Umebachi

Cheering for RikuRiu from their home region.

Indeed! This is situation also describes the current political situation in many countries, including Japan. We are all suffering this terrible pandemic of wretched human condition everywhere. In this darkness, Yuzu dares to expose their mendacity - not by brandishing pitchforks or throwing incendiary bottles - but by skating to truth and beauty. As one of the journalists at the post-Olympic Foreign Correspondents Club interview said in his introduction, Yuzu's skating represents the Truth.

I will put my comments under Spoiler since I want to keep the forum discussions generally positive and enthusiastic.

Welcome to the Planet and thank you so much for sharing your experience. What a wonderful family story! I am glad to be sharing this very special (and anxious) month before the Olympics with all the satellites. It's comforting to know that Yuzu is in good health now, and we wish him a safe and fruitful preparation period.

Dmitriev is hardly a rival (he can't even land his other quads) - and no one else is even close to trying. In any case the whole world knows Yuzu will bring 4A to the Olympics, and it's anyone's guess (including Yuzu himself) as to whether he will be able to succeed in landing it. That is the nature of his challenge, which he had hesitate to take on for a long time but he is now committed himself to doing so.

So in this segment Yuzu tells us that he has managed to land 4A on land. He got the hint from the gymnast Uchimura on the method for gaining greater twisting motion at the start of the jump. He he has tried it on land but hasn’t done this on ice yet. This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

Lord Kenshin was around 27 when he fought Takeda Shingen at the famous Battle of Kawanakajima (close to Nagano city). He fought to protect his people from the invaders and continued to fight for justice. The OP asks: “What is ‘justice’ for Yuzuru Hanyu, who sees himself reflected in Kenshin’s way of life and slides (skates) between heaven and earth? Can his righteousness win at the Beijing Olympics? His victory or defeat may very well determine the future fate of the figure skating world ...”

Happy New Year! Not directly news about Yuzu but because of TTCT, I am sharing the message from the hometown of Uesugi Kenshin. The article celebrates the fact that he was born in the year of Tiger. (source: JouEtsu Town Journal) The statue of Lord Kenshin shows him in the monk's cowl over the warrior's armor, which is how he is often portrayed in historic paintings and dramas. The article has interesting info about his life... (perhaps someone will translate? otherwise, I will do so later.)

Happy New Year Dear Satellites! Continuing the theme of Tiger - transl: "The Tiger is known to be the messenger of Bishamonten (the god of war), capable of running one thousand Ri (3972 km) in one night, and in place of Bishamonten goes around listening to people's wishes." This year we will surely be experiencing the connection of the Tiger>> Bishamonten >> Kenshin >> Yuzu!! Whatever the outcome of the year, let us continue on this long journey with integrity, resolve and clarity of purpose and remain true to the spirit of Hanyu Yuzuru.

@Henni147 The domestic version of Roncapu video (FujiTV) has reached 6.6 million views already! You will need VPN set to Japan to watch. https://sports.yahoo.co.jp/video/player/6058624

I love the tweet thread by 軒猿の火穂 (nokizaru-no-hiho) in which she shares her reflections on the 2021 Tenchi. At the end, she had expressed her desire to have this shared with non-Japanese speakers, so I offered to do so here and I received permission to translate her words into English. However, she requested I explain upfront that these reflections are her own personal views and opinions. (PS I would not recommend using google translate as the result is a total word salad!). My translation follows below this tweet. #1 Preparing for an all-nighter to write about my reflections on Ten-to-Chi-to (Heaven & Earth) performance at Japan Nationals. • Regarding the black obi-belt! The image conjured up by Uesugi is that of the purity of the white snow of Echigo*, the dark surging waves, and the blackness of the gloomy clouds (*translator's note Echigo: on the northern coast of Japan facing the Japan Sea, well-known for dark seas, rugged mountains and heavy snow)! By incoroporating the black element, the costume has become ever more like Uesugi Kenshin! • The entry into the opening 4A does not have an astonishing speed, but rather he flies into it from complex steps as though he were doing a 2A. Truly completely out of the norm! #2 Compared to the quads of Uno and Kagiyama who performed just before, the impression (of his quads) is not accelerating rapidly and jumping explosively but rather holding back the overall speed and executing the delicate quads one after another in a finely controlled manner. The quads are not the highlight of the program and merely a component of the musical expression, which might be the form of expression that is unique to him. #3 • After landing the 3A + 2T, he reaches his hand in the direction of the eyesight of the judges which is an unusually cool choreography. • The moment of rest in the new version of StSq might be the scene where Kenshin sheaths his sword in its scabbard at the conclusion of the Battle of Kawanakajima. • From the quiet middle segment towards the dynamic last movement, the choreography builds and builds upon each element into a Crescendo of the final ChSq is an awesome arrangement. #4 • Regarding the last spin, it seems he no longer does the movement of reaching to the heavens after stroking the ground? But more importantly, did you all see (what he did) after the finishing pose? He (made the motion of) flinging the blood off the sword, then sheathed it in the scabbard at his waist to end the performance!? After slashing his enemies, he flicked the blood-soaked sword (in the rite of) purification to end his performance, right? It was so cool that I'm about to die???? #5 Regarding the black belt, the color-crested *haori hakama (translator’s note: formal traditional Japanese clothing for men) made for Hanyu's coming of age (age 20) celebration was blue, but the crested haori hakama made at the time he received the National Honor Award was black. Haori with the black crest is also the dress of highest order for Japanese men, so by changing from a blue belt to a black belt with a cross-shaped knot, it seems the costume has been upgraded. Most suitable for a costume to challenge the Olympics.

