Mao Asada | Page 68 | Golden Skate

Mao Asada

dna5019

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 5, 2014
:shocked::shocked::shocked:
Oh my...I don't want to get my hopes up just yet, but if it's true, YAAAAY!!! :biggrin: I'm so ready to see her lovely face again! :cheer:
 

gotoschool

Medalist
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
rosewood posted a translation of a song by Ayumi Hamasaki which was posted on another thread by mathman and played on Mao's last radio show. I am sure she will be full of as much or more anxious anticipation as we will be until she finally reveals her decision. If I had to predict, I think the lines of the song indicate that she will continue.


*No one tells you the answer
If there is any answer,
you've got it already
If you've decided you'll go through with it at any cost,
it's time to keep your face up*



There isn't any answer, anywhere,
But this moment will not come again These lines echoes the advice of Midori in the interview again translated by rosewood, "But there are things which can be done now." and Mao's response, : I learned things which can be done only now are things to be done,"


Taking all these quotes together and the fact that she is back working with Sato-Sensei makes me think she will continue..Not to mention her hero, Midori, made a comeback and Mao has always fought to keep the flame of her memory burning in competition. If Mao does return, I just hope people will separate the scores from the performances because figure skating is so much more than breaking out the tape measure for jump height (which Mao has the most of on her triple axel anyway), examining minute hooks on the ice which may or may not be present, or taking one group of judges as the ultimate truth. There is a vision of perfection that Mao brings to her performances which transcends the scoring system and makes numerical assessment seem base. Mao is not a strategist but an idealist who is able at moments to embody her ideal in a symphony of synchronized motion, which freezes time.

I may be wrong about her coming back, but I just wanted to say what I thought.
 
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yhmafan

Medalist
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Taking all these quotes together and the fact that she is back working with Sato-Sensei makes me think she will continue..Not to mention her hero, Midori, made a comeback and Mao has always fought to keep the flame of her memory burning in competition. If Mao does return, I just hope people will separate the scores from the performances because figure skating is so much more than breaking out the tape measure for jump height (which Mao has the most of on her triple axel anyway), examining minute hooks on the ice which may or may not be present, or taking one group of judges as the ultimate truth. There is a vision of perfection that Mao brings to her performances which transcends the scoring system and makes numerical assessment seem base. Mao is not a strategist but an idealist who is able at moments to embody her ideal in a symphony of synchronized motion, which freezes time.

Yes, My eyes are very very pleased with her spins, spirals, stpsq, jumps, Everything her movements on the ice than the actual scores she generally got (it’s based on compare with others).

I think/hope that if she decides to make it, she and people around her will becoming more strategic than ever. ;)
 
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yhmafan

Medalist
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Full translation:

It has been a long time since I last wrote.

In order to come back to competition as an athlete, I went in March (to Sato Nobuo) to ask him to be my coach, and began practice from May with my coach.

During my time off, I began to feel that I could still do it, and I naturally came to long for the sense of accomplishment and joy that I felt when I accomplished my best performance in competition. My coach has been telling me that if all goes well, I may be able to participate in competitions, and if it doesn’t go well, then I may not be able to participate in competition.

Right now, having just begun my journey, I cannot positively declare that I will participate in competition. If I regain my form to the point where I can participate in competition, I will seek counsel from my coach, after which a decision will be reached, and then I hope to personally relay the news to you, so I ask you to please wait until such time arrives.

I want to go as far as I can go on this challenge, so I ask for your continued support.

So that I may make a full comeback, I hope to practice every day harboring hope for my own self.

Please be aware that today’s press conference is actually a conference about The ICE.

