Yu Na News

i forgot to mention that, as always her costume is amazing.

Well maybe I will have a better impression when she is not only concentrating on jumps, but as far as this time goes, this program did nothing for me. I was once again reminded of why I prefer Mao so much over Yuna. To me, Yuna is a strong skater with big jumps, consistency, and some dramatic facial expressions, but there never has been anything about her that really moved me and made me fall in love with her skating. Still, I am glad to see her back for the sake that she is good for the sport and she's a big name, so that makes things more exciting.

I agree with you guys when you pointed out how she acted in warm up and at the end of the program. I was thinking the same thing. It makes me wonder if she really is happy to be back now. Or maybe this competition is just something she wants to get done with, and it's not important to her. She knows she can fall on her butt all she wants and still win. lol.

She really scored higher than she did at the Olympics?! I don't care if it's because this is a small competition or not. That is ludicrous, and there's no excuse for it. Even me, someone who doesn't care much for her skating liked that olympic program ok. There was a big difference between there and here. I wish the ISU would start to notice the crazy judging more and take a closer look at what's going on to possibly address the problem. Maybe one of these days if people keep complaining enough. Or when pigs fly??

Star85 wrote:

Well maybe I will have a better impression when she is not only concentrating on jumps, but as far as this time goes, this program did nothing for me. I was once again reminded of why I prefer Mao so much over Yuna. To me, Yuna is a strong skater with big jumps, consistency, and some dramatic facial expressions, but there never has been anything about her that really moved me and made me fall in love with her skating. Still, I am glad to see her back for the sake that she is good for the sport and she's a big name, so that makes things more exciting.

I agree with you guys when you pointed out how she acted in warm up and at the end of the program. I was thinking the same thing. It makes me wonder if she really is happy to be back now. Or maybe this competition is just something she wants to get done with, and it's not important to her. She knows she can fall on her butt all she wants and still win. lol.

She really scored higher than she did at the Olympics?! I don't care if it's because this is a small competition or not. That is ludicrous, and there's no excuse for it. Even me, someone who doesn't care much for her skating liked that olympic program ok. There was a big difference between there and here. I wish the ISU would start to notice the crazy judging more and take a closer look at what's going on to possibly address the problem. Maybe one of these days if people keep complaining enough. Or when pigs fly??

Not the whole score, but the PCS part, which is puzzling since it's the presentation part that is not as polished as we've seen from her in the past. Anyways, I'm sure her delivering the technical goods played a big part in the excitement of the audience and judges, which always influences the second mark.

The interesting thing for me as someone who heard of these two talented skaters more or less around the same time is that my impressions of them became reversed as time passed. In the early years, I felt Yuna was the one who was more invested in choreography and presentation. Mao displayed more strength and confidence. My preference for Mao came from my greater appreciation for beautiful flow, lines, and extensions, which she had more of in my opinion. But besides the wonderful "Nocturne" SP, I didn't feel her other programs at the time were on par with her talents. On the other hand, Yuna's "Tango Roxanne" and "Lark Ascending" were great programs that had interesting choreography. And she showed raw passion and an endearing vulnerability that was captivating. As she became more confident over the years, she lost a lot of the passion seen in earlier years. The last program of hers that could be deemed great from an artistic point of view was "Danse." She's still exciting to watch but her presentation is much more business-like. Mao, on the other hand, developed artistically as time passed. I have criticized TAT a lot in the past, but I cannot deny her role in the artistic development of Mao which began with "Ladies in Lavender", their first collaboration. There were missteps in choreographic choices and coaching issues along the way but the passion and intensity Mao displayed in "Bells" at Olympics/Worlds was far beyond anything she has ever shown in her previous programs. And I believe she has continuously developed this aspect after Vancouver. Her technical difficulties sometimes hinder our impression of her presentation but it is evident in her two recent exhibitions, "Ballade" and "Jupiter", masterpieces in my opinion.

aoi88 wrote:

The interesting thing for me as someone who heard of these two talented skaters more or less around the same time is that my impressions of them became reversed as time passed. In the early years, I felt Yuna was the one who was more invested in choreography and presentation. Mao displayed more strength and confidence. My preference for Mao came from my greater appreciation for beautiful flow, lines, and extensions, which she had more of in my opinion. But besides the wonderful "Nocturne" SP, I didn't feel her other programs at the time were on par with her talents. On the other hand, Yuna's "Tango Roxanne" and "Lark Ascending" were great programs that had interesting choreography. And she showed raw passion and an endearing vulnerability that was captivating. As she became more confident over the years, she lost a lot of the passion seen in earlier years. The last program of hers that could be deemed great from an artistic point of view was "Danse." She's still exciting to watch but her presentation is much more business-like. Mao, on the other hand, developed artistically as time passed. I have criticized TAT a lot in the past, but I cannot deny her role in the artistic development of Mao which began with "Ladies in Lavender", their first collaboration. There were missteps in choreographic choices and coaching issues along the way but the passion and intensity Mao displayed in "Bells" at Olympics/Worlds was far beyond anything she has ever shown in her previous programs. And I believe she has continuously developed this aspect after Vancouver. Her technical difficulties sometimes hinder our impression of her presentation but it is evident in her two recent exhibitions, "Ballade" and "Jupiter", masterpieces in my opinion.

