YuzuSkating_IsTheTruth

I feel blessed to be able to journey with him and fellow satellites for the past years leading to his third Oly outing. However, I was also traumatized (I may be just a casual viewer and I can’t fully explain it but the treatment he received was pulling on my heartstrings too. I can’t imagine Yuzu, being the targeted athlete must have felt.) to witness the intensification of harsh and cold treatment he received openly from the sports’ governing bodies. Instead of protecting athletes, they gaslighted him with unfair scoring, inflicting prolonged emotional pain on him, treating him with utmost disrespect, not least a two-time Oly champ. Being able to walk away from a sport that feels alien or no longer aligned with his ideals is the best form of self-care he has undertaken. I’m very relieved I don’t have to watch (frankly, not sure if I want to/can survive another season) anymore competitions only to see him time and again being slayed by low scores, being mocked by antis that he’s past his time, xxx surpassed him (in scores) with excellent jumping/artistry skills, blah, blah. With his decision to turn pro athlete, Yuzu has turned his back on them, setting himself/his creativity free from the confines of ISU rules (that only seem to apply to him). They can no longer hurt him. This is a joyous occasion for him, his family and all those who care and love him. In fact, his divorce from these governing bodies calls for a celebration! Like many satellites, I also have regrets of unfulfilled wish of seeing him live in competitions but I’ll gladly trade it for performances by a happy pro athlete Yuzu. Admittedly, many of us (myself included) would love for a perfect ending (including the long overdue Pooh rain) to his competitive career at Beijing Oly because he simply deserved it. Regretfully, this envision didn’t materialise. Still, no one can stop him from conquering more hearts at the world stage with his beautiful, heartfelt performances. In recent years, I have started pondering and worrying if Yuzu will have issues transiting from a competitive skater to a pro skater since he has stayed competitive for more than a decade. But looking at his recent performances at FaOI, SOI and DOI, I was under the impression he had already started to prep himself for an after competitive career life by experimenting with different music/dance genres and styles, pushing the envelope, gauging audience reaction, market appetite. According to a post shared here, it felt reassuring that the management team Yuzu had assembled will be led by a highly experienced and well-regarded lawyer. It also set me thinking he means business and there is more to his post competitive career now that he’s taking control of the ‘Hanyu Yuzuru’ branding, including the use of his images on various mediums. I felt assured that Yuzu, being the goat, declared at the presscon that he’s transiting to a pro athlete instead of pro skater (we can still expect to see his beautiful, airy and effortless quad/sequence jumps to be part of his performances). I know I’m spoilt but I need/enjoy a good blend of artistry-athletic performance as I was fed with a Yuzu diet since I came back to the sport in late 2017. I will stay happily onboard his train/roller-coaster, even more so when he’s changing direction to a new and exciting destination, hungry for more adventures and beautiful memories. After creating a legacy as an amateur skater, I’m convinced Yuzu will continue to make waves/revolutionize the FS world, with his pro athlete approach and Hanyu Yuzuru skating in ice shows.

In my wildest dream, I'm hoping his management team is announcing a Yuzu World Tour at the presscon, hence he's giving this season a miss

@Yuzuwinnie, thank you for your kind words. Sorry for the slow response as I don't have much time to spend on the planet. Thanks for sharing more meaningful of mottos of Mr Le Baron Pierre de Coubertin. I enjoyed reading them. My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the Japanese earthquake, including fellow satellites. I have been preoccupied with some thoughts and after taking time to organise them, I would like to share it here. Apologies it's lengthy and if it makes someone feels uncomfortable (though that is not my intention).

That was my exact thoughts! It tickled me so I thought I would just casually share these numbers here.

