Grand Prix Final 2012/2013 @Sochi, Russia

l-spiralmao wrote:

polosatik wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E0bfgbjVcpI# OMG Mao Yep, piroshki!!!

I love how the Japanese team seems like one big happy family

love how Dai and Taka were serving everyone and the way Mao focused on food

polosatik wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E0bfgbjVcpI# OMG Mao Yep, piroshki!!!

from 1:05

Mao: What is this?

Akiko and Dai: It's a garlic (piroshki).

Mao: Shall I try it ...?

Dai: I think you'd better not try it ...

Then Mao chose cabbage one.

silenceisgolden wrote:

polosatik wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E0bfgbjVcpI# OMG Mao Yep, piroshki!!!

from 1:05

Mao: What is this?

Akiko and Dai: It's a garlic (piroshki).

Mao: Shall I try it ...?

Dai: I think you'd better not try it ...

Then Mao chose cabbage one.

Mao said because I am girl, I would give it (garlic) up before chose cabbage one.

Thanks pochi and ddmm for your input.

I do hope people from JSF will be more reasonable when they talk about techniques and their own skaters be it on TV, radio, tabloids or national/local newspaper and give a little more push by emphasizing skaters advantages when they did great job. And just a little bit clarification, she is Noriko Shirota, not Keiko Shirota.

The same person has uploaded Mao's FS at GPF.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-rTD079U_w

Many many thanks to this person and this video. We can see her entire body movements.
I think she's getting back her toe jumps. It's a little bit far, but I can see 3z edge and it doesn't look really bad. She did that 3z preceded by some steps, not a long telegraphing glide. She's getting there.

linglang wrote:

Thanks pochi and ddmm for your input.

I do hope people from JSF will be more reasonable when they talk about techniques and their own skaters be it on TV, radio, tabloids or national/local newspaper and give a little more push by emphasizing skaters advantages when they did great job. And just a little bit clarification, she is Noriko Shirota, not Keiko Shirota.

The same person has uploaded Mao's FS at GPF.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-rTD079U_w

Many many thanks to this person and this video. We can see her entire body movements.
I think she's getting back her toe jumps. It's a little bit far, but I can see 3z edge and it doesn't look really bad. She did that 3z preceded by some steps, not a long telegraphing glide. She's getting there.

Thank you for the link linglang, she seemed to have speed throughout the pro most of the time and it was again hard to imagine she had lower back pains durng the whole thing !

Also thanks about correcting Shirotas' name for me!
I always assumed it was Keiko for some reason...anyway I too think JSF members shouldn't talk/write much about Jpnse skaters on their own. Frankly I can't even understand why they allow their members to do such moon-lighting. If they are allowing such things in means to advertise the sport, they should at least have restirictions on how much info they hand out and in what sort of manner to who. This colum gives you a mere subjuctive view from a woman who isn't well respected in Jpnse figure skating not info based on facts, arrogantly criticizing a certain skaters' FP of being 'childish' which totally is again a mere subjective view clearly an insult to the skater and the choreographer, plus Shirota had decided to 'share' nothing but her impressions in a crappy tabloid which almost nobody buys thesedays, unless you want odds and infos concerning horse racing bets. Basically, all sport papers are considered tabloids in Jpn, nothing in it is taken seriously. I have never bought such tabloids ever in my life, but since I've been using trains or subways to get to school or to work since elementary school, I've had countless pple around me in reading that trash without properly folding it even when the trains and subways were crowded like hell. Some of them had no shame in reading them in a way that others cannot help seeing the porn pages inside them which made me sick. Thankfully, after the economic recession started years ago, many pple stopped buying such crap to save their money, so now the atomosphere in public transportation have become better. That's the kind of media Shirota chose to state her views in, which I think is totally out of line for a JSF member. Even if she didn't criticize Maos' jumps and FP, I would still think it's inappropriate for an JSF member to be allowed to write for tabloids like that. Besides, they never should've allowed her to return to JSF in the first place. She was one of those who used up alot of money which should've been used to support the skaters not her in any way; she should've been banned forever.

http://maimao-asada.com/mao/private/2012/12/13/477/ official website update


I am home safe and my waist is okay ~ thanks everyone for concerning that
GPS was over and thanks everyone's support

because GPF took place in the Olympic stadium, I took pic .

