micaelis

Will Yuzu ride into the sunset after PC? I don't think so. He still has the 4A to master, not to mention the 4F, and there are some other noteworthy jumps to master that would show the world he's THE true master of aerial antics. Imagine a quad-quad combination. Imagine a quint when the ISU finally gives a point value to it. Imagine a triple combination composed of three triple jumps. Imagine also a GPF streak going well past four straight wins or an Olympics threepeat (he'll only be 26 then). Imagine a short program with a 50 PCS or a long program with a 100 PCS. There are so many things left undone if he retires after next year's season. It's like the Robert Frost poem 'Stopping by a woods on a snowy evening', which ends with the statement that there are 'miles to go before I sleep'. Think also maybe an Olympics fourpeat. Yuzu will only be thirty then, and remember Plushenko was thirty-two when he skated (team trophy only) at Sochi. Yuzu could still be viable for competition then. Actually a thought occurs to me that Yuzu might decide to retire if and when he skates a perfect season of all golds. His final season of junior competition had no losses. He might be holding out for nothing but gold, figuring a perfect season would make his hope to be 'absolute champion' finally a reality.

Truly masterful. I really love your allegory? symbolism? sheer playing with concepts. As an English PhD with experience teaching college English I've not encountered many writings with this kind of depth of conception. You take the royal court analogy and extend it to a skater's jumps and do it really imaginatively. If you were in a class I was teaching way back when I would have given you a solid A, (not an A+, I've never been that generous). By the way, the notion of a harem in today's politically correct world might not be allowed since it implies feminine subjugation, but since Yuzu is the harem master I doubt any ladies would object. After all, he is the master who makes all things beautiful by simply being impossibly beautiful himself.

How correct. The two times Yuzu lost to Javier at Worlds were just that - he LOST them. Javi didn't win because if one added the base value of his program plus potential PCS, Javi's program wouldn't have equaled Yuzu's if you did the same analysis to his program. Johnny Weir said some seasons ago, when the discussion was on the potential of Yuzu being the best ever and could he be beaten, saying 'Yuzu is skating against himself, what's more difficult than that?' I think Johnny may have been onto something, a something that we often overlook, that Yuzu's real motivation is a perfect program, one which has maximum TES and PCS. When he sees someone else skate extremely well in a competition, I'm thinking that Yuzu is not skating against that person. Rather, the other person's performance inspires Yuzu to go after perfection, knowing that his programs are always stacked with more details than any other skater's. If Yuzu skates clean, he'll likely win. If he skates better than clean, he'll definitely win.

I have made a habit of looking closely at Yuzu when he's on the ice with many others, such as the openings of ice shows and galas, and particularly at those relatively unscripted finales. I don't know if I'm reading things into it, but Yuzu really seems to come alive in ways different from when he's performing. It appears that he is fully enjoying interacting with the other skaters and with the audience. I'm thinking of that streamer-laden finale in Moscow and how Yuzu seems to be thoroughly enjoying playing with the streamers. It's also plain to see how he likes to be getting up so close to the fans when he's right by the board. When you compare what's going on in those moments and compare them with what goes on during competition, well, it seems to me that Yuzu is letting us see a part of him that is generally kept out of sight. In fact, there seems to be an almost boyish quality there, a quality we've seen time and time again surfacing in the Kiss and Cry. I do think Yuzu possesses one of the most expressive faces to be found in skating, in fact, almost anywhere.

All this talk about Yuzu's masculinity (or supposedly lack of) has everybody trying to decide what a masculine person looks like. The person who talked about how Asian males are frequently seen as feminine by Westerners raises a point, but with Yuzu specifically, I think another thing might be contributing. In all the close-ups I've seen of him from his early teens to approaching his mid-20s I have never seen even the slightest hint of beard. I can't think he's wearing makeup because in even the most unscripted moments the beard remains hidden. I don't think it's a lack of testosterone because I remember seeing a brief scene (in either a show or a gala) where he doffed his shirt and while Yuzu didn't have great bulk he definitely had definition. I remember something I read (exactly where I can't say) in which the speculation was that Yuzu, in order to do the things he does on the ice, must have one of the lowest body-fat percentages of any prominent athlete. I could believe that. I remember one of the British Eurosport commentators in Yuzu's very early days, remarking how 'pencil-thin' he was and wondering where his obvious strength came from. All I can say is that if any person decided to take Yuzu on physically, that person would probably be in for a very painful surprise. But in any case, I think the controversy we're dealing with right now (the sister who just couldn't see Yuzu as manly) is one that could easily be resolved if instead of showing Yuzu ON the ice, showing him instead OFF the ice. See him as he totes his luggage or acts in some of those interviews where he's not just parked behind a mic and a desk, and there's no trace of feminine mannerisms there. If that doesn't work, then just mark the sister's attitude as one that even in the face of all the evidence still maintains the world is flat.

