KatjaThera

Actually, I think even the Sochi Oly free fits that pattern. He was leading after the short, under a lot of pressure, and had two mistakes on two of his first three jumps, but he put them behind him and was clean on the rest, even if not at his usual level. And all this at the Olympics. It's like Javi said, a lot of people fail to understand the mental strength it took to win there. (And, to me, that was the biggest difference between Yuzu and Patrick. Patrick started off well in the free, but when the mistakes started coming, it all fell apart and it looked like he simply gave up.) I wouldn't be so sure... He was the reigning national champion, but he'd beaten Takahashi by a small margin. Machida and Kozuka were in top shape as well, so I think not even going to GPF would have been a huge minus for Yuzu. It was after GPF2013 that people REALLY started to take notice, I think. Because not only did he win, but he beat Patrick. And I think it had been a while since anyone had won over Patrick (though I could be wrong about that). And it's hard to say how JP Nationals would have gone if Yuzu hadn't made the GPF.

Yay, fellow F1 fan (even if former lol I'm not nearly as into it now as I was many years ago, either) Now I randomly wonder if Yuzu has any interest in cars... though I guess if he did, he might have been tempted to at least try to get his drivers license, so maybe now...

I really don't want to get into an argument about what's sport and what's not, since it's OT, but I can't agree with that statement. I'm sure a good physical condition helps in golf, with all the standing around and such, but you cannot compare that to the physical condition F1 drivers must have to withstand the G forces they are submitted to while driving an F1 car. Yes, it's motorsport, because the technology plays a huge part in whether you win or not, but the drivers ARE athletes, more so than many others in other sports. F1 isn't just guys - and, hopefully, soon girls, too - out on a stroll in a weird looking car. That being said, I'm happy neither Lewis nor Mercedes won, because they weren't as dominant last year as they were in other years. I guess that to me is what makes the difference: the physical effort required to practice the sport. So, F1 is a sport, FS is a sport, gold maybe less so, snooker, no comment. To give just a few examples. (And I mention snooker because it's often broadcasted on EuroSport) Anyway, back on topic, Yuzu has won much more important awards than this, so it really doesn't matter. And Worlds is definitely more important now!

I think the only way he could get the 3A in the second half would be if he completely redid the SP from scratch. Music cut and everything, because there's just no way to squeeze it in as it is. And even if he somehow managed, he'd have to rush it all even more than in CoR. He was able to get the combo in the second half because it was close to the limit, but the 3A is too far. And also, what @Moria Polonius said. (I wasn't sure about that anymore ^_^; ) Also, I doubt he'll get any real inflation. Yuzu doesn't usually. But ignoring the US nationals, the closest anyone got to his highest score this season was still farther than they were behind him in Pyeongchang, IIRC. I doubt he'll be worrying that much about the SP, to be honest. He knows he can do better than CoR and none of the others have proven to be a truly realistic threat so far. However, this season has proven that SP advantage can vanish very easily, so FS will be the trickier one, IMO.

Sorry, I'll be going OT for a bit, but I had an idea and wanted to put it out there in case anyone has the time or mood to do something about it (since I sadly don't have either of those, nor the means ^_^; ) Given the recent revival of talks about jumps only vs. full package and since I was recently re-watching Yuzu performing old programs sans jumps in CiONTU, it made me wonder what other skaters' programs look like without jumps. Just the program as it is, music as it is, just blur or blacken the image from take off to landing of every jump, removing the spectacular impact of the jump. And maybe also the opposite. The same program with just the jumps, including entry and exit (to better emphasize difficult steps into/out of, if possible), but with music, to see how/if it matches the music. Perhaps also including the scores that were awarded (PCS and spin/step sequence, choreo GOE for the first and GOE for the second). I think it could be really interesting, and perhaps eye opening in some cases. It would however take quite a bit of work and surely cause a lot of arguments, too...

For 4Lo - like for 4Lz, though obviously to a lesser extent - I think it depends on the state of his ankle. While not as stressful to the ankle as 4Lz, 4Lo is more stressful than 4S and 4T. Depending on how healed his ankle is, we may or may not see 4Lo. I suspect Yuzu's strategy going into Worlds will be much like Olys last year. Aim for 4Lo and then only use it if necessary. (However, he had more time to prepare, so I believe 4Lo should be more ready now than it was for Olys.)

Well, to be fair, Helsinki FS was not a great free, especially by Yuzu's standards, so it's actually kind of ridiculous it lasted this long (ridiculous for the other top men skaters, I mean, that they couldn't beat it).ETA: And then, if you remember that Yuzu also got an UR call that was at least questionable - especially when others get overlooked all the time - that makes it even more so. But I also didn't watch Shoma, so no idea how good that was

Is that Sakura Pooh doing a layback Ina Bauer?

I did mention earlier in my post, that this only applies to those posts that don't spread lies or rumors. But I think it also depends on how you define a lie. I don't think what Johnny said is a lie, I think it's an opinion. I don't think any of these things Miki is alleged to have said are a lie either, they're opinions. Lies are claims about who he is or isn't dating, that he wasn't in Sendai when the earthquake happened, that he isn't really injured etc. Also things that imply a bad character in whatever way (Kozuka saying he was reckless to get injured didn't sit well with me, because, even though that is also an opinion, it implies bad things about Yuzu as a person). Those I'm perfectly fine with people being outraged about. Though even those are obviously of varying intensity and, IMO, should be mostly fought with facts, not attacks. It's the stuff that seems to take precedence in the fandom lately that is both a waste of energy, IMO, and, like @4Nessie said, gives fans a bad rep. And we are already looked down upon as it is.

To be completely honest, some parts of the Yuzu fandom have started to resemble KPop or JPop fandoms a little too much for my taste lately. Anyone saying something badly about our fav is an anti or a hater and they get attacked. Even when what they say isn't actually bad. If anyone dares consider someone else is better - in whatever way - than our fav, it's instantly "OMG, how dare they?!?!". Anyone who doesn't like our fav is also an anti or a hater. Any rival who appears to be better appreciated better than our fav ends up being attacked in various ways, even if not directly. And, to be honest, popularity polls, too. "OMG, my fav is in a poll! Must vote a gazillion times a day!!!111" Yuzu is not an idol. So I do wish all of his fans would stop acting like idol fans. (And nothing against idols, btw, I'm a fan of some myself and, to be fair, I think idols work harder and have more difficult lives than a lot of people.) Yuzu is an athlete. His results speak for themselves. A little promotion, or rather 'education' for those who don't know him, is fine. But there has to be a limit to it. Similarly, people are perfectly entitled not to like him or not to think he's the GOAT or to consider X or Y skater is better, prettier, more talented, whatever. As long as they don't spread lies or rumors, it's fine. It also doesn't necessarily make them haters or antis. Similarly, people are perfectly entitled to like both Yuzu and someone else, but like that someone else a bit more or even think that someone else is better. It doesn't make them a hypocrite. Also, people are allowed to change their minds. If someone once said something and some time later, said something else, it could simply be that they changed their minds. For example, I once ended up becoming a fan of an idol I used to hate. It's entirely possible and can happen when one receives more information. (Honestly, I tend to trust a person who will change their minds when faced with good arguments than someone who digs their heels in, come hell or high water.) I know that with him injured and 'hiding' now, there is a tendency to think "poor Yuzu" and want to coddle and protect him from all evil, but he is a grown man and possibly stronger than all of us put together. While he surely appreciates the support, I don't think he really needs fans to defend him this fiercely on the internet. The whole world does not need to worship the ground Yuzu walks in - nor would Yuzu want them to; let's be honest, he'd probably be really freaked out by it - so we should maybe give them a break. (Just for the record, this isn't addressed to anyone here in particular, it's just me getting frustrated by fandom stuff lately.)

I would say it probably depends on the age. Maybe at some point someone told him he could go to more than one Olympics so he thought: "ok, then I'll win two golds" in the way kids do. Later on, yes, the 'plan' was to participate in Sochi, then win in Pyeongchang. I believe it was around the time of Worlds 2012 that he realized winning in Sochi might not be impossible and that's what prompted him to move to Toronto (because with how quickly Javi improved under Brian, he could probably improve fast enough to win, too). But Pyeongchang was always the main one, yes.