Next competition will be Nats and that will be last competition in this year.
I want to finish it with smile and will works hard

pls keep supporting me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldGJC3IupzI This cat loves Mao Swan lake And now I know what was the reason of Mao's 2s

Somebody mentioned about Mao's future layout for the rest of the season. I mean, what she plans to put in. I think she mentioned it in an interview? Does someone remember that layout?

Mao_Asada_sunrise wrote:

Somebody mentioned about Mao's future layout for the rest of the season. I mean, what she plans to put in. I think she mentioned it in an interview? Does someone remember that layout?

Mao seems to have said..."I need to level-up the little things. I want to start practicing 3A and 3-3"/"This time I was able to manage the required elements, but I want to level them up more. I'd like to start jumping 3A and 3-3s from practice"/"From now on I need to level-up my jumps both in height and quality, but I'd also like to practice 3A and 3-3s"... in the following articles.

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121212-00000007-sph-spo
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121212-00000038-spnannex-spo
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121212-00000017-dal-spo
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121212-00000001-ykf-spo

These articles are btw sport newspapers=tabloids, so they are writing their articles to make it look like Mao is up to aiming 3A and 3-3 now because Yuna is back. In any interview which took place after her return to Jpn, Mao seems not to have mentioned Yunas' name in any way. Mao's been saying from the beginning or right before this season that she wishes to be able to include 3A in her pros at some point if possible, so it was her plan all along, nothing to do with Yuna coming back. I guess, we're all aware of that here. It's only the media who wants to spotlight Mao-Yuna rivalry once again so they'll have more 'stories' which will sell. The ordinary major newspapers do state Yuna is coming back in pretty good shape, but they only mention it as a fact and are not making it look like Mao is being pushed into getting 3A and 3-3s back because of her. It's good that major newspaper articles written by proper journalists are keeping it that way so far.

As for Mao changing her layouts or not...I haven't seen any articles which she has said anything solid on that matter. She seems to only have said she wants to practice 3A and 3-3s, and her including them in her pros later this season will most likely depend on how those practices turn out. I also have no clue whether Sato is for or against this either. He may want her to polish up her other jumps so to avoid URs and edge calls first. And since team Mao always does a good job keeping the media away while she's preparing for her next competition (which I think is good), I don't think there'll be much new info until Nats gets real close. We'll just have to be patient and see how Nats, 4CC or Worlds turns out.

Btw, found an article on how Tat feels about Mao:
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121207-00000076-spnannex-spo

Tat seems to have said that Mao is getting back on her feet so she thinks we'll be seeing her on the podiums in coming competitions. Tat also said that once Mao is back to perfect condition, she can still succed 3A, and also that skaters excluding their largest 'weapons' for 1 or 2 seasons do happen alot, but in the end Mao should jump 3As again. Tat also said she will consider choreographing for her next season if she is offered a chance, but even if not she is a hard core Mao supporter and a fan, plus she added that Mao is always in her heart.

ETA:

polosatik wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldGJC3IupzI This cat loves Mao Swan lake And now I know what was the reason of Mao's 2s

Most of my cats love figure skating too! They usually have no interest in tv whatsoever, but sometimes they go crazy when they see skaters spin...it's hard to keep them from blocking my sight when I'm watching competitions on tv...

OMG TAT is such a sweet lady Do you know any former student and coach who has such relationships? I don't.

