Japan Open 2010

dlnnyc wrote:

just to clarify i did say positive things about mao and i truly love her unique qualities and i know it is barely the first competition.. is the japan open an isu sanctioned comp? she has had alot of change and is working on her jumps and technique this past summer. im sure the training she did with nagakubo sensei was v. helpful but now she is with sato.. so they kinda have to start all over again re: adjusting to diff. styles of teaching and sato reviewing mao chans strengths and weaknesses to come up with an overall strategy for the future.

so i do apologize if it did seem overly critical. however, i do think the strategy is to play up mao's strengths but also to pull away from her rivals in every way.

The problem is that you keep bringing Yuna and praising her artistry, elegance while focusing on the negative aspects of Mao, and it has always been like this with you. Yuna is Yuna, and Mao is Mao. Making comparisons about how they start their seasons is nonsense. If you want to talk about Yuna, do it in the "other skaters" section where we have a thread for her or join her forum please.

I hope she changes her ending spin to a layback- it would go so much better with the music and would be more effective than a FCcoSp (which in my opinion is ugly). The classic layback suits the music so much better, and I think Mao is better at it anyway!

Please change it Mao!!

aoi88 wrote:

Thanks for the links Canness. The step sequence really came alive in the encore. Seeing that Mao popped her flip again in her EX, I am feeling she's struggling with this jump along with her lutz & sal. Actually, I am a bit baffled at why Mao keeps changing her entrance to her flip. I remember she changed it last season as well. Personally. I feel that perhaps it may be better (for now) to leave the entrance as it was, so Mao could be more comfortable with it. It's a very crucial jump for her, since she uses it for combinations. I feel Mao is trying to fix everything at once again and maybe it's just a bit too much. If Mao didn't have to worry about her flip, she can focus more on her lutz and sal. After that, she can start improving her flip.
I also wonder if Sato or Nakagubo designed this particular jump layout. I do remember Nakagubo saying he wanted her to try all the triples. Mao also said that Sato seems restrained about giving her advice for now; it seems they're still in the "getting used to each other" state and he's doing more observing than advising. Hmm.. I wonder if Sato will make any changes after seeing Mao's performances.

I agree. The step sequence was more vivacious in the COI. It makes sense if you think about how long a full run-through can strip a skater's energy at the end of a program. I felt the ss was a bit busy, to be perfectly honest. Lori really choreographed every movement to each note of the music. I would take out the death drop into the one-handed biellmann or doughnut spin. It was very labored even in the encore.

I think Mao is trying real hard to fix her lutz and because of that her flip seems to be affected by it. Her toe picks are much more aggressive too. She may struggle this season, but I think it'll definitely pay off in the future.

aoi88 wrote:

Thanks for the links Canness. The step sequence really came alive in the encore. Seeing that Mao popped her flip again in her EX, I am feeling she's struggling with this jump along with her lutz & sal. Actually, I am a bit baffled at why Mao keeps changing her entrance to her flip. I remember she changed it last season as well. Personally. I feel that perhaps it may be better (for now) to leave the entrance as it was, so Mao could be more comfortable with it. It's a very crucial jump for her, since she uses it for combinations. I feel Mao is trying to fix everything at once again and maybe it's just a bit too much. If Mao didn't have to worry about her flip, she can focus more on her lutz and sal.

That's not the point though - Mao wants to rework the technique on all of her jumps, instead of just reintroducing the lutz and sal which she more or less did already during 08-09 with varied results. I'm not going to bother with the "why" regarding the flip, since inskate has been kind enough to explain about this in detail (the deep lunge, the hammertoe, the long pause after the mohawk etc.) several times already.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's the usual doom-and-gloom-flu going on, but really, people (but then again, the flu never fails to show up every year).
Where's summervie? I need someone to help me pass vaccines.

clovera wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

Thanks for the links Canness. The step sequence really came alive in the encore. Seeing that Mao popped her flip again in her EX, I am feeling she's struggling with this jump along with her lutz & sal. Actually, I am a bit baffled at why Mao keeps changing her entrance to her flip. I remember she changed it last season as well. Personally. I feel that perhaps it may be better (for now) to leave the entrance as it was, so Mao could be more comfortable with it. It's a very crucial jump for her, since she uses it for combinations. I feel Mao is trying to fix everything at once again and maybe it's just a bit too much. If Mao didn't have to worry about her flip, she can focus more on her lutz and sal.

