General Yuzuru Chat

[Forcefield]

 

1 hour ago, sallycinnamon said:

In the latest podcast of PJ Kwong, Shae-Lynn talked about choreographing Seimei and her work with Yuzu (I still couldn't finish listening to it, but the part about Yuzu begins at around 30 min 31 sec)

 

 

 

Nothing really new that we already didn't know about Yuzu, but still I love to hear about how much of himself Yuzu puts into his programs and to know again that while he trusts his choreographers, he will assert his opinions as well. Some skaters just let their coaches decide, some take part in the creation of the programs, and some may even choreograph (or sing) the program. The latter may not be Yuzu's thing, so I'm glad to see Yuzu's essence as a skater through the touches he puts in his own programs.

 

A few fans have already said that sometimes Yuzu does a few moves in practice that he leaves out of the programs while he's competing. I think Shae-lynn also gave an interview after GPF 2015 that Yuzu still has more to give in Seimei, and I'm sure she knows more than anyone how much better it could be. I'm looking forward to Yuzu elevating it and proving some people wrong about Seimei already being skated to perfection and him not needing to bring it back.

[MrPudding]

 

[theonecurriedplush]

3 hours ago, Xen said:

We need to send stress balls to TCC, as well as cookies, hot chocolate, everything to help destress.

But the coach they asked didn't say anything, and what he said about Orser's strategy being wise, does sound like a polite "stuff it please" to the media. It's a pretty good indication that media can pry all they want but nothing is coming out any time soon. Which is good for Yuzu-who is now the personification of the silent asian bellcurve destroyer.

 

As for why media is so curious- well, if Yuzu's status has no updates, there's no drama for the media to spin. He's different from Plushenko, because Plushy was out of competition for a long time while Evan was gathering steam. Yuna isn't a direct parallel either because she stopped for a while before going  back to competition mode-and even then she was mostly doing Senior B types no? So even if Yuzu hasn't been perfect all season, none of the issues other than the injury, has been out of pattern-plus I'm sure somewhere the fact he won the Free in Rostel still unnerves people (it shows even imperfect he's not out of the game). Also, if the media harps on about him having an injury and he comes back and skates clean-I'm sorry, that is just what heroic drama stories are made of-that's just PR material that others wish they had, so don't underestimate the candies that can be generated from this alone.

This. Totally agree!

And besides, he/they might not be keeping things close because of a negative...maybe Yuzu doesn't want to over-stimulate "someone's" quad count! lol. I've a good feeling about this...(I think he's possibly in great shape. Which, in his case means awesome ability...)

[xeyra]

9 minutes ago, theonecurriedplush said:

(I think he's possibly in great shape. Which, in his case means awesome ability...)

 

Here's hoping! 

[Murieleirum]

9 minutes ago, theonecurriedplush said:

maybe Yuzu doesn't want to over-stimulate "someone's" quad count! lol.

 

This, absolutely. Can you imagine Nathan's team's reaction to the announcement that Yuzuru is back in FULL form and ready to smash a 5 quad program? "Yeah, what about this, then? 7 QUADS FOR THE OLYS!"

Nevermind that Nathan can barely do 5, with 0 transitions and 0 choreography. They'd kill him! 

[theonecurriedplush]

2 minutes ago, Murieleirum said:

 

This, absolutely. Can you imagine Nathan's team's reaction to the announcement that Yuzuru is back in FULL form and ready to smash a 5 quad program? "Yeah, what about this, then? 7 QUADS FOR THE OLYS!"

Nevermind that Nathan can barely do 5, with 0 transitions and 0 choreography. They'd kill him! 

PRECISELY!

[xeyra]

30 minutes ago, theonecurriedplush said:

PRECISELY!

 

Already started working on Shoma, who's gone back to 4! 

[GreatLakesGal]

I wonder who that veteran North American mentor that Brian spoke to was--Frank Carroll maybe? If it was Carroll, I wouldn't have told him anything either after that comment he made for that NYT article about Yuzu. (Actually, I would have told him something but it wouldn't have been very nice. )

[kiches]

3 minutes ago, GreatLakesGal said:

I wonder who that veteran North American mentor that Brian spoke to was--Frank Carroll maybe? If it was Carroll, I wouldn't have told him anything either after that comment he made for that NYT article about Yuzu. (Actually, I would have told him something but it wouldn't have been very nice. )

Was there an American coach at Europeans? I assume that’s where the quotes come from unless it’s 4CC since I missed the link to the actual Japan Times article. 

