O.M.G! I think if I checked the weather in Antarctica, it would be warmer that Louisville, KY - especially with the lack of ozone, that's got to let way more warmth from the sun in. It's 9'F here and it's going to stay that way all day. The ice rink was warmer this morning.
At the cozy warm ice rink my coach told me she watched a junior moves test with the new moves Sunday. The poor kid failed and she said my loops were about the same this person's. Such inspiring words to kick off the lesson! My loops are the same as a preteen who didn't pass the test!
Anyway, here are notes to myself to jog my memory for the next practice. Perhaps they help others someday:
Outside forward rockers - great shoulders and edge quality going into turn. Must remember an outside rocker creates a new circle. When you complete a 3-turn, you are staying on the same circle, a rocker puts you into the pattern of a new circle. Remember rise up through the pinky toe on the outside edge during the turn. Then think of aiming heel towards the boards and shifting shoulders into facing outside of the new circle. Also - IMPORTANT - think of this new circle as going into a back outside pivot right after the turn so the free leg tucks behind the skating foot which opens the free hip. When I do this right, it really feels like my skating leg keeps pushing out, as opposed to focusing on my free leg getting behind me. The skating leg works best when the shoulders are correct. It's all connected, one false move makes that horrible, annoying flat out of the turn.
Inside forward rockers - this is just for the left side, keep your edge during the turn by bending the ankle and putting pressure on the big toe. After the turn with pressure still on the big toe think of pushing rib cage outside of the circle.
Straight line footwork - friggin' do this without the twizzles and work on twizzles separately. When you are 30-something, this helps immensely and makes it look like you can do amazing Daisuke Takahashi footwork. Now that the twizzle-free sequence is executed much faster and more powerfully, gradually add in a twizzle a section at a time. Unless you are either Meryl Davis or Charlie White, I recommend this to skaters of any age when first working on this move.
Outside loops - it's all about the rhythm between the shoulders and hips. Remember, when pulling arm back while transitioning from an inside to outside edge to begin the loop, keep your ribcage out. Otherwise, you lean way to far back which can pull your weight from the front of the blade where it should be to the back of blade which is wrong. Remember doing back loops in patch - you looked under your armpit at the tracing, not over the shoulder. You looked under the armpits because the weight needs to be on the front of the blade, by the ball of your foot. When you lean back too far and start to rock to the back of your blade while executing the loop, you look like a preteen who failed the junior moves by making giant loop patterns!
Showing posts with label Daisuke Takahashi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daisuke Takahashi. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Twitter vs. Streaming To Catch Worlds
I rocked my rockers and choctaws this morning. That was a great way to start the day.
At work, I typically have Twitter up as I follow other online education professionals and some of my clients. It gives me some great ideas throughout the day seeing what others are doing with learning management systems, K-12 and higher education challenges and innovations.
I also follow several skaters and skating fans. It was most fun during the Olympics, like having a group of die-hard fans conversing about the events as they happened in my living room, however they were tweeting on my laptop. Not as many people were tweeting today while the men's short program took place in Torino during workday hours in the States.
I did check in on Universal Sports for the live feed and saw Ryan Bradley, Samuel Contesti, Jeremy Abbott, and Brian Joubert when I didn't have a meeting or call scheduled. I felt a little guilty streaming, but remembered how slow the network got last Friday in the thick of March Madness and left my guilt behind.
Jeremy Abbott was great and is in medal position going into the free skate. The old, dominating Brian Joubert showed up for the short program and is also in medal position. Ryan Bradley has had better skates and there was some debate on Twitter about the US men being able to earn 3 spots to Worlds next year with his placement. I lean towards Jeremy and Adam Rippon sealing the maximum spots for 2011.
I didn't see it, but I saw tweets about Nobunari Oda's skate. It must have been a splatfest, and he didn't make the cut to the free skate? Can anyone explain? Searching for Daisuke Takahashi's short program next, glad he's in first! I've always been a fan of his skating.
At work, I typically have Twitter up as I follow other online education professionals and some of my clients. It gives me some great ideas throughout the day seeing what others are doing with learning management systems, K-12 and higher education challenges and innovations.
I also follow several skaters and skating fans. It was most fun during the Olympics, like having a group of die-hard fans conversing about the events as they happened in my living room, however they were tweeting on my laptop. Not as many people were tweeting today while the men's short program took place in Torino during workday hours in the States.
I did check in on Universal Sports for the live feed and saw Ryan Bradley, Samuel Contesti, Jeremy Abbott, and Brian Joubert when I didn't have a meeting or call scheduled. I felt a little guilty streaming, but remembered how slow the network got last Friday in the thick of March Madness and left my guilt behind.
Jeremy Abbott was great and is in medal position going into the free skate. The old, dominating Brian Joubert showed up for the short program and is also in medal position. Ryan Bradley has had better skates and there was some debate on Twitter about the US men being able to earn 3 spots to Worlds next year with his placement. I lean towards Jeremy and Adam Rippon sealing the maximum spots for 2011.
I didn't see it, but I saw tweets about Nobunari Oda's skate. It must have been a splatfest, and he didn't make the cut to the free skate? Can anyone explain? Searching for Daisuke Takahashi's short program next, glad he's in first! I've always been a fan of his skating.
