Best Quality, Biggest Flaw

[LucyH]

Spot on

Agree!

 

[Sabrina]

Kaetlyn Osmond
BQ: huge jumps, beautiful interpretation, expressive, beautiful to watch:luv17:
BF: some moments if inconsistency especially in the past.

Patrick Chan
BQ: superb SS, beautiful jumps, gorgeous 4T3T when he is on
BF: 3A lack of other quads, though he kind of learned the S. Not great in music interpretation (no face expression), some weird spins.

Evghenia Medvedeva
BQ great skating skills and interpretation. Amazing consistency.
BF some muscled jumps, 2Fluts

Shoma Uno
BQ: beautiful skating and music interpretation
BF Jumping (prerotation), muscled landing.

Boyang Jin
BQ: Amazing jumps, best 4LZ ever, good improvement in SS and interpretation
BF: scares me when he jumps close to the boards.

 

[Farnaz]

Hanyu Yuzuru
BQ: Complete package, gorgeous jumps out of steps without any preparation, flow after jumps, 3A, choreography in spins, skating skills, performance and his killer face.
BF: Cheesy costumes sometimes, I would burn that swan costume if I could.

Patrick Chan
BQ: Mesmerizing skating skill, effortless flow on the ice almost like flying over it, does 4T+3T as a king should do.
BF: Overconfidence in that skill and neglecting the development of his rivals.

Nathan Chen
BQ: He has all quads, hard worker, a desire for getting better.
BF: Tiny 3A, scratchy landings, tossing away all the other aspects of this beautiful sport for the sake of 5, 6, ... quads.

Evgenia Medvedeva
BQ: Performance, maturity, all that character that she develops on the ice, consistency.
BF: Tanos don't look beautiful.

Alina Zagotova
BQ: Jumps, 3Lz+3Lo is to die for, nerves made of steel (I pretend WC didn't happen), beautiful skating skill.
BF: Packed programs, often her moves seem unfinished.

Wakaba Higuchi
BQ: Gorgeous jumps, skating skills, performance.
BF: Popping jumps at the worst time.

 

[yoloaxel]

BF: love story with the boards

 

[brens78]

My beloved Satoko: Best qualities: Incredible musicality, beautiful footwork, elegance and class.
BF: Her tiny, under rotated jumps.

The jumps are slowly getting better. My biggest what if with her is, if she was allowed to stick with her natural rotation when younger?

 

[anonymoose_au]

I will not have you say one bad word about the Latter Years Liz Taylor mumu! It's iconic!

Here here! I actually really like the muumuus! Although you might be being sarcastic there I've come to realise my taste is seriously suspect

My answer:

Plushenko

Best Quality: Absolute unshakable self-confidence, he owns the ice when he's on it! Textbook jumps (he could still do the quad toe even with four screws in his back!) and just to be contrary his arm movements (Dick Button called them flailing, I call them artistic and eye catching!)
Biggest Flaw: Front-loading (I don't really care about it, but yeah), Baby Sex-Bomb (I love your weirdness, Plushy but that was too much for me )

 

[Miriam090]

I could believe Evgenia maybe didn't understand it (though I'm sure she does now!), but Vladimir's English is too good. And Robin Szolkowy surely knows.

That does make an amusing hypothetical, though. Maybe backstage at the Olympics: "Excuse me, Morgan Cipres and Bruno Massot, you know French words in our program? We cannot spell them to type in Google and we keep forgetting to ask until now. What they mean?"

Oh to be a fly on the wall if that actually happened...