I think it's also worth noting that it's possible - if not likely - that, although Johnny has been nice towards Yuzu a lot over the years, it's not really for his personality that Yuzu idolizes him, but for his skating. And those don't necessarily have to be the same. I'm sure as a fan and someone who knows Johnny, Yuzu knows better than us what Johnny is like. It's also not like Johnny is his BFF who betrayed him. It's also not impossible to like Yuzu and still think, for whatever reason, that Nathan is the best thing since sliced bread. While I'm upset myself about it, I do think there's a lot of overreaction, too. It's not even like he said Yuzu's crap. I can imagine Yuzu going: "Oh, yeah? You think Nathan's better? Ok, challenge accepted!" rather than going angsty about it. And anyway, in a way he's right. Yuzu is not very likely to ever get such a score because JSF is neither that into inflation, neither that fond of Yuzu and he virtually never gets candy from International judges either. Of course, scores are only half the story, though and if Johnny honestly wants to believe Nathan is the best, good for him. Doesn't make him right. ETA: My - admittedly, somewhat uninformed, because I don't follow Nathan - impression is that Nathan is about as down to earth and realistic about where he actually stands as the people around him and media and USFS and judges are delusional. Which, hats off to him, seriously, because it's so easy to get caught up in that hype. But I think Nathan knows how much is reality and how much is hype (and I doubt he enjoys the hype, either... he doesn't seem the type to enjoy the spotlight that much... reminds me of Shoma more than Yuzu).

I understand why people are mad at Johnny, but I really hope this doesn't degenerate. What he said wasn't THAT bad, even if it would have been much better if he hadn't mentioned Yuzu at all. It's not like the French commentators who speculated on much worse things and he didn't say anything that isn't essentially persona opinion. Which he's entitled to. I understand we all love Yuzu and want to protect him, but he's a grown man and he can protect himself. He would never condone cyber bullying - and we know Yuzu has plenty of vicious fans, as well - and he's actually already talked about that. About him and Johnny talking about how no matter what Johnny says, he'll get dragged for it. And we know how Yuzu felt about that. And I doubt he feels like that only if the subject isn't himself. Yuzu is the type of person who will even defend the right of someone talking trash about him, because that's the kind of person he is. So, yes, being disappointed and voicing that is natural. But let's not get carried away or resort to personal attacks (as I've already seen it happen on twitter). Even if it's to defend him, it won't make Yuzu happy.

I don't think he'll risk 4Lz until he gets his 4A. That's more important to him right now. After that, if he's still insatiable, he could try to get the 4Lz back, but until he gets 4A, 4Lz is too risky. (I really wouldn't be surprised, if he still feels up to it by some miracle, he'll eventually try a free with all the quads. Just as a . But that sounds more like sci-fi right now. However, if Yuzu loses any title, while clean, due to questionable judging, the outrage will be unlike anything ISU can imagine. Yuzu himself might not pull a Javi, because it's not his style, but his fans will be enraged and given that he is, by far, the most popular figure skater... it would not be pretty. (Just remember that judge at ACI and how furious people were at him.)

I'm not sure, but have any other European Champions trained at TCC? That could be why they don't have them. I wouldn't be surprised if Yuzu & co. will ask for them, especially with Zhenya there as well. They can put up a new board and already fill it up with individual plaques for Javi's titles and hopefully have Zhenya add to it in following years... And I saw a bit of Nathan's SP... the jump combo looked smooth, but with all the arm waving, he looked a bit like he was perpetually trying to find his balance. Admittedly, most of it was probably choreographed ^_^; Still, I can't imagine how anyone could compare that to any sequence of Otonal... But stranger things have happened... In a way, though... for me, Yuzu has already transcended FS. So even if things don't go perfectly and they don't give it to him, it doesn't really matter anymore. We'd all be frustrated, sure, and him more than anyone, but... it really doesn't matter. The truth is - and watching Euros kind of cemented that - Yuzu is already on a completely different level, whether the judges want to admit it or not. The others can try to reach him, but if it happens, it's usually because if moments of humanity and not entirely fair judging. Of course, competitions are won by whomever is best on that given day, so, moments of being human can't be helped and don't take away anything from what was won like that (Javi's championships, for example). But when everyone is clean, Yuzu is still, by far, the best. A gazillion quads might appear to bridge the gap, but that's more of an illusion than reality. That's what I believe, and nothing can change my mind. Now, I just want to see everyone's jaws dropping at 4A Eventually lol

I'm speechless... Only for Javi would he do something like this... Actually film himself - it definitely looks like he filmed it himself, by webcam or phone on a desk or so - reading a message he obviously spent time putting together, in English, and then have it broadcasted on SNS by Olympic Channel, as he doesn't have his own SNS...

