I'm so thankful to find your discussion here. I'm very new here because about 3 months ago I saw a single movement in transition betwenn two shorts and was instantly thrilled. Right away, I wanted more of that incredible elegance, grace, precision, intensity, and beauty. Now I'm nearly manic. I myself have so many thoughts about Yuzuru, his personality, his programs, and the scoring, and I’d like to express them here. I’m sorry if this is long and perhaps a bit rambling. I don't think that you read something new. A german proverb, not very well translated says: Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth flows over. I don’t know anything about figure skating, but I’ve always had an affinity for dance, and as a body and trauma therapist, I have an eye for physical expression and movement sequences. At first, I was just happy. I wanted to see as much as possible of his art, from the very beginning to the present day. In German, it’s called “Eiskunstlauf”; literally, that would be “IceARTskate” in English. That expresses much better what it’s supposed to be. Once, just 10 minutes with him was enough to pull me out of a crisis where my other attempts had failed up to that point. My efforts went toward watching all his programs, ordering DVDs from Japan, and gaining access to Axelstore, Telasa, etc. That kept me busy for weeks, and my determination grew over time. Thanks to the fantastic support from the fanbase, almost everything worked out well. In all my 69 years, I’ve never been a fan in this sense before, and I’m still amazed at myself. Then came the phase where I realized everything that was happening—and had happened—around him. I grew increasingly worried about him. Seeing just how much he pushes himself to the limit is painful for me. I wish trauma therapy could help alleviate some of that inner drive that keeps him going so relentlessly. Right now, I feel a bit like a mother defending her child against every attack. Eventually, however, I managed to find respect for his competitors—something I consider important. Since I’m still barely able to distinguish one jump from another (except for the Axel)—even in slow motion—I can’t clearly spot pre-rotation or under-rotation. So today, I see Nathan as a powerful skater who earned his gold medal, and Ilia Malinin as his worthy successor. For instance, I watch Malinin’s programs and am truly impressed by his artistics (not artistry). And then I come back to Yuzuru, and it feels like coming home. Here, I find something I don’t even realize is missing when I watch others. His art and his essence touch me deep in my heart. The sport demands direct comparison, yet ultimately, the criteria clearly fail to capture Yuzuru’s qualities. If there were no manipulation involved, the +5/-5 system could actually be perfect for Yuzu, given how fantastic his execution is. His Rondo—executed flawlessly—is, in my eyes, dizzyingly perfect. There is no category that captures it without either breaking the scoring system or forcing a reset—taking his level of execution as the new benchmark for the maximum score. At least that also woudn't make sense. My favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq20-bU6KNc Very nice to see his satisfaction with it. Since yesterday, I’ve been thinking that this type of scoring system really isn't suited to accurately evaluating a champion over the long term—even without any manipulation involved. If someone delivers perfection and—like Yuzuru—receives the corresponding score early on, how is there room to improve, other than by increasing the number and difficulty of the jumps? If the scale tops out at 100 points and you’ve already scored 98 at age 20, then even a 99.9 remains frustrating when you’re actually getting better year by year. I hope that makes sense. And then there’s the psychological aspect: That has been discussed at length, of course. It is incredibly demoralizing to realize that the very world to which you’ve dedicated everything wants to get rid of you. That is bullying—something known to have a devastating impact on self-confidence. Yuzuru rarely skated completely error-free, and his energy levels fluctuated, too. But in Beijing, it was a whole different level. Maybe I’m looking at it through the wrong lens, but in practice, he displayed all the expressiveness that had been missing from his performances—and not just after the sprain. Yuzuru speaks about how the preceding period was often very dark, marked by intense loneliness. As I interpret it: the pandemic, no coaches, little contact, no Javi anymore—just him facing the challenge of staying the course for his final major goal, the 4A. And then, in Beijing, he’s alone, too. There’s no one there to encourage him, and all the little rituals are missing—like someone holding his Winnie the Pooh or the handshake before the performance. Thank God he’s out of that system now. The latest things that have shaken me: - a clip showing several breakdowns behind the scenes, and - the news that he’s considered a loudmouth in Japan and ignored by most of the media. I didn't understand the whole thing about his commercials being banned for being unsuitable for minors at all. It’s unbelievable: to me, he is the embodiment of authenticity and humility. He gives himself so much to the world. (trouble with translation, nothing really fits my german sentence, not surrender but give away, a true GIFT) In many ways, a fantastic role model. - But In an interview, he was asked what he liked most about his body, and he replied that he actually tends to hate himself. And it didn't sound like he was referring only to his body. I’m still hoping that the intensity of that statement is due to a translation error. Brian Orser once said that Yuzu was a bit too intense for his taste. I didn't understand that for a while, but today I agree with him. A little less intensity, and his life would be healthier.
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