[Xen]

12 minutes ago, GreatLakesGal said:

I wonder who that veteran North American mentor that Brian spoke to was--Frank Carroll maybe? If it was Carroll, I wouldn't have told him anything either after that comment he made for that NYT article about Yuzu. (Actually, I would have told him something but it wouldn't have been very nice. )

Actually there are a couple North American coaches who no longer have super competitive skaters-John Nicks being one of them,  and Doug Leigh (Brian's own coach) is still around.  Wonder if it's actually John Nicks,  wasn't Sasha Cohen a fairly opinionated skater as well? Sharing notes on how to manage intense, perfectionist skaters. 

[Aotoshiro]

10 hours ago, WinForPooh said:

Am I? And yet, time is simply an inadequate human attempt to understand the mysteries of the universe. It means nothing when you need to feed the beast. But it's morning coffee time for me generally (when things start at ten there, and then there's waiting for his group), and that means I'll probably just stay up worrying all night, so... Medicinal, I tell you. Oh God of Hangovers is going to have to take a few hits for me.

okay, I messed up, for me it starts at 2a.m, alas, my inner thin girl will submerge in the chocolate anyway. Just noticed that even with six skaters' SP taking about 45-50minutes, it still means I will be up till at least 7a.m...the stuff you do for skating...I probably should focus on learning for exams now so that after 9th only short revisions will be left...

 

4 hours ago, KatjaThera said:

Oh, I quite understand this and you're right. I just feel a bit like if something might slip up it'd be a bit like spoiling the twist in a good story lol But yes, it's unlikely anything will come out.

Informations on Yuzu condition has to be marked with spoiler alers in news. When will your fave tbh xD

On a sidenote, this draught will take no more than twenty seconds screen time on our hypothetical Yuzu biography, won't it? Unless they prolong it by the sequence of all the birthday fan projects making...

[theonecurriedplush]

1 hour ago, xeyra said:

 

Already started working on Shoma, who's gone back to 4! 

lol! I know, right? but it always seemed to me,
that Yuzu’s never spent one day worrying about Shoma. not even 1 day. (beyond whether he could make him laugh!)

[xeyra]

57 minutes ago, theonecurriedplush said:

lol! I know, right? but it always seemed to me,
that Yuzu’s never spent one day worrying about Shoma. not even 1 day. (beyond whether he could make him laugh!)

 

I'm not sure I agree with this? They can be friends but Yuzu still considers Shoma a difficult opponent. Especially after Worlds, when he almost lost the title to him. Shoma is still the guy, even above Nathan, with the most similar scoring potential as Yuzu. So I'm sure Yuzu has done some worrying about Shoma, as much as he's done worrying about Nathan, whatever kind of 'worry' that is (in his case, it's probably just called motivation). 

[KatjaThera]

3 hours ago, micaelis said:

