Xen

The "paa" I can get because correct landing does require you to land first on your toepicks (the bottom 2 I think), and that does create a small "paah" sound, similar to a breathy exhale when you land. You can check against a lot of the male skaters, the good ones thend to have a quick, small "pah" sound when they land with a good, huge exit edge. You can actually tell how good a landing is by the sound of the landing! The "shuu" I'm not 100% sure on. From the interview, it seems like he's referring to a rapid acceleration your body does to fold into the jump-like your movement is somewhat slow and delayed, all the way until the last moment when you jump....now I'm confused.

You know what's weird? I had a dream too before with Yuzu in a black+white costume, where the cut overall was similar to etude, with some leaf-like patterns around the neck/chest region. There were a couple OSTs mentioned in the GS thread- Man in the Iron Mask, and I mentioned the OST to "Hero." Given that Hero is an asian composer, I guess Man in the Iron Mask it is? But black...could be Godfather?

I want him to do this one too...especially the "Now we are free" part...

Hydro, let's sing this at ACI.

The result of watching this vid..."We should totally invite Medvedeva to this planet....she's totally a Fanyu....then we can get sneak peeks and stuff..." Then it occured to me, what if she's already joined, or secretly lurks here....? Do we have any facepalming emotes for Brian and Tracy? That's appropriate for any layout memes we throw around here...

Yes, we usually did practice shoot the ducks as part of sit spin prep work. What entry are you doing for the toe-loop? The right forward 3 turn directly into the toe tap, or the left forward shift to right back outside and then toe tap? The former I find easier, the latter has a wonky timing- my upper body refuses to time its twists with the leg. I just got my new boots- apparently my old boots were 2 sizes too large. Now the new ones are chewing on my toes. Anyone have suggestions on how to get the toe tip to not hurt/kill you during the break-in process?

Can imagine it now...first bb Yuzu was betrayed by a Paprika disguised as a tomato. Now he is betrayed by a paprika disguised as a stuffed pooh. I can imagine the TV shows later on. Interviewer: are you a picky eater? Yuzuru: I'm a picky eater, but I'm trying to get better. Like paprika. Yuzuru: Once when I was in Finland, and eating a hamburger, I thought I was eating a tomato (which I love), but when I bit into it, it was a paprika. I felt...betrayed.... Interviewer: but you've gotten better right? Yuzuru: well, kind of, I've tried....but then one year, at a competition, you know when I bow at the end of a competition, and fans start throwing stuff.... Interviewer: Ah yes, the pooh bears? Yuzuru: ...yes. I saw a lot of orange, and yellow and red, round plush toys. So I picked one up thinking it was a normal pooh toy. But it turned out to be a paprika! Interviewer: So you've been betrayed by paprika not once, but twice... Yuzuru:...yes....so I don't think I get along with Paprika....

That's actually not a good idea, tbh. Usually it's best to eat a little bit about 2 hours before you have to jump like crazy. Speaking of Yuzu and his skating....how exactly does he get his speed? His crossover and gliding just pick up speed from nowhere. (Do you think looking at hours of Yuzu's loops will fix/whip my loop jump into shape?)

Happy 2 Months Birthday! So awesome to have a place to laugh, cry and vent together! And just in time too, before the scary cycle.

Going back to the topic of body types. There's no real genetic advantage, because after years of skating and off-ice conditioning, it's scary how similar the body lines are amongst skaters of different body types. What I mean is that you are going to have to bulk up in certain areas (thighs, butts, calves etc) regardless of your ethnicity. Maybe some genes that influence what body type you end up with (and here I'm thinking more along endomorph, meso, ectomorph etc) can make it easier or harder to bulk up those muscles, and make it easier or harder to learn certain things. But ultimately, bodies become more similar than different after 10+ years of training. Also, when did soft knees become ethnicity based? Thought it was just an issue of technique.

I won't totally dismiss the genetics argument, since in general asians used to be just *tinier* than their western counterparts. But due to nutrition and more emphasis on execersizing, asians have been gaining in both weight and height, so if it is an advantage it has certainly shrunk. Also, I have seen more male skaters since returning to China, than I did when I actually learned skating in the US. Figure skating in Asia probably is not viewed as a "feminine" sport, but in the same vein as dance or ballet-it's a very analytical and precise art. And boys, should they decide to continue in figure skating, are encourged as much as girls, Basketball, football etc are still popular, but more due to accessibility, not just because they are more "manly." Actually in China in general, being good and dedicated to something outside of academics is viewed as a very postivie thing. Additionally, I think the asian education system itself also weeds out anyone not dedicated enough- in 7th grade I was averaging 3 hours of homework per night. Try adding 20+ hours training for skating on top. This, plus general workaholic and perfectionist tendencies work together to produce good skaters. Though personally, I think due to the short history of skating in Asia (esp Korea and China), and the academic system being less than ideal for sports practicing, we're actually probably producing less top asian skaters than what we theoretically could be producing.

Does not liking bell peppers and dealing with vegetable betrayls count?

Congrats on returning to skating and finding a pair of boots that feel comfortable off the bat!

Yes, but the thigh muscles of Mura look almost mutant like...and he proved that 4T-4T is possible (though the 2nd 4T looked UR- gawds why am I nitpicking?). Had a collegue ask me at work, when seeing my skates for the first time, if figure skating gives you nice, slender legs. I looked at her and asked her if she was okay with thunder thighs, and the possibility of very thick thighs if she ever stops skating...