That's not the point though - Mao wants to rework the technique on all of her jumps, instead of just reintroducing the lutz and sal which she more or less did already during 08-09 with varied results. I'm not going to bother with the "why" regarding the flip, since inskate has been kind enough to explain about this in detail (the deep lunge, the hammertoe, the long pause after the mohawk etc.) several times already.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's the usual doom-and-gloom-flu going on, but really, people (but then again, the flu never fails to show up every year).
Where's summervie? I need someone to help me pass vaccines.

I can take you a pill if you want S. has gone for an uncertain period of time,but he's still there.

I can't understand people talking about Mao's program "being unmemorable", "yes she is light and airy and the music is romantic but whats the story... " Listen. The girl put on herself a lot of pressure and bravery to fix her problems, not everyone can do this,believe me. And what did she hear from her"fans"? All that Mao need from us now is our support, and not that stupid criticism which came from nowhere. I'm also a Yuna fan,but I will never compare them in that way. I love both of them because they are beautiful,extraordinary and great skaters. But they're humans,remember that and leave Mao alone. Even non Mao fans behave better then some of the "fans".

polosatik wrote:

clovera wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

Thanks for the links Canness. The step sequence really came alive in the encore. Seeing that Mao popped her flip again in her EX, I am feeling she's struggling with this jump along with her lutz & sal. Actually, I am a bit baffled at why Mao keeps changing her entrance to her flip. I remember she changed it last season as well. Personally. I feel that perhaps it may be better (for now) to leave the entrance as it was, so Mao could be more comfortable with it. It's a very crucial jump for her, since she uses it for combinations. I feel Mao is trying to fix everything at once again and maybe it's just a bit too much. If Mao didn't have to worry about her flip, she can focus more on her lutz and sal.

That's not the point though - Mao wants to rework the technique on all of her jumps, instead of just reintroducing the lutz and sal which she more or less did already during 08-09 with varied results. I'm not going to bother with the "why" regarding the flip, since inskate has been kind enough to explain about this in detail (the deep lunge, the hammertoe, the long pause after the mohawk etc.) several times already.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's the usual doom-and-gloom-flu going on, but really, people (but then again, the flu never fails to show up every year).
Where's summervie? I need someone to help me pass vaccines.

I can take you a pill if you want S. has gone for an uncertain period of time,but he's still there.

I can't understand people talking about Mao's program "being unmemorable", "yes she is light and airy and the music is romantic but whats the story... " Listen. The girl put on herself a lot of pressure and bravery to fix her problems, not everyone can do this,believe me. And what did she hear from her"fans"? All that Mao need from us now is our support, and not that stupid criticism which came from nowhere. I'm also a Yuna fan,but I will never compare them in that way. I love both of them because they are beautiful,extraordinary and great skaters. But they're humans,remember that and leave Mao alone. Even non Mao fans behave better then some of the "fans".

Wow well said! I love Mao's program, and I'm glad this year is more "her". She's showing another side of her, and she is determined to delve into her potential more! We should just support her all the way!

polosatik wrote:

clovera wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

Thanks for the links Canness. The step sequence really came alive in the encore. Seeing that Mao popped her flip again in her EX, I am feeling she's struggling with this jump along with her lutz & sal. Actually, I am a bit baffled at why Mao keeps changing her entrance to her flip. I remember she changed it last season as well. Personally. I feel that perhaps it may be better (for now) to leave the entrance as it was, so Mao could be more comfortable with it. It's a very crucial jump for her, since she uses it for combinations. I feel Mao is trying to fix everything at once again and maybe it's just a bit too much. If Mao didn't have to worry about her flip, she can focus more on her lutz and sal.