It's not that he is so confident about this (almost brash), but rather he has learned to articulate these thoughts and expectations into concrete words and put them out in public to make it stick. Through these publicly stated commitments, he motivates himself and stimulates his psyche to create a mindset toward achieving the goal. Otherwise he would have been crushed by all the pressure and negative thoughts. He has spoken many times about having experienced deep depression and dark thoughts, and that he is only able to keep going by feeding into the positive energy generated by his fans and supporters. And he can only do that by reaching out and making a sacred compact with the fans: that he will aim high and reach for the stars, and does so with gratitude and deep respect. He himself has said that making these pronouncements publicly helps him to organize his thoughts, and that he actually goes back and reviews all these interviews to analyze his own psychological state. He is a student of human psychology and an intellectual boy.

Thank you for doing the calculations. I am sure Yuzu is doing the same. I am hoping he will introduce 3A3Lo then 3F not only because of the point advantage but also because it will be insanely beautiful and mind-blowing. Just at that point, the choreography calls for the majestic whirling motion of waves (or wind), representing the intensity of the physical battle (at Kawanakajima) and the emotional/spiritual struggle Kenshin experiences in the midst of the battle. It would also beautifully flow from the opening 4A which throws us into the midst of the battle. I can see Kenshin wielding the sword and shield on his white steed in the first opening steps. I like the 2021 version of the opening move, as I find them to be more evocative of a real battle scene, where Kenshin is in the midst of parrying and pulling away momentarily to prepare for the frontal attack using 4A as the weapon of choice. In fact, Yuzu uses the term 武器　(buki) several times to refer to 4A. This term literally means "instrument of war". In the end, Uesugi Kenshin passed away before making any conquests beyond his family territories. But he is immortalized and remembered as one of the greatest warriors of the period, with deep philosophical and spiritual turn (the duality of man) that makes his story so unique and inspirational. You don't have to be a Shogun like Oda Nobunaga or Toyotomi Hideyoshi to become a hero, and Kenshin would certainly be my kind of a hero! Go Yuzu! May the spirit of Lord Kenshin be with you!!

I love this picture poster by Nikkan Sports describing Yuzu's practice at JNats. On the left side, it lists Yuzu's 10 attempts at 4A: 10 tries, 1 2ft landing, 6 pops, 3 falls; then the following lines - continuation of failures, "Never losing hope, never giving up". On the right side: "The dream of Quad Axel, today at 21:03 Free (Program), the Descent of the Angel (tenshi korin) - the one who excels in adversity (i.e. in the real competition)" On the bottom right, the poster shows the large kanji for "Hanyu" and separates them into a sentence that reads "The Wing 羽が will grow 生える" (Hane-ga haeru). Beautiful. May the earth and heavenly spirits enter into his soul. Someone noticed that Yuzu is inspiring these sports journalists to become poets and artists. This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

I have been on the Planet since its inception - after the GS debacle - and am grateful to all the admins and people who contribute to keep the platform alive. I didn't expect this part of Yuzu's journey to last for so long, and feeling thankful for our Star Boy X Moon Princess (Kaguyahime) for taking us along on this long road. May he continue to reach for the stars and merge Heaven and Earth into one. Sending all the best wishes to my fellow satellites for a very upbeat and Merry Xmas and a Happy Holiday Season!! Xmas Gift to celebrate!

This is going to be an incredible season, unlike any we have experienced so far. Time to start chanting the Lotus Sutra. [NEWS]

In the run-up to the JNats, this tweet seems appropriate. My translation (google/Deepl are hopeless on this one): "He (Hanyu) had selected 3A to be the very last jump for "Heaven and Earth". The fact that he is able to jump 3A with such great flow during the period (second half of the program), when the skater feels fatigued and starts to slow down, could be attributed to his having steadily trained toward 4A. It is also intensely moving to think that Hanyu-kun has selected his unfailing "buddy" 3A, reflecting his absolute trust (in that friendship). Looking forward to New Lord Tenchi."

Shizuka Arakawa's Friends interview with Kihira Rika.

Not exactly a scintillating personality, but glad GoGo is feeling more confident. I wonder how much he will be able to learn to emote and connect with the audience better. That will be the real challenge!

Good to see Stephen Gogolev back competing with greater confidence. He is still choosing music with angular /sharp movements for both short and free (like his junior programs) and they are not my favorite, but at least there is more effort at performance (although his face is deadpan). Wishing him all the best at the Canadian Nationals. Could he be competing for one of the two spots for the Olympics? Best wishes also for Joseph Phan, who shows great promise but has problems with consistency... You realize how difficult it is to maintain consistency when the athletes are performing difficult elements. So sad to see Nam skating without much energy in this competition. I hope he will not be too disappointed and able to move on to new challenges in life. All in all, I enjoyed watching the Canadian challenger competition - where the scores made more sense, and PCS actually didn't follow the technical scores necessarily. What a concept!

A tribute to Yuzu by a Turkish musician inspired by his skating. [NEWS]

That was a very short partnership! I hope they will each find another partner soon. This shows how difficult it is to establish a consistent and compatible partnership in ice dance as well as in pairs.

Shoma's recent practice can be seen from 3.21 on this channel. The first part is about their doggies and home life, happenings in the kitchen, etc.

So happy for Roman! He will be going into Canadian Nationals with a positive energy and momentum!

At the GP Rostelcom 2021 Ex Gala performance, Tomono Kazuki's starting pose shows him looking at a magazine opened to the page with Towa Pharmaceutical ad featuring Yuzu. A true fanboy, Kazuki! [News]