Yu-Na, Carolina & Mao: A Comparison

[theguitarist]

It appears the type of discussion you want to have about Yu-Na doesn't belong in this forum, which is called Figure Skating Universe, where diverse figure skating fans from all around the world share their varying opinions and interests about a wide assortment of skaters and topics. This is not Yu-Na Universe where everyone is a fan of Yu-Na Kim. Maybe you should consider staying in a fan forum for your favorite if you can't tolerate differences of opinions regarding her and her skating.

You're absolutely right. I'm here not to respect certain expressions of diversity of opinion, like this one, for example,
"Actually Kim Yu Na is very popular Papua New Guinea. Her positions remind them of the traditional squat done by tribal big men" (the poster later had the good sense of removing it). I'm here also to see if these people with 'innocent opinions' will take my opinions as such, without resorting to vocabularies such as 'troll,' 'yunabot' or insinuating that I must be Korean. You certainly can do better than that, can't you?

[Li'Kitsu]

I don't think Asada will deliver a clean performance of her FS "Swan Lake." Her "8-triple" jump layout is out of her reach in my opinion. She'll most likely pop the salchow, under-rotate the second jumps of her 3+3 and 2+3 and have an obvious flutz. 3A is 50/50. She should've concentrated more on improving her jumping technique because for now, she can't jump high enough. The original 7-triple without 3A was already so difficult and she hasn't skated it clean. Now that she's trying even more, the chances of her skating it clean is even slimmer. Being ambitious only means so much when you're actually successful at it.

She can't jump high enough? Mao did work on her technique, and she deliberatly sacrificed some height to gain more ice coverage. But she needs to use more entry speed for that (Flip at least), and she still needs to get used to that. Mao is still in the progress of reworking her jumps....
That said, I think you're right she won't be clean at worlds this year. But I don't think that's so important for her. Mao wants to do that layout in Sochi, so better get used to it now. I doubt her goal is to win worlds by now, is getting a good learning/stepping stone experience for Sochi and the self-confidence that she can manage it until then.
If Mao skates really well, but with some mistakes, and comes third to Yuna and Caro, I'd still be happy for her. It's more of a question what your ultimate goal is.

Yuna has superior qualities than Mao or Caro in the following areas:
Skating Skills (edge, speed, flow)

Really?
Yunas SS are amazing, but come on... better egdes than Carolina? Carolina can gain speed during her footwork, she doesn't even need to have crossovers before. I'm not even a fan of her, but saying Yuna has superior egdes, flow and speed over Caro is a little too much.
(Choreography is another debatable point, but that's that - debatable. You can find arguments in any direction I guess. But for SS, that's not really a thing of opinion.)

[TheIronLady]

At moments like these I am glad that Carolina is in this mix because it deflects some attention from the contentious Japan vs. Korea theme, which seems to come to the fore in Yu Na vs Asada comparisons. I've never seen any Caro fans be accused of being Italians!

[Jenny81]

At moments like these I am glad that Carolina is in this mix because it deflects some attention from the contentious Japan vs. Korea theme, which seems to come to the fore in Yu Na vs Asada comparisons. I've never seen any Caro fans be accused of being Italians!

Asada=Japan
Yuna=South Korea
Carolina=Chinquanta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[iloveemoticons]

I think Yuna occasionally URs her second 3T after her 3L or 2A, but as long as she pulls it off she never gets a UR call because the last tech caller to do so got raked over the coals. Whereas Mao will likely get downgrades on various jumps. Therefore Yuna wins again...

[miki88]

In reality though, I think the chance of both Mao and Caro going clean at the Worlds is as likely as jealous Yuna-antis at FSU behaving themselves.

Don't tempt the skate gods.

Anyways, I think she is the best competitor of the three but I don't think it's that clear that she is the best skater of the three. If we talk about consistency, Yuna has the edge in jumps but since you were talking about quality, Kostner can rival her in a lot of the jumps when she lands them. They are at least on par for skating skills and I would say Kostner has the edge. Mao isn't as fast as those two but she is known for having beautiful flow. Choreography and presentation are debatable.

[lauravvv]

Comparing ice coverage and speed is a good way to get a sense of skater's skating skills:

Mao Asada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Oqd7ALbCA
(unfortunately, I cannot find this season's program taken from afar, but we can assume her skating skills have improved since last season)

Yuna Kim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=5gj9JYjdYv8

Carolina Kostner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRevSNTNMKc

Things to focus are speed before jump, but also ice coverage of step sequence. Who covers the most ice?

Still, it's very difficult to compare. Although I am not a specialist, I understand that step sequences can be very different even if all of them are constructed as level 4 - some steps are "longer", more flowing, others are smaller, shorter, and don't cower that much ice, and so on. Plus, Carolina's LP for this season is slower moving not because of some decline in her skating abilities, but because of the slow music and general rhythm. Also, I thought that Yuna was a bit rusty in her first performances of this program, and not quite as fast as before. But that may change.

[sonya71]

Short
Mao 3A 3F 3Lo 2Lo
Yuna 3Lz 3F 3T 2A
Tut 3Lz 3Lo 3T 2A
Caro 3F 3Lo 3T 2A

Free
Mao 3A 3Lz 3F 3F 3Lo 3Lo 3S 3T 2A 2Lo 2Lo
Tut 3Lz 3Lz 3F 3Lo 3S 3T 3T 2A 2A 2Lo 2T
Yuna 3Lz 3Lz 3F 3S 3S 3T 2A 2A 2Lo 2T 2T
Caro 3Lz 3F 3Lo 3S 3S 3T 2A 2Lo 2T 2T 2T

[aims]

The latest base value analysis between Mao Asada and Yuna Kim post-four Continents by blogger Jackie Wong: http://www.examiner.com/article/opin...g-asada-vs-kim

Nice. A very OBJECTIVE analysis.

[t.mann]

I really don't understand Kostner's appeal. YuNa and Mao seem in a whole other class. Kostner has never skated performance that has impressed me. I know her jumps can be great when she is on, and she can obvisously rack up COP points, but the rest of her performance is usually eh for me. Never saw a performance of hers that inspiried me, certainly never saw one I'd watch twice.

You have to watch Caro live.
On live seeing, Yuna and Caro are at the different league from the other skaters(including Mao). Mao is better on screen than at stadium, IMO.
Anyways, a skater who isn't special cannot make Kwan(though old) finish off the Worlds podium.

[lowtherlore]

Caro was very impressive when I saw her live. Another skater who's better live than on screen was Kiira Korpi. I understood her good scores after watching her live.

[briancoogaert]

You have to watch Caro live.
On live seeing, Yuna and Caro are at the different league from the other skaters(including Mao). Mao is better on screen than at stadium, IMO.
Anyways, a skater who isn't special cannot make Kwan(though old) finish off the Worlds podium.

Absolutely. I remember TEB few years ago, I was impressed by the difference between Mao and Yu Na skating back to back. When Mao skated, I was like "Oh, she is so good". But when Yu Na skated, you could see the difference.
Same for Carolina.
She is not the most impressive to watch on TV, but the speed, control she has on the ice is amazing !

[sonya71]

PCS Scores Comparison (Short + Free)

2011 World (Gold-Miki, Silver-Yuna, Bronze-Caro, 6th-Mao)
Yuna 99.81
Miki 95.84
Caro 95.37
Mao 90.68

2012 World (Gold-Caro, 6th-Mao)
Caro 96.46
Mao 89.62

******

Based on past scores, Yuna will likely get the highest PCS. However, her skating skills may not be completely back, and her Homage program was better than Les Mis. Additionally, since clean Miki scored only 4 points less than Yuna, it is likely that Yuna’s PCS will be higher only if she goes clean and Caro and Mao don’t.

Mao scored approximately 10 points under Yuna in 2011, and 7 points under Caro in 2012. However, these were the worst results of Mao’s career, and she has won every competition she entered in this season. Her PCS is likely to dramatically improve.

Caro scored 4.5 points below Yuna in 2011, but she is also the reigning champion. If she skates clean, she is likely to get the highest PCS.

Based on these past results, I estimate that whoever gets the most tech mark will get the highest PCS.

[theguitarist]

Absolutely. I remember TEB few years ago, I was impressed by the difference between Mao and Yu Na skating back to back. When Mao skated, I was like "Oh, she is so good". But when Yu Na skated, you could see the difference.
Same for Carolina.
She is not the most impressive to watch on TV, but the speed, control she has on the ice is amazing !

That's TEB 2009 right? I went to the same event. I was sitting quite far back (and probably I needed a new prescription for my contacts) and saw Mao mildly stirring the air by her moves and jumps like a beach ball at a far-away shore. Then Yuna glided into the rink upright like a thin, tall motored pencil with the silhouette of Olive Oil in her Bond costume, and cruising the ice like a Batman Mobile.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

I heard the same thing about Joannie Rochette. People say you don't fully appreciate her until you see her live.

[TheIronLady]

I think the more balletic skaters are best on television.

[lala]

Only Yuna and Mao:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu7TQfAx844 interesting opinion

[theguitarist]

Only Yuna and Mao:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu7TQfAx844 interesting opinion

My reaction
1. Yuna is beautiful, but not movie star-gorgeous, nor did she win because of her 'sexiness.'
2, Ballet is not the only dance in this world. People can be a great dancer without being balletic.
3. It's Mao and not Mayo. This lady just makes me feel really hungry.

[lala]

My reaction
1. Yuna is beautiful, but not movie star-gorgeous, nor did she win because of her 'sexiness.'
2, Ballet is not the only dance in this world. People can be a great dancer without being balletic.
3. It's Mao and not Mayo. This lady just makes me feel really hungry.

hungry?

[lala]

I think you know these videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8j3etHmSc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnsFFVB7wIg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlRpb7Qg4pA