Mao's goals for the next season

[Bennett]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwDm0TL2j5knROyFGyoAH6pDAtMQ

"I think I can continue to improve a lot more ahead of Vancouver by making jumps with higher quality, accelerating the speed of my spins and being more expressive,"

Nice goals. I am glad that she didn't say that she would work on a "quad".

In other more detailed reports, it seems that she also said that she would work on her flutz and her artistry including facial expressions.

Younger skaters would help her enhance her motivation when she thinks of them as she practices. She would like to show a different aspect of her self in a new program.

I also personally hope that she would bring her Sal back.

 

[Tinymavy15]

I hope mao does not fall into the same metal trap that so many other reigning world champions do after they win. motivational problems... injuries... just lack of confidence and the frantic feeling of defending all the time.

She needs to go back to terosova in the summer for chreography. they worked magic last season. She needs to keep her 3 axel and no, don't start thinking about a quad. It is not worth it, you don't need it. Focus on making two beuatiful, emotional programs that you can skate clean.

 

[gio]

I agree she doesn't need a quad! My suggestion to her is to keep the 3A, fix that flutz, bring back the 3S, improve the 3T.
Work more on versatility, choosing a different SP, as Caroline Zhang did this year.
Mao has to improve in interpretation as well IMO.

 

[feraina]

I think besides working on the 3T, 3S, and 3A, Mao needs to work on her money jump combo: 3F-3R. She's had it downgraded at both 4CC and WC, and they hurt her a lot. Maybe she was so confident about this jump combination that she neglected it a little bit? And figured that at 4CC the downgrade was a fluke due to an overly strict caller? But now that she's had it downgraded two competitions in a row, I hope she'll pay a little more attention to it. It hurts her more than a negative GOE on the 3T or using a 2A instead of the 3S!

I also hope that she can work on her choreography a little. I think she has absolutely amazing skating skills, and her footwork sequences are stunning, but I still feel like her arm and upper-body movements are a little too frenetic through softer, more lyrical parts of her music (though it gets a lot better in her exhibition program). It makes her look like she's not being musical, but in fact I think she's trying a little too hard. When she's skating to rich music, like the beginning part of the Chopin impromptu, she tries to hit every note of every phrase, and it looks far too busy. Part of it is maybe that she has too good of skating skills, so she CAN actually hit every note, whereas many other skaters wouldn't be able to without tripping over. But she should learn to emphasize certain musical highlights and let go of others, and I think that would enhance her overall musical expression!

In any case, I'm already looking forward to her program for next year. Such a long, long off-season ahead.

 

[Spun Silver]

For me Mao is perfection so I just look forward to her ripening as she gets older. At some point I'd love to see her skate to darker, more intense music. So far she has stuck to very light pieces (or edits of pieces) that suit her weightless style, but she will probably be getting a bit curvier and heavier and some more passionate or muscular music would be appropriate. I don't have anything specific to suggest, though.

 

[Bennett]

I also hope that she can work on her choreography a little. I think she has absolutely amazing skating skills, and her footwork sequences are stunning, but I still feel like her arm and upper-body movements are a little too frenetic through softer, more lyrical parts of her music (though it gets a lot better in her exhibition program). It makes her look like she's not being musical, but in fact I think she's trying a little too hard. When she's skating to rich music, like the beginning part of the Chopin impromptu, she tries to hit every note of every phrase, and it looks far too busy. Part of it is maybe that she has too good of skating skills, so she CAN actually hit every note, whereas many other skaters wouldn't be able to without tripping over. But she should learn to emphasize certain musical highlights and let go of others, and I think that would enhance her overall musical expression!

In any case, I'm already looking forward to her program for next year. Such a long, long off-season ahead.

Yeah, I agree that she still has a room to improve in her arm and upper body movements and that she looks sometimes too busy to breathe. I think that Jeff and Yukina Ota use moments of silence very effectively. They are also great at using the head. I also think that Mao's wrists are sometimes a bit ackward whereas Yukina uses her hands and fingers so beautifully. But I really loved her steps both in SP and LP, especially the lightness, curves, and flow in LP steps. They were absolutely beautiful.

Perhaps the ballet teacher and Tarasova would help her this summer again.

Me too, I can't wait for the next season!

 

[Tinymavy15]

For me Mao is perfection so I just look forward to her ripening as she gets older. At some point I'd love to see her skate to darker, more intense music. So far she has stuck to very light pieces (or edits of pieces) that suit her weightless style, but she will probably be getting a bit curvier and heavier and some more passionate or muscular music would be appropriate. I don't have anything specific to suggest, though.

I agree that the light music suits her very well for now... she seems to choose music that suits her style. I cannot suggest really anything either. I would never have selected this year's LP and it turns out to be a masterpiece.

