Terrapin

Thanks 😊 that’s what I thought

Hello, I haven’t had the time to come on this forum in a very long time and missed on a lot of stuff but I wanted to know whether it was possible to watch Yuzu’s Gift show in any way? It seems absolutely breathtaking ! I tried on the Disney + platform but it says it is not available in my geographical area… thanks ☺️

Dear Yuzu, Your beautiful skating has been part of my life for 8 years now. Seeing you on the ice for the first time is something I will never forget, because you’re skating with your whole body, heart and soul. It is something so pure and intimate that it touches people deeply. You were truly made for your skates, so I hope you will continue skating for many years to come. Happy first birthday as a pro athlete ! I will always keep an eye on your projects as I know you still have so much to share. Terrapin.

Thank you for posting this particular programme. This is the one I always watch when I want to see NDP again because it makes me always so proud and emotional to see him fight like this until the end. This programme and ballad from the GPF 2014 (with that smile after the fall on the combination) always tug at my heart because this is the essence of Yuzu: a boy fighting the odds and never never giving up. These programmes are not perfect but they are absolutely perfect in my eyes

I think it is better not to pay too much attention to these types of comments. Haters gonna hate. And of course, given the extent of Yuzu’s popularity, the number of haters is going to be high too. It is so easy to twist the facts anyway: Yuzu’s record breaking programmes, his longevity in the sport and the awe he inspires in many speak for themselves. The rest is only noise

Now that these Olympics have passed and that I can breathe a bit more easily I will only say this: I came across Yuzu in the Sochi Olympics and fell in love with this extraordinary athlete while watching his FS at the time. What pulled me was his gaze before he started skating and the way he never gave up, even after his two falls. i remember thinking that the fall on the salchow must have been painful because this jump was huge but he threw his all body without holding back. It was like this delicate figure might have broken anytime but something was burning in him which made him mighty strong. Then later I saw his FS in Nice and I was conquered: I still think it is one of his most beautiful skates because of this unexpected fall and the way he poured his everything on the ice afterward, as if he might have died. This is were Yuzu’s gift truly lies. Nanami sensei once said that Yuzu was a genius, not just because he was talented, but because he worked so hard. Yuzu has always been this frail-looking warrior with a heart of gold fighting the odds. Sure sometimes he fails because his body is beaten up but he always rises again. This is why he inspires devotion : not because of his consistency or whatever but because how truly human and extraordinary he is at the same time. I cherish every perfect performance he did because they all are miracles in themselves, moments of pure poetry on ice which are the result of a lot of pain and hardship we have no idea about. But I also cherish his failures because he wouldn’t be who he is otherwise. One of the most devastating moments for me was Worlds 2016 because I truly thought at the time that he had been so dominant that season he should have won. And then he produced this wonderful skate in the exhibition after which I keep coming back to because it so raw and true : it’s like he’s opening up his heart on the ice for everyone to see. His two world titles are the result of his unrelenting efforts to claw back his way after faltering in the short: which is why they are so beautiful. His Olympic titles are the result of a faith he had in himself and his capacities which did not waver. He performed miracles so many times: the most emotional I have been was at Worlds 2017. After Pyeongchang I thought he would stop because his body is so worn out, but I think he wouldn’t know what to do with himself without skating. He is on a mission to achieve all that he set himself to achieve: he did get two Olympic golds so honestly, I don’t really care he didn’t get one. Yuzu stayed true to himself : this is the kid who had AAA engraved on his phone when he was younger because he’s always considered this jump as the king of jumps. Of course he wouldn’t be satisfied before landing the AAAA. He has proved many times he can perform miracles and I believe he will do it again with this last challenge. Yuzu didn’t enjoy the Olympics this time because he was dragged in spite of himself in this rivalry for a gold he didn’t even want. I still don’t understand why people questioned his reason for trying the 4A instead of going for a safer layout. Yuzu is a all or nothing kind of person who never goes back on his word and never backs down. This is what he showed us at these Olympics: the most painful but those that make me even prouder of him. This was young Romeo falling but getting up and fighting until the end, and what a beautiful fight. Commentators and media never go so in depth in his story and his personal story: at the end of the day this is a sport and an entertainment and they need drama. But I don’t care. I just wish Yuzu will fulfil his last dream and finds some peace again. His achievements and his extraordinary character will never be forgotten.

It’s funny because I see a lot of myself in what she said (as many of you do I’m sure). Every time I saw Yuzu live I made sure to blow up a picture I took and had it framed and hung on the wall so I would be able to tell my grandkids one day: « this is the legendary Yuzuru Hanyu whom I was able to see with my own eyes ! » We are so lucky to be witnessing history !

I was not referring to this particular skate, and as I said sure Nathan benefited from inflation but the free programme sealed the deal anyway. Now I said my honest opinion from what I could gather from the years I’ve been following Yuzu and I will leave it here.

