kiches

Ok, I'm a bit confused, but does this mean he's only recently just started putting weight on his right foot and that he was skating on just his left foot at first?

Thanks, I sent them a message through their contact form. We'll see if they say anything.

If the info about the knee is incorrect I wish Kyodo and Mainichi would retract it or correct it. Since it’s only in the English version I’m not sure if English speakers have asked if it’s accurate or not.

@fireovertheice thanks for those stats! The build up for many competitors last season was really impressive all around leading up to 4CC and Worlds which is what I had expected for THIS season with such decent starts at some of the challenger events. I think Nathan tried to gradually increase the difficulty this season by watering down the content at US Classic, but instead of going upward after Rostelecom he’s only consistently dipped in the free. His SP is fairly stable as is though and has saved him several times (hasn’t won a free skate since US Classiv despite being undefeated so far - almost unheard of).

One of my favorite instances of Yuzu inspiring others is Joshua Farris. In a google hangout session with USFS (I think in 2014/2015 season) he mentioned he was his fan. He watched him win he junior world championship in 2010 and was impressed, and thought if Yuzu could do it, and they’re the same age, then he could too. Sadly Josh’s status is a bit of a mystery after he annnounved unretirement, but I think this is one of those shining examples of how your competitive peers can lift and inspire you.

I think part of it when you have high level competitors the whole level of competition is raised. With 3 of 6 top men out of the final this year that level of competitiveness didn’t really develop (yet). I think some people will moan that it’s because men are increasing their difficulty and more prone to errors, that may be true in part, but I don’t think it was the only factor. Last season top men increased their difficulty as well but we saw a gradual progression of improvement. That’s been sorely lacking in the GP so far.

I’ve been on a men’s skating freeze out since NHK (didn’t have the heart to watch without Yuzu in the mix, but have been tracking scores, sadly I never made it through Cup of China for men) so I can’t comment on any of the recent skating by the men on the GP, but I remembered thinking this morning that Yuzu (and to an extent Javi and Patrick) help bring a different level of excellence out of a competition. Whatever that driving force is I felt it has been missing since he withdrew from NHK and I expect it to return when he’s back in competition.

When I read the interview translation and what he said about having North American, Russian, and Japanese aspects to his skating I took it to mean he was talking about more than just expression. He spoke most about Russia and Bestiminova and Bobrin influencing his expression, so he was pretty clear on what he felt was the Russian influence. I figured the North American and Japanese aspects he might be referring more to his skating skills and his knee bend - not that they don't also have an influence on his expression. In my mind working with Jeff and Tracy is probably what shaped the North American aspects of his skating the most. As for meeting Bestiminova and Bobrin, there's a video of them running into each other at the hotel lobby during Rostelecom, so he definitely met them (she hugged him and I think his mom, too). Maybe he meant at the rink though.

Is there a way to display just the text fields in the messages as a list to the side so that each icon doesn’t need to be clicked on to read it? I think it would help people read through the messages and be able to flag anything inappropriate (and make it more readable in general while keeping the visual to the Pooh’s and pink ribbons).

I saw it as a look of determination (and the breathing thing). Honestly I was sitting too far away to see his face and also busy losing my shit. I was jumping up and down and clapping so much (and hugging the girl next to me). I really only noticed his face after when i watched I watched the broadcast, but what I did notice was his very deliberate body language as he wrapped up his final spin. The way he sort of ended it early and deliberately, reached up with his hand to firmly grasp victory, and spread his arms like “wham”. Chills. He knew what he had done and that he laid it down.

Lol yes I spotted that smirk from across the rink in my seat.

I had the Baskin Robbins hard candy for the Popping Shower flavor. The candy tastes like sweet cream and pop rock candy. Popping Shower flavor I think is exclusive to Baskin Robbins in Japan. If I remember correctly Yuzu didn't actually say he likes this flavor, the actual question in an interview at the end of 2014 asked him what ice cream flavor best describes him and he said popping shower - because 'It looks cute but when you put in the mouth, it's gonna act up!'. I think it's a pretty accurate description . He looks sweet and cute but probably causes lots of trouble and is surprising like popping candy.

Actually not all competitions have a day between the SP and FS so he’s experienced no gap before. I think it actually happens quite often in the Grand Prix for one or two disciplines, and Autumn Classic was also back to back. 2016 Skate Canada was also back to back, and I believe Rostelecom also had the men’s SP and FS on consecutive days. Of course the media and press conferences are probably much shorter, but the Olympics are in the morning so I’m curious what type of practice schedule they’ll have.

