micaelis

He must have been sweating up a storm in those!

I'm not saying that every male pair or dance skater is a skyscraper but generally those who excel most are fairly tall. In ballet the same applies. Most premier danseurs are tall, but Mikhail Baryshnikov is about Yuzu's height, so exceptions are to be found. Baryshnikov is more heavily built than Yuzu so that can explain how he managed to excel in his career. The thing is that those athletic sports that involve a great deal of movement in the air (gymnastics, diving, figure skating) are bound by simple laws of physics where shortness is an asset. As far as I understand it has to do with center of gravity issues when airborne. I'm sure that Yuzu's upper body strength is probably greater than might be found in most males with his height and build but the core of Yuzu's strength training I see as concentrating on his legs which is where the most critical issues lie. The crucial issue for Yuzu's upper body is flexibility. Yuzu's flexibility is well-nigh legendary by now, witnessed by the obligatory Bielmann and Doughnut in his programs, which have garnered him many PCS points and GOEs over the years. The Bielmann he's been doing since his Novice days, which means he's been exploiting his flexibility since Day One.

Excuse-me Yuzu has strength in his legs and, from the one glimpse we've had of him shirtless, a reasonably defined torso but he's no Arnold Schwarzenegger. The same rule applies in figure-skating as applies in ballet - the men have to be big and tall and the ladies short and petite. Those women are subject to the same laws-of-gravity as the rest of us and it's not simply a matter of lifting them off the ice but also maneuvering them while off the ice. Yuzu's strength is where it counts, primarily in the legs. I'm sure he can lift a fairly hefty load but I doubt he can manipulate it while holding it aloft. Also he's only 5'8", a great height for a skater, a diver, or a gymnast but hardly sufficient for a pairs or dance skater. You have to have altitude to keep the ladies from scraping the ice when handling them at low altitudes.

It's meant as a joke.

I'm talking about romantic partner not figure-skating. Yuzu is much too small to be a skating partner and you need to have real upper body strength. There's a reason all the pairs and dance men are big and strong. You have to have upper-body strength to throw those ladies around like they do and you have to have height to lift those ladies off the ice.

I've just been trying to catch up on this thread and came across a post in which Yuzu is fake-pictured with Misha and Evgenia and I began wondering what the reaction would be if Yuzu and Evgenia paired up, the world's number one lady's and men's skaters. The Japanese media would go bonkers and I think even the insular American media would take notice (People magazine cover?). It would be the biggest figure-skating story since the Tonya Harding fiasco. I know that is not likely to happen but a bit of fantasizing is not inappropriate when the top topic of late has been FANTASY on Ice. PS - Alexander Plushenko is so totally adorable!! Is that gold medal he's wearing prophetic?

I really hope he skates super-super safe.

As an American in his early 70s I can say 'Amen' to that. I've seen so much over the decades and saw its growth while I was working on my doctorate and teaching English at the university here. Political correctness is rampant amongst the media and academic elites here, as also in Europe. Witness the travesty of Bob Dylan being awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, or Barack Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize when he'd barely begun his first term. I put very little stock in those lists, particularly, as was pointed out, when the lists are less about actual achievement and more about how good and how much the press has been about a person. Adam Rippon made the list because he's American and he's fashionable. As a skater he's good but I would not put him up with the elite if you mean by the elite someone who has a reasonable chance of being on the podium in any competition he's in. Nor has Adam had any effect on skating. His avoidance of the big jumps is less an aesthetically-based aversion to them (the reason he's given) than a probable inability to do them. So ignore those. Yuzu doesn't need to be on those lists.

Actually I was only thinking of the 4A. I don't think Yuzu will be seriously looking at quints until the ISU assigns some base values (has it? the last I knew they hadn't), and I'm fairly sure they are in no hurry to do it, not until they've dealt with the ill effects of quad-mania. In fact I would not be surprised if the ISU bans quints, deciding they are too dangerous. With the mounting evidence that the excess of jumping is taking a physical toll on the skaters, just as the mounting evidence of frequent brain concussions is taking a physical toll on former American football players, I would not be surprised if the ISU will decide to take some proactive action there. As for the quint being just a half-rotation over the 4A I know that is rather simplifying the situation since the reality is that a quint is another FULL rotation of its quad version. Actually I think the quint challenge is likely to be one for the next generation of skaters (if the ISU permits them), those who are currently competing on the junior circuit. Also, referring to my observation that Yuzu started years ago working on the 4A, I did not mean he was doing it in a systematic way. I think up until recently he was simply playing around, doing some experimentation, trying to get a feel for the actual challenges the jump would require. More important at the time was his determination to add additional types of quads to his tool-chest. With Yuzu's declaration that he's going after the 4A I think we will now be seeing a figure-skating version of the US USSR race to the moon of the 1960s. In that race I think Yuzu will have the advantage, based on his mastery of the 3A, realizing of course that the two quads will turn out to be very different creatures. It's just that Yuzu likely remembers the issues he addressed when he was working on controlling his 3A and he will remember the strategies he used in addressing them. The issues on the 4A will be different but the strategies by which he answered them will be fundamentally the same. It's like dealing with an algebraic equation. The components of several equations might be different but one uses the same principles to deal with them.

