General Yuzuru Chat

[kaeryth]

 

[micaelis]

There has been talk here recently about Yuzu's future and his state of mind, but one thing I've been very curious about is Brian's state of mind when he first undertook coaching Yuzu.  I'm certain Brian had a keen and accurate sense of how good a skater Yuzu was, but is there any way he could have known the sheer phenomenon Yuzu would become, because that's not something you can accurately predict.  I admit I'm no expert on figure skating history but has there ever been a skater, male or female, who has inspired the almost fanatical following on an international level that Yuzu has?  Did Brian have any inkling way back then of the cascades of flowers and Pooh bears that would become routine with a Yuzu performance and did he have any idea then of the journalistic and fan following and attendant security concerns that would arise?  I'd really like to someday see an interview with Brian on how he had to adapt his methods to what must have been wholly unexpected demands that Yuzu's huge prominence required.  The kind of celebrity Javier enjoys and Yuna once enjoyed are qualitatively different from what I would call Yuzumania.  To use a rock analogy, did Brian in any way realize that this youngster he was undertaking to coach would become a skating equivalent of Elvis or the Beatles?

[CupidsBow]

14 minutes ago, micaelis said:

There has been talk here recently about Yuzu's future and his state of mind, but one thing I've been very curious about is Brian's state of mind when he first undertook coaching Yuzu.  I'm certain Brian had a keen and accurate sense of how good a skater Yuzu was, but is there any way he could have known the sheer phenomenon Yuzu would become, because that's not something you can accurately predict.  I admit I'm no expert on figure skating history but has there ever been a skater, male or female, who has inspired the almost fanatical following on an international level than Yuzu has?  Did Brian have any inkling way back then of the cascades of flowers and Pooh bears that would become routine with a Yuzu performance and did he have any idea then of the journalistic and fan following and attendant security concerns that would arise?  I'd really like to someday see an interview with Brian on how he had to adapt his methods to what must have been wholly unexpected demands that Yuzu's huge prominence required.  The kind of celebrity Javier enjoys and Yuna once enjoyed are qualitatively different from what I would call Yuzumania.  To use a rock analogy, did Brian in any way realize that this youngster he was undertaking to coach was a skating equivalent of Elvis or the Beatles?

 

ehhh i dunno. at the time Brian took Yuzu on he didn't have a particularly abnormal following. He was still a baby star on the rise with a lot of potential, but he wasn't even the most popular Japanese man in the field... Brian likely saw his potential, I think I read somewhere he was reminded of Yuna at lot when taking on Yuzu so wanted to be cautious, so maybe he knew Yuzu was destined to be hugely popular after a while, but I don't think anyone could really predict just how many fans Yuzu would go on to attract, because even if seems kind of natiral he would become so popular given what a complete package he is as a skater but also as a public figure.

 

I think Brian has the gift of experience on his side. He had Yuna, who is still extremely beloved in Korea. He had his own skating career... He seems to be pretty mindful of helping with the psychological pressure of the sport which i think is part of how Javi just blossomed under him. But god, it must be really hard to have Yuzu and Javi seeing how popular and successful both of them are. 

[KatjaThera]

4 minutes ago, micaelis said:

There has been talk here recently about Yuzu's future and his state of mind, but one thing I've been very curious about is Brian's state of mind when he first undertook coaching Yuzu.  I'm certain Brian had a keen and accurate sense of how good a skater Yuzu was, but is there any way he could have known the sheer phenomenon Yuzu would become, because that's not something you can accurately predict.  I admit I'm no expert on figure skating history but has there ever been a skater, male or female, who has inspired the almost fanatical following on an international level than Yuzu has?  Did Brian have any inkling way back then of the cascades of flowers and Pooh bears that would become routine with a Yuzu performance and did he have any idea then of the journalistic and fan following and attendant security concerns that would arise?  I'd really like to someday see an interview with Brian on how he had to adapt his methods to what must have been wholly unexpected demands that Yuzu's huge prominence required.  The kind of celebrity Javier enjoys and Yuna once enjoyed are qualitatively different from what I would call Yuzumania.  To use a rock analogy, did Brian in any way realize that this youngster he was undertaking to coach was a skating equivalent of Elvis or the Beatles?

Brian has always said the Yuna experience helped a lot with dealing with the Yuzu effect. It probably also helped that the Yuzu mania started after he was already settled at TCC. And the fact that TCC is an exclusive club, of which figure skating is only a part. So casually going in there is difficult to begin with. I don't think there was a great increase in security levels at TCC itself. Brian has also said that he's always meant for TCC to be a safe haven for the skaters, where they wouldn't have to deal with fans or press or anyone outside of their TCC family. But in a way, the club itself ensures that.

 

For traveling and so on, I think that was more Yuzu's team and JSF's job. And I think we have heard of instances where they realized what they had was insufficient. But I don't think that really affected Brian and the coaching team THAT much. (Although just in the Team Brian book, he says he wanted to congratulate Yuzu after his record breaking SP at Sochi, but couldn't, because he was surrounded by media - and JSF staff, I think.) I think it helped that in a way the hype was gradual and Brian's main goal was always to just shelter the skaters from it, regardless of its intensity. Also, his no SNS advice is one he gives to all the skaters, joined by 'if you do get it, don't pay attention to the stupid stuff.' I guess it was good Yuzu followed it (probably encouraged by his own team, as well).

