KatjaThera

On Friday, staff actually came down to the first row several times to talk to a fan who I think was Chinese, who had a camera with a HUGE lens. Most of us were filming or taking pictures, but to come with something like that... There was one on Saturday, too. And they even had to warn against using flash once, over the commentary. There are some Japanese ladies that seem a bit scary. I'm pretty sure the ones sitting next to me on Saturday were also Japanese, but I felt no friendly vibes whatsoever and so didn't even try approaching them, although I spoke to a lot of fans (I seem to have become a bit of a celebrity, as several told me they recognized me from the TV interviews I did at the parade... ). So there are fans and fans, regardless of nationality. I'm sure there are nice fans and not nice fans of every denomination. And while I admit there were skaters I was less interested in and would sometimes check my phone, I think to some extent it can't be helped, because there aren't many breaks and many of the few breaks have to be spent lining up for the bathroom. But I still clapped and was happy when others cheered more than I could. There were however a few instances with kids from the rink, who would scream way loud and way too much. Like you cheer and clap when the skater/pair is introduced, but then quiet down as they get ready to get into position, to let them get in the zone. Screaming and shouting their names right up until they assume position is too much, IMO, because it can upset their focus. That happened a few times on Friday, I think, but on Saturday the group of kids was great, and they cheered for each and every one of the guys really loudly, which was great, as many didn't have as many fans to do it for them. In a way, it is a bit of a cringe how completely different in volume the cheers for Yuzu are compared to everyone else, though... but it can't be helped and it's hardly his or his fans' fault that the others don't command as much attention...

I actually said this before, but in my experience, Japanese people are extremely polite and respectful individually. In a crowd, all bets are off, though. I remember I was shocked when I first got on a crowded subway. When it's time to go off, nobody says a word, everyone just pushes and shoves their way out. It's really quite shocking, compared to how polite they usually are. And same thing goes for concerts or things like that. When it's a crowd, things can get crazy. My assumption is that when in a crowd, there's no personal responsibility, so no real reason to hold back. But no real idea. Also, not sure it's true, it's just something I noticed. That noticed, most of the older ladies at ACI seemed really nice and well behaved. I think it was the younger Chinese fans that were the ones pushing, at least on Friday morning. There sure were a lot of them already with seats when I got in, and quite a few stayed overnight - they had sleeping bags and all. But I wasn't that in front, so it could have been others, too.

I agree. I admire people who are strict with their fans. And knowing how good a diplomat he is, I think he'd manage to discipline without seeming too harsh. Actually, the shushing made me re-assess my actions, too lol So I consider myself scolded by the Evil Overlord, too. Personally, the way I hold myself in check is by putting myself in the shoes of whoever it is I'm a fan of. If it were me, how would people doing this make me feel? Few things can make you back off faster than that, IMO. But, I do regret not having faster reaction times. For example, when I was reliving the Friday entrance madness in my head, I was thinking I could have probably helped, too, by calling out in Japanese for people to back off - because they couldn't open the doors. But additionally, in my head, came also a message of "Do you think this would make Yuzu proud?!" That sort of thing never happens in real life, though 😅

Did he defend them? I know that usually he's pretty straightforward about 'disciplining' his fans when necessary. Like the shushing.

