rockstaryuzu

OOOHHHH, interesting!!! I could envision Kevin and Shoma playing well off each other and learning lots. I like this idea.

This. I was thinking of this possibility as well. But who is there that he could go to, that has proven results already? For all intents and purposes, Coach Fluffy is the top men's coach in Japan right now. Anyone else is probably a step down.

I know, right? I can't even begin to imagine Shoma without Coach Fluffy at his side. But they're right, it's time for him to grow. I see no one's suggested Ravi Walia - Kaetlyn Osmond's old coach, and the guy who resurrected P. Chan from the dead - yet. As far as I know, he doesn't have any elite skaters right now and he's definitely got the chops. Not sure how Shoma would get on in Edmonton though. Are there are any single's coaches in Montreal right now? Shoma's already been there for choreo a few times, so he's at least familiar with it.

They usually don't ask someone who is currently competing to light the fire, though....the symbolism of it is that the flame is passed down from previous competitors to the new ones. So I think it'll be a retired athlete and from a summer sport.

Yes, and yet I still fret. I am an auntie, after all. It's in my nature.

Well, that was fun! My 26 year old, male, Persian co-worker just told me he thinks figure skating is cool, so I showed him LGC and Masquerade. He was admiring the cleanness of Yuzu's jumps...but making assumptions about Yuzu's androgynous appearance.

It's so like Yuzu to do that, but it makes me fret. A person can tear themselves apart trying to respond to others' expectations. I hope he knows when to draw the line and stick to his original plan instead.

The one from St. Peter - LMAO!!!

Has anyone checked out their full Twitter? Every tweet has between 20 -40 likes, and then there's Yuzuru - 1500 likes and counting. Seems like Laureus and Olymipc Channel aren't the only ones who've discovered the social media power of our boy.

Must be new? Tweet doesn't say

Good. That hand was looking terrible, but what's this about his eye? Google translate says they're saying the opposite side (from the hand) of his face and eyebrows is swollen. Whatever it is, the ones who said it might be an allergy or insect bite look like they're correct.

True and that's still not a reason to accept an unjust status quo.

I haven't listened to a lot of modern classical music, however I would be very hard put to hear the Japanese elements in it. Perhaps it's the overall aesthetic. I'm just saying that to a casual listener it doesn't stick out.

And this is the literal truth. The guy has an innate sense of musicality.

People being able to understand it is actually a very Yuzu way to think, and about the only explanation so far that makes sense. edited to add: Just to make it clear where I'm coming from here: even the most cherished cultural institution in Canadian sport, Hocket Night in Canada, is broadcast in languages like Italian, Inuktitut, Hindi, Punjabi, Tagalog, Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese, to say nothing of French, and most recently, Plains Cree. To say Japanese lyrics make a piece unsuitable for a figure skating competition because of crusty conservatism in the sport is both very sad and at the same time, nearly incomprehensible to me. Oh-Kay. Now that I'm done beating the dead horse...... how 'bout that Masquerade?

Didn't Yvett Toth just do that in the Olympic season? She skated to AC/DC. But she's nowhere near the top in terms of skill, so it's tough to say if the music choice was an issue or not. And I think Brendan Kerry has done AC/DC as well. With LGC, though, Yuzu never quite skated a clean program so that would affect the overall scoring. I don't think anybody objected to him doing it really. He was practically channeling Prince, he embodied the guy's attitude so perfectly. No one else could have done that.

Okay, but yet H&L did not sound 'Japanese' to me - it sounded like a modern but classical composition. And Seimei couldn't possibly have been any more Japanese and yet it won the Olympics in fine style. I think it still comes down to the skater, the program, and how the music suits both. Also, ISU needs to start banning warhorses just on the grounds that the recordings are getting worn out. I don't care if I never see another Carmen.

If you look at it from that perspective of "why give the judges an excuse to knock points off the score", then I can see it. But just to take the idea that music with foreign lyrics is not going to work, at face value, as a general given, I take serious issue with that. That's not how the world we live in gets better.

Because it'll be packed with Chinese fans. Especially if Yuzu goes. He is immensely popular over there.

I couldn't tell you, but I would say no. We're still in love with Virtue and Moir up here...the others might as well not exist. It's like 'TessaandScottTessanadScottTessaandScottElvisKurtTessaScott oh right and that Chan guy...." if you ask the average skating fan. I personally know more people who stan Reynolds than Chan. And Yuzu not wanting to get stuck doing back-to-back comps is why I say IdF is the other likely possibility for him besides Skate Canada. The flight from Toronto is probably about the same length either way.

I just can't see Yuzu wanting to do two competitions back -to- back like that, then the GPF, and then JNats, all in a 4-5 week time frame. Seems like way too much. I think he'll opt for at least one earlier competition just to get the break. If he does Skate America, I'll eat my hat...and book the cheapest flight to Vegas I can find.

From your keyboard to the ISU's ear...please let it be so.

Well, if it's a belief that Yuzu has, then I'll go along with it, although I don't agree that his belief is correct. For one, there are judges from Japan, Korea, and China. It's a bit of a stretch to think they would have trouble accepting a Japanese pop song. I was just wondering why so many people in the discussion here seemed to be taking it for granted that a song with Japanese lyrics would be somehow unacceptable in the rest of the world. That's such a foreign concept to me. Music's music.

doesn't mean he can't. I was about to use HYK as an example again, but then I realized he did use an instrumental version, even though the original has lyrics. But, perhaps he can get an instrumental version of Masquerade. You never know. My point is, I think the idea that there would be bias against Japanese music is a bit overblown. Maybe some of the judges are racist old fuddy-duddies, but the judges are from all over the world, not just the west. They can't all be prejudiced.

....again, someone mentions a song having Japanese lyrics as somehow making it unsuitable for competition. Why? I ask this out of honest curiosity. There have been many skaters in the past who have used pieces with non-English lyrics for their competitions (every piece ever skated to opera comes to mind), WTH would it make a difference if the lyrics were Japanese? He just skated a whole season with HYK , which is sung in Japanese, as his EX and no one complained, so What. The. Duck? The only things holding Yuzu back from using Masquerade are: 1. Whether he can make it into a competition-ready program, and 2. Whether he can get the performance rights to use it. #2, is, in my opinion, the real obstacle. Remember the lengths he had to go to in order for Joe Hisashi to agree to let him use H&L? And remember how Kevin Reynolds had to scrap his programs mid-season last year because Hisashi wouldn't grant him rights? That's where the trouble lies. not 'because the song's in Japanese'. Just how prejudiced do you think the rest of the world is? Ayoyoi! Anyway, the way Toshi is gushing like a newly-minted fanboy over Yuzu, I would not be surprised if he gives Yuzu carte blanche to use any song he likes, for anything he likes.