Wakaba Higuchi | Page 81 | Golden Skate

Wakaba Higuchi

At the beginning "I did not like" the management of the Wakaba team too much, I thought like everybody that they had a bad layout (put 3F at the end of the program is the weakest jump of Wakaba , 3LZ-3T twice in the program that tends to URs ) but now I think that not having was chosen for the Olympics was an electric shock for everyone, they made the right choice by changing the layout of the 3S / 2A and lately they make resetting at artistic and technical level
GO Wakaba : yahoo:
it is sure that it is always sad that the rumor proved false but now I'm convinced she does not need TCC, she's a player ...


I just thought Wakaba is she the only one to keep his coach during his whole career where there was more?
 
I admit to being a bit antsy about the 3A, just because not even Mao Asada could make that a truly reliable jump, and the changes in the judging system next year will make failed jumps more costly. But all the same, good luck to her with that, because it’s still an impressive calling card for a skater to have.
 
Colonel Green said:
I admit to being a bit antsy about the 3A, just because not even Mao Asada could make that a truly reliable jump, and the changes in the judging system next year will make failed jumps more costly. But all the same, good luck to her with that, because it’s still an impressive calling card for a skater to have.
Click to expand...

i mean from the video on youtube from a year ago, it doesn't even look really difficult for her:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIc5eIcQbKg

she has such big and effortless jumps already, so she has a good foundation for the 3A. as long as she's consistent with it, it will for sure be worth the risk.
 
I wouldn't call that shade, isn't shade supposed to be a bit more subtle and indirect? :laugh:

Tbh I don't agree Russian skaters are "robotic" at all, but I do love that Waka has no fear of speaking her mind xD
 
Li'Kitsu said:
I wouldn't call that shade, isn't shade supposed to be a bit more subtle and indirect? :laugh:

Tbh I don't agree Russian skaters are "robotic" at all, but I do love that Waka has no fear of speaking her mind xD
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I like that she’s direct, but I also think she needs to be careful what she says. Imagine if one of the Russians had said something like this about all the Japanese skaters... blanket statements are never a good idea in my opinion.

In any case, I think it’s good that she wants to add more transitions to her skating! She can definitely pull it off
 
Li'Kitsu said:
I wouldn't call that shade, isn't shade supposed to be a bit more subtle and indirect? :laugh:

Tbh I don't agree Russian skaters are "robotic" at all, but I do love that Waka has no fear of speaking her mind xD
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Isn't she friends with evgenia :laugh:
 
Li'Kitsu said:
I wouldn't call that shade, isn't shade supposed to be a bit more subtle and indirect? :laugh:

Tbh I don't agree Russian skaters are "robotic" at all, but I do love that Waka has no fear of speaking her mind xD
Click to expand...

Girl has no chills.:laugh:
 
chopinskate said:
I'm not sure what she means by "transitions" in her skating. She has plenty.
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Yeah but she need those that actually gather her points. (like really obvious ones so dumb judges can't miss, oh here's another tano +3)

Did she seriously use the word 'robotic'?! :laugh:
 
yume said:
More obvious transitions maybe. Since judges only notice things like spread eagles, ina bauers, cantilevers, hydroblades, etc.
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OS said:
Yeah but she need those that actually gather her points. (like really obvious ones so dumb judges can't miss, oh here's another tano +3)

Did she seriously use the word 'robotic'?! :laugh:
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She has plenty of those, lol, though at this point I guess I don't even know what the judges really need.

Here, I'll mark a few out (and maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong):

Choctaw->3Lz-3T->CCoSp4
https://youtu.be/Aje35anSxyQ?t=1m15s

Split jump-> Besti squat
https://youtu.be/Aje35anSxyQ?t=1m46s

A load of choreography -> Counter(?)-> change of foot -> 2A

https://youtu.be/Aje35anSxyQ?t=1m57s

Turns->3Lo
https://youtu.be/Aje35anSxyQ?t=2m51s

back-counter->2A-2T-2Lo

https://youtu.be/Aje35anSxyQ?t=3m3s

3F->twizzles->Flying Camel spin
https://youtu.be/Aje35anSxyQ?t=3m23s

The hardest transition in the ladies' field:
fan-spiral->twizzles->illusion->layback (all with tremendous speed!)
https://youtu.be/Aje35anSxyQ?t=4m24s

Stuff like that^^ is very hard. Think of all the times you're repositioning your centre of gravity during that to get an idea. Or better, if you have dance training, try to do a tilt (even not a very good one like Wakaba) -> pique turns -> illusion -> attitude turns (no need to even lay your back). And all of this with momentum, especially of the level that Wakaba has.