2010 Torino Worlds Men's Preview
The men's event kicks off today. The men are divided into two sections as all of the skaters complete their short and then the top 24 go on to compete in the free skate portion of the event. It makes for a long day. If you watch early on Universal Sports, you'll see skaters from countires and territories like Puerto Rico, Brasil, Mexico, Montenegro, Australia, etc. Not your typical skating powerhouses.
The heavier hitters in the mens event start to appear later in the day as warm-up groups 7 & 8 take the ice. With several skaters electing not to skate at worlds after the Olympics, this is an event where skaters get a chance for repeats and redemption to cap off the season.
I'm most excited to see the US skaters, Jeremy Abbott, Ryan Bradley and Adam Rippon. The worlds have not brought out the best in Jeremy, but the 3rd time may be a charm here. Ryan is skating on *gasp* a broken toe. He's planning to go after his quads anyways as he has nothing to lose here at the end of season and in what may be his last competition. Adam very much has the "next big thing" vibe going for him and comes into this event as the two-time junior champ.
The Japanese team should give the US guys some heavy competition and I'm excited to see who will come out on top. Daisuke Takahashi is the only Olympic medalist competing. Outside of Jeremy Abbott, he's probably the best skater to combine artistry, audience command and quads in the competition.
Here's further previews:
Aaron's take at Axels, Loops and Spins
Goldenskate
The heavier hitters in the mens event start to appear later in the day as warm-up groups 7 & 8 take the ice. With several skaters electing not to skate at worlds after the Olympics, this is an event where skaters get a chance for repeats and redemption to cap off the season.
I'm most excited to see the US skaters, Jeremy Abbott, Ryan Bradley and Adam Rippon. The worlds have not brought out the best in Jeremy, but the 3rd time may be a charm here. Ryan is skating on *gasp* a broken toe. He's planning to go after his quads anyways as he has nothing to lose here at the end of season and in what may be his last competition. Adam very much has the "next big thing" vibe going for him and comes into this event as the two-time junior champ.
The Japanese team should give the US guys some heavy competition and I'm excited to see who will come out on top. Daisuke Takahashi is the only Olympic medalist competing. Outside of Jeremy Abbott, he's probably the best skater to combine artistry, audience command and quads in the competition.
Here's further previews:
Aaron's take at Axels, Loops and Spins
Goldenskate
Friday, February 19, 2010
Vancouver Men's Long - Spin Focus
I'm going to try to focus on the spins in this post as everyone else focuses on the jumps! I'm also only noting the skaters I see on the NBC broadcast.
Jeremy Abbott - Nice flying sit, good position in the sit change sit with a change to a forward inside edge, wobbled on the first camel rotation then back to the good, low and extended sit spin positions. Glad you focused and fought Jeremy! I'm proud of you. 149.56 free, 218.96 total.
Takahiko Kozuka - Flying change foot combo - way low in sit spin, cool upside down manuever; sit change sit with the foot tucked behind making a little ball position, nice; camel not as stretched as it could be but nice speed and extension in the sit spins, excellent blur scratch spin to finish. How often do you see a fast scratch spin these days? Thanks for that treat Takahiko! Like Sandra Bezic said on the broadcast he has a pure skating technique. I'm really looking forward to watching him over the seasons to come. 151.60 free, 231.19 total.
Denis Ten - Flying Camel Spin that started with good stretch and then almost immediately switched to inside and grabbed his blade. I wish he just held the initial extension, it was a good position. Change foot sit spin that featured resting his foot above the knee on both sides. Oooo, a Bielmann in his combo spin! Threw several positions in the combo spin, wish he picked two out of four and held longer and centered. 135.01 free, 211.25 total.
Huh, NBC showed Tony Dungy and Jerry Jones are in the seats watching. That's different. Wonder what they think of the event.
Florent Amodio - love this music from the Amelie soundtrack, superb speed, positions and centering in the combo spin; inside edge entry to back sit, then change sit and a nice tucked under position; super sweet tuck position in flying sit, displaying snowboard-like "big air" with that flying sit tuck position. Loved the straight-line footwork preceding it too. This is a performance I'll look up on YouTube to relax and enjoy skating. 134.95 free, 210.30 total.
Patrick Chan - Nice position on a centered and fast sit. Good transition to another edge by pulling in his leg and placing his foot on his knee. Classic sit change sit after the half way mark. Camel, sit spin with unique arm position as part of combo. The crowd cheers are the end! Another program I'll go back too, loved the knee action and glide in his footwork sequences. Good jump technique too. I'm going to enjoy watching him over the next four years, stay healthy Patrick! 160.30 free, 241.42 total.
Michal Brezina - Flying sit with a good air position like Florent's, little wobble on a revolution; sit change sit with a change to an inside edge on the back sit; running out of steam but nice inside edge into back camel for the combo that included more sit spins and camels. He seems to rock to back of his blade in his sit spins and then quickly corrects. I must squeeze in a bit about his jumps. He has a great position in the air, really nice, tight leg position. Good edge riding out of his jumps as well. This is first time I saw him skate on TV instead of a web feed. It was so enjoyable on a bigger screen. 137.93 free, 216.73 total.
