KatjaThera

Not very low: That was actually right behind Brian for a big part of CoR lol

I think there are some exaggerations made around here on various topics. Regarding Phil's article, as I've said and someone also pointed out, the way a question is asked can change the way the answer is given. If Brian was asked directly whether he asked for Yuzu's permission to get all the other skaters, obviously, he'd say: "No, not really." Because at the end of the day, Yuzu calling the shots at TCC is bad for Brian and TCC's image. The flippant way he put it might also be strategy, because it's good if people underestimate how much input Yuzu actually has. It might also be the truth. As we know, even when he mentioned Yuzu wanting to come to TCC to Javi, Javi didn't react much. It might have been the same here. At the end of the day, only Yuzu and Brian know. But it doesn't need inventing quotes to give true quotes a different feel than they were meant to have. People also seem to exaggerate the Yuzu and Javi trained separately at the end part. They trained separately two days a week. The rest of the time, they were together. That's really not as huge a deal as it seems. Javi was there and saw Yuzu struggle while he was recovering his jumps. TCC also prides itself on its sense of community. Which means the skaters and their immediately close staff are part of the community. They support and respect each other. If anyone were to leak private information on other skaters, it'd definitely be a big issue. They have strict rules there and I'm pretty sure they have ways to enforce them. They also say that before there are individual country teams, there is Team Cricket. That said, I'm sure the team knows very well how some things are best kept secret and I suspect will have ways to ensure that. Of course much of that could be just PR talk. I know there are also people out there saying bad stuff about Brian, Tracy and TCC (though admittedly I didn't find the actual stuff, just vague hints). On the other hand, I'm not sure Yuzu will continue being as secretive - or if so, for little other reason than the fun of it - so I think it'll be fine either way. As for the previous talk of Yuzu and Brian's relationship, I wonder and worry about it at times, too. It does seem, rather too often for comfort that Brian doesn't really know or understand Yuzu. However I agree with a previous post that said Yuzu's relationship with Brian is less fatherly and more professional. I'm not at all sure, but I think in Japanese society, parents are parents and coaches/teacher are in their own category. Still very important and influential in the way they bring up a child, but not necessarily as emotionally close. Or close just in the areas that are directly related. Brian may not know Yuzu as a person very well. May not know his favorite food, his favorite music, his favorite game or even what he studies too closely (although I hope Yuzu has shared some stuff with him, because it's really interesting how he seeks to apply it to his skating). But I think he knows Yuzu the skater very well. Including what makes him click and what not. So, as far as skating, I think they're close and more than that, anything like the closeness between Brian and Javi may have never even occurred to Yuzu. I don't think he was ever really close like that to Nanami-sensei either. So I actually wouldn't be entirely surprised if the Boyang approach was actually meant to light a fire under Yuzu a bit. And the 'see his reaction' was more to see how motivated or not the move would make him. We'll see either way. I also wouldn't take the 'star wars' comment too seriously. It obviously means that they'll probably alternate things to give them breaks from each other and anyway they'll first have to test various combinations to see what works best. For example, Yuzu might feel fired up for quads when training with Boyang, or fired up for spins/steps when training with Jason. He might also feel more tense or relaxed depending who he's sharing the ice with and either of those can be good depending on the day, the schedule etc. Jason might like being on the ice when Yuzu and maybe younger guys do quads, to try to learn, or he might feel better when they're not around, not to feel the pressure. Different people, different personalities, can influence each other in different ways. So, they'll try stuff out. It's also natural they won't always all train together. At TCC, skaters get individual, customized training schedules. They train a different number of days per week (Yuzu, for example, according to Brian's book, does cycles of 1 day off, followed by 3 days of training. Javi had 5 days training, Saturday off (no idea about Sunday, actually.) So how they meet, when they meet, who they meet with will also depend on what kind of schedule they'll have and it's too early to know that.