 

[Danibellerika]

Going to focus on skaters with qualities I enjoy to some extent, and will throw my old faves in for good measure

Men
Yuzuru
BQ: His completeness as a skater. I could watch him jump all day the same way I could watch him not jump all day. He skates on the edge with the best quality jumps out of nowhere. He has made me a lot less tolerant to telegraphing than I used to be. Very smooth skating quality, skating skills, and command of the ice. With performance like Chopin you can hear a pin drop one minute, and then deafening cheers the next. Great versatility in program choices. He's fully committed to constantly evolving, wanting to up his difficulty and improve his skills all around every season, and succeeding at it.
BF: While he was improved on it this season, he tends to not sell the program if he's made mistakes. Occasional costume choices (don't like the Swan costume, but Chopin and Seimei were picture perfect this season). Sometimes the arms to could use a little more tension (a couple of moments in LGC come to mind). While it's nice to evolve and increase jump content by he seasons, that makes consistency more difficult so he might be leading in the short but still lose a competition, or win a free but still lose because of a SP deficit. Repeats programs, though at least he improves on them. Injury-prone .

Shoma
BQ: Skates big for his small stature with fantastic carriage, sharp movements, deep knees, skating skills, musicality, and ability to skate to unusual music and make it amazing. Remains committed to selling a performance with or without mistakes.
BF: His jump technique , though he is aware of it and working on it.

Javi
BQ: Nice quads when landed well. Charming performer with crowd pleasing numbers.
BF: Rarely consistent even with the same layouts. Could use more versatility in style and program choices.

Chan
BQ: Skating skills, carriage, nice jumps when landed well.
BF: Triple axel. Disinterest in increasing difficulty until it was too late. I wish he performed more fun and unusual pieces.

Boyang
BQ: The lutz. Capable of having charming or powerful performances, particularly his SPs these past 2 seasons. Obvious hard worker as he is steadily working to improve on being a better all around skater.
BF: Could have better runout and flow on the jumps. Still a ways to go on being a good all around skater, though he is working on it. Jumps too close to the boards.

Nathan
BQ: Versatility of his quad arsenal. Great carriage. Improving artistically. Strong short programs so far.
BF: Jumps could use better height and flow. Don't love the swinging leg and scratchy runouts on landings. Needs to work on incorporating more in-betweens around these quads for more complete programs. Noticeably weaker free skates compared to his shorts.

Mikhail
BQ: Everything if he can hit it. Beautiful jumps. Another skater that if he jumps well, I can watch him do it all day. Great skating skills.
BF: The flip. Competitive nerves. Inability to incorporate a lot of quads into his programs. Sometimes skates programs that aren't well-suited for him yet.

Plushenko
BQ: Charisma, jump quality for the time, competitive nerves, did some of the hardest combos in the books that still stand to this day
BF: Front loading, could have had better skating skills, bad scratch blur spin, more choreography and transitions between jumps

Ladies
Satoko
BQ: Amazing spins that look effortless, choreography, interpretation, flexibility, attention to detail. I could go on. She has a balletic stye and excels in just about every was. As a fan of Sasha Cohen who was also balletic, it makes me happy to see so many of those qualities on one skater once again.
BF: The jumps. I am also a "what-if" person who would love to see an alternate reality where she didn't have to learn to jump against her natural direction. She could also play around with different styles and genres to grow a bit more artistically.

Wakaba
BQ: Great jumps, great speed, can really sell a program if it's going well. All great for only being 16.
BF: Competitive nerves. Lack of flexibility to make certain moves look good (ie: the fan spiral, and catch foot spins). Telegraphs the lutz combo more than I'd like.

Mai
BQ: Really nice skating skills with an obvious floaty quality over the ice. Jumps are solid, and she is steadily improving as a performer.
BF: While good all around, I'm not sure she has the x-factor to help her overtake her other countrymen to make the world team consistently.

Med
BQ: Consistency, ability to perform difficult jumps, plenty of transitions.
BF: Jumps look muscled, Tanos, don't love the miming. Would like more authentic interpretation and better speed and power.

Zag
BQ: Consistency, can do one of the hardest combos to date, good spins, prefer her rippons to others tanos
BF: Still has a lot of juniorish qualities, rushes movements, really bad line, slow across the ice, could project more to the audience

Osmond:
BQ: Huge jumps, good all around skills
BF: Inconsistency, free skates not as strong as shorts (well, her best short anyway).

