2018-19 South Korean figure skating

Skating Lesson's interview with Eunsoo, she did well, it was her first interview in English :agree: It was short but there were nice questions about competition of Korean skaters right now, favorite/least favorite jumps, season goals, working with Raf and more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBRf4zgNosI

breadstal said:

Skating Lesson's interview with Eunsoo, she did well, it was her first interview in English :agree: It was short but there were nice questions about competition of Korean skaters right now, favorite/least favorite jumps, season goals, working with Raf and more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBRf4zgNosI

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Good interview! A bit too short but that’s understandable. I watched it with live chat and TSL said Eunsoo wasn’t sure she would need a translator or not so they wanted to keep it short and simple.
I’m just happy she gave such a great interview, her English is very good, she should be proud of herself.

Eunsoo so cute!! It was cool of her to try and speak only in English but I would have liked to learn a bit more about some of the questions Dave asked that she would have been able to better explain in Korean.

The only time i'll ever give TSL views xD

Aww Eunsoo was adorable :luv17: Her English is pretty much excellent, but as kimi492 said for some questions (like the one on her outlook on performing in general) she would've explained herself better in Korean. I do get the gist of what she's trying to say (she sometimes used literal translations of the Korean words she would've used if the interview had been in Korean), but her own words would be much better than my pseudo-mindreading. And I have to say, pictures of Yuna and Eunsoo standing side by side made my day much better

She is so adorable. She seems to be really a hard worker. i am excited to see her at her first senior GP event.

I wanted to ask you guys about this. We all know You Young has UR issues, but she moved to Tom Z. He has had several skaters with UR issues before and they never seemed to fix that problem. Seeing Tom throw a fit about Zhou's URs being called, doesn't that scare you a bit? Zhou's jumps were clearly UR yet Tom kept claiming that the calls were unfair. Idk but it scares me. What if he never tackles that issue with Young as well? I am confused by his decision to make her work on a 4lutz when she has other serious issues she should be working on instead. I don't want to be too negative but i really like Young and have been wishing for her success since Yuna retired, but i'm doubting that she's in good hands with Tom. Could we discuss that? what are your opinions? :think:

Have you ever seen any athlete "fix" a UR issue completely? Skaters go to Tom because he has a reputation for being a strong coach for technique. (Hence, he tends to get athletes who struggle with their technique). But skaters who start with UR issues are still the ones more likely to struggle; and especially under the heat of competition, poor technique often returns.

I'm sure Young is tackling the issue. It may even be part of why she had struggled a bit this season as switching coaches and learning new technique often throws athletes off their consistency. Also, the expectations are naturally higher for her after last season. I think she's had a OK start to her year. It's just so deep among the Korean Junior ladies now, and people are watching her skating from a different perspective after last season.

I don't know if she'll stay with Tom. Maybe it will be the wrong fit for her and she won't. I do know that UR calls were hurting Yelim Kim last season, and her protocals are much better this year now that she is with Tom & Tammy. I feel like this switch is working for Yelim.

I’m worried about Young too - but - and this is a blunt question - but has there ever been a skater who has had consistent UR issues and been able to fix them completely? Because I can’t think of any honestly. That’s not to say she might not be able to fix them - but all the skaters I’ve followed that have had UR issues had them till the end of their career. Young is still young so if Tom is not the answer hopefully she can find someone else to help her - a really good technical coach - I’m not sure who she could go to tho apparently money is somewhat of an issue.

I just really wanted to know other people's opinions on it. After seeing his comments about Zhou's jumps i was wondering if he was just politicking for his student or if he really doesn't want to see that Zhou has that issue with his jumps. It's true that URs are incredibly hard to fix. I hope they're trying to work on it. I don't expect to see a quad in competition (at least not anytime soon) but maybe practicing it will improve her 3ples the same way 3A has considerably improved her 2A :agree: idk maybe that's their plan? Now that we know Eunsoo & Raf's plan for this season (consistently clean programs throughout the season), i'd really like to hear Tom's plan about You & Yelim.