That's not the point though - Mao wants to rework the technique on all of her jumps, instead of just reintroducing the lutz and sal which she more or less did already during 08-09 with varied results. I'm not going to bother with the "why" regarding the flip, since inskate has been kind enough to explain about this in detail (the deep lunge, the hammertoe, the long pause after the mohawk etc.) several times already.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's the usual doom-and-gloom-flu going on, but really, people (but then again, the flu never fails to show up every year).
Where's summervie? I need someone to help me pass vaccines.

I can take you a pill if you want S. has gone for an uncertain period of time,but he's still there.

I can't understand people talking about Mao's program "being unmemorable", "yes she is light and airy and the music is romantic but whats the story... " Listen. The girl put on herself a lot of pressure and bravery to fix her problems, not everyone can do this,believe me. And what did she hear from her"fans"? All that Mao need from us now is our support, and not that stupid criticism which came from nowhere. I'm also a Yuna fan,but I will never compare them in that way. I love both of them because they are beautiful,extraordinary and great skaters. But they're humans,remember that and leave Mao alone. Even non Mao fans behave better then some of the "fans".

I hope this is not targeted at me. I am not interested in comparing her to Yuna, and I do like her program a lot. I think my concerns about her jumps are reasonable although other posters have different opinions.
Btw, Summervie is a guy?

aoi88 wrote:

polosatik wrote:

clovera wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

Thanks for the links Canness. The step sequence really came alive in the encore. Seeing that Mao popped her flip again in her EX, I am feeling she's struggling with this jump along with her lutz & sal. Actually, I am a bit baffled at why Mao keeps changing her entrance to her flip. I remember she changed it last season as well. Personally. I feel that perhaps it may be better (for now) to leave the entrance as it was, so Mao could be more comfortable with it. It's a very crucial jump for her, since she uses it for combinations. I feel Mao is trying to fix everything at once again and maybe it's just a bit too much. If Mao didn't have to worry about her flip, she can focus more on her lutz and sal.

That's not the point though - Mao wants to rework the technique on all of her jumps, instead of just reintroducing the lutz and sal which she more or less did already during 08-09 with varied results. I'm not going to bother with the "why" regarding the flip, since inskate has been kind enough to explain about this in detail (the deep lunge, the hammertoe, the long pause after the mohawk etc.) several times already.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's the usual doom-and-gloom-flu going on, but really, people (but then again, the flu never fails to show up every year).
Where's summervie? I need someone to help me pass vaccines.

I can take you a pill if you want S. has gone for an uncertain period of time,but he's still there.

I can't understand people talking about Mao's program "being unmemorable", "yes she is light and airy and the music is romantic but whats the story... " Listen. The girl put on herself a lot of pressure and bravery to fix her problems, not everyone can do this,believe me. And what did she hear from her"fans"? All that Mao need from us now is our support, and not that stupid criticism which came from nowhere. I'm also a Yuna fan,but I will never compare them in that way. I love both of them because they are beautiful,extraordinary and great skaters. But they're humans,remember that and leave Mao alone. Even non Mao fans behave better then some of the "fans".

I hope this is not targeted at me. I am not interested in comparing her to Yuna, and I do like her program a lot. I think my concerns about her jumps are reasonable although other posters have different opinions.
Btw, Summervie is a guy?

No aoi, I wasn't talking about you sweetie. You're one of the greatest Mao fans,so I can't say anything bad about comments.
Lol at S. point,yes he's a guy.I think this came from Yuna forum, there was a lot of big shocks about member's gender!

Personally, I love the program already. Yes, parts of it seemed tentative to me, but I never expected a perfect, polished performance in her first competition, and nor should anyone. Mao's doing absolutely fine, she's just where she needs to be right now. She's reworking her jumps and that's never easy--we've watched other skaters struggle with this sort of thing in the past. When she gets her jumps more stable, her confidence will grow as a result, and the program will be skated with even more heart and feeling than it was this time.