I don't have much time before I have to go to work, but I wanted to give my 2 cents to this topic. After having heard on Friday that it was possible to go look at the press conference, I decided to just give it a look. Going downstairs, you could, indeed, see Yuzu talking to the press in the distance, with volunteers keeping a small crowd away. But at that point, everyone was calm and just watching. It was only a few dozen people, just standing around, though more people did come. Several skaters walked by and were greeted, especially Jun and Jason - and Jason was the greatest sweetheart as a few minutes later he was talking to people and taking pictures and hugging and being super friendly - and it would have been nice to see Yuzu walk by, though I had serious doubts it'd work as well. There was no real security, just a few volunteers that would have likely been trampled if fans got crazy. Personally, I would have just liked to say otsukare or omedetou, but keep a respectful distance. I also admit I was ready to start grabbing at people if I felt they were trying to get intrusive. Then, after a few minutes, somehow word got around that he wasn't going out through there - which really made a lot more sense; even with people calm, it did not feel safe at all for him to walk through there - and quite a lot of people rushed outside. I kind of tagged along, but then it was like: you know what, he's obviously avoiding the crowds, so nevermind. And then I saw Jason was still there and hang around a few minutes until he left. While there, I saw Ghislain many times, but only shared a smile. I ran into Vanessa and Morgan as they went to grab some food and drinks and also just smiled and said Hi - because it was weird to pretend I didn't know who they were - and saw lots of other skaters, but I didn't want to bother any of them, so I just left them alone. Satoko walked right in front of me, for example. And even ran into the Pumpkin King at Fortino's and was tempted to ask him to let me take a picture of him with the mountains of pumpkins there, but didn't. Honestly, there were plenty of crazy people. I don't know how much they showed on TV about the craziness of going inside on Friday or how many satellites were there, but it was crazy. I was actually staying a bit behind because there was a lady with a cane and I was really worried she might get knocked over. So I'm not surprised they got intrusive with Yuzu... I honestly expected him to always come and leave secretly. I was really surprised that didn't always happen. But I guess the organizers had no idea just how crazy things could get. It's really a matter of self control, though. When he came out on Thursday, I was right by the skaters entrance and my first thought - really weird, too, because duh? - was that he's just a normal guy. A kid, really. And yet there's all this craziness about him. Of course, then he took to the ice and you could see that ok, he's not just any kid, but every time he came close, I had these two thoughts: one that he really is beautiful, and the other that he's just so normal. But speaking of self control, I was at a concert just before ACI and was front row and there was a small catwalk right next to me, with no barriers whatsoever. The guys in the band were literally next to me and I could have pawed them to my heart's content. But it was instantly: no, they're doing this because they trust us to respect them and not hurt them, so I won't do that. Instead, I held my hands up. If they wanted to initiate contact, great. But I won't just grab at them. (There was a girl next to me that did give one of them a butt squeeze and I was honestly so shocked I didn't get to react, or else I would have stopped her... that was just incredibly rude...) Anyway, on the other hand, I don't think it's fair to put fans who are only into FS because of Yuzu in the same category as the intrusive crazy fangirls. I admit I wouldn't be watching FS if not for Yuzu and don't really watch if he's not in it. But I do respect other skaters and at ACI, I found myself genuinely wishing everyone would do well - even though I was sure a clean Jun would beat Yuzu. Just because Yuzu is my only reason for watching figure skating, it doesn't mean I don't respect the others or that I only support him because of his looks. So there are more nuances to it than just FS fans vs Yuzu fans.

And the records! But why Seimei 1.0? They ran out of pictures? ETA: Just noticed my status... how appropriate

He's actually done 4T-3A-3A and 4T-3A-3A-3A, too... wasn't there even a 4T-3A-3A-3A-3A? I know there was one with lots of 3As we never got footage of, from an ice show...

The result of a hand down on a 4A landing, maybe? ^_^; I know we panic over every mention of an injury, but the ligament of the second joint on his little finger is a bit much... I sprained my middle finger once when it decided to stop a basketball. It hurt and then it got ugly purple, black, green, yellow, but it was fine within days. It's even a bit crazy to me that they felt the need to mention it in an article, that a month and a half ago he - probably - sprained his pinkie...

I was wondering what happened when I woke up to several new pages... the Planet is going crazy Plushies aren't as easy to find in stores here as I expected. Admittedly, I only searched one mall, but found no Poohs and only one little, very psychedelic-looking goat that I refrained from buying for fear of permanently traumatizing some kid. A Nessie I suspect would be even more impossible... but until Helsinki, I should be able to order one online lol I do think it's hilarious though that when someone suggested Yuzu splatting, the biggest concern here was throwing the inappropriate plushies