Looks like Choi Dabin also withdrew from Inge Solar Memorial.
I shouldn’t be surprised, but it’s just that without her there’s one less reason for me to go to the event. :sad21:

I hope Eunsoo is okay, that collision looked scary. It probably also shook her going into the free cause she did not look as invested in the program as she did in her challengers

kimi492 said:

I’m worried about Young too - but - and this is a blunt question - but has there ever been a skater who has had consistent UR issues and been able to fix them completely? Because I can’t think of any honestly. That’s not to say she might not be able to fix them - but all the skaters I’ve followed that have had UR issues had them till the end of their career. Young is still young so if Tom is not the answer hopefully she can find someone else to help her - a really good technical coach - I’m not sure who she could go to tho apparently money is somewhat of an issue.

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Not completely but, I think Mirai's jumping performance improved substantially with Tom Z. And no, I am not alluding to 3A, or maybe not solely to it. Her jumps by the end of Pyongchang cycle became almost completely underrotation proof and she also managed to not get edge calls on lutzes on a good day. And she finally got consistent with 3-3s. I'm hoping something similar will happen to Young.

Now for Eun Soo, I really hope they change back to former FS if she does manage to get to Worlds. Like British Eurosport guys said, it's too early for her age to effectively sell Chicago. And quite frankly, though I liked the LP today, more than I had in the past, I still feel last year's tango would have been a better choice for a debut in the senior league. :disapp:

Okay, since now it's okay for competition-related posts to be posted here I'm going to relocate my Eunsoo rant here. Before that: I don't think that changing back to her Oblivion free would be a good idea. First and foremost, as mentioned in my rant, for darling squirtle to be consistent she needs things to go on as planned, and a mid-season program change is not going to help on that aspect. Second, while I disagree with Chicago, Oblivion wasn't the best fit for her either in my opinion. At JWC she felt very junior-ish on the step sequences because her movements weren't quite there with the tango feel. Of course she has drastically improved than at JWC, but a not-quite-there tango won't help her at a senior level. Finally, this season is overflowing with tangos. Every ID team has to do a tango, and other single skaters are using tangos as well. I'd want to avoid comparison. With that, onto my rant.

- That darling has a thousand and one great qualities, but strong mentality is unfortunately not one of them. I was worried at the first 3Lz when she didn't add the 3T because I knew she was rattled. The thing about that darling is once she loses her nerves, all she can focus on is her jumps. And if she overthinks her jumps she wobbles, demonstrated here by her doubling the toe on her 2A and being messy on the 3Lz-3T. For that squritle to be clean everything needs to go as she envisions it, and so far either the skating gods have jinxed her or she is acting as a normal 15-year-old would do and letting her nerves get to her. I love her to pieces but she needs to work on her mental strength, she loses everything but the jumps when she stumbles. And she's doing Chicago.

- Chicago. For crying (bleep) out loud I was against the idea when it was announced. Yes, darling squirtle is good at being flirty. No, she is not the jazzy, sexy type. And also no, she is not a showlady. That darling is a dancer and a performer, not an actress or a crowd-pleaser. She can do Chicago, but Chicago is not the best option for her. And with that:

- Suzuki Akiko. The thing about her choreography is that she choreographs what she herself would do, not what the skater would. Suzuki Akiko was a master at being jazzy and mature. That darling is 15. Also, squirtle's lines are much, much more suited to lyrical music. Look at her SP for proof. And she (bleep) knows that, she picked Jeffrey Buttle herself. Segue into:

- Coach Chi Hyunjung. I have no idea why she recommended Suzuki Akiko for darling squirtle, she should've known better. Yes, darling likes Chicago, but she never asked her coaching staff to let her do it. Why was Raf on board with this anyway??