Penultimate group done, big guys warming up! Great six minutes of skating - but they decide to go to commercial. Argh.
Realizing as I watch Evan at the boards with Frank Carroll that he is first and Evgeny is last... remembering Michelle and Tara skating order in Nagano. Don't hesitate Evan, go for it!
Evan Lysacek - good position for a tall skater in a sit spin, pulled his leg into a wrap; jump not as high as others in flying sit, but again he's tall it's hard to tuck that daddy-long leg underneath; extended camel could have been held longer, beautiful, fast and centered sit spins that he held for about 10 revolutions each into great extended catch-foot spin to end. I felt I could see him thinking and not performing the first half of the performance. He built energy at the end, good skate. 167.37 free, 257.67 total.
Nobunari Oda - like the lift in the death drop into the sit spin position, good to see a spin earlier in the skate; oh, shades of Tonya Harding with a broken skate lace. Well that's a nice spin after retying his skates, his sit spin position is reminiscent of a curled up cat. Good combo spin with the same curled-cat position as well as nice camel positions. So calm and focused with the skate lace snafu! 153.69 free, 238.54 total.
Stephane Lambiel - La Traviata music; flying camel with excellent arm position along with leg extension; oh this ending combo spin is bringing a big and well deserved cheer from the crowd, camel with hands clasped behind the back, sit spins with about 12 revolutions each and changing arm positions throughout. Love how he streches an arm in the air during his sit and it looks like he could balance a plate better than a restaurant waiter on that hand as the spin is so centered. Then the combo ends with a "headless" back scratch where he's tipped his head back and he's just a blur. Looked a bit tight throughout, but I'm glad he made his comeback. I've missed him! 162.09 free, 246.72 total.
Daisuke Takahashi - nice variety of positions in his sit spins, he works the changes in foot and edge by extending and pulling in while adding features to the spin; cute flying sit, but not the same height and tuck as others, good move to go from a low sit into an extended camel, that's difficult; back camel, back scratch with leg crossed behind into scratch. I enjoy his spins as he puts effort into unique positions instead of the same old same old. Similar to Lambiel but missing the speed. 156.98 free, 247.43 total
Johnny Weir - Spin stumble! He seemed to catch his toepick while on the inside edge in the sit, will be reflected in the GOE. Nice death drop into sit, love how he drapes his upper body with a beautivully arched back over his extended free leg in his sit spins. Running threes into a camel, the gorgeous sit position again, extended catch-foot spin. The audience roars! I've got tears in my eyes, thank you for that skate Johnny, that was wonderful. 156.77 free, 238.87 total.
Evgeny Plushenko - Death drop into sit, not as low as Johnny or Evan, back slouched over; fast sit spin combo, impressed; choreography looks so silly after the last few skaters; back camel, sit, funky upright spin, slooow camel, funky upright with contorted arms, scratch and it's done. 165.51 free, Lysacek wins! Frank Carroll coached a gold medalist! 256.36 total.
Oh Plushenko, so close! Only quad combo of the evening and an amazing comeback. I'm sure he's disappointed, but he should be proud of the comeback effort and still being able to land a quad combo under pressure.
Proud of you Evan!
Jeremy Abbott - Nice flying sit, good position in the sit change sit with a change to a forward inside edge, wobbled on the first camel rotation then back to the good, low and extended sit spin positions. Glad you focused and fought Jeremy! I'm proud of you. 149.56 free, 218.96 total.
Takahiko Kozuka - Flying change foot combo - way low in sit spin, cool upside down manuever; sit change sit with the foot tucked behind making a little ball position, nice; camel not as stretched as it could be but nice speed and extension in the sit spins, excellent blur scratch spin to finish. How often do you see a fast scratch spin these days? Thanks for that treat Takahiko! Like Sandra Bezic said on the broadcast he has a pure skating technique. I'm really looking forward to watching him over the seasons to come. 151.60 free, 231.19 total.
Denis Ten - Flying Camel Spin that started with good stretch and then almost immediately switched to inside and grabbed his blade. I wish he just held the initial extension, it was a good position. Change foot sit spin that featured resting his foot above the knee on both sides. Oooo, a Bielmann in his combo spin! Threw several positions in the combo spin, wish he picked two out of four and held longer and centered. 135.01 free, 211.25 total.
Huh, NBC showed Tony Dungy and Jerry Jones are in the seats watching. That's different. Wonder what they think of the event.
Florent Amodio - love this music from the Amelie soundtrack, superb speed, positions and centering in the combo spin; inside edge entry to back sit, then change sit and a nice tucked under position; super sweet tuck position in flying sit, displaying snowboard-like "big air" with that flying sit tuck position. Loved the straight-line footwork preceding it too. This is a performance I'll look up on YouTube to relax and enjoy skating. 134.95 free, 210.30 total.
Patrick Chan - Nice position on a centered and fast sit. Good transition to another edge by pulling in his leg and placing his foot on his knee. Classic sit change sit after the half way mark. Camel, sit spin with unique arm position as part of combo. The crowd cheers are the end! Another program I'll go back too, loved the knee action and glide in his footwork sequences. Good jump technique too. I'm going to enjoy watching him over the next four years, stay healthy Patrick! 160.30 free, 241.42 total.
