KatjaThera

Quotation marks doesn't mean that is exactly what was said. It should be, but it's not. And I can actually say that from personal experience. I was interviewed by Nikkan Sports in Sendai for the parade and what I said and what was published was not the same. And actually, I was also interviewed by New York Times at NHK '17 and again, what I said and what was published was not the same. It's sadly common 'journalism' nowadays and not typical of a country or other. But again, I didn't say they were, I just pointed out that there is a possibility they might have been. Has there been any other media source posting these comments? That's often an argument in favor of the story being accurate. (Though far from a confirmation, because sometimes all newspapers will run with a story that is too good to pass even without verifying accuracy.) As for the sports newspapers, everyone is free to choose what approach they take. I personally take everything they write with a big dose of salt. It seems safer that way. As for pushing for many skaters... I doubt he ever meant that politically. He meant by providing training grounds and coaching options and choreographers and finances. And the Japanese skaters were in the top, they just didn't get to the very top. Unless there was some failure on this front last week, I don't really get it...

I looked through several of the twitter posts in the thread and found no link. I don't think the link should require that much searching when finding a translation, but that's just IMO. I agree the wording is maybe not the most fortunate, but I think the reaction is disproportional to it. By all means, crucify JSF for not supporting their skaters politicially, for inner faction wars and so on. But for badly worded statements? On top of that, I believe it's worth noting that Tokyo Sports, the source of the article is, like most Japanese sports newspapers, also a tabloid of sorts and is not a stranger to twisting words or even making up stories. I'm not saying they did it now, but fans are just so quick to bring out their pitchforks these days that it's getting mildly annoying. Yes, we're all upset, but we need to chill a bit and stop blowing up at every little thing, especially when they're not as clear cut as they're made out to be.

I have to better analyze this and maybe some native speaker can take a look at the original article, but my first impression is that it's not really as bad as it's made out to be... The last part particularly... I mean, given that everyone retires eventually, focusing 100% on just one star means they'll be completely lost when that star retires. If you want an example look at Spain. Because there was no investment in upcoming skaters, now that Javi is retired, they're back to zero. And then, any federation should want to aim to have skaters where each and every one of them has a good chance of winning. As for the beginning, yes, taking the credit is not ideal, but they're mostly doing it for the skaters who train in Japan, who have Japanese coaches and are generally more federation focused. Though at the end of the day they did support Yuzu in going to Canada, too, as they supported their other skaters. The fed does nothing to help them from a political pov and yes there are still many things to improve, but we can't really say they haven't done anything. IMO, this was just team speak. As in, we Team Japan achieved this. I agree the organization of Worlds seems to have been an epic disaster, but I think this article has led to more knee-jerk reactions. Also, while I know the twitter poster is someone trustworthy, I personally have issues with anyone who provides translations without an easy link to the source. Most people do not have the patience to type out a link by hand like that, so they'll choose to believe the translation. That said, native speakers' take on this is greatly welcome.

About quints... given that he pretty much said "well, if I do 4A, might as well do all the quads", it's not unlikely he'll then say: "well, since I've done all the quads, might as well try a quint, too" But I'm glad everyone is more calm now. And the Shuzo interview... everyone was so depressed after the first translated bits came out, but now actually seeing the video, everyone can see how fired up he is. Translations are awesome, but if you take them out of the context, especially the video context, when it exists, they can give a completely different feeling. So, IMO, rule of thumb should always be video first, translations second. And I'm not at all surprised he's fired up. I'm the same, really. If I get super depressed about some failure, I cry my eyes out, then I get up with fire in my veins and a million thoughts about how to make sure that failure can never happen again. So I get that attitude so well and I'm glad he got there so quickly!