Asada Mao

According to tweets from Mao's conference,

1) she will go to Canada to have her program(s) choreographed
2) she will only return to competition after she has regained the level that she was at at World 2014, at the very least
3) she doesn't know when her comeback competition will be
4) she may skate her short program at THE ICE
5) right now, can't think as far ahead as Olympics

Thanks hurrah for the translations :yay:

Wishing Mao the best of luck in her new start. :cheer2:
 
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gotoschool

Medalist
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Thanks for posting the information yhma fan and thanks to hurrah for translating it. I hope that Mao is able to make her comeback and I honor her commitment, but I will be happy no matter what her decision is. I wouldn't be on this forum and probably wouldn't watch figure skating outside of the Olympics if it wasn't for her. I am guessing that Mao's return will be contingent on her consistently landing nice triple axels and the triple flip and loop combo, since that is the foundation of her motivation to give great performances.

I know I have posted this before, but I worked to try and make this salute to Mao's Sochi LP rhyme and flow better so I am posting it again.

Mao's Olympic performance was packed with epic grandeur
like a Shakespearean tragedy with a silver lining for texture.
-only the medium of expression was not written in words,
but molded from a multitude of exquisite positions that turned
into a series of limber spins and accented with wave-like runs
to a string of quick whipsaw jumps that drilled into the utmost
depths of my soul.

This vigorous warrior princess set the athletic standard in the ladies' group
by tackling the triple axel together with the combination triple flip and loop.

Mao offered her open arms and palms to engage the audience
lifting them dramatically like curtains slowly rising for stage presence
to reveal the first act in a role she alone had the capacity to play.
She veered left using the diagonal width of the rink as a runway.

As she launched into take off, her arms swung into motion.
Her back straight as a knife blade to cut the mounting tension.
Leaning deep into her forward edge, she folded her arms across her chest
to spin quickly. My heart raced as her rising symmetrical spirals hit their crest.
Her delayed rotation accelerated into a quick whirlwind that broke the suspense
She spread her arms wide and leaned back to the jumping site for an instant,
as her right blade hit the ice clean and began to slide sideways.
Meanwhile, the announcer, Tatiana Tarasova, who lovingly named
Mao "her little dove," made a guttural utterance
in relief once the jump was wonderfully done.

Then, Mao extended her arms wide to embrace the crowd,
as the triple axel turned on the switch for her soul to speak out loud.
She flew through her triple flip quickly and lightly whirling like a streamlined swallow
Her winged feet just touched the icy surface before flitting into symmetrical twirling motion

Mao exited her jumps with an undulating flow back to where the jump had been,
waving farewell to a forgotten friend or a loved one she would never see again.
She lovingly cupped her hands and brushed them gently under her neck,

with an angelic smile lifted to the sky as bittersweet memories beckoned
for a distant someone between her broken leg, pancake and flying camel spins.

Her balletic grace was a mermaid swaying back and forth on one skate
as her limbs displayed the fluidity of seaweed drifting gently on the waves.
Only Mao had the infinite subtlety, complexity and grace
of the Japanese tea ceremony at her fingertips to taste.

As the program progressed, her speed between jumps increased
in sync with the surge in the music, as it mounted to a climatic release.
Through the triple lutz, the triple toe / double axel combo and the triple salchow,
she was more than game to run a gauntlet of triples no woman had the power
to tame. I waited with baited breath for an inevitable mistake that never came,
As my mouth grew wider, my eyes started filling with water,
So, I crossed my fingers, hoping she'd finish before making an error.

On her entrance to the triple flip / double loop combo, she lifted her arms
softly like wings gently soaring before darting into the air with the charm
of swift rhythmic flight. Her wave-like flow in every motion
that moves the emotions like the moon does the ocean
then transformed into an abrupt downward thrust of her arms,
like striking piano keys on entry to her eighth triple jump as an alarm.
When the triple loop was done, she flung her right arm back suddenly. With her final goal
in sight, she rid herself of the melancholy ghosts that haunted the hollowness in her soul.

Then, as the blare from the horns began its strident swell,
the pounding of the piano crescendoed into crashing bells,
and the whine of the violins began to cry,
Mao hung suspended in the revolutions of her illusion,

sit extension and Biellmann spins.

