Should MK's programs have more technical difficulty???...act

[Karin]

OK...I decided to start a new thread because in several places...us forumers have been discussing "upping the ante"!!!...some believe MK should leave her 3toe in the sp!!!...some think she should use the flip...some think she should use the 3z/3toe!!!...etc... Here's my 2 cents!!!... TO me...I think Team Kwan is very smart!!!...My belief is that MK has probably mastered all the difficult jumps and combos that she has mentioned... (3axel, 3z/3loop, 3sal/3loop)... Heather's page has this article page...scroll down to the bold letters "TRIPLING UP" and click there...last 4th paragraph to read!!!... <A HREF=http://onramp.uscom.com/~alaynew/article/99nat.htm >http://onramp.uscom.com/~alaynew/article/99nat.htm </A> ...or at least has landed them fairly consistently!!!...but is waiting for a chance to wow us (and the world!!!) when she debuts them!!! For myself...sometimes...when I'm playing a game...I wanna pay careful attention to what the others play/do...keeping that in mind...I accumulate advantageous...(what shall I call them???) pieces??? so that I can win the game!!! And only when it counts do I show them off...!!! Do I think MK should up the ante??? Yes!!! Do I think MK should do it now??? Well...that depends!!! I know that some people don't like to look at their competitors to determine what they themselves should do...but for Karin (yes that's me)... I do look at my competitors sometimes!!!...I need to admire what they can do...it gives me inspiration...it also gives me an indication of what I can do to improve myself!!!... it also helps to tell me WHEN to debut my so-called "secret" skills??? (what's the word??? LOL...I can't think of the proper word!!!)... IF (yeah yeah) I was a world class skater (me???...hahaha) and had all these young skaters looking at me as a role model (BTW...that's a really BIG if)... and had all these amazing combos and jumps...I would not do them now!!!...As with most things...others will follow IF they have not already mastered those difficult techniques themselves and are waiting for their chance to debut them in competition!!! ...{(look at the quad with the men...someone had to do the honour of doing a first in competition...Kurt :-) and someone had to do the 4/3 first...Elvis :-) ...etc... and look at men's skating now!!! WOW!!!)...} It's only 2000!!! One of MK's dreams is to be the Olympic Champion!!!...and the next Olys Winter games is not until 2002!!! I don't mind if we don't see MK up the ante right now... Team Kwan IMO knows more about MK and what they should do more than a lot of people, me included!!! I guess we'll just have to wait and see what MK does!!! May be we'll see the 3flip at the GPF or at the worlds!!! :-) On a side note!!!...I would really really really like to see MK do her usual Kwan-spiral...and then go on the other leg and do another one!!!... Hee hee!!! Life is not a triple lutz!!!

[ChicaRealidad]

I'm not nearly as convinced as you sound, Karin. I think Michelle needs to do more than triple/triple combos in practice. She needs to be doing them in competition. The article you pointed out was nearly A YEAR AGO. How many of the jump combinations that Michelle mentioned she was working on have we actually seen in competition? The triple loop/triple loop? The triple salchow/triple loop? Michelle has also been practicing the triple axel since she was about 13. I'm from the Show Me State, folks. She needs to SHOW me she can do them in competition. Now, don't get huffy folks. All I'm really saying is that Michelle is capable of doing those triples combos (and more!) in competition RIGHT NOW and I don't see any reason why she isn't doing them. I've been thinking about this and I'm not sure if it's Frank being conservative or Michelle herself. After Skate Canada Michelle called herself a "mushy cookie" for not being more aggressive and going after her triples like Frank told her to. Some of fans have expressed a bit of worry about Michelle's presentation marks at the Japan Open. I think the marks weren't higher for a couple of reason. First of all, she skated first in the short. Secondly, the judges are waiting for Michelle to show them that she's gone to the next level and she hasn't done that yet. Yes, I know, the judges aren't supposed to penalize on the artistic mark for lack of technical difficulty, but c'mon....we all know they do whatever the heck they want to do. I guess I'm just afraid that when push comes to shove and she's at the Salt Lake City Olys that Michelle won't have had enough experience with her other jump combinations to be confident enough to use them. I'm thinking of end of the tunnel instead of the middle of the tunnel. I'd just like to see her say, "Oh, what the heck...." and just once surprise me in her choice of jumps. That's all really. I'm just a big glutton. I want her to be beautiful artistically and to blow the socks off everyone athletically. As Stuart Smalley would say, "Is that really so much to ask?"