The relationship between Mao and TAT is really special. I think Tat likes Mao not only as a skater but as a person. Mao has something that makes people love her. From Tat, Plushy to Joannie, Armin, Evan, Mirai, Candeloro....they all like her very much. She 's also in very good term with all her former coaches, she gets along with her fellow japanese skaters, etc. Who can not like this humble, honest, hard working and cute girl ?

ddmm wrote:

The relationship between Mao and TAT is really special. I think Tat likes Mao not only as a skater but as a person. Mao has something that makes people love her. From Tat, Plushy to Joannie, Armin, Evan, Mirai, Candeloro....they all like her very much. She 's also in very good term with all her former coaches, she gets along with her fellow japanese skaters, etc. Who can not like this humble, honest, hard working and cute girl ?

Don't forget Denis who respects her alot, too! He said once that everytine he sees Mao practice so hard, it made him feel like he wasn't doing enough when he can do much more. Even if only as a skater, Ashley totally was in love with Mao too, and said she was so excited the first time she shared the rink for practice with Mao before a competition. And never forget Jeff!

And I agree that Tat and Maos' relationship must be very special. When you look back on it, Maos' mother might've been already quite ill when Mao was with Tat. Tat also had a member of her family ill (her sister, was it?) at the time so although I don't know if Tat knew about Maos' mothers' condition, after she passed away, Tat must've been able to imagine how much sorrow and pain Mao was going through. I even think sometimes that Tat may be the closest person in being a mother figure for Mao now...so while I'm not sure if Tat may be the best person to choreo Maos' programs for Sochi Olys, I think that Tat being around the rink then would mean alot for Mao.

PochinkoPotanko wrote:

ddmm wrote:

The relationship between Mao and TAT is really special. I think Tat likes Mao not only as a skater but as a person. Mao has something that makes people love her. From Tat, Plushy to Joannie, Armin, Evan, Mirai, Candeloro....they all like her very much. She 's also in very good term with all her former coaches, she gets along with her fellow japanese skaters, etc. Who can not like this humble, honest, hard working and cute girl ?

Don't forget Denis who respects her alot, too! He said once that everytine he sees Mao practice so hard, it made him feel like he wasn't doing enough when he can do much more. Even if only as a skater, Ashley totally was in love with Mao too, and said she was so excited the first time she shared the rink for practice with Mao before a competition. And never forget Jeff!

And I agree that Tat and Maos' relationship must be very special. When you look back on it, Maos' mother might've been already quite ill when Mao was with Tat. Tat also had a member of her family ill (her sister, was it?) at the time so although I don't know if Tat knew about Maos' mothers' condition, after she passed away, Tat must've been able to imagine how much sorrow and pain Mao was going through. I even think sometimes that Tat may be the closest person in being a mother figure for Mao now...so while I'm not sure if Tat may be the best person to choreo Maos' programs for Sochi Olys, I think that Tat being around the rink then would mean alot for Mao.

As always, a very interesting post from you, Pochi! Thanks for the translation

I admire TAT, a lot, she is a huge figure skating icon I'm really glad that Mao was coah for her, because she helps Mao to be a better skater, a beautiful and complete skater. I like their relationship, is so special, TAT looks very warm to Mao, like a grandmother I like TAT's coreography (i'm know that i'm minority here), always different, intrincate, artistic, ambocious, etc. Swan lake is one of my favorites, and I really hope that TAT gaves another master piece for Mao next season, somehintg so beautiful that no one can resist to Mao

I love tat and Mao's relationship, it's so warm, they really have one special bond!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axvZgkmum7E

I just rewatched her ballade, so beautiful, can't helpbut get emotionel every time i watch it!

polosatik wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldGJC3IupzI This cat loves Mao Swan lake And now I know what was the reason of Mao's 2s

Awww...