 

On top of that, much like the rest of the FS world, I don't think they're aware of quite how global the phenomenon is. Yuzu can still have a normal life style in Toronto, which is great. Maybe he does have a bodyguard by his side all the time, just in case, but I doubt it. That probably only happens around competitions.

 

So, aside from the sea of Poohs, I'm not sure they even realize how big the phenomenon is...

 

As for media pressure, pressure is pressure, it can come from a handful of media or a lot of it, but how you deal with it is probably the same. The bigger problem was how much of Yuzu's time it took to satisfy all the media demands, but it seems they've learned to handle that really well, too.

 

5 minutes ago, CupidsBow said:

 

unlikely. at the time Brian took Yuzu on he didn't have a particularly abnormal following. He was still a baby star on the rise with a lot of potential, but he wasn't even the most popular Japanese man in the field... Brian likely saw his potential, I think I read somewhere he was reminded of Yuna at lot when taking on Yuzu so wanted to be cautious, so maybe he knew Yuzu was destined to be hugely popular after a while, but I don't think anyone could really predict just how many fans Yuzu would go on to attract, because even if seems kind of natiral he would become so popular given what a complete package he is as a skater but also as a public figure.

That's true as well, but it was rather well known that figure skating is very popular in Japan, so if Yuzu were to become a top skater, he was sure to draw a lot of attention. Just how much was surely beyond everyone's expectations, though, yeah.

 

In some ways, though, I think he's still a mystery to the more casual FS fans. Those who aren't fascinated enough to look for translations of interviews and so on. Yuzu doesn't interact much with international media, aside from press conferences, so I think that helps make it seem like it's only really a Japan thing.

[Yatagarasu]

27 minutes ago, micaelis said:

I admit I'm no expert on figure skating history but has there ever been a skater, male or female, who has inspired the almost fanatical following on an international level than Yuzu has?  

 

This is a complex question because the world itself significantly changed with the arrival and then spreading of the internet first, and then the social media second. Up until that point, and until it became available to such a large group of people, accessibility was much lower. You could see FS on TV if you were lucky and read the papers but that was that. Today we have YouTube and all the videos after a few clicks, from practices to competitions, to fans all over the world watching live and communicating in real time; talking and grouping, like on this board. We can now talk to each other like this and share our appreciation for his skating but at the same time glimpse just how many and how wide-spread we are. This wasn't possible a few decades ago. Travel has become more accessible in that time as well so that helped change the landscape too. 

 

It is therefore a tough call to make as we are comparing the incomparable. Megastars like Yuzuru are rare in the first place but at the same time, human lives experienced a significant shift with the internet and the change in how we communicate. 

I would say that for their time, there were stars like Yuzuru, say John Curry was one but still, very few. 

 

 

[MrPudding]

 

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

4 時間前, KatjaTheraさんが言いました:

I think Brian already understood Yuzu pretty well then and was trying to tell him to enjoy it precisely because of that. Though I think he understands him even better now.

 

I'm not implying that Brian didn't know him. But he certainly didn't know him the way he does today. Look, I didn't say it, the man himself did:

 

引用

 

<Q: Compared to the year before the Sochi Olympics, what are the biggest changes you see in Hanyu now?>

<There are so many. First is his relationship with the coaches––me in particular.> We [as a team] were still new to the game back then. Having only been through one season together when we went for the World Championships at London, Ontario, we were still at the stage of trying to get to know each other. And then, we experienced the pressure of the Olympics, but even after that, we were still working hard to get to know each other. He was very young––I think he was just about to turn 18 [the year before Sochi]. And then, winning renown in such a way, he has really grown into a man these couple years. [Now] he has his own opinions and sets his own pace. I am there, and Tracy is there, to help guide him.

 

But––and I especially think so this year––he’s really grown up, and he’s gotten so much better at communication. Whenever the session ends, we would immediately sit down and talk with each other. How does the 4Lo feel, how does he feel about various things, how was physiotherapy going, how is his training progressing…

 

We only sit and talk for about 10 minutes, but what’s different from before is that Yuzuru himself wants to come to me and talk. That makes me very happy. Communication is the reason why I am here, and discussion is necessary. He is frank––especially with this being the Olympic year, we have to be straightforward and talk, no matter what it is. If he wants to get more out of me, he has to communicate with me. If he wants to be pushed harder, more aggressively, he has to communicate with me. We are now at the stage where we are doing that, and that’s great.

 

(Translation credits: @gladi)

 

So the fact that he tried to get Hanyu to be happy about his win when the guy's head fundamentally doesn't function that way just cements the fact (to me, if not to anyone else) that he just didn't know him that well back then. If he'd known  him as well as he did today, he wouldn't have even bothered going down that route. The things he's saying about Hanyu now is a lot more in line with what we know of him based on the glimpses he's shown us through interviews over the years.