- And finally, the salchow. That is darling's least favorite jump, she prefers toe jumps way over edge jumps. If my memory serves me correct she had the flip for her second jump at Asian Open, why did they change her (bleep) weakest jump as her second pass when they have seen enough to know that squirtle is prone to pressure????? God I admire Raf for all the work he has done for darling squirtle, but this is a decision that I don't get. Also, not a problem but why bother to move the 3T to the second 3Lz only to change it back? Was it because of the ridiculous ! from her short? Come on, lutz is her best jump. She was clean on it in her short. God I'm pissed again (Korean swearing ensues)

She's in the top 6 and she still has Rostelecom for a chance at a clean free, but Rostelecom is another bloodbath and she has to travel a (bleep) distance. God...

Damn this became long. Darling, look after yourself and please stay healthy. I so want to see you clean on your free, despite my diagreement with it I do love you skating it. Just, for next season get Jeffrey Buttle do both programs or something... (Swears off into the distance)

Ichatdelune said:

rant

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Drink each time Ichatdelune says darling...
only kidding

But yeah, I agree. I hate the lp. It's simply not a good program. Not really a fan of Suzuki as a choreographer (yet, at least.). Chi never really had much artistic sense, imo, at least when it comes to her pupils.

s_parks said:

Drink each time Ichatdelune says darling...
only kidding

But yeah, I agree. I hate the lp. It's simply not a good program. Not really a fan of Suzuki as a choreographer (yet, at least.). Chi never really had much artistic sense, imo, at least when it comes to her pupils.

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If you play that drinking game you'll die from liver failure I know I say darling too much, but for the two of my absolute favorites (you know who they are) I think of them as 'darling X', so it's kind of a subconscious thing. I promise I'll try to restrain myself :con2:

I want to like the program, I really do, but it just doesn't work. It's neither an original program nor a program that fits her style. Clubbin' Romeo is original at least... The biggest mystery to me is that Raf was actually okay with it. How was he, of all people, fine with another Chicago program? Was it a "I respect the previous coach's decision" thing? So many unaswered questions...

Eunsoo needs to beg Jeff Buttle for two programs next year. The difference in intricacy and impact between the short and free is pretty stark.
Part of that owes to the fact that Eunsoo has seemed visibly rattled by some occurrence (be it a warmup mishap or a bad fall) every time she performs the free, but there's still not much going on in the program regardless.

Ichatdelune said:

I want to like the program, I really do, but it just doesn't work. It's neither an original program nor a program that fits her style. Clubbin' Romeo is original at least... The biggest mystery to me is that Raf was actually okay with it. How was he, of all people, fine with another Chicago program? Was it a "I respect the previous coach's decision" thing? So many unaswered questions...

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You're kidding, right? Ashley did Hip Hip Chin Chin two years and Moulin Rouge three seasons.

Brezina is doing Who Wants to Live Forever? , which Adam had in 2015-16. If you want originality in Raf's camp, I think you pretty much have to have the wherewithal to go get it yourself.

I'm personally not a fan of Eunsoo's FS at all. I think it does not make her stand out (especially one season after Mariah did it too). I hope they'd at least try to polish it and make it fuller. It looks very empty. The difference of quality between her SP & FS is just too big and unfortunate.
Anyway, i hope she's feeling better now and is ready to compete at Rostelecom. Competition isn't as big as in NHK and if she pulls herself together, maybe she can medal.

Ice Dance said:

You're kidding, right? Ashley did Hip Hip Chin Chin two years and Moulin Rouge three seasons.

Brezina is doing Who Wants to Live Forever? , which Adam had in 2015-16. If you want originality in Raf's camp, I think you pretty much have to have the wherewithal to go get it yourself.

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Ashley repeated them because when she was young, she suffered a concussion where she could not memorize new choreography very well, and this challenge followed her throughout her entire career. That’s why she decided to switch to La La Land at Champs Camp 2018.