The most vicious of the antis do seem to be fans of other skaters. It’s actually quite common for (insecure) die-hard fans to turn vicious against their favorites’ rivals when they feel their favorite is threatened. There are even some Yuzu fans who do that - though not here. But there have been Yuzu fans who attacked Nathan or Shoma or even Javi (the latter especially is mindboggling for me, given their companionship). It’s what people do when they feel threatened, they lash out, only this is through other people. Personally, though, I think anyone who ever goes to a skating competition gets over that mindframe - or if they don’t, they might have other issues. I can’t imagine how any regular person could watch skaters right in front of them and not want them to do well. It happened to me in ACI - where a good skate for Jun seemed to mean Yuzu would lose the win - and it happened in Helsinki - where good skates from Boyang or Mikhail could have posed a threat to Yuzu. Despite that, I wanted everyone to do well (a lot more so than I ever did watching on TV). However, beyond the jealous and insecure fans, I believe there are other things that can fuel the antis and make some non-skating fans not fond of him as well, unrelated to skating. One thing is the apparent “too good to be true” factor, like @rockstaryuzu said. Another thing is Yuzu’s very un-Japanese habit of honestly stating some things, that can be interpreted as arrogant. For example, there is a video from after the first re-opening of Ice Rink Sendai when Shizuka went and held a class there and then the TV guy interviewed Yuzu and asked him how it was and he said “It made him feel like he could win Olympic Gold” and then he was asked “Can you?” and Yuzu said “I probably can.” That would probably seem arrogant to some, but we, as fans, know he doesn’t say these things because he thinks he’s God’s gift to figure skating, but because he is determined to work hard for it and stating the goals helps him with that. Similarly, his explaining why he decided 4Lo wasn’t necessary at Olys after all, can also come across as arrogant to the casual viewer, but we know it simply means he is very aware of his own ability and the others’ abilities and it’s not like he thought he could just glide around and still win. He concluded he could ditch 4Lo and win, IF he did the other jumps cleanly. So he still put pressure on himself. And lastly, his bratty behaviour can also be turned against him, because, I believe, in Japan, it’s far more common to be completely subordinate towards your sempai, let alone coaches. That said, he clearly only does it with those he is close to and that he knows can take a joke (even if Tatsuki played at getting mad over it at times; or I hope he just played at it ^_^; ). I can’t imagine him being that bratty towards Daisuke, for example, as they’re not that close. So, some might think that’s rude behavior. (I actually believe antis have attacked him for teasing other skaters before, and they weren’t even sempai.) So, I can see where some people could find their ammunition. Funnily enough, if you’ll notice, the first of these things - too good to be true - and the following ones contradict each other some lol To me, all are great parts of who Yuzu is as a person, though, and it’s only people who look at him in a very shallow way that could see these as negative aspects (because that way they don’t realize what they actually are). As for friendliness between skaters, it could be idealistic, but I like to believe that “skating family” isn’t just a pretty PR-like term and that most skaters really are like a family. And that most rivalries are more along the lines of sibling rivalries. And that the truly vicious rivalries are few and far in between. At the end of the day, skaters spend a lot of time together and few people outside of skating can truly understand the efforts they put into it, the pains they go through and other less physical struggles. And, at the end of the day, like Javi has said many times, they each compete alone - well, pairs and ice dance compete by two, but as a pair they’re still alone - and they compete against a score, more than against a rival. I think that does make a lot of difference.

More than just the picture or seeing the Dodds brothers at ACI and finding myself cheering for them quite a lot, the reason I signed that petition is that, as a Yuzu fan, I could do nothing to help when Yuzu's rink was closed down, because I didn't know him then and it was Japan and not that big news, but this now is a chance to try to prevent other skaters, both already seniors and probably many possible up and coming ones, from going through the same thing Yuzu did when his rink was first closed. Only it's actually even worse, because even without knowing much, I can't imagine Australia is that FS friendly, or that commuting to another rink - like Yuzu did the second time his rink was closed, after the earthquake - would be as possible. So, while I'm usually not into petitions, I do support this and I think it'd be a big win for the skating world as a whole, if it worked. (I also think this is one thing that, if Yuzu hears about it, he'll wish he had SNS to help promote it, as it's something he can probably relate to a lot.) So, I really hope a lot of Yuzu fans from all over the world will show support, too! Btw, there was a video shared recently, from after Sochi, documenting the closing of Ice Rink Sendai and the efforts it took to re-open it. I admit, watching this recently played a big part in my wanting to try to help now (under spoilers, as it's unlisted):

