2018-19 Japanese Ladies' figure skating | Page 125 | Golden Skate

2018-19 Japanese Ladies' figure skating

denise3lz

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Country
Japan
What Kawabata impressed me is her balletic posture and deep edges.
I love her skating no matter her placement at competitions.
 

hippomoomin

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
Rika this season benefited from her well constructed LP, and of course, better consistency and 3A. However, I don't think she is skating much better PCS wise than last season, and far from the performance level of Satoko and Marin. I don't think Rika's jumps with the exception of 3A are as spectacular as Kaori's. I noticed that at 4CC, a lot of her jumps are tilted, a strategy or sign to compensate the lack of height. Satoko used to have quite a lot of tilted jumps too. Kaori's jumps have great distance across the ice
 

gotoschool

Medalist
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Rika had the highest measured speed at Japanese Nationals compared to Satoko and Mai who followed close behind and then Kaori and then Marin. She also had the longest and highest measured jump among the seniors with her triple axel. I find that the Rika has improved the most this season in PCS and performance quality which is consistent with international scoring and speed measurements at Japanese Nationals. Furthermore in a Japanese documentary featuring Nobunari Oda, Rika's excellent speed and skating skills as well as her great lower body strength were pointed out as features which allowed her to enter her triple axel with a very short set up closer to that used by men. I do hope that Rika works on getting a bit more height on some of her jumps, though the triple axel has very good height and distance, and Kaori does have very good height and distance on her jumps, but she also rotates slower and has a very questionable edge on her triple lutz.

Rika has excellent edges, quick turns, and smooth and intricate transitions like the multiple turns going into her triple salchow and turns and extended poses and movements on exit. I also think her expression and movement with her arms in the LP is the most elegant and expressive and that overall she is the most impressive when her technical, artistic and skating elements are combined. I think Satoko and Mai are also impressive in terms of skating skills and performance with Karoi's performance very strong too. I think everyone should have their own views on who they like best. I really like Marin's skating and hope she is able to overcome her difficulties, but jumping issues have begun to take away from the impact of her performances for me.
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
The Japanese ladies will be a powerhouse come worlds. They could own the podium with a sweep. The Russians are not consistent and vulernable. Sofia is not as special as Kaori, Satoko or Rika. Alina seems to be hit by the puberty bug. And the third Russian will also be a flip of the coin. Liza was looking good until she got ill. Evgenia probably hasn't had time to fix things Any other lady is really hit or miss. Satoko will be hungry for the podium well actually all the Japanese ladies will be and considering where it is located I have a good feeling for Japan and not so for Russia. I guess the real challenge might be Bradie Tennell or Carolina Kostner or a perfect Mariah Bell.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
The Japanese ladies will be a powerhouse come worlds. They could own the podium with a sweep.

It's possible, but sweeping is really difficult because it requires all the Japanese women to skate their best and a number of other women (Alina, Liza, maybe a couple of others) to be off their top form. Satoko, in particular, could be vulnerable to < calls that might impact her score. Having said that, the three women are so strong that a sweep wouldn't surprise me.
 

lzxnl

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
It's possible, but sweeping is really difficult because it requires all the Japanese women to skate their best and a number of other women (Alina, Liza, maybe a couple of others) to be off their top form. Satoko, in particular, could be vulnerable to < calls that might impact her score. Having said that, the three women are so strong that a sweep wouldn't surprise me.

I feel that
1. Rika Kihira
2. Alina Zagitova
3. Kaori Sakamoto
is the most likely outcome. Not guaranteed because anyone could have an off day, but this would be my pick.
 

Dreamer57

Record Breaker
Joined
May 20, 2018

satine

v Yuki Ishikawa v
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
I feel that
1. Rika Kihira
2. Alina Zagitova
3. Kaori Sakamoto
is the most likely outcome. Not guaranteed because anyone could have an off day, but this would be my pick.

This would be a very worthy podium. Honestly, pretty much any outcome would be awesome with the amount of talent in the women's field today :yahoo:
 

oatmella

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Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
I could see Kaori being successful with 3A!

But wonder if quads are a realistic goal ... the ladies that are currently landing quads have very slender/straight physiques and fast rotation.
 

Sai Bon

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Country
New-Zealand
I could see Kaori being successful with 3A!

But wonder if quads are a realistic goal ... the ladies that are currently landing quads have very slender/straight physiques and fast rotation.

I wonder too. Not sure what's going on in Coach Nakano's mind. But re the 3A, the article noted that Kaori was close to success with it in her mid-teens, but was derailed by a stress fracture.

I enjoy watching Kaori and would love to see her do a 3A, but more than anything would like her to maximize her potential while staying healthy.
 

Joekaz

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Well, she already won Nationals without one. Kaori would be pretty difficult to beat with a consistent 3A!
I wonder if Mai is also aiming for the same goal.
Don't forget Wakaba next year. If she can stay healthy and get her 3A down, no Japanese lady is as talented. Either fix the lip or get rid of the flip though.
 

Dreamer57

Record Breaker
Joined
May 20, 2018
Don't forget Wakaba next year. If she can stay healthy and get her 3A down, no Japanese lady is as talented. Either fix the lip or get rid of the flip though.

I hope you are right! I would love to see Wakaba make a great comeback. :)
 
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