Actually that's the time frame I was more or less thinking. My point, and perhaps I didn't make it clear enough, was that I didn't think it would take the four years that the person I was commenting on stated. That seemed to me rather too long. I realize that Yuzu is not a magician who can magically manufacture new skills out of thin air but I really do feel that his position in skating is largely due to the fact that he can accomplish things more rapidly than most skaters. That's why he's in the position he is in. I also realize that because of the seriousness of the injury he's likely to take a more cautious approach to what he does than he used to. I think he was using the 2014 collision and his relatively rapid recovery from it (an NHK disaster followed by a GPF triumph) in his own estimations of when he could resume business as usual. That timetable was obviously very overly optimistic. I have a feeling that this whole experience has been as traumatizing as the earthquake and has probably made him quite aware that he's not invulnerable. As to expanding his repertoire, he has stated on more than one occasion that a 4A is his goal currently, although I think that putting together a pair of programs for next season is right now his actual priority. I'm sure he began contemplating that issue even before PC. Since PC he has, of course, brought to completion the ice show project and dealt with some public relations necessities (the parade and the emperor's garden party, not to mention innumerable interviews). Now his focus is on getting back to Toronto and finishing up his rehabilitation. At least in Toronto he'll be relatively free from media demands and able to concentrate on skating alone.

I was fully aware that recovering something already mastered is not the same as entering unknown territory. My point was that Yuzu in his 'imaging' maintained his mental mastery of his quads during the enforced period off the ice and was thus able to recover two of them for PC in an amazingly short time. What I meant was that the same abilities that went into his quick recovery of two of his quads and making them suitable for competition encompasses also the ability to envisage things as yet unattained. Also, we do not know how effective the methods Yuzu is devising utilizing things he's learning at university to mathematically describe the elements of a jump might enable him to more quickly enter unknown territory and master it. I think all of us here recognize that Yuzu is different from other skaters when it comes to expanding his skills in that he seems quite willing to adapt entirely new strategies when trying to master some aspect of his skating, as witnessed by his decision to seek out Brian to train him. It is dangerous to think that Yuzu in his efforts to improve his skating and expand his repertoire works in the same way that other skaters work and thus I think it is dangerous to presume that the amount of time that other skaters require to master a new element applies to Yuzu also. He doesn't run with the common herd. That's why he's Yuzu.

We know he's been trying a 4A for some time, by that I mean several years. It hasn't been a high priority for him because he was working on getting the easier quads into his armory. Now that he has an adequate number of the backward-entry quads he can focus on the Axel version. As far as quints go, remember, a quint involves just another half rotation over the axel. Probably the only reason he (and many others) has not really gone after a quint is because, as far as I know, quints haven't been assigned a base value. Once the ISU gives the quints base values the race will truly be on. As far as the 4A and quints go, though, I don't think he'll need four seasons to attain them. Remember he only needed three weeks to get a suitable number of quads back into functional form once he was back on the ice after the injury. I think, also, with Stephen Gogolev right there doing all the quads anyone else does, he Yuzu an incentive to press forward into unknown territory. I'm not saying he's consciously motivated there but Yuzu has shown a consistent pattern of answering the attainments of others with his own attainments. The thing is that in terms of basic skating skills Yuzu's so much on top of that (thanks to Tracy's work several years ago) that he can concentrate on expanding the athletic aspect of the sport and only worry about the basics when putting together a new program. On top of all that I wouldn't be surprised if Yuzu hasn't already achieved a quad/quad combination (probably a 4S/4T), but doesn't feel on top of that enough to use it in competition. All of us should remember that when Yuzu is really motivated he is more than willing and more than able to achieve things that are mere dreams to other skaters. PS - I don't think the ISU is in any hurry to assign values to quints. It's already trying to take measures to restrict the worst aspects of quadmania and it really doesn't want another mania to take hold. As it is, I imagine Yuzu's not the only person working on a 4A, which has become the holy grail of figure skating but I remember a number of skating experts several years ago being asked who would be the first person to master the 4A where the answer was a unanimous Yuzuru Hanyu.

We start speculating. Which GP competitions will he go to? What music will he use? Will he recycle any old programs? How will he react to new arrivals at TCC (specifically, Boyang, if that actually happens)? Is he thinking about Beijing? How will he deal with the new rules? If he decides to bring back one of his old programs, which should he? which might he? Who will his major competitors be this coming season, and which ones do you think actually have a chance to top Yuzu if he's skating in top form? Will he start looking at a new approach in costumes? Do you think his declared intention to skate programs devised for his liking rather than the judges' will still have him winning? I'm sure some of you can come up with other topics but that pretty much exhausts my list. In any case I hope I've provided some with things to think about (if they haven't already started with their own lists).

I have a distinct feeling the Chinese are looking to have more than Boyang's skating skills improved if he goes to TCC. The thing is the Chinese skating program is quite insular, isolated from the social and media establishment that is figure-skating outside of China. It's likely the Chinese are grooming Boyang to be China's poster-boy come 2022. But he has to be more media-savvy, have at least something more than rudimentary English and have access to the choreographic elite that is to be found outside China. TCC fills the bill, since there is nobody more relaxed and charming to the media than Yuzu, at least when functioning in Japanese. When interpreters are at hand Yuzu proves to be one of the most articulate athletes to be found anywhere, due to his high intelligence and knowledge of the sport, not to mention his charm and sincerity. Also TCC has contacts with the cream of choreographers, beginning with its own unofficial stable of generally former Canadian skating stars. Also proximity to Yuzu would be attractive. For Boyang, being able to see Yuzu's training on a day-to-day basis would give him more insights into Yuzu's methods, both physical and mental, than just having a new set of coaches. The thing is that over time Boyang's skating has grown. He's essentially put the obsession with quads behind him and is seriously trying to increase his PCS points (not that he's abandoned quads but they are no longer the raison d'etre of his being on the ice). I know this is speculation on my part but I'll figure my ideas are confirmed if Boyang signs up with Brian on a long-term basis without any of his Chinese coaches around (he won't get past the doors of TCC if the Chinese insist on their presence) and if he starts getting involved with the international summer ice show circuit (not this summer but in summers-to-come). The one caveat is that Brian might be thinking he's got rather too many young, up-and-coming male skaters on his hands. On the other hand the Chinese trusting Boyang's training would be a major feather in Brian's cap and Boyang looks to be evolving into the sort of complete skater Brian insists on. Why the Chinese are willing to trust Brian? One simple answer - When's the last time you've seen two of a coach's athletes together on the same Olympic podium? He must be doing something right.

That's why I stated in an earlier post Yuzu's playing chess (perhaps even three-dimensional chess) while everybody else is playing checkers.

Mea culpa. I'm mistaken. It's a maximum of 7 jump passes with 3 combinations allowed. Actually I wish it were just 4 jump passes. It would mean everybody would have to work on improving non-jump elements to make the points lost by not being able to do more jumps. The reduction to just 4 minutes, though, means that the skaters will have less time to prepare for jumps since the other required elements remain the same. Yuzu will be helped because his jump setups incorporate moves that are more than simply skating straight-out to get the speed needed for the jump so he's getting PCS points while readying for the jump. It will be interesting to see the strategies various skaters pursue to adapt to the loss of thirty seconds in the FS.

I'n not sure, that's why I phrased it 'my understanding is'. If I were able to quote a reliable source I would have been more emphatic. I do think, however, that if jump passes were limited to four the expansion of GOEs to five would make sense since it would be possible for skaters to make up for the loss in base value totals with extra GOE points by putting greater emphasis on the quality of the jumps over the quantity. The rule changes seem to be a means of putting more emphasis on the PCS, trying to restore a balance between TES and PCS, which makes them tailor-made for Yuzu's style of skating. In some ways the controversy over the TES/PCS imbalance that has arisen because of the runaway quad numbers reminds me of a controversy some decades ago over the introduction of gymnastics-style back-flips into the program. Whether because of the potential danger to the skater involved, or because they were just simply ugly to watch, or some other reason, they were banned before they had a chance to become a part of the lexicon of moves. Quads are not ugly in the sense that the back-flips were but their numbers were taking a toll on the artistic part of the programs. The new rules as I see them, although I repeat I'm not sure of the source(s), do seem to make sense if one takes into account the desire to restore a balance between the athletic and aesthetic facets of skating.

My understanding of the new rules (which have yet to be officially promulgated) is that there are only 4 jumping passes allowed which means just 4 quads unless, as I noted, someone does a quad/quad combination. Add in the shortening of the FS program to just 4 minutes and for most skaters that means there will be only 4 quads at the very maximum with 3 quads the practical maximum since most skaters have to have time to prepare to jump. Yuzu's setup time is disguised by the various steps he's doing but for other skaters time is precious and if they want to fit in the spin sequences, step sequence and choreographic sequence they will likely sacrifice a quad in order to fulfill the non-jumping requirements. The new rules seem tailor-made to Yuzu's program style but I think jumping machines like Nathan Chen are going to be strongly challenged. Boyang used to be a jumping machine (remember Kurt Browning's calling him 'Boyng-Boyng) but he's been working on his PCS elements and his possible move to work with Brian is evidence that he's really becoming serious about 'complete' skating. In any case if the new rules do limit a program to 4 jumping passes the era of five and six quads in the FS is over.

I'm using this 'pause' in the action, with one season behind us, capped by Yuzu's essay in putting together an ice show, showing the world yet another facet of his genius, and another very unknown season facing us to start addressing the question of what comes next. I think now many of us are going to start looking at what is coming up. Most immediately, is Yuzu going to do any ice shows this summer? I doubt it. He's made his ice show statement for the year. As much as he likes ice shows I think his focus is on the upcoming season, getting a 4A into place and constructing two wholly new programs. Since the season coming up is in many respects the beginning of a new chapter in Yuzu's life, I doubt he's going to resurrect any programs from the past. The ice show was, in my opinion, Yuzu's assessment of where he's been. His new programs will tell us where he wants to go and I think the major speculation we at the Planet are going to be doing over the summer is largely going to be about what those programs will be. The thing is with Yuzu one can't pigeonhole him as far as his programs, since he is so versatile as far as the style of music he uses and the nature of his choreography. Short programs, for instance, we have PW and LGC on one side and Chopin on the other. The same with FS, with the highly dramatic POTO at one extreme and the understated serenity of HL at the other. I would not be surprised if Yuzu has not already decided his music and even done a general layout of the programs to go with the music. All that time off the ice must have been frustrating to him and I have a suspicion he might have turned to mapping out this coming season as a break from the concentrated imaging he was using to preserve this last season's content until he could once again attack them in actuality. Yuzu's made it plain that he intends to skate as much as he can this next season and I have posted in the past how I think his objective will be to finish unfinished business from last season - starting a new string of GPF victories, reclaiming the Japanese crown, finally getting a gold at 4CC and making it one more world championship to add to his two (and maybe that elusive gold at Skate Canada). I really don't think he's made a decision about Beijing, unlike his declaration of going after PC's gold barely after he'd dismounted the podium at Sochi. The injury has necessitated that Yuzu do some hard thinking about where he is and where he wants to go. It reminded him that he is still vulnerable to the vicissitudes of fortune. This last weekend, with the parade and the show the weekend before were his concluding of what has occurred since Sochi. I think we are seeing a pattern in Yuzu's biography starting to show itself, one in which he is faced with some crisis in his life and uses that crisis to power him to new triumphs. The earthquake resulted in his bronze at Worlds the next season and his move to Toronto and ultimately his first GPF, OG and WC wins. The next crisis, the crash in Shanghai, resulted in his brilliant skate at the 2014 GPF and those two legendary competitions (NHK and GPF) the following season, where thoughts of him as the GOAT began to become credible, and then his miraculous comeback at Helsinki. The latest crisis, the injury, resulted initially in his 2nd OG, his unique experiment with the structure of ice shows and his declaration as to what seems to be his two new preoccupations concerning his future competing - acquisition of a 4A and his decision to design his programs to achieve perfection rather than points. He hasn't said so but I have a suspicion that Yuzu's goal now is not an elevated TES but rather a PCS that comes as close as possible to a perfect 100. He is the only skater around now who has an even remotely realistic chance of achieving that mythical mark. The thing is that the new rules really make Yuzu's new strategy one that can result in consistent wins for him. The era of quads, at least their numerical expansion, is now over. Four quads in a FS is now the maximum unless someone comes up with a quad/quad combination. If anybody does that, it will be Yuzu, who has the speed and height to accomplish that. One should not dismiss the possibility of a quint, also. Again, Yuzu would seem to me to be the best candidate for being the first to achieve it, although base values haven't been assigned yet to quint jumps. I have a feeling that there is pressure to hold back on doing so until there is feedback on how the new rules have changed the competitive dynamics. Why open up a whole new can of worms when things still haven't settled down on the quad issue. The new landscape at TCC now is an issue which we at the Planet will be wanting to address. Cha is now becoming an integral part of the TCC scene, a new member of the elite squad replacing Javi. Stephen Gogolev now moves up into the elites there also, beginning to compete on the junior level, though we should not forget that in Canadian only competitions he is now skating at senior level. His scores last season were sufficient to have qualified him for senior Worlds. The possible entry of Boyang makes things really interesting and we have already done a lot of speculating about that, although most of us are waiting for a formal announcement and detailing of the nature of that move, if it occurs. All in all, because of the very large number of unknowns I think this coming off-season will definitely end up making this the summer of our discontent.