As for the program itself, obviously not everyone is going to love it right away. That's okay, we're all different. Certainly Bells grew on a number of us over last season. All I can say is, there are a lot of skaters who can't skate to this sort of music--it just sort of falls flat for them, no matter how pretty the music is. But Mao brings it alive. I must say I think she has a brilliant set of programs this year, and all she needs to perfect them is the jumps and the confidence.

alyssa wrote:

dlnnyc wrote:

just to clarify i did say positive things about mao and i truly love her unique qualities and i know it is barely the first competition.. is the japan open an isu sanctioned comp? she has had alot of change and is working on her jumps and technique this past summer. im sure the training she did with nagakubo sensei was v. helpful but now she is with sato.. so they kinda have to start all over again re: adjusting to diff. styles of teaching and sato reviewing mao chans strengths and weaknesses to come up with an overall strategy for the future.

so i do apologize if it did seem overly critical. however, i do think the strategy is to play up mao's strengths but also to pull away from her rivals in every way.

The problem is that you keep bringing Yuna and praising her artistry, elegance while focusing on the negative aspects of Mao, and it has always been like this with you. Yuna is Yuna, and Mao is Mao. Making comparisons about how they start their seasons is nonsense. If you want to talk about Yuna, do it in the "other skaters" section where we have a thread for her or join her forum please.

so darn touchy arent we? i didnt know that expressing my opinion was a "PROBLEM". you seem to overlook my postive comments that i did make. yes maybe comparing the starts of their season is nonsense and ive apologized already. i dont want to talk about yuna. i will say it again i apologize for bringing up yuna.

i am gonna end on a positive note.. someone posted her EX and it does look like mao has improved greatly on her emotive qualities and it seems her flexibility and stretch is more effortless than in years past.

polosatik wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

polosatik wrote:

clovera wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

Thanks for the links Canness. The step sequence really came alive in the encore. Seeing that Mao popped her flip again in her EX, I am feeling she's struggling with this jump along with her lutz & sal. Actually, I am a bit baffled at why Mao keeps changing her entrance to her flip. I remember she changed it last season as well. Personally. I feel that perhaps it may be better (for now) to leave the entrance as it was, so Mao could be more comfortable with it. It's a very crucial jump for her, since she uses it for combinations. I feel Mao is trying to fix everything at once again and maybe it's just a bit too much. If Mao didn't have to worry about her flip, she can focus more on her lutz and sal.

That's not the point though - Mao wants to rework the technique on all of her jumps, instead of just reintroducing the lutz and sal which she more or less did already during 08-09 with varied results. I'm not going to bother with the "why" regarding the flip, since inskate has been kind enough to explain about this in detail (the deep lunge, the hammertoe, the long pause after the mohawk etc.) several times already.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's the usual doom-and-gloom-flu going on, but really, people (but then again, the flu never fails to show up every year).
Where's summervie? I need someone to help me pass vaccines.

I can take you a pill if you want S. has gone for an uncertain period of time,but he's still there.

I can't understand people talking about Mao's program "being unmemorable", "yes she is light and airy and the music is romantic but whats the story... " Listen. The girl put on herself a lot of pressure and bravery to fix her problems, not everyone can do this,believe me. And what did she hear from her"fans"? All that Mao need from us now is our support, and not that stupid criticism which came from nowhere. I'm also a Yuna fan,but I will never compare them in that way. I love both of them because they are beautiful,extraordinary and great skaters. But they're humans,remember that and leave Mao alone. Even non Mao fans behave better then some of the "fans".

I hope this is not targeted at me. I am not interested in comparing her to Yuna, and I do like her program a lot. I think my concerns about her jumps are reasonable although other posters have different opinions.
Btw, Summervie is a guy?

No aoi, I wasn't talking about you sweetie. You're one of the greatest Mao fans,so I can't say anything bad about comments.
Lol at S. point,yes he's a guy.I think this came from Yuna forum, there was a lot of big shocks about member's gender!

clearly this was targeted at me. once again cant i express my opinion? i like narratives ok? sue me. i do think it is a lovely program but my initial take was that it felt a little one note. i know this will change as mao adjusts to the many things she voiced: jumps, new coach, etc. so please forgive me ok? it was my first impression when i saw it.

soooo. moving on. when will we get to see mao's SP? that i cant wait for... and i promise i will hold back any negative comments... lets make peace polosatik ok?

