Xen

That is at most a +3? But if B level competitions usually give points more generously, maybe the A level competitions will try to be more conservative?

I wonder if we could politely let it out into the universe that one day Yuzu will do a quick demo of every single jump in figure skating. I think the only ones we've seen are 1T, 1Lz and a delayed 1A. I don't recall seeing 1S, 1F or 1Lo? For reference of course! @yuzuangel: Hmm, well if I hit a certain distance I can get a certain height, so I just check distance instead since I can't always feel height when I'm jumping (minus the flip jumps, those I can kind of feel if I have enough height, simply because if i don't I will UR and fall. XD). For most of my other jumps, I can't feel if I have enough height and have to rely on other people to tell me. I don't PR a lot on my toe jumps (and coach gets mad if I PR past 90), but right now my toe loop has a weird pause when I tap in, so coach is making me snap up a bit faster. Think it's because we're not used to using our left side as much to vault up into jumps, so syncing your upper body to the down-tap-and up leg motion feels unnatural (for me at least), and the timing is just thrown off.

I found it! It's a classic from you, should bookmark it for easier access in the future. That way new fans know what it means when the planet goes crazy doing musicals while waiting for Zu's music reveals.

Well the muse bunnies need a workout, they've been going fat and lazy these months. A change in diet is in order, and I do need more paprika for cooking next month. The recent rainstorms and winds killed a third of my pepper plants. =/

I am merely learning from our overlord. If only I could sing well...maybe we can get someone who can sing well to actually *sing* out the song this time for maximum effect?

Since we did Les Mis last year, I guess we need to choose a different musical? Choices, choices, choices....maybe in honor of the horror and fear of POTO, we should do something to "That's all I ask of you"?

Yeah, but a couple of us guessed from the stuff he revealed that he would have a 4Lz because the layout he showed on media day didn't seem right. Oh, and remember that one time they showed his 4Lz from media day, but cut off some of it-but quite a few of us figured based on his free foot motion there was a 3T. And lo and behold, when the full footage was revealed, it was a 4Lz3T.

You dear, you forgot last year on media day, he revealed nothing on day 1. Prompting me to suggest, and @Murieleirum to actually write a rendition of "One Day More" from Les Mis in his honor. And then the shoe dropped on day 2. Getting ready for "One Day More" v. 2018?

Well if Shae and Jeff choreograph it and Yuzu skates to it sure...but they can kind of pull off just about anything. So I don't know if Yuzu is the best measurement of whether or not a music piece is good for skating.

I don't always trust his music choices...because his younger years inclination for warhorses. Granted, he might chose to do Koi Dance as a long. >_>

I'm hoping she's doing the original version (and not the version Kanako did), it's a very different image for her. Jpn men and their warhorses....alright, if Zu must jump on the italian warhorse train, make it a warhorse we haven't seen in a while (like albinoni's adagio in G for example). So long as he avoids another Pucinni. >_> (at this point, my guesses of tango Sp and musical LP seem possibly more attractive)

What if he decides to make awesome programs this year. Maybe it will be so good it helps speed up the regrowth of hair! =D

Well not directly no, just that some of us have been really good at reading signs-or guessing. You know we joke about our hair falling out....if Yuzu announced his programs like other skaters, before media day, and give clear hints here and there, our hair will fall out before the start of the season because we won't view it as normal course of action for him, and suspect something is majorly off. So maybe he's saving our hair?

...I only got a coach this spring, and it's still not even stable. Coach is knocking me back to basic SS before I go jump-happy. >_< So it'll be a while before I'm allowed to go for axels. She wants everything nice, good and stable, all forward spin and back spin positions started or completed before she allows me near an axel. Something like a 1.8 m distance waltz jump before she gives me the greenlight. >_> I think you get used to it? If I don't practice spins for a while, I also get dizzy when I start doing fast spins again. Hmm...other than that, maybe control your breathing? Actually I get dizzier turning on land than on ice, if that makes any sense. >_>

...and that latter rationale is why and how my wallet cries for help as I check in something for my xmas gift to myself. Then, yes, RF3 would be too light if you plan to jump too. You probably will need Risport Royals. *no seriously I probably won't go for something that much, unless I do get up to 1A around xmas break, or my current boots crumble, which are the 2 conditions under which I will change boots*

Uh... 48 is heavy for my height in China (apparently 158cm=> 45 kg). >_> But hmm, I guess as older skaters we can indulge ourselves on higher level skates. *eyes those ice flys online*

....On Land or on ice? BTW, if on ice, you did get a coach to spot you right? o_O

Good to know the edeas fit. If you have narrow heels, I'm not sure if Risport is the option. My heels aren't that narrow, but definitely not medium sized heels, and my RF3s are not cutting it. After a year, I sometimes suspect my heels are slipping up. Might end up having to go Edea route too, maybe even Jackson split widths-but to be honest, at my level, the cheapest options are the RF3s XD I tried a pair of edeas that were my size (another girl at my rink has the same shoe size) and I'm not fond of how much they squeeze the arches of my feet. Laced them up slightly looser than Risports, and it was pinching, my arches felt totally numb after about 5 mins of just walking around. The pianos on the other hand, feel great. =( Skate technician I usually send stuff too says he could see me trying risport royals since the heels are slightly narrower, but then he said the tongue might hurt a bit during break-in period. The only guy I know in Royals is on the 2nd month of his break-in period, and he still has my gel sleeves because the boot is cutting into his ankles. @robin: why won't risport RF3s work? I use them with stiffness of 45, and weight wise I'm not light (> 48 kg) and it should support me all the way through 1Lz and 1A. I probably skate 6 hours a week, and am nearing year 1 with them. They're still holding up well. @Murieleirum: why are you trying a 1S on land? o_O This is probably closer to what you do on land:

Regarding the issues involved: 1) I've followed figure skating before Yuzu rose up (I'm older anyways XD), so should Yuzu decide that PC was it, I'd probably still follow. Maybe not as tightly and maybe I won't attend competitions live, but I definitely would still follow, just a tad more casually. Also, I don't think Yuzu is the type to just dissappear from the landscape of figure skating-he loves the sport too much. He'll be involved in one way or another, even if he takes a break (probably a short one), in the from of shows, judging or even coaching. Some Yuna fans may disagree with me, but I think Yuzu whether he likes it or not, is more likely the ambassador for figure skating at large. Personally, I think he realizes it and maybe even accepts it as much (and the pressure that comes with such a role), and there are things that somewhat comes with the role, so he'll still be in public in some form or shape. Personally, I hope this forum is still up even after he hangs up his competition boots (and I'd be happy to donate to such), because I don't think he's done yet, and having such a fanbase that is supportive of him is something that may be useful in the future. 2) I think Yuzu is Yuzu, Yuna is Yuna; they're all individual skaters, and there will be no skaters who could imitate or replace them in the future, simply because individual skaters are all different. I think we may have all followed Yuzu initially due to his skating or looks or whatever, but in the end we like him for "him" as an individual, not just the skater/kawaii looks or anything. It's the combination super package. But that also means, in the future there may be skaters we like for their skating, there may be other skaters we like for their own combination package. There might be no individual skater alone who can drive the market as much as Yuzu, but there might be a few skaters who when their fandoms combine, may achieve a similar effect. I don't think that skating fanbase or market will exactly die without Yuzu's presence in competition- it just might take more than 1 skater to fill that void, but that void may still be filled. -Seconding this also, the rules are more the issue here, because that will determine which skaters will thrive and which will not get results. Unfortunately, casual fans look first at results to determine which skaters they should look at and in what order. As for market- figure skating is a niche sport, but it's possible to make it more financially lucrative than it is right now. We don't need to be as popular as say, football, but there are more popular, semi-niche sports we could look at. For example, cycling, formula 1 racing perhaps?

Well, in that case you can't consider Mao's last dancer ballet. That was not ballet IMHO. Actually he should refrain from prolonged ballet phases (aka avoid it for the LP), and he could try it for the SP (le Corsaire was ok). I hope he varies his skating speed a bit at least. My fear is that like Nemesis, the music will be a piece that can be skated at an even/same tempo throughout, and where the choreography might carried more by the music rather than the skating.

And what keeps the wigs industry thriving as millions of fans collectively lose their hair. *kidding...kinda*

Quickness+precision takes a *lot* of time. If he buckles down and actually does more choreography that forces him to do it (which is why I'm so glad he's moving away from Ballet), give him a year or 2 and he should hopefully get better at it. Hip hop and even jazz would be interesting choices- you won't have time to do slow counters or rockers, they need to be fast, but in order to get the levels you need a much more deep curve, so for me at least that's why those choices are interesting. Then again, those music choices can also lend to balletic arms and a lot of toe-pick work and less curves too....

Honestly, Nate would do balletic hip-hop better than mao's last dancer. He needs a piece that actually challenges him to do the snappy/intensity schtuff that we normally associate with Shoma. His weight transfer isn't really off, and his balance isn't that bad. But I would say he's not as precise and quick as say Yuzu, or shoma or even boyang (though Boyang is more quick than 100% precise). I'd have to figure out how to slow-mo and do frame by frame analysis, but his blade usage isn't that off. He can be precise, but it's just not able to match the quick precision that would help him smooth out his skating as say Chan or Yuzu.

Well hey, at least they moved from ballet right? Hopefully we won't have a !surprise ballet piece creep up on us. Actually if we have to split hairs, I think he is just a tad faster than last season, just a tad. And for me, other than that, it's a skating skills issue, it's not so much his moves look "heavy" to me, they just don't look as "delicate" or "quick" like Jin or Yuzu. He's more the traditional NA school style IMO, where the movements are held out longer and looks more languid, but he doesn't have quite the control or mastery like Chan yet, so it looks more "heavy" than "smooth." Wonder if this makes sense?

His triples had more knee usage, but his quads no, but both were definitely stiff, and you had no outgoing curve on the landing (he landed so much on the front and close to the toepick the landings were just stops/skids). Though so far it looks like his knees still look softer than before. Well, I guess as an intro this is better than skating straight into a jump. It's fine, if you are not asking me to evaluate it for stsq levels. =)