Introduce a 12-year-old Chinese skater- Zijun Li

[redshirt]

Zijun Li just won the silver medal at the Chinese national games by losing only to Yan Liu. She is only 12 years old and has been training at Kwan family's rink for the past few months under Caroline Zhang's current coach.

She is very light and smooth on the ice. Her spins/spirals are excellent. She is now able to do four different triples-3flip, 3(f)lutz, 3s and 3t in competitions. I think she's very competititve at novice level even in the U.S.


SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOpk7joqJLw

Zijun Li EX LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tigJ-gtZGB4

Zijun Li's LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2O9njREr_E

Another 12-year-old Chinese boy to keep an eye on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNSrtTRBRJI&feature=channel

 

[LeCygne]

Oh yeah, I had heard that Mingzhu Li has taken on a few Chinese girls. I think Bingwa Geng is the other? Anyway, thanks for the videos! I agree, she has a very nice light style on the ice and lovely spirals. In that LP, she reminds me very much of Mao Asada!

Ahh, here's the article: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2008-10/22/content_7129155.htm

 

[Nune621]

great skaters !!! i hope they keep on going like this !!!

 

[skates]

I wonder if training at Michelle's rink has anything to do with her sp music choice, East of Eden.

 

[jp1andonly]

lovely skater. Hopefully when she grows (she will...she has longer limbs and has a bambi look...not as bad as some) she'll do it in small spurts and be able to hold it together Awesome

 

[redshirt]

Oh yeah, I had heard that Mingzhu Li has taken on a few Chinese girls. I think Bingwa Geng is the other? Anyway, thanks for the videos! I agree, she has a very nice light style on the ice and lovely spirals. In that LP, she reminds me very much of Mao Asada!

Ahh, here's the article: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2008-10/22/content_7129155.htm

Bingwa Geng won the bronze medal. She skated well in LP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH7VNf2pTck

Not too good in SP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSYkYlnIsEY

The third girl, Kexin Zhang was in 6th place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSYkYlnIsEY

 

[redshirt]

I wonder if training at Michelle's rink has anything to do with her sp music choice, East of Eden.

Michelle Kwan did give this girl some guidance on jumps according to a translated blog article on MK fans forum a while ago. Can't find the link though.

I'm terrible at telling jump rotations... Am I correct that several of this girl's jumps appeared a bit overrotated? The first 3flip in LP was apparently URed, but I believe the 3S she flipped out was overrotated, how about the 2a? The 3flip in the SP looked a bit overrotated as well. Overrotation might not be a bad thing at all when lots of girls are struggling with URs, especially for 12-year-olds who have imperfect jump skills.

 

[LeCygne]

I'm just curious, what exactly are the Chinese National Games? Some of the videos are labeled Chinese National Championships, but China's Nationals can't really be in April...

 

[redshirt]

I'm just curious, what exactly are the Chinese National Games? Some of the videos are labeled Chinese National Championships, but China's Nationals can't really be in April...

I think it's Chinese National Games instead of Chinese National Figure Skating Championships. Chinese National Games are kind of like Olympic Games/Asian Games in nature. They consist of all kinds of events such as swimming, volleyball, track&field, gymnastics, and winter sports etc and are held every four years.

 

[Tinymavy15]

She has beautiful back flexibility and great height and ease on her jumps, but she is still a very little girl. It is too soon to predict what her future will be. She still skates very much like a little girl....but she is only 12. I noticed that she shares the flutz and the hesitation before the double axel with Zhang. I wonder if that is because of their coach...or just coincidence.

 

[LeCygne]

I think it's Chinese National Games instead of Chinese National Figure Skating Championships. Chinese National Games are kind of like Olympic Games/Asian Games in nature. They consist of all kinds of events such as swimming, volleyball, track&field, gymnastics, and winter sports etc and are held every four years.

Ahh, I see. Thanks for clearing it up!

 

[skates]

She has beautiful back flexibility and great height and ease on her jumps, but she is still a very little girl. It is too soon to predict what her future will be. She still skates very much like a little girl....but she is only 12. I noticed that she shares the flutz and the hesitation before the double axel with Zhang. I wonder if that is because of their coach...or just coincidence.

Maybe its from training with Caroline? They most likely learn from each other so Caroline may have helped her with the double axel.

 

[Andalusia]

The little boy is adorable - so much spunk and energy, and I loved his footwork. I thought skaters can't use music with vocals for competitive programs? The singer sounded a lot like Frankie Laine.

I wasn't so taken by Zijun, although she does have some nice qualities and is so pretty. Something about her reminds me of a young Yu-Na.

