Rika Kihira

[rikaquegira]

Can I share some videos I made?

Rika's FS with replays:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGYFuNv_GlE

Rika's SP replays:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvyY74QThuA

Rika's FS performance at Dreams on Ice with a silly effect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQIME6UVZds

 

[leoleo]

Rika's twitter update https://twitter.com/rika_kihira/status/1044223854032252934

in an interview after the competition she also said she cannot be content with the result at Ondrej Nepela cause she's aiming for much more
https://twitter.com/kokomadekokomo/status/1044064887427674112

 

[rikaquegira]

Yes! She’s right!
She can definitely do better. She did not land all three 3As and the 3S and 3Lo were not perfect. Also, her 3Lz2T2Lo was not her best, I think the 2T was UR. And her sitspin(that now has a flying entry) was lvl 3. Her spins were not as centered as well.
There are many things to improve and I can’t wait for her next competition! This is a very exciting season for Rika! I’m crossing my fingers!

 

[rikaquegira]

The fancams are surfacing! And they are better than that dreadful official livestream! It's so much better with the crowd noise, especially the FS! :luv17:
And you can also see her expression better, she really performed SO well!


SP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYTbSz9h4-M

FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRjvzYGN8pk

 

[leoleo]

The fancams are surfacing! And they are better than that dreadful official livestream! It's so much better with the crowd noise, especially the FS! :luv17:
And you can also see her expression better, she really performed SO well!


SP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYTbSz9h4-M

FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRjvzYGN8pk

Niiiiice! god bless whoever uploaded these. And... i hate to say that again but her SP dress is really not pretty
I love how the FS dress sparkles, so beautiful. Another thing i find cute is her ponytail, the way it flies when she skates, it's so funny

She has really good speed and ice coverage wow she goes from one end of the rink to the other in a short time. I am just in awe by how much she improves every year. :luv17:

 

[rikaquegira]

Niiiiice! god bless whoever uploaded these. And... i hate to say that again but her SP dress is really not pretty
I love how the FS dress sparkles, so beautiful. Another thing i find cute is her ponytail, the way it flies when she skates, it's so funny [emoji23]

She has really good speed and ice coverage wow she goes from one end of the rink to the other in a short time. I am just in awe by how much she improves every year. :luv17:

Yes! I was really impressed by her speed and how much ice she covers on her stsq both in the SP and FS. She really has amazing SS!
And, this may sound strange but, she has great crossovers! [emoji23]

 

[MarinHondas]

Niiiiice! god bless whoever uploaded these. And... i hate to say that again but her SP dress is really not pretty
I love how the FS dress sparkles, so beautiful. Another thing i find cute is her ponytail, the way it flies when she skates, it's so funny

She has really good speed and ice coverage wow she goes from one end of the rink to the other in a short time. I am just in awe by how much she improves every year. :luv17:

It's funny, I think the opposite. I LOVE her short dress and am just meh on her free dress.

 

[leoleo]

It's funny, I think the opposite. I LOVE her short dress and am just meh on her free dress.

well, different strokes for different folks :agree:

"Great crossovers" is an unexpected compliment

 

[rikaquegira]

"Great crossovers" is an unexpected compliment

[emoji23] Well, it’s a good one! Just look at all the wonky shaky awkward crossovers we see in the ladies field.. [emoji23]

 

[leoleo]

Another fancam of Rika's FS yeaaah! https://youtu.be/V3Nu2sx_aCk

edit:wait, i think this is the same as the other one but with different lighting :think:

 

[rikaquegira]

David Wilson about Rika: :luv17:

“She is amazing. She really sparkles,” Wilson told Ice Time during the summer about Kihira. “She is really talented technically. I was really thrilled because she has a great ear for the music.”

Wilson has worked with enough great skaters to know when he has come upon something special.

“Rika knows how to move her body. She is open in her facial expressions and she is happy,” Wilson stated. “She loves it. There is nothing she is really missing. It will be nice to watch her blossom and solidify what she has got.”

From Japan Times article "Yuzuru Hanyu and Rika Kihira top podium in season debuts":

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports.../hanyu-kihira-top-podium-debuts/#.W6vuiGhKjIX

 

[Amef]

Really impressed with both her programs this year. She grew artistically too. I wouldn't be surprised if she became World Champion at one point.

