Men's Free Skate, Sat. 11/19 at 7:30 am EST | Page 7 | Golden Skate

Men's Free Skate, Sat. 11/19 at 7:30 am EST

rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
Not Chan's best skate ever, but I love this program and can't wait to see it performed more cleanly.

Wow. Now that was a meltdown from Oda. One of the worst I've ever seen. Poor guy.

Nan Song has a bright future if he can continue to improve.

It's too bad that Kevin Reynolds had to withdraw, but, honestly, I wasn't expecting much anyway. The only thing that used to save him was that he could consistently spin very, very quickly in the air, and thus complete the difficult jumps. But as soon as the jumps start to go wrong, you can see the inherent weaknesses in his basic skills. I find this to be a consistent problem with most of Joanne McLeod's skaters. Think Mira Leung. They are concentrated on the tricks, and it takes them to a certain level, but the fundamentals are never addressed to give them the basis to make it right to the top. I think skaters like Mira and Reynolds are examples of why it would pay in the end to lose placements for a season or two and go right back to rework basic technique.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Eman Sandhu has artistry galore under Mcleod.

Kevin improved his skating and artisty greatly a season ago. Loved his ex program Somewhere Over The Rainbow. But last season was terrible for him, due to some hip injury to my knowledge, and his breakdown continues. It's heartbreaking.

I hope J10 bounces back from his injuries and picks up his skills. He has a very nice style.
 

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be
Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Country
France
Silver is enough for Song because of the second tie breaker. He goes to GPF.

Not necessarily. If Hanyu is 1st at Cup of Russia, Fernandez is 2nd (or 3rd with a higher tiebreaker score), and Abbott is at least 4th, Song does not go to the GPF.
 

nadster

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Eman Sandhu has artistry galore under Mcleod.

Kevin improved his skating and artisty greatly a season ago. Loved his ex program Somewhere Over The Rainbow. But last season was terrible for him, due to some hip injury to my knowledge, and his breakdown continues. It's heartbreaking.

I hope J10 bounces back from his injuries and picks up his skills. He has a very nice style.

It's too bad that Kevin Reynolds had to withdraw, but, honestly, I wasn't expecting much anyway. The only thing that used to save him was that he could consistently spin very, very quickly in the air, and thus complete the difficult jumps. But as soon as the jumps start to go wrong, you can see the inherent weaknesses in his basic skills. I find this to be a consistent problem with most of Joanne McLeod's skaters. Think Mira Leung. They are concentrated on the tricks, and it takes them to a certain level, but the fundamentals are never addressed to give them the basis to make it right to the top. I think skaters like Mira and Reynolds are examples of why it would pay in the end to lose placements for a season or two and go right back to rework basic technique.

I quite agree with rain on this issue. I don't think that rain is talking artistry per se but basic skating skills and technique. The axel technique of many of Mcleod's students is greatly flawed as so many of them stalk their axel. I also note many of her students have poor ice coverage overall.

Sandhu had great musicality and lines ( mainly due to his ballet training before taking up skating ) but even he was slower across the ice than many other top men. Even Kurt Browning said that Sandhu had a technical problem with the axel which caused his inconsistency with the jump.

Thanks to working with Shae-Lynn Bourne , Kevin has better choreographed programs hence his improved artistry. But artistry can't be fully realised without strong basic skating skills and technique.

I hope that Nyugen Nam leaves Joanne. Otherwise he too could be doomed to a future like Kevin.

J10 thankfully works a lot with Kraatz on his skating skills. But Kraatz can't fix his jumps and J10 suffers from the bad Mcleod technique on jumps.
 

rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
I quite agree with rain on this issue. I don't think that rain is talking artistry per se but basic skating skills and technique. The axel technique of many of Mcleod's students is greatly flawed as so many of them stalk their axel. I also note many of her students have poor ice coverage overall.

Sandhu had great musicality and lines ( mainly due to his ballet training before taking up skating ) but even he was slower across the ice than many other top men.

Yes, this is exactly what I meant. I was talking about the basic speed and flow across the ice and the poor jump technique that seems to dog her students at a certain point in their careers.

It's doubly sad because her students do tend to have great competitive spirit and mindset, as well as great work ethic and desire to get to the top. They are just allowed to continue with destructive habits that eventually prevent them from getting there.

Sandhu (and I was a fan and always hoped he'd get it together) was slow compared to the top guys, especially now. I think under COP as it is now he would find this to be a roadblock to success.
 

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Patrick Chan: Man, he was off. Like really really off. Even though he only fell once, I actually preferred what he did at the Japan Open (where he fell three times). Shrug. It’s still an amazing program and I suspect in a few years, it’ll be seen as Chan’s key program. What he’s trying to do here is amazing – I really hope he nails it this season. To be honest, I don’t even think he fought for it all that much either, nor have I seen his skating look so laboured. But those quads were just terrific

Nan Song: Really unexciting, but I’m sure if I watched this live with all the other programs, I’d be happier. Choreographically/performance wise, I preferred his short program. Nice to see someone just go for it, though.

Michal Brezina: No quad? Wierd. I really thought he’d just go for it here. Now that he’s assured a spot in the GPF (only two skaters are ahead of him, and only two more can beat him), I really hope he just goes for it at CoR. But again, where’s the attack. It really only comes alive during the step sequences.