Huh that's surprising... I guess that big brain has been at work hard since Saturday, because on Saturday he said he wants the axel and after that, since he did that anyway, he wants all the quads (with a why not sort of feel to it). It makes sense, though. He has been talking about toe jumps and how they're more stable across different types of ice, so it makes sense he wants to get those in his arsenal first. I just hope EDEA can create some custom boots with tremendous energy dampening coating, so his ankle will take as little damage as possible from toe picking... unlikely, though, sadly...

I think us fans are a bit too emotionally high strung these days, which is understandable. But I think we all need to take a few steps back and relax a bit. I myself find myself first reacting aggressively to stuff I see mentioned on twitter, only to then find the original sources and calm down. While I agree that this JSF thing could have been handled better, especially by offering to improve organization to make sure there will never be issues for any skaters, it wasn't really as bad as a lot of people are making it seem. He didn't say Yuzu fans are evil spawns interfering with other skaters. He gave a somewhat diplomatic answer about how it's something to consider, for the sake of balance and fairness but thankfully, it was definitely not an issue this time. (If that person was actually complaining for Shoma, tough luck, I guess.) I agree that saying they have to consider leaves room for interpretation that indeed the fan behavior could be an issue, but he was fairly diplomatic, so it's not that bad. It's certainly not Raf's statement. However, it is very bad timing. Probably by accident. Similarly, the things yesterday about the interview with Shuzo. Everyone was crying all over the place and I still don't get why. If it was any surprise to anyone that Yuzu practices his heart out and that he sometimes breaks down and cries afterwards, I'd say that someone probably doesn't know him. He is so emotionally invested in this, of course there would be times like that. For all that we call him an alien, he's still human. It's a normal human reaction and live everyone, he has good days and bad days. It's precious he chooses to be open and share these things with us. It shouldn't be a shock. Overall, though, he was so fired up in the interview. Eager to get back into it and challenge and win decisively over everyone else. It was a great thing to see. I don't see why everyone focused on the sad part, when you had a Yuzu virtually bouncing in his chair with excitement and fire. And I think it was in the same interview, though I'm not sure if that was translated, where he said something like, going into Worlds, there was a general expectation that because he had won in Pyeongchang under similar circumstances, he would do it again. And that when this huge bubble of expectation burst, there was of course disappointment, but also freedom. He was free of that expectation. Can you even imagine the pressure of that? To be injured, on painkillers and still have everyone expect you to win. In a way, this might actually have been the best possible result for him, because in some ways, he seems reborn. This also brings me to the subject of fan projects. I admit I'm biased because for personal reasons, I'm not a huge fan of fan projects, but I also wonder if it's really what he needs now. Fans are tremendous support, but they are also pressure. It can be good or it can be bad. It could make him more fired up or stress him. It depends mostly on where he is mentally, I guess. I don't remember hearing anything from him about apologizing to fans for his performance or anything of that sort. He seemed to understand fans support him no matter what and the disappointment was all his own. So I don't think he doubts our support now. Personally, I'd rather he gets some peace and quiet for a while, until he comes out of his cave again. But of course, everyone is free to think and do otherwise. As for the scoring, I believe going over whether he would have won or not is pointless. The past is in the past and we can't change it. Yuzu doesn't want to squeak past an overscored Nathan by a point or two with his current technical content. He wants to up his technical content so that he will be unbeatable. No matter what Nathan or the judges or anyone else does. He wants to win decisively when EVERYONE is squeaky clean. That's what he's always wanted. He reached that level for a while, now he only has to reach it again. So whether he would have won or not is irrelevant by now. He didn't win. He'll do his best to get the tools to prevent that from happening again. Let's just look forward to this fantastic crazy ride he'll take us on and rejoice imagining the incredible programs he'll show us in the process. However, I do think that we shouldn't completely give up on pointing out judgement errors. But that should be done as factually as possible. Detailed rescoring with arguments, based on the ISU's own rulebook (I loved those recores on twitter, but I felt for the FS some more arguments would have helped more, for example). Annotated videos. Side-by-side videos. Analysis. Anything less will only make us look like bitter fans. And with these, trying to reach the people who might actually be able to do something. Judges, federation members, even media. Max will be on board, but it takes more than that. Us fighting among ourselves will not help, and arguing with fans of other skaters will help even less, I think.

I admit I'm surprised, but good for him. I would love for him to do the gala, but I'm not sure how likely that is... he might get crucified again, especially since I'm not sure Japan can win this year, even with Shoma, Rika and Kaori on the team...

I'm a bit late with this reply, but while I understand the feeling very well, there are a few things I want to say that I hope might actually be encouraging... First, I don't think he was calmer at the Olympics, not by far. However, at the Olympics, it was absolutely essential that he held himself in check, both emotionally and physically. By his own admission, his overall physical condition - in terms of stamina and how far he'd recovered his jumps - was worse, so he was in no condition to do what he did in Saitama. As it was, he paced himself, kept an outward calmness and appearance of happiness and turned it all into strategy. In Pyeongchang it wasn't a matter of confidence as it was a do or die situation. He either went out and skated clean or as clean as he could, or he'd lose. In Saitama, as he himself said, he was confident, he wasn't that backed up into the corner and it showed in the way he approached practices, virtually showing off for his rivals. I think he then let it get away from him a bit and Nathan and Raf saw him getting frustrated and desperate with the 4Lo struggles, so even though he actually looked strong, it also seemed like nothing they need to worry about. And it turned out true, because even with that gorgeous Origin, it didn't work out. I'm sure Yuzu was crushed, but he's not really the type to dwell on the negative, not in the same way we are. He's pissed off, but he's fired up to get his crown back. And that fire apparently even makes him a little bit happy. I think he really did feel lost after the Olympics, especially with losing Javi as a rival and rinkmate, too. But now he's found something to motivate him again. I don't agree with Javi, it won't be the same with Nathan as it was with him, but Yuzu wants to be the absolute champion and will fight to get his title back. The other thing, about Yuzu being capped, on this layout, yes, maybe. But look at it like this: he wants the other quads. In fact, he says he WILL get them. Not that maybe, if everything works out. He says he WILL get them and as he's the guy who often makes the impossible possible, I tend to believe him. He just doesn't know how long it'll take because he has to be careful. And IF he does get them, then he'll soar above again. Because Nathan already has everything aside from 4A and he said he won't do 4A. And 4A alone almost makes up the difference between them. If you add in 4Lz and 4F, it will be crazy. Nathan is pretty much capped as well and very early in his career, because they've been piling GOE and PCS. Even if Nathan improves his artistry and gets difficult entrances to his jumps, it won't do much, because there's not much room anymore. US Nats score is pretty much the maximum he can achieve. And jumping that many quads regularly won't be without consequences for him either. Yuzu already knows how to be careful, as much as possible. Nathan will learn. Bottom line is, yes, now Yuzu winning would be difficult - but not impossible. A squeaky clean Yuzu with no pops and no wobbles is still hard to really hold back. With a clean SP it would have been much much closer. However, if his - admittedly, insane - plan works out, he will be the absolute champion again, because nobody will be able to compete with that without getting all the quads as well. Of course, with his injury, it is terrifying. Might he destroy his ankle - and maybe not only - completely in the process? Yes, I think that's very likely. But he has a strong team behind him who will do everything they can to prevent that from happening. And even if it happens, I believe it is worth it for him. He lives for skating. He said it at the Olympics that it was worth even the risk of never being able to move again. Now, I think getting the right to call himself 'absolute champion' again might be similar. I could never have that mentality and it's probably not very healthy, but that passion and ambition is a big part of why we love him. And he's already asked us to support him despite everything. It's probably a turning point for many fans, in a way. The road ahead will probably be painful, so it's maybe a time to choose if each of us can travel that with him. One thing I found scary at first but maybe encouraging now, is that Brian said he believes Yuzu can make it to Beijing. That he can stay healthy enough for it. I wonder if he knows all the facts, if he's optimistic or if he actually has more experience and knows that with the proper strategy, they can keep him in shape. Yuzu isn't willing to commit yet and I think that's understandable. If his body holds out, though, and he believes he can win, he definitely will want to go, though. He just doesn't want to say it and then risk letting everyone down, so he won't commit. But I have no doubt he wants to go, if he can. And lastly, I don't think he's writing off his achievements, but his Olympic Golds won't get him new wins. He wouldn't want them to, either. So, in that sense, they don't matter. Nothing in the past matters. If he can't win now, it means he doesn't have the tools to do it now, so if he wants to win, he has to get the tools. It's very simple and logical. It doesn't matter why and it doesn't matter whether it's fair or not. Figure skating has never been fair to him and he has always had to work extra hard to prove himself. So he'll do it again now. I'm sure deep down it is frustrating, but at the end of the day, for his way of thinking, it's another wall to overcome, and beyond which even greater happiness awaits. I also don't think that when challenging himself it's ever really that much about the confidence of being able to overcome those challenges. It's more about plain hard work. It's not 'I believe I can do 4A, 4Lz and 4F'. It's "I will work as hard as it takes to do 4A, 4Lz and 4F." The day he works as hard as he can and still can't reach his goals and he believes there is nothing more he can do is probably the day he retires, IMO. As for WTT, he pretty much said he was doing it without outright saying it, so it's no real surprise? It's not like he had time between yesterday night and today at noon to get his ankle checked and submit a medical report and withdraw. He'll probably do it and then take his rehab break after that and until early May or so, when choreo will likely take place, before FaOI. And I love how despite Nathan's win, Yuzu is still the king and legend for everyone. Some people - Benoit Richaud and Andrew Dodds come to mind first - only insta storied Yuzu's program and not Nathan's. Clearly shows who was more impressive, IMO. (And while Andrew comes across as a bit of a fan, I can't help thinking he's also an ice dancer so probably more appreciative of artistry than jumping...)

I'd add: 1. the result of the simulation was that his preparation took 29.something seconds. So close! And at the end, he put his fist up, but not his finger, in the #1 pose because he knew winning would be really difficult and unlikely. Oh and in the beginning he said something like with this competition, a new Spring had come for him, too. I guess, like a new beginning. While still very kuyashii, saying there's a lot he wants to do over, he seemed more positive today. Like he was already moving on or so...(or maybe he's really good at acting)

I love Javi, but I wish he hadn't chosen this moment to be diplomatic... (I'll take Javi Raya over him this time...)

Well, one can argue that Yuzu does his University in an online/long-distance program. He doesn't actually go to classes, he's not away from his coach and he possibly has more flexibility, while Nathan probably goes to classes, only gets to face time his coach and depends on the curriculum. But I personally am starting to think this arrangement might work better for Nathan. He actually has less pressure and is possibly the time who does better with some 'distractions' on the side (a la Javi) than fully focusing all energy on skating (a la Yuzu). Being away from Raf might have helped, too. I admit I don't follow them, but at Olys, I did not get the impression Raf was helping Nathan at all, quite the contrary. It could be Raf's style works well with some skaters but at times it looks more like it stresses Nathan than helps him. So not being around him every day might have helped Nathan stay fairly relaxed. I could be totally wrong, though, this was just my impression.

I really hope it's not true, because it makes me panic (although he arrived in Pyeongchang later than I had hoped, too, so maybe he knows better), but that is what they said, that he hasn't returned yet (and stated as a fact, not a "it seems"). Normally, I'd still be skeptical, but this is Fuji, so if anyone in the media should know whether Yuzu is in Japan or not, it should be them, as they're the official broadcaster... Ah, Yuzu, killing us even before he sets foot on the ice...

Well, upgrading his technical content might be difficult, all things considered, but he can always upgrade his trolling

Well, I didn't want to be the one to say it, so I settled for a modest 4Lo, but that was my first thought, too lol The most epic mic drop ever. (And then maybe not even do it in competition, because "I don't need it and it's not quite perfect for showing yet".)

I think as much as TCC protects its own, Gabby wouldn't have delayed posting that picture until after Yuzu had left... I think that picture was taken the day it was posted but that Yuzu did indeed take off right after that. So he most likely arrived yesterday. Any earlier is unlikely, IMO. But who knows lol

I've been wondering if maybe he might have come to regret speaking publicly about his strategy after last year, because now his rivals might know what to expect and whether he'll adopt the same strategy this time or if he'll try something new... like show up, troll a la Pyeongchang, but slam a 4Lo instead of a 3A, then calmly do his cooling down exercises for the rest of practice lol

I don't think foreign media can get in it if the Japanese don't or don't want to. I'm also not sure anyone wants to get on his bad side if he doesn't want it. And I'm also not sure any foreign media is THAT into it to try to find out his flight info and catch him at the airport when they'll see him just fine tomorrow. It's different when they're told, when JSF probably sends them the info. Official media showing up without being informed by the subject of their interest doesn't happen very often, I think, in general, not just in FS. ETA, that being said, it's very possible he'll pull a first practice at Pyeongchang this time, too. Show up, do some stroking, a few singles, slam a 3A and walk out. That wouldn't be too demanding, regardless of when he arrives lol

In a way, yes, but aside from triumphant returns from competitions, the media virtually never mobs him at the airport when he returns to Japan, especially when he arrives to compete. Or at least I don't remember it happening off the top of my head.

Well, I think Yuzu can ninja in Japan better than in most other places and my expectation was always that the first time we see him will be when he comes to the first practice. He has ANA and all the staff at airports as well as JSF staff to keep him hidden if he so desires. It depends on whether his strategy is a quiet appearance, or a triumphal return a la arrival in Korea last year lol Anyway, believing he'd go ninja, I was pretty much convinced he might have arrived yesterday, which would have explained how late the Kose blog post was, compared to the previous days. But I guess we'll see... (I'd still rather he arrived yesterday, though. He's scheduled for his first practice in 17 hours and if he hasn't even landed yet... )

Great interview! Thank you! And very much looking forward to ice shows now! As a side note, Kings on Ice in Romania sounds awfully tempting! If on a weekend I might use it as an opportunity to visit Cluj for the first time lol (I had even contemplated going to his concert, but not sure that will happen...)

Actually, one time, Brian pretty much said that's his dream (it was in his joint interview with Yuzu in the first Team Brian book, I think). Yuzu was... not overly receptive, from what I remember. lol Actually, I think he might have mentioned it in an interview with Javi once, too... Javi did say he could maybe coach in Canada or even Japan as well, more than once, too. It would be amazing, but considering both Yuzu and Javi have skating in their own home lands as their priorities, it might be tricky. I personally do dream that Yuzu will start a skating school with a world-wide reach, which could have partnerships, exchange programs and so on with other schools and rinks around the world, including Javi's in Spain and TCC... Whether or not that - or anything like that - will happen is anyone's guess, though...

He did. It was a recap of various videos of him talking about the earthquake, struggling with the guilt and pressure and a first visit to that school, as well as, I think, some new buts of interview from the trip to Naraha last Summer. It was a nice recap! (It took me by surprise, too 😅) I'm sure it'll be on youtube soon!

Unfortunately, it seems the LINE stamps aren't available outside of Japan. I really don't get Japan like that... especially on charity stuff, you'd think they'd make it available to as many people as possible >_< (I'm half tempted to ask if any of our Japanese members have paypal, to transfer them the equivalent sum and ask them to buy it for me ^_^; )

Isn't that 4S-3A? (Although he's done 4T-3A, 4T-3A-3A and 4T-I-forgot-how-many-3As for fun, too) And OT, but when I first saw that video from The Ice 2012, I thought that was just another quad battle between Yuzu and Javi, but watching it more recently, it looks more like Yuzu trying to go for his at-that-time-nemesis 4S and failing, then Javi, aka the man he chose to teach him 4S, showing him a clean 4S, after which Yuzu not only succeeds landing a clean 4S of his own, but tacks a 3A on top of it, too. Which they then celebrate together, because it was the result of team work. Maybe wishful thinking, but it doesn't seem that far-fetched, IMO...