Catching up and reflecting on Yuzu’s third Olympics outing, I’m glad I can share them here: Yuzu didn’t win, in the conventional sense where success is measured by a symbolic, coloured medal. But he did win. indisputably, the biggest winner where he won hearts all over the world with his courage (of a true champion) to chase his childhood dream of challenging the human limits by attempting a 4A. For many of us, we would only want to showcase the best of ourselves/share our success stories to impress others. Hence, to see Yuzu gamely taking on 4A under a less than ideal (ankle) condition, knowing there’s a high chance of falling in front of millions of viewers (he fell on the 4S too), and then picking himself up to calmly present an otherwise captivating program, needless to say, he won my heart at the end of it. To me, the falls in his FP help to bring the character to life by drawing on the bravery and fighting spirits of the warrior in this story. Totally unexpected, he popped his first jump - 4S in his SP due to a hole in the ice. Thereafter, he showed us that only an athlete of his calibre can proceed to present us with a masterclass performance. Both his SP and FS, are totally mesmerising, inspiring and uplifting performances. “The important thing in life is not the triumph but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well.” - Baron de Coubertin (founder of the modern Olympic Games; Between 1896 and 1925, IOC President) I’ve no doubt Yuzu will walk away from this Oly in a dignified, Yuzu way but still, his class acts are beyond my expectations. With grace, respect, humility, perseverance, courage for pursing dreams and pushing the sports boundaries, Yuzu conducted a master class at the world stage on how to be a two-time Olympic champion. Mr. Figure Skating has shown that he is the true embodiment of the Olympic spirit. I hope Yuzu is proud of this. As an otherworldly being, his win is intangible and beyond the sport where symbolic medals can’t define his greatness as an athlete and a human being. It seems the Universe has a drastically different plan for him. Through his trials and triumphs, Yuzu becomes a messenger of love, gratitude, kindness, perseverance and hope to the world. Incidentally, with the huge amount of love, respect and admiration showered on Yuzu at the Oly (despite being off podium), I hope he can be rest assured that he is loved not for his medals/titles but for being true to himself (a man of principles), for his mesmerising (and healing) performances, for simply being an inspiring person to others. Now that he’s back in Japan, I hope the postcards from Chinese fans and fans from rest of the world keep him busy and feeling loved during this off ice period of ankle rehab/treatment. Rest and heal well and stay safe, Yuzu! Let's remember 3.11 with Yuzu and rest of Japan. Have a great weekend, everyone!

It’s so telling which men’s singles SP performances at the Beijing Olympics captivated the spectators and casual viewers of figure skating by looking at the number of views these videos attracted and in spite of fanciful video titles for the OGM. I was watching Yuzu's programs and casually scrolling down the list of videos and saw this: Yuzu with 291, 115 views (video made avail on 21 Feb) Yuma with 29K views (video avail 11 days ago) NC’s video titled ‘HISTORIC Figure Skating Performances at Beijing..’ with 34K views (video avail 3 wks ago) NC’s video titled ‘Nathan Chen sets a new men’s SP World record!…’ with 65k views (video avail 3 wks ago) NC’s video titled ‘Nathan Chen’s WORLD RECORD short program!’ with 89K views, video avail 11 days ago Donovan with 44K views (video avail 11 days ago) Jason Brown with 15K views (video avail 7 days ago) Shoma Uno with 31K views (video avail 10 days ago) Adam Siao with 16K views (video avail 4 days ago) Worthy to note, the number of views for Yuzu’s SP video is still increasing as I type this while the number of views for others seem to have stabilised.

I know I'm sooo late but I couldn't help sharing the first thought that came to mind upon watching this - Beauty Taming the Beast on Ice!

A big thank you to all satellites for sharing all the contents on this forum since the start of the Oly. I've been kept away for 2 weeks and there's so much to catch up. It moves me to tears to read the dedication and professionalism of these photographers (to think they turned up at the venue at 3am to take up best position for the photo shoot) and how they are in turn moved by Yuzu's commitment to 4A. When they mentioned "The latest technology can't keep up with Hanyu's performance....Since his rotational speed is amazing, you know.", I'm once again reminded of what a monstrous jump 4A is and how grossly undervalued it is.

I understand his desires to express his gratitude towards fans and supporters at the gala but this seems to me Yuzu is trying to make up for the absence of OGM with his gala performance (despite ankle injury). I sincerely hope he's aware that his SP and FS performances have already surpass all the scorings, worthy of gold medal (and could have gotten more WRs and champ titles for the past few years) and his 4Aq attempt is recognised in an ideal, clean sport. Many of us are just thankful that he has decided out of his own free will to continue skating competitively. All we want is happiness for him.

I've been kept busy, away from the forum as Covid caught up with my family...Am just skimming through the threads quickly but this caught posting my attention - to think IOC knows who's their superstar athlete of the Games and has to latch on him as their saving grace.