I don't think 3A is suffering from 4A. He jumped some drop dead gorgeous 3As in practice (including the first one I saw in person in ACI which left me like this, literally ). I also don't think you should look at points. Yuzu is always underscored, unless he's perfect - and sometimes even then. I wouldn't say he hasn't done any perfect 3As this season either, though I guess other more technically savvy fans might disagree. But Yuzu tends to make mistakes when he relaxes too much and he tends to relax on his best jumps. To me, that's why the mistakes happen on 3A and 4T. He stresses about 4Lo or 4S and does those over and over again, with more or less success. Then he nails them in competition, so he relaxes a bit, because 3A and 4T are easy for him. So he makes mistakes. It's something I'm very familiar with, because I used to do that in school, a lot. I'd do difficult exercises perfectly, then make mistakes on easy ones, because I focused less, knowing they were easy. I'm pretty sure that's Yuzu's problem, too. But he can control it, most of the time, when it's imperative to do so. And my last argument for why I don't think his 3A is suffering from 4A is because I think he's been more or less seriously working on 4A for a long time. Longer than just this season. Just watched an interview from after Worlds 2014 (courtesy of Hanyu Museum), where he pretty much confirms he's tried 4A and can rotate it about 75%. And since I doubt he had time to play around it right before Sochi, that must have been some time before that. So he's had over 4 years to think about and play with it (of course, not constantly, due to the various injuries, but still). In this case, it also makes a bit more sense, that he wants to succeed with it by the end of this year...

I agree that Origin was created with 4A in mind. He obviously wanted to do it this season, but the injury set him back. In fact, in that interview, he seemed much surer about wanting 4A than he did about 4T-3A (that was "I want to do it, but..."). Probably, that was less because of technical issues - we know he can do it - and more because of the sequence thing. I also tend to doubt other skaters couldn't do it, it's just not worth it. It was probably his wanting to do cool stuff at war with his wanting to maximize points. But 4A was definitely in plan, IMO. On the other hand, I also agree that he might not want to end his career with tribute programs... Origin is also a lot of himself, though, so it'd make sense... maybe. I'd also be greatly in favor of LGC return. I think it's the only program he has serious unfinished business with. But if he doesn't want to end it without new programs... then maybe another season? To fully perfect 4A? and maybe do some more crazy stuff? But then that's just one more season to the Olympics lol Well, I'm sure he'll take it one step at a time and we'll see. I do wonder just how far along has he been with 4A if he's aiming for clean with 4A over just one season. It usually took him longer to stabilize a new quad and this is 4A. 4Lo did behave eventually, but since last year it went unstable again and now it's kind of on and off (in practice, I mean, though some of those might have been ice condition). 4Lz never got the chance and 4S took a long time. 4T I think also had moments of brilliance as well as moments where it went AWOL. So, if he seriously thinks he can do clean, 4A performances by Finals and Nationals next season, I think 4A has to be much further along than a lot of people think... (Also, he didn't say anything about Worlds next season... it might be the only competition I could realistically attend, so I was paying close attention... ) But going back to the programs, at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what we think or want and it also doesn't matter what the judges think or want. Yuzu will do what Yuzu thinks is best. And 99% of the time, he's right, so... *shrugs* But as long as he's happy and satisfied with his choices, nothing else matters. About Origin itself, it still confuses me a bit at times, if I try to think about it. If I just enjoy it, without thinking too much, it's amazing. Live, it's stunning. And I don't know if I'd call it problematic. Seeing Helsinki Origin live, I thought it was mind blowing. Seeing it on video afterwards, it was: "Wow... that's actually a lot of mistakes..." lol And still, it's the best free program score so far. With quite a few big mistakes, still the best score. Admittedly, not by much. But a perfect Origin will probably make a big impact. Remember, the judges - and actually quite a few fans, too, at first - didn't like H&L either, and, despite underscoring, that's still in the history books now, as the best free program score under the previous system. So, as far as that stuff goes, I'll just trust Yuzu to know better. Everything else is just a matter of taste, IMO.

Let's maybe not repost it anymore? Or at least 'spoiler' it? To respect Yuzu and Javi's privacy... (and especially if the source deleted it, they were clearly advised against reposting it).

It's a fan account that compiles stuff regarding all Brian's students. I think there are a few official TCC accounts, but they rarely post stuff about the athletes. And in the comments, it says the source already deleted the video. It was probably someone who took a video and shared it, before they were informed they shouldn't, so they deleted it. But fans already got it and re-posted it. Honestly, the respectful thing would be to delete it, since the original source deleted it. We saw it, we rejoiced, now it should disappear again...

I'm sure it's new. I'm so conflicted about this... on one side it's so great to see them training together, just the two of them, it's great to see Yuzu apparently back in top shape - remembering that other leaked video, where he was oh so carefully gliding along, this is mega progress! But on the other side, I do wish people wouldn't post these and respect the TCC privacy rules... Then again, it's just training and will probably make Yuzu's rivals shake in their boots, so... not that bad