Xen

That, and we don't know how much off-ice trianing Yuzu does. He might do 2-4 hours off-ice per day, especially if his main issue is stamina

In Zuzu's case, probably overthinking, plus a bit of lack of concentration, if his Yolo WTT axel was anything to go by. Question about his entry speed then. Yuzu has a very short and quicky entry on majority of his jumps. The only time during training when my coach forced a quick entry was when I tended to overthink, as a methodology to get me to *just jump.* Otherwise I would overthink about whether my foot angle is right, if the swing was right etc. A quick question to @xeyra : a couple rink pals were discussing the format changes for men coming up, and the recent clarification of ISU judging rules. A couple of the male rink mats think that the format change would actually help Yuzuru. The female rink mates felt the opposite. And the male rink mates also suspect some of the rules re-inforcements/clarification (vague as ISU wording is), is also able to help Yuzuru. So, has there been a men who got perfect 10's in PCS with a major flaw in their program in the 16/17 season? I don't think Zuzu got the benefit, but maybe some of the guys with high pcs and not so clean programs managed it? And what do you think about the change in format as it pertains to Zuzu after Pyeongchang?

Oh...I have an odd feeling it won't be followed....and you can dress stuffed panda plushies in pooh costumes (or vice versa).

Well, if Yuzu pops, he'll probably yolo a 3 quad back half program a la WTT style. And we are talking about the guy who got a positive GOE on his popped Axel...I actually could imagine Shoma UR and step out of the lutz, which is doubly bad....

We should dub this chart the "chart of reality". And hold fast to it for the rest of the season.

That he'll achieve a +2 min GOE 4 LZ by Oly? That might not be a bad bet. And I almost forgot, depending on how the first GP scores come out and whether the judges will start following rules, and start enforcing edges and URs etc, there's also a possiblity that his GOEs could go up. And other skaters have lower PCS if they don't skate clean. Yes, we've all been pessimistic about his scores at Helsenki, but let's not fully rule out this either. If there are stricter enforcements of tech stuff, JSF might end up throwing weight a bit more behind Yuzu (if they were so wise-a girl can hope right), and who knows, a story about a first asian back to back OGM might be considered good publicity for the Olympics. We haven't had back to backs for so long.

Long story short: Hanyu fans are such worryworts. Honestly, I wouldn't fully follow that chart, because there are some things not considered. 1) I don't think Yuzu will go with Layout option no1. This I find more likely: 109.83, 4Lz 4Lo 3F // 4S3T 4T 3A3T 3A1Lo3S 3Lz --> this is because he likes back to back quads, and is very particular about having edge jumps and toe jumps balanced 2) For the sake of stability and health, I think Nate will actually end up with this (though him and his team are kind of crazy): 117.10, 4Lz3T 4F 4Lz // 4F2T 3A 4S 4T2T2Lo 3Lz ---> this I can see him executing, but who know... 3) My opinion only, but I don't see that 4 Lz coming in for Shoma (okay, I guess I need to return my shoma club membership?): 107.34, 4Lo 4F 3Lz // 3A3T 4F2T 4T 3A1Lo3F 3S (maybe a 4S instead). So I'd up Yuzu's score by about 6, decrease Uno's by about 4-6 and decrease Nate's by about 5 points, so the actual difference is about 12 points min. His decision of Chopin is wise in retrospect. The layout is competitve enough, plus it's fairly easy for him. That way he won't be exhausted for the long. And Xeyra beat me to it. In true crazy judging fashion it's not +2 GOE, you need to add decimals at the end, like a +2.3 GOE.

This is exactly why I think he has a high chance of getting called on this year. Because on PCS, unless he is clean and either Chiddy or Javi mess up, those PCS are going to be close, and it doesn't help that artistically they are fairly similar (more similar than Nate vs Yuzu). Just realized that Shoma is also going up against Cha Junhwa in SC, and Vincent Zhou in TdF...not going to be pretty.

Considering how little rest the guys get between their short and free programs competitions and with practice time mixed in, the only guys I think who have enough stamina and mental processing strength to get through their quad-filled longs are Yuzuru, Boyang and maaaybe Chan. The rest, especially when the total LP quad count goes over 5, I think will flop quite a bit like at Helsinki. I sincerely think the reasonable upper limit in LPis 5 quads for men right now (even if you are the quad-king-to-rule-them-all Nathan), and anything beyond that is just asking for splat fest. As for Shoma, I really do suspect he will get called on stuff this season...if nothing else just as a warm up for 2022...mind you I like him too, but he's probably first casualty if tech call politicking starts.

