Patrick Chan Parts Ways With Christy Krall | Page 10 | Golden Skate

Patrick Chan Parts Ways With Christy Krall

Poodlepal

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
"The scoring system demands skating smart more than clean and values little details more than holistic impacts. And he has been trained to do just that. ''I skated smart this week,'' Chan said at the Worlds, ''I made sure the little details added up and I still ended up on top.'' “I knew I just had to put out a good strong opening". Despite the botched Axel, and finishing behind his music, Chan wasn’t worried as he skated off the ice.''I knew when I got off the ice, I had won," Chan said. ''I felt like I had won anyway.''


That is exactly what people are complaining about. If couch potato fans want to watch skating, we want the winner to be one who skates perfectly and is holistically pleasing! A lot of complaints against Patrick winning "unfairly" are complaints against that system, more than Patrick himself, who is actually very intelligent.

Still, There's something wrong when a skater makes three major mistakes and knows he has won, especially when the guy in 2nd didn't fall or go off his music. I imagine that in a couple of years the sport will be flooded with Patrick style skaters who are rarely clean, don't particularly play to the audience, but have little details that only skaters and uber fans will notice. A vast difference between him and the other top skaters in terms of edges and speed is not seen on television. You can tell he's somewhat smoother, definitely. But it's not so dramatic that he should be unbeatable.

Patrick needs to do two things:
1. Somehow, find a coach that will help him skate clean. Nobody would boo him or complain about him if he was very consistent.

2. Be careful what he says to the press. I'm sorry he didn't get as famous as he thought he would when he won the world championship. I feel bad for all the non-Japanese skaters who aren't as well-known as they would've been in the 70s-90s. He's in the same boat as all of them, really. However, I don't think he should say that he's particularly unlucky because he's Chinese. The Linsanity of a couple of months ago showed that the general public is ready to embrace a male Asian superstar (some politically incorrect headlines and ice cream flavors notwithstanding.) Just in a different sport!
 

feraina

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
However, I don't think he should say that he's particularly unlucky because he's Chinese. The Linsanity of a couple of months ago showed that the general public is ready to embrace a male Asian superstar (some politically incorrect headlines and ice cream flavors notwithstanding.) Just in a different sport!

When did he say that?! Source?
I know he said that in the perfect world he wished he could compete for both Canada & China because it'd be easier on his family financially, and there's more love for FS in general in Asia. But when did he say that it's harder for him to get recognition in Canada given that he has Chinese heritage?
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
When did he say that?! Source?
I know he said that in the perfect world he wished he could compete for both Canada & China because it'd be easier on his family financially, and there's more love for FS in general in Asia. But when did he say that it's harder for him to get recognition in Canada given that he has Chinese heritage?

Even the statement on competing for both countries in an ideal world was prompted and framed by the question posed to him, not an expression of a real wish on his part. I don't think it even occurred to him to compete for China, but with the hypothetical proposal, his mind went to how his parents' financial burden would have been lessened.

He never relates the decrease of the popularity of figure skating in Canada to his race though there were a lot of racial slurs thrown at him as reactions.
 
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Joined
Aug 16, 2009
From the profile video interview:

Interviewer: Women love you!

True.

Patrick: Mmmmm....And I love them back.

True.

Patrick: Simple as that.

Not so true. Especially if these women, in his personal and professional lives, don't love each other.

Power struggle is very common among people close to a very successful person.

From what I can see, Patrick is going through an emotionally tough time. But it's his life path. There is no wrong or right but how he reacts to events and what he does with them that matter. If he stays the winner that he is, he will rise from difficult experiences and tests to be a better skater and a more mature person.

I wish him strength and positivity for his continued success.

Me, too. But if he's going to go through some sort of upheaval, now's the ideal time to do it. He has not one but two World golds. And it's two years until the Olympics. So if he can get things smoothed out now, he will have plenty of time to resume his climb. I speak as someone who admires him as a skater and as a committed athlete (though in a world with Daisuke, he can't be my top fave). I feel about him the way I felt about Slutskaya when she competed against my fave Kwan--I still said "wow" when Irina skated. Someone this good ought to be at his best. It's good for skating, and (I say this selfishly) it's good for North American skating.

