Xen

Question for @koneko and @Fresca: I'm currently debating adding to my skating training. At the gym close to my work place, they don't have any ballet or barre based classes. But they both have Jazz classes. Is Jazz a decent substitute for traditional ballet or barre classes? Currently I'm more focused on flexibility and maybe a bit of leg strength for jumping. They also have latin dance classes, but I'm dodging those... As for Ballet and Figure skating...this is something I've always found weird. For a lot of the american skaters who proportedly did Ballet (Nathan and Sarah Hughes), sometimes I wonder where the Ballet went? Because I don't really see how their movements are more "ballet-esque" than some of the non-ballet trained skaters. Ie Sarah vs Sasha vs Michelle Kwan. Or Nathan vs Yuzuru.

So we can now quantify our heart attacks at 50.93 points. Hope he has a more stable season. But from this, it does seem to indicate that of the top 6, Yuzu, Shoma and Javi are probably the top 3 now, even if we do debate about Shoma's GOE scores.

After this, I'm reminded again why I loved that Chopin SP.... People who are expressive or in-tune with their emotions are not necessarily weak. It is worse to not know nor acknowledge emotions and avoid the ability to harness them.

To think he might have done this all by hand...by haaannnd How did he resist the urge of excel? If he loves manipulating systems numbers like that, the boy has a future as a game designer too now...

Hmm, main theme for edward scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow Main theme and then there's the piano solo from The Corpse Bride...might need a bit of editing around, and there's also the theme from A Simple Plan.

This is another issue with skating judging in general...the first skater on the ice in the group is usually going to be underscored, simply because judges feel the need to keep some points in reserve for later skaters. Realistically, that should not be the case at all... Speaking of which, in the general chat, it seems Yuzu is back in a solid relationship with his 4T again. I wonder if a 4T-4T combo would actually be easier than a lone 4A to execute? Since the Toe Loop is an easier jump to rotate...

He might have gotten it if he skated last, and possibly if he had a clean SP. Though honestly, the SP mistake was not a fall and should not have detracted from scores in the LP (in my opinion)....

Well the caption underneath was "They are basically us when they see Yuzuru." So possibly something to do with fighting over who gets to have the best sparkles from his clothes?

Well there are worse ways to spend your first days of vacation....actually I think it might be better to separate out Onmyouji and the other Umebayashi works into different programs. The drum beats that we adore, could work really well as an EX, where he can do whatever he wants, and won't need to pull out the quads. Speaking of music, what about the 2Cellos rendition of Now We are free? https://youtu.be/74CYIdYoQ5w The really upbeat section starts at 3:59 and ends around 4:27, which is nice for a steq and spin combo. Wonder if Yuzu ever lurks on this forum? What would he say about our music choices?

Because it's such a contrast to normal asian stoicism? =D But yeah, a blend of Umebayashi and maybe even Tan Dun could work (think Hero music). And that step sequence-we could use the one at 3:08 instead? I have some faith in Yuzuru, that he could pull it off. What if we focus on it as an EX instead, a steq sequence heavy ex?

I wish him luck, and I think he could do it potentially 2018. Chinese men's singles skating could use a nice kick start and inspiration.

What about the music from House of Flying Daggers? For the footwork, you could even use that 1 minute section of the main female's dance--the echo game: https://youtu.be/eCB4kwlr7ws

No I meant later...not Olympic season. That would be too risky, even for Yuzu....though people tend to forget that female roles were FOUGHT after by male actors in traditional opera in both China and Japan. They were the surest path to stardom and considered the hardest roles to master.

Oh dear....should we do this for all the warhorses to jinx them? I wonder he would ever do anything like something based on Farewell my Concubine or The King and the Clown, since he said something about how if he did do traditional opera, he might end up playing female roles?

Well maybe she's scared that she won't be a legend? Though didn't she coach Midori Ito? The other question I would have, if I view this statement of hers as a plea of financial and structural help from the JSF, do you think Japan has the structural system to do it? I'm not that familiar with the skating system in Japan. Is there something akin to the TCC in terms of system, where a skater can essentially get everything done under one roof? Is there anyone akin to Mishin who just researches jump technique for fun even?

Assuming this is correct translation (which I guess is not), this is pretty territorial. It's pretty much asking JSF to put a foot down and not send skaters abroad (or not support skaters abroad financially) and focus funding for only domestic coaches to ensure Japanese coaches always have business (the have foreign coachs train japanese coaches could almost be more of a business gimmicky move). Especially if you read it combined with the latter statement about foreign skaters becoming more arrogant. It's more like "Japanese skaters should only be trained by Japanese coaches, although foreign coaches can help in an advisory role (but cannot take the credit nor be directly involved with our "pure japanese skaters")." As for Shoma's jumps-good that he's trying, but normally these types of jump issues start when you train at the single jumps stage, so it should have been corrected much earlier. Add in competition pressure, and it is hard to say whether or not he'll still use faulty muscle memories of 10+ years, even if he's corrected it in practice...man I feel bad for the boy....

I would agree. At least in China, there is this constant chat in education that the asian education system cannot produce superstars. Perhaps something similar to this applies in japan as well...and if you do look at the string of Japanese skating stars, look at all the foreign coaches involved. Nevermind that both Shizuka and Yuzuru, the two lone olympic gold medalists were foreign trained when they produced the gold medals. Next, maybe it's just me, but I think it's highly possibly Nagoya actually lost the political battle. Look at the GP assignments. Yuzuru- vs Patrick and Nathan, but one at Rostelecom Cup, one at NHK, both arenas where he is actually favored, despite having fairly stiff competition Shoma- vs Patrick and Javier, weaker in jumps, but in SC and France, both arenas that do not favor him, and I would expect that at least at SC, those edge, take off and UR calls are coming....

Well we all knew Yuzuru has a nice long elegant neckline, let's just go emphasize that by adding a black turtleneck on top of the black collar....

Not fully done with the video yet, but the boy really has no chill. The chinese subtitles in there, he talked about how back then, around the time of Sochi, he was only 1/4 rotation off from a full quad axel. And I guess the quad lutz is something he's waiting to fully refine when he's done with the shows...much as I feel sorry for Brian's hair, think his hair is used to this by now.

Since we're on the topic of Ballade 1, question is, which pianist's interpretation did he use? Or will he use if music edits are updated? One, is Richter's playing of Ballade 1 on Youtube, and if Yuzu is going for a more intimidating, passionate and fierce Chopin, then Richter might be the pianist to go with. https://youtu.be/v9Dc2u7P1d4 The section for the footwork is intense. Then there's the Cortot version-https://youtu.be/_9GBjQyvtAM (yes, it seems he did slip up a little). Eh...I want to see Yuzu skate Chopin's Tristesse...

No no, we love the geeky talk...it's more of a centralized geek-out thread. And you and Koneko and Meioma are awesome. =)

I'm sorry guys, after round 2 of Kat-tun, my brain drifted off to lala land. I didn't join you in getting through this thing called Mezamashi. (Which seems to have steeled our hearts against more surprises)

Chopin 3.0 shocked me enough I got insomnia, so I'm also watching bieber, a study abroad thingy, crazy drivers now, and not sure how long this show is.

If he adds a 4Lz with good GOE, or goes for a 4Lo3T combo in second half...with 2.5 avg GOE on jumps and maybe around 48-49 PCS, he could break the 120 barrier for SP no?

Yes, I was thinking SP too, until Chopin 3.0 happened...ugh, maybe 18/19 season.