 

Anyway that's the way I feel about it. Though I can't claim I'm able understand it, it's completely fine by me if you see it differently, or if you want to see it in two or three different ways. I'm not looking to open up another longish debate here. What I'm really only saying is that it's nice to see the progress in their relationship because just by going back and looking at past interviews, you can see it clear as day. That's it.

 

5 時間前, KatjaTheraさんが言いました:

While I agree that the program was clearly only counting debuted jumps, it's also not like Yuzu doing 4Lz - and 4A - in practice is a top secret, because both he and Brian have mentioned it. It's a bit strange, I guess, that those mentions have only appeared in written interviews, but not on TV. But it probably doesn't really mean anything. I guess they could have said something like "it has been said that Hanyu has also been working on 4Lz and 4A, but since we haven't seen them, we won't take them into account" or so, but it's actually better if they don't IMO. Also, I don't think just hearing their names would do much for the casual viewers without footage to go along, and fans already know so no real point in it.

 

See, News Every is a news program. They have a strict schedule and only announce information that is approved by all relevant parties. I've worked with news broadcasters before. Each second is precious so everything has to be tight and every word said must be air tight and accounted for so there's no room for gray and certainly no room for extras like, "it has been said that Hanyu has also been working on 4Lz and 4A, but since we haven't seen them, we won't take them into account".  It's either "yes" or a "no" and until Hanyu officially announces it as part of his layout (which, at the end of the day, despite talks of this or that quad, he hasn't confirmed anything to that degree) and present it for the first time in competition successfully, it's going to be a "no" for news outlets, because they have to regard the information as still in theoretical stage. And unless it's a slow news day or something, they don't report on theories. They just state the facts (or if it's FOX, the "alternative" version of it) and be done with it. If this were not a news piece--a special segment dedicated to FS in PC, but still part of a news program so only cold hard facts can be delivered--but an exclusive on Hanyu, or an entire program focused on FS alone, I would agree with you but it's not. So there's nothing strange about it at all because that's how news outlets work.

 

I get that you like your grays, I love them too, but some things just aren't meant to be that way, nor should they be. 

 

Also, even though this seems like a reply directed to one specific user and as such should have been done in PM, I think the subject itself holds some interest to more than just the two of us so at the risk of being labelled a thread hijacker, I decided to post it here instead. Sorry if this disturbs the usual fluffiness and dream-like atmosphere that goes on in here.

[katonice]

From Figure Skate Abema

 

[Aotoshiro]

2 hours ago, OonsieHui said:

 

I kind of hope he doesn't announce it in advance or anything and just debuts it in competition. Mostly because if it gets announced and hyped then the pressure will be ++++ and that might affect him actually landing it. 

 

But the likelihood of him keeping his layout secret prior to comp is fairly unlikely..... so....  oh well

Yes...but, well, he can go announce it a'la Media Day- then change everything on it's head xD Considering his perfectionism, he won't put it in without ability to do it from transitions, so there is also a risk we will get it a'la #YOLO3A at 4CC, from the same entry the original element was supposed to be with...(I only hope he doesn't try it as his last jumping pass, because, well, I don't want this planet to implode. It was bad enough with a 4T...)

 

Edit: is it only me who's amused at our (FAAAAKE) calm at discussing the jump that has never been jumped in competition yet, and probability of Yuzu jumping it first?

[KatjaThera]

I just want to say for the record, that throughout the first book especially, Brian keeps talking about how he gradually got to know both Javi and Yuzu better and how with every experience - especially the less successful ones - he learned more about them. So with each day and each competition, he got to know them a bit better. I'm sure that continues to this day and will continue from now on, too, which is only natural.

[Aotoshiro]

1 hour ago, SparkleSalad said:

 

Lewl Nobu.  Is the Eros comment about YoI? (Still haven't seen it.) Who wants to expain to me?

 

Hahaha, I love him. 

 

1 hour ago, kaeryth said:

I know the "eros" comment is from YoI but I've forgotten what it meant. I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot of Yuri on Ice during the GP series (TV Asahi owns the rights to show the GP series / final in Japan as well as Yuri on Ice).

Not to mention the fact Nobu did have a Cameo as himself in YoI (The best parts of the series tbh, were cameos from the skaters) xDD

 

As for Eros-technique on ice so alluring you don't care about gender of its user, only it's so good (of course, played for laughs with the nosebleed from the female part of the audience). 

 

I can already imagine Yuzuru teasing Nobu about that...so so much xD

[Sammie]

8 minutes ago, Aotoshiro said:

As for Eros-technique on ice so alluring you don't care about gender of its user, only it's so good (of course, played for laughs with the nosebleed from the female part of the audience). 

Ohhh. I watched YOI but I didn't understand what Eros meant. Now I get it. Lmao.  

[MrPudding]

I have to admit that i also felt the same as nobu for the 4T-3T..

[Danibellerika]

"ごちそうさま" 

[kaeryth]

13 minutes ago, MrPudding said:

I have to admit that i also felt the same as nobu for the 4T-3T..

 

LOL... the commentary for the 3A. And Takeshi Honda was saying "Goschisosama" as well!