One thing I've noticed about many of the young Chinese skaters is that they have great height to their jumps, but they often have rough landings that come to almost a complete stop. Their music choices are also very...plastic. It seems like there's a lot of raw talent there - they need to be shipped off to famous foreign coaches, pronto.

For example, with Zijun...I'd bet a coach like Brian Orser could do wonders with her. Why isn't China sending their budding talents to reknowned coaches for intensive, long-term instruction?

 

[Mathman]

For example, with Zijun...I'd bet a coach like Brian Orser could do wonders with her. Why isn't China sending their budding talents to reknowned coaches for intensive, long-term instruction?

Li Mingzhu coached a World Champion and Olympic medalist. Brian Orser was not regarded as a top coach until Yu-na Kim came along.

 

[Andalusia]

Li Mingzhu coached a World Champion and Olympic medalist. Brian Orser was not regarded as a top coach until Yu-na Kim came along.

Well, no offence to Li Mingzhu, but she hasn't coached anyone of note since Chen Lu (except for Caroline, if you want to include her ), and I doubt she has the knowledge and expertise, not to mention the hands-on experience, of someone like Brian Orser, who seems to have all the necessary qualities to make a great coach. Since he's fairly new to coaching, maybe he wasn't the best example to use...you can substitute his name with Frank Carroll's if you'd like.

It's not just Zijun, I sometimes wonder if a skater like Caroline Zhang could be doing a whole lot better with a coach like Orser.

 

[hongligl]

Zijun Li just won the silver medal at the Chinese national games by losing only to Yan Liu. She is only 12 years old and has been training at Kwan family's rink for the past few months under Caroline Zhang's current coach.

She is very light and smooth on the ice. Her spins/spirals are excellent. She is now able to do four different triples-3flip, 3(f)lutz, 3s and 3t in competitions. I think she's very competititve at novice level even in the U.S.


SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOpk7joqJLw

Zijun Li EX LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tigJ-gtZGB4

Zijun Li's LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2O9njREr_E

Another 12-year-old Chinese boy to keep an eye on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNSrtTRBRJI&feature=channel

Thanks for posting the links! I love them both! Great potential.

 

[shine]

Wow, this is the first skater from China that I've actually be impressed with since Lu Chen, but then I tend to be impressed by younger skaters when they show that they have developed solid skating fundamentals. Her spins are surprisingly great for a chinese skater :thumbsup: and she reminds me of Mirai Nagasu in that she has that effortless flow across the ice and very crisp movements, especially for a 12-year-old. She just rides those edges, and she actually knows how to do real twizzles!!

I do worry about her jump technique though. Like many other skaters who have good spring and height in their jumps but tend to lean forward in the air, she will risk underrotating some of her jumps (especially toe jumps). I hope her coach will help her correct that soon, because she's really promising and it'll suck to see a talented skater like this being marred by downgrades.

Thanks for posting this! Will she be on the JGP series next season? I really look forward to seeing more of her!

 

[LeCygne]

Maybe its from training with Caroline? They most likely learn from each other so Caroline may have helped her with the double axel.

Well Caroline herself needs a lot of help with that double axel of hers, so I don't think she would be helping someone else with it... It's probably just a coincidence, their technique..

It's not just Zijun, I sometimes wonder if a skater like Caroline Zhang could be doing a whole lot better with a coach like Orser.

Definitely, I'm almost getting tired of saying it, but I really think Caroline needs someone else at this point. It's been 2-3 years since we first saw her on the scene, and she still has the same problems and has made minimal improvement in them.

Will she be on the JGP series next season? I really look forward to seeing more of her!

Isn't there an age limit for JGP? I seem to remember it's 13, but I could be wrong. She's only 12 now, so maybe not?

 

[redshirt]

Isn't there an age limit for JGP? I seem to remember it's 13, but I could be wrong. She's only 12 now, so maybe not?

I don't think she can do JGP since her 12-year-old birthday was in Nov or Dec in 2008. So she is indeed very very young. Regarding her jumps, I think she has made significant stride over the past 12 months. She could barely land 2A, 3T in early 2008, and now she can land 3flip/3f(l)utz. I don't think any American novice medalist even tried jumps above 3loop this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5uv_MHguNo

There's another 10-year-old, Xuehan Wang who has some good potential. She can do 2A & 3T and has good artistry. It's just too early though as I don't usually get excited by any girl who has yet to land more than 2 to 3 different triples at age of 12, 13... Without triple jumps, artistry/spins/skating skills are pretty much meaningless.

Exhibition LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_ja6DuuzGI
SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO_TJVRgIRY

She does seem to progress well though. A clip of Xuehan Wang at age of 8.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV0L9ashpp0

 

[Sinclare]

So talented and so young! I hope her coaches pace her progress. She is still too young to compete in the JGP. Wow, she does not have that mule kick either. Very impressive!