Greetings from Calgary

First of all, it is an honor for me to become a member of this forum. I've been reading all your comments
for the past three and a half years. Because of you ( members ), I've become a huge fan of figure skating. You've all educated
me on how to truly appreciate this sport ( really, it's an art form). From TES, PCS, Axles, protocols, etc. I learned it all from you guys.
Thank you so much.

How I discovered Mao:
I'm a musician and always looking for good music to listen to. Three and a half years ago I was looking for a particular piece I loved.
I found it on YouTube. It was background music for the video. I was interested in it for only the music. Then one day I actually
watched the video. There was this little girl performing these incredible, beautiful movements to the music. She was like paintbrush strokes
on the ice canvas. From that point on I devoured everything about " our girl ", Mao.

I've seen hundreds of videos, interviews, commercials and competitions. I felt like she is someone I know. ( She makes us feel that way, doesn't she?) I celebrated her victories and failures with you guys for these past years. I especially celebrated her performance at Sochi.

It hurt like hell when she crumbled in her SP. But " knowing " her, I was full of hope she would redeem herself in the LP. As she skated I kept on repeating out loud; " c'mon Mao. From your heart. Let your heart free. Let your LOVE free! " I kept repeating that over and over.And when it was done, to see her cry, I started crying too. It was the most beautiful skating performance I have ever seen in my life!! Gold, Silver Bronze? It didn't matter. She MOVED me. She gave my world much needed sunshine. It felt like she did this for me. And I will always be thankful to her for this gift.

There is an Indian saying that goes:

You have touched the universe. For this you are special.
I have been near you. And I am glad...

Welcome Samurai Mao to this forum and thank you for your kind words to Mao   .
She is really special to us and has a gift to moved every people who are watching her skates. Till now, I found myself teary while watching Mao's FS in Sochi   . And no one from previous to current skaters (not even Daisuke) did this to me.

I am not musician, just an avid music listener.
Due to her, I have appreciated classical music, started from Chopin, Rachmaninoff and then i found myself explore this genre.

I too am Filipino. Great that my first "reply" is from a kababayan!
Thank you for welcoming me.

Welcome    I love your story with Mao      , and what music piece you were looking for when you found to Mao?

Wow! I thought you are Japanese based on your username.
Nice to see there are Filipinos lurking here in forum.   

Welcome to the forum Samurai Mao!

Welcome to the forum Samurai Mao!
I'm curious too about the music piece.  

Hello Samurai Mao and welcome to the forums!
Hope you can enjoy your stay here~   

Hi guys,

Thank you all for the warm welcome to this forum. As I mentioned in my first post
I discovered Mao while searching for a particular piece of music. I found it in a youtube video.
Some of you wanted to know which one it was.
Here it is:



If I inserted this wrong just search on YouTube: Figure Skating Paradiso ( Mao Asada )

This piece was written by the great Italian composer Ennio Morricone. This was part of the soundtrack from the movie " Cinema Paradiso ".

Whenever I hear this music I can imagine Mao skating to this. It would be a dream come true
for me if she skated to this in one of her Exhibitions or Shows!
What do you guys think?

Yay! More Filipino Mao fans!   Welcome to the forum!

That piece is beautiful, Samurai Mao! I'd love to see her do a program to a piano arrangement!

On another note, many of us here all have our dream pieces for Mao to skate to. You can add your own to this thread: "http://www.maoasadaforum.com/t664p180-which-music-would-you-like-mao-to-skate-to-in-the-future"

Thank you for the link, Samurai Mao.
It's so beautiful.  It brings back good memories of Mao and her beautiful skating.  

linglang wrote:

Thank you for the link, Samurai Mao.
It's so beautiful.  It brings back good memories of Mao and her beautiful skating.  

You're very welcome! It makes me feel good that I can now talk about someone who has inspired me.
All, (I mean ALL) my friends don't see why I'm so interested in figure skating and particularly Mao.
To me, I think they're missing out! So it's so good to be part of this group who care and appreciate an artist
like Mao.

Someone posted a story about a russian reporter who compared Mao to a Samurai. And that Mao achieved
the ultimate goal of being a true Samurai. And that is - Immortality. How true.

For three and a half years since I discovered Mao, I have visited this forum almost everyday. I've wanted to join but
one of the reasons I didn't is because I couldn't find an appropriate username that would describe her. Silly huh?
But I couldn't find one until I saw her mind blowing, historic, from her heart LP skate in Sochi. She really
reminded me of a true Samurai. I'm not talking about the romanticized Samurai who is portrayed in stories and films
flashing bloodied katanas, severed limbs all over the place and screams of victories. I'm talking about a Samurai's honor, duty
and sacrifice. Mao embodies that in her daily life. And I saw it displayed for us and the world to see that wonderful day in Sochi.

Ooooppsss! Here I go again. Talk talk talk! But she does deserve my adoration and respect. I'll say that to whoever listens.
And Linglang, thanks for listening   

Welcome, Samurai Mao!  And thank you for your stories. I also love the music from Cinema Paradiso, especially Love theme for Nata, and the Nostalgia arrangement played by Yo-Yo Ma.   

Your story about your username reminded me of how I chose mine. At the time I registered here - back in 2007 - I was studying poetry by Gerard Manley Hopkins. GMH was a Christian poet who, inspired by ideas of the medieval philosopher Duns Scotus, created the concept of "inscape" - the unique, dynamic, essence or inner nature of a person, place, thing, or event; the distinctive design that constitutes individual identity. Although I'm not Christian, I appreciaded the ideas expressed by GMH's poetry, especially the notion that things don't have to conform to a certain ideal to be perfect or beautiful. Thus, I coined the word "inskate", to denote my appreciation for figure skating performances that sometimes might not be beloved by the judges or conform to what is popular at the moment, but are skated from the heart and are a genuine reflection of the skater's emotions, mindset and hard work.   