Michal Brezina - Flying sit with a good air position like Florent's, little wobble on a revolution; sit change sit with a change to an inside edge on the back sit; running out of steam but nice inside edge into back camel for the combo that included more sit spins and camels. He seems to rock to back of his blade in his sit spins and then quickly corrects. I must squeeze in a bit about his jumps. He has a great position in the air, really nice, tight leg position. Good edge riding out of his jumps as well. This is first time I saw him skate on TV instead of a web feed. It was so enjoyable on a bigger screen. 137.93 free, 216.73 total.
Penultimate group done, big guys warming up! Great six minutes of skating - but they decide to go to commercial. Argh.
Realizing as I watch Evan at the boards with Frank Carroll that he is first and Evgeny is last... remembering Michelle and Tara skating order in Nagano. Don't hesitate Evan, go for it!
Evan Lysacek - good position for a tall skater in a sit spin, pulled his leg into a wrap; jump not as high as others in flying sit, but again he's tall it's hard to tuck that daddy-long leg underneath; extended camel could have been held longer, beautiful, fast and centered sit spins that he held for about 10 revolutions each into great extended catch-foot spin to end. I felt I could see him thinking and not performing the first half of the performance. He built energy at the end, good skate. 167.37 free, 257.67 total.
Nobunari Oda - like the lift in the death drop into the sit spin position, good to see a spin earlier in the skate; oh, shades of Tonya Harding with a broken skate lace. Well that's a nice spin after retying his skates, his sit spin position is reminiscent of a curled up cat. Good combo spin with the same curled-cat position as well as nice camel positions. So calm and focused with the skate lace snafu! 153.69 free, 238.54 total.
Stephane Lambiel - La Traviata music; flying camel with excellent arm position along with leg extension; oh this ending combo spin is bringing a big and well deserved cheer from the crowd, camel with hands clasped behind the back, sit spins with about 12 revolutions each and changing arm positions throughout. Love how he streches an arm in the air during his sit and it looks like he could balance a plate better than a restaurant waiter on that hand as the spin is so centered. Then the combo ends with a "headless" back scratch where he's tipped his head back and he's just a blur. Looked a bit tight throughout, but I'm glad he made his comeback. I've missed him! 162.09 free, 246.72 total.
Daisuke Takahashi - nice variety of positions in his sit spins, he works the changes in foot and edge by extending and pulling in while adding features to the spin; cute flying sit, but not the same height and tuck as others, good move to go from a low sit into an extended camel, that's difficult; back camel, back scratch with leg crossed behind into scratch. I enjoy his spins as he puts effort into unique positions instead of the same old same old. Similar to Lambiel but missing the speed. 156.98 free, 247.43 total
Johnny Weir - Spin stumble! He seemed to catch his toepick while on the inside edge in the sit, will be reflected in the GOE. Nice death drop into sit, love how he drapes his upper body with a beautivully arched back over his extended free leg in his sit spins. Running threes into a camel, the gorgeous sit position again, extended catch-foot spin. The audience roars! I've got tears in my eyes, thank you for that skate Johnny, that was wonderful. 156.77 free, 238.87 total.
Evgeny Plushenko - Death drop into sit, not as low as Johnny or Evan, back slouched over; fast sit spin combo, impressed; choreography looks so silly after the last few skaters; back camel, sit, funky upright spin, slooow camel, funky upright with contorted arms, scratch and it's done. 165.51 free, Lysacek wins! Frank Carroll coached a gold medalist! 256.36 total.
Oh Plushenko, so close! Only quad combo of the evening and an amazing comeback. I'm sure he's disappointed, but he should be proud of the comeback effort and still being able to land a quad combo under pressure.
Proud of you Evan!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Vancouver Men's Short
I'm so not going to be able to sleep tonight and tomorrow's my day to get up early and skate. What a night of skating. The hype for the men's event was worth it.
The broadcast started with fluff on Evgeny Plushenko interviewing him while driving through St. Petersburg with shots of old Lenin statues throughout. He said he bought a fast car just to have some risk in his life and now he wants to be like Dick Button y winning back to back gold. I would love to see Evgeny Plushenko live into his 80s as a commentator as well. Plushenko is a bit of a modern day Muhammad Ali with his smack-talk.
Plushenko looked a bit nervous and stiff tonight. He hit the quad-combo, triple Axel and triple Lutz. I've seen stronger landings from him before, but what cajones land those three jumps at the Olympics after being retired for 3 years! 90.85 points put him into the lead and he held on the rest of the night.
Daisuke Takahashi WOW! Triple flip + Triple toe, triple Axel, triple Lutz. Fantastic footwork to tango rhythms. 90.25
Stephane Lambiel has always had difficulty with triple Axels, so he only planned a double. He's generally solid with his quad, but he stepped out in the combination. The footwork and spins were classic Lambiel. Always impressed with how centered his spins are. 84.63
Nobunari Oda skated and I didn't find anything really memorable about it. I like his long better, this was very business-like and earned a solid 84.85. I did get a slight sense he was imitating Lysacek with big arm movements and leg extensions. Lysacek does those moves because he's tall and they didn't fit the compact Oda.
