Mao Asada | Page 182 | Golden Skate

Mao Asada

Yo1

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 29, 2014
http://youtu.be/L18b3UQQ49I
A flamenco performance to the music. I see many arm movements which may have inspired or informed the choreography. I am so in love with Mao's performance, especially the short, and applaud her drive to evolve as an artist. Brava!


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yhmafan

Medalist
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Has this news already been shared somewhere?
http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/1722021.html

Coach Sato has returned to Japan. He says that Mao injured her left knee last season and it is still giving her pain.
Mao has gone straight to Canada from Finland to brush up on her choreo with Lori. Coach Sato says that she probably won’t be upgrading to a 3A at her next competition either because anything more than a 2A is too much of a burden for her and that they are taking it slowly.

I hope she heals completely before going for the 3A :(

I have been worried about Mao tends to do over-trained :(

She said after the competition that she still has to do many things. She would need to practice more and more and takes advantage of the failure and then going to step forward.
She hopes she will come to make her performances in her top form (condition) as soon as possible.


I hope even if Mao knows herself than anyone else, will consider her recovery the first and would keep “Mao-pace” as not going to rush into practice.
 
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Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION 🔥
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Country
United-States
She said after the competition that she still has to do many things. She would need to practice more and more and takes advantage of the failure and then going to step forward.
She hopes she will come to make her performances in her top form (condition) as soon as possible.

It makes sense to only continue with the 2A instead of the 3A if her condition is not 100% still. It must be so difficult for them though. I'm sure she wants to try to be in top form for Skate America, but part of that would be her practice of the 3A. I just don't want her to be injured when it's time for the competition. If it means doing a 2A, then so be it!

On a happier note, I really enjoyed seeing both of her programs. I love the fire that both programs have, and both costumes are terrific, especially the red!
 

largeman

choice beef
Medalist
Joined
Mar 15, 2014
I can't wait to see what magic touches she and Lori add to the programs. I also hope she stays in North America for training until Skate America, and not fly back to Japan in between! Then she'll have gotten the time zone adjustment out of the way by competition time.
 

roma

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
I just took a look at Mao's scores in the FS again and even if her base TES was low she got a lil over 8pts in GOEs even with level 3s in non-jump elements. That's not bad considering others got less than their base points in total TES. Kaetlyn only got like 3.5 GOE points which is the next highest in the top 10. Mao usually does not get a lot of GOE points compared to other top skaters but if she can maintain relatively clean skates then this might improve. If she can do the same plus the 3F+2L+2L or even just a 3F and up the level on her steps in SA then we can assume she'd at least break 130 and hopefully get an improved PCS also. That won't be so bad considering her current condition. So long as she skates clean she can still be in contention for a medal.
 

daphenaxa

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 17, 2015
I just took a look at Mao's scores in the FS again and even if her base TES was low she got a lil over 8pts in GOEs even with level 3s in non-jump elements. That's not bad considering others got less than their base points in total TES. Kaetlyn only got like 3.5 GOE points which is the next highest in the top 10. Mao usually does not get a lot of GOE points compared to other top skaters but if she can maintain relatively clean skates then this might improve. If she can do the same plus the 3F+2L+2L or even just a 3F and up the level on her steps in SA then we can assume she'd at least break 130 and hopefully get an improved PCS also. That won't be so bad considering her current condition. So long as she skates clean she can still be in contention for a medal.

Her GOEs are still always pretty low :( she gets mainly +1s even if her elements are of great quality like the 2A here, or the 3F2L or 3S. The only elements where she get really high GOEs are her step and choreo sequence. I never understood why her GOE's are so low.
 

gotoschool

Medalist
Joined
Mar 5, 2014

Ares

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 22, 2016
Country
Poland
Has this news already been shared somewhere?
http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/1722021.html

Coach Sato has returned to Japan. He says that Mao injured her left knee last season and it is still giving her pain.
Mao has gone straight to Canada from Finland to brush up on her choreo with Lori. Coach Sato says that she probably won’t be upgrading to a 3A at her next competition either because anything more than a 2A is too much of a burden for her and that they are taking it slowly.