PochinkoPotanko wrote:

ddmm wrote:

The relationship between Mao and TAT is really special. I think Tat likes Mao not only as a skater but as a person. Mao has something that makes people love her. From Tat, Plushy to Joannie, Armin, Evan, Mirai, Candeloro....they all like her very much. She 's also in very good term with all her former coaches, she gets along with her fellow japanese skaters, etc. Who can not like this humble, honest, hard working and cute girl ?

Don't forget Denis who respects her alot, too! He said once that everytine he sees Mao practice so hard, it made him feel like he wasn't doing enough when he can do much more. Even if only as a skater, Ashley totally was in love with Mao too, and said she was so excited the first time she shared the rink for practice with Mao before a competition. And never forget Jeff!

And I agree that Tat and Maos' relationship must be very special. When you look back on it, Maos' mother might've been already quite ill when Mao was with Tat. Tat also had a member of her family ill (her sister, was it?) at the time so although I don't know if Tat knew about Maos' mothers' condition, after she passed away, Tat must've been able to imagine how much sorrow and pain Mao was going through. I even think sometimes that Tat may be the closest person in being a mother figure for Mao now...so while I'm not sure if Tat may be the best person to choreo Maos' programs for Sochi Olys, I think that Tat being around the rink then would mean alot for Mao.

Oh how did I dare forget Denis ! yes he also admires Mao.

Polosatik, I also have 3 cats and they are just like the one in the video. They shake their head when Mao jumps. As for this cat on video, he must be thinking 'mmm...that earns a lot of GOE and it's level 4 everywhere'

ballerinamao wrote:

I love tat and Mao's relationship, it's so warm, they really have one special bond!

I guess the relationship between Mao and Lori is warm, too.
Here are Lori's words that I found at tokitama tumblr.

“When Mao first came to me (for her new programs), she seemed to have an
image of skating to some beautiful, sad music. But I felt like I had to do
something for her getting back the joy of her life and skating again. To use
cheerful music which uplifts her whenever she hears it everyday at the rink.”

“I wanted to bring out her lightness, her purity, her adorable liveliness.
I had a lot of fun working on the choreography with her, seeing Mao was like the sun shining above us.”

Lori Nichol on Mao Asada - Sports Graphic Number 817

silenceisgolden wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

I love tat and Mao's relationship, it's so warm, they really have one special bond!

I guess the relationship between Mao and Lori is warm, too.
Here are Lori's words that I found at tokitama tumblr.

“When Mao first came to me (for her new programs), she seemed to have an
image of skating to some beautiful, sad music. But I felt like I had to do
something for her getting back the joy of her life and skating again. To use
cheerful music which uplifts her whenever she hears it everyday at the rink.”

“I wanted to bring out her lightness, her purity, her adorable liveliness.
I had a lot of fun working on the choreography with her, seeing Mao was like the sun shining above us.”

Lori Nichol on Mao Asada - Sports Graphic Number 817

That's why I call her Mao sun Thank you for sharing!

silenceisgolden wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

I love tat and Mao's relationship, it's so warm, they really have one special bond!

I guess the relationship between Mao and Lori is warm, too.
Here are Lori's words that I found at tokitama tumblr.

“When Mao first came to me (for her new programs), she seemed to have an
image of skating to some beautiful, sad music. But I felt like I had to do
something for her getting back the joy of her life and skating again. To use
cheerful music which uplifts her whenever she hears it everyday at the rink.”

“I wanted to bring out her lightness, her purity, her adorable liveliness.
I had a lot of fun working on the choreography with her, seeing Mao was like the sun shining above us.”

Lori Nichol on Mao Asada - Sports Graphic Number 817

Thank you for sharing this. I'm not in love with Mao's SP, but I completely agree with Lori, giving Mao a happy choreo was the right way to go.

I must say that I absolutely adore Mao's and TAT's relationship and if TAT is going to do choreo for Mao's Olympic program (and I believe she will), I hope so much that it's going to be a masterpiece like so many of Mao's EX numbers TAT did for her. And I would love it, if Mao would skate to Holst's "The Planets", especially Jupiter.

zarinaballerina wrote:

silenceisgolden wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

I love tat and Mao's relationship, it's so warm, they really have one special bond!