 

[leoleo]

3A-3T, 3LZ-3LO, 3F-3LO on Rika's instagram! she's hard at work! i love how effortless her jumps look! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo34MFGgZKJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

[leoleo]

An appreciation gifset for Rika's combos https://jumpitwithashuulanditwithapa.tumblr.com/post/179146263548/rika-kihira-x-3-3-combo-3a3t-3lz3t-3lz3lo-3f3lo so smooth i love her she's doing a 3A-3T-2T and makes it look like it's no big deal :agree:

I was watching some people on twitter talking about the female skaters who will most likely get big scores simply because they jump difficult jumps (implying they have nothing else but jumps) and they had the nerves to put Rika in the list as if she's not a well rounded skater

 

[jkun]

3A-3T, 3LZ-3LO, 3F-3LO on Rika's instagram! she's hard at work! i love how effortless her jumps look! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo34MFGgZKJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Glad she is working on those combos. She will need them to seriously challenge Alina Zagitova in the coming years. The way she is using her 3A in her free programs this season as a replacement for 2As rather than in addition to them, means she isn't maximizing her points. If she can add a 3Lz-3Lo and a 3-1-3, she'll be golden. Her free program would then be 8 triples (2x3A, 2x3Lz) + 2 2A. She'd have the highest technical score by far in the current field of the senior ladies and would probably position her to be competitive with the quad-jumping juniors.

 

[rikaquegira]

Glad she is working on those combos. She will need them to seriously challenge Alina Zagitova in the coming years. The way she is using her 3A in her free programs this season as a replacement for 2As rather than in addition to them, means she isn't maximizing her points. If she can add a 3Lz-3Lo and a 3-1-3, she'll be golden. Her free program would then be 8 triples (2x3A, 2x3Lz) + 2 2A. She'd have the highest technical score by far in the current field of the senior ladies and would probably position her to be competitive with the quad-jumping juniors.

Rika’s Free already has 8 triples:
3A3T, 3A, 3Lo, 3S, 3F, 3Lz2T2Lo, 3Lz2T

And she does have the highest BV but Alina makes up for it with GOE.

The problem with this layout is the amount of Toeloop jumps and the 3Lz2T is rather unimpressive, it just looks too easy to have any wow effect and gather some good GOE. The 3A3T on the other hand, should be here to stay because no other lady is landing that combo. The solo 3A is also great, specially now that she has transitions out of the jump. Her solo 3Lo is not too consistent and I wonder why. 3F is looking better than ever for her. The 3Lz2T2Lo has also been a consistent combo for Rika but it’s not too impressive either so it doesn’t get many points but still, I think it’s her best option.

Of course adding a -3Lo combo would be amazing. Her 3Lz3Lo looks good, with correct edge and fully rotated(unlike other ladies), it would be great if she could land it like that in competition.
She will probably add a quad in the future too so I wouldn’t worry about the upcoming Juniors. As I mentioned in the Japanese Ladies thread, Rika is playing the long game, as she should. She can slowly but surely up her technical content, she shouldn’t peak too soon, she needs to be her best version by 2022, that’s what she’s aiming for. As someone who has been following her since Juniors I can clearly see how much she has improved from season to season. If she keeps improving like that she will be a contender in Beijing.

 

[rikaquegira]

I think I watched this a dozen times:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpDALpQBA40/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=rt6956mz1a2t

 

[Noxchild]

Rika Slaykira deserves better lighting than THAT! :roll5:

 

[doublequad]

Rika’s Free already has 8 triples:
3A3T, 3A, 3Lo, 3S, 3F, 3Lz2T2Lo, 3Lz2T

And she does have the highest BV but Alina makes up for it with GOE.

The problem with this layout is the amount of Toeloop jumps and the 3Lz2T is rather unimpressive, it just looks too easy to have any wow effect and gather some good GOE. The 3A3T on the other hand, should be here to stay because no other lady is landing that combo. The solo 3A is also great, specially now that she has transitions out of the jump. Her solo 3Lo is not too consistent and I wonder why. 3F is looking better than ever for her. The 3Lz2T2Lo has also been a consistent combo for Rika but it’s not too impressive either so it doesn’t get many points but still, I think it’s her best option.

Of course adding a -3Lo combo would be amazing. Her 3Lz3Lo looks good, with correct edge and fully rotated(unlike other ladies), it would be great if she could land it like that in competition.
She will probably add a quad in the future too so I wouldn’t worry about the upcoming Juniors. As I mentioned in the Japanese Ladies thread, Rika is playing the long game, as she should. She can slowly but surely up her technical content, she shouldn’t peak too soon, she needs to be her best version by 2022, that’s what she’s aiming for. As someone who has been following her since Juniors I can clearly see how much she has improved from season to season. If she keeps improving like that she will be a contender in Beijing.

she could do

3A-3T, 3A, 2A, 2A-Eu-3S, 3F, 3Lz, 3Lz-3Lo

 

[leoleo]

I don't know if she's confident enough to land the 3lz-3lo as the last jumping pass tho. We'll see if she even adds it in her layout at all this season. It's great news that her base value, as huge as it now, could be even bigger with a few upgrades. :agree: