Xen

I prefer the way Yuzuru handles himself now. It's refreshing and I think why he is somewhat immune to politics. He doesn't say much, but when he does say anything, people listen, and usually believe him. As for the seimei costume- I'm inclined to think that the one shown at ACI is not the final version. But whatever happens, I do wonder if he'll keep the orchid pattern. The symbolism fits him perfectly-"perfection, purity, dignity, nobility, masculine pefection."

Actually it's kind of easy to tell apart the two...younger college age girls-Chinese fans (minus the parents of a judge, I didn't see many older Chinese fans). Slightly older ladies- Japanese fans. The pooh onesies and extreme cosplayers are probably also Chinese fans. And there were Chinese fans waving little banners that had japanese flags (brave souls, I imagine I'd get murdered by my family for that). And there were a LOT of chinese fans who camped overnight too (I noticed one girl had a giant bag of blankets). But you are correct, the Chinese fans have nothing on the Japanese ladies when it comes to seat-snatching. One of the chinese girls I talked to said she just could not believe the speed the japanese ladies were sprinting at to get the best seats.

I am more curious about what was the lesson learned from ACI. Because some part of me wondered if Yuzu thought, ever thought, he could wing layouts on the fly like Nathan. And Brian just sighed and thought, well if Yuzu wanted to try fly-by-night layout challenges, then ACI was the time to do so, and probably proved to Yuzu that he's not the type who can just wing layouts as last minute afterthoughts. So now Yuzu will have to be more thorough and considerate of his layouts, and stick to it, not wing it like crazy (which was ACI second half in a nutshell). His 4Loop that was done in practice (that sole 4Loop) was pretty. I'm actually amused by how stable his 4S was at ACI-it felt like he could get away with not practicing it for weeks and still land it in his sleep. So all things considered, I think 1 4Loop per practice would be sufficient to keep his muscle memories in order. That was the beauty of his SP-it looked effortlessly natural, like he was just doing a casual practice run (how do you like them pancakes, boys?).

Especially after ACI: - Yuzu will probably go into practice demon mode if he sees Javi too often, as that gives too much kuyashii over ACI, and all "take it easy for your health" could go out the window, and alas Brian's hair will go faster - Javi probably will not want to be around the Yuzu-ball-o-intensity daily, especially after ACI -That's also how I'd describe them. Yuzu's the type of perfectionist who by being harsh on themselves, sometimes motivates (and devastates) others to work and try to ascend the ranks with him. It's intimidating, and a constant reminder of the gap between someone who is excellent, and someone who is a genius. It's motivating, because it gives you a vision of what could be; but devastating because it can become overwhelming and allow you to give up (cause you'll never be like that). Granted, even geniuses have to work efficiently, which ACI reminded Yuzu in a very painful/kuyashii manner....

Have to admit that I didn't pay attention during the SP to see whether or not any suits arrived. If they were just the judges and the board members though, I would think some did go and see the SP. But that doesn't matter that much- the SP set a new WR, it was just an issue of whether or not he could break the old Seimei records. Which I guess our boy is looking to in CoR.

There were definitely people in suits, but quite a number could have just been judges and the family of judges, plus the family of various skaters, plus potentially the skate canada board members bc they have to attend the victory ceremonies.

hmm....I wonder if the version we saw at ACI was the final version. The skate guards he used for the actual FS warmup was his old ones, not the new ones. o_O So maybe it was a hint? But in all seriousness, there were a couple photos of him twisting and turning a bit in the seimei outfit, and have to say, it looks tighter than I expected.

I'm trying to figure out how to get back to normal life after having seen Yuzu live....now, back to floral designs.....

man....almost withdrawing, injured, not practice for a week and sets off a new wr short by pure muscle memory? To the other men: so, how do you like them pancakes boys? For those who are worried about his knee: if the person I saw at the airport was really him, then he should be fine. He was walking super fast and even skipped a little down the glass walkway before stopping to wait for the rest of his team.

i would like to say I think it was him, but I could be wrong, so please let's keep this sighting just planet internal only?

probably played games all night....to get rid of all that kuyashiii.....

all black jersey and teack pants, but not the team japan jacket, probably what he wore when he came. The small lady by him was his mom?

it was the 2pm flight out....

yes, but most people do not, so you need to feed them small bites at a time....