The fact that Yuzu has an androgynous face is not something most of us haven't noticed, but I think you might have chosen a better example, PW from Sochi, the SP version, not the team version. LGC might have worked but the costume there is not overly masculine. The bright blue shirt and Yuzu's own mannerisms in the PW performance I think are overwhelmingly masculine, what I have termed to others when discussing the performance and choreography - a young buck strutting his stuff. If it wasn't impractical because of stiffness and weight, a black leather biker's jacket, partially zipped, would have really clinched the argument. I did note in an earlier post that Yuzu has an almost archetypical anime face, with the inverted triangle for the shape, which is fairly androgynous. The thing is that Yuzu has those particular kinds of male features that are 'beautiful' rather than 'handsome'. Compare him to Takahashi and you can see what I mean. It is, in fact, those features he possesses which will have people thinking he's barely out of his teens when he's entering his forties. He'll be greatly envied then.

Trivial observation - I think his Pooh bear haul this time is the greatest since 2015 Worlds, proof that for event planners a priority must be to have as many flower girls and boys on hand as possible when Yuzu's competing. It's times like this that I say the ice is breaking out with a yellow rash.

As I noted in an earlier post, except for the first-place NHKs (disallowing the disastrous fourth place in 2014 when he was still recovering from the crash), Yuzu has always finished second in GPs in those years he took the GPF. I'd only get worried if he doesn't take the NHK, although I think he might still be holding back. It seems to me his priority is on the GPF and actually also Japan Nationals, where he will square off against Shoma for the second time within a month. The Japan Nationals will be closely watched internationally since you will have the gold and silver medalists from Worlds facing each other. By this time we can trust that Yuzu has the season pretty well mapped out and knows what has to be done to meet his goals. I don't think he's disappointed with today's results.

Like some I'm also uncomfortable with Yuzu's short program choice for this season. Considering the nature of Seimei I think he needs a much different short program, one more like LGC. Actually, I like Parisian better than LGC but he can't do that at the Olympics. It would be too much a repeat, despite the fact he set four world records with it. Actually, if Yuzu was set on Chopin, I think he should have chosen a different long program, to be precise, I wish he'd gone with POTO. It's very much dismissed by so many here but I think it actually the best of the long programs he's done in terms of the music and choreography working wholly together. The fact that it's identified with that disastrous early season he had in 2014 I think has soured so many on it. But it is unfamiliar enough to so many to actually seem like a new program and, on the basis of what Yuzu did in the GPF with that program, it is a program that Yuzu when he's on, can turn into a total knockout. Add some quads to bring it up to contemorary demands and I think he could have nailed this season. My experience with figure skating is relatively new but I've been dealing with ballet and modern dance for decades and I have a keen sense of the marriage of motion and music that makes for the best dancing. Choreographically I feel that POTO is probably the best long program he's had, with RJ1 as second. Yuzu really soars when his music is strongly dramatic. Enough, though, I've said what I wanted to say. I'll settle for his choices and hope that he can recapture the magic he evoked back in those two weeks in late 2015.

Don't panic! Second is not the end of the world. An observation - It's good that Yuzu skates last, because it takes so long to get all the Poohs off the ice. I'd hate to be a skater waiting so long for that if I'm the next after Yuzu. Remember Javi's remark about following Yuzu and all the stuff that's on the ice. Seriously, though, I think the fact that in Moscow Yuzu still got the loudest cheers has to be intimidating for the other skaters. As one commentator once said, it's home ice wherever Yuzu goes.

We're getting close to the time when all of us satellites of Planet Hanyu are united by the images we are watching at the same time and we become the rings of Planet Hanyu.

Finally got a look at the skating order tomorrow morning. It looks like they've saved the best for last. I know everybody's looking at Nathan as the threat but I wouldn't dismiss some others, particularly Nam. His growth spurt played havoc with his skating for a while, but he's had time to work those problems out and become familiar with his new body. I'm interested to see how his new coach might be making a difference. I think Nam's a potential spoiler. He wouldn't be able to handle a Yuzu in clean-skate mode (can anybody?) but I think he'd be in the hunt if Yuzu is off his game. Slightly different topic, I'm glad Misha's there. He's a consistent skater but that's not the real reason. I always look forward to his gala skates. He's one of the most reliably entertaining skaters around when he's not competing for points. So the countdown is ongoing. By my clock about thirteen and a half hours until launch time.

I'm noticing a lot of nervousness about Yuzu not winning this weekend. I wouldn't worry, particularly after looking at his record during the seasons he's won the GPF, which is the important thing here. Outside of 2014s NHK, where he bombed, Yuzu's only wins in GP series competitions in seasons where he's taken the GPF have been at the NHK. All the other competitions he's skated during those four seasons have resulted in silver finishes. It looks to me like Yuzu's not worried too much about winning those events. He wants to hold back until the Final itself, when he can fully unleash himself. It's like the marathon runner who paces himself so that he can be in contention when the final sprint comes rather than squandering his resources to gain an early lead.

