Rika Kihira

leoleo · Dec 7, 2018

Lmao they’re actually coming in the fanfest now i am done

chopinskate · Dec 7, 2018

rikaquegira said:
By "not powerful" I think @chopinskate means not having the kind of "BAM" someone who jumps really big has. There are skaters whose jumps are light and fast like Rika's and I find them very pretty and all but I don't think they are powerful. There are skaters whose jumps might not look as light and effortless but they are huge and look powerful, like a bomb going "BOOM".

Yeah, pretty much. There's a Yuna Kim type jump, and then there are others. She can work on it, though, or maybe her jumps just won't be my thing. She can develop other qualities.

leoleo said:
Lmao they’re actually coming in the fanfest now i am done

God, so boring, to just discard all the "hating". But I'm done too

we can both be done! Kihira is purrrfect!

thexfireball · Dec 7, 2018

leoleo · Dec 7, 2018

I'm just going to ignore :bed:

Here's a video of Rika's FS run through. She did both the 3A-3T and her emergency 3lz-3T which she fell on.
https://youtu.be/wW1rqjWPaG0
She seems ready to go :agree:
Someone mentioned it a few pages earlier but she is incredibly strong indeed. She goes in practice, does 50+ jumps including like 15 3As, it's just another day for her and it has always been like that. People did not notice that because she used to falter in competition but that was mental and now that she is building a head as strong as her body, she's going to finally show people what she's made of. That's the same girl that flexes her biceps, shows off her abs & does handstands on national tv :laugh:

jenm · Dec 7, 2018

zanadude said:
Great, first she takes Marin Honda's spot as The Next Big Thing, and now she steals her mascot!

They are too young to understand that the media is trying to help them. Playing up a rivalry, even just for the cameras, would generate sorely needed interest in the sport, ultimately benefiting them and all other skaters.

Nobody can compete with her physically. If her mental game continues to develop, it's scary to think what she is capable of accomplishing.

I don't know if you're being sarcastic about Marin's mascot

. But a serious question, does Rika have her own "mascot"? I like Squirtle for Eunsoo :laugh:

I have to disagree with media helping them. This isn't Hollywood. The sole purpose of provocative questions is clickbait. They want website traffic and they want to use these athletes. Also, it will create an unnecessary rivalry between the girls and ruin possible friendship. Kinda like Yuna and Mao. They were friends before but the media kept doing crappy stuff and then they got awkward with each other. So no. we don't want that.

leoleo · Dec 7, 2018

jenm said:
I don't know if you're being sarcastic about Marin's mascot . But a serious question, does Rika have her own "mascot"? I like Squirtle for Eunsoo

I don't think she has one yet, i hope she choses a mascot soon. Since she's becoming more popular, it would be cute to see a bunch of the same plushy rain on the ice as she finishes her performance like with Hanyu's pooh and Marin's Pikachu. Maybe she likes polar bears? She seemed to really like the polar bear she got at IDF, she had it at the airport when going back to Japan https://rika-kihira.tumblr.com/post/180550182930/our-little-friend-made-it-to-rika-hope-she-liked

lzxnl · Dec 8, 2018

leoleo said:
I'm just going to ignore

Here's a video of Rika's FS run through. She did both the 3A-3T and her emergency 3lz-3T which she fell on.
https://youtu.be/wW1rqjWPaG0
She seems ready to go :agree:
Someone mentioned it a few pages earlier but she is incredibly strong indeed. She goes in practice, does 50+ jumps including like 15 3As, it's just another day for her and it has always been like that. People did not notice that because she used to falter in competition but that was mental and now that she is building a head as strong as her body, she's going to finally show people what she's made of. That's the same girl that flexes her biceps, shows off her abs & does handstands on national tv

I feel like she didn't jump high enough on the 3Lz-3T because she's too used to putting 2T at the end. It's certainly not due to lack of ability; the 3A-3T was huge. I love how her practised jump content would have been illegal :laugh:

leoleo · Dec 8, 2018

Here's where you can take a better look at just how much distance Rika's "average" 3A covers https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1071192034713600000 :love:

jenaj · Dec 8, 2018

chopinskate said:
Literally people praise skaters for having powerful jumps, lol. I'm not using "powerless" there as a synonym for "effortless". She's not a very powerful jumper.

Oops, I thought this was the Rika Kihira fan fest!

jenaj · Dec 8, 2018

lzxnl said:
Her jumps aren't the highest, that much is true. There was a site that showed Rika's jump height on her non-3A jumps is literally average across women this year and she's relied on fast rotation. However, her jumps, bar the 3A, have been very clean. I recall only a few jump blemishes this season: 3A (obviously); 3Lz+3T<, presumably a bit stressed from having to change her 2T to a 3T at IdF because first 3A didn't work; 3S at Ondrej Nebula. Have I missed any?