Brian Joubert came out with an opportunity as Lambiel missed the quad and Takahashi didn't do one. Oooh, he steps out! Swivels hips. Triple Axel easy! Triple Lutz... he's down. He went through the motions the rest of the skate. He picked up the energy a bit in the straight line sequence realizing he would need to earn some points... he earning all of 68 points. He put so much pressure on himself to do well at the Olympics, awful to watch his dream fade away.
Takahiko Kozuka makes it 3 for 3 for Japan. They make skating at the Olympics look easy. 79.59
Patrick Chan stepped to plate next to the roar of the Canadian crowd. He stepped out of his triple Axel but then executed a triple combo and triple Lutz. Sweet to see a circular footwork sequence go in the opposite (clockwise) direction, then a weird step on the straight line sequence where he nearly tripped. Finally, he ended the program after the music so it ran 2:51. One point time deduction and earns 81.12.
Johnny Weir skated to I Love You, I Hate You but the audience was all about the love. He earned much love from the crowd with triple Lutz + triple toe, triple Axel, triple flip. Playful program after the jumps were through. They played Lady Gaga's Poker Face while he sat in the Kiss'n'Cry, but then seemingly low scores popped up prompting boos from the crowd. He received a negative grade of execution on the flip so I'm guessing a wrong-edge takeoff was called there. 82.10
Watched the OT of the UK-Mississippi State game and missed Kevin van der Perren. I don't think I missed much other than his costume. Several tweets it would glow in the dark. 72.90
UK also took precedence over Tomas Verner. He doubled his planned quad and finished behind Joubert. 65.32
Evan Lysacek is back to the Edward Featherhands look and his program took off! Bad writing, I know, sorry. Textbook landings on his triple flip, triple Lutz + triple toe, triple Axel. Besides the jumps he commanded the ice with his deep edges and speed. Spins second best to Lambiel with speed and centering. So proud of him to be able to focus and perform while making it look natural. I thought it would be close between him and Plushenko and Lysacek might pull ahead. My mind tried to remember how many times Evan has been in the lead after the short in a major international competition, I think he does better as an underdog in the free. He'll be the best an underdog can be with 90.30 points right behind Plushenko's 90.85.
Jeremy Abbott skated next and I don't want to type about it. Crushing. Jeremy you're free sings and pigs can fly, Thursday's free skate is another day. 69.40
Good Night, try to go to bed!
The broadcast started with fluff on Evgeny Plushenko interviewing him while driving through St. Petersburg with shots of old Lenin statues throughout. He said he bought a fast car just to have some risk in his life and now he wants to be like Dick Button y winning back to back gold. I would love to see Evgeny Plushenko live into his 80s as a commentator as well. Plushenko is a bit of a modern day Muhammad Ali with his smack-talk.
Plushenko looked a bit nervous and stiff tonight. He hit the quad-combo, triple Axel and triple Lutz. I've seen stronger landings from him before, but what cajones land those three jumps at the Olympics after being retired for 3 years! 90.85 points put him into the lead and he held on the rest of the night.
Daisuke Takahashi WOW! Triple flip + Triple toe, triple Axel, triple Lutz. Fantastic footwork to tango rhythms. 90.25
Stephane Lambiel has always had difficulty with triple Axels, so he only planned a double. He's generally solid with his quad, but he stepped out in the combination. The footwork and spins were classic Lambiel. Always impressed with how centered his spins are. 84.63
Nobunari Oda skated and I didn't find anything really memorable about it. I like his long better, this was very business-like and earned a solid 84.85. I did get a slight sense he was imitating Lysacek with big arm movements and leg extensions. Lysacek does those moves because he's tall and they didn't fit the compact Oda.
Brian Joubert came out with an opportunity as Lambiel missed the quad and Takahashi didn't do one. Oooh, he steps out! Swivels hips. Triple Axel easy! Triple Lutz... he's down. He went through the motions the rest of the skate. He picked up the energy a bit in the straight line sequence realizing he would need to earn some points... he earning all of 68 points. He put so much pressure on himself to do well at the Olympics, awful to watch his dream fade away.
Takahiko Kozuka makes it 3 for 3 for Japan. They make skating at the Olympics look easy. 79.59
Patrick Chan stepped to plate next to the roar of the Canadian crowd. He stepped out of his triple Axel but then executed a triple combo and triple Lutz. Sweet to see a circular footwork sequence go in the opposite (clockwise) direction, then a weird step on the straight line sequence where he nearly tripped. Finally, he ended the program after the music so it ran 2:51. One point time deduction and earns 81.12.
Johnny Weir skated to I Love You, I Hate You but the audience was all about the love. He earned much love from the crowd with triple Lutz + triple toe, triple Axel, triple flip. Playful program after the jumps were through. They played Lady Gaga's Poker Face while he sat in the Kiss'n'Cry, but then seemingly low scores popped up prompting boos from the crowd. He received a negative grade of execution on the flip so I'm guessing a wrong-edge takeoff was called there. 82.10
Watched the OT of the UK-Mississippi State game and missed Kevin van der Perren. I don't think I missed much other than his costume. Several tweets it would glow in the dark. 72.90
UK also took precedence over Tomas Verner. He doubled his planned quad and finished behind Joubert. 65.32
Evan Lysacek is back to the Edward Featherhands look and his program took off! Bad writing, I know, sorry. Textbook landings on his triple flip, triple Lutz + triple toe, triple Axel. Besides the jumps he commanded the ice with his deep edges and speed. Spins second best to Lambiel with speed and centering. So proud of him to be able to focus and perform while making it look natural. I thought it would be close between him and Plushenko and Lysacek might pull ahead. My mind tried to remember how many times Evan has been in the lead after the short in a major international competition, I think he does better as an underdog in the free. He'll be the best an underdog can be with 90.30 points right behind Plushenko's 90.85.
Jeremy Abbott skated next and I don't want to type about it. Crushing. Jeremy you're free sings and pigs can fly, Thursday's free skate is another day. 69.40
Good Night, try to go to bed!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
To Quad Or Not To Quad
If Shakespeare was sweating under Broadway's lights or sipping coffee before a slam poetry reading today, I think he could find some inspiration in the stories of the men taking to ice tonight. Particularly as the ponder the worth of completing a quadruple jump as they take the Olympic ice.
The Quad
Baseball has the homerun. That amazing athletic feat of hitting a ball that took barely a second to travel from the pitcher's mound to the plate and to hit hit over 400 feet is hallowed by baseball fans. The difference between a hit and homerun a combination of the pitch, and the speed and strength of the batter in his swing.
Figure skating has the quad, any jump done completed with 4 revolutions in the air before landing on one foot. It takes speed and strength and the precision of setting up the jump and landing on a narrow steel blade.
A decade ago the quad was the future of the sport with top skaters conducting jump seminars in their skating programs. Elvis Stojko, Ilia Kulik, Alexei Urmanov, Michael Weiss, Timothy Goebel & Alexei Yagudin pushed the sport from quad toes to quad combinations, multiple quads in a freeskate, and a quad for the short just to be in contention. These skaters represented the best of North America and Europe. Everyone was training a quad.
As the quads increased, the age old skating debate of artistry vs athleticism heated up. Then came the IJS awarding points for completing a quad successfully, and the deductions for underrotating or falling on a quad. The base value of a quad toe is 9.8 points, but a fall counts as zero plus one point deduction. That debate of whether the quad is worth it is reaching a boiling point on the eve of the men's short.
Brian Joubert and Evgeny Plushenko have made statements of the quad being everything in men's skating. Brian Joubert maintains a quad should be worth more and worth the risk of performing one in competition. He says,
For all of his talk of quads as king, it would seem that his skating has suffered. After the Torino Games, he was on top the world the following season. He was the first skater to land three quads in a free skate that 2006-2007 and he capped it off with win at the world championships. Since then, he's experienced some illness and injuries. He seems to be able to easily overcome those, but not overcome the weight of the expectations he's put on himself to complete all of his jumps.
His North American competitors have seemed to play some head games with him on the quad topic. Patrick Chan of Canada in particular has reminded reporters while mentioning Joubert that his countyman Jeff Buttle won a world title without a quad. In fact, no one since Joubert has won worlds with a quad. While Joubert lands one, he falls on a triple making the pursuit of quad perfection questionable.
Most of the North American men will not attempt a quad this week in competition. Nancy Amour tweeted that Johnny Weir busted out the quad in practice (nice head games Johnny!) and Jeremy Abbott completed one in his win at US Nats but is more focused on adding a second triple Axel in the free. Evan Lysacek won his world title last year without one and thinks the rest of his skating is strong enough that he doesn't need it.
The North American skaters have used transitions, solid triples, spins and footwork to their advantage under IJS. They read the rules and the great points from the quad, but did the math and saw more points are to be had with other elements. While the Europeans have focused on quads, the transitions between jumps have suffered.
Still, Evan was planning on adding the jump to his free skate until last week. He has chimed in with Joubert on occasion that a quad keeps up the challenge and pushes boundaries in men's skating. Recently, he said he feared he had reinjured his foot. X-rays proved he does not have the stress fracture that bothered him last spring, but he doesn't want to risk it with a quad in his free skate.
With so many top competitors not planning to do quads or willing to take their quad out, why all the fuss?
The Quad 2010
Brian Joubert's pining for the old days of 15 top skaters doing quads is coming back to haunt him. Evgeny Plushenko and Stephane Lambiel have come out of retirement and beat him at Europeans. Both have solid quads, and Plushenko will probably do a quad-combo in the short and multiple quads in the long. Stephane Lambiel does more quads than triple Axels in his free skate.
Patrick Chan isn't scared, he said this week of Plushenko's skating,
Of course Daisuke Takahashi and Jeremy Abbott can do transitions and quads, proving you can have both and there's no need for debate!
What do you think, to quad or not to quad?
The Quad
Baseball has the homerun. That amazing athletic feat of hitting a ball that took barely a second to travel from the pitcher's mound to the plate and to hit hit over 400 feet is hallowed by baseball fans. The difference between a hit and homerun a combination of the pitch, and the speed and strength of the batter in his swing.