I've been wondering about this for a long time too. My conclusion - Due to his talents and hard work, Yuzu has been doing great, winning comps, earning titles and breaking records without any help from JSF all these years. On the contrary, JSF can benefit from his success by striking deals with others to underscore Yuzu in return for help in propping up scores of their preferred skaters in whatever disciplines. Japan is keen to build up other disciplines so that they can go for Olympic team event to increase their chances of having more Olympic medalists besides Yuzu. This helps to explain why Japanese judges are so harsh on Yuzu as they have to return the favour their preferred skaters received.

Same thought came to my mind. Sorry for sounding rude and disrespectful, but there is only one FS superstar I'm aware of. I was expecting elite skaters from various countries, not just one. Why do I have the impression that they are using Yuzu to promote their 'superstar' skaters?

Finally caught up with the postings here. Sorry to hear the loss of loved ones of some of our satellites in recent years. And welcome the new ones to the planet. We all have our own battles to fight on daily basis but Yuzu's skating have helped us to cope. Hence, more than anything, he deserves to have his happiness and dreams fulfilled. The silver lining to the popped 4S is him avoiding falls/injuries which might affect his FS performance on 10 Feb (Just watched his practice and am worried for his health now). Hence, I consider it a wise move on his part. I was indignant at his SP scores. Despite the popped 4S, he completed the rest of the routine brilliantly without compromising on jumps and skating qualities, musicality and artistry. Nathan has always been the one singled out for benefitting from overscoring but imo, so does his compatriot, Jason Brown. To think that one-dimensional skater like Jason, known for his artistry (sorry somehow it doesn't't work on me) scored higher than Yuzu with no quads in his routine.. Unpopular opinion (since he’s popular with many satellites here) but this doesn’t sit well with me. In fact, I'm baffled he can be on the podium in a quad era. At least in Nathan, one can see him improving technically by taking on more jumps over the years (I don’t agree with more jumps = auto high PCS). Doing multi quads in a routine is (highly) physically demanding while presenting high level of artistry concurrently requires even much more from the athletes . Hence to me, PCS scoring of non-quad and multi-quad routines should be pitched at different levels. As Jason Brown stated in an earlier interview, it is challenging to focus on jumps while maintaining artistry. That’s why I’m in awe of Yuzu’s abilities to present multi-quad routines with high level of artistry over the years. And he is still improving both technically and artistically. Whatever decisions he takes regarding his FS comp tomorrow, I will support him.

Welcome to the community! It is a similar experience for me ie. first time following Yuzu on his quest for an Olympic gold (third one, no less). Actually, am ever thankful I’ve this privilege to do so, considering this is out of his plans. What makes this journey extra special and ultra-exciting is him bringing in the 4A, pushing the technical boundaries beyond imagination. Hence, cherish this unique experience by staying calm, channelling as much positive image and energy to him. I wish him success in achieving all his dreams.

Finally, we received our calming pill in the form of pics of Yuzu landed safely at the airport. Please stay safe and may this be the most satisfying Olympics outing for you!

Such media reporting is feeding into the US narrative that the appointed one is truly a league on his own, even Yuzu might not beat him with a historic feat of a ratified 4A. I'm thinking the reason for them to confidently spread such sentiments (with unpredictability of high BV from the 4A being taken care of when it was changed to 12.5) is to set the stage right ie. unlike Sochi, it will not be a scandalous OGM win for the appointed one barring no mistakes on his part.

Realising Yuzu is not going to take part in the SP Team Event, I’m now hoping he’s giving it a miss totally. I’m relieved Yuzu can rely on his team mates to relief him of any TE duties, leaving him more time to prepare for his battle. Away from the intense media scrutiny, he can single-mindedly focus on mastering the 4A in Japan until the time comes for him to depart for Beijing for the Men’s Single Events. Meantime, it’s nice the rest of the athletes are getting their fair share of media attention.