We have to remembered that just few days ago Mao said that the most important thing she learned last season was that no matter the difficulty of the challenge, if she really try at the end She´ll do it. She can do it

I believe in you, Mao!!! Thanks for your brave heart!!!!!

Ken Himura wrote:

We have to remembered that just few days ago Mao said that the most important thing she learned last season was that no matter the difficulty of the challenge, if she really try at the end She´ll do it. She can do it

I believe in you, Mao!!! Thanks for your brave heart!!!!!

thank you ken. i believe in mao too. where does she get this fire from?

Mao will participate in GP series NHK cup which will start on Oct. 22. NHK will broadcast Women Single Short Program on the 22nd, 19:30-20:43.

This is Mao's SP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8SD536-8As
You can find more videos on "Artistry on Ice in Beijing" thread.

I love both TAT SP and Lori LP, in particular this combination because it gives a great contrast.

polosatik wrote:

clovera wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

Thanks for the links Canness. The step sequence really came alive in the encore. Seeing that Mao popped her flip again in her EX, I am feeling she's struggling with this jump along with her lutz & sal. Actually, I am a bit baffled at why Mao keeps changing her entrance to her flip. I remember she changed it last season as well. Personally. I feel that perhaps it may be better (for now) to leave the entrance as it was, so Mao could be more comfortable with it. It's a very crucial jump for her, since she uses it for combinations. I feel Mao is trying to fix everything at once again and maybe it's just a bit too much. If Mao didn't have to worry about her flip, she can focus more on her lutz and sal.

That's not the point though - Mao wants to rework the technique on all of her jumps, instead of just reintroducing the lutz and sal which she more or less did already during 08-09 with varied results. I'm not going to bother with the "why" regarding the flip, since inskate has been kind enough to explain about this in detail (the deep lunge, the hammertoe, the long pause after the mohawk etc.) several times already.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's the usual doom-and-gloom-flu going on, but really, people (but then again, the flu never fails to show up every year).
Where's summervie? I need someone to help me pass vaccines.

I can take you a pill if you want S. has gone for an uncertain period of time,but he's still there.

I can't understand people talking about Mao's program "being unmemorable", "yes she is light and airy and the music is romantic but whats the story... " Listen. The girl put on herself a lot of pressure and bravery to fix her problems, not everyone can do this,believe me. And what did she hear from her"fans"? All that Mao need from us now is our support, and not that stupid criticism which came from nowhere. I'm also a Yuna fan,but I will never compare them in that way. I love both of them because they are beautiful,extraordinary and great skaters. But they're humans,remember that and leave Mao alone. Even non Mao fans behave better then some of the "fans".

Thanks Polosatisk, that's what I was trying to say.

Mao is a fighter, but after all she is just a girl in her 20s, with a lot of pressure on her shoulders already and some "insensitive" fans still trying to bring her down saying stuff that doesn't add anything positive to the thread.

Like I said before, it's too early to judge this program, I saw it a lot of times already and I think it all depends on more training and practice for it to become a real legendary program.
Mao can do it, I believe in her entirely.

It seems rather crazy, but I have a certain blind faith in Mao. Though it remains to be seen what will happen in the future, I am pretty sure that she will fight with all her heart to be the best that she could be, and for that I am happy.

I have given up on trying to understand the judgments being passed on her because regardless of it all Mao is still an amazing athlete. Tough and hard working.

I was just so happy to see her smile at the beginning of her program. That was enough for me.

Just saw Mao Asada's FP, both from JO and the COI encore where she did her steps and all I can say is...WOW.

That didn't mean I didn't have my bouts of mini-heart attacks, especially with her falls. But I know how much she has gone through and what she is aiming for this season, and though her falls are cringe-worthy, I'm happy to see them. To see her fall meant she's doing something she's never done before (in my mind at least), and to see her fall NOW would also mean she'd make sure they won't happen again (in my mind still).

I'd rather see her fall on jumps she's seriously trying to gain back than let her settle for cheated jumps, and in essence, let the whole world just affirm that our dear Mao is only good at triple axels and isn't doing anything to fix that. I HATE those comments, honestly.