Oh for sure. I just meant that after Nationals he might stay home longer than in the past two years, when he'd become more aware that training in Toronto was better than training alone in Sendai. He could maybe stay in Japan a week or two into January as well. But who knows, really. There's also the crazy option of Yuzu staying in Japan until Worlds, but even post-Olympics, that sounds scary. Yuzu training alone is still scary... (Javi also has an ice show on Dec. 29th in Madrid, so his training will be weird anyway... I guess he could go to Toronto after Malaga, train until right before Madrid, go back for that, then go back to Toronto for a final spurt of training before Europeans... But I think his decision whether to try for Europeans or not will also depend on the rules and how they work.)

They'll find room for him. Just for Europeans, he might train mostly while the others are doing Nationals. And after Nationals, some might stay home a bit longer (thinking of Yuzu, mostly, if he's really not that fired up anymore; wouldn't be the first time, either), so there'd be more time. But either way, they'll find room for him, somehow. I'm more curious about his approach if the new rules get approved. But that's OT here.

I think Yuzu would always get the main rink, but not because of seniority or results, but because of security. Yuzu is the only skater for whom security is a real issue and I doubt there's any other rink as secure as TCC's. (I think it's likely Evgenia will also mostly use the main rink, to shield her from media and rumors as well.)

With everything that happened, honestly only one reason comes to mind. And that is the shipping issue, which is something Yuzu is obviously sensitive to. However, I don't think Brian ever said he asked for Yuzu's permission, just that he talked to him about it> Answers to questions depend a lot on the question asked and other posters have a good point about taking the author into consideration. It's an article with selective quotes, not a Q&A (and even those aren't always accurate). I honestly don't think Yuzu needs a gentle approach. To me, he's definitely someone who would thrive even next to a rival he's not happy to have near. He'd feed on the competition and grow stronger. It might not be good for him from health points of view and it'd definitely be bad for Brian's hairline, but I have little doubt Yuzu would do very well even with an unwanted rival. That said, he doesn't dislike Boyang so there's no reason to assume he'd object. I also think Brian should know him better than we do by now, so I choose to trust Brian knows what he's doing. We'll see if that's true or not, but getting upset about it now is definitely not good for anyone. *imagines Yuzu reading the forum and headdesking; last week we were angsting over ISU and he had to go all out at FaOI to lift our spirits; now we're angsting over Brian and Boyang and Jason and he has to find ways to lift our spirits again over the weekend A space kitten overlord's job is never finished *

I think the different approach is for a different reason. From Brian's own words, even with Javi, he didn't outright ask him. He told him Yuzu wanted to come and asked what he thought. And Javi was like fine, but not giving much of a reaction, either. But Javi's past experience with Morozov probably weighed a lot in Brian's approach. On the other hand Yuzu is confident and a two times Olympic Champion. He doesn't really need a gentle approach, but Brian still tested for a reaction, just in case. The only potential mistake, however, is automatically interpreting a non-reaction from Yuzu as him not having problems with it. It's nice he trusts Yuzu by now to tell him if he has a problem, but I'm not sure it's a given. Even if he had a problem with it, Yuzu might think it's not his place to tell Brian who to bring or not, so wouldn't speak up either way. Only time will tell, though.

On top of what people have said there were other complications, because Javi was also hurt and Brian had to deal with both of them in really bad states. Yuzu being Yuzu I think hid most of his issues , so Brian focused more on Javi, who he could clearly see needed help (and I think there were a lot of people then that concluded Brian couldn't handle both and be fair to both at the same time). Javi got medical help and was able to recover enough to be clean and win - probably also because by then he had relaxed and wasn't stressed anymore. On the other hand, on top of everything else said, Yuzu had the expectations of his World Records and tons of pressure. In interviews after, Yuzu said something that in the lead-up to Boston - I think Javi increased his technical content, adding an additional quad after GPF - was the first time that he found Javi's existence (as a skater, of course) scary. Losing in Boston was a lot worse to losing in Shanghai it seemed and there seems to have been tension all around. With Javi, but also with the coaching team. Boston was a real disaster, but they sorted it out in the following season, when they sat down and started really communicating. So I think in its own way, it was a very important lesson. It was also following that that they decided to always have more than one coach for the big events, so Tracy was there at Worlds '17 and both Tracy and Ghislain were there at Olys. That way they could ensure someone could be with each skater at all times. As for the injury, the full extent of it was only revealed months later, in this interview: https://yuzusorbet.tumblr.com/post/152938849872/ice-jewels-vol4-special-interview-before-start-of I think Brian knew, but not how bad it was. Or he thought it had healed after the post-Nationals treatment. I'll have to check his book again.

