Henni147

I just had to think of the infamous TCC jump codes again... 4T+3A+SEQ = "Toe-Axel" (sigh, I'm still so grrrrrrrrrr about this, Brian...) 4F+3A+SEQ = "Flip-Axel" What would they call a 4A+3A+SEQ then? ... "Axel-Axel" ? ... or "Double-Axel" ? ... or " THE Axel sequence" ? I bet that they have a code for it already... Just like excited parents suggest names for their expected child

This is Javi's bedroom?! So textbook?! It looks more like a magazine cover of a furniture store

This video is really great It would be interesting to know what kind of notes the judge wrote down on that sheet during the performance.

K&C could be risky, because you can hit so many people by accident. I remember how a plushy bounced back from Yuzu's head right into the arms of a staff member. I don't know how much a thrown plushy can hurt you, but it's an unpleasant feeling for sure. BUT there is a smart way to make a pieceful "Pooh rain" happen without breaking any rules: 1. Bring a Pooh plushy with you 2. Wait until the end of the performance 3. Throw the plushy into the air and catch it with your hands 4. Repeat the throw a few times, if you like 5. Recycle the plushy for the next competition Okay, it's more like fireworks than rain, but the effect is similar. Some Poohs might jump down one or two rows by mistake, but I think that's within the rules

I can see the battle between organizers and fans already. 1st round: ban any kind of gift throwing ---> okay, then we hold up banners and posters 2nd round: ban any kind of item (banners, posters, handbags, drinks etc.) ---> okay, then we print messages on our shirts 3rd round: ban any kind of clothing ---> okay, then we do body painting

Well, figure skating is that kind of sport that is 50% athletics and 50% show/entertainment. The top skaters ARE rockstars and it's their no. 1 goal to make the crowd freak out, move them to tears and create masterpieces that will be celebrated and remembered forever. In the era of Yags, Plushy and later Joubert the crowd totally escalated as well and that's great. A sport needs an infectious, euphoric atmosphere to attract new fans and stay alive. I think that every skater prefers a wild, enthusiastic crowd to empty seats or silent monks anytime. And let's be honest: no one forces Yuzu to build up the suspense over 5-6 months and reveal his programs and costumes last minute in competition. He could simply do it in early summer like most skaters do and calm down everybody beforehand. But that's obviously not the case, so my conclusion is that he likes it the way it is and that's totally fine. It's part of the show and something would be missing without it, aye?

This is a bit OT, so I put it in spoilers:

Well, Brian called Yuzu's 4T+3A sequence "Toe-Axel". So it's very likely that "Flip-Axel" is the TCC code for 4F+3A+seq. #footnote: It's a sin to call any of Yuzu's jumps "Toe-Axel" imo. It feels so terribly wrong... Well. There is no other jump entry in the world that fits the criterium "unexpected entry" better, aye? There is a much bigger problem with a 3A from the opening position than the entry bullet. The judges are so surprised that they miss the jump as a whole and give 0 GOE again. EDIT: it would be fun to see a spin in the opening position that accelerates with the music and builds up the suspense. We have so many final spins, but barely any opening spins. Skaters could really stand out with that layout.

It would fit Yuzu's story of quad jumps actually: Land the 4X+3A sequence in practice/jump battle first, then try the solo quad in competition. Successful 4S+3A sequence in "The Ice 2012" ---> first competitive 4S in the 12/13 season. Successful 4Lo+3A sequence at WTT 2015 gala ---> first competitive 4Lo in the 16/17 season. I'm not 100% sure about 4T and 4Lz, but considering that he could land 4S+3A in 2012, the 4T+3A sequence must have been there in 10/11 or even earlier. I'm pretty sure that he could also land 4Lz+3A in practice, before he introduced the 4Lz at COR 2017 in competition. So my bet for the 4A: Yuzu considers it as "good enough" as soon as he lands 4A+3A sequence in practice

Thank you! At least I got Mitsuki and Koshiro right Aye, they could have reacted to the 4Lo or something else, too. I just remembered their loud cheers and happy smiles in their faces. It's still a very strong and vivid memory in my head that shows how much Yuzu means to the young skaters @Yuzurella True. The only full house events this season so far were ACI (men's practice included) and the Russian test skates. I think that says pretty much about figure skating at the moment. I would really appreciate to see Yuzu at Nebelhorn in the future. On the other hand ACI is the only competition that Yuzu has attended every season since 2015. It's a Yuzu Classic International actually. EDIT: Now, that I think about it... Yuzu debuted Seimei, LGC, H&L, Otonal and Origin all at the Autumn Classic (if we count out ice show Seimei in 2015). ACI is also the birth place of the 4Lo, the historical 112.72 SP record and countless costume debuts. So yeah, there were some bombed programs, awful judging and the 'glove incident'... But overall ACI is a competition of many great moments.