I guess the relationship between Mao and Lori is warm, too.
Here are Lori's words that I found at tokitama tumblr.

“When Mao first came to me (for her new programs), she seemed to have an
image of skating to some beautiful, sad music. But I felt like I had to do
something for her getting back the joy of her life and skating again. To use
cheerful music which uplifts her whenever she hears it everyday at the rink.”

“I wanted to bring out her lightness, her purity, her adorable liveliness.
I had a lot of fun working on the choreography with her, seeing Mao was like the sun shining above us.”

Lori Nichol on Mao Asada - Sports Graphic Number 817

Thank you for sharing this. I'm not in love with Mao's SP, but I completely agree with Lori, giving Mao a happy choreo was the right way to go.

I must say that I absolutely adore Mao's and TAT's relationship and if TAT is going to do choreo for Mao's Olympic program (and I believe she will), I hope so much that it's going to be a masterpiece like so many of Mao's EX numbers TAT did for her. And I would love it, if Mao would skate to Holst's "The Planets", especially Jupiter.

Thanks for sharing, Mao is a really cute girl, everyone loves her

I hope TAT use "Por Una Cabeza" for Mao next program (SP or FS), it will be a dream come true

I absolutely love and adore Mao's swan lake, and i somehow wish that tat also did her ex this year!

zarinaballerina wrote:

silenceisgolden wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

I love tat and Mao's relationship, it's so warm, they really have one special bond!

I guess the relationship between Mao and Lori is warm, too.
Here are Lori's words that I found at tokitama tumblr.

“When Mao first came to me (for her new programs), she seemed to have an
image of skating to some beautiful, sad music. But I felt like I had to do
something for her getting back the joy of her life and skating again. To use
cheerful music which uplifts her whenever she hears it everyday at the rink.”

“I wanted to bring out her lightness, her purity, her adorable liveliness.
I had a lot of fun working on the choreography with her, seeing Mao was like the sun shining above us.”

Lori Nichol on Mao Asada - Sports Graphic Number 817

Thank you for sharing this. I'm not in love with Mao's SP, but I completely agree with Lori, giving Mao a happy choreo was the right way to go.

Same here. Her SP is ok with me now but not something I love at the first viewing. However, reading what she said about Mao and this SP makes me agree with her. Just seeing Mao with that smile in the SP and the way she attacked that program is heartwarming. And she's become consistent in the SP. When Mao is happy she's really like the sun.

OTOH:
When Mao first came to me (for her new programs), she seemed to have an image of skating to some beautiful, sad music.

I wonder what this piece is... now I'm curious!

I'm just glad that Lori was able to change Mao's mind and give her a lovely program. The SP is not the best for me either, probably due to the overlapped parts from the Mary Poppins Ex. But I really don't mind that, as long as the program brings her joy and happiness whenever Mao performs it.

In addition, I don't think anyone has mentioned this: while some may think the I got rhythm program is rather 'juvenile', but I take it as a nice contrast between the youthfulness of the SP and matureness of the swan lake FS.

As for the swan lake, there's nothing I could add to say how well the program and Mao's ballerina moves go together (thanks to Tat!) So I really don't get it when some criticize that up to the step sequence she's "lifeless and could be skating to any music" (huh? ). Another comment to the program I've often seen/read is the layout of 3S being right before the half-way point... I'm not sure if it is possible to just delay the jump for 1 or 2 sec. to gain more points (considering the 3F-2L-L2 has been moved earlier in the program, and following the 3S), or is it worthy doing that at all? Still, I don't think the placement of the 3S distorts anything in the program, and it's up to Mao and her team to decide what they think is the best for the program (and the criticizers are just being picky because they couldn't find any other thing wrong with the program!)

