Tuesday, November 5, 2013

First Grand Prix program comparison, short and free, compared by transition length



This post and its header have now been updated with canadablue's free dance comparison. Thanks once again to canadablue for permission to share these terrific comparison videos.

This post is a companion piece to a post I want to do about DW's edges. Once their edge strangeness was pointed out to me, I couldn't not see it (they shove their edges in deep, but don't get long blade run out of it). That means they're not USING their edges, they, instead, are using their bodies, and body lean, to drive their edges into the ice. It's backwards. As it's supposed to work, one has a deep edge and the body follows the line of that edge - it's edge up. Not pushing from the body down. No wonder DW are exhausted after every skate. Yes, there's a mutuality going on  (you need strength to get deep into the ice) but that edge lean is supposed to travel up your body helping the skater move with power and security and long blade run. The skater's body is aligned along the edge lean. The skater isn't supposed to be bending over, leaning and swinging trying to get that edge IN without it going the other way.

7 comments:

  1. Thanks to canadablue for the videos!

    OC, I was wondering if you could embed the series of screenshots from the interview with Pyette on the sidebar, the way you have that other "Say My Name" video? That VM reality-series (I cannot bring myself to call it a documentary) is being shown in just about 2 months. No one should forget all the lying tells from both Tessa and Scott when they were interviewed about these series of shows.

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  2. In other words, DW have ass-backwards skating technique. It really is no wonder that they're exhausted; they don't let their skates help them at all. Granted, I still don't think they're as exhausted as they make themselves out to be.

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    1. is it bad that i hope their exhaustedness gets the better of them during the olympics?

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  3. 5:48 - the new banner is actually going to incorporate a range of lying faces, including those you've mentioned. :) I hope to start by week's end.

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  4. As VM's interviews could be repurposed as training videos for novices in the "Spot the Liar" business, videos of DW's skating should be used as a training video to help judges tell fake skating from real skating. Only real skating should be rewarded or what's the point.

    It's ridiculous that of all the disciplines, the rules in ice dance create the most "outs" to avoid skating skills altogether and get rewarded for faux.

    It's ridiculous, for example, that the rules about pairs lifts apparently require a running edge upon exit (I think even the landing from a split twist requires a running edge, although few actually do it - most sort of stick the landing then push out). With a dance lift you can get the highest possible base value and high GOE by flipping your two-footed partner into a belly flop onto your shoulder, rotating while she clings like a toddler to her daddy's pants leg, and finally exits onto flats after a series of legs askew piggyback positions. It's insane.

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  5. Here's the FD comparison. Suprisingly, Scherz has more hops than NDP. And some good scoring news - V/M outscored D/W on both twizzle and spin GOE.

    http://youtu.be/7c9P5FhJU9c

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    1. Thanks for posting this. Why did V/M get only a Level 2 on their diagonal step sequence? The amount of one-footed turns and the speed at which they are flying at is amazing.

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