Totally agree on this!

I just watched the HD version of her SP. It's impressive to see her retain her jumps but overall, it was very business-like -- you can see that right after she does her ending pose. Was very disappointed with that.

Lets see what she does with Les Mis. Very excited to see her skate to that theme.

kitty wrote:

exactly! I lost my interest half way and barely finished watching it.

me too. It so lacks passion in her performance and it is slow.

From https://twitter.com/NRW_kr/status/277715144853815296/photo/1

She needs Orser back. Whatever it is that happened between them should be fixed. Orser and Yuna work well together, and I don't see any other coach that's right for her.

Official practice:

http://www.youtube.c...?&v=AlDakIEUsFM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Y5FxoSPXkJU

Her practice clip!
Her costume is very beautiful btw

Kim got around 129 in the LP( expect tons of stupid comparison between her and Mao since both got 129). She did: 3Lz-3T, 3F, 3S, 3Lz, 1A-2T-1L, 3S-2T(ur and fall). 2 big mistakes but also 5 clean triples. Around 61 for TES and 69 on PCS

Lady_in_black wrote:

Kim got around 129 in the LP( expect tons of stupid comparison between her and Mao since both got 129). She did: 3Lz-3T, 3F, 3S, 3Lz, 1A-2T-1L, 3S-2T(ur and fall). 2 big mistakes but also 5 clean triples. Around 61 for TES and 69 on PCS

Haha it's already getting heated on other forums. No surprises here. Big SP lead followed by a freeskate with some errors. Need to see the performance; music sounds promising.

Ugh :/
My twitter is exploding with Mao-Yuna comparisons...
Apparently "129 for 5 clean triples, that seems fair to me" - While 129 of 6 clean triples is overscored... -_-

Didn't get to watch her LP - Apparently she was quite slow...
Either way - very high PCS!

I hope a HQ vid will be uploaded soon. The stream was unwatchable! Lovely dress, though.

I wouldn't put too much weight on the scores yet - the B competitions tend to get very generously scored. (For example, Kiira got nearly 70 for her SP with easier jumps, yet was unable to reproduce that score anywhere else).

Still, I'm a bit worried about how the jumps were scored here. I haven't seen a HQ vid of the LP yet, but I do recommend downloading the SP & practice clips from YT and watching them frame-by-frame. Like 3Lz-3T here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3okxUw4MvMA
A question for a poor fan trying to understand CoP: which bullets for +GoE were fulfilled?
Not blaming YuNa, it's just her first competition. Plus, she'd still won even if the judges were as strict as for the ladies. But still, ignoring some blatant technique issues (even if they are just early season woes) while the other ladies struggle for years to get them fixed is a bit unfair.

Protocols: http://www.lev-nrw.org/lev2008/docs/event/1189/SeniorLadies_FS_Scores.pdf

Interesting to see her get level 4 on the steps with pretty good GOE. Was it that good?

roma wrote:

Protocols: http://www.lev-nrw.org/lev2008/docs/event/1189/SeniorLadies_FS_Scores.pdf

Interesting to see her get level 4 on the steps with pretty good GOE. Was it that good?

I applaud the one judge who dared to gave her 7.50 for performance/execution! But then some judges gave her as high as 9.25-9.5

Agree with you Inskate.

Seeing the judges being suddenly 'blind' when Yuna skates, I wonder if the 'B competitions give generous scores' is the reason for her having a high score despite a mediocre program. My guess is that she'll have the same kind of scores for the same kind of skate in A competitions too.

Having Yuna back is good for the sport I am sure, but seeing all the crazy fans back (and the bots all over the forums) , Mao being asked many stupid questions about Yuna, compared to her and the hype towards Sochi is making me tired.

When is she next skating ?


About her score, don't forget that there was the korean judge, Yuna's friend in the panel.

Need to watch the video first to give my impression, but wow she cracked 200 pts! Excellent! However, this is an international B competition so...

aoi88 wrote:

roma wrote:

Protocols: http://www.lev-nrw.org/lev2008/docs/event/1189/SeniorLadies_FS_Scores.pdf

Interesting to see her get level 4 on the steps with pretty good GOE. Was it that good?

I applaud the one judge who dared to gave her 7.50 for performance/execution! But then some judges gave her as high as 9.25-9.5

It's like the 2A that I initially thought was UR. It had a shaky landing, but GOEs didn't match each other because she got -1 to 3. Such a discrepancy. Are the judges seeing the same thing?
And btw, is Yuna participating in 4CC? It would be interesting to have her there.

(And ddmm, I share your frustration but let's not blindly accuse Yuna or the Korean judge. We're respectful Mao fans. )

I had a feeling that Yuna would have a fall in her freeskate because in an interview with her Korean coaches, they said that she still had all of her jumps but was dealing with some stamina issues. It will be interesting to see if she resolves these issues as the season progresses. If she doesn't, then she, Mao, and Ashley all have about an equal chance at Worlds, with Yuna still having a slight edge over them due to her 3-3 and the rep that comes with her Olympic title.

