Mao News - Off-Season 2011!

Cloviece, you've pinpoint the gist!

Reducing weight/continuing a strict diet not only risks her health, but also reduces her body mass and in turn her "power". Besides, her thin and stick-like body makes her less feminine and mature (comparing Miki, Alissa, Kiira, etc.)

Perhaps Coach Sato is more successful in improving Mao's skating efficiency and skills than building her power in terms of muscular strength so far. (That's why we saw Mao skating with more fluidity and landing better jumps at The Ice while Coach Sato still wants Mao getting much more power--aim unaccomplished.)

Yet I'm glad to see hopes in Mao, see her happy and settle down in Sato team, and no longer fighting by herself.

Thanks linglang for the news and detailed translation. Based on what I saw live at 4cc this year, I do agree with you that Alissa's speed, her fast spin (faster than 1/160sec), and her elegance on ice impressed me a lot. On the contrary Mao looked pale and tense, and had little presence on ice. The missing presence really shocked me, even though she had demonstrated the highest jumps and the best control of body in the field.

I hope Mao and her team not only bring back her "power", but also her old unique commanding presence on ice that draws everyone in.

I agree about Mao's lack of power and presence in her competitive programs. But she had commanding presence in her Ballade Ex and especially in Jupiter. Also, I'm curious about these mentions of Alissa's speed, because I always thought she was a rather slow skater. Even at Worlds this year, I thought Mao, being frail and weak, skated faster than Alissa did. Although I have a lot of criticisms against Weider's management, Mao's weight is only a part of the issue for her lack of presence in competitions. We shouldn't also ignore her jump issues which caused her to become extra hesitant during her programs. In Jupiter, we see that her jumps have become more solid and thus she also appears stronger.

aoi88 wrote:

I agree about Mao's lack of power and presence in her competitive programs. But she had commanding presence in her Ballade Ex and especially in Jupiter. Also, I'm curious about these mentions of Alissa's speed, because I always thought she was a rather slow skater. Even at Worlds this year, I thought Mao, being frail and weak, skated faster than Alissa did. Although I have a lot of criticisms against Weider's management, Mao's weight is only a part of the issue for her lack of presence in competitions. We shouldn't also ignore her jump issues which caused her to become extra hesitant during her programs. In Jupiter, we see that her jumps have become more solid and thus she also appears stronger.

I saw Alissa live, and she's no way faster then Mao. Their speed is almost the same.

polosatik wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

I agree about Mao's lack of power and presence in her competitive programs. But she had commanding presence in her Ballade Ex and especially in Jupiter. Also, I'm curious about these mentions of Alissa's speed, because I always thought she was a rather slow skater. Even at Worlds this year, I thought Mao, being frail and weak, skated faster than Alissa did. Although I have a lot of criticisms against Weider's management, Mao's weight is only a part of the issue for her lack of presence in competitions. We shouldn't also ignore her jump issues which caused her to become extra hesitant during her programs. In Jupiter, we see that her jumps have become more solid and thus she also appears stronger.

I saw Alissa live, and she's no way faster then Mao. Their speed is almost the same.

Thanks Polosatik! That's what I think too. (Personally, I think Mao is a little faster, esp when it is before jumps. Alissa takes quite some time to launch her jumps. Maybe that's why her jumps appear a bit awkward).

aoi88 wrote:

polosatik wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

I agree about Mao's lack of power and presence in her competitive programs. But she had commanding presence in her Ballade Ex and especially in Jupiter. Also, I'm curious about these mentions of Alissa's speed, because I always thought she was a rather slow skater. Even at Worlds this year, I thought Mao, being frail and weak, skated faster than Alissa did. Although I have a lot of criticisms against Weider's management, Mao's weight is only a part of the issue for her lack of presence in competitions. We shouldn't also ignore her jump issues which caused her to become extra hesitant during her programs. In Jupiter, we see that her jumps have become more solid and thus she also appears stronger.

I saw Alissa live, and she's no way faster then Mao. Their speed is almost the same.

Thanks Polosatik! That's what I think too. (Personally, I think Mao is a little faster, esp when it is before jumps. Alissa takes quite some time to launch her jumps. Maybe that's why her jumps appear a bit awkward).