When it comes to English spoken by Japanese people, I was majorly spoiled by being a fan of Jin Akanishi. Even though his reputation is in tatters now, his English skills are still generally admired (except by a select few lol). He went from barely speaking any English to virtually fluent after spending just 6 months in Los Angeles, by himself, studying English, but also hanging with native speakers. And then he continued improving by interacting with foreigners, to the point that one anecdote from the filming of 47 Ronin is that the director had to ask him to sound more 'Japanese' because his accent was very LA compared to the other Japanese actors (some of which had been acting in Hollywood for years) and it stood out. Watching the movie, in the end, his English still stands out, IMO. It's not perfect - and it clearly gets worse if he doesn't practice - but his pronunciation is some of the best I've ever heard in any Japanese that wasn't raised bilingual. Because of that, I'm sure it's not impossible for anyone to get better English skills, especially not a perfectionist like Yuzu. But it takes a true love of the language and culture and full immersion, and none of those really interest him. To him, English is a tool, so he'll try to learn it, but he's learning because he has to, not because he really wants to, for the sake of knowing a language. That can make a huge difference. Also, as for how they learn English in schools, one thing I always though was a negative influence, was the use of katakana to teach English. It messes up any attempts at gaining correct pronunciation. Beyond that, I agree that it's pretty much the same anywhere. English taught in schools is rarely enough. I took private classes throughout high school and even that wasn't enough, and I continued polishing my skills in time, simply by using it a lot, reading a lot and, very importantly, having people correct my mistakes. However, the consequence is that there are now several more people in the world learning Japanese, thanks to him. So that's a bright side lol I usually hate talking in any language - I'm more into written communication lol - but I actually love speaking Japanese with Japanese people. They always seem to be truly delighted when they see I can speak - even if not correctly - that it just feels good. I'm more nervous speaking with Japanese people I know, and who have expectations of me and my Japanese skills, but with people I don't know, it's great. I always worry about being accidentally impolite, but the warmth of the reactions I get is enough to make that worry go away, pretty much lol (And I just remembered a lady I met over a year ago, I talked to her for probably over an hour, but she was very cool in that she corrected me when I was wrong. I didn't exactly memorize the corrections - we were front row at a concert, waiting for it to start - but I was really thankful for it.)

Yuzu media day coverage will be on Figure Skate TV on BS Fuji, at 11pm. I'm sure Japanese fans will upload it right after it finishes, though

I just stumbled upon this and remembered this thread. The focus is more on menstruation, but it also touches upon eating disorders and I had no idea Akiko had that, too: http://ohlovesosweet.tumblr.com/post/132286077986/figure-skater-suzuki-akiko-speaks-up-note-all I wonder if there are more retired skaters who have spoken up about their experiences with these things that are otherwise taboo...

IIRC, the guy who sharpens his blades in Sendai is Nanami Abe's husband, so he's probably done it for Yuzu ever since he was a kid. It makes sense to keep someone like that. It's also not like he very rarely goes back home. He goes at least twice a year, and probably gets several sets of blades sharpened then. (I'm not sure it's even possible to mail them back and forth, given that they're sharp objects, so I think it's more likely he gets them sharpened when he's there personally?) If it were ever an emergency, I'm sure he'd do them in Canada, but if doing them in Sendai works well, why change it?

AFAIK, Shoma was injured at 2018 Worlds. That he managed even that in the condition he was apparently in, was great IMO (everyone was seriously worried about Japan's spots because of that, though Kazuki majorly saved the day) I object to 2014 Sochi FS as bombed. He had two mistakes and he's had about two mistakes in most performances, after which he picked himself up and continued to finish his program even more strongly. Also, what other Worlds FS did he bomb aside from Boston? (And even that re-watching, I don't find as bad as some people make it sound...) Also, Yuzu found his 2015 Nationals FS to be very poor, but he was so far ahead of the others, it made no difference for the result. I don't actually remember how it went, but for him, it seemed like the beginning of the 'breakdown' that culminated in Boston. Though, of course, he was also injured then, already. If you mean COC, I object to that even more. Anyone calling that program bombing should have to skate his program that day as well as he did. Even without the injuries, I doubt many could. If you mean NHK, there is that, though, like I mentioned Shoma in Worlds 2018, Yuzu was still probably in pain, not to mention emotionally not in the right place at NHK, so not a very surprising result. Though actually, in general, I hate the notion of 'bombing'. There are good days and bad days. Sometimes bad days have extenuating circumstances, which IMO, should not be ignored - like injuries or other issues - and sometimes they're just bad days, like everyone has. 'Bombing' has too negative connotations, especially when what these skaters do on an every day basis is fantastic. Even on their bad days. But if we must use the term, to me, bombing excludes any program that was not given up on and was fought for until the end. And most Yuzu's programs are like that. ETA: Though actually, can we postpone this topic a bit? We're almost at page 4000 and it'd suck to talk about bombing on it Or at least let's hide it under spoilers (I tried, but it didn't work to edit a spoiler in it, so, just for future posts)

That's the same source as before. The text says "New exhibition number", while the voice-over says "New show number". So depending on what they mean, it could be or it could not be. It's not any new clip confirming the information, nor does Yuzu say that it's his ex for next season. Personally, I believe it will be, as it fits in very well with the other programs, but I just want to point out this isn't the confirmation it appears to be, it's not that clear, just in case it's not, so people won't be too disappointed ^_^

Maybe I'm overestimating him, but personally, I don't think Japan pressure can touch him anymore, unless he wants it to. It was never pressure from Japan that pushed him forward, it was the pressure he himself put on himself. If he decides not to go to Beijing, he won't, and I don't think there's anything anyone in Japan can do about it. Since he feels he's fully redeemed himself in Pyeongchang - or it seems he does - I don't think he'll let any pressure like that get to him anymore. He'll just do his own stuff and ignore anything else. Or at least, that's what I hope for him. He'll always be grateful to his country and do his best to help them, but I think he's done skating for others. But I also believe he can do a lot still for FS, in Japan and Worldwide, after retiring, beyond ice shows... but that's a different topic.