I recently did a bit of research and, unless I missed something, GPF13 was the first time Yuzu got over 90 PCS and NHK15 the first time he got over 95. It could be because I only became a fan after GPF16, and I look at everything before that in hindsight, but I don't mind the slow PCS increase for Yuzu as much as I mind the way too speedy PCS increase these days. Yuzu actually worked hard to improve to his current level (and at least in the early days, I think it was good he wasn't overly rewarded, because it cemented what Brian was saying about PCS; if Brian had been talking at TCC about how important skating skills are and how much Yuzu needed to perfect that, but the judges gave him higher and higher PCS scores, it might have been at least a little eyebrow raising, while, like this, the scores seemed to confirm Brian's words and everything was clear). It took him three senior seasons to get over 90 in PCS. Nathan got over 90 in his second season and that's ridiculous, even without looking at the programs, simply because it's hard to believe anyone can get to that level so fast. Shoma I don't even dare look at. And this is not against the skaters, but against the judging. As for the upcoming Worlds, I don't think previous Worlds can be used to make predictions. Yuzu is in a completely different place now than he was in previous seasons. Both physically and mentally. He's accomplished his biggest goals, he is THE top skater and seems to have taken that position very seriously given his results so far, and seems to ooze a comfortable self-confidence that he rarely had before. Which is not to say he can't psych himself out. He's not completely conquered his overthinking issues, IMO, but he does seem to have gained the ability to control it when it matters. We can only begin to imagine how he must have been feeling skating at the Olympics, injured, after so much time off the ice and with all that pressure piled up. And yet he was able to do it calmly - at least he appeared calm, we now know he wasn't that calm during the free lol - and focus on a positive mindframe. I think that might just mean he's learned to control himself in ways he struggled with in the past and there's a good chance we'll see that again at Worlds. But yes, he is human, and you never know. I am actually very curious to see if he'll repeat that. I remember he once said that WC17 H&L happened because he learned this type of control and that he now knows how to get that when he needs it (not in these words, of course), but we didn't see that again until the Olympics. If he does it again at Worlds, I think that would show that indeed, he does have this 'weapon' in his arsenal, too, and it might be the best weapon to have, better than all the quad lutzes and quad flips. (And with Nessie, it'd probably make him truly unbeatable.) I also think he might have had it since WC17, but saw no point in using it in smaller competitions, because they're not that important and making mistakes in them is good for the perfecting process. It remains to be seen, though. Bottom line is, I have no idea if he'll be clean or how clean. I believe the chances of going squeaky clean on both are high. But I know small or not so small mistakes might happen, depending on a lot of things, including mental condition, physical condition, how his rivals do, how judging goes, and, from all of that, how far he'll push himself. Who knows how the FS would have gone at Olys if he'd included the 4Lo, after all. But it was barely there, so a part of me is definitely relieved he didn't feel the need to do it. This year might be different, especially as he's pretty much revealed his strategy from last year, so he might feel the need to push harder, but even before the accident, I saw his struggles with 4Lo first hand and I admit I'll be nervous if he includes it (and I expect he will, if even just as strategy, only to then decide not to jump it). Although those were, at least in Helsinki, due to the ice, he also struggled with it at ACI and IIRC, Rostelecom as well, from the fanvideos. But either way, the parameters are very different, IMO, from previous Worlds, so I doubt we can use them to make any deductions. That said, not being first after the short would definitely fire him up, but, again, I worry about the loop, which would definitely be included in such a situation.