Here's another hard one that people ignore:

Boyang Jin's 3F->illusion->Sit spin
https://youtu.be/9djPyB8wkCc?t=4m8s

^^Involves correctly executing the 3F, balance+flow out, repositioning the centre of gravity for the illusion, and then again for the sit spin position, and then spinning.

I'm concerned, because there's actually great transitions that she executes very well here at great speed, and she does a great job with the music. Good choreography, though not a masterpiece by any means. Flow out of jumps makes the program look seamless, too, ought to be a part of TR as far as I know. I think it's a disservice if she's been made to think she lacks transitions, and that she needs more, and she might spoil her skating like that. Maybe different transitions to try, but not "more" in the same quality versus quantity manner. It might also mean she herself doesn't really know what transitions are, and I hope her coach tells her.
 
chopinskate said:
She has plenty of those, lol, though at this point I guess I don't even know what the judges really need.

....

I'm concerned, because there's actually great transitions that she executes very well here at great speed, and she does a great job with the music. Good choreography, though not a masterpiece by any means. Flow out of jumps makes the program look seamless, too, ought to be a part of TR as far as I know. I think it's a disservice if she's been made to think she lacks transitions, and that she needs more, and she might spoil her skating like that. Maybe different transitions to try, but not "more" in the same quality versus quantity manner. It might also mean she herself doesn't really know what transitions are, and I hope her coach tells her.
Click to expand...

With the current judging system, for some reason things like
intricacy, variety, difficulty, qualities that are part of judging transition in PCS I'd argue is far harder to achieve than just another tano movement therefore should worth more but are not really accounted for. The former requires thoughts and clarity of execution, the latter, just add it to any jumps... it is a no brainer. It is far harder to seamless these qualities into a piece of well realised choreography without the obvious, especially with musicality, creativity and unique self-expressions. Yet somehow they are marked as equal. So the best way to milking the system is always going for the lowest denominator to achieve the same results - hence the tanos and excessive movements that have nothing to do with the music are added to gather points. It is equating 3ts with 3lz, it doesn't make sense.

Waka's Skyfall has fantastic transitions that felt as part of expressions, just pity judges don't seem to recognise, either through ignorance, error or deliberation.
 
OS said:
Waka's Skyfall has fantastic transitions that felt as part of expressions, just pity judges don't seem to recognise, either through ignorance, error or deliberation.
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Yes, the judges are exactly who I think have done a disservice to Wakaba. I do hope she doesn't feel pressurised to choose quantity over quality. I can't tell if she herself knows if there are lots of transitions in her programs, or if she's taking your PoV, so if it's the former, I hope the coach tells her it's fine. She's young, so that could be the case.
 
chopinskate said:
The hardest transition in the ladies' field:
fan-spiral->twizzles->illusion->layback (all with tremendous speed!)
https://youtu.be/Aje35anSxyQ?t=4m24s
Click to expand...

Thanks for breaking down all her transitions in Skyfall, but this, really, takes the cake. Utterly stunning to watch.
Her interview, while very hilarious snark-wise, is also a bit disheartening because it takes away something she wanted to do all along: to give out best performances. Skyfall may be filled with transitions, but perhaps she thinks it's an outlier in comparison to other programs and may persuade her even more to work with Bourne than any other choreographer. But she always manages to have passionate presentation, so I think that helps in translating her programs no matter how "jam-packed" it is with transitions.
 
“Skaters abroad have a lot of transitions in their programs; that is something I lack in. Although the image of Russian skaters having robot-like skating is strong in my mind and one might not go to them for the most engaging performances, but the fact remains that the ones getting the points are the Russian skaters. I can do whatever I want in exhibitions, but I think in competitions adding in more transitions and consistently getting points is important.”
Click to expand...

She does not hold back! Although let me play devil's advocate and note that some words may have been interpreted differently through the translation. Who knows, she may have been referencing other things. On another note, I hope she can find a way to not sacrifice her artistic growth and performance engagement to rack up points. I know her ultimate goal is to win, but it would be a shame if she wasn't getting points for what she's already putting out there (more of a critique on judging than Wakaba's skating)
 
yume said:
I Kinda agree. Mao skated to it. It was majestic.
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I do like Mao's Jupiter tribute alot, but it is more classical in undertaking like her best programs are (Or did she skate to this version?). I found this Japanese vocal powerful and majestic, and most importantly modern, which may suit Wakabond better.
 
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