I'm not sure how the topic ended up as a discussion of which titles matter more and comparing skaters based on that... I'm pretty sure very few people would argue that Yuzu is the most successful skater of this generation. And even Javi has said that a perfectly clean Yuzu cannot be defeated at this point in time, and he himself surely can't. However, he also knew that if Yuzu wasn't perfect, which was entirely likely, given his difficult content, if he himself did his best, there was a chance to win ahead of him. Which he did, most times the opportunity came. I'm also sure Yuzu would be the last to belittle those victories, because, at the end of the day, the gold medal goes to whoever achieved the highest scores over the SP and FP. Not the one who is known to be the better skater or whatever. Aside from that, though, as we discussed earlier, Javi and Yuzu were likely essential to each other's success. Yuzu went to Toronto because he needed a good image of successful quads to land his and I don't know if there was anyone with a better 4S at that time. Would he have stabilized it even without Javi? Possibly, but much, much slower. I believe one of the options he was given was actually the place Patrick trained in? Does anyone think Patrick would have let Yuzu 'steal' any technique from him? He'd probably make sure they'd never share the ice and Yuzu would still have to manage on his own. And of course, then there's Brian insistence on skating skills, without which who knows if Yuzu would have ever reached the PCS scores he gets now. So, personally, rather than going 'that skater is better, no that skater is better, but that skater has consecutive worlds, but that skater has oly golds etc.etc.', I prefer saying that Yuzu and Javi, together with their TCC team of coaches and choreographers, have dominated a full Olympic cycle - and then some - with 4 GPF Golds, 2 GPF Silvers, 4 Worlds Golds, 2 Worlds Silvers, 1 Worlds Bronze, 6 European Golds, 2 4CC Silvers, 2 Olympic Golds, 1 Olympic Bronze and a total of 12 National Titles. (Though to be fair, a few of Javi 's were before he went to Brian) And I might have forgotten some. But those, IMO, are all titles they each played a role in, some bigger, some smaller, but IMO, all were essential to obtaining them. As for Beijing, Yuzu knows better than to hunger for Gold there. Age has little to do with it, the problem is his injuries and whether they affect him long term or not. (Actually there is an interview from 2012 where Yuzu said he has had an avulsion fracture on his ankle since he was young, but he's been taking care of it. However, since then he's sprained and tortured that ankle lots of times, not to mention the knees... He may be young, but multiple injuries in the same places are unlikely not to have long term effects.) He gunned for Pyeongchang because he had unfinished business since Sochi, and took tremendous risks for it. There's little point in doing the same for Beijing. He's paid his dues - or what he felt were his dues - and now is just going to take it one step at a time, which makes the most sense. Achieving the 4A is possibly the last great risk he'll take in his FS career. Everything else will come on a day by day, season by season basis. If he still feels good and competitive, he'll continue. If not, not. And IMO, that's the best attitude to have, much better than 'he should go to Beijing and truly make history'.