On another note, her short program dress is my favorite of the season

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azLPLediwi0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azLPLediwi0[/url Yuna's program

I have to say she really looks thin!
I love her program, costume and her overall look on the ice. Her jumps are simply superb. The 2T was clearly UR though.
Scores aside I think this is a great program for her and considering how Ashley Wagner was considered to be the one to beat at Worlds, I for one am glad to see Yuna back. At least Yuna is a GREAT skater, a true and deserving champion and I don't mind to see her winning worlds if Mao under-performs.

Watched it in better quality. As a big fan of Les Miserables, I was looking forward to this program. Maybe it needs more mileage, but I feel underwhelmed. The music cuts are fine but some earlier parts aren't timed well with the choreography. And I just can't believe her spiral got +2 and few 3's on GOE. I mean there wasn't even the speed or coverage that could be argued to give her those points. I know this is a B-level competition and she's the biggest star there but that just isn't fair to the other skaters.

Lady_in_black wrote:

The 2T was clearly UR though.

3T and 3S as well. Maybe it's early season woes, but she started to lean a lot on 3Lz entry and it started to look like Mao's old 3F - good height, but small ice coverage and not much speed out of the jump.
https://2img.net/h/oi49.tinypic.com/245k4ko.jpg
(Actually, maybe more like Kanako's toe jumps - Mao didn't bend her knee, her jumps were more like Sasha's).

Glad to see Yu-Na is back! The scores are over the top, but I doubt they will translate (at least not completely) to Worlds. 4CC is known for overscoring though.

I feel this panel was really lenient overall. I have doubts about both of her 3-3. The one in the LP was better, but there's still a very noticeable hook on the ice on the landing of the 3T. There's work to be done there. I don't think either of these would have gotten ratified on the GP; the technical panels have been quite harsh for everyone. She used to have a lot of distance on the lutz and a lot more height on the toe. I think she needs to work on the lutz to get a better running edge, otherwise, the toe is going to be iffy a lot of times.

Overall, she did very good for her first time out. Like many here, I found her SP really bland. I feel like I could like her LP better, but I need to watch it again without my boyfriend hovering behind me, sighing every 5 secs and waiting for me to let him use the computer...

I had a thought during the SP. Look at her flip. Did she use to bend forward so much and swing her free leg so much? She looks like she's really cranking it. It's not "bad" looking... but it reminds me a bit of when Mao started to have to lean forward on her jumps because her muscles had changed over the years and she didn't have a proper coach to adapt to it properly. Let's face it, Yu-Na's coaches might have been good for a developing child who absorbs everything like a sponge and can pretty much adapt their bodies to anything, but they never had to face such caliber in a grown woman who needs to grow back muscles. Yu-Na might have kept in shape over the years, but there's being in shape and landing a couple jumps in a show, and being in shape to skate entire programs with difficult combinations, spins, etc. Anyway, I feel like she waits a little more than she used to after the 3-turn and she kicks the ice really hard. Her free leg does seem to go higher than before. Just my opinion...

ETA: Just watched the LP again.. Her flip was noticeably better there so maybe it was just nerves.

ETA2: lol inskate, I just saw your post... I feel a lot better now that I know I'm not the only one who noticed.

I don't think her 3T and 3S were more than 1/4 cheated to be honest. I have no problem with her getting full credit for them. About her knee bend, she always did it, watch for example her SP from 2009 worlds. It's not distracting however. And I think her flow and jump coverage are good, maybe not 100% like before but I'm sure she'll get there. She is the best jumper currently in ladies skating and the fact that she still lands 3Lz-3T combo like it's nothing proves it. I do want Mao to beat her but without a 3-3 and a 3A it's highly unlikely

I really like Yuna's Les Miserables program! I actually gasped when I heard the section of "On My Own" because I can't believe that a top skater would skate to it after Michelle. Maybe it's because I love the musical so much that I ended up liking this program too?

Now let's see. 3LZ+3T as rock solid as ever, singled the intended 2a-2t-2lo although the spread eagle entrance is very nice, 3S+2T with a fall, her 2A seems shaky again, then a rushed ending pose like in her SP. Well! Not bad, not bad at all. Seems like Yuna has some stamina issues, the second part gave me the impression that she was struggling. 69 for PCS? Ugh, she was nowhere near Vancouver level so how did this... Well whatever. Again let's let this slide! First competition in a long while, you know?

For the feel of the program, like I said I love the musical. Lea Salonga was my hero. However, this program had a feeling of disconnect so I can't love Yuna's interpretation as much as I would want to. There's a certain forced feeling in some parts and really, her spins and footwork need a lot of work. Hoping she can work on these more. She really left a lot of points on the table and it would be interesting how she would do do in a 'stricter' competition!

I haven't seen the program yet but hearing how she got 129 for a skate that's filled with all kind of mistakes on the jumps, with her non-jump elements beeing level 1,2,3, it really makes me laugh when i think of the the crazy PCS she got, that doesn't reflect her performance, now i really look forward to see the free skate!

I really hope this insane scores where only given because it was B-competition!