Figure skating has the quad, any jump done completed with 4 revolutions in the air before landing on one foot. It takes speed and strength and the precision of setting up the jump and landing on a narrow steel blade.
A decade ago the quad was the future of the sport with top skaters conducting jump seminars in their skating programs. Elvis Stojko, Ilia Kulik, Alexei Urmanov, Michael Weiss, Timothy Goebel & Alexei Yagudin pushed the sport from quad toes to quad combinations, multiple quads in a freeskate, and a quad for the short just to be in contention. These skaters represented the best of North America and Europe. Everyone was training a quad.
As the quads increased, the age old skating debate of artistry vs athleticism heated up. Then came the IJS awarding points for completing a quad successfully, and the deductions for underrotating or falling on a quad. The base value of a quad toe is 9.8 points, but a fall counts as zero plus one point deduction. That debate of whether the quad is worth it is reaching a boiling point on the eve of the men's short.
Brian Joubert and Evgeny Plushenko have made statements of the quad being everything in men's skating. Brian Joubert maintains a quad should be worth more and worth the risk of performing one in competition. He says,
There is pressure when you try a quad and there is pressure after it, because it is more difficult to do the next jump.He has also lamented the lack of quads in skating these days and insists it is the future of the sport.
His North American competitors have seemed to play some head games with him on the quad topic. Patrick Chan of Canada in particular has reminded reporters while mentioning Joubert that his countyman Jeff Buttle won a world title without a quad. In fact, no one since Joubert has won worlds with a quad. While Joubert lands one, he falls on a triple making the pursuit of quad perfection questionable.
The North American skaters have used transitions, solid triples, spins and footwork to their advantage under IJS. They read the rules and the great points from the quad, but did the math and saw more points are to be had with other elements. While the Europeans have focused on quads, the transitions between jumps have suffered.
Still, Evan was planning on adding the jump to his free skate until last week. He has chimed in with Joubert on occasion that a quad keeps up the challenge and pushes boundaries in men's skating. Recently, he said he feared he had reinjured his foot. X-rays proved he does not have the stress fracture that bothered him last spring, but he doesn't want to risk it with a quad in his free skate.
With so many top competitors not planning to do quads or willing to take their quad out, why all the fuss?
The Quad 2010
Patrick Chan isn't scared, he said this week of Plushenko's skating,
He has the confidence that he doesn't need to do the transitions because he can do what I think is a magnificent quad. But he's old!The pendulum still swings in the debate of artistry vs. athleticism. Perhaps a better question is what is more athletic? Skating with complex and fast transitions that take deep knee bends to maintain the speed for four minutes or accelerating down the ice into a quad Salchow-triple toe-double loop combo during a four minute program?
Of course Daisuke Takahashi and Jeremy Abbott can do transitions and quads, proving you can have both and there's no need for debate!
What do you think, to quad or not to quad?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Romping through the Far East and Midwest
A couple of weekends ago, I got up early and let the dog out. Then I plopped in front of my laptop to watch bits of the men's and pairs' competition at Cup of China. Crazy time differences, I was seeing their evening performances in my slippers over the live feed.
Cup of China was a "comeback" comp for Shen & Zhao and comeback they did. I enjoyed the free program, it was easy to watch. The side-by-side jumps were probably a bit too far apart, but overall an excellent skate.
Cup of China was the debut of some of North America's Olympic medal contenders. Belbin & Agosto won the ice dance event, Evan Lysacek medaled in the men's event, and Mirai Nagasu & Rachel Flatt had nice outings in the front of the judges and their international competition. Joannie Rochette of Canada had a disappointing short but bounced back with her superior freeskate to Saint-Saens "Sampson & Delilah."
I must say I was a tad disappointed in the Americans. Evan Lysacek skated well, he was downgraded on a jump in each program, but the programs looked good. While the music was new, his programs have come to have a predictable pattern. I was slightly distracted from that pattern watching the short. He's skating to "Firebird" and has a black outfit, with long black feathers at the end of the sleeves. It kept giving me an image of Edward Scissorhands... all in black with these big, dangling, useless hands... except with feathers. Lose the feathers Evan!
I caught the ladies short and was thrilled that Mirai Nagasu had a good skate. She managed first which was a big improvement over everything last season. I expected more from Rachel Flatt with her "Sing, Sing, Sing" short. The YouTube clip of her performance at a summer competition gave me hope that she added some pizzazz to her consistency. However, the program just didn't seem to fill the big arena their in Beijing. She somehow appeared to be skating on ice twice as big as her competitors.
Belbin & Agosto chose a Moldovian theme for their original folk dance. Then they skated to a version of Ava Maria. The Ava Maria program is beautiful and features interesting lifts, however, I thought it was an odd choice for them. Since changing coaches prior to last season, I feel they have become more confident in their technical skill which especially has helped them in the compulsory portion of the competition. However, I their programs seem like they are coming straight out the Soviet School of Ice Dancing. I don't feel they are really offering anything new to the sport. Of course, skating passionately to Ava Maria is rite of passage in skating and Soviet/Russian ice dancers have demonstrated a winning formula of angst-ridden performances. I just Belbin & Agosto could be legendary with their talent by creating something entirely new. They're playing it conservative to win, while I think if they went outside of the box, not only would they win, they would blow everyone away.