Overall Mao is faster I think, but at Worlds due to Mao's sickness she was slower then usual, so they were about the same.

I saw Mao and Alissa live at TEB and I didn't find Alissa faster than Mao.

Hi sweeties, may I clarify: I'm not implying Alissa skates faster than Mao. I agree with linglang about "the sense of power" (or "presence on ice" in my own term) might give the audience a different impression.

Likewise, I can barely watch Flatt's programs as they look boring in youtube video. But when I saw her live, I surprisely found myself interested in her energetic performance and immediately attracted to her strong presence on ice. Again, her sense of power/presence on ice gave me a different impression.

When I wrote about Mao's old "commanding presence", I was indeed thinking of her old Czardas/Nocturne/Fantaisie-Impromptu programs. After all, being the queen of exhibition alone cannot make her a champion at Worlds. It's my dreadful desire to let Mao taking my breath away again in her new competitive programs with the same commanding presence.

Any news of Mao before her birthday? 'hardly bearable for fans.

I think that if you contract with somebody and that somebody fails to provide adequate service, you should terminate that contract.

I’m new to Mao fandom, so perhaps my perception is skewed, but one of the few things I’ve gleaned from reading various forums is… some fans love Mao not just for her skating, but also for the class with which she carries herself. i.e. Mao never speaks bad about anybody, she manages to always take the high road without ever coming across as insincere. I don’t recall any very public, very sour break between Mao and her former coaches, etc. It would have been nice if her entire career could go without ever having to terminate a contract, but in this case I believe it isn’t possible to salvage this contracted arrangement with Weider—not unless Weider is willing to concede that they need to involve people who conduct research in sports physiology—preferably from one of the university medical centers. Just my opinion, but I don’t think Weider would do that because they would be reluctant to admit they aren’t the ultimate experts, their ‘brand’ would take a hit.

I’m not a sports physiologist and I’m only reading second and third-hand quotes, but the claims being thrown around, how 500 grams is going to make all the difference in power… struck me as dubious. Also the idea of losing weight just before a competition as a competitive strategy bothers me, no matter how many people on forums sign in and say ‘I used to that when I skated competitively…’ If what really matters is how close you come to rotating 360 (minus 45 to 90) degrees when you jump, and not how smooth your stroking, how excellent your posture, how gorgeous your spin positions, how well you listen to the music, then I have even more reason to despise COP.

It’s possible that the amount of weight being quoted is a compromise, because the amount of weight W’s team truly feels Mao needs sounded unreasonable to Mao, and it’s Mao’s mindset that needs to shift if fans are ever to see Mao compete at a ‘healthier’ weight again. Granted nobody but Mao’s team and her doctors know how healthy she really is, but there comes a time when a skater looks unhealthy, even across the TV to people who know nothing about her. Mao crossed that line at Worlds. At the time it had only been a month since the tragic quake--many including me hoped that it was only due to unique circumstances, thus time-limited. Yet here we are, months later, and Mao is looking very thin again, and some very questionable claims are being bandied about.


If it comes out that W. have indeed brought in the experts, and Mao’s mindset still won’t budge, then at least they’ve fulfilled their end of the deal, but right now I’m not convinced W’s people are giving Mao sound advice. And it frustrates the heck out of me that there can’t be an outside voice, a second, third opinion, because of that contract.

Sorry for sounding so irate. It’s been bothering me since Worlds-- I have many months of frustration to vent

I hope it all works out, so that Mao will be healthy and happier, so that skating can regain one of its shining lights. It’s a sad day when people have to wonder if Mao now skates any faster than Alissa C. – Alissa is elegant and her story is uplifting, but Mao has the potential to be one of the all time greats.

Skfan, I share your frustrations regarding her management. However, I should clarify that I don't think Mao is physically unhealthy right now. I think she can become "healthier" if she gains some weight. But based on her recent performances, I don't feel as if she lacks any energy, in fact she seems to gain energy since we last saw her at Worlds. Thanks for your explanation, Kitty. I guess power can lend itself to having more presence but I still don't think Mao's present figure is causing her to lack presence so to say. It just gives off a different kind of aesthetic. It's not a powerful presence, but a light, ethereal kind. Mao was ethereal before but now her slimness has caused her to be even more so. The problem with being too thin is that she will lack power for the more difficult jump combinations, not to mention triple axel that she has to do in competition, which is probably the main reason why she seems to lack power/presence then.