After this, she plunged into her step sequence, where tears begin to rush as a flooded river.
The battling ballerina pranced freely, whirling her arms along every trajectory that sent me into shivers
as she balanced her body, twisting quickly to accelerate the vortex in her pirouettes, then rocking back
and forth rapidly in semi-circular turns. She portrayed the fierceness of a lovely lioness on the attack
to the roar of the audience, as they clapped in time to her nimble quickness.

Next, she leapt into the air with arms and legs outstretched, then tread into a transcendent dimension

that exorcised all her Olympic heart aches, grievous mistakes and acumulated humiliations

to embrace a peak performance that surpassed the rise to Everest. She kicked her limber

legs over her head, turned upside down and wound round like a windmill churning in a river.

Then, she spun upright, as her arms and hands glided in wide sweeping gestures

while flashing a wild samurai smile, as the crowd clapped in time to each step she measured.

Finally, she dashed through her fan spiral and glided in a wide arc through her arabesque,
as she descended back to earth redeemed in the completion of her 4 year quest for success.

It was the performance she proudly staked her reputation on
when so many thought all hope for her in Sochi was gone.

In her final act, she tried to stand frozen in her last pose looking up nobly
with her right arm folded over her chest to hold in the overwhelming emotion.
At that moment, I pictured her facing heavenward to dedicate her amazing
triumph to the dear spirit of her mother while whispering in praise,
"I did this all, including the triple axel, just for you. Mom, How did I do?"
During this dedication I conceived, she started sobbing uncontrollably in bidding adieu,
as her head and arms began to shake, then dropped down as she faced away.
A platinum performance tinged with the question of "What could be?" was erased
by the SP tragedy bringing bittersweet tears to her and a huge host
of those from all over the globe. With a nod of the head, she composed
herself to face the fond applause from the audience. Her arms opened wide
and her flowing tears metamorphosized into a bright, beaming smile
as Mao, the Ballerina Phoenix, arose to show joyous relief in her glorious achievement.

Thank you Mao Asada for digging deep to reveal the full beauty, purity and resiliency of your brave athletic spirit. It is the most complete performance I have ever seen. It moved my emotions like the moon does the sea because you did it so naturally.
 
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Alchamei

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Wait... Gotoschool, do you have an YouTube account? I swear I read the same beautiful text under the Mao's Sochi video. And I thought it's the best tribute I had ever read. Also, I have a feeling I read something similar at the 2010 Worlds video...

Edit: I found it! To be honest, I made a screenshot... To be able to read it anytime even without the internet connection. I loved how you incorporated details about Mao into the poem, her struggles, her mother's death, her Olympics failture. It is perfect.
 
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gotoschool

Medalist
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Wait... Gotoschool, do you have an YouTube account? I swear I read the same beautiful text under the Mao's Sochi video. And I thought it's the best tribute I had ever read. Also, I have a feeling I read something similar at the 2010 Worlds video...

Edit: I found it! To be honest, I made a screenshot... To be able to read it anytime even without the internet connection. I loved how you incorporated details about Mao into the poem, her struggles, her mother's death, her Olympics failture. It is perfect.

Thank you so much for the compliments. I worked very hard on it. I changed it some from the version on the video to make it more like a poem. Yes, I have left many comments about Mao on youtube and did leave one long one under her 2010 Worlds LP.

Here is a link for Mao's press conference in HD: She is really beautiful and looks so healthy and youthful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt-PczfBy7c
 
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aerosuffly

Spectator
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
I am so happy with this news. It really makes my day.

I am very glad that what driven her to comeback is not a gold medal at 2018 Olympic, but the "enjoyment" of skating the best program. That is when she shines the most. With all support from the fans, I am sure she is mentally stronger now. If she can regain her form and "enjoy" her skate, I think a medal will come automatically.

Mao-chan, take your time, we will wait for the most enjoyable skate from you!
 
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