SitTwizzle

Well, I don't see Mishin's and Arutyunian's best known pupils as having no issue of the sort. I voluntarily didn't say Canadian, as it is very clear that at least Brian Orser is a very attentive and thoughtful coach particularly in these matters (really, him and Yuzuru Hanyu were made to work together, whatever one can think of such a collaboration potentially accelerating any hair fall ;-) ) and wouldn't let any pupil keep faults in skating skills. I think some pupils have gone because they wouldn't want such discipline anymore? While Eteri Tutberidze seems to be more like : I show you what to do (and I don't know if she has the best methods/exercises), you do all you can to get high scores, never mind if there are still faults. Soviet culture seems to have been : medals, medals. Not perfection. At least where there were medals (which was not the case of ballet, for instance). And I think it is still the case. And I hold no grudge to Eteri Tutberidze and her team for doing their best, I just hope my preferred skaters will grow harmoniously, and they seem to have the same objective. I am rather grateful, in fact. Yet even Brian Orser wouldn't make a skater who cannot, dance on ice in such a way as Alina Zagitova does, have such a precision AND explosivity in her movements. And I don't even think he and she would go along that well, at least now, because Alina Zagitova seems to me to be a very sweet and shy teenager who would be quite lost without her family.

Just hers do you think? Are not you under the impression the whole Russian school may be affected? Wouldn't it extend to American, and maybe other schools?

As he doesn't say anything about his current training circumstances (maybe not to make envious his training mates), I tried to see if the rink was still open. I found this calendar but as it is a PDF, I cannot get an automatic translation. https://icerink-sendai.net/uploads/event/20200417120546_394434743.pdf What do the red signs from April 4th to May 6th say? Would the whole rink have been closed all that time, or only to general public? There don't seem to be any news relating to the general state of emergency announced yesterday. I suppose that, if anything were to hit the rink, it would be announced by the Miyagi governor today or tomorrow? By the way, I found this nice page from 2012, stating Sendai as the birthplace of figure skating in Japan : https://en.japantravel.com/miyagi/ice-skating-in-sendai/3279 I wonder where this pond is.

He used to skate in Yokohama, didn't he? Wasn't this prefecture already under a state of emergency?

I didn't try to look at Evgenia Medvedeva back then because when I saw her I was even more ignorant than now, and I really disliked her style (while perceiving her as an artist, but not to my taste), only last season I started to like watching her skating. I think every skater but Yuzuru Hanyu, practice too much blindly, isn't it? And he says (but it may be just by humility) that even for him, it was his asthma and other conditions which prevented him from actually practising as much as others, which forced him to reflect more on what he was doing on-ice (and probably off-ice) to focus on what he really needed. In fact, this is a culture (practising somehow blindly) which prevails in soooo many domains, not only figure skating. If you look at how so many people try to prove a Maths theorem by systematically "ticking" each and every possibility, instead of trying to find where it is more likely to pass and likeliness with other domains etc, which usually give short, elegant ("French-style"? ;-q) proofs. It takes more intelligent thoughtfulness to become such a skater as Yuzuru Hanyu, than pure physical ability, don't you think so? Though his beautiful lines in costume enhance it, and he must have other "gifts" (I should say : we must have other gifts in him). You will be quite shocked : I have never watched any program of Patrick Chan's. Sorry. I stopped watching any figure skating nearly thirty years ago, and resumed, at first a little three years ago (only Ladies, mainly Eteri Girls) then much more ;-) a few months ago, when I "discovered" Yuzuru Hanyu in the right column of Youtube, "after everybody else", and I am still not at Pairs or Ice Dance, or at whatever before the 2018 change of rules, except for Yuzuru Hanyu of course. Yet, about Alina Zagitova herself, I get a feeling she "owns the ice" much more than most others.

This is also why (being slower; I didn't know the other criteria, thank you) I suspected she didn't have a good glide, and I like very much, well, of course Yuzuru Hanyu's superb glide, but a very few others I think, have a very good one. And I don't know if she will really progress on it, she rather progressed on other skills, unlike Anna Scherbakova who seems to progress a good deal on it (or Rika Kihira, who was already correct as a junior by the way, if I remember well). Yet this is not the only skating skill.