But, wow, apart from the jumps, this FP is like a dream come true to me. I honestly cried when I saw her at COI, and just saw how much more expressive she has become. This is exactly what I want to see her in, EVEN that triple axel jump she had in the middle of the program to stun us all. The dress, the flow of the music, everything is what I envisioned of Mao and I have hope that with time, this will become a masterpiece. Only Mao can always keep us guessing like this!

AS for me, I'll wait for the 22nd and the YT clips to finally see her skate both the SP and FP in the professional arena! Go Mao!!

polosatik wrote:

I can't understand people talking about Mao's program "being unmemorable", "yes she is light and airy and the music is romantic but whats the story... " Listen. The girl put on herself a lot of pressure and bravery to fix her problems, not everyone can do this,believe me. And what did she hear from her"fans"? All that Mao need from us now is our support, and not that stupid criticism which came from nowhere. I'm also a Yuna fan,but I will never compare them in that way. I love both of them because they are beautiful,extraordinary and great skaters. But they're humans,remember that and leave Mao alone. Even non Mao fans behave better then some of the "fans".

If I said something negative in your opinion about Mao, that doesn't mean I don't like her or don't support her anymore. I've said my point of view and I have the right to do that because I love Mao and will do that whatever you say.

Hey, what's going on here~?

I kind of understand what sumin meant when she said 'unmemorable', though I don't think it's the exact proper word...but I guess last season's 'Bells of Moscow' had so much impact whether you liked it or not, so in comparison Mao's new FP might lack a strong impression towards those who've seen it.

But when I actually saw 'Bells...' the first time live in JO last season, it didn't have half the impact it had by Nats. It might've been because her jumps weren't working that time either, but I think Mao hadn't captured the heart of the program yet then. So I think it's more or less the same situation with her new FP. We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions on this pro not just now IMO. It's obviously too early for that.

Btw, I think that some other pros of Mao's and other skater's are sometimes much more impressive from the very first time they're performed. But in such cases, it doesn't always mean that they're brilliant pros which you'd want to see over and over again. Some pros are great from the start because they're simply very easy to understand, and rather entertaining than artistic. I've experienced this kind of phenomenon with books, movies, music...almost anything. I think 'Wow!' the first time I read, see or listen to them, but after a short while I get bored with them, or I'd look back on them and say 'Okay, it was amusing, but shallow. I don't think I'll ever read, see or listen to it again'.

On the other hand, there are works which don't impress you much the first time, but kind of haunts you on and on. It's because you couldn't understand or appreciate it totally, but still you kind of know there's something worthy in it. To me, 'Bells...' was such a pro, and in the end I fell in love with it. Actually, that kind of thing happens alot to me when I watch FS, not just with Mao's pros but other skaters too. They all spend the whole season perfecting their pros, and going through that journey with the skater is one of the most exciting things about FS IMO. So, I wouldn't say it's unfair, but you'd be missing alot if you jump to conclusions about a pro from the first time you see it. I think it's important to keep being open minded during the whole season. Skaters aren't machines, so they'll never ever deliver an exact same performance even for the same pro. They will train constantly to make their pros better every day, and thus the pro will grow into something completely different from the first performance by the end of the season.

As I've posted before, I do not know yet if 'Liebesträume' will become one of Mao's masterpieces, but I think it has lots of potentials. So I hope those of you who didn't like it so much would give it a chance and wait a while. Who knows? It might start growing on you!

to PochinkoPotanko

When I saw Bells first time, I was a little disappointed with the choice of music, moreover Mao did a lot of mistakes, but I was imressed with the power she skated, the step and the spiral sequences were great and comlicated, unforgettable

sumin wrote:

to PochinkoPotanko

When I saw Bells first time, I was a little disappointed with the choice of music, moreover Mao did a lot of mistakes, but I was imressed with the power she skated, the step and the spiral sequences were great and comlicated, unforgettable

Okay, so you saw something which I didn't in the first performance of 'Bells...', and that's great. I know several people who felt the same way as you did, and as the pro got hold of me later on, I admit that the problem was mostly me, and not the pro itself, even with the unpolished performance given at JO last year.