I never said that. I think that because of this lack of consistency it feels like every time Yuzu has to prove himself to the judges somehow. And I also think judges don't really get Yuzu's whole philosophy of skating : at the end of the day they're going to favour the guy who does all these hard quads one after the other. Lastly, because of his icon status, I really think they're way more picky with him.

Sure, all the more so as Yuzu presents insanely difficult programmes. But a fall breaks the flow of the whole programme anyway. Because Nathan rarely falls, once again he can give the impression of not losing speed : and you can see this better live anyway. Although I saw Yuzu lose to Nathan in Torino for example, I think my greatest joy was seeing Yuzu complete his beautiful 4lz : this gave me heart palpitations.

I'm not denying Yuzu has harder programmes (hence I talked earlier how he strived for the perfect skate and the perfect balance between artistry and technicity), however, because he set the bar so high, any mistake is going to be very costly, unfortunately. And as I also said earlier, judging tends to be focused on jumps, and the tech takes precedence over components. And for the people who don't know a lot about figure skating, because Chen stays on his feet and does these hard jumps rather easily, he tends to be considered to be better, because people don't really know about transitions anyway. To me, any of Yuzuru's perfect skates are masterpieces, and Chen will never reach this level in a million year. However, you cannot deny his athleticism and consistency. So once again, to me he hasn't stolen this victory, and really wish I could see someday 2 perfect Yuzu skates vs 2 perfect Nathan skates just to see Yuzu win with his masterpieces.

You cannot say Nathan won over Yuzu here because he was overscored. Sure his score may benefit from an inflation which is partly a result of his consistency, but Nathan won fair and square here. And once again, consistency is something Yuzu has always striven for, constantly pushing himself while suffering from asthma, lacking stamina and being prone to ankle injury. Nathan seems to have a better constitution than Yuzu on this point, while Yuzu fought to erase his weaknesses. His stamina drastically improved but he is still likely to be bothered by his asthma and the last years saw him facing injury over injury. This also explains why consistency-wise, he is a total wild card. There haven’t been many competitions in which Yuzu was perfect in both the short and free programmes. I was pleasantly surprised he was for Japanese nationals, and I’m sure this is because he had given his body the necessary rest and had reached the right balance in himself, while he overworked himself on the 4A before coming into worlds, which could also explain why he was asthma acted up this way. Knowing Yuzu’s history, I wasn’t sure he could repeat the feat he did at nationals while I had no doubt Chen would be as consistent as ever. I really wished I could have seen a perfect free programme from Yuzu to see whether he could have won : and I’m sure it was within his reach. Last thing : I saw Nathan vs Yuzu live twice, and although my heart has always been with Yuzu, I have to say he tends to lack speed once he’s tired or had a really bad fall, while Nathan seemed quite fast and very much at ease. Sure the artistry is incomparable, but at the end of the day Nathan does the job.

Hi, welcome ! to answer your query, I think that based on the results on the international scene, it is undeniable Nathan seems unbeatable because of his athleticism and impressive consistency, and as it is, tech takes precedence over artistry in the scores as it is « more objective ». Consistency is something Yuzu has always striven for and he has always admired those who can achieve it because it represents mental strength to him. Back in the days when he was chasing after Chan, this is one thing he really admired about him. Yuzu has worked harder than anyone to reach this consistency, but what he wants above all is perfection, which means the perfect balance between technicity and artistry. And once he achieves that he ups the antes because if he can do it, then perfection must be something even higher. Because of his insane work ethic and the meaning he wants to put in each one of his moves, every programme becomes a carefully crafted work of art, but in the process, Yuzu also exhausts himself. His body has been battered over the years : multiple injuries and like it or not, Yuzu cannot help being emotional and let these emotions interfere sometimes with his performances, which also explains his « lack of consistency », meaning his « lack of victories » compared to his capacities. Because Yuzu is consistent in a way as he’s always been on the podium, but paradoxically, could have won more if he had played it safer or simply considered this sport as a sport only. We, as fans know that because we’ve been following Yuzu's journey very closely, but the sport commentators don’t understand him that intimately, at the end of the day, they only base their judgment on the results. But most people understand that Yuzu is something else, and that he is an athlete who is above results and even the system. He lives and breathes figure skating to elevate it to something higher. Which is why at this point, it doesn’t matter how many times Nathan wins, Yuzu will be the one remembered.

Happy Birthday Yuzu ! One year ago exactly I had the immense joy of seeing you land all your quads live in Torino and also remember how you took the time after the medal ceremony to look at every sign in the audience and nodded at mine too although I’m not sure you could see it well in the dark. I wish you all the very best like always and Thank you so far for all the joy, inspiration and even heart attacks you brought me throughout the years !

I’ve listened to the podcast too : it was nice hearing people describe what it feels like seeing Yuzu skate for the first time or seeing him live: I love how they tried to put this feeling into words and emphasized how in the end there is no word for it. Hearing Brendan’s impressions was interesting too. I think in the whole it conveyed the whole Yuzu phenomenon pretty well and it didn’t overdo it on promotion for the 4CC.