I was thinking the same thing when I saw this question. I started wracking my brain trying to think of what I would ask him and realized what I enjoy most is just watching him move on (and off) ice. His movement for me is the most fascinating thing. To be able to watch him skate in practice is wonderful, I would love to watch him skate while on the rink rather than in the seats.

Found Yuzu mentioned as the first person to land a quadruple loop in the Guinness World Records 2018 book while I was out shopping today. No nice photo of him this time, but I think we can expect to see him mentioned again in next year's edition with his Helsinki free skate and SP from ACI. If he does something special at the Olympics I think it'll end up in the next edition as the cut-off date for these edits seems to be January.

Lol yes before news of the quad combo in the second half I thought it would be a lutz combo in the first half, maybe with 4Lo as the solo first jump. Even I think lutz combo in the second half is a bit much (for now). Do we have any references for Yuzu and transitions into a 3Lz (in case it’s not a spread eagle)?

I’m not surprised either. I was honestly expecting the lutz in the SP at the start of the season. Although I wasn’t sure if he’d do it as a combo or solo. I wished we could’ve seen him do it in the SP at NHK Curiouser and curiouser.

Omg, I’m cracking up at this!

Yes, the answer is Javi never topped it. Phil obviously got his wires a bit crossed when talking about 2015 GPF vs 2015 NHK. I left a comment about it in the article. It's mostly an opinion piece by Phil, and it's not an opinion I share with him.

So many different topics! I think he’s lost a lot of the “baby fat” in his face since 2014, his face has more definition now and is more angular - especially when he’s in shape and top condition. When he’s in shape it’s like his jawline could cut something, it’s so sharp. On his English, I agree with whoever said the issues with it are likely because he is so well spoken in Japanese. Normally his answers are quite eloquent and witty in Japanese and clearly his level of English mastery isn’t anywhere near his level so he has to try and find a match to what he does know in English. The end result can be fragmented but I think his English comprehension is decent. When he’s tired or overly excited I think he struggles more, and of course the only time we usually hear his English is during press cons and in the Kiss and Cry when he’s probably exhausted. I’m not too worried about the recent interview video, he looks as you’d expect him to look. Frustrated and a bit resigned to the situation at hand, but of course this situation is still quite fresh so the emotions he has are probably right at the surface. He’ll be fine. Back on the fever, maybe he developed it after he landed in Osaka. Those can creep up on you, and I don’t think you can get a fever just from tiredness. From what I understand a fever is a result of your body raising its internal temperature in order to kill an infectious agent (virus or bacteria). Virus and bacteria usually don’t do well in high temperature. Of course the offset of a fever is usually body ache and tiredness (if the temperature is too high then it can be dangerous for the person) which I’m sure he was still feeling residual effects of when he went to practice even if the fever was gone. Whatever caused it the 10 days of rest will likely be enough time for that to pass as well.

Wow, so fast. I had a hunch he'd head back after this weekend as that was likely the original plan. Somehow this image is also really funny and something I can totally imagine.

About using his mouth and teeth to remove his jacket and gloves... As fun as it is to see him do this, I can't help but think this puts him in danger of putting germs in his mouth . Especially the gloves if he's wearing them to touch other things. Sorry, this is the germaphobe in me talking, but seeing as he had a fever earlier and the flu last year, I'd be extra diligent about hand washing and touching my mouth, ears, eyes, etc with my hands after touching things others may have touched - and with being fervent in washing my hands.

Thank you @gladi for organizing, I will send my message later via email. Just a thought, but maybe we can get this banner printed as a blanket or quilt (similar to photo blankets you can purchase through Shutterfly). Somehow the idea of our words of support being able to be physically wrapped around him as a warm blanket seems comforting. I’d be willing to chip in.

These are the campaigns/brands that I can remember. ANA Phiten Ajinomoto Lotte Tokyo Nishikawa Monster Hunter (maybe not any more?) P&G - Olympic campaign Bathclin I feel like I left something off?

Ah yes, that jacket must be from ANA but I think the fact that the Nike logo is on there and in a prominent place is on purpose. Likely he's required to wear ANA's sportswear during Nationals and ANA probably has a contract with Nike for the athletes they endorse, which is why we don't see him with the Nike logo elsewhere. I assume Mizuno sponsors the Japanese athletes along with several other companies. I'm pretty sure I've seen Kose on those Team Japan jackets as well.