But I hope you haven't misunderstood me as some of those people who'd think whatever Mao does is perfect and great (btw, I'm not referring to anybody in this forum by saying that!). I always post and say as freely as you when there's something I don't like about her pros. However, I never totally conclude that an entire pro of Mao's is a failure. If there's something that disappoints me about her pros, I'd point that specific part out, but I'd never say 'It's not a good pro!' period. And I'd certainly never say something like that esp when I've only seen it performed just once. Still, I do think it's okay for anyone to say that if they felt so. Everybody has the right to say how they felt about things, (basically).

But I do think that since this is a place where people who all care for Mao gather, some members will feel a bit disturbed if you cut off a pro of hers as 'no good' from just the beginning of the season. I think polosatik and the others who don't agree with your side of the view, are simply wishing that everybody here would consider that Mao must've practiced very hard to perform that pro for the first time, even though it wasn't well done, and maybe the pro itself wasn't satisfactory to some of you. And in my case, all I'm suggesting is that maybe it's too early to decide if it's good or not. Whether you like the pro or not, either way is fine with me and probabaly with everyone here. But concluding whether the pro is good or not, is kind of a whole different story IMO. Mao has the whole season still ahead of her, in which she is going to be skating this pro over and over. If we conclude that it's no good at this point, I guess it would sound kind of cruel to her.

Mao said she likes her new FP alot, and she will spend the entire season practicing continuosly to be able to make those who see it like it too. Let's all keep a tiny bit of our minds opened so those who don't like it now might turn out to like it in the near future, for her sake.

photo
http://www.jiji.com/news/handmade/topic/d4_news/mao001-BG8F0113.jpg
http://www.jiji.com/news/handmade/topic/d4_news/mao001-BG8F0118.jpg
http://www.jiji.com/news/handmade/topic/d4_news/mao001-BG8F0128.jpg
http://www.jiji.com/news/handmade/topic/d4_news/mao001-BG8F0155.jpg
http://www.jiji.com/news/handmade/topic/d4_news/mao001-BG8F0163.jpg
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linglang wrote:

Mao will participate in GP series NHK cup which will start on Oct. 22. NHK will broadcast Women Single Short Program on the 22nd, 19:30-20:43.

This is Mao's SP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8SD536-8As
You can find more videos on "Artistry on Ice in Beijing" thread.

I love both TAT SP and Lori LP, in particular this combination because it gives a great contrast.

I think some people who are not really into Mao's new LP would probably enjoy her SP more. Some who didn't like The Bells or Masquerade Waltz would finally be happy about Lori's LP. I guess this season is actually good for every Mao fans.

i am going on the record by saying that i will never mention YUNA every again in context to mao.

i hated BELLS when it debuted last season and grew to love it. something pj kwong said on her blog... about Mao's BELLS performance at 4CC (which she won and executed well) was when she Mao hits it, the programs works, when she doesnt it really doesnt work. which i agreed. seeing her at the olympics and then followed up by the world's mao made it WORK brilliantly.

for me, she seemed to attack much more and she expressed and accented the very dramatic parts giving the program its highs and lows as i was talking about... and hence a story.... which i took to mean mao's courage and her determination to battle for the top spot. she had fire.

i dont doubt she will do the same this year too.

I agree with coconut. In fact, I think slow music like Liberstraume is not
suit as FS. It should be SP like Clair de Lune or Nocturne, because I was
afraid audience would feel bored. Liberstraume is not like Fantasie
Impromptu which more elegant not joyful as Czardas, not tense and dark
as Bell of Moscows, it is too soft.
But by arrangement, I love how orchestra music flows during step sequence,
and though it is still too light, it will be good and elegant enough if Mao
perform well.

This season, Mao challenges really new things and I enjoy that much.
Hope she can bring them 100% as she desires. (Japanese team seems
nervous about Mao and Kanako are not in good condition in their jumps.)
Hope gold medal at NHK Trophy will belong to Mao.