I honestly don't think it will be lack of motivation that will prompt him to retire when he does. But we'll see... But I'm pretty sure even after that he'll give us plenty to enjoy! I think his training has been more quality than quantity for a while now. Ever since he went to Canada and they had to find ways to deal with his asthma and related stamina issues, but again, perhaps even more so, after Boston, I think. And of course, for Pyeongchang as well. It's no longer about jumping a gazillion quads per session like in his early senior days, and more about jumping few quads with high quality (IMO, that's the better idea anyway. Better to get it right when it matters, than to get it right eventually.) The skating parts I think are the same as everyone else, though, since stroking seems to be a team thing at TCC? And then there are runthroughs that are very important at TCC, too, and which I think play the biggest part in stamina training now. But I think even Javi said they don't train that many hours a day on the ice. And only throughout the week, I think weekends are free. So that could just be the way TCC does things ( though I also understand each skater has his/her own personalized schedule, so there could be differences between them). I wish we knew more about how they do things, but I guess they can't give away all their secrets

I joked in the general thread that maybe they took on Jason - especially with Tracy insisting - to balance out the quad fever at TCC, but maybe that's actually not entirely untrue. Even though for Boyang the focus will be on developing his skating skills, quads are still going to be high profile, so maybe Tracy wanted someone to both balance it out and possibly be able to gain from it. I don't think the number of skaters is a problem. It's just three of them after all and sadly, Jason isn't really top tier. Also, it seems Javi Raya has left and Sonia also seems to have left to focus on studies already last year and I think it's unlikely she'll go back. It's true they weren't top skaters, but still. I'm also pretty sure Gabby is staying, because she commented on a Jason instagram post, with "I can't wait for you to get here!" or so. Either way, I'm sure Brian and Tracy have it all thought out. I don't know if tensions between Boyang, Jun and Stephen will happen or will be easily resolved. I don't think Jason will be a problem, because I don't think he has the same ambitions. If anything, he'll be the Javi in this (though an even more mellow version). For the other three, they could each think they're good enough and the others won't be a threat. Or, for Jun and Stephen, they might have seen Yuzu and Javi and think they can do that, too. I don't know and it remains to be seen. I'm sure they all ok-ed for now and whether it'll work or not, we'll see. Like someone pointed out on twitter, not everyone works well with TCC, so anything could happen. Yuzu is on an entirely different level and they all know this. They might all want to learn from him, but I think Yuzu is beyond needing a rival to push him forward. (As much as I love Javi, he hadn't really been doing that since 2016-2017 anyway.) Seeing Boyang's Lutz up close might be good, but it might also be bad, depending on the condition of his ankle. (If he has to give it up completely, seeing it will probably get frustrating after a while...) Losing to them would probably annoy him even more than losing to Javi did, but an annoyed Yuzu is a powerful Yuzu, so... who knows. But from this, I honestly don't expect Yuzu to last till Beijing. I think his ankles/knees - especially that right ankle that he's sprained and re-sprained so many times - might already have permanent damage - the kind that make competing at top level for much longer very difficult, not the kind that affects daily lives or even an ice show career. Sorry to be pessimistic, but the way he always says "just a little bit more" makes me feel he knows something and something not good like that. So I think his plan is only for another season or two and then re-analyze. If his condition doesn't get worse, he might continue more, but for now, I don't think he plans for more than that. He might push himself to get the 4A, and then that's it. But we'll see. (I honestly hope I'm wrong, because I know Yuzu loves to compete and like someone said - sorry I couldn't keep track of everyone - I'm not sure just doing ice shows would be enough to keep him truly satisfied. Or else, he'll probably do a million shows a year, just to keep busy...) Still, the Yuzu situation would mean Brian needs backup plans. Brian said after Yuna left and Adam left, they were really worried. And one reason why he immediately accepted going to Japan to see what JSF wanted was because they needed a skater from a big federation. If Yuzu and Javi had both left and he hadn't gotten anyone else, they might have ended up in the same situation. So I don't think it's surprising he jumped at the chances of getting virtually every big skating federation in TCC. But don't get me wrong, like bringing Yuzu only after Javi ok-ed it, they would never get federations at the cost of the skaters, because that's just a recipe for disaster. They're too smart for that, I think. I mean, bad relationships with skaters or among skaters is bad reputation and who wants that? I'm pretty sure they'll find a way. Maybe Yuzu and Javi will start doing coaching internships and help out Unlikely, I know lol But it is one of Brian's dreams, so... *fingers crossed* I'm also pretty sure that aside from the top skaters, Brian & co also train many amateurs and lower level skaters and adult skaters. I'm pretty sure 3 new skaters when 2 have already left and one will only do an event or two, isn't THAT big a deal for them. There are some 20 coaches at TCC, after all... I do hope Brian doesn't give Yuzu to Ghislain completely, though (I'm thinking of Japanese Nationals...). NHK was mostly Yuzu's own fault for pushing himself too much, but I always wondered if Brian, who is perhaps more familiar with Yuzu's stubbornness, especially in competition mode, might not have realized it and prevented him from doing it in a way Ghislain wasn't able to. You know, it's like kids with their parents. There's usually one parent the kids are more likely to obey. With Yuzu, I think that's Brian. With Ghislain and Tracy, I think he's more likely to rebel and fall back on his old habits. That's why I generally feel safer when Brian is there. But then again, if he's changing his attitude, that might not be necessary anymore. Again, we'll see...

I think not using Yuzu's pictures may have something to do with the complicated and strict copyright laws in Japan. So rather than try to find a way to make it work, they just went the art way. In a way it also fits the theme of the article, though, with the focus on fans and his star status. As for Jason to TCC, I wonder if that's meant to balance out the quad boys lol With Yuzu, Boyang and Stephen, TCC will be Quad Central. I think Jun is also starting to train quads, so getting someone like Jason in balances things out. On the other hand, if he's ever going to really get quads, there's no better place for him to get them than TCC. Aside from great coaches, he'll have Yuzu and probably Boyang, too, giving tips and helping out. Ah, I almost wish they made a TCC Reality Show to see all that awesomeness lol (Almost. TCC privacy is far more important, but I'm sure the atmosphere will be awesome.)

I don't disagree with that, but the way you worded it wasn't ideal. Javi has spoken about FS being seen as a girly sport and has been very clear that there's no such thing. And yes, maintaining his manly image I'm sure does make a difference. Sadly. But your wording rubbed me the wrong way, though I was sure you didn't mean it like that. I'm glad to have that confirmed. As for Yuzu's fans, I'm not sure it's only surface fans who do this. I think there might be others who are really into him but just don't realize how intrusive their behavior is. It can be hard to draw the line sometimes, but a lot of people don't try to put themselves in others' shoes. And that makes all the difference. On top of Yuzu never really aiming for stardom, but athletic success. (Then again, he's also said he likes people watching him, but a lot of people don't get that that's just on ice.)

While I agree with pretty much everything else you've said, I don't see what being/not being gay has to do with figure skating being/not being a manly sport. That's mixing things up. Also people need to get over gay stereotypes and manly/womanly issues, but that's a different topic again. I'd rather hope Javi tries to teach Spanish boys that figure skating is a sport and there's no such thing as manly/womanly sports (and I think that's pretty much what he's said, too). The stuff around Yuzu has gotten ridiculous, though. I can't believe how much lack of common sense and any trace of shame there is among fans... I don't even understand how those people can call themselves fans.

Seems they're doing a quiz now. Yuzu got the first question right - something about a Dick Button tweet? - but the second one wrong and was very kuyashii lol ETA: seems he styles his hair himself sources: https://twitter.com/MakominaBaby/ & https://twitter.com/boo_0224/

Am I the only one snickering at the "properly" in that?

Hmmm... what if he skips media day this year? lol

Thank you! Because of Thanks to you, I'll be watching Finding Dory tonight (though I actually love the movies lol) I wonder how many of us will react differently when we see it in motion properly on Monday... (but it does make one worry a bit about next season's costumes :P)

Actually, Javi's vest in the Finale was red... >_> That is beautiful...

