Chapter 128 Every hero has his own shining points
Before Yang Yiyan took the stage, the person in first place in the short program was not Nina, but Carolina, who had only been promoted to the same group for two years.
In last season's Russian Championships, Carolina attempted a triple A in the short program, trying to challenge Polina's top spot, but ultimately failed.
However, he successfully completed this jump in the Russian test event at the beginning of the season and carried this strength into the Chinese leg.
Looking at the scores, Meng Xin exclaimed in amazement, "It's only been two years, and she hasn't won any major medals in international competitions, yet her P score is almost comparable to Xiao Yan's."
When Yang Yiyan first competed in the adult group, her P score was similar to that of the youth group. She has achieved what she has today by working her way up step by step through her performance.
Xia Yuezi listened to the complaints, but her gaze followed the skaters circling on the ice: "You can tell from the youth group that Carolina is definitely a skater that Russia is going to promote. In women's singles, there is a generational change every cycle. Instead of worrying about Xiao Yan, we should worry about Xiao Rui first."
Do you think Russia still wants to create a god?
When has Russia ever given up on creating its own idols?
As the announcement began, Xia Yuezi took the opportunity, while everyone's attention was focused on the contestant, to glance at her.
"In the past two years, how many children in Russia have been hampered by difficulties in difficulty and development? Take Yulia from last season, for example. She won the gold medal in the junior finals, but then broke her leg. She didn't make it this season and switched to ice dance."
When this news came out, it wasn't just the figure skating fans who felt disappointed, but also the coaches in China.
After all, there are many people learning figure skating in China, but good talents are hard to come by, especially talents like Yulia. If she were in China, she would definitely be the apple of the eye of coaches and leaders.
The problem is that Russia has plenty of these prized talents, so they don't see anything wrong with it. There aren't enough slots available each year, and if one person can't fill the quota, another person of the same rank can take their place.
Xia Yuezi was well aware that the Russian women's singles players' 3A technique was very rough, and they had directly focused on the four-sided jumps. If she remembered correctly, some Russian coaching teams should have already started to train their players on it. Once the Beijing cycle began, the satellite should have been launched.
If nothing unexpected happens, Yulia's fracture was probably caused by training in difficult exercises. However, it's not that Xia Yuezi is being harsh, but given the girl's build and height, even without any major injuries, it would be difficult for her to get through the developmental stage.
Since Feng Simai's choice of music is niche, Yang Yiyan's choice of music is naturally the kind of music that ice skating fans talk about.
She once again chose a martial arts theme for her short program.
Her dress is predominantly black and white, with the neckline styled like a cheongsam button, the colors resembling splashed ink, blending together seamlessly.
As the sound of the guqin began, Yang Yiyan clasped her hands together, gradually raising them from her chest to above her head, then opened them and slowly slid them to the left with measured steps.
After the music selection for the short program was announced, figure skating fans went out of their way to find the original music and watch the movie.
The film "A Touch of Zen" is considered the pioneering work of Chinese martial arts films and laid the foundation for later martial arts films. However, due to its age, many of the sound sources have been lost, and Xia Yuezi could only find some instrumental music through the soundtrack.
The crisp sound of the ice tapping rang out as the first 3A jump was completed, drawing applause from many figure skating fans.
Davil stood nearby, squinting as he pondered something.
Since Sidorov gradually retired, he has handed over all the team management to Davil. Apart from the All-Russian Championship and some events held in Russia, the old man hardly leaves his house. Even the students who are training abroad only take online classes and he provides guidance.
"Alexei, I think we need to increase Carolina's training volume after the Grand Prix."
Upon hearing this, the blond, blue-eyed man next to him tilted his head and looked at the girl sitting in the first seat.
"Dawa, do you mean you hope she can improve the consistency of her triple A before the Winter Olympics?"
Davil nodded: "Her 3A just now should be over 40 centimeters, but based on her previous performance, her height should be able to increase even further."
Lowering the height and utilizing rotation speed to complete the movement is a common way to conserve energy, and it is used more often in men's singles competitions.
This often means that the athlete has fully mastered this difficult move, and according to statistics, Yang Yiyan's 3A success rate is even higher than Polina's.