I cannot find the original broadcast source anymore, but you can watch the scene in this fanmade video: Question to everyone: who are these four boys? I'm not quite sure myself

Why do I have to think of Javi's Aerobic Class EX now?

It's interesting to remember all the criticism directed against Yuzu in the past and now see the reactions of the next generation: "Hanyu's music choices are plain and bland" ▶️ juniors pick his music pieces or even use the same cuts "Hanyu's costumes are too sparky and feminine" ▶️ juniors adapt or reproduce his costume designs "Hanyu's programs and moves are boring and repetitive" ▶️ juniors incorporate his signature moves or even mimic complete parts of his choreo "The Pooh madness is ridiculous" ▶️ juniors have Pooh or other plushies, too, and let their coaches carry them around Then we have all the happy flower girls and boys, who give him presents and hugs during the competition. We have the Japanese juniors, who celebrate Yuzu's 4T+3A sequence at Worlds together (I will never forget the boys' euphoric reaction on the couch. That was so relatable.) We have all the young skaters, who praise him in interviews and study his technique. Coaches use his videos as tutorials... Whatever the ISU wants to do. Yuzuru Hanyu is a role model in figure skating now and his footprint is everywhere. No scoring, no narratives, no kind of discreditation can erease his legacy from this sport anymore.

When I first saw Origin 2.0, I was a bit surprised of the deep oval neck, but now it's probably my favorite Yuzu costume ever. 1. DEEP purple is an awesome color for him. It looks really noble and vivid. 2. Love the butterflies and flower details. Sure, the costume is very sparky again, but it works perfectly here. 3. This is probably the only costume that shows his body lines even better than UA. 4. The mesh matches his skin color better than ever and it doesn't wrinkle at all. 5. I honestly didn't believe that it's possible to design a completely new costume that comes anywhere close to Origin 1.0. The bar was set really stellar high last season. That alone makes Origin 2.0 the ultimate winner for me.

At ACI last week I realized something interesting. My personal impression and perception of Otonal and Origin has changed. Last season I saw Yuzu's own story, motive and skating journey in these programs in the first place. Self-reflection, nostalgia and simply Yuzuru Hanyu, who loves skating. When he opened that photo album in Otonal, I imagined how it was filled with photos of little mushroom Yuzu, his first steps on the ice, then his first competitions, titles and finally his second OGM and all the people, who played important roles during this journey (familiy, friends, coaches, heroes, rivals...) Now I see and imagine a bit more. (This might have something to do with the current judging madness and ISU's future plans as well...) I imagine that the photo album does not only show Yuzu's journey but the history of figure skating as a whole starting with the first skates made of bones 5000 years ago, then the first real blades in the 14th century and the first figures drawn onto the ice, adding the balletic aspect in the 19th century, later also spins and jumps... yeah, basically every key event until today. Let's be honest: The latest developments in the sport let the temperatures really drop and make people shiver (so much that even Yuzu had to make his costume fluffier hihi). But then I see that step sequence, where Yuzu breaks through all the walls and obstacles and overshines everything. When I watch that sequence, I feel really warm and happy. In Origin I take a look at the two music pieces 'Art on Ice' and 'Magic Stradivarius'. Yeah... what is art on ice without music? This is a rhetorical question actually. For how many decades has music/choreography been part of figure skating now? Origin represents exactly these two pillars of the sport in its current form. The Stradivari plays the music and the skating visualizes the music through body movements on the ice. When I see Yuzu's little hand movement in the step sequence, I associate it with a violinist playing the Stradivari, but only at the beginning. For me the movement changes halfway into something else, as if Yuzu drew the music itself into the air. So... when I'm now watching Origin, the program screams to me: 'Don't do this, ISU. You cannot seperate technique and art anyway. They belong together.' I don't know what Yuzu's feelings, associations, thoughts and motives are. As I said before, this is what I imagine and feel when I watch these programs and it's really soothing

If the ISU doesn't like the excessive number of UR calls in the scoresheets, there is a very easy solution: I put this in spoilers because

It's meant as a half-joke actually. Figure skating is Yuzu's life, his baby. I don't think that he would leave a sinking ship without rescuing the remaining passengers, especially if he had the power to do so. Who else, if not the 'good people', can save a corrupt system from self-destruction? On the other hand: he has done more than enough for the sport already and he is free to do whatever he likes. It's absolutely understandable, if he says: 'I have enough from the public madness and want to enjoy my privacy from now on'.

I would totally celebrate it, if Yuzu simply overtook the ISU after his retirement, kicked out all the corrupt officials and reformed the entire system from its core. Imagine Yuzu running all the summer webinars himself [EDIT] casting new independent judges setting 'Yuzu standards' in the official guidelines, TP handbooks and SOV tables filming technical sample videos and tutorials with On Ice Perspectives developing new measurement tools, skating boots, blades, ice rinks and other hightech stuff doing skating promotion (in small fed countries, too) I think, I would follow that journey...