PochinkoPotanko wrote:

Mao_Asada_sunrise wrote:

Somebody mentioned about Mao's future layout for the rest of the season. I mean, what she plans to put in. I think she mentioned it in an interview? Does someone remember that layout?

Mao seems to have said..."I need to level-up the little things. I want to start practicing 3A and 3-3"/"This time I was able to manage the required elements, but I want to level them up more. I'd like to start jumping 3A and 3-3s from practice"/"From now on I need to level-up my jumps both in height and quality, but I'd also like to practice 3A and 3-3s"... in the following articles.

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121212-00000007-sph-spo
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121212-00000038-spnannex-spo
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121212-00000017-dal-spo
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121212-00000001-ykf-spo

These articles are btw sport newspapers=tabloids, so they are writing their articles to make it look like Mao is up to aiming 3A and 3-3 now because Yuna is back. In any interview which took place after her return to Jpn, Mao seems not to have mentioned Yunas' name in any way. Mao's been saying from the beginning or right before this season that she wishes to be able to include 3A in her pros at some point if possible, so it was her plan all along, nothing to do with Yuna coming back. I guess, we're all aware of that here. It's only the media who wants to spotlight Mao-Yuna rivalry once again so they'll have more 'stories' which will sell. The ordinary major newspapers do state Yuna is coming back in pretty good shape, but they only mention it as a fact and are not making it look like Mao is being pushed into getting 3A and 3-3s back because of her. It's good that major newspaper articles written by proper journalists are keeping it that way so far.

As for Mao changing her layouts or not...I haven't seen any articles which she has said anything solid on that matter. She seems to only have said she wants to practice 3A and 3-3s, and her including them in her pros later this season will most likely depend on how those practices turn out. I also have no clue whether Sato is for or against this either. He may want her to polish up her other jumps so to avoid URs and edge calls first. And since team Mao always does a good job keeping the media away while she's preparing for her next competition (which I think is good), I don't think there'll be much new info until Nats gets real close. We'll just have to be patient and see how Nats, 4CC or Worlds turns out.

Btw, found an article on how Tat feels about Mao:
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121207-00000076-spnannex-spo

Tat seems to have said that Mao is getting back on her feet so she thinks we'll be seeing her on the podiums in coming competitions. Tat also said that once Mao is back to perfect condition, she can still succed 3A, and also that skaters excluding their largest 'weapons' for 1 or 2 seasons do happen alot, but in the end Mao should jump 3As again. Tat also said she will consider choreographing for her next season if she is offered a chance, but even if not she is a hard core Mao supporter and a fan, plus she added that Mao is always in her heart.

ETA:

polosatik wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldGJC3IupzI This cat loves Mao Swan lake And now I know what was the reason of Mao's 2s

Most of my cats love figure skating too! They usually have no interest in tv whatsoever, but sometimes they go crazy when they see skaters spin...it's hard to keep them from blocking my sight when I'm watching competitions on tv...

Thank you so much! I guess time will tell!

COHK wrote:

As for the swan lake, there's nothing I could add to say how well the program and Mao's ballerina moves go together (thanks to Tat!) So I really don't get it when some criticize that up to the step sequence she's "lifeless and could be skating to any music" (huh? ). Another comment to the program I've often seen/read is the layout of 3S being right before the half-way point... I'm not sure if it is possible to just delay the jump for 1 or 2 sec. to gain more points (considering the 3F-2L-L2 has been moved earlier in the program, and following the 3S), or is it worthy doing that at all? Still, I don't think the placement of the 3S distorts anything in the program, and it's up to Mao and her team to decide what they think is the best for the program (and the criticizers are just being picky because they couldn't find any other thing wrong with the program!)

They say this because she's not overacting but rather expresses the music with her whole body. In their minds, if you're not showing painful or dramatic expressions on your face, you're lifeless.

All they have to do is look at the pictures taken during her Swan lake performance, and they would see how expressive she is.