[skatingfan]

It is always that risk and reward ratio. She has to decide. But one thing for sure, a skater has to do a new jump combo for at least one season in order to be comfortable with it. For Ito her 3a needed about 1 - 2 years to be perfected in competition.

[Karin]

May be she'll surprise us!!!

[blizzard]

I've been hoping for a 3a :) But she was right in saying that she has yet to reach her peak, so @least this gives us something to anticipate for the future :)

[SJB]

We may not have seen these harder jumps and combos in competition because Michelle's not consistent enough at them yet. We may also have to face that she may never be--there's got to be a limit somewhere to everyone's jumping capability. So it may not be a choice---she may just not have them yet.

[Karin]

What do ya think about GPF and worlds this year???

[Lara F]

SBJ - if that's the case, then I'd be concerned...after all, goodness knows she had more than enough free time last season to get those triple combinations (assuming she was sufficiently recovered from her stress fracture by fall, which would be probable I think). If she doesn't have them yet, how on earth will she be able to with school? And if she does have them, then it's really time for her to start putting them in competition - at the very least at the GPF coming up. It's one thing to do a jump in practice, and another in competition - and that's what IMO she has to start getting used to ASAP. As far as the SP goes, I think it's definitely time to put in the flip. Michelle might be superior in just about all the other elements - but c'mon, we know what the judges are really going to pay attention to. If one of the Russians does a clean SP with a more difficult jump, she'll probably get placed ahead of Michelle. To be honest, I actually hope it happens at the GPF so that it *doesn't* at Worlds. Lara Michele :-)

[Karin]

There's a thread in spoilers...and someone wrote about Irina and MK... I also sorta agree with the poster (sorry...forgot who)... I think a clean Irina (with her 3/3's and spins IMO) can win a competition over an unclean MK... though I hope MK will skate flawlessly from now on!!!... If I'm thinking of the worlds...MK hasn't really skated a flawless lp since she won her first worlds in 96... Go MK!!!

[ChicaRealidad]

Karin, I think a clean anyone can win over a Michelle if she's not clean in the SP. Or at least it's a probability. It always depends on the other skaters. If Michelle skates the second best in the SP, then her long program is always more difficult (even without a harder triple/triple combo) than anyone else's. I just don't think that Irina has progressed enough artistically to beat Michelle if they both skate clean LPs and Michelle starts in 2nd. If Michelle isn't clean in the SP, then the skater in 1st always has to hope that she's lower than 3rd because they all know she can win the LP. Lara F, I'm with you. If Michelle hasn't perfected those triple combos by now, then she's probably not going to as long as she's dividing her time between skating and school. I don't agree with the strategy of waiting until she can do the jumps 9 times out of 10. What's wrong with 80% of the time? In competition it's all about the pressure to produce your best in the crunch. I just think that if she would use some of those combos in the pro-ams or lesser GP meets and take a few defeats (if that's what happens), that in the long run she'll be more confident in those combos at the really big meets (like Nationals (not that she has any serious competition there), Worlds or Olys).

[SJB]

Chica, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Frank's requirement *is* supposededly that Michelle hit the jump or combo 80% of the time before they'll put it in a program.

[Joshua]

I guess what it all boils down to is how badly Michelle wants to be number one. Michelle's strategy right now is a fairly good one. Not counting Nagano, this strategy has always seemed to work for her. Also, taking a look at other skaters, most of them either don't have the consistency to pull of clean programs with their planned jumps or they are still far behind Michelle presentation-wise/artistically. On the other hand, there does seem to be a switch toward judges wanting to see more difficult jumps and jump combos being executed. Maybe it resurfaced when Tara brought in her amazing jump ability or when men started making the quad a standard....who really knows. The point is that Michelle upping her technical ability is a fairly good strategy as well. Seeing as her main rivals who have most of the technical portion of their skating down are now focusing on their weak side, their presentation/artistic side...maybe Michelle should take on their strategy. Still, it might turn out to have its own adverse affects. What if Michelle isn't as consistent with the more difficult jumps...that could leave her in the same boat as her competitors now. How far is Michelle willing to go? She could skate not to lose or skate to win.

[Karin]

she can skate...for the love of it!!! :0)

[lola00]

I think her programs are great she's the master with her artistic ability. She's so expressive and beautyfull. that part of her skating is beyond getting better it's the best in the business. I think her tachnicality could go up a notch. Could you see heer with a Quad that would be great.