2017-18 State of Japanese Ladies skating
- Thread starter zanadude
- Start date
Wakaba doesn't choke. Choking is completely falling apart when your under pressure. What she has done most times people said she choked is perform pretty good but not great. That is called reacting normally to pressure like most skaters do. It's just that she has the most talent so expectations are very high. And actually when she is under equal pressure 2 other skaters she usually does well. For instance at cup of china she beat out Mai and Marin in a big showdown. At GPF she had her worst skate but was stilll over 200. At nationals she popped 1 jump in each program but otherwise was good under huge pressure. It was Sakamoto and Kihira who were under by far the least pressure because No one expected Sakamoto to make Olympics and Kihira couldn't, so they had nothing 2 lose. Plus Wakaba is 6 months younger even than Kaori so I dont think we have seen the best from her yet.
Another advantage Wakaba had over almost all the other top competitors was that she didn't have to compete at the Olympics. A challenger event in Holland is nothing like the stress and preparation for the Olympic competition that lasted over two weeks for some competitors, and took place just a month before these World Championships.
You were already wrong in your prediction that she wasn’t going to make the podium, so why are you trying to downplay her accomplishments by adding all these conditionals about why it was easier for her? It’s funny you were so sure she wasn’t going to make the podium, but now that she’s made it, she suddenly she had an easier time and advantage over the others. The truth is, competitive mindsets and preparations vary. Each skater takes control of their training in different ways, so what’s optimal for others will vary from skater to skater. Using all of these excuses is just a way of trying to diminish Wakaba’s achievement.
Not downplaying anything. She took advantage of extraordinary circumstances. Results are everything. If she can convince herself that she's overcome her demons, then she has.
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2017
I think this is a great end to the season and that this thread is no longer a thread or hate on some skaters, but it is a thread or we celebrate the feat of Japanese skaters 
Now more than wait for June to know the GPS and GPJ spots and know who will be supported by the JFS.
Kaori, Wakaba, May, Satoko, Yuna S, Rika Hongo, Sailor, Nana, Mako, Yuhana, Rika K
Rin
Japan to the future with all these talents
Now more than wait for June to know the GPS and GPJ spots and know who will be supported by the JFS.
Kaori, Wakaba, May, Satoko, Yuna S, Rika Hongo, Sailor, Nana, Mako, Yuhana, Rika K
Rin
Japan to the future with all these talents
I think this is a great end to the season and that this thread is no longer a thread or hate on some skaters, but it is a thread or we celebrate the feat of Japanese skaters
Now more than wait for June to know the GPS and GPJ spots and know who will be supported by the JFS.
Kaori, Wakaba, May, Satoko, Yuna S, Rika Hongo, Sailor, Nana, Mako, Yuhana, Rika K
Rin
Japan to the future with all these talents
Has Marin Honda retired, or are you just writing her off?
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
I'm waiting for Nana Araki's breakout season to happen!! 
If Rika moves up, she can become Japanese junior #1 over Mako, I think
If Rika moves up, she can become Japanese junior #1 over Mako, I think
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2014
I disagree with zanadude. It really varies. Ask nathan chen and mao asada. The olympics could either be so tiring or the perfect practice session for fine-tuning. Both nathan and mao used their learnings from the games and delivered to win world gold. Nathan did say he learned so much from the games and used that to his advantage here. So wakaba can say she was at a disadvantage coz she didnt get to fine-tune as much as those who made the games. Could be either way, really. The learnings from the olympics no doubt are a different animal from some challenger series.
...If she possessed the powers of precognition and knew that Alina and Caro will bomb, and some of the other skaters capable of getting big LP scores will not skate at their best, and Satoko will not make any too point-costly mistakes (she's usually reliable, but her injury/bone density problems have affected her consistency this season, and even her actual LP score could be not enough if the other contenders haven't underperformed)...
Plus, there's the fact that Wakaba's SP score (65.89) was roughly the same as the one she got at the previous Worlds (65.87). I... try not to be superstitious, but if I were in Wakaba's shoes, I'd be freaking out a bit
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2013
I haven't filtered through the threads yet, but I know there were people blaming Wakaba last season for losing 3 spots or shading Miyahara for not being a contender.
Well, Wakababy and Satoko slayed - going 2 and 3.
And we kept those people's receipts... where are they at now? 
Well, Wakababy and Satoko slayed - going 2 and 3.
And we kept those people's receipts... where are they at now? - Joined
- Jan 25, 2013
Please. She skated a sublime free skate.
It's so ridiculous to be like "the only reason the skater won is because they skated really well and other skaters who were favoured to beat them did not skate well". Like, DUH. That's how competitions are.
Are we going to trivialize every skater, who's projected to come 5th-ish, for making the podium and doing well, while others falter? Was she simply "lucky" to land both her 3Z+3T combos in her FS?
Like damn, if her main opponents skatde well and beat Wakaba it's "Told you so! She never had a chance!" and if her opponents skated poorly and she beat them it's "Well, they gave her the medal." Honestly.
Give this girl some credit... she fought back from Olympic disappointment and SLAYED.- Joined
- Feb 20, 2017
I think "Sailor" is Marin. Maybe a translation error.
I'm waiting for Nana Araki's breakout season to happen!!
If Rika moves up, she can become Japanese junior #1 over Mako, I think
I don't see Mako stay junior. Yes Nana can become japanese
junior #1, over Yuhana if she stays junior like she said. But there are other girls who can challenge them i think. Like Rinka Watanabe, Tomoe Kawabata, Or Sui Takeuchi. I don't know if Hanna Yoshida will be junior next season.
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2015
Yes, it’s a translation mistake.
I love Marin, but she really needs to step up in training. Russia and Japan both have a deep Ladies field, and if one is lagging... one will be out.
Of course, thanks to Satton and Wakababy the 3 spots are back, but for now Kaori and Mai are the front runner for this spot.
I don’t know what Marin is planning yet for next season, but she’s a very graceful skater and I hope she’ll fight to prove that she’s still in the race (though most importantly she needs to rest as she was injured recently).
Why do people believe Russia has a "deep ladies field", like, where, i don't see it
Marin only needs more motivation and work. Her URs are not chronic like Satoko and she doesn't have edge issues. So technically she can be back in the game. The main concern is the consistency. She's more the kind of skater who delivers when it count and not all the season.
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
Why do people believe Russia has a "deep ladies field", like, where, i don't see it
Let me direct you to the 2018-2019 State of Russian Ladies' Skating and 2018-2019 Russian Ladies JGP team threads...
Is Marin guaranteed any GP spots?
