were also on the junior circle. She was boring to watch then and it has not changed much over the years. To be fair, I also found Evgenia super boring in her first junior year, but she has changed in big way and won my heart. Jumps aside, I found Satoko has that odd combination of looking much older than her actual age and being tiny in skating and figure wise, which makes both mature and light music unsuitable for her.

 

[Meoima]

I do have to admit that I, too, find Satoko a little boring. Her jumps are small, and her skating is small in that she doesn't cover a great deal of ice, and her emotions are inward rather than shared with the audience. She is a tiny, closed system that for me is hard to get excited about. Yes, she works hard, and yes, most of the time she is perfect, but she is never thrilling.

I'm neutral about her. If she does well good for her. I do like her Miss Saigon LP, Firedance SP. Well, maybe I will grow into ner new LP this season but yeah I do agree that some of her programs and packages put me to sleep. Her LP last season was a snore to me. And I am not commenting on her jumps. However I do see that she has matured and she is looking more of a lady now, more than just a girl.

 

[apgold]

I think Satoko gets better every year and have become a fan of the Tiny Queen over the past couple of seasons.

Really enjoyed seeing her live at Worlds this year – she is very musical and I think is coming out of her shell as a performer. She’ll never be an Ashley Wagner type where you can read every emotion on her face but she’s such a hard worker and wants to be the best skater she can be. I do love her spiral position (Dick Button would love it) and that was the favorite moment in her free skate.

On the negative side, her jumps are underwhelming and I don’t like the way she relied on her 2A/3T in the free program. Ice coverage could be better.

I wonder if she’ll be able to maintain her standing as Japanese champion with Wakaba nipping at her skates or if Mao stays healthy and regains her form.

 

[hippomoomin]

On the negative side, her jumps are underwhelming and I don’t like the way she relied on her 2A/3T in the free program.

Almost forgot her 2A/3T tactics. Maybe Yulia L can do the same thing if she is competitive again.

 

[silverfoxes]

I have seen her twice live and was underwhelmed in all aspects apart from her spins. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of "pretty princess" skaters, but at least with someone like Zijun Li, she can convey emotion in a way that feels authentic, and draw me in...whereas with Satoko everything is so obviously rehearsed, almost robotic. I could maybe forgive the small skating and microscopic jumps if she was more charismatic, but she's the least charismatic top skater I can think of.

 

[4everchan]

thanks for sharing !!!

Here's what her coach had to say about her:

(source)

 

[Mathman]

If I have to put her in a category, she would be a Kristi Yamaguchi type of skater. Super polished, super dedicated, super hard working. Naturally un-gifted, but determined to push through.

Maybe she will win an Olympic gold medal like naturally un-gifted Kristi.

 

[ioanna]

With the exception of Mao Asada, I think Satoko's skating feels the most authentic of the top skaters. She doesn't have to over-emote to hide basic skating flaws. She has the gift to convey emotions all the way to the tip of her fingers. She skates clean competition after clean competition, so I guess that's one of the reasons why she seems boring and never thrilling. Zijun Li only wishes she could have her stamina, because all that authentic performance comes to a halt from the moment she gets tired and makes multiple mistakes. For me, when I watched her Miss Saigon at Skate Canada (and even now) I got goosebumps. The music was speaking through her body and she had a piercing, commanding gaze. That performance made me go from just liking her skating to being her fan. There was nothing rehearsed and robotic about that, and there's still nothing robotic about her now. She is a breath of fresh air in a field full of posture issues, skating skills issues, consistency issues and so on. And she's only 18.

Thank you, Satoko Miyahara. I will now rewatch your Miss Saigon performance from Skate Canada and go back to the simple pleasure of enjoying your skating, no other words needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xppK9Mniv14

 

[ice coverage]

I consider myself a fair observer. ...

And who could be a more impartial judge of your own fairness than you?

I too consider myself a fair observer :yes:.
And I do not find Satoko boring. Love her :luv17:.

 

[KatGrace1925]

Where can I see her new free program?

 

[daphenaxa]

I really like Satoko because her skating is so smooth and fluid. She has good edge work and hits beautiful positions, she has nice extensions and posture... I think she is very refined. Her jumps are small and pre-rotated but what can you do, she really is very a small person so I think she really is doing her best. And even with this relative weakness in jumps, I really appreciate watching Satoko skate because her jumps are completely integrated in the choreography and it feels natural and smooth. It is also so nice to be able to just sit back and enjoy watching her skate because I know she won't fall and if she does it is gonna be once, she will not have a complete meltdown like some of my favs can have. (love them to death but it is the truth).

What I don't like so much about Satoko are her programs tbh. Call me crazy but I actually liked her FS this year because it was just beautiful and smooth but it was also so one note, I can understand that she would be called "boring" compared to more lively programs. I didn't like her short, it felt very juniorish.

For the new Starwars program, I appreciate she tries to change things up and chose a stronger theme with variations of intensity, however I really hate the music lol and for the choreography, I think it looks very very similar to last year's program so... I actually really wish she would use her exhibition program as a competitive one because with it, she proved she can do sexy pretty well and I find it a lot more exciting and interesting than the Starwars.

 

[russianbratz]

For me there's something too saccharine and twee about Satoko's presentation. It doesn't help that she has those little jumps. It makes the whole thing read "junior"/cute in a girlish way just in terms of presentation. But I like how much freedom she has in her her carriage/limbs. She's a more dancerly quality than most skaters. I hope skating to Star Wars will bring out a more adventurous/aggressive side to her.