Now check out the rest of the field. Rika's consistency stacks up very well against them. Alina has been good outside her 3Lo. Liza hasn't tried a 3F yet and her 3A is equally shaky.

When Rika starts landing clean 4Ts in competition, we'll see how average her jumps really are then.

Her technique yesterday was stellar.

Gg Gg · Dec 8, 2018

She deserves it

lzxnl · Dec 8, 2018

jenaj said:
Her technique yesterday was stellar.

Her technique is very on-point, I agree. I still think she could jump higher. Her axel is so much higher than her other jumps and that loop is tiny.

Logirl · Dec 8, 2018

lzxnl said:
Her technique is very on-point, I agree. I still think she could jump higher. Her axel is so much higher than her other jumps and that loop is tiny.

I think her Lutz is good height too. I don't think she does a triple loop but only a double and most skaters doubles are small. And as long as they get those doubles around I am good.

largeman · Dec 8, 2018

lzxnl said:
Her jumps aren't the highest, that much is true. There was a site that showed Rika's jump height on her non-3A jumps is literally average across women this year and she's relied on fast rotation. However, her jumps, bar the 3A, have been very clean. I recall only a few jump blemishes this season: 3A (obviously); 3Lz+3T<, presumably a bit stressed from having to change her 2T to a 3T at IdF because first 3A didn't work; 3S at Ondrej Nebula. Have I missed any?

Now check out the rest of the field. Rika's consistency stacks up very well against them. Alina has been good outside her 3Lo. Liza hasn't tried a 3F yet and her 3A is equally shaky.

When Rika starts landing clean 4Ts in competition, we'll see how average her jumps really are then.

Agree with everything you said.

For me, her most unstable and scary looking jump is the 3Lo (see: JP Junior Nats 2017, JP Nats 2017). Even when she lands it successfully, with a Rippon no less, it still looks kinda off-axis and kinda scary.

MRani · Dec 8, 2018

Logirl said:
I think her Lutz is good height too. I don't think she does a triple loop but only a double and most skaters doubles are small. And as long as they get those doubles around I am good.

She does a triple loop. It’s the next jumping pass after the triple axels in her FS, if I’m remembering correctly.

Sunny Huang · Dec 8, 2018

Her performance is so delightful to watch

leoleo · Dec 8, 2018

lzxnl said:
You know, I'm kinda getting used to Rika beating out the guys on TES. Imagine if her sit spin WASN'T level 2. We'd be looking at a world record of 84. There's always 4CC and Worlds I guess. Rika is one of the rare skaters I would be ok with putting the combo in the second half of a SP.

Regarding 'if all I can say about her jumps is that her jumps could be bigger', yep that's exactly my point. She really doesn't have anything to worry about this season aside from landing the axel. Oh, and jump higher on the loop. I don't know how she lands that every time. I really don't.

Most difficult 3-3...do you reckon we'll see 3A-3Lo for the lols sometime in practice?

How she lands the 3lo is she has incredible flow out of jumps, her jumps aren't muscled in the slightest so it is easy. She might improve it with time like she did with the rest of her jumps. I don't think the 3A-3lo is going to happen haha she has other things to work on. I think i've only ever seen Petr Gummenick land the 3A-3lo btw, idk if someone else has landed it in competition, it is a scary combo to look at honestly.

Rika's 3A and 3A-3T are seriously so damn consistent now, i am mind blown. How many times i've seen her land them in practice at IDF, her success rate is probably well above 80% now.

rikaquegira · Dec 8, 2018

leoleo said:
How she lands the 3lo is she has incredible flow out of jumps, her jumps aren't muscled in the slightest so it is easy. She might improve it with time like she did with the rest of her jumps. I don't think the 3A-3lo is going to happen haha she has other things to work on. I think i've only ever seen Petr Gummenick land the 3A-3lo btw, idk if someone else has landed it in competition, it is a scary combo to look at honestly.

Rika's 3A and 3A-3T are seriously so damn consistent now, i am mind blown. How many times i've seen her land them in practice at IDF, her success rate is probably well above 80% now.

She has said her 3A consistency rate is over 75% if I'm not mistaken.
I agree, her 3A and 3A combos seem very consistent, I'm shocked. :eeking:

Her 3Lo seems to have an axis problem. I hope she can correct it with time. It is pretty scary indeed. :eek:

matmuh · Dec 8, 2018

well done Rika for an amazing skate!! so glad and happy she landed everything cleanly and skated a wonderful program :luv17: i am also happy that she is showing us that JW title doesnt mean everything :slink:

hopefully she can hold it together at LP too, but even if she cant its okay cause its all part of the learning process :agree:

edit: in case you didnt see it, here is her SP from SBS Australia broadcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_poq3AsVb4

Reth · Dec 8, 2018

leoleo said:
Lmao they’re actually coming in the fanfest now i am done

They are everywhere, from YouTube to IG. It’s not even safe in her own FF.

Rika Kihira

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