About Javi, rather than saying he had not as high goals, I'd say he didn't really have goals. Both he himself and Brian have said he never thought he could be world champion. He did love winning and I guess, the more he learned from Brian and the better the results came, he probably did think the next step might not be unachievable - first GP podium maybe made the a win not look so impossible, first GP win maybe made more wins seem very possible, maybe even a GPF win and so on. But I wouldn't call those goals. Javi seems to have been more of a 'go along with it, do your best, and see what comes out of it.' That, combined with his generally laid-back attitude makes me wonder if he would have achieved the same success without Yuzu around. Because both coaches and Javi himself have said that seeing Yuzu work hard made him want to work hard, too. It could also be stuff like knowing he had days when he did better than Yuzu made him think he can beat him. Or having Yuzu come up to Toronto to learn from him, but finishing in front of him in their first competition together, might have also fired him up a bit. And so on. But overall, I do think it was that laid-back attitude that helped him - and their friendship - the most. I don't know enough about Patrick to say for sure, but my impression is that what he lacked the most was two feet firmly planted on the ground. One of Yuzu's greatest qualities, IMO, is how grounded he is. Very self-aware, but also very aware of those around him, and definitely not letting praise go to his head. He knows how good he is, he knows how good the others are, but he also know his own weaknesses as well as the others'. Patrick seems like one of those people who ended up believing his own hype and nobody bothered to make him face reality until it was too late. It happens all too often to successful people, in all domains. To me, Yuzu and Javi are an amazing combination precisely because of how they matched each other. If both had been more like Yuzu or more like Javi, I'm not sure their results would have been as great. The only impossible thing I wish had been possible was that they were closer in age, so Javi could have joined the quad fun, too, and not retire just yet. We're about to get Yuzu skating for himself and skating for fun. Imagine if we got Javi doing the same, too. They'd probably not only give us great 'TCC skating lessons' in practice, like in that Oly practice, but they'd probably also both do really great and possibly blow away the quad kids, because with the pressure off, they'd probably perform even better than before. Unfortunately, we'll only get Yuzu's side of that, but that should be awesome enough already!

I'm pretty sure they're Chacott. The only men's wear that looks like that that I can find on their website is this: https://trade.chacott-jp.com/category_product/mens-spats-11008/ Looks about right, I think... (his are probably a bit longer, though. But hey, he can get them in 66 colors! LOL) And I think ballet leggings are tight all around. The fluttering at the bottom would probably get in the way.

They're not really leggings, though, since they flare out at the bottom lol (I prefer them to regular leggings, though...)

The Yuzuvier stuff is a whole other topic and I will never understand those fans. Especially since they don't even realize their comments have the exact opposite effect to the one they surely want, namely more pictures/footage of Yuzu and Javi together. That aside, though, it's more when even media ask him a lot about Yuzu and how it sometimes seems like that's all they care about. Sure, I'd love to hear more stories of their time training together and get to know Yuzu more through the eyes of someone so close to him - for example, in this, I actually liked his answer about Yuzu winning in Beijing a bit more than the Plushenko one; it shows he's far more aware of Yuzu's biggest problem being his physical form, which is only natural with how much he must have seen him fighting injuries - but don't make it mostly about Yuzu. Definitely don't make it all about Yuzu. It really shouldn't be rocket science...

But we know he has worked on it in a harness. Brian said so. He also said the guy holding the harness said he didn't really do anything. So we know from Brian he did it in a harness without any help from the harness. I'd say that means he's probably doing it without harness by now...

You know, as much as I love their friendship, it's really annoying when it seems like the first thing Javi gets asked is something about Yuzu. Like his greatest achievement is being Yuzu's training partner. It's just too much. It makes me feel like I don't even want him to know I'm a Yuzu fan when I meet him in November >_<. He's a really great sport, much greater than I would be in his place. I'd have gotten pretty annoyed by now... As for the Olympic Channel, they are milking it, but they also cover others. They post several things every day, while Yuzu is more or less every week lol (As answer to the SNS question, Javi should have told them he doesn't need it, since they've got it covered for him :P) He doesn't know how to drive or have a license. I think he said that in the same post-Pyeongchang interview where he said he can't ride a bike. Driving isn't as essential in Japan as in the US (and apparently Canada), though. Public transportation is really well developed, so there's little need for it. However, for him, privacy is a big issue, so in Japan he probably needs to be driven around and probably keeps public transportation to a minimum. In Canada, we know he used to ride the subway in the early days. But that could have been before his mother got her license or before they got a car. Now it seems she's the one who drives him around. (And to make it up to Javi a bit He's Yuzu, it wouldn't take him a year if he really enjoyed them and put his mind to it. If he doesn't like it, though... well, we have the English example lol

I was too afraid of pain as a kid to learn to ride... I tried, but never advanced from 4 wheels lol I like to think I know enough swimming theory not to immediately drown, but I'd much rather not test it. I've also never tried skating, but have promised myself I will, if I ever reach my ideal weight. Haven't been making much progress. In a way all this makes me admire Yuzu even more. The way he jumps and the way he gets up after every fall is nearly mindblowing to the me that never dared do much for fear of pain. In the same time, he seems more normal for the things he can't/doesn't know how to do. I love that...

If it's the picture I know, he wasn't really riding. I think he got that as a present and had just gotten on it, but I think even then he said he didn't know how to ride it. I actually don't either, nor do I know how to swim, so I'm feeling pretty special right now LOL