Japanese coaches and judges help Mao overcome URs of her 3A

[Bennett]

In Japanese
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20100129-00000005-sanspo-spo

When she goes back to Japan, her former coaches, judges, and other skating federation associates will get together at her Univ rink to help her overcome her UR problem.

Akiko's coach, Mr. Nagakubo, who also used to coach Shizuka Arakawa and Takeshi Honda, would not mind giving advice, either, if asked. It is quite unusual in the FS coaching norms to give advice to their pupil's rival. Mr. Nagakubo says, "She needs to rotate a quarter more to be considered as being in the 'gray zone'. But twenty days would be enough for her to fix the problem."

 

[miki88]

Finally, some people are will try to tackle the problem. So nice to hear all these people's cares and concerns about Mao so much. :agree:

 

[Layfan]

In Japanese
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20100129-00000005-sanspo-spo

When she goes back to Japan, her former coaches, judges, and other skating federation associates will get together at her Univ rink to help her overcome her UR problem.

Akiko's coach, Mr. Nagakubo, who also used to coach Shizuka Arakawa and Takeshi Honda, would not mind giving advice, either, if asked. It is quite unusual in the FS coaching norms to give advice to their pupil's rival. Mr. Nagakubo says, "She needs to rotate a quarter more to be considered as being in the 'gray zone'. But twenty days would be enough for her to fix the problem."

Is this realistic?

 

[miki88]

Is this realistic?

At least, she is finally having an actual coach to look at her jumps, instead of TAT's assistant or herself. Maybe it's too late for Olympics, but it's a good direction for the future.

 

[yunasashafan]

At least, she is finally having an actual coach to look at her jumps, instead of TAT's assistant or herself. Maybe it's too late for Olympics, but it's a good direction for the future.

Totally agree. I think the worst thing that happened to Mao was her long-distance coaching relationship with TT. Hopefully someone will be able to show her a way to quickly fix her under-rotation problem. However, I would also be concerned about "too many chefs in the kitchen" this late in the game.

Go Mao! Give Yuna a run for her money

 

[aftertherain]

Totally agree. I think the worst thing that happened to Mao was her long-distance coaching relationship with TT. Hopefully someone will be able to show her a way to quickly fix her under-rotation problem. However, I would also be concerned about "too many chefs in the kitchen" this late in the game.

Go Mao! Give Yuna a run for her money

After all, we want to see a battle, not a coronation.

 

[dlgpffps]

At least, she is finally having an actual coach to look at her jumps, instead of TAT's assistant or herself. Maybe it's too late for Olympics, but it's a good direction for the future.

I doubt the 20-day goal is realistic, but I agree with you that this bodes very well! I'm so happy that Mao is finally getting a coach for her jumps. What alarmed me was that someone in the 4CC thread included an interview with Mao, in which she said she didn't get why she was penalized for her 3A because she did it just as she had in practice. And a lot of people mentioned that her 3As in practice clips looked URed anyway. I doubt Mao would deliberately try to "cheat" her jumps -- it's just not in her -- but I wonder whether anyone's been telling her that her 3As are not in fact ideal.

I'm starting to doubt that assistant coach. I thought she focused on the technical aspects of skating, while TAT, the choreography, expression and all that. Is she a technical coach? What has she been doing this whole time?

 

[Layfan]

At least, she is finally having an actual coach to look at her jumps, instead of TAT's assistant or herself. Maybe it's too late for Olympics, but it's a good direction for the future.

I see. Just wondered if any of the skaters out there thought 20 days was enough time to correct a problem. But I guess it depends.

Well, Mao having a great skate is one of my great hopes for these Olympics. So I hope this goes well for her.

 

[miki88]

I doubt the 20-day goal is realistic, but I agree with you that this bodes very well! I'm so happy that Mao is finally getting a coach for her jumps. What alarmed me was that someone in the 4CC thread included an interview with Mao, in which she said she didn't get why she was penalized for her 3A because she did it just as she had in practice. And a lot of people mentioned that her 3As in practice clips looked URed anyway. I doubt Mao would deliberately try to "cheat" her jumps -- it's just not in her -- but I wonder whether anyone's been telling her that her 3As are not in fact ideal.

I'm starting to doubt that assistant coach. I thought she focused on the technical aspects of skating, while TAT, the choreography, expression and all that. Is she a technical coach? What has she been doing this whole time?

TAT assistant seems too inexperienced to me, and I don't think she is a technical coach expert.

 

[yunasashafan]

After all, we want to see a battle, not a coronation.

Exactly! and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's Yuna's preference too :agree:

 

[aftertherain]

Exactly! and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's Yuna's preference too :agree:

How so?

 

[Layfan]

How so?

I agree. I don't think she enjoys this "unbeatable Yuna" stuff. If she thought having a rival was pressure .... this is probably even worse.

 

[Figure88]

What alarmed me was that someone in the 4CC thread included an interview with Mao, in which she said she didn't get why she was penalized for her 3A because she did it just as she had in practice.

OMG. She said that?! You can obviously see from the 3A in her short program at 4CC, she takes off sideways rather than completely forward, so that's a deliberate pre-rotation right there.

 

[aftertherain]

OMG. She said that?! You can obviously see from the 3A in her short program at 4CC, she takes off sideways rather than completely forward, so that's a deliberate pre-rotation right there.

Can I see said "interview" before I say something?

 

[yunasashafan]

I agree. I don't think she enjoys this "unbeatable Yuna" stuff. If she thought having a rival was pressure .... this is probably even worse.

Yes, that's what I meant. All this hoopla about her being unbeatable and the expectations of a 200+ had to be too much. After TEB when some journalist tried to get her to comment on her rivals' subpar performances, she said it was early in the season and she expects them to be in top shape at the Olys.

Besides, I heard a story once that when Yuna beat Mao at 2006 JW, she said she would have been more excited about the win had Mao been at her best.

 

[Figure88]

Can I see said "interview" before I say something?

Uh, I'm not the one who read the interview..

 

[aftertherain]

I agree. I don't think she enjoys this "unbeatable Yuna" stuff. If she thought having a rival was pressure .... this is probably even worse.

Oh. I didn't think about it that way. Thanks for putting it into perspective. (Sorta.)

 

[miki88]

I think every athlete likes to have strong rivals because it's a chance to challenge and push one to display his or her full potential. Michelle always said her rivalries made her stronger. Maybe Yuna was making silly mistakes at the GPF because she was getting too bored out there.

 

[aftertherain]

Uh, I'm not the one who read the interview..

Yeah, I realized I quoted the wrong person. Hahaha. Too lazy to change it ...

 

[yunasashafan]

I think every athlete likes to have strong rivals because it's a chance to challenge and push one to display his or her full potential. Michelle always said her rivalries made her stronger. Maybe Yuna was making silly mistakes at the GPF because she was getting too bored out there.

:agree: