Rika Kihira

[zanadude]

There's no reason not to explain real problems that you are having (and which are obvious to people anyway based on how you're acting on camera).

That's a Canadian (I assume that's your country?) interpretation.

Another example of a major cultural difference is the apology. In Western countries, an apology is seen as an admission of fault, and so people will avoid them if they don't believe themselves at fault. In Japan, an apology is manner. There would be situations where you would be expected to apologize for something even if you had nothing to do with the matter that you're apologizing for, out of respect and deference to the party that you're speaking to. This causes much frustration and misunderstanding for Japanese dealing with foreigners that are fluent in the language of Japan, but not fluent with the culture of Japan.

 

[DanseMacabre]

Yeah why is she so sensitive to boots? Doesn't seem very sustainable to me.

Because she's a figure skater? The support from the boots is incredibly important; it's literally what makes it possible to execute even the simplest of elements, much less the jumps. Improper ankle/foot support (even if it seems like a minor thing to you) can be hugely detrimental to a skater.

And it's often not as easy as having a backup pair of boots at the ready. I've known skaters who did have a second pair of boots at competition time when their pair was breaking down, but they opted to use the borderline too soft boots because the secondary pair was too stiff or wasn't broken in exactly the same way and changing would have thrown them off anyway. Sometimes, there's no good choice and one just has to do the best one can with what's available to them.

Anyway, here's hoping Rika rebounds in the free. If anyone can, it's her.

 

[leoleo]

Just :whack: at the things i read here sometimes!
Did you miss the part where she herself acknowledged after the SP that not taping her boots properly was entirely her fault for lacking experience? She's not blaming anything or anybody else but herself for her performance. She said she knows what needs to be done in the FS. Idk what you're going on about. There's no such thing as "japanese vs western mentality regarding apologies in sports" you're just making stuff up

Anyway, ladies FS has started, good luck to Rika :hap57:

 

[Shanshani]

That's a Canadian (I assume that's your country?) interpretation.

Another example of a major cultural difference is the apology. In Western countries, an apology is seen as an admission of fault, and so people will avoid them if they don't believe themselves at fault. In Japan, an apology is manner. There would be situations where you would be expected to apologize for something even if you had nothing to do with the matter that you're apologizing for, out of respect and deference to the party that you're speaking to. This causes much frustration and misunderstanding for Japanese dealing with foreigners that are fluent in the language of Japan, but not fluent with the culture of Japan.

Apologies are not seen as admission of fault in Western culture, Westerners apologize all the time out of politeness. That's literally one of the most common stereotypes about Canadians. As someone who grew up both in the West and Asia, just...I don't like this reductive generalization of any culture. Shoma is Shoma, Rika is Rika, they don't have to deal with things the same way. If anything, Rika is helping us worry less, since if she didn't say anything we might get worried that she is injured. As an expert on Asian culture, you surely know it's important to avoid making people worried.

Good luck today, Rika! Do your best! Unfortunately, I can't watch because I'm traveling, but I'll be rooting for you the whole time!

 

[leoleo]

I don't know if you're streaming the ladies FS right now but they just showed Rika's FS run through and everything was perfect except for the 3lz-2t combo which she popped

 

[lzxnl]

I don't know if you're streaming the ladies FS right now but they just showed Rika's FS run through and everything was perfect except for the 3lz-2t combo which she popped

I'm putting that down to not focusing as much because it's a run through and the important stressful bit was already done
It means she can jump 3A-3T with her boots. Let's watch her bring it home.

 

[leoleo]

She is a fighter she is a beast! Did you see that improvised eu combo?!

 

[Lunalovesskating]

She is a fighter she is a beast! Did you see that improvised eu combo?!

Yes it was genius XD she tried to hide the landing with it. Improvise power FTW.

 

[Shanshani]

I heard Rika did well :hap93: and demonstrated remarkable quick thinking by turning a bad landing on a planned combo into an euler combo. She's amazing!

 

[leoleo]

You can no longer say she blamed her poor SP performance on her boots now she said she knew what had to be done to recover in the FS and she did just that! eace:

 

[leoleo]

Congratulations on becoming national silver medalist

 

[lzxnl]

She is a fighter she is a beast! Did you see that improvised eu combo?!

I was so surprised when I saw that. I was thinking, no way she just thought of that. I've never seen her do anything like that except the 2A+Eu+3S she did at GPF gala. If she really improvised that, that's insanely impressive, because that got her the silver medal.

Can we still say Rika is undefeated internationally this year? If she wins 4CC and Worlds, nationals won't matter, right?

 

[Shanshani]

Gratz Rika on silver at Nats while facing such an impressive field!

 

[leoleo]

I was so surprised when I saw that. I was thinking, no way she just thought of that. I've never seen her do anything like that except the 2A+Eu+3S she did at GPF gala. If she really improvised that, that's insanely impressive, because that got her the silver medal.

Can we still say Rika is undefeated internationally this year? If she wins 4CC and Worlds, nationals won't matter, right?

well she is undefeated internationally but having seen her lose and not even be in the top 5 many times before, i don't think it even matters. What i find the most important is her incredible growth. The way she goes into competition with this fearlessness just blows my mind. Looking at her improvements in just these past months, i am scared as hell of the kind of skater she could become in the future :eeking:.

I think the idea of being this undefeated beast came after Evgenia's long reign (even she lost to Radionova during her first Rostelecom), followed by Alina's reign until Worlds 2018 and it is overrated in my opinion. Cause as we have seen they're always undefeated until they're not, people put crazy expectations on them and when they fail just once suddenly people start saying they're done (look at what people said about Alina after worlds, and Evgenia now); and it is to be followed by another younger undefeated beast that would also be defeated by an even younger one later.
I hope her "defeat" here will at least stop people from putting too much expectations on her and allow her to make mistakes and not be perfect here and there. Fans who have been following her since juniors know that it is her way. She falls, she comes back up even stronger and better but those who have just gotten into her this year, i hope they can appreciate the sheer fact of seeing her grow to become this girl who does not falter when she knows she needs it the most.

Now she can get new boots and will probably break into them fast since she is going to go back to practicing the 4T very soon

 

[lzxnl]

well she is undefeated internationally but having seen her lose and not even be in the top 5 many times before, i don't think it even matters. What i find the most important is her incredible growth. The way she goes into competition with this fearlessness just blows my mind. Looking at her improvements in just these past months, i am scared as hell of the kind of skater she could become in the future :eeking:.

I think the idea of being this undefeated beast came after Evgenia's long reign (even she lost to Radionova during her first Rostelecom), followed by Alina's reign until Worlds 2018 and it is overrated in my opinion. Cause as we have seen they're always undefeated until they're not, people put crazy expectations on them and when they fail just once suddenly people start saying they're done (look at what people said about Alina after worlds, and Evgenia now); and it is to be followed by another younger undefeated beast that would also be defeated by an even younger one later.
I hope her "defeat" here will at least stop people from putting too much expectations on her and allow her to make mistakes and not be perfect here and there. Fans who have been following her since juniors know that it is her way. She falls, she comes back up even stronger and better but those who have just gotten into her this year, i hope they can appreciate the sheer fact of seeing her grow to become this girl who does not falter when she knows she needs it the most.

Now she can get new boots and will probably break into them fast since she is going to go back to practicing the 4T very soon

To be honest, I initially wanted her to win everything this year just to show Evgenia how it's done; most of us can agree that some of Evgenia's scores were more than a little hard to justify (that flutz and the under-rotation on her jumps), and Rika winning everything would have felt more justified. But at the same time, I've seen her past performances where she collapses after the first mistakes, and she really has come a long way. I still remember when I watched NHK on TV live (hooray for satellite TV), and I was a little shocked seeing Rika win that with that performance. It was incredible. She will go for anything, minus the 3A in IdF (that competition was an anomaly). I hope she is able to keep her courage to go for the 3A in GPF after the really unfortunate first attempt in the FS throughout her career (and not get hurt, of course). Her fearlessness is insane and she deserves every point she gets. I guess I am indeed too used to the narrative of 'the SP doesn't matter, she'll make it up in the FS'.

Speaking of her SP, I wonder if she improves so often in the FS because she works out what went wrong in the first 3A in the SP and ensures that doesn't occur again, and that her mishaps in the short come from nerves (still)?

Finally, as mentioned earlier, she said she's training her quad(s) after Nationals. Assuming she means one (which I think is sensible), I'm wondering if she'll use that quad this season (unlikely, but if not, why train it before 4CC and Worlds?) and what she can do to stop bloody missing that SP 3A. She must be more annoyed about it than I am, somewhere inside her

 

[Fluture]

So, Rika is National silver medalist? Great!

I finally have to catch up though, Russian ladies had me too occupied.

I don‘t think Rika needs or wants to show anyone how it’s done and I don’t think losing here is an issue at all. Better have boot problems at Nationals than at Worlds, right? And it‘s so overrated that the newcoming star has to win everything in sight. That‘s not natural, everyone loses once in a while. I’m personally very happy for her to have managed to get the silver in a field as tough as the Japanese when she had boot problems from what I‘ve heard. Strong nerves, strong competitor and a great silver medal. That’s a lot to be proud of!

 

[madison]

Will Rika be sent to 4Continents? I think she needs competitive experience as much as possible.

 

[Shanshani]

So, Rika is National silver medalist? Great!

I finally have to catch up though, Russian ladies had me too occupied.

I don‘t think Rika needs or wants to show anyone how it’s done and I don’t think losing here is an issue at all. Better have boot problems at Nationals than at Worlds, right? And it‘s so overrated that the newcoming star has to win everything in sight. That‘s not natural, everyone loses once in a while. I’m personally very happy for her to have managed to get the silver in a field as tough as the Japanese when she had boot problems from what I‘ve heard. Strong nerves, strong competitor and a great silver medal. That’s a lot to be proud of!

I agree. I don't think Evgenia's run was healthy for expectations in this sport, or even ultimately for Evgenia. So none of that must-win all the time stuff, Rika did great, especially considering the boot issues, and if someone else did better, well Rika will just have to give it a better shot next time!

 

[lzxnl]

I agree. I don't think Evgenia's run was healthy for expectations in this sport, or even ultimately for Evgenia. So none of that must-win all the time stuff, Rika did great, especially considering the boot issues, and if someone else did better, well Rika will just have to give it a better shot next time!

I'll try to calibrate my expectations more realistically next time. The possibility of her winning everything this year was just so tantalisingly tasty.

 

[leoleo]

Will Rika be sent to 4Continents? I think she needs competitive experience as much as possible.

they will definitely send her, i don't see them not sending her. She needs to stay competitive and stay in the eyes of the judges but also improve her consistency.

@lzxnl you're not scared of making controversial statements are you? you're going to bring the russian ladies stans here again i personally don't want to compare Rika to the russian top ladies, i always compare Rika to yesterday's Rika and try to imagine where she could go & what she could do next!

About the quads, you don't just start practicing them a few months before you try them in competition, it takes time. she has been practicing them since the off season last year it seems (?) and she continued working on them this past summer, she needs to reach a certain level of consistency before she can have a layout that includes them. Hamada is not going to send her on the ice with a wonky quad, that's not the path they've been taking with Rika. I don't think they practiced it that seriously yet because she was still working on consistently landing her current layout, which has been working out more than fine in the FS, still struggling with the cursed SP but she has 2 more international competitions to skate clean SPs and hopefully 2 clean programs. In my opinion they see just how consistent Rika's 3A has gotten so it makes sense to go for the upgrade now. I don't think they'll go for the 4T this season, i don't see where they'd try that. At 4CC? I believe they'll want her to just go clean after a difficult showing at nationals. Worlds is out of question, they would not risk it at the most important competition of the season. In my opinion, if the 4T works out fine, we'll see it first probably on her instagram then at summer ice shows (i cannot remember how many times she attempted the 3As this past summer, so many falls, and popped 3As, it all payed off in the end) or at her challenger next season.

I just pray that she stays healthy all through it.