General Yuzuru Chat

[KatjaThera]

1 minute ago, Xen said:

I wonder if he would share more about how he goes about choosing music-since the tweet by Iron Klaus mentioned having his views on his recent programs. Now that he's older, he probably has more concrete views on artistry.

 

What I would love to have though, is the english translation of Brian's book on training Yuzu. That would be enlightening.

I'll have to look over the Japanese description again when I get home...

 

I like what I've read of Brian's book, but it's not exclusively about training Yuzu. I have found myself thinking at times that it has less new info than I expected, but then again, I generally tend to have high expectations lol

 

Following that documentary, what I would love some day - and I think would make a really good reading material for upcoming skaters - would be for Yuzu to publish his training notes...

[Xen]

6 minutes ago, KatjaThera said:

I'll have to look over the Japanese description again when I get home...

 

I like what I've read of Brian's book, but it's not exclusively about training Yuzu. I have found myself thinking at times that it has less new info than I expected, but then again, I generally tend to have high expectations lol

 

Following that documentary, what I would love some day - and I think would make a really good reading material for upcoming skaters - would be for Yuzu to publish his training notes...

He might view that as too intimate to publish.  Though I wonder if his views in the new book would have parts from his notebooks when working on the 15-18 programs?

[theonecurriedplush]

24 minutes ago, KatjaThera said:

I think the translation is by someone who doesn't have English as their first language, so it shouldn't be taken literally. In the original description I think the emphasis is that this is book he was involved in, as opposed to other books, like Yuzuru Method or whatever that was called, which are about him, but he wasn't involved in directly.

 

I am however hoping this one might have new interviews, for the book, as opposed to being a compilation of things said originally for other purposes... but I won't hold my breath.

 

But I agree it's a bit misleading. Before getting my own copies, I did wonder if they were autobiographies like Javi's and it was only when I got them that I saw the format. I guess it still fits with him as author because most relevant information comes from him, but... yeah.

This is such an important point for me as well, from first hand experience. I've had really wonderful Japanese people translate Japanese for me, only to realize that they didn't understand how misleading or even incorrect their english expression was!

I have lived long enough that I can wait quite a few years for Yuzu's own book to arrive when he has the time and reflection to write his auto the way he finds fit to write it. For now, the current-ness of direct interviews are more informative to me. (I will hear about the book vicariously from other readers maybe)

[Danibellerika]

21 minutes ago, MrPudding said:

 

I just finished learning katakana and now off to learning hiragana for yuzu.. then i'll learn the grammar......... 

 

And that's where the real life long commitment begins, but no worries you are in good company (points to self who just entered 302 class when I should really be in 301 but they only offered 302 so I'm playing catch up with both but I really don't have the time to do it since I'm planning my trip). Happy trails. 

 

 

[Forcefield]

1 hour ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

 

 

 

Here's my take on this thing he wrote almost a decade ago:

 

"The coach and people from the fed said good things about me, but it's also like I'm being told this is all I can do and it's good enough, which really drove me nuts."

 

 

Lol. Why do people keep saying he wrote these books himself like he actually sat down and deliberately thought up words to be specifically published as a book? Everything published under his name is more compilation of the things he's said or written as some kind of journal entry or anecdotes of his utterances. I mean the entry-style writing in Aoi Honoo II I guess can technically be said were written by him but if these are basically just a bunch of stuff he's said in interviews, calling it "written by" sounds like a bit of a stretch. >_<

 

Don't get me wrong, if the words are wholly his and published into book format, he should be credited as the author but introducing the book as being written by him, unless inverted commas are used, just strikes me as very odd choice of words. Of course, I may have understood what's being said here wrongly. What does interviews "by himself" mean anyway? 

 

*Ordering it when it comes out*

 

 

This is literally me in a nutshell.

 

This is the first time I've heard of the Yuzuru Method. Besides Ao no Honoo I and II what other books am I missing?

[Hydroblade]

2 hours ago, Floria said:

I knew I should start learning Japanese some day 

 

Maybe we could start a fan translation? For the planet only maybe... or something. I'm actually translating aoi Honoo2 to practice lol 

[Joey]

Hey everyone, sorry to disrupt the conversation again - but I just wanted to throw out a reminder again that we are having an ongoing Prediction Game on PH, and after finishing the Nationals round we are starting anew with the big 2nd half events in our sights (Euros, 4CC, Olys, WC). And everyone who wants to is very welcome to join in

 

Link to the current round:
https://www.flexiquiz.com/SC/N/8e3e8db4-14ce-4cf0-8b0a-212fdeab6cbf

 

And a link to the thread on PH here.

 

[xeyra]

38 minutes ago, Joey said:

Hey everyone, sorry to disrupt the conversation again - but I just wanted to throw out a reminder again that we are having an ongoing Prediction Game on PH, and after finishing the Nationals round we are starting anew with the big 2nd half events in our sights (Euros, 4CC, Olys, WC). And everyone who wants to is very welcome to join in

 

Link to the current round:
https://www.flexiquiz.com/SC/N/8e3e8db4-14ce-4cf0-8b0a-212fdeab6cbf

 

And a link to the thread on PH here.

 

 

I almost forgot!! Again. 

[Joey]

1 minute ago, xeyra said:

 

I almost forgot!! Again. 

 

Then I'm happy I did the right thing by posting here

 

(If it helps, I make this things, and I still nearly forgot them twice too )

[KatjaThera]

2 hours ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

 

Truth be told, I actually enjoyed Yuzuru Method more than I did the Aoi Honoo books. Maybe it's cos I enjoy reading and hearing what others say about him more than hearing him talk about himself. I also seem to prefer opinion articles and blogs written about him and programs that talk about him, no matter how long or short, than actual news about him and interviews with him, though the latter is, of course, always welcome. xD 

 

Whatever this is, if it's an honest-to-goodness book about him and there's a lot of text in it, I'll likely be buyin' it. >_<

That makes sense. I guess it's a matter of tastes lol I like reading about him, too, but when it comes to Japanese, probably because I'm far from fluent and find reading quite hard, I prefer to focus on his own words, as that's what I want to understand myself the most, without having to rely on translations. But that's just my case.

 

2 hours ago, Xen said:

He might view that as too intimate to publish.  Though I wonder if his views in the new book would have parts from his notebooks when working on the 15-18 programs?

That's true re: too intimate... I still think if he found it in himself - maybe censoring out the more private stuff - it'd be great study material. About the new book, in a way, I don't want to get my hopes up, too much. lol But I think there will be new, interesting stuff... it's Yuzu after all.

 

2 hours ago, theonecurriedplush said:

This is such an important point for me as well, from first hand experience. I've had really wonderful Japanese people translate Japanese for me, only to realize that they didn't understand how misleading or even incorrect their english expression was!

Honestly, a big part of why I started learning Japanese is because I've realized no matter how good a translator is, some things will always get lost in translation. So I want to understand it myself. But I have recently hit a wall, in that I'm not sure where I stand and where I want to go with this, so I'm relying on translations a bit after all lol Also, English is weird and hard even for those fluent, so... lol

 

1 hour ago, Forcefield said:

 

This is literally me in a nutshell.

 

This is the first time I've heard of the Yuzuru Method. Besides Ao no Honoo I and II what other books am I missing?

There's the two Team Brian books, there is one of Yuzu quotes I bought in November, and there are a couple more, I think... one a more general look at Japanese figure skating, and I'm sure there was one more I can't remember now. These two I'm pretty sure I saw in bookstores in Japan, too. If no one else knows better, I'll do some research and get back to you.

[singcarcom]

 

8 hours ago, WinForPooh said:

It is all great for him.

 

I suppose we must sacrifice our sanity for the greater good.

 

I willing trade my sanity for Yuzu's happiness. 