I hope she heals completely before going for the 3A :(

I am amateur in this stuff but ... does Mao work with physiotherapists on regular basis? I think some work after and before training sessions could help here to relieve tension. Kinesio tapes are great invention too and help to sharpen muscle function.
 
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mikaboo

Medalist
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
I am amateur in this stuff but ... does Mao work with physiotherapists on regular basis? I think some work after and before training sessions could help here to relieve tension. Kinesio tapes are great invention too and help to sharpen muscle function.

I’ve no idea but I imagine that she does. It’s hard to think that she’s been doing the 3A all these years without any help from a physiotherapist or something similar. Just my guess though.
 

gotoschool

Medalist
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
I don't know if it has been mentioned before but Mao did not practice spins during her practice for the freeskate at Finlandia Trophy and I heard somewhere that she was holding her back the day before. So, I think it is highly possible that Mao's back and knee are bothering her. I must admit that I, along with many others who have commented, feel that Mao is underscored for what she puts on the ice, though of course her injuries and the bone chilling cold in the arena on the night of the freekskate probably caused her jumps to suffer a bit, but every other ladies skater struggled with jumps and almost everyone more than Mao except for Katelyn. After comparing tech calls, Mao's low PCS scores and the huge amount of praise for her performances at Finlandia and being in the arena that night, I definitely think Mao should have won the competition. I admire Mao's commitment to continue striving to give great and innovative programs in artistry and step sequences and to perform them with such passion and commitment even when she likely has two injuries and even after achieving so much. Even though I feel her performances are undervalued by the judges, they are greatly adored by many fans including me. I certainly hope Mao is able to recovery quickly and I hope Mao will know that by far her biggest audience is the public, so many of whom love her performances. and that the big praise she received from debuting her two performances would bring a smile to her face and satisfaction.

Mao's performances remind me that the greatest gifts in life are often not rewarded the highest prize.

The praise and view counts are huge for videos coming from the first few competitions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qZ9aX5Xbxg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmJ-BOrzgr8

Mao's freeskate performance was expressive, mature and so alluring with fleet staccato footwork full of finesse, twirling pirouettes, beguiling expressions and sinuous movements that enticed and cast a spell with its resemblance to classical snake charming music. The effect of the deep red dress on Mao is fiery and sensuous and totally gorgeous. This is a skating display full of consummate femininity with a lyrical interlude that adds a hint of innocence. According to the The Skating Lesson, Mao said this about her short and long program performances in translation. "In the short program, my costume is black, and I express a black swan that turns into a mysterious lady with magical power, a witch. In the long, the lady does a passionate dance, very intense and feminine, wearing a red costume. I want to express a mature lady, something I couldn't do in the past and something the younger skaters cannot do."
 
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yhmafan

Medalist
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
I’ve no idea but I imagine that she does. It’s hard to think that she’s been doing the 3A all these years without any help from a physiotherapist or something similar. Just my guess though.

I have seen the videos that Mao was training at Weider training Lab, with her supporting trainers and it was from around the years 2008-2009 or so.
But don’t know about her current situation :think:
 
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largeman

choice beef
Medalist
Joined
Mar 15, 2014
I don't know if it has been mentioned before but Mao did not practice spins during her practice for the freeskate at Finlandia Trophy and I heard somewhere that she was holding her back the day before. So, I think it is highly possible that Mao's back and knee are bothering her.

Thanks for this tidbit. I suspect this was the case too, because the spins in both the SP and FS were not up to Mao's usual quality... Just compare the FCSp or the biellmann with the ones from the World Championships back in March, you can see she had some struggles this time with the positions and ended up losing levels, which seldom happens with Mao.

I just hope Mao does what's best for her long term physical condition and does not stretch herself (so to speak ;) ), take her time to recover and just treat these GPs as rehearsals for nationals in December.
 
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