But, SF, I wouldn't read too much into his coming in second in one competition. It's like Michelle and Irina; they seesawed back and forth (with occasional visits to the gold medal position by others) through their years of dominance. Or like D/W and V/M. All of these skaters are splendid, and many of them will turn out to be skaters for the ages. It's the end of the season. Everyone's wrung out. Even we fans are wrung out. Let them all start their new season, in a few months, we'll see what they bring us. I hope that for Patrick, these months include the best technical coach he can find.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
I certainly don't make much out of a very respectable second. In fact, I am very proud of how he has weathered this whole season, with one major disheartening event after another and being a target of so much negativity. I mentioned on the LP thread that the season after a WC win is usually very tough. Witness what Takahashi went through last season. Patrick has come through extremely well. He is battle weary now and I just hope he will be rejuvenated after a much needed rest and continue his amazing success.
 

skatinginbc

Medalist
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
"The scoring system demands skating smart more than clean and values little details more than holistic impacts. And he has been trained to do just that. ''I skated smart this week,'' Chan said at the Worlds, ''I made sure the little details added up and I still ended up on top.'' Despite the botched Axel, and finishing behind his music, Chan wasn’t worried as he skated off the ice.''I knew when I got off the ice, I had won," Chan said. ''I felt like I had won anyway.''
There are performances where the whole is greater than the sum of all parts. Examples include Daisuke's, Hanyu's and Suzuki's performances where all parts were entwined and enlivened with heart and soul.
There are performances where the whole is less than the sum of all parts. Patrick's recent performances including his winning performances at Worlds, in my opinion, unfortunately fell into this category. When you added up all parts, the points were clearly there but something was dreadfully missing, something essential to the sport but somehow overlooked in the scoring system. Yes, it was Heart and Soul that was missing in his performances. Heart and Soul! And so here comes the time for soul-searching, which is necessary and inevitable.

A fall in transition: -1
Level 4 Step Sequence: + 3.90
Quad toe triple toe: +14.40
A performance skated with heart and soul: Priceless
There are some things points cannot describe.
 
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Bluebonnet

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
There are performances where the whole is greater than the sum of all parts. Examples include Daisuke's, Hanyu's and Suzuki's performances where all parts were entwined and enlivened with heart and soul.
There are performances where the whole is less than the sum of all parts. Patrick's recent performances including his winning performances at Worlds, in my opinion, unfortunately fell into this category.

I somehow agree with this part. Even though by going through the details, there were some sloppiness here and there, if you see them as a whole (such as Takahashi's and Hanyu's programs), they were pretty good overall and intertaining.

Some programs can affort to be examed in details. The more you study on them, the more you'd find that there were hidden gems everywhere. But people might not find them in the first time. So the first impression often wasn't as good as the second impression. Patrick's skating is in this category.

When you added up all parts, the points were clearly there but something was dreadfully missing, something essential to the sport but somehow overlooked in the scoring system. Yes, it was Heart and Soul that was missing in his performances. Heart and Soul! And so here comes the time for soul-searching, which is necessary and inevitable.

I disagree with this. It's not accurate. Does Patrick's skating have heart and soul? Of course he has. You just couldn't see it because you're blinded by your prejudice. His performance wasn't push into your face kind. It is more subtle and laid back. He might be the best athlete in the current figure skating field but he is not the best artist in the world for sure.

Maybe the scoring system could add a category called overall impression - purely subjective.:)

ETA:

Question: What if the judges' overall impressions are different from the audiences'?
 
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evangeline

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Just posted this on the "fan thread", but thought it warranted being on this one too. Let the speculating begin :)

http://metronews.ca/sports/233813/chan-hopes-change-will-help-him-take-next-step/

Yay!! Two new programs for once! It is good for him to experiment before the Olympic season.

I think Patrick is likely to pick a relative unknown for his coach (like Christy Krall back in the day), but I'm crossing my fingers for a Jeffrey Buttle or Tom Dickson competition program.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Yay!! Two new programs for once! It is good for him to experiment before the Olympic season.

I think Patrick is likely to pick a relative unknown for his coach (like Christy Krall back in the day), but I'm crossing my fingers for a Jeffrey Buttle or Tom Dickson competition program.

This is promising indeed! I've never been a huge Patrick fan, but perhaps his new choreographer will do two programs that will change my mind. ;)
 
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