I love Marin Honda, and am sorry she doesn't catch up with top level as a senior. But Alina Zagitova's short program wasn't meant to show off her viruosity, but her lyricism, and I find it a real success. Her FS is quite different, either the beginning in Fokine (Egyptian Nights) or in "street dance" styles.

It may have been posted elsewhere? It is widely available anyway, but here's a translation of Hana Ni Nare "for Japanese learners". https://nihongolearner.blogspot.com/2013/01/hana-ni-nare-by-sashida-fumiya-lyrics.html あなたは今笑えてますか? Anata wa ima waraetemasu ka?/Can you smile now? どんな息をしてますか? Donna iki wo shitemasu ka? / How do you breathe? (Lit. What kind of breath do you take?) 人混みに強がりながら Hitogomi ni tsuyogarinagara / While pretending to be strong in front of people 「負けないように」と Makenai you ni to 歩いているんだろうAruite irun darou / You must be walking, as though there were no problem (lit. som that you won't lose) 足許のその花でさえ Ashimoto no sono hana de sae / Even those flowers beneath your feet 生きる事を 迷いはしない / Ikirukoto wo mayoi wa shinai / don't hesitate to live 「生きてゆけ」/ Ikite yuke / Keep on living 僕らは今、風の中で / Bokura wa ima, kaze no naka de/ Now, in the wind それぞれの空を見上げてる / Sorezore no sora wo miageteru / We look up at our own skies ぶつかっていいんだ / Butsukatte iin da / It's okay to bump into each other 泣いたっていいんだ / Naitatte iin da / It's okay to cry どこかに答えはあるから / Dokoka ni kotae wa aru kara / Because somewhere out there, there is an answer 「あきらめないで」/ Akiramenaide / Don't give up どんな明日も苦しいほど / Donna ashita mo kurushii hodo / No matter how painful the future will be その命は強く輝く / Sono inochi wa tsuyoku kagayaku / Your (lit. that) life will shine brightly (lit. strongly) 風に立つ一輪 / Kaze ni tatsu ichirin / One flower stands in the wind 僕たちも花になれる / Bokutachi mo hana ni nareru / We can become flowers, too あなたは今気づいていますか? / Anata wa ima kizuitemasu ka / Have you realized? 大きな力はその手にあること / Ookina chikara wa sono te ni aru koto / That you have power in your hands (lit. That there is big power in your hands) 勇気は今、光になる / Yuuki wa ima hikari ni naru / Courage will become light 未完成でいい / Mikansei de ii / It's all right even if you're not ready (lit. it's incomplete) 立ち向かえる/ Tachimukaeru / You can still fight (lit. oppose, face) その胸に抱いてる種は / Sono mune ni itaiteru tane wa / The seed that you hold in your chest いつかきっと 夢を咲かすよ / Itsuka kitto yume wo sakasu yo / will someday bloom dreams, for sure 「負けないで」/ Makenaide / Don't lose 誰もが今、時の中で / Daremo ga ima, toki no naka de / Now, in time, それぞれの明日を探してる / Sorezore no asu wo sagashiteru / everyone looks for the future 傷ついていいんだ / Kizutsuite iin da / It's all right to be wounded 間違っていいんだ / Machigatte iin da / It's all right to make mistakes 何度も立ち上がればいい / Nandomo tachiagareba ii / Stand up no matter how many times you fall (lit. It would be good if you can stand up many times -- has the suggestive tone) ただひとつだけ / Tada hitotsu dake / Just one thing その未来へ手を伸ばして / Sono mirai e te wo nobashite / Reach out your hand to the future 真っすぐに咲く花のように / Massugu ni saku hana no you ni / Like the flower that blooms upright 人は誰も強くなれる / Hito wa daremo tsuyoku nareru / Everyone can be strong あなたもきっとなれる / Anata mo kitto nareru / So can you 答えのない毎日に立ち止まっても / Kotae no nai mainichi ni tachidomatte mo / Even if we stop at each day without an answer その涙は始まりのサイン / Sono namida wa hajimari no sain / Those tears are a sign of a beginning ほら太陽が / Hora taiyou ga / Look, the sun 優しい風が / Yasashii kaze ga / and the gentle wind 僕らを見つめているから / Bokura wo mitsumeteiru kara / are gazing at us 「生きてゆけ」/ Ikite yuke / Keep on living 僕らは今、風の中で / Bokura wa ima, kaze no naka de/ Now, in the wind それぞれの空を見上げてる / Sorezore no sora wo miageteru / We look up at our own skies ぶつかっていいんだ / Butsukatte iin da / It's okay to bump into each other 泣いたっていいんだ / Naitatte iin da / It's okay to cry かならず答えはあるから / Kanarazu kotae wa aru kara / Because for sure, there is an answer 「あきらめないで」/ Akiramenaide / Don't give up どんな明日も苦しいほど / Donna ashita mo kurushii hodo / No matter how painful the future will be その命は強く輝く / Sono inochi wa tsuyoku kagayaku / Your (lit. that) life will shine brightly (lit. strongly) 風に立つ一輪 / Kaze ni tatsu ichirin / One flower stands in the wind 僕たちも花になれる / Bokutachi mo hana ni nareru / We can become flowers, too 風に咲く一輪 / Kaze ni saku ichirin / One flower blooms in the wind 僕たちも花になれる / Bokutachi mo hana ni nareru / We can become flowers, too I should thank Henni147 for her encores video, which made me search a translation of the lyrics.