It won't happen even though early in the last century FS was part of the summer games. The thing is that figure skating is one of the two glamor sports at the winter games, the other being alpine skiing. Those are the sports that draw the best ratings and the best crowds. I would also add hockey, but it's appeal is limited primarily to the countries that are powerhouses there. Look at PC. Figure skating was sold out and while Yuzu's appeal accounts for part of that sellout and there might have been some spillover, figure skating as a whole is a high profile winter sport that maintains that position through the off-season with ice shows, using them to build up interest for the oncoming season. He put the sport into even more of a spotlight than it normally would have as one of the glamor sports. The other reason it won't happen is that the summer games have two major judging sports (the ones that require judging rather than specific measurement, like who arrived at the finish first and who jumped the highest, that sort of thing), gymnastics and diving. They don't want another one. I think the gymnastics people would object more than the diving establishment, particularly since the gymnastics activities have enlarged significantly beyond the discipline now called 'artistic gymnastics'. Rhythmic gymnastics has been around for a while, but now trampoline is involved and tumbling, acrobatics and even aerobic gymnastics have gotten into the act. The summer people don't want yet another type of gymnastics (that's what figure skating is, don't forget) to make things even more confusing. All those new gymnastics disciplines are jostling for position and particularly the artistic gymnastics people don't want another kid on the block, particularly a kid with a history of Olympic involvement that goes back a century and has a large fanbase that also goes back that far. So, forget about such a switch taking place. Figure skating won't move into the summer games. There are too many established interests who can be expected to put up a great deal of resistance to making such a change.

Yuzu's athletic accomplishments are his, but the Yuzu phenomenon is the result of his fan's enthusiasm, an enthusiasm that is virtually unequalled in the annals of athletics (at least non-team athletics). His fandom has made him highly attractive to advertisers and enabled him to face life without substantial financial worries. He's not the sort of person who wants to cash in for everything he can get, like Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, but I'm sure he has chosen carefully those he endorses and has pursued those because it also enables his family to live in a way it probably would not have otherwise, particularly since because of the earthquake he is fully aware how life is full of unexpected roadblocks and what seem to be sunny times can be suddenly beset by tempests (ie, the recent injury). What he has achieved on the ice is due entirely to his efforts, his inborn talents, his intelligence and his self-discipline but Yuzu is, I'm sure, fully aware that all those things off the ice are because his fans have put him in such a light that others are willing to pay him so their products and services can share that light. That is, unfortunately, how athletics at the world-class level work. Yuzu has the most bankable image of anybody in non-team sports right now and he's wisely used it in such a way as not to compromise his integrity but he's also aware that his position is largely the product of his fans enthusiasm. If there wasn't that fervent fandom out there the advertisers would not be approaching him in such numbers, at least not to the extent they do, an extent which, I'm fairly confident to say, allows him to pick and choose those whose name he'll allow to be associated with his. So events like that which we've just witnessed are Yuzu's way of acknowledging his debt to his fans. Yuzu's achievements as a skater are not compromised by his admission that he owes much to his fans. If nothing else, his acknowledging that is all the more justification for his followers' devotion, a testament to his innate humility. So don't think I'm belittling Yuzu in any way, nor think I feel his fans own him. I'm not and they don't. As a skater he justifies his fans' devotion (including my own); as a superstar he recognizes that his stature, while built on the foundation of his athletic success has reached the heights it has because of his fans, so a day like we've seen this weekend is one of the ways he's able to acknowledge them and say 'arigatou'.

I agree there. TCC does have a part, indeed a very important part, in the handling of Yuzu's off-ice affairs. On the other hand there are a great many situations where Brian and the TCC would be handicapped in helping Yuzu, those being the Japanese elements. Most of Yuzu's endorsing (actually probably all) involves Japanese products and services though and I doubt Brian has the contacts in Japan to adequately vet prospects there although he might have known people who did. My guess, though, is that most of those situations were initially addressed through the JSF, who would have been well-experienced in providing counsel to their successful athletes (although I don't think they've had to deal with a skater with such an extremely high public profile as Yuzu's has become). I think it quite likely that Yuzu has engaged an agency to deal with his commercial dealings in Japan and also his public relations. That is the sort of thing I was thinking about. TCC would be in a better position to handle Yuzu's skating affairs, including media relations and security concerns in Canada. Indeed, that is an automatic responsibility there but Yuzu's economic affairs and public relations in Japan, outside of some informal advice from Brian and company, would largely be in Japanese hands. I have a feeling also that Yuzu has looked for some unofficial advice from Nobu, who because of his advantage in years and his media-savviness would be invaluable and whom, I think, has Yuzu's trust. Also Yuzu may have had some counsel from his father, whose background in baseball would have given him some insight into the economics of high-profiled athletes (I don't know how high his father climbed in baseball but he would at least have been in an environment where he'd be aware of the issues and practices of athlete endorsements). All in all, I agree with the points you've made with the qualifier being that in Japan much of that responsibility has been handled by the JSF and also the Japanese Olympic Committee office, both of which have a high responsibility of keeping Yuzu, internationally Japan's most prominent athlete, from coming to any harm (They don't worry about scandal since Yuzu is in terms of his conduct both private and public a regular Mary Poppins: practically perfect in every way).

Now that the parade is over a few scattered thoughts: Could any of the other Japanese skaters have gone through this with the evident good spirits and spontaneity Yuzu showed as he was moving slowly down the street, having to keep waving and waving and waving? Where does he put all the stuff he receives at various ceremonies, not only here but in all the other events he's gone through during the course of his career? I'm wondering where his family is during all this. Were they placed in some vantage point where they could watch the proceedings and yet remain unidentified, continuing to preserve their privacy, as they have done though all the years of Yuzu's moving from earnest young skater through stardom, superstardom and now iconic status? Is Yuzu's family still living in the house they had when Yuzu was growing up and before moving to Toronto? With Yuzu's income now I'm sure they could be living in a place not necessarily more luxurious (although that would be possible but I don't think that would be what they want) but a place which would be more amenable to the security needs they now have, particularly when Yuzu is at home? What kind of staff does he employ to deal with all the public responsibilities he's acquired with his rise in prominence and popularity? He can't handle that stuff himself and much of this is well beyond the responsibilities of Brian and TCC, since this is exclusively Yuzu's concern and not TCC's. Some final observations - Yuzu is so very special because he's one of those rare public figures who knows he owes his position to the adoration of the public. Thus he's ready to go through a ceremony like the parade realizing that this is part of what's required. His fans have awarded him applause and hundreds of Poohs over the years and it's ceremonies like this where he gets to thank them. I know some might think that it's parades like this where they are thanking him but that's not the case. It's the myriad little things that those who not only have seen him in person during competition with their applause but also those who have made up paper swans for him, have put messages at shrines, have spread the word about him, have given portions of their lives to see him succeed and cheer him on. The parade we've just seen is Yuzu thanking them. Many might not see it that way but I do and I'm certain Yuzu does, also. After all, that's what makes Yuzu Yuzu and that's what make him so special. The parade is one great and graceful bow sent in all directions and all over the world, Yuzu's way of saying 'arigatou'.

I don't really know if this has appeared on the forum or not. I came across it when I was doing some casual Yuzu surfing. It's one of the longest articles I've seen on him and although the writers are evidently not overly familiar with figure skating their hearts are in the right place and I thank them for a balanced yet ultimately complimentary article about him. http://www.aipsmedia.com/2018/02/20/22409/pyeongchang-2018-yuzuru-hanyu-figure-skating-japan I hope this works. If not, somebody who knows how to do it right please correct it. Thanks.

On Boyang coming to TCC. I'm wondering what the Chinese are hoping to get from this, since you can be sure that this whole situation was probably not Boyang's idea. You have to remember that the Chinese sports program is more akin to the old East Germany so that certainly nothing this significant isn't part of a long term strategy. So what are the Chinese doing here? I think they are looking to create a poster-boy for the Beijing games. I remember how Tom Daley became the male image for the London summer games in 2012, primarily because of his good looks and the fact he won the World Championship in platform diving at the age of 15. Youthful and successful. That's what the Chinese need, and Boyang fills the bill as being one of theirs who is always in the hunt when it comes to podium position. The thing is they have to get exposure for him and the Chinese program is so closely micro-managed with media accessibility and such that it's not going to happen if Boyang's only expeditions out of the country are for competitions. So I think going to TCC is step one in the process of getting for Boyang an international profile. After all, what could be better in raising his profile than having him go and temporarily train under a coaching superstar and training alongside a bona-fide skating legend? Another step - My feeling is that we will shortly start seeing Boyang getting on the ice show circuit, probably not this summer but in summers of years to come. I think also he's being sent to Canada to have him working on English, the better to handle media events. I don't know how much English he knows now but the best way of learning a language is by immersion, by being put into a sink or swim situation. Yuzu can probably tell a lot of tales about that. Things could be getting complicated for Brian, though, with a Japanese speaker, a Korean speaker and a Russian speaker already on board. All he needs is a Chinese speaker to make things really interesting. Of those four, my guess is that Stephen Gogolev probably has the best English, since he came from Russia to Canada and to Brian at age 7. At that age the language learning skills are still at peak efficiency so I imagine that except for his accent he's acquired a good command of English. Remember, also, he'd have been attending schools conducted in English and his social contacts would have had a high English-speaking component. Then there's the actual skating benefits. Unlike Nathan, it's been apparent that Boyang and his coaches have been working on improving the PCS content of his programs. Quite obviously amongst those competing today Yuzu is the undoubted monarch of the artistic content of men's figure skating. For almost all of the other skaters Yuzu's PCS points are to die for. Part of that, though, is that Yuzu's also had access to some of the best choreographers in the business and I have a strong feeling the Chinese would like to have Boyang connecting with some of those people. The issue, here, though, is that if the Chinese are looking to fulfill these objectives they will need more than a short span of a few weeks in the off-season. My feeling is that if Brian takes on Boyang he will insist that it be longer term and that Boyang's current coach is not present. He will not desire to come into conflict with the coach and proximity increases the danger exponentially. As for Yuzu, if we are looking for a repeat of his relationship with Javi he will be blessed with a multitude of candidates. Boyang, if he comes to TCC long-term, will become the obvious favorite there since he's the only one competing at the same level as Yuzu. Stephen Gogolev I think is likely to be the second candidate, rather than Cha, because Stephen came to Brian at roughly the same time Yuzu did and so there are several years of familiarity with Yuzu here, quite a bit longer than Yuzu's time with Cha. I also think the age factor with Stephen will be decreasing as the years pass by and Stephen passes from puberty through adolescence and into young manhood. On one critical issue, that somehow Yuzu's supremacy might be threatened by Boyang's access to Yuzu's trainers and training environment, I think people here are not taking seriously enough Yuzu's contention to alter his approach to competition, to make winning take second place to making programs he truly wants to skate, in short, to put into practice in his SP and FS the same principles that now govern his exhibition skates. I remember how, many years ago, right after I'd finished my doctoral work in English I had begun (it was only temporary, ultimately) comic book collecting and I was on a bus heading home after purchasing several, and so I was reading one of my acquisitions. This elderly lady across the aisle kept looking strangely at me, obviously put off by the spectacle of a grown man reading a comic book. Finally I just couldn't pass up the chance and so I spoke to her, telling her I had just finished acquiring my PhD in English and ending by saying, (this is paraphrase here), "I've read Shakespeare, I've read Faulkner, I've read them all. I've paid my dues. Now I can read anything I want." She laughed then, realizing the truth of my situation. I bring up that now because Yuzu realizes that he's paid his dues. Now he can skate anything he wants. With Boyang potentially coming on board, I think his reaction might be, "What, me worry?"