Actually, the part about the jumps is, objectively, not correct.
Zhenya at Olympics used full-blade take-off. Zhenya now uses toe-pick. That‘s a fact and that‘s a difference and I think everyone who watches her skate and knows a thing or two about technique sees that. There‘s that.
I also think her lutz looks better in the way that it’s less muscled, even though the edge is still problematic. Her 2A can still be considered a problem jump in competition, but mainly because she sometimes goes back to her old technique during stressful situations (like the last 2A in the Worlds FS) and that messes up her take-off and axis. But if we look at the jump when she executes it well, there is a clear difference in technique. I‘m not going to use examples from practice (because those “don‘t count“), but I think the Axel in the SP at Worlds was a good indicator of that.
You‘re certainly right that her entries this season were easier and there were less transitions. Personally, I think that was mainly due to her reworking her technique. She tried to change the muscle memory she‘s had for years, so it‘s probably only natural that she wouldn‘t go for the hardest entries immediately.
Overall, looking at her skating as a whole, I think there‘s a difference as well, especially in her cross-overs. They‘re still not as good as they can be but they look easier and faster. There‘s still a lot of work to be done, on every aspect of her skating, but I think now we can clearly see the direction they‘re heading, as opposed to, say, the very beginning of this season.
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”before the "burn Pushenko" movement started
)”
You know, trying to say it as respectfully as possible, I do find such comments to be rather unnecessary. It‘s not either or. One can think Nastya looked way more mature and refined under Plushenko while STILL feeling that his actions after their split were wrong. I think failing to grasp this concept is exactly one of the reasons why there‘s so much bickering in here.
As for Zhenya, some users have already expressed their opinions so I‘ll try to cut it short. Different experiences in life, having to face hardships, making important decisions and sticking to them changes the way you think and the way you look at life. That‘s not only something that naturally comes with age, it comes with experiences as well. Zhenya made an important transition. Not necessarily in changing coaches only but rather making up her mind, doing what she felt was best for her and sticking to it, not giving up even when she was faced with more trouble than she‘d bargained for. I think she‘s mentally more mature in the way how she leads and lives her life and how she looks at herself and her surroundings more realistically. For me, that‘s not only about 18 > 19 years, it‘s about the choices she made and the way she handled them.
And it‘s not about merit of a coach either. I think that‘s the real main problem here, isn‘t it? Acknowledging that maybe Brian and his team, in fact, helped her in some aspects of her life and that she learned a lot from them. Zhenya‘s career has been great so far. Eteri and her team taught and helped her achieve a lot. Now, she‘s continuing her way with Brian and his team, and she‘s already learned important lessons from them and will continue to do so in the future.
(and I did not cut it short. [emoji23])
You don't say you think she acts, you say "she acts", which is an assertion of the fact, oh am geee...
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