Daniil Gleichengauz makes the best of it, but he doesn't have her glide in his choreos for her, so I suppose she doesn't glide that beautifully. Do her skating skills have other shortcomings?

Only think that at the tender age of 8, Kamila Valieva was able to skate on The Dying Swan without ridicule! As to Sofia Akatieva (12), Veronika Zhilina (11)... they will have to wait until Torino. And neither Kamila Valieva, nor Daria Usacheva must take their selection for granted. I wouldn't even except Alina Zagitova if she resumes competition. She's a great performer, becoming a remarkable interpret, and her skating skills (stopping and departing, step jumps, "speaking" spins etc) are second (all right, by far) only to Yuzuru Hanyu's (and similar to Alena Kostornaya's), in my (ignorant) opinion; and "thanks to" confinement, her training mates/rivals will also have to "restart from scratch". And of course, let's not forget Elizabeta Tuktamysheva, if Alexei Mishin pushes her in this direction. So, we have "the four A", the two Junior, maybe Maiia Khromykh if she goes over her quads, and Liza Tuktamysheva, 8 top skaters for 3 spots... and believe me, Eteri Tutberidze will neglect none of hers. Of course it will be triple axel PLUS quads, maybe two different. Weren't we speaking of real life being more incredible than manga or novels?

French novelist Balzac also had said that about the man who inspired the protagonist's father in Modeste Mignon. So he toned it down. But nobody knew this man then, so Balzac could do whatever watering he wanted to his biography.

I thought with Javier Fernández, teasing was the other way! Like, with tickles on a podium :

I am very sorry if I gave you the impression I meant in any way "to decide what's best for his own feeling of achievement." And to have being so unclear in my comment as a whole, as to be understood to mean I could think HE may going on just for judges and journalists — I just mean I would find it good should their manoeuvres and narratives be defeated.

At first I thought he may delay serious training on a new program until he's in Toronto, but at second thought I find it unlikely. He is so fast to catch a program, he probably sends videos to Brian Orser for comments, and he may want to lose no time in case Sendai rink close? Though things seem to have been better in the very last days in the country, and Miyagi isn't near as hit as others, and youth seem to have ceased to gather for no useful purpose. And choreographers are probably very glad someone can skate their ideas "for true" at the moment. As to 4A being his ultimate goal, yes, 4A have a very, very special meaning for him, and will always be his king jump, because he is the axel king. But if he can skate, if his pains are not greater than his pleasure (I don't know how to express it), then I tend to think he is likely to fight for other "attainable" (only by him, at least in the next decade) goals : quad flip (he won't be the first but he is unlikely to accept having one jump never jumped in competition, even if just at an ACI or so), quad-quad combination, 4A in combination, and why not, a quint. I wish it so much, not for myself (and I feel other fanyus don't need them either), but for his own feeling of achievement, and for judges and "journalists with a narrative", who deserve a BIG humble pie.

