Mao Asada, Kim Yu-Na jump for joy, and more

At first, it was all about the jumps.

Mao Asada and Kim Yu-Na thought figure skating revolved around salchows, lutzes and loops. Asada especially because she could land a triple axel, a 3 1/2 -rotation jump few women have the power to pull off.

Their skill brought them success at the junior level but didn't make them well-rounded skaters. Kim, for one, despite boundless talent, plainly was miserable.

That's the first thing Brian Orser noticed in the spring of 2006 when Kim left her home in South Korea to visit the Toronto rink where he coaches.

"As a person she wasn't a very happy skater. I know that she came from a skating culture where more was better so she skated a lot," said Orser. "She did a lot of off-ice training and it really took over her life. And as a young person who was 15 years old, she just wasn't happy. And she had a mouthful of braces. And she just was getting a little frustrated."

Asada also sought something new. She had left Japan to train in Lake Arrowhead with Rafael Arutunian in 2006 but returned home last year. She began visiting Russia to work with Tatiana Tarasova, whose clients include Olympic champions Ilia Kulik and Alexei Yagudin and a Hall of Fame's worth of others.

Those moves led each young woman to a moment of truth.

"When I was a junior skater, the most important thing was how many triple jumps I could do," Kim said via e-mail. "But now I know jump is just one of elements."

Eureka again, this time in Japanese.

"Since Tatiana started choreographing and coaching me, my favorite part in my program became the step sequence, not only jumps anymore," Asada said via e-mail.

"I am working on the artistry with Tatiana and I realized the artistry point was also very important for the skate."

Mastering the duality of artistry and athleticism is tricky. Kim and Asada, born 20 days apart in September 1990, do it better than almost everyone else in the world.

Their rivalry promises to escalate this week as the World Figure Skating Championships unfold at Staples Center. Asada enters as the defending champion and Kim the defending bronze medalist but they split their last two head-to-head competitions.

Asada won the Grand Prix Final in December on Kim's home ice, in Goyang City, and became the first woman to land two triple axels in a program. Kim last month earned a record 72.24 points for her short program and defeated Asada at the Four Continents championships at the Vancouver Olympic venue.