2 hours ago, honeytea said:

Seriously, this season feels weird to me.. Last season, I was so focused every competition,  tes, pcs,  bv,  consistency, SB, PB etc..

But this season, I feel some emotional distance about competition. maybe too long time since serious competition and post Olympic emptiness.

the biggest difference is maybe yuzu's attitude about competition. Still, I have really unfamiliar feeling that he rarely show his eagerness to win. ("絶対勝ちたい") of course, word record, too.

I always have thought his willing to win a.k.a competitive spirit is his biggest weapon. At the same time, I totally understand his feeling. though.

others (chen, uno, boyang and other young guns to 2020 Olys game) are new start stance for another 4 years. they experiment  their ability in new scoring system . And they will have to upgrade their technical bv (more various quads, success rate)+ pcs.

but yuzuru... his motivation 4A and his tribute to his idol skaters.  Through various interviews, I think yuzu knows this skating world much like no one else. Maybe he predicts young skaters will surpass him with high bv . If not, he realize he always can't win..umm I don't know . maybe too many thinks.  I really hope his calm mind set leads good performances and no -regret season for fanyu. I always think  "You have to accept that you can't have everything."  myself.  Anyway can't wait for ACI! I 'm curious about his sp which was revealed 5 seconds...

I almost imagine first pancake though

 

 

The way Yuzu seems to be thinking now reminds me of when I finished my university entrance exam getting out of high school. To get into the course at my desired university,  and also because I'm just a really competitive person, I tried to be at the top of all my courses at high school. When I got the offer, I felt a huge sense achievement, and immediately thought I have no pressure to be top now, as a university degree is the same regardless of whether you are top of the class or tenth in the class, so I can chill and enjoy things I didn't have time before. But that zen mode lasted only like 1 month of starting the semester   the moment exams began the " I must be top" instinct immediately took over despite  the logical me keeps saying "just chill, it doesn't matter any more" .  

 

So I highly doubt Yuzu can keep his urge to always win or break records down for long after season starts, despite what he says now. Not to say I don't think in reality he will feel any less pressure than before. The biggest pressure will probably still be from himself to maintain his pride as 2X Olympic champion.

 

The fact he is learning the 4A ( and hinting the Quint too) suggests to me he does not predict nor wishes for the younger generation to surpass him, not even in BV, or at least TES. Sure in the far future a great skater that may surpass him could emerge. But for the current young generation he is competing against, he isn't going to be easily acceptive of that happening. I think in the post-Olympic conference a journalist asked him whether the younger skaters  ( I think he was referring to Shoma) tried jumping harder quads at the Olympic to try surpass him or something like that. and Yuzu's response was along the lines of "I don't think he was trying to surpass me, but just trying to get closer" (I take this to be his nice way of saying "Surpass me? no way, don't even think about it" .    

 

  

 

 

12 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Just taking everything he's said, in all the interviews and at CiONTU etc,  about his attitude towards skating since his injury and Olympic victory, does anyone else feel, as I do, that it's like Yuzu is feeling reborn? Or that his skating is reborn? Something like that anyway. That's the impression I'm getting. 

There was definitely in CiONTU a sense that Yuzu was taking stock of where he was and how he got there, sort of like taking a deep breath before one goes on.  Yuzu has had three significant crises in his career, the first being the quake, the second the crash in Shanghai and the third the injury of last year.  The injury and the recovery from it resulted in his 2nd OG but the timing and everything else felt to Yuzu like this was a time to put a comma in his career before undertaking the completion of the sentence he'd been writing since he was a mushroom-topped urchin forecasting his first Olympics.  To me the most significant thing he's said recently (and this more than once) is that he feels liberated now, so much that his intent is to skate what he wants and not what is absolutely needed for victory.  The 4A is actually more symbolic of what I think his real intent is, which is to show the skating world what TRUE figure-skating involves.  In that sense Yuzu is now a man on a mission and exactly where that mission is intended to lead us and the rest of the world he's not revealing (or perhaps he's not even quite sure himself so he is also engaging in a mission of exploration).  Whether or not he is the GOAT is not for him an issue (if it's ever been?).  The issue for him is to skate a program that is more than clean, a program that ascends to the top of skating's Mount Everest and plants his flag there and says to the world, "Here I am.  I've shown you the way.  Now get up here and join me."

2 hours ago, Xen said:

1 jump to rule them all....

(but he doesn't have hairy feet...)

He has silver feet!!

2 minutes ago, micaelis said:

He has silver feet!!

Uh, him and silver have a troubled history.

Okay, I am really happy I joined PlanetHanyu community.

But I suspect, there is something REALLY wrong with me since joining. Eagerly reading new posts while at work... thinking about giant Loch Ness Plushies...

And now, going home from work, by bus, I was kind of exhausted and as I was falling asleep, I CLEARLY saw the guy standing next to me dressed in SEIMEI outfit... 

 

Diagnosis - too much Yuzu? Could there even be such a thing? 

2 minutes ago, 4Nessie said:

Okay, I am really happy I joined PlanetHanyu community.

But I suspect, there is something REALLY wrong with me since joining. Eagerly reading new posts while at work... thinking about giant Loch Ness Plushies...

And now, going home from work, by bus, I was kind of exhausted and as I was falling asleep, I CLEARLY saw the guy standing next to me dressed in SEIMEI outfit... 

 

Diagnosis - too much Yuzu? Could there even be such a thing? 

 

Reading new posts while at work... Check

Thinking about giant Loch Ness Plushies... Check

 

My God, it is contagious!

 

I guess the final syndrome is the SEIMEI hallucination?

 

 

Uh, and since today is 14 September, may I remind you that we are going to die in 7 days time, just like in The Ring?

7 minutes ago, 4Nessie said:

Okay, I am really happy I joined PlanetHanyu community.

But I suspect, there is something REALLY wrong with me since joining. Eagerly reading new posts while at work... thinking about giant Loch Ness Plushies...

And now, going home from work, by bus, I was kind of exhausted and as I was falling asleep, I CLEARLY saw the guy standing next to me dressed in SEIMEI outfit... 

 

Diagnosis - too much Yuzu? Could there even be such a thing? 

Welcome to The madness! Be prepared to surrender for more( ACi coming! ). Have a scrunchied smile!

“ I have no word!”  

21 minutes ago, Anki said:

The fact he is learning the 4A ( and hinting the Quint too) suggests to me he does not predict nor wishes for the younger generation to surpass him, not even in BV, or at least TES. Sure in the far future a great skater that may surpass him could emerge. But for the current young generation he is competing against, he isn't going to be easily acceptive of that happening. I think in the post-Olympic conference a journalist asked him whether the younger skaters  ( I think he was referring to Shoma) tried jumping harder quads at the Olympic to try surpass him or something like that. and Yuzu's response was along the lines of "I don't think he was trying to surpass me, but just trying to get closer" (I take this to be his nice way of saying "Surpass me? no way, don't even think about it"

I seem to be feeling very talkative this morning.  Here's a an observation I've made before but it's something I feel is pertinent and that is Yuzu has a real motivator training right beside him at TCC, and that's Stephen Gogolev.  I can't imagine that seeing this kid of 13 jumping all the quads except the Axel does not have an impact on Yuzu, does not get his competitive blood boiling.  Even though the opportunity for their meeting in head-to-head competition is two seasons away I'm quite sure that Yuzu is already looking towards that event.  We know how well-developed his talent for orchestrating his career well down the road is.  Yuzu sees in Stephen himself at the same age, that is a skating prodigy, and he knows that that Yuzu Junior is hurtling straight down the ice at him.  Yuzu knows his skating skills are much superior and that his sensitivity to music much more highly-developed, but all the same I'm very sure he's very aware of his training mate, so aware that his primary fear of anyone getting a 4A before him is skating right there at TCC with him.

2 hours ago, ruruzest said:

Welcome to The madness! Be prepared to surrender for more( ACi coming! ). Have a scrunchied smile!

“ I have no word!”  

 

Yep! That's another thing. My family giving me strange looks while I am watching Yuzu (videos of Yuzu doing practically anything, ranging from 2 seconds to several hours...). I never understood, why are they looking at me like I was retarded. Then, once, I looked in a mirror. Yep yep, that "scrunchied smile" above pretty much covers it.  

At least I am not watching anything at work.

I personally think 4a has been his old dream since his mushroom childhood.  Not to win ot not to make a new world score... Just absoulte dream..first ever landing  in history itself...Diffrerent with 4lz or 4lo..  He thought  other types of quads to win olympics or to be competitive with top guys. 4a isn't necessary to win gpf,national and worlds. Even too risky for injury and not enough point worthy.  I'm so  realistic person...so  I can't imagine perfect and consistent  4a in beautiful  clean program  right now.  But I'm almost sure his main goal is 4a landing other than winning competition. We actually don't understand how big his desire is. I personally think  the reason he keeps comptition is mainly  4a... 

