Shoma's jump technique is less than perfect, and he would be the first to admit that. It is not his team's forte, and that is why they have sent him to work with others who are known as jump specialists--Anthony Liu and more recently Alex Ouriashev. Not too sure about Kurt's comments. I think doing rolling 3's before the quad toes gives even more of the appearance of cheated jumps. His haters are having a great old time over in The Edge. You can read it in Men Who Flutz and How Judges Place GOE.
Shoma got a break last year because he finished 7th.... people attacked other skaters.... friends, be ready for a rough ride to the Olympics as fans of Shoma, we gotta have thick skin ... i have years of experience as a Patrick fan
so all I will say, is that your love should be stronger than their hate and just push the negative energy away.
Regarding Shoma's technique : it's not true that he has bad technique on all jumps. Some of his jumps are just gorgeous. Kurt likes Shoma's skating. He has commented several of his programs. What he is saying in general is that Shoma is very patient to find his landings... and that's a huge quality. However, in order to manage, he often absorbs a whole lot of weigh on his landing knee, and there is also a twerk that can happen on the ice when that happens. I can see it, we call all see it... Some other skaters would be on their butts but Shoma manages to land.
He hates the lutz and has laughingly said in press conferences "I will NOT be trying the 4Lz". I think he probably plays with it out of boredom...I'd have to check again, but I think his 4T, 4T-2T, and 3 jump combo were all done within the last minute ofthe FS. That in itself is pretty incredible, just in terms of stamina. That he is turning 270% on the ice, I don't buy that.
I wouldn't have a problem if Shoma decided not to include the 3lz anymore in his programs. He doesn't need it. And yes, Shoma backloads his combo and that's amazing and risky. WOW!!! Kudos!
His knees? They take a beating, and no one can tell me the other guys aren't in the same position. Kurt mentions a meniscus injury which is a very common knee injury even among non-skaters. I sat next to a former ice dancer at Worlds. He said his body hurts everyday, and he didn't have to jump. He said these guys will all be a wreck when their careers are over and confirmed what I've always said -- having stellar technique doesn't exempt you from injury...One of Shoma's main competitors with his wonky landings will be lucky if he has an ankle left. And a huge amount of snow flies every time this guy lands. So I wonder why we never hear about that. I'm assuming the main reason is that he is not currently a threat to he-who-shall-not-be-named.
I talked to a former skater about this : she said most skaters have issues anyways down the road... some days, she can barely walk herself and she didn't do quads...as a matter of fact, dancers also have it tough... Julie Marcotte, who now is a choreographer, was a junior ice dance champion for Canada. She had major knee issues. However, there are skaters like Patrick who say that they don't want to wreck their bodies and will not train quads as much as some others. Now, what does that mean? Is it okay if a younger guy cannot make these decisions??? I mean, at 19 y o we all think we can do it all, that we are invincible. Working on so many quads is something relatively new and I think that's why Kurt is worried.... these guys used to work on one quad toe... and that was it....
Bottom line, I didn't see anyone who even came close to Shoma's musicality, interpretation, step sequences, spins, expressiveness at Worlds.. But I'm used to him not getting credit for that stuff in the eyes of many...I look forward to Shoma working with Alex again and can't wait to see his progress. Last time he was there they spent the majority of the time working on jumps and most likely will again. I think Shoma does plyometrics now too which should help him on height and explosiveness for his jumps.
i see Patrick
muahaha but you are correct that this year's worlds, IMHO aside from Shoma and Patrick, I didn't find many expressive programs out there.
Sorry this got so long. I'm a great lover of tenacity, determination, and hard work. I guess that's part of why I like Shoma. And I probably haven't answered your question at all.
I told you what happened with me... I saw LOCO at the beginning of the year... hated it very much... .you told me nicely to give it time... i thought that was nice for a fan to open the door to a non-fan
Shoma convinced me at 4CC. i never knew he had that in him to project so big, which is required for such a piece. I was surprised he could do tango so well. Now, don't forget to admit that we also like Shoma because he is darn cute
I think his ambition is laudable and since he is from the same country as who-shall-not-be-named, he needs to work hard and aim for big. He doesn't disappoint.
) I mean, there can't be one correct way to jump a quad right?:think: It doesn't change the fact that Shoma's 3As are just so amazing!
Excited for WTT!!