True, we know almost nothing behind the scene--about her health condition, her mindset, Weider's management, strategy, and deals with elite athletes.

As an audience my humble wish is to be indulged again in her air of confidence--no matter it stems from an improved technique, stronger physical power, a womanly outlook, or just a simple confident move (big smile, no shaking of shoulders) right before her program begins.

I'm new to the fandom too. May I sincerely know why Mr. Kohei Makino 牧野講平, her present and former personal trainer at Weider, is so highly regarded by fans that some even 'celebrated' his return?

Thanks Kitty, it’s exactly “presence on ice” that I wanted to explain in my previous post. I’m glad to hear that Mao is not slower than Alissa. I admit my untrained eyes cannot give fair judgment. But, it was my honest impression on that day. I also think one’s impression is skewed when you are nervous. I think I was nervous when I was watching Mao while I wasn’t nervous at all when Alissa was performing. (It's not because of confidence. It's just who you care more.) But, I didn’t mean Mao was slow in my previous post. Actually, her opening spiral in the Jupiter was much, much faster than it looks in THE ICE youtube video.

I don’t think Mao will become a sort of “powerful” skater and loose her lightness even if she gains more power as Sato-sensei advises. Like Aoi and many others on this board, I love Mao because of among many reasons her light and ethereal qualities. I believe that her unique qualities will not be spoiled under Sato-sensei. I will write the reason why I believe so later.

From the conversation of Mao and Hosono-san, I felt that Hosono-san was too cautious. It seemed to me that she wants to avoid risks and also blames, so she leaves decision-making upon Mao. She may be under pressure from the company Morinaga, the owner of Weider brand, that the team cannot make any mistakes this time. As Kitty says, we don’t know how the conversation continued afterwards and what’s actually going on. One thing is clear that Mao is no longer a big meat eater: she used to eat only meats and almost no vegetables and she was fine. Now she says in interviews she likes Japanese diet and eats vegetables. She posted a photo of her lunch she had one day on her official website. It looks a decent meal I think but I wonder if it’s enough for athlete in terms of portion and nutrition. It was less than a year ago when I last heard that Mao ate a big meat meal. It was reported after the Japanese Nationals 2010, Mao, Taka and The Satos went to a BBQ restaurant and they ate meat for 17 people or something. But before 4CC or Worlds 2011, I don’t remember exactly, she started a sort of macrobiotics diet. Wasn’t it a former dietitian from the Weider who suggested it to her? Please someone correct me if I’m wrong. I wonder from what food she gets proteins now and if the amount is enough.

I don’t quite understand why Makino-san is highly regarded by her fans. I have no confidence in him because he is the one who gave wrong suggestions to Mao on jumps. I remember watching a clip where he talked about jumps and he said it’s important to jump high and rotate quickly. In another clip, he said he was looking after Mao’s jump practices. I don’t mean to put all blames on him because it was Mao’s choice too to train away from her main coach. But then, Mao started to struggle with her jumps.

According to her book “Asada Mao -- Saranaru Takamie” written by Jun Yoshida, it was Mr. Nagakubo who tried to help struggling Mao. One day, when the Japanese Nationals (2009) was about a month ahead, he came across Mao at the Chukyo rink. He saw a gloomy look on her face and he felt he couldn’t stand it. He knew Mao was practicing alone without TAT. He couldn’t help but give her advice about entry speed and then body rotation (Mao started to rotate her body too soon), although he was Akiko’s main coach. Actually it didn’t solve problems at once, but Mao was able to deliver winning performances at the Nationals. Then, before the Olympics, Mr. Makoto Okazaki and Ms. Yumi Kono helped Mao. So, it’s not the Weider team who rescued Mao from the slump. Well, I should give credit to the team for preventing injuries though …

Another Mao’s book “Asada Mao – Book for Charity” by the same author tells about how Mr. and Mrs. Sato were fascinated by Mao. It was at an official practice in the morning of ladies free skate at worlds 2011, Sato-sensei was watching Mao’s Liebestraume. “She’s exquisite indeed …” came out from his mouth. Then, Kumiko-sensei said, “I was thinking exactly the same. It may sound funny if I put it about my own student like this, but I’m captivated by her.” They agreed that Mao had captivating quality & mesmerizing atmosphere, and they would work on maximizing her strong points. Sato-sensei didn’t use the word “ethereal” though, I think he was fascinated by it. This is the reason why I believe that Mao will be fine under Sato-sensei.