Adam Rippon: The first half of this program is right up there with Jonathan Livingston Seagull as the best thing Adam’s ever skated to. The second half brings it down and he really doesn’t quite get the climax he’s clearly aiming for, but that’s okay. That said, his costume really does remind me of Matt Savoie circa 2005/06 and he’s not there yet.

Florent Amodio: I hope Brian Joubert is better in time for Euros/World, because he has better programs and I don’t think I could abide Amodio being the top man. He’s a natural showman compete at home, and the applause was VERY muted. Also, what’s wrong with his conditioning this year. He’s clearly exhausted before he even gets to his footwork.

Nobunari Oda: Stopped watching after the fall. But what I saw was a poorly constructed program terribly skated.

Didn’t bother with the rest.
 

emma

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Just watched Rippon, Song and Chan. So Congrats to Song...wow, he has sooooo soooo much potential, and I really hope he can keep on growing and building on this GP season.

Rippon - I'm so, over the moon, struck by these two programs short and long. They are both perfect vehicles for him. In both cases the music builds and he seems so connected to it. I think there is still room to "skate up" to this music; but I was riveted by both programs. I do not recall ever seeing him appear so honestly happy and joyful on ice (at least in recent years); and I love his fluid, balletic like grace on ice. But there is something else going on with these programs that I never noticed in him - a certain kind of body movement that is more than just "ballet" and i"m not sure what the word is I'm looking for.

I am beyond impressed with chan. As I said last night, he really does look ill to me and I hope he is not or that he recovers quickly. And he did make mistakes - mistakes that if just anybody else the program would have been ruined; not only is he literally an amazing skater, he is also clearly to me an amazing competitor because even after each mistake he just kept delivering good stuff and stayed in that performance. I am beyond impressed. I, as a fan, do hope to see this clean...but my hat is really off to him.
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I really enjoy both Adam's short and long too. It's been awhile since that has happened.

All I can say is wow Oda.:eek:
 
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Ilvskating

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Certainly looks like an unusual number of skaters are not themselves. One I can see, but Chan and Oda off, Reynolds withdrawing from stomach troubles...Napoleon's Revenge? Bad escargot last night? Maybe Nan Song stuck with the Chinese food and escaped the malady.

I hope whatever is ailing the Men, doesn't carry over to the other skaters in the other disciplines. :eek:

It is quite possible. Many Chinese skaters bring instant noodles with them as they are not used to western food. For Song, as he has not been abroad often enough, it is more likely that he stuck with instant noodles.
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
first post and first of all, lol

definitely not Patrick's best and was a bit off
but still congrats for winning Gold :)
 

sorcerer

Final Flight
Joined
May 1, 2007
A bit late but anyways. Oda says his knee hurt bad, which was already injured this summer, when he went for the 3 toe, and he got conscious of the injury all the rest of the program.
http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/111119/spm1111192323010-n1.htm

I don't think his injury will heal so soon. He might miss the next Worlds, since Hanyu will be more than a threat at Japanese Nats.

ETA: I lost track of when it was that he got injured his knee, but even back then I felt it was something serious reading his tweets to Akiko and Miki.
 
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skatinginbc

Medalist
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Oda has the softest, most admirable knees in the business. Injuring his knee is like a pianist without fingers or an arrow without the pointed head. I fear the possibility of a career-ending story.:cry::cry:
 

Okami

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 5, 2006
Another update on Nobunari: http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/winte...tml?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Nobunari says he will have his knee checked by a doctor after returning to Japan. There's a possibility that he might withdraw from Japanese Nationals. :(


Oda has the softest, most admirable knees in the business. Injuring his knee is like a pianist without fingers or an arrow without the pointed head. I fear the possibility of a career-ending story.:cry::cry:

If it's any consolation, it's Nobunari's left knee (not the landing one) that is injured; so the most problematic for him are the take-offs that put a lot of pressure on the left leg. He still plans to aim for Sochi.
I hope the injury isn't a career-ending one. He recovered his jumps pretty quickly after the surgery and seemed OK (for that stage of recovery) at CoC. I think he started practising quads a bit too soon, which aggravated the injury. I hope a proper rest will let him recover completely.
 

sorcerer

Final Flight
Joined
May 1, 2007
I don't think it was a good doctor who let him compete these GPs.
He better get the doc who did a great job to Dai's severe knee injury.
(Don't tell me it's the same doc ...)

Anyway, Nobu can and must make a good comeback next time.
No time for crying.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Oh, ack! I am very distressed to hear about Oda's knee. He's such a splendid skater, and it's dreadful to think of him having to bow out. I take hope from the fact that Daisuke has managed to come back after what sounds like an even worse injury. The Japanese men are so amazing. We can't spare a single one of them.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
I posted a thread about Oda's knee injury back in May that received no attention. I believed the report that it wasn't so serious, requiring just rest to heal. Until now there have not been any follow up news in languages I know, so this is very disturbing though not shocking.

I didn't get to watch the K&C but my read of Oda's expression after the LP was, understandably, dispappointment and distress, not illness. I figured the only secret emotional turmoil to equal that which caused his Worlds 2010 meltdown would be if he had a mistress pregnant this time! Thus physical reason explains well what happened.

It would be the most unacceptable fate for the best knee in the business to suffer permenant damage and to have arguably the best jumper to lose the cooperation of his knee. I hope for and reasonably believe in his speedy and full recovery.
 
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