Alexei rubbed his chin thoughtfully, watching the girl performing squat turns on the ice: "But she hasn't fully passed her developmental stage yet. Wouldn't increasing her training volume now be too risky?"
"The 3A is a jump that must be performed at the Olympics, but if Carolina can't maintain it, it could very well repeat Polina's situation in Sochi, which is something no one wants to see."
Darwell pointed to Yang Yiyan on the ice: "If she can maintain this level of performance at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and put on a program of this quality, it will be difficult for us to gain any advantage."
Alexei looked in the direction Davil pointed and saw Yang Yiyan complete 3F+3lo, occasionally incorporating unique Chinese martial arts moves into the program. The whole program was performed with tension and a touch of gentleness.
"A Touch of Zen" is a film adapted from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio". Expanding a story of only a few hundred words into a three-hour movie will definitely require rewriting the characteristics of some characters.
To better understand what the character wanted to express, Xia Yuezi and Yang Yiyan looked for some filming materials from the production team. However, due to the long time that had passed and the limited access to information at the time, almost nothing of significance remained. In the end, they could only analyze the character based on what was shown in the film.
For example, the story of the chivalrous woman Yang Huizhen is not simply about avenging her father. Although she had a relationship with a scholar during her period of seclusion, she always firmly separated her life from his. In the end, she did not choose to be with the scholar, but instead abandoned worldly life and became a nun.
It wasn't that she disliked scholars, but rather that she had her own path to walk, a path that involved a choice between affection and duty, a choice she had no choice but to make.
For contestants who are already adults, Xia Yuezi will not interfere too much with their song selection. At most, she will just take out her own song list and give it to them for reference.
She would also ask the contestants, as usual, why they chose that particular piece of music.
Yang Yiyan said, "Yang Huizhen is a very special character. Her image is very different from that of modern female knights. In other words, she is even more chivalrous than Yu Jiaolong."
"Chivalry? What's that?" Xia Yuezi asked.
Yang Yiyan, who was very good at history, leaned against the wall, carefully organizing her words to describe this feeling.
“I think it should be another expression of traditional Chinese thought. We often say ‘the greatest heroes’ and use ‘hero’ as an adjective. But I think that to be called a ‘heroine’ must be a woman of high moral character and independent personality. They all have their own unique shining points.”
Xia Yuezi stood outside the barrier, watching Yang Yiyan finish her last set of movements, land steadily on the ice, and applaud along with the audience.
She had been completely confused by Yang Yiyan's words before, but now, judging from the little girl's behavior, she seemed to have figured it out.
If Yu Jiaolong represents Yang Yiyan's self-analysis due to her immature mind, then her world of martial arts is her own desire, a constraint she is determined to break free from at all costs.
Yang Huizhen is a realistic portrayal of Yang Yiyan's life, whose data reached its peak. She was forced to enter the martial arts world, but throughout this process, she firmly followed her own path, shouldered her responsibilities and goals, and never wavered.
Yang Yiyan also has her own path to walk, and she possesses an indescribable stubbornness, like a protracted battle.
She grew up on this path, groping her way alongside everyone else when they were all still immature, becoming Xia Yuezi, and also becoming a turning point in her own life.
In this respect, Yang Yiyan is also a "heroine" in her own life.
This program scored over 80 points, making Yang Yiyan firmly in first place among the short programs. However, what upset many people was that their number one star's program content score was almost one point lower than before.
If there's anything wrong with the show, Chinese viewers believe that compared to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," this show is much better in terms of its arrangement, emotional impact, and technical sophistication.
They didn't think there was anything wrong with Yang Yiyan's performance that warranted a deduction.
However, Yang Yiyan, as the person involved, had no idea about these thoughts from the ice skating fans. After receiving her medal and finishing the interview, she sat with her coach in the spectator area, waiting for the other skaters to perform.
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The author says: "Chivalry" is a quality that is hard to describe. It is not only the atmosphere of the martial arts world as we understand it, but also carries extremely high integrity, as well as the ability to not be afraid of trouble and to take on responsibilities.
From this perspective, I think not only Xiaoyan, but also Sister Xia is a "heroine" [glasses]
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