34 minutes ago, honeytea said:

I personally think 4a has been his old dream since his mushroom childhood.  Not to win ot not to make a new world score... Just absoulte dream..first ever landing  in history itself...Diffrerent with 4lz or 4lo..  He thought  other types of quads to win olympics or to be competitive with top guys. 4a isn't necessary to win gpf,national and worlds. Even too risky for injury and not enough point worthy.  I'm so  realistic person...so  I can't imagine perfect and consistent  4a in beautiful  clean program  right now.  But I'm almost sure his main goal is 4a landing other than winning competition. We actually don't understand how big his desire is. I personally think  the reason he keeps comptition is mainly  4a... 

 

I am sure his main motivation for jumping the 4A is childhood dream. But it is also, at least for this season, the most realistic replacement for his temporary missing 4Lz, to keep him a step ahead of his competitors. Being first men to jump 4A is itself a record, and the marks record may follow it too. So the dream and his desire to win/break records are not mutually exclusive.  They actually all tie in nicely together for him this season hence why he is insistent on jumping it now and not later. 

 

BTW whilst the ISU made the 4A totally not points worthy (gotta wonder why right after Yuzu announce he is doing it ), it also gives little to no motivation for other top skaters to learn it, as they're better off learning/stabilising the 4Lz. Which can allow Yuzu to make the 4A his signature jump for awhile  (I am sure he would love that), and not something a dozen other men ( and girl) can do like the 4Lz, thus reducing its wow factor (remember how when 4Lz was like Boyang's signature jump... now that is hardly the case with all the men and even girl prioritising that jump)  . 

17 minutes ago, Anki said:

 

I am sure his main motivation for jumping the 4A is childhood dream. But it is also, at least for this season, the most realistic replacement for his temporary missing 4Lz, to keep him a step ahead of his competitors. Being first men to jump 4A is itself a record, and the marks record may follow it too. So the dream and his desire to win/break records are not mutually exclusive.  They actually all tie in nicely together for him this season hence why he is insistent on jumping it now and not later. 

 

BTW whilst the ISU made the 4A totally not points worthy (gotta wonder why right after Yuzu announce he is doing it ), it also gives little to no motivation for other top skaters to learn it, as they're better off learning/stabilising the 4Lz. Which can allow Yuzu to make the 4A his signature jump for awhile  (I am sure he would love that), and not something a dozen other men ( and girl) can do like the 4Lz, thus reducing its wow factor (remember how when 4Lz was like Boyang's signature jump... now that is hardly the case with all the men and even girl prioritising that jump)  . 

Yeah, I think many viewer find 4lz is more approachable to skaters ( not the best  technic is needed to approve) than  4lo, 4f. About 4a point reduction, I guess judges and ISU don't want to promote this jump. Since it's hard to judge and cause potential injuries..  I don't think his lay outs are easy content. (* he only clean 4 quad lay out once cough cough*)  and I still believe clean yuzu can  beat everyone. But consistency is a key. I also really want  4a will be his signature thing!

12 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Just taking everything he's said, in all the interviews and at CiONTU etc,  about his attitude towards skating since his injury and Olympic victory, does anyone else feel, as I do, that it's like Yuzu is feeling reborn? Or that his skating is reborn? Something like that anyway. That's the impression I'm getting. 

 

And if that's so, I'm so glad that I'm going to have a chance to see it live. 

Me too. After PC my impression was that he was overwhelmingly happy, relieved, and grateful but also trying to settle himself with the possibility that sacrificing his ankle might mean no more competing... then CiONTU brought him back full circle and seemed to give him a different idea of how to actually continue into next season.

 

I hoped that he would bring CiONTU with him somehow but it was all just vague wishing & dreaming... I cannot wait to see the new programs in their entirety.

 

It's like the grim determination to succeed in spite of endless hardships, melted away after reaching that nearly impossible goal. Now he's putting himself first and doing what makes him happy, with joyful resolve. He definitely earned it!

 

I know the footage is old, but somehow I still see some I haven't seen before? Or maybe I've just forgotten them... but it's lovely to see the TCC training in progress! And Javi x Yuzu doing stroking exercises together!

 

"I don't imagine, I do it" woow!

It should become my slogan for life after all...