It is a good pr strategy. Granted, he cannot use it all the time, but it does make his successes look more outstanding, since people do appreciate triumph against adversity type of hard earned victories. We fans know his victories are hard earned, but most casual viewers do not know his health issues, it is time that they know. It is a narrative that will help him.

Yuzu sighted at airport, the plane that had less carry on space was his! I was eating lunch and saw this thin little japanese guy with a face mask pass on the walkway across from me, then I noticed the japanese guy from the photos, always beside him and it clicked....I almost booked that flight to transit to international instead in Toronto...

I am at the airport hearing an annoucement that a flight to Toronto might not have enough carry on space, and could some passengers please volunteer to check their carry on bags. Is it bad that my first thought was, "Is it Yuzu's flight?" Followed by "how much carry on did he bring to cause that?"

probably both were small...hmmm, wonder if he was having trouble adjusting to the costumes too... it could affect your jumps depending where the tightness is.

We were talking about giving Brian pooh gloves, the type where there's a pooh head type of mitten, so he can fold it over his hands when he shakes Yuzu's hand before Yuzu skates to the center. Automatically allows Yuzu to squish Pooh's head.

Remember that conversation he had with Brian right after the free skate at GPF15? The one where he asks Brian, “Amazing boy？” Does that mean after the pancake analogy, he needs to ask Brian if he's an "Amazing pancake?"

Live account: -BrightonDogwoods said he was pointing to all the places he missed jumps and just talking to himself (or maybe Kikuchi?) when he was done skating. #CoachYuzu in action! -Last lap around the rink, after they got all the press photo ops done and the medals done, he seriously looked at all the Hanyu banners flying around, and seemed genuinely happy and grateful

That's why we have streaming parties, so you don't have to be alone with the emotional rollercoasters. They are very helpful until you attain Meoima-level of zen....

There are about 20 swans heading with me on a 16 hour flight to China, swans going to Europe, and swans going to Japan. The swans are doing some international long distance formation flying. Next time they should interview Yuzu's golden swan. "Swan-san, what words do you have for the siblings you have overseas?" ...what does the swan say?

This is something I'm curious about. That is, any athlete that is not fully born and trained in the native land is viewed less favorably than the "pure native" athlete. Does Japan tend to not treat its stars as "pure natives" anymore if they train extensively overseas? Like having Yuzuru contributes less to national pride over its own skating system? And instead of it really being Yuzuru vs Shoma, it's more of the pure native, japanese only training system (Shoma) versus the foreign system (Yuzuru). Yes, Japan had Mao who did train with Tarasova, and Shoma has a foreign jump coach, but in both cases they both returned to the native system-Mao had a japanese coach most of the time (and left Tarasova), and Shoma only works with a foreign jump coach periodically, his main coach is still Japanese. As for the seimei costume, at the arena, I got to sit behind the skater's entrance zone. If you pay attention to the white cloth sections, it looks very textured, as if it's got very heavy embroidery on it.

A late report to everyone. So everyone knew about Hydroblade's paper swans. What you don't know is that her paper swans have gone feral/wild and have even invaded enemy territory (aka Skate Canada). Leaving to go to the restroom, I noticed one of the volunteer ladies heading to the stairs leading to the skaters, teams and volunteers only area. I panicked and initially wondered if they confiscated her swans, so I asked a door guard what happened and if indeed, that was that box of swans. The door guard just smiled, nodded and confirmed that yes, indeed they were the swans. That some fan folded them and it is a nice gesture, and was passing them out to other fans. It might not have been intended for the volunteers today, but somewhere alone the telephone line, the message changed to give some to the volunteers. So, a volunteer lady was rushing them downstairs to be shared with all the other volunteers! So now we have some wild, feral paper swans that have invaded the Skate Canada enemy territory! Now if only someone handed a swan later on to Pchiddy....XD