 

 

4 hours ago, kaeryth said:

Just unloading thoughts... and offering a silver lining to the injury and subsequent zuzu media blackout. (warning: wall of text)

 

One of the things I feared with the Olympic season is the amount of negative press Yuzu would get now that USFS has a legit OGM contender. I know most don't care for their opinion but for a lot of people (including the every 4 years fans), US media is probably going to be the first piece of information they'll come across. I still remember Vancouver 2010 and how they propped up Lysacek against Plushenko (Russian jumping robot, no artistry, no transitions) and even against their very own skater (Evan is the face of Men's skating.. is manly as opposed to Weir).

 

With Yuzu's injury I've noticed that the media has actually been not that terrible as I feared (some even kind? Philly for example). But then again, it would only reflect badly on them if they talked down someone who was injured. The worst they could say now is that Yuzu is trying to keep up with Nathan with the quads... which if you break it down is not so far from the truth. He did increase his BV because he wanted to be competitive with the younger guys which includes but is not limited to Nathan. In Canada's case, they've given him the jumper moniker versus the artists (Chiddy)... which is funny to me because it feels like they're still salty about Sochi. This is how they've described him in 2014 and I see they still haven't moved on.

 

They could talk inconsistency but who has been consistent? They say that about Nathan this season (he's won Gold in all his competitions so far) but none of his wins are really overwhelmingly decisive wins. And they cannot compare it to Yuzu because Yuzu's been MIA this season. If they talk about Nathan defeating Yuzu at 4CC last year, they cannot escape saying that Yuzu is still the current World Champion and Nathan was off podium (boot issues you know).

 

They can nitpick the only competitions Yuzu had of course. ACI - yes, he finished second and had one of the worst FS in his senior career but he also (re)set the SP world record with a watered down program all the while having leg pain (releasing that info to the press was absolutely a good move). How about COR? Yes, Nathan won but only by a small margin and not exactly a decisive win because Yuzu wasn't clean (but delivered and landed his first 4Lz in competition).

 

So where does that leave media outlets (particularly US media)? Nothing... because there is barely news on Yuzu and talking badly about someone who was injured is never a good look.

 

I agree. It's kinda of a blessing in disguise because it shielded Yuzu from even more pressure. And he tends to perform better when he's the underdog. 

 

When the US over-hype Nathan, I think it might be bad for him. It's true he hasn't lost any competition but his GPF win was more due to luck than skills. I think he did well for nationals partially because he knew he'll win and he doesn't have as much pressure going in.

 

This season seems especially odd for the Men's field...and maybe a little so for the Ladies. It's great that Pairs and Ice Dance teams seem to not have incurred the wrath of the skating gods.

 

 

[MrPudding]

[KatjaThera]

2 hours ago, Forcefield said:

 

This is literally me in a nutshell.

 

This is the first time I've heard of the Yuzuru Method. Besides Ao no Honoo I and II what other books am I missing?

Ok, research result:

Team Brian

Team Brian 2

Yuzuru Method

Hanyu Yuzuru Monogatari (had never heard if this before)

Men's Figure Skating (e-book)

Men's Figure Skating 2 (e-book)

Men's Figure Skating 3 (e-book)

^ No idea about these last three, but I think the general figure skating one I saw was along these lines. Only that was physical.

The road to Olympic Gold (this is new, to be released on the 18th of Jan.)

Read in English Hanyu Yuzuru (this was mentioned here, a while back)

Hanyu Yuzuru sayings (that's the one I bought)

羽生結弦 誇り高き日本人の心を育てる言葉 (this is the other one I remembered just vaguely)

And there are more if you search on Amazon...

 

"Official" ones are Aoi Honoo, the new one, Team Brian ones. The other new one is apparently by Shirota Noriko, who is in Yuzu's team, so I guess that is also official. And Yuzuru Method is by Yoshie Noguchi who I understand is close to him, but I don't know if I'd call that official, as I think it's still an outside, if detailed look at his career. But I haven't actually read it, so don't take my words for fact. The rest I think are opinions, collections and so on, not much new, if anything at all.

[MrPudding]

 

[MrPudding]

can we have a Yuzuru hanyu too please... sippy sippy