I hope Sato-sensei will be closely watching over Mao including her diet and successfully guide her to think that she can skate and jump finely even if she puts back some weight.

I wouldn't be too hard on Weider. The clip they aired had to be short, and I'm pretty sure the conversation between Mao and Hosono-san was staged - it was just too short for a serious conversation between an elite athlete and her official nutritionist. I think it would be too invasive for Mao and Hosono to have somebody they don't know very well to listen to their actual conversation, let alone put it on the Internet for the world to see.

Quote :

It was less than a year ago when I last heard that Mao ate a big meat meal. It was reported after the Japanese Nationals 2010, Mao, Taka and The Satos went to a BBQ restaurant and they ate meat for 17 people or something. But before 4CC or Worlds 2011, I don’t remember exactly, she started a sort of macrobiotics diet. Wasn’t it a former dietitian from the Weider who suggested it to her?

Actually, Mao's been on a diet for quite a long time. I think I still have a video from the time when Mao was training with Rafael in the U.S.. She was being interviewed in some sort of Cafe, and she said that she loved interviews because it was her only opportunity to eat whatever she wanted. IIRC she said that if it wasn't for the interview she would be eating vegetables and some boiled fish (or was that fish soup?). It stuck in my memory, because boiled fish (or fish soup) didn't sound very apetizing to me.

Other skaters have to watch their line as well - again, I have some clips with Nobunari and the Morozov Team (back when Adam Rippon swas till with Nikolai) bemoaning their respective diets. I think a lot of the skaters are so obsessed about the food because they can eat a lot only on special occassions.

Quote :

I don’t quite understand why Makino-san is highly regarded by her fans. I have no confidence in him because he is the one who gave wrong suggestions to Mao on jumps. (...) In another clip, he said he was looking after Mao’s jump practices

I don't know enough about Makino-san to try and form an opinion about his involvement in Mao's training, but just from the clips I watched, I don't think he did a bad job.

He was never Mao's jump coach - as a physical trainer his job is to oversee Mao's off-ice training, make sure she's warming up and stretching properly and works out in a way fit for her discipline. The fact that he watched Mao's practices doesn't have to mean that he interfered into Mao's on-ice training - it's possible that he simply observed Mao's skating to see what condition she is in, what works well for her and what still needs improving.

Quote :

I remember watching a clip where he talked about jumps and he said it’s important to jump high and rotate quickly.

It is important to work on the speed of rotation and the ability to jump high. A lot of skaters practices off-ice jumping to improve the efficiency of their rotation. This doesn't mean they are "up-and-down" type of jumpers when they jump on the ice.
Here's a gif of Nobu practicing jumping off-ice:
https://2img.net/h/oi56.tinypic.com/2i7y9zc.gif
I read that the Russian skaters often practice jumping off ice, and I saw YuNa and Daisuke practicing it as well, usually in the company of their off-ice trainers. And most of those skaters have excellent ice coverage during their jumps, thanks to their techique and speed on the take-off.
All in all, the off-ice trainers take care of the skaters condition, muscular strength, balance, reflexes and coordination, and the coaches make sure that the skaters have the necessary skating skills and clean technique.

The same thing applies to the role of the Weider team during the Olympic season. I'm very happy that coach Nagakubo decided to help Mao, he's a great technical coach and a very kind man. But that doesn't mean that the Weider team didn't do their job - there simply wasn't much they could do to make Mao's jumps more stable (unless they found a way to make Mao grow shorter ). Only a good technical coach could help here. The Weider team could only make sure that Mao is in the perfect physical form at Olympics - and they accomplished that goal, IMHO. It was a great achievement for Mao to land 3 triple Axels and skate without major mistakes. No lady, no matter how healthy and "powerful", has ever accomplished that.

