Xen

I am quite on-board with this. People tend to forget that Javi is also competitive, but his intensity type is very different from Yuzu, in fact they feel like polar opposites. I imagine that if they were both together too often, there might be competition and intensity that would lead both to be a bit more reckless and lead to unnecessary injuries and such. Additionally, to better tune himself to his students, Brian would need at least a small break to switch gears when training with them. If separating them several days a week is what is needed, then I trust Brian's judgment to do what is best for his students-because this is being responsible to them. I'm probably more of the opinion that the tension between Nats and Olys is probably closer to NHK and GPF 2015. And he has experience in dealing with that. Though at J Nats, Yuzu would have even lower expectations than normal from the press. Sure people expect a comeback, but I don't know if people expect him to break WR at JNats, especially if Shoma does well in the GP series. No one has defined "comeback" yet, and since he just recovered I am thinking people may even not expect him to "show up" for JNats, and certainly not peak.I think so long as he shows up on ice, it'd be considered a comeback. The pressure this season is actually more self-made by Yuzu, not necessarily as press driven as Shanghai and Boston (especially since he never told anyone that he had any injuries, baka Yuzu). Going into Olys, he is actually losing external pressure and the much vaunted "momentum" in the press, due to his injury and missing out GPF. If he went to GPF, especially with Javi and Patrick sitting out, Nate and Shoma and Boyang in, the GPF will be portrayed as a mini Olympics showdown in the men. The headlines will be "Can Yuzuru hold off, alone, against the youngsters?" If he wins, more pressure and possibly mental exhaustion for him. If he loses, well I think everyone can think up clickbait news titles (and that type of pressure might be the type of Kuyashii that is bad for him). @meoima: have you seen Plushenko's interview on TSL? https://youtu.be/W4JDStBAufw It's kind of amusing that there, when interviewing with a US source, he said that his picks for podium were "Yuzu, Shoma, Nathan" or "Yuzu, Nathan, Shoma." No need to ask whom he favors. He does give honorable mention to Javi and Boyang, but poor Patrick is forgotten. Plus, his suggestion to someone to be an "angel of plushenko" makes me laugh each time, as I imagine someone twirling around in a white tutu on ice. Edit: I almost forgot. People mix the pressure from the press, and the pressure that fans heap on him. But Yuzu gains motivation from the fans pressure, as he said himself that the pressure from fans is not a burden. I wondered how this would make sense, but in a way he is right. Pressure from fans, and from the skating community/friends is a "pressure" borne from sincerity, and a well-wishing type of expectation from actual respect and love. It is unconditional genuine respect and love. The pressure from the normal press (he does not particularly care for) is a different type that is less sincere, and just "nosy" strings attached curiosity and adoration. The first type right now from fans and friends, is helping him balance the latter negative type from the press. At least that's what I think and believe in. =)

My theory is that Yuzu wants mastery of figure skating, his goal is mastery, not medals. Medals simply are a measurement of how far along he is, an external validation tool to verify his internal bemchmarks and estimations. This mastery goal is in turn, what drives his will to steamroll on, why he decided he must do the 4lz, why he will do the 4A, and possibly 4-4 and even 4flip someday. To do less is not mastery. And where the limit is, is always a question. Edit: to me, this is what makes him the GOAT. Many have considered it, few if any have the guts to try to obtain mastery. And of those, even less have made so much progress. It is not a goal that a less crazy driven mind would consider, as such a person would despair at the challenge before it. But a truly wise and brave one, like his, would accept the challenge as a journey. And we are really fortunate to live in the same time period as him.

His core essence, to challenge new limits is what defines him, and his primary motivation. To slow down would lead to an existential crisis in him.

Is your name Philadora Hershey?

Well, I was thinking more alone the lines of a romance like a Puccini opera, with people going crazy at the end. But this works too...

Nah, better as a musical. I'm on a cellphone, otherwise I feel plot bunnies perking up. Need a title suggestion.

Nah, it's like a forbidden love for them. Like they love YUzu, but they are told to be proper little media they cannot love Yuzu, cause he hurts their own Feds favorites, it crossing lines, borders and standard barriers. So they are conflicted, then hate themselves for loving this thing they are not allowed to love, and in the depths of their despair the only release valve is to say how bad he is. In reality probably not the case, but this psycho drama is way more interesting as a reason.