Almost 7 years have passed since then, and I think Mao's FS at Olympics was the most "inskate" performance I've ever seen.   I've seen people complaining "why Mao even goes for 3A", "she should just do 2A, it's safer", "there was no point changing her jump technique, it just made her more inconsistent", "if she didn't have such long, tiring footwork, maybe she could concentrate on jumps more", etc., etc.. Well, if everyone just did the safest jumps, easiest steps and didn't strive to improve, there would be no performance like the Rachmaninov FS. It was a skate that was a result of being true to oneself.  

Welcome Samurai Mao!! Love you username)    Have fun posting here!

[quote="inskate"]Welcome, Samurai Mao!  And thank you for your stories. I also love the music from Cinema Paradiso, especially Love theme for Nata, and the Nostalgia arrangement played by Yo-Yo Ma.   

Your story about your username reminded me of how I chose mine. At the time I registered here - back in 2007 - I was studying poetry by Gerard Manley Hopkins. GMH was a Christian poet who, inspired by ideas of the medieval philosopher Duns Scotus, created the concept of "inscape" - the unique, dynamic, essence or inner nature of a person, place, thing, or event; the distinctive design that constitutes individual identity. Although I'm not Christian, I appreciaded the ideas expressed by GMH's poetry, especially the notion that things don't have to conform to a certain ideal to be perfect or beautiful. Thus, I coined the word "inskate", to denote my appreciation for figure skating performances that sometimes might not be beloved by the judges or conform to what is popular at the moment, but are skated from the heart and are a genuine reflection of the skater's emotions, mindset and hard work.   

Almost 7 years have passed since then, and I think Mao's FS at Olympics was the most "inskate" performance I've ever seen.   I've seen people complaining "why Mao even goes for 3A", "she should just do 2A, it's safer", "there was no point changing her jump technique, it just made her more inconsistent", "if she didn't have such long, tiring footwork, maybe she could concentrate on jumps more", etc., etc.. Well, if everyone just did the safest jumps, easiest steps and didn't strive to improve, there would be no performance like the Rachmaninov FS. It was a skate that was a result of being true to oneself.  [/quote
A truly wonderful philosophical idea, this ' Inscape ". I will have to study this. I've always been
interested in studies of comparative philosophies and religions.
Actually, Inskate, my first thoughts after seeing Mao's Sochi LP was that she really possessed these
long gone qualities that the Samurai lived by. And I thought would "Samurai Mao" be elegant enough to
dedicate the name to her? Would people understand why such a moniker?
My second choice was " Shibumi Mao ". A long time ago, I read an excellent definition of Shibumi ( if at all
it can be defined. ) This author wrote :

Shibumi has to do with great refinement underlying common place appearances.
It is a statement so correct, it does not have to be bold, so poignant it does not have
to be pretty, so true it does not have to be real. Shibumi is understanding, rather than
knowledge. Eloquent silence. In art, where the spirit of Shibumi takes the form of Sabi.
it is elegant simplicity, articulate brevity. In philosophy, where Shibume emerges as Wahi, it
is spiritual tranquility that is not passive; it is being without the angst of becoming. And
in a personality, it is authority without domination. ( I paraphrased the last sentence. )

I see Mao's character all over this. Perhaps I should have used " Shibumi Mao ". But "Samurai" is a word quickly
recognized.

Her LP performance was almost " invisible ". I know you understand what I mean. It was so deep that you
really had to ( as Carlos Castaneda says ) " see without seeing " to affect you. And it did me.

Thank you for giving me your reasons why you chose " Inskate". It's not just a word to me now.
I know there is a reason for it. ( and an appropriate one at that! ) You've sent me on a quest to
study Inscape. Thank you.
Inskate, I apologize. I accidentally sent this as a PM to you.

wow it's good to know the reasons why you guys chose your username for this forum.
"inscape" are "samurai" are definitely most suitable philosophical words to describe what kind of person Mao is. I agree she has a samurai spirit and I believe that's one of the reasons why the Japanese people love her. There are people who make mockery of her stubbornness. But I love her all the more for her efforts and struggles to pursue and achieve her desire that live deep in her heart, rather than choosing to compromise and become complacent with easy goals.

My username is not philosophical at all.  It's a part of Japanese anime song, Chibi Maruko-chan: "ling ling lang lang sausage, hi hi hamujanai (yes, yes, it's not hum)" which makes no sense at all.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwvAw3_Zn2A  But, I love the beat of this song.  

linglang wrote:

wow it's good to know the reasons why you guys chose your username for this forum.
"inscape" are "samurai" are definitely most suitable philosophical words to describe what kind of person Mao is. I agree she has a samurai spirit and I believe that's one of the reasons why the Japanese people love her. There are people who make mockery of her stubbornness. But I love her all the more for her efforts and struggles to pursue and achieve her desire that live deep in her heart, rather than choosing to compromise and become complacent with easy goals.

My username is not philosophical at all.  It's a part of Japanese anime song, Chibi Maruko-chan: "ling ling lang lang sausage, hi hi hamujanai (yes, yes, it's not hum)" which makes no sense at all.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwvAw3_Zn2A  But, I love the beat of this song.  

LOL! I love the origin of your username! And what a catchy tune! Originally I thought your username
was a play on words. Much like " Inskate " is from Inscape. I thought maybe yours was " linglang " because
of the Taoist philosophy of Yin/yang.

In any case, I think it's cool! Back when I was younger I used to follow an anime series called
Bubble Gum Crisis.Ever heard of it? There was some great music in it.

Thanks for letting me know how you came up with your username.