Mao's new CM released online
http://www.stona.jp/cm/index.html
There are five videos ~don't miss them

sorry~I need to drop the link then run again I am busy lately

thaanks for loading mao's new cm it was fun to watch..

Thanks Okami for your input. I know skaters do “off-ice” jump training. But what I meant in my previous post was that Makino-san was overseeing Mao’s “on-ice” jump practices too. Sorry, I should have written it more clearly. I remember watching a clip of Japanese TV program featuring Makino-san as a key person for Mao’s successful three 3As at the Olympics. In that clip, he said he was also responsible for checking all Mao’s "on ice" jumps to find if there is any variance in forms and if there was any every time he told her how different it was. I now wonder if he ever know that entry speed and ice coverage were also important for figure skating jumps back then. Let me say again, I’m not blaming the Weider and Makino-san solely because it was Mao’s choice after all. But if they had known, Mr. Nagakubo wouldn't point out entry speed as his first advice to Mao. According to the book I cited above, Mao was not aware that her entry speed had gone slower until Mr. Nagakubo told her so.

Well, it’s all bygones. And now Mao is with Sato-sensei. But, I just wanted to clarify that it wasn’t only the Weider team and Makino-san who helped Mao regain and execute 3As successfully. There were people from the Japanese figure skating society who helped her and who remain silent unless they were asked to talk about it. The Weider is a commercial team, so I understand it’s necessary for them to take every opportunity to advertise themselves and Asada Mao is indeed a big name … I hope the Weider team makes sure to ask Sato-seisei for advice.

I hope everything is fine with her and she will show people her lovely smiles at coming competitions and also Mao hops (真央ぴょんぴょん) after performances.

I admire your optimism Okami. But unfortunately, I can't be so forgiving of Weider. If we give credit to Weider for keeping Mao in shape for the Olympics, then they should also be responsible for NOT maintaining Mao in good condition for Worlds this year. And honestly, I can't give them too much credit for Mao's Olympic performances. I actually don't think Mao was in her best shape that season. She seems to run out of stamina during the latter half of her programs. And I've heard reports of her appearing tired during competitions since 2009, the year she joined Weider. There seems to be a general consensus that Mao appeared healthier when she was with Rafael. If she appeared healthier when she wasn't officially associated with a professional training team, then I don't know what to say about the effectiveness of Weider's training philosophies. And I disagree that we're being too hard on them. On the contrary, I don't think people around Mao, like her coaches, are being hard enough on Weider. There doesn't seem to be someone that really question their training regimes. Sato expressed concerns but I'm not sure if he's tough enough to go against them.

interview during the ice osaka
part 1: https://youtu.be/nQAx0Ll4mz8
part 2: https://youtu.be/3D-u2OK9IJQ

could someone please translate what they are saying in the interview... and are they talking about aanything important i am dyig to know if mao will reveal her plans for the new season and i would love to see some training clips, to see how her axel has become and if she and sato has changed it like sato said he would change the entrance.. there simply is so many questions i wish someone would ask mao,!!

Sorry, I don't have time for details.
There is nothing related to her plans for new season.
Only talking about her feeling for jupiter / the ice.
This interview is purely marketing event Mao did off-season normally.

the only thing good in the interview is you can see some of the Osaka clips.

Mao’s new SP is “Scheherazade”

swan wrote:

Ditto.

Oh my.
I bet nobody has thought of that...
And I don't even know what to think. I love Mao so so much..But I am not certain if that is a good idea.

What's wrong with the choice? Is it just because Yuna skated to it before? But this piece is so overused and Yuna skated to it three seasons ago. I have more concerns with Adelina and Mao skating to the same program in the same season. Personally, I prefer Mao choose a less overused piece, but it is good to know that this isn't some dark/angsty music.

tokitama wrote:

Mao’s new SP is “Scheherazade”

hmmm... My Kanji is very bad for now but I can still manage to read this one.

Scheherazade... interesting. I've never imagined the piece Mao was talking about was this. Seems nobody here guessed it right. However, I'm not too sure about this. It's not that I don't think Mao can pull it off. I think Mao can pull it off but it's just that somebody else has skated to this and the fans might make such a big deal out of it. Tat's ideas are normally different so we can expect something different than what has been performed by other skaters before.

Personally, I'm interested in how Mao will perform this one.