Sasha Cohen
BQ: Amazing artistry, spins, choreography, musicality, attention to detail, flexibility, toe point, spirals that are still unmatched
BF: Competitive nerves, skating skills, costume choices

 

[chopinskate]

Zag
can do the hardest combo to date

Can I take this and make a thread out of it to ask if 3Lz-3Lo is harder than 3A-3T?

 

[Danibellerika]

Can I take this and make a thread out of it to ask if 3Lz-3Lo is harder than 3A-3T?

You can, but I actually should correct myself and say "one of". 3A/3T I would consider harder. I'd say 3A/3Lo would be harder than 3A/3T though.

 

[chopinskate]

You can, but I actually should correct myself and say "one of". 3A/3T I would consider harder. I'd say 3A/3Lo would be harder than 3A/3T though.

3A-3Lo is the hardest 3-3 for sure. Now after that there will be a debate for about 4-3 vs 3A-3Lo.

 

[asiacheetah]

I think this can be a good way to say what we admire about skaters, even those we dislike, and what annoys us the most - even about our favorites!

I'm gonna start!

-Yuzuru Hanyu
BQ: his flow, technique and charisma
BF: he sometimes has big meltdowns

BF: helicopter arm

Please define what you mean by big meltdowns? When his jumps starts turning into pops? I don't think I've ever seen Yuzuru not continue to fight even when the jumps aren't there. When I see meltdown, I think of Pogo at 2017 Worlds when she was in tears in the middle of the program. Or Gabby during the Olympics where Brian is urging her to continue from the side of the rink. I saw Yuzuru having the worst SP for LGC at WTT in front of a home crowd. He never gave up. He was PISSED af at himself and I'm pretty sure he cursed right afterwards. He turned around by winning the FS the next night and landed his first 4T-loop-3S combo and 3 quads second half.

Helicopter arms should be banned from all skaters. I think the ladies (specifically the Russian ladies) are abusing the varied arm positions WAY too much. I hate it with an intensity.

For mine:

Yuzuru
BQ: Complete package, GORGEOUS 3Axel, programs, and costumes (I couldn't narrow it down sorry)
BF: He gets too into his head sometimes and sabotages himself. Prime example of this was during his FS when he got ahead of himself with how clean he was being, mind started wondering if he could deliver a clean skate and BAM! messes up his second 4T.

Nathan
BQ: completely fearless
BF: dude needs better programs that he follows and not throw out the choreography as he adds quads

Shoma
BQ: mental toughness
BF: jump techniques

Tiny queen Satoko
BQ: beautifully packaged skater
BF: jump techniques

Boyang-man
BQ: charm for days
BF: still skates like bambi on ice sometimes

 

[yoloaxel]

Please define what you mean by big meltdowns?

Sure. I don’t mean Pogo-meltdowns, ofc, I mean meltdowns when we look at the skater Yuzuru is. With his talent he should pretty much be unbeatable all the time, instead he tends to get nervous/get in his own head and make very preventable, sometimes silly mistakes. Of course he never stops fighting and of course he’s still, for me, the best skater out there even with flawed performances, but he himself has stated that if it wasn’t for his tendency to have what I’m gonna call “small meltdowns” he would have so many more gold medals

 

[asiacheetah]

Sure. I don’t mean Pogo-meltdowns, ofc, I mean meltdowns when we look at the skater Yuzuru is. With his talent he should pretty much be unbeatable all the time, instead he tends to get nervous/get in his own head and make very preventable, sometimes silly mistakes. Of course he never stops fighting and of course he’s still, for me, the best skater out there even with flawed performances, but he himself has stated that if it wasn’t for his tendency to have what I’m gonna call “small meltdowns” he would have so many more gold medals

Ah we noticed the same weakness and just worded it differently. Yes with his superior technique and skills, he really shouldn't make as many mistakes as he does. Then again, his program is chock full of difficulty including between the jumps and elements so some errors are to be expected.

 

[MaiKatze]

I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but if you only chose 'costumes' as biggest flaw of your skater, you're not looking at them objectively.