I've been thinking about Yuzu's priorities for the season just underway. Obviously the Olympics comes first as far as competitions go. What comes second? As far as official stature goes, Worlds would be next, with the GPF third. However, I'm wondering if the GPF might actually be second for Yuzu. Think about it. He's won Worlds twice, but between the first and second win he came away with silver. Right now it appears he owns the GPF. Four straight. Nobody's done that. Four total. Plushenko's done that but not consecutively. With five straight Yuzu would probably lock up the GPF record book permanently. No male skater has had five GPF victories. With a fifth GPF victory Yuzu would be well on the way to being able to claim 'absolute champion', depending on his getting a second Olympic gold. Worlds this coming spring would be potentially icing on the cake. There have been three-time World Champions aplenty. There was even this fellow in the early 20th century who won Worlds ten times, with plenty who have won four and five times. I don't think Yuzu is willing to go the distance to get eleven world championships, besides many of these super-multiple winners were decades ago when men's figure skating was a very different thing than it is now. The GPF, however, does not have a long lineage yet, only coming into existence back in the '90s, just as the World Championships began back in the 1890s and have occurred every year since, except for interruptions due to the two world wars. Just like that Swede, Ulrich Salchow (now we know where that jump came from) with his ten victories (two sets of five consecutive wins) established a record that will certainly never be broken, I think Yuzu is seeing his GPF wins as the record he sets that might never be broken, not simply for the number but also their consecutivity. If he continues competing after this year he might use his GPF results as a means of deciding when to retire, leaving competing when he finally is defeated at a GPF. Of course there is another record he might decide to equal (I don't think he could break it) and that is Gillis Grafstrom's three consecutive Olympic golds in 1920, 24, and 28. We just might be seeing a 27-year-old Yuzuru Hanyu competing in Beijing in 2022. Just some food for thought, everyone.

On the flag-bearing, I know it is sometimes the teams that elect a flag-bearer, since that was the case with Michael Phelps at Rio. I don't think it is necessarily seniority, since Javi was the flag-bearer for Spain at Sochi. So I think if it isn't team election, it might be up to each country how it goes about choosing a flag-bearer. Incidentally, I can see how it might be taxing, not just for the flag-bearer but for all the athletes, since they can easily end up standing for two or more hours while the ceremony runs its course. Just standing is a lot harder than moving around the same length of time. We'll have to see.

Since everybody's looking forward to the upcoming Olympics I thought I might throw in another item for speculation, one that isn't concerned with costumes or quads. Do you think that the other Japanese athletes will pick Yuzu to carry the flag in the opening ceremonies? In some ways he's the logical choice. There is no other member of the entire team who has the international recognition he has nor is there any other from the team who will be having all the press interest that he will. Also, he is the only Japanese , male or female and across all the various sports, to have won a gold medal at Sochi. Those are the positives. However, might the various athletes there feel overshadowed and so retaliate in a way by denying him the flag privilege? Things to ponder. I can assume there is nobody on this forum who feels he should not be the flag-bearer but as we've seen during discussions about fan rivalries and all that, politics might enter. Yuzu also might defuse the whole issue by not participating in the opening ceremony. Michael Phelps in his first four Olympics did not participate in the openings, finally doing so with his final appearance at the Rio games. He carried the flag then. Just something to ponder.

It's a mark of his 'ordinariness' that despite all the cameras around he still handles his own luggage. Bravo Yuzu.

I appreciate those who responded to my recent post although I think they perhaps misread what I was saying. My understanding is that Brian almost certainly saw Yuzu's talent for what it was. He would have seen the vast potential that Yuzu was showing back then. What I was wondering, though, is whether Brian had any inkling of the sheer public phenomenon Yuzu would become, particularly after that pivotal 2013-2014 season when Yuzu became the first male in more than a decade to simultaneously hold the Olympic title, World title, and GP title, and this at the age of nineteen. Even then, though, I think he must have been surprised by just how good Yuzu would become. Just look at his expression at the 2015 GPF when Yuzu finished breaking the three records he had set just two weeks before. I don't think any coach, no matter how prescient, could have foreseen those two weeks in late 2015. I'm not even sure Yuzu did, although look at Yuzu's expression after he finished his long program when he was skating around before taking his formal bows. That expression seems to be pure - There, I told you so - as if he knew he was capable of being the GOAT and had just proved it. What I find most admirable about Brian, though, is that he readily accepted Yuzu's desire to keep improving and did everything he could to bring about that improvement. We all know about Brian's own skating record and it is a very admirable legacy, but I really think his greatest legacy will be his coaching of Yuzuru Hanyu. I have a strong suspicion that Brian is the only coach out there who could have done the job. I might add that Javi should also be recognized as the constant rival Yuzu needed to keep moving forward. Yuzu has been quite vocal about his desire to get a second gold at the Winter Games but I think it's been the constant presence of Javi that has stiffened Yuzu's determination and kept him from overconfidence. Those two World Championsips Javi took are a blessing in disguise. They kept Yuzu properly aware that he was not invulnerable, just as his recent misperformance of his long program at ACI acted as a wakeup call. It was good, also, that he came in second behind Javi. At least we can be comforted that the Yuzumania has been going on long enough for the entire Yuzu team to acquire the skills and mindset to handle it. At Sochi the press interest in Yuzu was primarily from the Japanese. This time the press will be from all over since during the time since Sochi Yuzu has genuinely established himself as a living legend. It's gonna be a real circus out there this time.

