barbara

Just waiting for my chance to put my satellite ID badge on and see everyone again (also, I will be wearing a Pooh face mask).

Well, aside from pointing out the horrible judging, they did say something nice about Rika (who will be able to beat the Russians if Worlds happens because all the Russian girls will be sick).

Perhaps if he is vaccinated sometime this spring, he'd feel safer returning to Canada. I know I'll feel safer.

No to the no, I think. He does want to go to the Olympics - he's just not making that the goal right now, because, he is, like the rest of us, living in a uncertain world where (especially in the states) people are dying by the thousands, daily (1 in every 1000 Americans has died from Covid). Until we are out of this darkness, it makes no sense to wish for something that depends on so much out of our control. I am pretty sure that Yuzu is working forward to get better and move on to the next competition, whatever it is.

I think that, when it's safe, he should and will return to training in person with his coaches in Toronto. He is comfortable there and has privacy and the benefit of training mates, who can up his game. He did insanely well with the isolation and restrictions the virus imposed on him, but that doesn't translate to staying isolated when he can train with his coaches live. Skipping the GP series was truly a health issue and a wise decision. If there is sufficient control of the virus by next summer (and I am hopeful there will be - we are expecting four effective vaccines before then), there is no reason he wouldn't be able to participate in the GP series. He just needs to be cautious of where he skates and the physical toll the traveling takes. And, come on, he LOVES competition and LOVES crowds. He will be there if at all possible. We just need to see the world get healthier.

Well, Pooh is a little put out after being knocked off the seat - though Yuzu did apologize sweetly to him.

Pooh-san can be with him in K+C, but, and I want to very clear on this one - he has coaches! And they have been coaching him from 6000 miles away. Yuzu has done an enormous amount of work on his own and no one else could have done what he has, but please don't discount the importance of his contact with his coaches. He may be alone in Sendai but he is not alone.

It worked for me but there are a couple of logistical things to work out. 1 - you need Firefox as a browser and update Flash player. You can't use a VPN at the same time (which is the only way to get the YouTube stuff). The SP was on channel 64 (starting at 12:30 their time), though there is a pre-recorded compilation on at 21:15 pm 12/25 on channel 5. Groups 3 and 4 (ie: Yuzu) will be on channel 5, as will the medal ceremony and also the Gala, hatever that may be. The press conferences are on YouTube. If you can get it for free, there's definitely no down side.

I think it's worth it - only $8 for 7 days and you can go back a few days a re-watch everything. I could have waiting for the youTube stuff to get posted, but I am too impatient.

Happy Merry Christmas everyone - It's Christmas in Japan already and if there is a Santa anywhere, then Yuzu will be taking his title back since that's what so many Fanyu's are asking for - for Yuzu to have everything he needs to succeed and be happy. (And healthy!) He's already making it Christmas for all of us by showing his smiling face on the ice. It's just so good to see his "on the ice" happiness.

Boo. Sorry that you have to quarantine (and after having your first dose of the the vaccine). As there is only so much new Yuzu available to us right now, I recommend you use the empty hours to become addicted to BTS. They are very distracting.

What would make anyone think that Yuzu and Brian (and Ghislain) haven't been in touch? He may be physically coachless but he is not coachless and there has not, at least up to this point, any talk of him leaving his coaches behind.

The axis is perfection.

He has Pooh.

Yes, it is.

Then this must be his perfect world. I love that he gets to keep it to himself - how often has he been able to do that? I expect to be floored.

Join up with the forum [2020] Japanese Nationals (23-27.12) - Practice, Fluff and All the In-betweens.... If you get the iSakura deal, you can watch it live but also go back and watch it again. I went with a 7 day membership. Get it now so any bugs can be worked out (and I had several...)

Hooray for an actual Japanese reader seeing that tweet and giving us better news. I do hope he competes but also want him to not worry.

"Some skaters" have seen? I should think that "some" is pretty much exclusively Jeff, Brian, Ghislain and possibly a couple of skaters training at the rink in Sendai (but even that is unlikely).

I don't know, but now that I've seen it, I've commented, too. Ha!

I don't think he'll go for the 4A at JNats - he doesn't need it to win this and I would think he would like to have Ghislain helping him perfect that before debuting it. Or not. Maybe he'll surprise us, but he wants to win so badly that I don't think he'd risk adding this new element that isn't even worth very many points. Unless he plans on this being his last competition, but I'm thinking, no, this is not his last.

He really, really, really wants his title back.

I'm pretty sure that Jeff Buttle confirmed that he had done choreo for the new SP, and that was months ago. Plenty of time for him to personalize and perfect it. I'd guess Shae-Lynn for the long, and they have worked remotely before, for ice shows, but who knows. I really want him to compete and to win this - but I'd feel a lot better if the JSF kept the competition spectator-free.

While I agree that JSF certainly doesn't have the kind of respect for Yuzu that he merits (and think of all the skaters inspired by him -that's who are in the pipeline for Japan's skating future), I really don't think that they would do something so nefarious regarding the safety of the atmosphere inside the rink. And he wouldn't be the only one impacted, either. I do hope he skates and takes back his title with a performance that will blow our collective socks off (and be so great that even the JSF can't take #1 from him).

Let me share my opinion - I think he is technically the best - when he skates clean. He is almost always underscored on his spins and it's as if judges just don't even notice how complicated and smooth his transitions are. His stamina has been building over the last decade and maybe the shorter long program, while missing time enough for some bits of artistry, is just what he needs to do a skate even he is satisfied with.