Now I imagined him skating to "Just keep swimming..."

I think it might have been a lie Yuzu had to tell himself, as well. Also, it's a lot harder to fight something when everyone around you is all omg, omg. The fewer people know, the easier it is to remain calm, I think. If that makes sense. Imagine if it was publicly known, fans would worry, press would ask about it all the time, even other skaters and coaches and staff would watch him closely, either freaking out or just curious, but it'd get extra negative attention and make it harder for him to fight it.

Ah, I think today is that docudrama broadcast. So maybe it's related to that. (I forgot what time it is)

I would guess the reason why the author didn't go into the skating aspect might be because she doesn't know much about skating. With him being the only skater in the list, it's quite possible it's not their domain and it's a lot easier to learn about those kinds of things in a short time than it is to learn about the skating aspect. That said, I've mentioned liking his skating and his flow on the ice and such even to Japanese media and as far as I know, they never showed/published that. So meh. As for Pooh... I agree it's a bit annoying, but I think fans have themselves to blame, as well. You can't cover the ice in Winnie the Poohs and expect the casual viewer not to go WTF? about it. (I also personally think it's gone a bit too far and I think Yuzu probably cares a lot less about Pooh now than some of his fans do... as in, it's nice to continue with a good pattern, but I doubt he has that much emotional attachment to it by now. Though that's just what I think and I have no proof to back it up.) It's obviously a cute laitmotif and it's fun to play up to it, but I doubt he'd be heartbroken if fans started throwing other stuff on the ice. (Though Poohs are nice for donating to sick and/or poor children, so...) For the article, I actually hate the ending. I get what she meant - fans waited for hours, but seeing him, that was just a moment - but it sounds wrong to me, worded like that.

I absolutely hate guessing, but after going through these posts, I felt like expressing some... opinions lol For the SP, I expect him to continue with Jeff and lean towards something more upbeat, or at least very dynamic and full of energy. (I also still have a half-serious dream of a Bolero remake, though Yuzu in a costume like that again would be a mass murder weapon, I think...) (Oh and I loved that white shirt and tie idea... as long as the die is either partly undone or the knot is by someone else :P) For the LP, I'd love something dark, but in a way, that fits the POTO pattern too well and I'm not sure he'll want that. Something Japanese would also make sense, but he might also want to experiment and surprise. So it's hard to say. Shae will probably be here to stay. Since she lets him get away with all his crazy ideas lol One thing I tend to believe is that for both SP and LP, he's likely to do songs that have never been done before and maybe try to push the boundaries of FS. He's said, about Seimei, he wanted to skate to something no one has done before and I think that might be one of his goals from now on. (On the other hand, he could also want to take warhorses and own them lol) For EX, I'd love LGC, but I wouldn't be surprised by a medley of programs, or different medleys, by themes (Japanese theme, warhorse theme, classical theme etc.). I'd love something where he can just go out and have fun, though. Choreo... anyone's guess. I'd love it if he tried something himself. I think by now he might have enough experience to pull it off - and we know he's 'arranged' his own programs before.

Phew... lol I actually got interviewed by them at the parade (and exchanged e-mails with the reporter, because he said he wanted to stay in touch, in case there'll be another parade in four years lol) so I was afraid I'd see myself in this . I'm happy they continue doing coverage of this, though. And uploading on youtube!

Leaving aside that he didn't say he wanted to die and the Japanese terms he used are both more vague and more 'shocking', because that's a discussion about Japanese language nuances and does require interpretation that is best avoided, that was never the argument. The argument was you insisting on why he said that when he did - and I'm quite sure he never said "And I'm saying this now because it's live and no one can shut me up." - and how he did it to escape censorship and the evil censors still censored him as soon as they could. That was the argument. But this has gone on long enough and it's obvious we won't get anywhere with it, so I'm done. I think I've played really nice until now? I've tried to be understanding and sympathetic towards other points of view, while arguing my own, but I'm done wasting energy on it. Now, for fun, I'm not sure this has been shared here? My picture of a page in Number Pyeongchang special magazine. I honestly bought the magazine just for this lol. Sorry about the quality, my phone would only cooperate this much.