Aye, correct. The three calls alone cost him sth around 14-15 points in TES... I'm a bit surprised that he got positive GOE for all three UR elements tbh. Is that one effect of the 19/20 rule change? In Yuzu's case I'm relieved that he didn't get a double punishment, but that also means: truly underrotated jumps (with a call) probably don't get negative GOE either... I think it's pointless to calculate any theoretical TES for a clean freeskate here, because it's unlikely that he will keep this layout in the GP series. However, it shows pretty well, how much damage the panel can cause with 2-3 calls.

For me this feels a bit like being hit by a school bus. I hope that Yuzu and Boyang can get clean FS together this season and restore the true power relations as quickly as possible. This list hurts my skating soul. Different topic: do we have any news from On Ice Perspectives? I can't wait for the footage

I think it's absolutely normal that the superstars of a sport get louder cheers and more support than others. As long as it's tolerable and doesn't disturb, bother or harm the other athletes, it's fine. When I watched the Snooker Masters in London this year, you could feel in every match that the crowd was extremely pro Ronnie O'Sullivan. Even when his opponent came to the table, you could hear the loud screams 'C'mon, Ronnie!!' from every corner of the arena. It was really intimidating, because in billiard sports you usually have to be absolutely quiet so that the players can focus on their next shot. However, everyone got used to it and it's part of the show now, so it's not a problem. In Yuzu's case it's similar I think. Every skater is aware of the 'Hanyu-mania', the 'Pooh-rain', the madness in practice sessions, the screams, the fancams and all the other stuff going around. It's not the first time that it happens and it's part of the show. Something would be even missing without it What I don't like is when people only come watching their favorite skater and miss the rest. I feel so sorry for all the skaters who have to skate in front of empty seats and an hour sooner or later it's full house... In the ladies SP at ACI there was a pretty huge crowd until group 2, but after the resurfacing many have left the arena, although Zhenya, Eunsoo and others were yet to skate. This is not okay imo.

Oh, yes. I want to see that "wild cat"...

I'm all in for any kind of Queen EX this season. We had BoRap, Teo Torriatte, I want to break free and Death on two legs as great suggestions already. In the current judging madness I'd like to add One vision as well because lyrics... To On-Ice-Perspectives: I love love love the teaser video! It's just stunning. Can't wait for Saturday

I needed 3 years to dive into the rulebook, the SOV tables, the GOE bullets, the PCS guidelines etc. and there are still so many other things that I don't understand at all like the levels for spins and sequences... Last year I tried to create a table for jumps, steps and turns (how to tell them apart). That was really challenging and I still struggle to identify them in competition (especially the steps and turns...) I'm still not sure, if everything is correct, so if anyone finds flaws, please scream Jumps Change of foot Change of edge Change of curve Change of direction Toe assist Toeloop - - - - X Salchow X X - - - Loop - - - - - Flip X X - - X Lutz X - X - X Axel X - - X - Steps Change of foot Change of edge Change of curve Change of direction Toe use Toe-step (X) - - (X) X Change of edge - X X - - Chassé X X - - - Crossroll X - X - - Mohawk X - - X - Choctaw X X X X - Turns Change of foot Change of edge Change of curve Change of direction Toe use 3-turn - X - X - Bracket - X - X - Rocker - - X X - Counter - - X X - Loop - - - - - Twizzle - (X) - (X) -

Yeah, I thought about that idea, too. However, some problems would still remain: 1. Example: a skater completes a heavily pre-rotated jump with stiff landing. The judges still consider it as "very good take-off and landing" and say that bullet 1 is satisfied. Can anyone complain against that decision? No. 2. If you look into the current GOE guidelines for negative bullets, you can only facepalm, seriously: Wrong edge take off F/Lz (sign "e") GOE -3 to -4 Unclear edge take off F/Lz (sign "!") GOE -1 to -3 Unclear edge take off F/Lz (no sign) GOE -1 How is an unclear edge without "!" even possible in the first place?! Does it mean, the judges have the written permission to veto the tech panel and fix their mistakes!? Eh ...LOL...?!?! It's not that the judges don't have enough other things to evaluate... They have to do the tech panel's job in addition. Great. Next question: Why is the current reduction range for a "!" call so huge from -1 to -3? Example: a skater jumps a 4F with "!" (which is not unlikely). GOE -1 equals a reduction of -1.1 points and -3 -3.3 points for a quad Flip. That's a really big difference and it's the judges' free decision, how hard they want to punish a flat edge at the moment. Now... If we drop the current GOE system and only check bullets in the future, what do they want to do with: a) "Unclear edge with no sign"? I'm really interested now. If they keep it, the judges have a bigger veto power. If they cancel it, the tech panel has more corruption power. b) Let's say, the tech panel calls "!" for a jump. Does that count as one bullet with -10% or -30% then? Because that's a pretty huge difference. These are only examples. There are countless other issues that wouldn't be fixed by just checking bullets. It's a good idea, but still not enough to avoid wrong/corrupt judging.