Rika Kihira

[thexfireball]

Wow, here has become a lot more active since Rika shook things up

 

[sakurano]

I admit it I worried about nothing, she assured and I'm glad she was there, well done Rika she gave me shivers and programs and his EX his brilliant.

I'm glad she's upside down the female field and become a big star.
I would have liked to see it live in Grenoble unfortunately it is far from home.
I think she woke up the tiger that was in her lol

 

[leoleo]

I admit it I worried about nothing, she assured and I'm glad she was there, well done Rika she gave me shivers and programs and his EX his brilliant.

I'm glad she's upside down the female field and become a big star.
I would have liked to see it live in Grenoble unfortunately it is far from home.
I think she woke up the tiger that was in her lol

hopefully the tiger will stay awake and not hibernate this winter
Grenoble is 2hours away by train from me! i'm very lucky, the line-up for both men & ladies is fantastic.

 

[Lunalovesskating]

"Mie Hamada sent Rika Kihira onto the ice saying to her that she lacked competitive spirit and the desire to win. Rika thought to herself as she stepped onto the ice that she would land every jump and aggressively launched into her opening 3A"

Hamada was not surprised at Rika's score. She said: "She isn't consistent. When she doesn't skate well, she doesn't skate well. However, i thought that if she skated at her best like she does in training, her score would be something like this."
Kihira is erratic and Hamada has been saying this a lot "Don't make excuses"

At the press conference, Rika made the following statement:
"I really respect Miyahara. I have always learned so much from her and i am grateful i was able to train in such a great environment. Our coach also tells us that we aren't enemies but great rivals. I want to convey my gratitude to her."

cr: https://twitter.com/Iron_Klaus/status/1061522943640039424 There's more in the link about Hamada's thoughts about Miyahara & Kihira training together, i only shared the parts that directly concerned Rika.

Hamada doesn't seem less strict than someone like Eteri or Raf lmao i guess her words worked on Rika.

Hamada is the skating whisperer. She always knows what to do to get her skaters to perform at her best. I am happy that she knows how to motivate Rika. I hope that Hamada gets more and more attention as a coach through the hype about Rika. She really is a fantastic coach that focuses on technique and artistry. All her current and former ladies skaters (Rika, Satoko, Yuna and Marin) skate so beautifuly. Hamada really has an eye for talent.

- - - Updated - - -

Guys, have you seen Rika's EX? I was shocked, i did not expect this. She delivered some teen goth emo princess realness. I was not ready. The dress is weirdly pretty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwqPFdVQYZA

I just love her EX

 

[sakurano]

hopefully the tiger will stay awake and not hibernate this winter
Grenoble is 2hours away by train from me! i'm very lucky, the line-up for both men & ladies is fantastic.

yes he is well to stay to see his eyes and his EX.

I love his dress very rock.

Luckily I live near Paris but unfortunately I work.

You can tell her that she is very appreciative and that she is a fighter, enjoy watching her live

 

[Seruleane]

"Mie Hamada sent Rika Kihira onto the ice saying to her that she lacked competitive spirit and the desire to win. Rika thought to herself as she stepped onto the ice that she would land every jump and aggressively launched into her opening 3A"

Hamada was not surprised at Rika's score. She said: "She isn't consistent. When she doesn't skate well, she doesn't skate well. However, i thought that if she skated at her best like she does in training, her score would be something like this."
Kihira is erratic and Hamada has been saying this a lot "Don't make excuses"

At the press conference, Rika made the following statement:
"I really respect Miyahara. I have always learned so much from her and i am grateful i was able to train in such a great environment. Our coach also tells us that we aren't enemies but great rivals. I want to convey my gratitude to her."

cr: https://twitter.com/Iron_Klaus/status/1061522943640039424 There's more in the link about Hamada's thoughts about Miyahara & Kihira training together, i only shared the parts that directly concerned Rika.

Hamada doesn't seem less strict than someone like Eteri or Raf lmao i guess her words worked on Rika.

Hamada must really understand her students psychologic makeup to make such statements. If she said that to me, I would doubt myself and probably miss all my jumps (then again, I am definitely not an athlete). But clearly it sparked a fire in Rika and made her skate lights out. I agree she is probably more similar to Eteri than people think. I always wonder what Eteri says to Alina and her other pupils to motivate them when they have a bad skate, or before they go onto the ice. I suspect the tough love approach may work better for skaters like Rika and Alina.

 

[rikaquegira]

Guys, have you seen Rika's EX? I was shocked, i did not expect this. She delivered some teen goth emo princess realness. I was not ready. The dress is weirdly pretty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwqPFdVQYZA

Woooow!!!

First of all, she looks beautiful, loved the hair!
Second, the dress is weird but I like it??
Third, I hate the music but that 3S right on the beat was pretty great!
And last, the program is a bit... juniorish? I want to know who choreographed it. As you said, it's very emo teen or something like that, but it does show her skating skills and her interpretation.

By the way, speaking of programs, I'm so very disappointed by her SP. Yes, it was starting to grow on me, but that's just because I'm a huge fan and they changed the program(as we discussed) so I don't even like it that much anymore. The thing is, this is NOT a good program for Senior debut, just no! What was David Wilson thinking?????? Also, that dress is not helping! If she had a more "mature" looking dress maybe the program wouldn't look that juniorish. Also, the choreography is a bit uninspiring. There are a few nice moments but overall, the problem I have with this SP is that it is not step forward compared to her previous SP. That Kung Fu Piano program was original, musical, it had beautiful and amazing transitions, it was just so much better! I'm praying Rika doesn't work with David Wilson ever again. She should stick to Tom Dickson, they work well together, Beautiful Storm is the biggest proof of that.

 

[leoleo]

Woooow!!!

First of all, she looks beautiful, loved the hair!
Second, the dress is weird but I like it??
Third, I hate the music but that 3S right on the beat was pretty great!
And last, the program is a bit... juniorish? I want to know who choreographed it. As you said, it's very emo teen or something like that, but it does show her skating skills and her interpretation.

By the way, speaking of programs, I'm so very disappointed by her SP. Yes, it was starting to grow on me, but that's just because I'm a huge fan and they changed the program(as we discussed) so I don't even like it that much anymore. The thing is, this is NOT a good program for Senior debut, just no! What was David Wilson thinking?????? Also, that dress is not helping! If she had a more "mature" looking dress maybe the program wouldn't look that juniorish. Also, the choreography is a bit uninspiring. There are a few nice moments but overall, the problem I have with this SP is that it is not step forward compared to her previous SP. That Kung Fu Piano program was original, musical, it had beautiful and amazing transitions, it was just so much better! I'm praying Rika doesn't work with David Wilson ever again. She should stick to Tom Dickson, they work well together, Beautiful Storm is the biggest proof of that.

I told you the other day that i hated the dress! i guess we had to sacrifice her SP to get one of the best FS of the season i don't like whatever Wilson has been doing with the jpn ladies these past seasons! it's almost like he just duplicates the same cheesy programs just to get his paycheck. I'd almost prefer a Daniil program and that's saying something

 

[Seruleane]

Agreed. Claire De Lune for Rika is not the right fit at all. I hate that she has to fit a princess mold for the SP. She would do better with more intense, darker music. I actually loved her gala.

 

[breadstal]

Wow, I like her Ex, I agree it suits her imo, I wish it's wasn't so EDM-ish as well but the first half was very nice. I agree, she suits stuff like this and her free so much more than ethereal, princessy music. I honestly wish she would bring back her Kung Fu SP, Clair de Lune isn't bad, it's just not special especially comparing to her stuning LP.

 

[Logirl]

Woooow!!!

First of all, she looks beautiful, loved the hair!
Second, the dress is weird but I like it??
Third, I hate the music but that 3S right on the beat was pretty great!
And last, the program is a bit... juniorish? I want to know who choreographed it. As you said, it's very emo teen or something like that, but it does show her skating skills and her interpretation.

By the way, speaking of programs, I'm so very disappointed by her SP. Yes, it was starting to grow on me, but that's just because I'm a huge fan and they changed the program(as we discussed) so I don't even like it that much anymore. The thing is, this is NOT a good program for Senior debut, just no! What was David Wilson thinking?????? Also, that dress is not helping! If she had a more "mature" looking dress maybe the program wouldn't look that juniorish. Also, the choreography is a bit uninspiring. There are a few nice moments but overall, the problem I have with this SP is that it is not step forward compared to her previous SP. That Kung Fu Piano program was original, musical, it had beautiful and amazing transitions, it was just so much better! I'm praying Rika doesn't work with David Wilson ever again. She should stick to Tom Dickson, they work well together, Beautiful Storm is the biggest proof of that.

I love the Ex. She is exquisite and the song is beautiful. I love that her Ex has mordern music with lyrics. I dont want that classical stuff in an Ex. We have plenty of that in competition. And I love the Ex dress too.

 

[leoleo]

Agreed. Claire De Lune for Rika is not the right fit at all. I hate that she has to fit a princess mold for the SP. She would do better with more intense, darker music. I actually loved her gala.

Kung Fu piano was so great for her! i honestly don't like cute/sweet/princess-y programs in general and i hate them even more for someone like Rika who is not Mai Mihara, that is someone who does it well.

I have already told you about the British Eurosport uncles praising Rika's edges and here we have CBC commentators raving about her edges as well (and also her ponytail) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2F7V-is46I

 

[Logirl]

Me too. I love the emotions she shows too. The song is hauntingly lovely.

 

[rikaquegira]

Rika must like those Pop kind of music. Remember her last EX was to that music I don't know the name, I think it was "Symphony". It was very cutesy too.
I wish she would bring back her Kung Fu Piano but changing programs right now would send a bad message and would probably not help her consistency.
I think her SP will hurt her scores this season because if she had a better SP she could really make a statement in every competition she enters. When you start a competition with that uninspiring program it's just so... underwhelming. I was expecting more, much more.
But David Wilson is just not that great of a choreographer when it comes to Japanese ladies. He can't seem to make a unique program and as we've seen Rika has that potential. Her Beautiful Storm is so different, it really shines and separates itself from the rest. Thank you, Tom Dickson!

 

[Logirl]

I think the only thing will hurt in the short is not landing that triple axle. I think if she is consistent her PCS will go up that is just how these judges work.

 

[leoleo]

I'm still not over her free skate from yesterday honestly i'm too emotionally invested in this little girl. I remember when first revealed at FAOI and i immediately loved it. She skated to it again and again in summer ice shows and she flopped so bad :noshake:. Falling here, popping jumps there. I was excited for her to debut as a senior with such a fantastic program but at the same time i kept wondering "will we ever see this program clean tho?" it happened earlier than i expected.

 

[rikaquegira]

I have already told you about the British Eurosport uncles praising Rika's edges and here we have CBC commentators raving about her edges as well (and also her ponytail) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2F7V-is46I

Thank you for the video! I hadn't seen that!
I want to watch every stream there is to hear the commentator gushing over her.

And I like ponytail too. I've seen some people say it makes her look juniorish but not in the case of her FS. That program can't possibly look like a Junior program...

 

[rikaquegira]

I'm still not over her free skate from yesterday honestly i'm too emotionally invested in this little girl. I remember when first revealed at FAOI and i immediately loved it. She skated to it again and again in summer ice shows and she flopped so bad :noshake:. Falling here, popping jumps there. I was excited for her to debut as a senior with such a fantastic program but at the same time i kept wondering "will we ever see this program clean tho?" it happened earlier than i expected.

Yes, Rika is such a hard worker! She literally used those shows as training, she was going into them as if they were competitions. The other cast members all praised her for that and said she was working really hard on her programs, she was serious about it. And it seems it is paying off!

 

[rikaquegira]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anGOPOWx9DE Another one, from SBS Australia.

 

[leoleo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anGOPOWx9DE Another one, from SBS Australia.

he sounds like his soul has been sucked out of him