At least with normal proportions. While I tend to think, as we speak of twenty-something full-grown Ladies, adaptation to the changes of pregnancy (with limited training to avoid strain on frail ligaments) and breastfeeding (hourly changes in breast shape) would probably be harder than for ballerinas. Thank you Paskud and Yuzuangel, after reading the interview I don't read her answer anymore as I did the first time. I think she didn't mean Team Tutberidze's expectations were for them not to grow. Just, high-level athletics use to postpone growth, but not indefinitely, and excessive diets and other stupid things would be of no use should anybody want to prevent skaters from growing.

I had not seen this interview of Alena Kostornaia's by her fans, ten days ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hyb_UFcMQY She seems to be still willing to be a neurosurgeon after all, but with a gap year. (French Olympic champion Alain Calmat did his med studies in parallel with his competitive skating career but he took more years; but these were other times. My parents were fans of his.) Maybe thanks to the lockdown, which allowed her to give more time to her schoolwork? She's living on the other end of Moscow, so she loses lots of hours in transportation in normal time to go skating and they have long days. They don't have discussed about programs for next season yet (she cannot repeat her short, I suppose, and her long was quite fit to a 16-year-old, probably less so to a 17? Though she's still watching Twilight) She seems mentally prepared for a traumatic resume in skating, and they won't have proper holiday this year. She has grown : 1m53 now, and doesn't think she will be much taller because it is her mother's height. But now, she's less than 20cm less than Yuzuru Hanyu, so can I still hope seeing them skating a gala program together? She says she wouldn't do pairs by the way, that it is more difficult than single skating as she would have to adapt, but "of course" this mustn't include the "unthinkable" (except for a crazy ignorant fanyu like me) possibility of this being with Yuzuru Hanyu (who would then be the one who would have to adapt, but probably less so than with others, thanks to her beautiful glide and triple axel). And (maybe am I going too far as she is a minor), though she was made up so I couldn't see precisely, it seemed to me her facial bones too had ended their growth, and her features acquired the perfection they were to get.

In fact I can't get anything from GoogleDrive, because I have no Google account and have not accepted their privacy policy, and I suppose this is the reason why these videos don't work on my computer (otherwise I would have submitted the problem on the technical thread). Henni147 was extremely kind : she embedded two of her videos elsewhere and sent them to me by PM. Usually the Gallery helps me in giving me info on what may be available online, and I can seek it on Youtube or DailyMotion or Vimeo. I have no error message, it just looks like downloading but never stops. Thank you for your help!

Thank you and sorry for the mistake! Swiss have nuclear energy AND safety. At least from their own plants. Because Tchernobyl was not an improbable accident, and such unsafe plants are still working, albeit with the greatest possible care, and threaten Europe (not France though : according to government at the time, French borders stopped the pollution. ;-) )

Excellent! Speaking of size, she is 1m68 and he is 1m60, so they would make a VERY original skating pair. ;-) And true, they are training mates and must be blocked in Florida...

Thank you for your help! Unfortunately I can't watch the videos here. Which is a real pity because there is a huge library.

I am viewing the videos I missed lately, and I can't open this one, but I don't find it on Youtube either. It looked like it was hosted there, but I may be wrong?

And Maé-Bérénice Séité is "only" 1m68, I thought she was a bit taller.

1m66, I had not the impression of her being this tall. She really was the beginning of an artist and an entertainer on ice, but in those times boots, blades and above all, ice, were not what they are now, and Yuzuru Hanyu had not cleared the land and paved the way yet.

She is now 1m60. Before Olympics season she had her puberty, the next off-season her growth spurt, hence her under-rotations at the beginning of these seasons, but also some growth + athleticism bone-related disorders. I hope she will soon get over it and skate again, I like her so much, and I owe her grace to have got interested again in figure skating in 2017. Alexandra Trusova is supposed (Wikipedia) to be 1m55, but I read somewhere she was 1m58. Anna Shcherbakova was 1m54 at the end of the season, and Alena Kostornaia 1m51. I wonder if they will grow or not, with the confinement. Though I think Alina Zagitova is now full grown.

At 4CC too it was underscored. I didn't chose score-wise anyway : I just noted that there was a tension at Pyeong-Chang, which prevented his interpretation to be perfect. At 4CC it was (or I had the feeling it was) pure interpretation of a music I love.