Practice edges, and a number of turns can be learned on your own, I learned counters, brackets and rockers on my own. They are also super useful and help later on when you do get a coach, since they are fundamental to everything. My coach made me go back and work on edges etc if I were failing my jumps that day. You are never too old to skate. There are guys at my rink in their 60s working on one foot spins. A 27 year old guy who just landed his axel. I stopped skating for about ten years, and recently just got a good portion of my old jumps and spins back, and I am old. If your goal is to get an axel in half a year, then being very young might help, but if your goal is to just see how far you can go, you can go far at any age. The guys mentioned above? The 60 year old guy was only considering up to one foot turns, and the guy on axels had no goals though his coach is thinking he could maybe try double axels.

what hiatus? Does resting for health reasons count as hiatus? Nothing has been mentioned on more reputable twitter feeds, so prolly false rumors.

Extra...he even tugged at the sides with bare hands. This reminds me of a bunny pulling on lettuce leaves.

it actually does delay his peak, and with jnats etc, it might allow him to hit his gpf peak at the right time, the timing is actually about the same.

well, he might go if he does not have a superb performance at nationals. In some ways, I am somewhat glad he, Javi.and Pat are not at GPF. Competing against the youngsters at GPF would be exhausting, and if they do not do well, it would be spun negatively in the press. A top.secret.training meet, aka uncles gpf would be better, as they can get a decent idea of what they will face by watching gpf, and with Yuzu and Cha there, they have a good comparison for bv/tes too. Taipei is close by and I have 12 vacation days by then....hmm, decisions decisions. If Yuzu.goes then the peak cycle would be jnats=COR, 4CC=NHK, Oly=GPF?

The mens field is the odd one, the other ones are still all in the realm of predictable.

Ok, ties then. Wives and girlfriends can buy for their loved ones.

Wait....he could promote ladies fashion. Just have him escort a lady wearing said fashion brand around, and people will go said fashion brand=date with Yuzu, and fly off shelves. He could probably do it for something more sporty, like abercrombie or uniqolo, since his clothes tend towards minimalist. Or if we go lux brands, Tommy Hilfiger, or Armani Exchange.

Some of those costumes man...someone explain to me that blue thing on Gabriella.

It's great to hear btw, that people care for his programs. =) Actually you're probably the biggest Boyang fan I know outside and inside of China. And it's great to see that some do appreciate the Chinese mens skaters, since they are not so well known (and somewhat underappreciated) inside of China. I think Boyang will get better-he probably views the current programs as a challenge for his growth, even if it means he has to overcompensate a lot. And frankly, it has been a bit of a discussion inside China itself on whether or not we should allow our skaters to train long term overseas. Yes Li Zijun did, but she might not be the most stellar case you want to use. I think even using a foreign choreographer (Lori) is a major improvement compared to the past. Figure skating is also growing in China, though we are no where close to how it is in Japan, North America, maybe not even South Korea, but it is growing. Like the tour shows on the road- that would be unheard of 4-5 years ago. That there are young skaters who are doing okay, via training on commercial rinks instead of one of the large training centers up North, is also a major positive step. Also, since the commercial rinks are opening in southern China now, they're tapping into the much richer and populous side of China too, which normally have no ice training centers. Chinese fed doesn't have as huge a budget, or clout as some of the other figure skating feds. Therefore it has to pick and choose its battles wisely. This cycle they're probably focusing on pairs, since Sui/Han is so dominant (but we still need to pull muscles to help them to a degree). I think after Boyang grows a bit further this year, there's a lot at stake for him too, and the fed will likely pull resources for him. =) They're probably trying to avoid a direct competition/comparison with Yuzuru too.

Rofl, his brother is his translator?!Am I the only one who thinks his little brother is kind of...mothering him?!

I am amazed that he has bodyhair anywhere, I thought he was alien enough that he would be hairless (except for that mane on the head).

Did he say before that he feels energized by all the fan support for him, when he was down at WC17 SP? So hope going helps him cheer up and recover safely. =)

well...maybe he has a clone, shadow double.... *cue uncle kurt voice* and so when he goes anywhere, he can use it, kind of like a magician and go "look here, look here...poof." While the real Yuzu is able to run far far away from the hordes.

the real life hokage.

1-2-3 AWWWWW...... wait...how did he avoid getting mobbed o_O

A lot of that was pre-quads, and wear and tear would happen to your knee and ankle anyways. Think even for single jumps you land with a force impact of about three times your weight, so even single jumps can cause strain eventually. This is why knee action and ankle flexibilty and good technique is important, to minimize the existing strain the body already faces; and why I have kittens watching the jumps of some other skaters at times.

Why are we getting our panties in a twist over world standings? In so far as skating order goes, it is not like he will fall out of the top 6, which is probably the more important number. @the50person: thanks for pointing that out. And I do not think that will be the last one we will hear. Media just loves clickbait cr*p like this. So a reminder to everyone, we cannot panic, if no other reason than just spite, cause some corners of the media would love to see us panic.