I must be very confused about what actually constitutes a mitf. With all the complaints about Michelle's programs being "empty" the past few years ... I have rewatched a number of programs from other skaters who were considered to have really well constructed programs ... and I'll be darned ... I just couldn't figure out in many cases where the mitf were in these programs. :scratch:
The exception IMO was Shizuka ... her programs did seem packed.
I think Dick Button has made comments that are misleading about what constitutes moves in the field (MIF). He typically says MIF are spread eagles and ina bauers etc. MIF are called such because they are all the turns and edges that were previously tested in figures, but done "in the field"-and FAST.
Moves tests do include spirals, but not 1/2 jumps or ina bauers or spread eagles, although all are considered "connecting moves" in the context of a program.
Well, the phrase is used differently in different contexts.
It's a lot easier for non-skaters to *see* a spread eagle or a split jump than a rocker or a choctaw, so I think a lot of fans operate on the belief that a skater who has more of the former has more "in-between" content in the program than a skater who has more of the latter. That's not necessarily true.