 

[Bennett]

Her SP already sounded pretty heavy to me. It was violin instead of piano and the melody was deep, dramatic, and a bit sad. I still like to see her skate to cheerful music because watching Mao nervously skating to the sad SP music was nerve breaking. But she may prefer mature pieces as she is going to be 18. She says that she wants to show a different aspect of her in a new program so she may try something more mature and more challenging.

 

[Bennett]

I think besides working on the 3T, 3S, and 3A, Mao needs to work on her money jump combo: 3F-3R. She's had it downgraded at both 4CC and WC, and they hurt her a lot. Maybe she was so confident about this jump combination that she neglected it a little bit? And figured that at 4CC the downgrade was a fluke due to an overly strict caller? But now that she's had it downgraded two competitions in a row, I hope she'll pay a little more attention to it. It hurts her more than a negative GOE on the 3T or using a 2A instead of the 3S!

Oh no, I don't think she neglected it. On the contrary, it has been the biggest obstacle for her. You would perhaps remember how much trouble she has had merely to land it since the last Worlds. She was also downgraded at least once or twice during GP series even when she landed it. Especially in her SP, she has already failed 6 times out of 8 attempts since the last worlds (previous Worlds, Japan vs US, SC, France, GPF, 4CC).

Apart from trouble with landing, do you think that she used to underrotate but just had not been called before this season? Or did she actually start to underrotate this season?

 

[Ms.Anthrope]

Apart from trouble with landing, do you think that she used to underrotate but just had not been called before this season? Or did she actually start to underrotate this season?

I think she URed 3F-3R last year but UR wasn't called last year. Just like how her flutz was never called until this year. She's just one of many ladies whose jumps were never called for flutzing or under-rotating. However, I do think that the loop jump has much higher chance of getting UR call when it is done as a triple-triple combo.

 

[Tinymavy15]

Her SP already sounded pretty heavy to me. It was violin instead of piano and the melody was deep, dramatic, and a bit sad. I still like to see her skate to cheerful music because watching Mao nervously skating to the sad SP music was nerve breaking. But she may prefer mature pieces as she is going to be 18. She says that she wants to show a different aspect of her in a new program so she may try something more mature and more challenging.

I agree that fantasy for violin and orchestra was not 'light' or gentle. When I first heard it it made me cry. it is a beautiful composition, and very grown-up, yet i think it suited her very well. especially at worlds, she really came alive and interpreted the music all the way through. I agree with peggy that the footwork was absolutely genius and part of me want her to keep that program... just for the footwork.

 

[feraina]

You would perhaps remember how much trouble she has had merely to land it since the last Worlds. She was also downgraded at least once or twice during GP series even when she landed it. Especially in her SP, she has already failed 6 times out of 8 attempts since the last worlds (previous Worlds, Japan vs US, SC, France, GPF, 4CC).

That's true, she's had a lot of trouble with that jump combo, but it seemed like more of a mental problem in the SP for a long time, as she was landing it fine in the LP.

I think her UR is a combination of the stricter calling and her jumps being less high than before (well, she's grown a lot in the last two years!). While her jumps are not really "small" compared to most of the other senior skaters, they no longer give me the feeling of "wow" for how big they are -- the size of her jumps used to really amaze me when she was younger. I think because she's had a natural spring in her jumps for most of her skating career, she's not used to having to pull in especially tight, or being really careful with the landings, in order to get full rotations. Maybe that's something she should work on now, because I don't think she will ever quite get back the height that she used to have. At least her incidental double-footing seems to be getting better. Again, I think because she used to have so much height, she never had to worry about her free leg, and now she has to pay attention in order not to brush the ice on landing.

I agree that her SP this year was a more serious/passionate/mature than what she had been skating to more typically. In fact, the first time I saw her skating to it, I had doubts whether she could rise to the challenge -- it seemed the kind of music that Yuna would more naturally be able to express. But eventually Mao really sold me on the SP. I think she makes it look stunning.

 

[ChrisH]

... her jumps being less high than before (well, she's grown a lot in the last two years!). While her jumps are not really "small" compared to most of the other senior skaters, they no longer give me the feeling of "wow" for how big they are -- the size of her jumps used to really amaze me when she was younger.

I don't think it's a size thing. She looked thin at 4CC and at Worlds. Perhaps it is age related, as she can't recover from injuries as easily and so she doesn't risk as much. Her 3A at 4CC was higher than any of the ladies jumps I saw at Worlds. But then Mao fell before doing her 3A (so of course there was no height) at Worlds and she injured her hip a bit.

Mao could reduce the pre-rotation on all of her jumps, although she is better than most of the ladies in that regard. Gradually reducing the pre-rotation on her lutz could fix her flutzing problem. Of course with her 3Lo and 3T combos, she shouldn't be reducing the pre-rotation until the landings are better rotated.

As for Mao's artistry, I think like with Caroline, she was better at the beginning of the season and lost some focus there due to the under-rotation and flutz calls.

Mao's spins are already of high quality. Maybe she's thinking that increasing the speed of her spins will improve her levels.

 

[Bennett]

I don't think it's a size thing. She looked thin at 4CC and at Worlds. Perhaps it is age related, as she can't recover from injuries as easily and so she doesn't risk as much. Her 3A at 4CC was higher than any of the ladies jumps I saw at Worlds. But then Mao fell before doing her 3A (so of course there was no height) at Worlds and she injured her hip a bit.

Mao could reduce the pre-rotation on all of her jumps, although she is better than most of the ladies in that regard. Gradually reducing the pre-rotation on her lutz could fix her flutzing problem. Of course with her 3Lo and 3T combos, she shouldn't be reducing the pre-rotation until the landings are better rotated.

As for Mao's artistry, I think like with Caroline, she was better at the beginning of the season and lost some focus there due to the under-rotation and flutz calls.

Mao's spins are already of high quality. Maybe she's thinking that increasing the speed of her spins will improve her levels.

I agree that her 4CC jumps were huge.

I also agree about her being better at artistry at the beginning of the season.

I think that her LP was the best at SC where she didn't try 3A. It had really a lot of subtle nuances and gentleness. She breathed so beautifully with the music in that performance.

The thing is that she needed to drop some of the choreos to increase the time for spins. She also might have become a bit mechanic in expressing the music around GPF. This happened last season with Chopin Nocturne. I liked her Nocturne the best at Skate America.

I suppose that her LP at Worlds would have been better than her GPF, Japanese Nationals, or 4CC because she changed the ordering of the elements at the last part. She finished by spins instead of 2A which gave her more time to do both elements better. But she fell severely in the beginng of the program. So no comparison can be made. She says that she wants to try her LP again at Japan Open in Apr. It would be cool if she has a clean performance there.

But I think that her SP was better at Worlds than at previous competitions. Her steps became better and better towards the end of the season. Although she also had a very nice performance at Nationas, her costume at Worlds suited the program better because it was more mature, more sophisticated, and less girlish.

 

[summervie]

Oh no, I don't think she neglected it. On the contrary, it has been the biggest obstacle for her. You would perhaps remember how much trouble she has had merely to land it since the last Worlds. She was also downgraded at least once or twice during GP series even when she landed it. Especially in her SP, she has already failed 6 times out of 8 attempts since the last worlds (previous Worlds, Japan vs US, SC, France, GPF, 4CC).
Apart from trouble with landing, do you think that she used to underrotate but just had not been called before this season? Or did she actually start to underrotate this season?

At the GPF commentary Tarasova said that during trainings Mao does 3flip-3loop combo ten times out of ten. So she supposed the problem was more on a mental level than on a technical.

 

[myasada]

At the GPF commentary Tarasova said that during trainings Mao does 3flip-3loop combo ten times out of ten. So she supposed the problem was more on a mental level than on a technical.

But Mao didn't seemed to have mental problem at 4CC and at Worlds.

 

[Bennett]

Yeah, Mao looked most relaxed at 4CC. But I thought she had that specutacular fall at Worlds because of nerves. After the fall, she was injured, too, although she was too focused to feel pain.

 

[feraina]

As for Mao's artistry, I think like with Caroline, she was better at the beginning of the season and lost some focus there due to the under-rotation and flutz calls.

I think for these girls, after having trained and competed with the same programs all season, they know the choreography so well by heart at the end of the season, that their execution becomes more habitual/mechanical.

 

[Bennett]

I think for these girls, after having trained and competed with the same programs all season, they know the choreography so well by heart at the end of the season, that their execution becomes more habitual/mechanical.

Yeah, perhaps true. But they could become better in expressions because the movements would become smoother without thinking. Somehow, perhaps their consciousness declines after they got so used to it? I heard Peggy commentating at last year's Worlds that Yuna became better when the audience was present whereas she tended to have less expressions at practices. I think it a lot to do with consciousness.

I am happy to hear that Mao is going to work on artistry including facial expressions. It is not that I am a fan of facial expressions. I prefer not seeing all the dramas going on in the face. But Mao tended to look a bit painful (?) in pictures; like the facial expressions of an athlete who was doing hard to her full potential, whereas I like dancers looking cool and pleasant as if saying "This is just a piece of cake" and being photogenic. Attending facial expressions a bit more would be a good thing. But I hope that she wouldn't overdo it. Her facial expressions in galas are naturally pleasant and charming and it would be nice if she could do so in competitions, too.

 

[rtureck]

She needs to find a good coach, fix the flutz, and possibly the under rotated 3l (as a second jump). I hope she will get a salchow also.