There has been talk here recently about Yuzu's future and his state of mind, but one thing I've been very curious about is Brian's state of mind when he first undertook coaching Yuzu. I'm certain Brian had a keen and accurate sense of how good a skater Yuzu was, but is there any way he could have known the sheer phenomenon Yuzu would become, because that's not something you can accurately predict. I admit I'm no expert on figure skating history but has there ever been a skater, male or female, who has inspired the almost fanatical following on an international level that Yuzu has? Did Brian have any inkling way back then of the cascades of flowers and Pooh bears that would become routine with a Yuzu performance and did he have any idea then of the journalistic and fan following and attendant security concerns that would arise? I'd really like to someday see an interview with Brian on how he had to adapt his methods to what must have been wholly unexpected demands that Yuzu's huge prominence required. The kind of celebrity Javier enjoys and Yuna once enjoyed are qualitatively different from what I would call Yuzumania. To use a rock analogy, did Brian in any way realize that this youngster he was undertaking to coach would become a skating equivalent of Elvis or the Beatles?

A new exhibition number? Someone mentioned POTO. I hope so. It is my favorite of his long programs and I really think it has been unjustly downplayed by many, perhaps because of its associations with that devastating grand prix series of 2014 (although he still won the final). It was what he was planning to skate when he suffered the collision and what he attempted to skate at the 2014 NHK (the only post-Olympic event he failed to gain a podium spot). Yet it has tremendous drama and the moves are so absolutely right for the music. In the 2014 GPF he skated a virtually clean program, falling late in the proceedings but picking himself up and skating perfectly the final moments. If he hadn't fallen he probably would have broken the FS record (a year before he did do it first in the NHK and then in the GPF). In many ways I wish it were POTO he was doing rather than Seimei this year, since it clearly challenges him on every level in ways no long program had challenged him since RJ1, which is my favorite of his early programs. It apparently wasn't meant to be the FS program this year, I guess, probably because it has such a rocky history.

Right now the only move I've seen that is truly unique to Yuzu is what has been called by others the 'Hanyu Lunge'. I haven't seen any other skaters trying that. A few have tried to do Bielmanns, none with any real success (I've seen a few where what they came up with was something that went up about 45 degrees, so that you weren't sure whether you were seeing an unsuccessful donut or an unsuccessful Bielmann). If any skaters try a Hanyu Lunge it will almost certainly be recognized as his move which is why, perhaps, none have tried it (not wishing to be seen as copycats). I have noticed a number of males trying to do Bielmanns although I've only seen one do it successfully. If enough male skaters start doing Bielmanns, perhaps they might start calling them Hanyus when a male skater does it, since he's almost certainly responsible for the men staring to do what is normally seen as a ladies' move. I don't think they'll do any better than Yuzu, however, since he's been doing it since virtually day one. There is that video of the nine-year old Yuzu doing an extremely good Bielmann near the end of his skate. And I can't remember any of his programs since that don't include one (at least as far as his long programs are concerned). Actually I think one might instead label a skater as doing a Hanyu whenever that skater sets a new record, since Yuzu's the only one who seems to be making them lately.

I went to Skate Canada's site and found the short program. It's the shorter of the two labeled Men's Free Program. It was simply mistitled.

For those who might not live in Canada but want to stream the CBC, try the Opera browser. I have it and amongst its features is a built-in free VPN. Its proxy servers are not many but one set of servers are in Canada so the wonders of CBC are available to this Nebraskan American. I have no fear of encountering a statement that the material is not available in my country. Opera VPN also has proxies in the Netherlands and Germany and Singapore. The Netherlands brings in British Eurosport for me. Hope that some of you might find this useful.

A thought - individuallly we Yuzu fans have been described as the satellites of Planet Hanyu. When seen in our UNITY of hope and support of Yuzu we are like the rings of Saturn.

That's what I was starting to figure out. Thanks for letting me know I was on the right track.