I agree with this. Also the more Nate ups his quad count, the less likely he will go clean (if 16/17 is any indication). His jumps are mostly in the first half so he doesn't get the bonus that many of the other men get. When he goes quad happy, his jumps look progressively labored, which probably affects his GOE. In some ways, it is a challenge to Yuzuru to have to face Nate first and early on in the GP series, but a blessing in a sense-I think it'll push Yuzuru, and give him a chance to test the technical waters. As for Shoma, I'd be more worried for him. He's going against Patrick and Javi I think, in events where he does not have a homefield advantage. If any fed decides to go after japanese fed and skaters in general, I would not want to be Shoma up against Patrick at Skate Canada...

Michelle Kwan-East of Eden. Gorgeous extensions and wonderful edge control throughout. Anissina and Peizerat- Man in the Iron Mask. Who said ladies can't lift their men? I almost told my coach after this that I wanted to switch to ice dance...

...eh, I've got enough work to distract me into surviving...note to self to bring smelling salts for others just in case...

Cute Yuzuru makes me think Eevee though... Now then, the various expressions of Yuzuru matched to Pokemon?

Nope, that's a system I wouldn't know anything of. Sorry. T_T I guess internationally the closest is ISI, but not sure if that's used in Europe.

I can understand the nitpicking, but I think it's due to him being such a freakin' perfectionist, you tend to pick on everything that seems slightly off. I think to a degree, the back slouching is probably related to his upper body being so relaxed when skating, and his alignment is amazing enough that usually he's not affected no matter which way his upper body bends. Not something that every skater can do. As for toe-pointing. Honestly, I'm picky about this, but realistically there hasn't been a toe-pointer since Sasha Cohen, and usually it's something that is only slightly noticeable in certain moves-spirals, laybacks, that it's almost meaningless to point out. Leg alignment is far more important, and Yuzu does have beautiful body lines with no windmill arms in sight. For skaters-Patrick and to a lesser extent, Shoma, remind me of a slightly older generation of skaters, such as Yagudin, where the artistry is more "masculine" , intense and powerful. Yuzu, and to a lesser extent Boyang (if he fixes his artistry), is more in the group of Jeffry Buttle and Johnny Weir-androgynous, flowing, elegant. Both are beautiful to watch. I'm not sure how to classify Javi, and utterly confused by Nathan's style.

I did, I think the issue is the toe-box area height for the right foot, with the tongue pressing down hard on my toenail. Making it a bit painful when landing jumps. Just do it! Are you under the USFSA learn to skate system or a different system for beginner classes?

No, I never mentioned NDP, though I did mention the strawberry once....and another one...

Usually things happen when I joke about something reasonable...and I kind of semi-joked about something listed here (much as I am not much in favor of it)....

Carmen, with a rose in mouth, please. I mentioned tango. flamenco, rumba and chacha before in GS....

If you were inspired back into skating, or starting skating, because of Yuzu's magic, raise your hand and say "Aye!" "Aye!" from me. I grabbed my old skates after Helsinki, after not stepping on ice for 9 years. And no matter the result this season, I think we are incredibly blessed to be able to witness this era. It's not just due to Yuzu, but also the top 6 skaters in the men's field now. I've followed skating since the mid 90's, and frankly, I don't recall a men's field where the top six were so incredbily close technically. And they push each other so much artistically and technically; previously I would probably just watch the top 2-3 cause they were the only ones who held my attention. Now, I actually watch all top six and then some with baited breath. It's an amazing time to be a men's figure skating fan.

Well hopefully not....I was joking about Zigunerweisen too in that thread with the SM bomb. But if SallyCinnamon and I had predictive dreams, then a white+black costume would probably indicate Swan Lake (unless there is a B&W firebird)....

I think we went over this in the general chat thread when Max dropped the Seimei bomb. Don't want to go dig up the thread, but Seimei was mentioned only in passing on GS, and think it was after she revealed that. On the other hand...POTO, R&J (a non-Nino Rota version), and Man in the Iron Mask all got mentioned, as well as the Deveil's Trill Sonata and Swan Lake. I should know...I mentioned 3 of them....

Off season means we are nerding out and overthinking his "shuu-paa" sounds...Hanyu Sensei, be proud of yourself.

Him and his sounds...is his hearing that good? How the heck can he hear the sound of his take-off on top of the blasting program music?

It would explain the loop and salchow, I'm not sure how it would apply to an axel or the toe assisted jumps. His take offs sound pretty silent.... Man, if only I were a kid and selected to be at Yokohama, all the questions I could ask...speaking of which, he's never gone into details on his flip or lutz jumping technique has he?