Anna Pogorilaya

Best Quality: She's Anna, through and through. Great jumps, powerful skating, charisma, awesome ice coverage, leaves it all out on the ice = doesn't act.
Biggest Flaw: Leaves it all out on the ice = doesn't act, which destroys her when she's not 'on'. No disconnect. It's all or nothing. Brutal falls.

 

[karne]

I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but if you only chose 'costumes' as biggest flaw of your skater, you're not looking at them objectively.

At least those fans are at least picking a "flaw", unlike some posters in this thread who literally proclaimed a rather flawed skater to be completely flawless. There's fandom, then there's fandom.

 

[Harriet]

Laurine Lecavelier:

BQ: Axels and axel combos, musicality, performance ability, solid base skating skills, smile.
BF: Lack of control on lutz and flip, shaky spirals.

Alexei Bychenko:

BQ: 4T and 3A (most of the time), ability to engage the audience, energy.
BF: Tends to skate through the music until he hits the step sequence and starts performing, wears annoying gloves.

Chafik Besseghier

BQ: Fresh and engaging choreography, jump height, ability to sell a program.
BF: Shuts down the performance and telegraphs his big jumps for most of the length of the rink. Also, gloves.

Mae-Berenice Meite

BQ: Huge jump height, presence on the ice, confidence and performance ability, body lines, (usually) music choices.
BF: Lack of control on jumps.

James/Cipres

BQ: Presence and performance ability, side-by-side jumps (usually), music choices, ability to make their flaws into the selling point of their unique style.
BF: Self-sabotaging under pressure.

Savchenko/Massot

BQ: Commitment. They have many other extremely excellent qualities, but the very best of them all is their commitment. Also matching body lines.
BF: Tendency to let their ambition over-reach their good judgment, especially with regard to certain throw jumps.

 

[Danibellerika]

I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but if you only chose 'costumes' as biggest flaw of your skater, you're not looking at them objectively.

Anna Pogorilaya

Best Quality: She's Anna, through and through. Great jumps, powerful skating, charisma, awesome ice coverage, leaves it all out on the ice = doesn't act.
Biggest Flaw: Leaves it all out on the ice = doesn't act, which destroys her when she's not 'on'. No disconnect. It's all or nothing. Brutal falls.

While no skater is perfect I think costumes (and music choice which is also subjective) can be a valid flaw because it has the ability to pull a viewer into or out of a performance, especially if it's really distracting. Costumes can even help with interpretation when it comes to certain movements. In general I think it's a big part of skating, sometimes potentially being the most expensive thing a skater is wearing which suggests that it's a pretty important part of the package.

 

[Farnaz]

I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but if you only chose 'costumes' as biggest flaw of your skater, you're not looking at them objectively.

Well, I'm one of those people and I can't find any other flaw in Yuzu's case that is constant.

Some people say "injury prone" but it is not a flaw, IMHO flaw is the result of your failure in overcoming your weaknesses, it's the result of the absence of commitment and hard working. It can be only my take though but I can not attribute Yuzu's "injury prone" history to these reasons.

Some people mentioned "big meltdown". IMHO, meltdown means letting go your opportunities without fighting back. Again, I can not attribute it to a guy who has turned tables countless times, who came back stronger after each defeat and with defeat we mean world's silver medal

Maybe you don't agree but I think I look at him objectively, the problem is that the guy does not behave subjectively.

 

[MaiKatze]

While no skater is perfect I think costumes (and music choice which is also subjective) can be a valid flaw because it has the ability to pull a viewer into or out of a performance, especially if it's really distracting. Costumes can even help with interpretation when it comes to certain movements. In general I think it's a big part of skating, sometimes potentially being the most expensive thing a skater is wearing which suggests that it's a pretty important part of the package.

Interestingly enough, no one wrote 'Perfect Costume' under best quality though. I'm not so invested to discuss it further, and it can be a part of something you don't think is complimentary for a skater, but to add a costume as 'biggest flaw' seems missing the mark, for me personally.