To me, no skater has a more passionate and in-depth relationship with the music he skated to than Yuzu - what the music is to him and what he does with the music. In other words, he becomes the music when he's on ice. If even the piainst (mind you, a professional n not just another clueless fanatic fanyu) thinks Yuzu deserves more than 10 for IN, Oly judges pls sit up and take notice. It’s a crime to shortchange him on his PCS. Such heartfelt admiration and respect between Yuzu and the many professionals he collaborated with is only possible (besides his deep knowledge in other fields) because they were moved by his pure and sincere heart. He always brings out the best in others. Praying for max divine intervention, Yuzu's safety and the best possible outcome for the warrior

There is at least one other known skater Arthur Dmitriev Jr competing solely to be the first to land 4A, with total disregard for the quality/entry of his jump or having the rest of his routine falling apart. Hence, I do have reservations of JMedia being openly discussing and interviewing Yuzu and others on his 4A training progress, techniques, etc. Others, in the meantime, are hush hush with their training. Will Yuzu be recognised/even mentioned if such discussions do point others to the right direction too?

All this hype on 4A is not necessarily a bad thing. It does its job in garnering attention and interest far beyond the sport. Anyone following FS since 2018 PyeongChang is fully aware that Yuzu can’t rely on the sport’s governing bodies for fair scoring at all but strong external pressure (the world is watching) should help to put a check on such practice at the Beijing Olympics. He doesn’t need to do a perfect 4A jump but as long as it’s ratified, he will have an upper hand and his name will be cast in stone for this achievement. Similarly, the current I$U leadership will go down in history as clowns for assigning a low 12.5 BV for the impossibly difficult 4A. At the personal level, I feel this is the best time for Yuzu to fulfil the last of his childhood dreams of landing the 4A as each passing year poses more challenges to his body and before someone else beats him to it (I’m sure there are a handful interested in taking on 4A though they didn’t announce it). Anyway, I have faith in the path he takes. Praying for the best possible outcome for Yuzu

I'm thrilled that Yuzu's narrative is getting a life of its own, creating buzz worldwide, from broadcasters to the sporting world to the man in the street. It is definitely a highlight of the 2022 Winter Olympics and will be remembered for generations to come. As the 4A is in unchartered water (and considered humanly impossible in FS) , Yuzu needs to think out of the box for his training. It is imperative that other great athletes like Kohei Uchimura and Kenzō Shirai are stepping up at this juncture to share experiences with/offer tips to Yuzu in his quest for 4A, thereby displaying great characters and bringing sporting spirit to a new level. With their input, I hope Yuzu achieves a major breakthrough in his training, in time for the debut of a ratified 4A at the Olys. Praying for the best possible outcome for Yuzu ...

This is my summary of the ongoing FS saga (sorry, this image stuck in my head for the longest time so I thought I'll share it here). In the absence of a legitimate heir to the throne, due to his exceptional talent and skills, a teen Yuzu was ‘welcomed’ as the adopted son for the kingdom. Coupled with his sincere heart and noble character, the king became well-loved and respected by people over time. In return, his love for and appreciation of them is apparent. Meantime, the court (governing bodies) tolerated his presence and reign while praying fervently for a son. Their prayers were finally answered after waiting for more than a decade. When their own son came of age, they decided to dethrone the current king through political machinations despite him doing an excellent job in his reign. They tried every means to forcefully take the crown away from him. The ‘adopted son’ was confused and deeply hurt by such treatment and fought back but alas, ended up injured multiple times. But he is a force to be reckoned with, not to be underestimated. This warrior king doesn’t give up and is fighting back strongly, stronger than ever, preparing to face the biggest battle of his life in Feb.. In the meantime, people are praying, waiting for the return and crowning of the true king. Praying for justice to prevail, safety and good health for the warrior king. May you achieve historic feats at the Beijing Olympics.

First and foremost, I see Max, together with Yuzu, as heroes championing for the sport in their own ways. Max, as a highly knowledgeable sports commentator, by affirming Yuzu's ideals of figure skating and speaking up against the direction the sport is heading with its judging, questioning the timing in implementing certain rules, etc. On the other hand, Yuzu, an athlete with top-notch qualities in both artistry and atheleticism, let his work speaks for itself. Both men are passionate about figure skating.

It’s lovely to hear the positive Yuzu-related experiences your family shares. Welcome to the planet! I was wary of social media but decided to take the leap of faith in being part of this planet last July after lurking here for sometime to ascertain this is a safe outlet to offload my opinions and grouses. Being able to do so helps in maintaining a healthy mental state. Hence, am thankful of the existence of this planet and all involved.

Do the bears come in a pair? It's available for international delivery?