Mao Asada reworking jumps: Why?

[ballettmaus]

The other problem is that too many cooks spoil the broth frankly and since 2007 she has had major technical overhauls by Arutunian, Tarasova/Folle (), Nakabuko (SP?) and now Sato. Her flip entry timing has been changed that many times I'm honestly not sure she even knows how to do a single anymore. She must be so confused

I remember a while ago there was an article on muscle memory that stated when you started to think about a process, you messed up the muscle memory therefore moves would go wrong.
I think, the hard part for Mao would be getting that muscle memory back. With many different coaches her mind probably never got around to really "save" one version of how to do a jump. There was a lot of different input by a lot of different people and never just one version of how to do it.
The question is, if she'll be able to successfully relearn her jumps or if the many coaches actually messed up her chances.

The other question is, will she still be able to make the Worlds team? will the Japanese federation keep her scores high enough to send her if they have three clean skates at Nationals and she were to mess up? What happens when she's not selected and doesn't go to Worlds this year? I know that she might make the World team the following year without a problem, I'm more concerned about international judges (who are unbiased and of course, only judge what they see )

I've never been her biggest fan but she's got a lot of courage to do what many never even think about doing and I sincerely hope her many coaches haven't messed up her chances and her effort is rewarded in the end!! No one deserves to put so much work into something and then not see it pay of!!

[miki88]

What she was doing with Nagakubo really did look like it was working, and all of his skaters (Suzuki, Imai) have pretty solid jumps with good height. But Sato is great for basic skating and speed.

I don't know. I mean Suzuki still gets edge calls. And it's not like Sato's students' jumps are not good. I always felt his students had good flow out of their jumps. It would have been good for her to continue to work with Nakagubo but he never signed up to be her main coach (cuz of Akiko), so it couldn't be helped.

[IceAlisa]

So is she really reworking her jumps or just having an spectacularly awful season?

[Anita18]

I just wish she took a season off to do that because watching her in current shape is painful.

Right. I admire Mao greatly for being aware of (let alone going ahead and fixing) her flaws, but one also has to wonder how this is making her look in the eyes of the judges. Forward momentum is never a bad thing, especially when it comes to a judged sport.

I would think that it would have been better to take the season off so she could fix her jumps without worrying about traveling to comps or even choreographing/practicing programs. Liebestraum is SO much better than last year's Bells and it would make me sad if she never got to skate it well.

[dundas]

mao is another victim of rabid armchair fans' call for 'retooling jump technique to be a better skater'

I'm wondering when she'll be able to retool back her jumps, perhaps never. sad since Mao is such a talented skater.

[IceAlisa]

Liebestraum is SO much better than last year's Bells and it would make me sad if she never got to skate it well.

ITA.

[eyh201]

Right. I admire Mao greatly for being aware of (let alone going ahead and fixing) her flaws, but one also has to wonder how this is making her look in the eyes of the judges. Forward momentum is never a bad thing, especially when it comes to a judged sport.

I would think that it would have been better to take the season off so she could fix her jumps without worrying about traveling to comps or even choreographing/practicing programs.

I think the reason why Mao doesn't skip the season could be her endorsement contracts. But it was said that one of her endorsement contracts was recently canceled due to the unsatisfying GP results. Maybe it could give Mao leeway for rescheduling the rest of the season.

[vodkashot]

I think the reason why Mao doesn't skip the season could be her endorsement contracts. But it was said that one of her endorsement contracts was recently canceled due to the unsatisfying GP results. Maybe it could give Mao leeway for rescheduling the rest of the season.

Out of curiosity, which one of Mao's endorsement contracts were cancelled?

[Extranjera]

I'm curious too, but I don't think that's the reason why she doesn't skip GP season.

Asada or Sato (I don't remember who of them) said that competing is part of practice, that's why she doesn't take a season off. You can be able to do some jumps during practices but not be able to do them under pressure during competition. If she cared about placement she wouldn't try to do 3F, 3Lu (like Kostner does) and 3A.

Liebestraum is SO much better than last year's Bells and it would make me sad if she never got to skate it well.

I love Bells of Moscow, it completely differentiated from programs of other skaters. Liebestraum is softer and it better fits her, but it's also a bit Zzzzzz...

I know most of people don't like BoM, but you have to forgive me my strange taste I'm the one who consider new SP of Ando to be her the best SP so far. I suppose I'm one of the few people who think that.

[Prancer]

mao is another victim of rabid armchair fans' call for 'retooling jump technique to be a better skater'

Evidence, please, that Mao, the Japanese federation, and Mr. Sato make their decisions about Mao's training based on "the fans?"

[Marco]

I think it's ridiculous that some of us have watched 2 sps and 3 lps from her this season, hardly 20 minutes of her skating, and call themselves disappointed, when she must have had experienced the most god-awful and discouraging 8 months of training.

The reason why she didn't just take the season off while reworking her jumps was, I think, besides endorsements and Worlds in Japan, that she is a very competitive person and thrives when the big comps come around. Knowing a competition is coming is what motivates her to work harder.

[Feb]

I’d admire her if she’s refixing her jump technique for long-term success, but her PCS goes down each time she gives an awful skate. Would that hurt her both in the short term and eventually in the long term? After all, we don’t know how much would refixing jump technique help her TES, and if PCS also drops…
__________________
Love all skaters who show artistry

[Dragonlady]

I’d admire her if she’s refixing her jump technique for long-term success, but her PCS goes down each time she gives an awful skate. Would that hurt her both in the short term and eventually in the long term? After all, we don’t know how much would refixing jump technique help her TES, and if PCS also drops…

Her PCS dropped because the speed, flow, power and ice coverage of her non-jump elements disappeared in her quest for the 3A. There’s this false assumption that if she’s working on her jumps, they’re the only part of her skating that’s affected but this isn’t the case. There are comments to the effect that if she’s working on her lutz, why can’t she land her 3A any more. When you renovate part of your home, the entire house is affected by the mess, not just the rooms you’re working on. And the house doesn’t return to normal until all of the renovations are complete. The same theory applies here.

Working on her 3A cost Mao her PCS. It’s that simple. Her PCS was comparable to Yu-Na’s when she decided to focus on the 3A. Her spins, footwork, speed, flow, everything, went downhill except the 3A.

And even though the working on the 3A was successful in that she did land 3 of them at the Olympics which was her goal, it failed because what she lost on the rest of her elements, and her skating skills, was worth more points overall, than what she gained.

[Extranjera]

Working on her 3A cost Mao her PCS. It’s that simple. Her PCS was comparable to Yu-Na’s when she decided to focus on the 3A. Her spins, footwork, speed, flow, everything, went downhill except the 3A.

And even though the working on the 3A was successful in that she did land 3 of them at the Olympics which was her goal, it failed because what she lost on the rest of her elements, and her skating skills, was worth more points overall, than what she gained.

Last season Mao got level 4 for all spins & spiral sequence and level 3 for step sequence. I wouldn't say "everything, went downhill except the 3A"

[Dragonlady]

Last season Mao got level 4 for all spins & spiral sequence and level 3 for step sequence. I wouldn't say "everything, went downhill except the 3A"

Don't look at her levels, look at her GoE for those elements. It went down.

[Extranjera]

I compare her results from worlds in 2008 & 2010 and she got higher scores for all those elements in 2010.

Why should I look only at GoE instead of level? Both are very important.

[Kwantumleap]

So I must ask what was so wrong with her jump technique that she embarked on this program of reworking ALL of her jumps? I must have missed an interview with her in which she answered this question. Anyone know?

She got bored.

[shine]

I compare her results from worlds in 2008 & 2010 and she got higher scores for all those elements in 2010.

Why should I look only at GoE instead of level? Both are very important.

Because we are talking about QUALITY here, and that's what GOE reflects?

[CantALoop]

I think it's ridiculous that some of us have watched 2 sps and 3 lps from her this season, hardly 20 minutes of her skating, and call themselves disappointed, when she must have had experienced the most god-awful and discouraging 8 months of training.

There's no doubt her training has been difficult and arduous, but it's those 20 minutes that count towards her world standings, medal count, and reputation.

I'm disappointed because it really seemed like there were glints of hope that Mao was making progress during her summer training with Nagakubo. Those clips were very brief, but I remember seeing lutz attempts with actual counterrotation "spring" into them, decent attempts to hold a real BO edge, and Mao holding her landings and getting more flow out of them.

I know from my and others' experiences that even if a skater is reworking their technique, old habits tend to come out during competition. That might be part of the reason why Mao shows no evidence of her summer improvements, but I'm shocked at how the bad habits are even worse.

[Extranjera]

Because we are talking about QUALITY here, and that's what GOE reflects?

I know, but level of element is more objective evaluation than GoE. Moreover both of them make scores higher and that's the most important thing in this case.

And concerning steps: WTT in 2009 was first competition when Asada tried to do three 3A and she got level 4 for step sequence. How many skaters do you know whose steps are worth level 4? I think it proves she doesn't focus only on 3A.