caterpillar

Thank you! God, this is interesting. It's such a brilliant idea, even if it'll probably not get implemented, at least not in a long while with ISU being what it is. He's so incredibly intelligent, he has so much love for this sport, he's so dedicated to making it better in any way he can. I'm just in awe of him. I'm also wondering who I would have to bribe to get access to the thesis. This is exactly my shit and I'm dying to read it.

Ok, but isn't this just reading out Yuzu's entire Wikipedia page?

If we're talking about highlights without bv, I have to mention the chasse - edge change in the step sequence of Hope and Legacy. It was the first of Yuzu's programs I saw, Worlds 2017, and I was spellbound in general but I still remember how much that gripped me, the fluidity of it and the sound of the skate across the ice just in time with the music. Such a tiny moment, but those moments add up to the magic that is watching Yuzu skate.

Thank you so much! Twitter is so much nicer experienced only through the links you guys post.

I can't say for sure it would be no help, but at least I don't think it would be as helpful on the 4A. (This is going to be very nerdy and not what you were looking for, but I'm a science student and the mechanisms behind figure skating jumps are fascinating to me) Firstly, the reason the russian girls can get some boost out of the rippon is that they jump very much with their upper bodies and shoulders, rather than their legs. Yuzu is the opposite; his arms are often very loose in the takeoff (though naturally not on the axel), and his shoulders remain relatively low and relaxed throughout the entire jump. Using a rippon as a boost would kind of contradict the fundamentals of his beautiful technique. Secondly, in addition to jump styles being very different, the axel is a very different jump from the other quads, and I think a risk of using the rippon on an axel is that it would stunt the forward momentum slightly. That isn't a problem with other kinds of jumps, and also wouldn't be an issue for most girl quadsters anyway because forward momentum isn't... a terribly important aspect in their quads. In Yuzu's case, on the other hand, it could potentially be an issue. Thirdly, and maybe most importantly: I think that arguably the biggest benefit of the rippon, rather than a boost, is that it can help stabilize the jump axis for some people by keeping their backs straight (which I think is part of why Zhenya does it for most of her jumps). That isn't a big problem for Yuzu on the axel, so it wouldn't benefit him. But yes, it would look awesome.

There's the silver lining But I honestly imagine it would be hard to jump an axel with much more than 180° prerotation, even from a skid, given the forward momentum of the jump. The axel is neat in that way

I think part of this might be that Yuzu is a very visual person with an extraordinary ability to convert a picture in his mind into movement. For example, he landed his first 3A by watching Mao jump it, and a big part of his decision to go to TCC was that he wanted to learn from Javi's 4S. He doesn't have an image of the 4A, which I image complicates matters a lot - he has to make up the technique essentially by himself. Maybe a better comparison in this regard would be the 4Lo, but I'm not sure how long he practiced that before landing it.

GOd, the disregard for human life borders on criminal. Is it too much to hope for that people will just stay home and watch the event for free on TV? These percentages make it so laughably clear that the BV for the 4A SHOULD be 15 points. That would make 3A -> 4A a 87.5% increase, following the trend for the other jumps almost perfectly. Additionally, 4Lz -> 4A would be an increase with 30.4%, much more in line with the triples. The whole thing is just completely nonsensical and utterly transparent.

... Nice. Lovely. Can't wait.

I think you're probably right. The organisation still seems abysmal though. It's possibly naive of me, but I would have thought you could still at least hold the event without an audience and require quarantine beforehand. You know, basic, bare minimum things even Worlds implemented. But maybe that also comes down to money; the ISU may not want to pay the deficit for this event like they did for the Swedish federation with Worlds.

The only source I managed to find is this article from 2011: https://www.goldenskate.com/2011/04/shooting-for-the-top/ I'm uncertain how credible it is, but it lists his favorite music as J-pop, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. (It's worth point out that while the framing of the article (and lack of sources) looks like an interview, it names Sing Sing Sing as a piece he would like to skate to in the future. Since he skated to that music 2007-2008, it's possible the article is using older quotes and/or a bad translation.) This article was actually published only about a month after the earthquake, and it's amazing to see how he was already thinking about how he could give back and give people strength. It reminded me of his WTT message as well.

I'm glad you like it

It's from this interview: I'm not certain exactly where, but it's in there somewhere

I didn't know about this, how cute! Are there any videos from this show?

What a nice initiative I'm looking forward to reading through these later

I don't think anyone is going to change anybody else's mind here. This discussion has spanned pages already so maybe it's time to just agree to disagree?

Concerning Yuzu's message for WTT when you are on the ice you seem to blaze and glitter as the music starts to play it's almost searing, looking at your face but nigh impossible to look away and even off the ice, as fiercely gleams the burning fire of your intellect; the eloquence with which you share your dreams, your thoughtfulness, your passion and respect but over all of that, how much more bright shimmers your kindness, like a guiding star you say that you would like to be our light but don't you know that you already are? no matter what you do or where you go the essence of your nature is to glow

I don't know if this is the right thread, but I wrote a sonnet based around Yuzu's message for WTT and I thought I'd post it here. when you are on the ice you seem to blaze and glitter as the music starts to play it's almost searing, looking at your face but nigh impossible to look away and even off the ice, as fiercely gleams the burning fire of your intellect; the eloquence with which you share your dreams, your thoughtfulness, compassion, and respect but over all of that, how much more bright shimmers your kindness, like a guiding star you say that you would like to be our light but don't you know that you already are? no matter what you do or where you go the essence of your nature is to glow

I just want to say that learning about the etymology of pudding/purin is such an unexpected delight. Thank you to everyone who has shared their knowledge

The one minor gripe I have with Mishin's words here is the implication that quads are easy for Yuzuru because of his body type. It isn't his intention, but he kind of downplays the hard work Yuzu has put in. It's probably very ungrateful of me to be annoyed about that detail given that I never expected Mishin to be this complimentary in the first place, but it isn't the first time I've seen someone point to Yuzu's body type as if that's the reason for his success, as if he hasn't had to work for it.

Yes! I thought I'd heard it before, but I didn't remember the context. Thank you for reminding me. This is where I read about it before: https://yuzusorbet.tumblr.com/post/144198319237/初心忘れるべからず-one-small-part-from-the-book-yuzuru

It does seem very Yuzu to pick a quote with two different inspiring interpretations

Iron Klaus translated it as "We were all beginners once. Never lose your humility." That sounds to me like more of an interpretation than a direct translation though.

He really has improved his stamina so much, but if I remember correctly this skate was used in the 24h tv charity show 2017 as an example of his asthma acting up during competition, so I think that was affecting his stamina here as well. But on the other hand, comparing this performance to Ten to Chi to at worlds still shows a huge improvement.