I really think Meryl Davis and Charlie White are skating outside of the box this year with their Bollywood-inspired original dance. Watching Belbin & Agosto and then Davis & White in back to back competitions proves really brings that home to me. Davis and White have excellent technique and speed and I think their originality in their programs demonstrates those skills.
Davis and White completely left their competitors in the dust at the NHK Trophy. I was in Chicago over the weekend. I got to enjoy the weather for a weekend holiday shopping spree but the hotel didn't have free wifi so I missed my morning ritual of watching the live feed from Asia.
So glad to catch up on the NHK Trophy mid-week after work. Brian Joubert is back! He looked Yagudin-like out there. There was such command of the ice and energy in his performances. I haven't really seen that from him for awhile.
Johnny Weir actually put together two solid skates in the same competition. He earned a silver souvenir for that accomplishment. Jeremy Abbott debuted his programs for the season. Love the short, "Day in a Life" awesomeness. Jeremy, note to self, ice shavings are very apparent on black outfits so don't fall on every jump in the long! Daisuke Takahashi was back after injury last season. Wow, I missed him, he's programs fill the arena. Hope those jumps make a complete recovery after injury too.
Enjoyed the Kerrs free dance to Krwling too.
I've been getting the hang of choctaws and my rockers are back to what I could do well 10 years ago. I think I may pass my junior MITF by February!
Cup of China was a "comeback" comp for Shen & Zhao and comeback they did. I enjoyed the free program, it was easy to watch. The side-by-side jumps were probably a bit too far apart, but overall an excellent skate.
Cup of China was the debut of some of North America's Olympic medal contenders. Belbin & Agosto won the ice dance event, Evan Lysacek medaled in the men's event, and Mirai Nagasu & Rachel Flatt had nice outings in the front of the judges and their international competition. Joannie Rochette of Canada had a disappointing short but bounced back with her superior freeskate to Saint-Saens "Sampson & Delilah."
I must say I was a tad disappointed in the Americans. Evan Lysacek skated well, he was downgraded on a jump in each program, but the programs looked good. While the music was new, his programs have come to have a predictable pattern. I was slightly distracted from that pattern watching the short. He's skating to "Firebird" and has a black outfit, with long black feathers at the end of the sleeves. It kept giving me an image of Edward Scissorhands... all in black with these big, dangling, useless hands... except with feathers. Lose the feathers Evan!
I caught the ladies short and was thrilled that Mirai Nagasu had a good skate. She managed first which was a big improvement over everything last season. I expected more from Rachel Flatt with her "Sing, Sing, Sing" short. The YouTube clip of her performance at a summer competition gave me hope that she added some pizzazz to her consistency. However, the program just didn't seem to fill the big arena their in Beijing. She somehow appeared to be skating on ice twice as big as her competitors.
Belbin & Agosto chose a Moldovian theme for their original folk dance. Then they skated to a version of Ava Maria. The Ava Maria program is beautiful and features interesting lifts, however, I thought it was an odd choice for them. Since changing coaches prior to last season, I feel they have become more confident in their technical skill which especially has helped them in the compulsory portion of the competition. However, I their programs seem like they are coming straight out the Soviet School of Ice Dancing. I don't feel they are really offering anything new to the sport. Of course, skating passionately to Ava Maria is rite of passage in skating and Soviet/Russian ice dancers have demonstrated a winning formula of angst-ridden performances. I just Belbin & Agosto could be legendary with their talent by creating something entirely new. They're playing it conservative to win, while I think if they went outside of the box, not only would they win, they would blow everyone away.
I really think Meryl Davis and Charlie White are skating outside of the box this year with their Bollywood-inspired original dance. Watching Belbin & Agosto and then Davis & White in back to back competitions proves really brings that home to me. Davis and White have excellent technique and speed and I think their originality in their programs demonstrates those skills.
Davis and White completely left their competitors in the dust at the NHK Trophy. I was in Chicago over the weekend. I got to enjoy the weather for a weekend holiday shopping spree but the hotel didn't have free wifi so I missed my morning ritual of watching the live feed from Asia.
So glad to catch up on the NHK Trophy mid-week after work. Brian Joubert is back! He looked Yagudin-like out there. There was such command of the ice and energy in his performances. I haven't really seen that from him for awhile.
Johnny Weir actually put together two solid skates in the same competition. He earned a silver souvenir for that accomplishment. Jeremy Abbott debuted his programs for the season. Love the short, "Day in a Life" awesomeness. Jeremy, note to self, ice shavings are very apparent on black outfits so don't fall on every jump in the long! Daisuke Takahashi was back after injury last season. Wow, I missed him, he's programs fill the arena. Hope those jumps make a complete recovery after injury too.
Enjoyed the Kerrs free dance to Krwling too.
I've been getting the hang of choctaws and my rockers are back to what I could do well 10 years ago. I think I may pass my junior MITF by February!
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