So about the Man in the Iron Mask. Before Yagudin, there was also Takeshi Honda! I kind of realize how much I loved his skating then, he was the first Japanese male skater that impressed me (and I kind of like him more than Takahashi). In some ways Yuzuru's skating and his are more similar than Yuzu and Takahashi. Powerful and lightness and an effortless gliding technique that picks up speed from nowhere. And then there's that quad toe from Takeshi here, so pretty and quick!

Pedobird...aka what a lot of us would do if we magically found ourselves allowed to hug and pat Yuzu, while conveniently hidden behind a mascot costume so no one can ID us....

ACI starts right when my workload starts increasing this year....*le sigh This is the first olympics in a while, where I actually feel somewhat invested....I shall pray for the best, cause I'm not sure if my heart can take otherwise.

Um don't forget guys, we need to borrow a 5 year old to hold flowers for him, hold our sign up-side down, and grab a couple guys to scream his name at the top of their lungs while madly waving a planet Hanyu banner! I guess a mascot would be a plus?

How do the Risport Royales feel? Are they lighter? I'm planning to fly half way across the country to get fitted since the last time I bought online, I ended up at least 1 size too big..and am considering switching to Royal Elite or Royal Pro. My current pair is RF3! The other I was thinking was possibly switching over to Edea, but I'm not sure if Edea or Risport have the narrower ankles and heels. But overall I like the risports, they are super comfy for me. By the way, does anyone here have experience with the Wilson Four Aces blades? I'm currently on Cornation Aces, and am considering switching to four aces- besides the straight pick vs cross-cut pick, are there any other major differences? Riedell...ugh I shudder when I think of them. My second pair of boots were riedells from hell, and my first time wearing them, the cuff of the boot cut into my legs. I initially thought it was just sweat accumulating, but nope it was blood...the cuff of the boots left nice bloody marks alone my legs. Took about 3 weeks to fade away. First time using gel pads.

I've never met a clockwise skater before! So then your important edges would be the opposite of what I just said-left back outside, right forward outside and right back inside. Also, just practice your edges, forwards and backwards before you go nuts on the 3 turn. The reason why they sometimes say it should be "natural" is that if you hold your edges long enough, at some point it would curve to the degree that you have to turn. That's how you start all your spins. But the down-up-down knee action, with the turn on the up action, is something you can practice off ice. There's a bit of a rhythm to it, which you'll figure out once you really try. For 3 turns, I think it is possible to turn on a slightly flatter edge, but it's really easy then to go up too much on the ball of your foot, so you end up catching your toepick and skid on your turn. My worst ones are the backwards ones...I can't seem to do backwards 3 turns unless I do them as part of a continuous 3-turn sequence...

A really really revenge-bent part of my mind wants to grab all the potential judges for the Oly and international competitions, lock them in a month-long camp where we get to teach them how to skate and properly do counters, brackets and rockers....

Shhhh....it is the jump-that-shall-not-be-named. Seriously though, I kind of suspect that he'd probably Yolo it at some early season competition, but not sure if this year or next year (my guess is still 19/20 season).

Oh he's practicing his 4 Lz this summer alright. I think it's more like this, start of season: Yuzuru: So, about the FS layout... Brian: *with a mug of coffee* Yes? Yuzuru: I feel more comfortable doing 2 quads off the top. To make it more interesting, how about a 4Lz followed by a 4 Loop? Brian: *raises eyebrows* and then? Yuzuru: I think I can stick to a 4 quad FS, with 2 in the back half in case I get tired. But I was thinking, what about a 4A-2T Rippon? If I practice enough this summer, I should be able to fully rotate. Only 1/4 rotation short now. Brian: *trips over his skates, coffee goes everywhere* Yuzuru: you will help me right? *puppy eyes* Tracy: How did we agree to train him?

Well you normally do learn backwards and forwards skating and edges before you start 3 turns, since you are essentially going from skating on 1 foot forwards to skating on 1 foot backwards, on the same foot... If I had to be Yuzu and be super OCD about which edges to control-freak on, I'd pick the right back outside edge, left forward outside edge, and the left back inside edge. The first one because that's your landing position for all the jumps, assuming you rotate counter-clockwise like him. It is also your launch edge for loop jumps. The second is important for axel entrances, and is usually your entry edge when you 3-turn into your flip jumps and salchows. The third is the edge you have to check and control when you turn into your salchow and your flip jump.

Footwork practice has the most painful falls. I don't think it's a change of knee positions. And the backwards and forwards 3 turns are different. In this case, I'll refer to the forward right inside 3 turn, since that is my strongest 3 turn. You actually apply the most pressure and have a deeper knee bend when you enter the edge. In fact, you kind of transfer the weight from the arch and heel/back section of your foot to the balls of your foot, and you kind of rise up/straighten your leg a bit to relieve the pressure and turn. As for when you should turn, think of the entirety of the 3 turn as drawing a giant semi circle- your forward edge being 1 half of the semi-circle, and the backward edge part being the other half. You turn at the top of the semi-circle, and that's the easiest part of the circle to turn on. Not sure if this helps?