Brian's had years with Yuzu to hone his skills for dealing with the media, although I'm sure he had no real idea when he first took on coaching Yuzu the sheer phenomenon Yuzu would become, since there is no skater in history who has had such a wide and fierce following as Yuzu has had.  Just look at the tonnage that has to be removed from the ice after each Yuzu skate.  In an earlier post I coined the term 'Poohvalanche' to describe what follows each time Yuzu takes to the ice (in formal competition) and I think it's interesting to see the changing ratio of Poohs to bouquets over the years.  Poohs now definitely constitute the majority of what descends onto the ice at the completion of Yuzu's skates.  Be that as it may, Brian's skills have definitely been challenged this season.  Things started off well enough with ACI (a disappointing silver in the end but also a new SP record), were somewhat disappointing in Moscow and then came the fall.  Even there, though, Brian had his experience with the 2014 collision in Shanghai to guide him what to do this time around.  The new element here, though, was the very long time Yuzu was not only out of competition but off the ice.  Essentially Yuzu is starting a new season in PC and I think for Brian the challenge here is to keep Yuzu from having his usual early season jitters this time around.  What's going on here, I feel, is much more psychological than physical.  Brian has to get Yuzu to the point where, had the season not been interrupted, Yuzu would be peaking.  That, I think, constitutes the greatest challenge Brian has ever had as a coach.  How has he gone about doing this?  I'm not sure, but perhaps he might have had some mock competitions between Yuzu and Javi, though that would have been very risky, not so much for Yuzu's sake but for Javi's.  Javi so far has had a fairly successful season, with some disappointments in the GP series but with a resounding win at Europeans (for the sixth straight time).  How else to have Yuzu cycle through an imaginary season to get himself not only into competitive mode but peaking mode?  I cannot say.  I'm sure that Yuzu and his team now know who the major challengers will be in PC.  At the season's beginning I thought Shoma would be the greatest danger for a repeat gold for Yuzu, but now I feel strongly it's going to be Nathan, who has had a very good season this year and can fairly be seen as the dominant men's skater this time around.  I only hope that Nathan has peaked too soon, but it's very likely his coach has seen the same danger, thus explaining Nathan's non-appearance at FCC.  He wants Nathan's focus to be entirely on PC.  Perhaps Brian has basically concluded that there is no contrivance he could utilize to get Yuzu in psychological shape for what's coming up.  I know one issue he's having to deal with must be Yuzu's desire to load his FS with quads, since Nathan's got five quads in his FS.  Brian should simply point out (probably repeatedly) the SP Yuzu skated at ACI, where because of some knee issues then he 'dumbed down' his program yet still managed to set a new SP record, the point here being that Yuzu should not be blinded by the number of quads.  As Johnny Weir pointed out one time, with Yuzu  it's 'not just the quads but the quality of the quads' Yuzu performs.  The thing is, as Brian probably points out, Yuzu's competitive edge is in the 'completeness' of his skating skills and that's probably the argument Brian is using to have Yuzu go easy on the quads and simply work for perfection in every aspect of his performance.  That's what has consistently worked for him in the past.  Just look at the records Yuzu just keeps setting and resetting.  It's not just the quads that are getting those records and everyone should recognize that the last time anybody else has broken a Yuzu-set record was way back in 2013 when Patrick broke Yuzu's record in the SP, but only to have Yuzu reclaim the record two weeks later.  Ever since then it's been Yuzu's name only in the record books.  He owns the record books and he does so because he has consistently high PCS scores and high GOEs on the spins, the step sequences and all the other elements that make for high TES scores.  There's where Yuzu's advantage is and that's what Brian has to do to get Yuzu ready to strut his stuff in PC.  I think however the best way to get Yuzu to skate at peak ability come PC is to have Yuzu skate against himself and not some other competitor.  As one of the British Eurosport commentators remarked when Yuzu was in the process of breaking for the second time in two weeks the SP, FS and combined records, 'it's no longer the competition but the program itself' that was driving Yuzu onward.  Johnny Weir on another occasion remarked about Yuzu, 'he's skating against himself - What's harder than that?'  Nothing is harder because Yuzu himself is the greatest competitive challenge he'll ever have to face.  If Yuzu skates against himself in PC the gold will be his.  For Brian the best way to have Yuzu achieve that mental stance is to cocoon him as much as possible from the outside world, the media especially.  Yuzu right now is a caterpillar in a cocoon ready to break out and one should remember that a newborn butterfly is always at its most beautiful just after its emergence, when the elements have not yet had a chance to batter it about.  The challenge here is to have the Yuzu butterfly emerging on the Olympic ice for all the world to see its unfolding splendors.

 

I do sometimes wonder how much Brian's experience really matters when it comes to Yuzu and the media... Yuzu doesn't deal with non-Japanese media much, and the dealings with Japanese media are exclusively in Japanese. Of course, Brian can offer advice, and I like to think Yuzu goes and asks for advice when something bothers him. But I wonder if Brian's powers in sharing media wisdom aren't limited under these circumstances.

 

Aside from that, I think the time Yuzuru spent off the ice after his surgery in 2014-2015 is comparable to this (I also like to think things were even trickier then, because surgery + complications sounds worse than a sprained ankle). And that was time Yuzuru spent almost entirely in Japan, unsupervised, if I remember correctly, and he actually injured himself by rushing and in the end only had about a week's time of practice before Worlds. And yes, he lost to Javi, but he won the short and he did not do badly, all things considered. I think this time it's much better. I could still be proved wrong, but I like to stick to my theory that the injury was not as bad as it seems to us, and they just chose to be super careful so they did not risk anything. And so he will perfectly fine by Oly, all going according to the emergency plan. I like this theory, so I choose to stick to it lol

 

I agree, though, that the mental aspect is the trickiest part. He can jump all quads and a handful of quints in his sleep, but he can't focus when it matters, it means squat. However, I think Brian - or anyone else - trying to talk him into simplifying his programs is the worst thing they could do right now. It'd send a "we don't think you can do it with all quads" message and that's not a message you want to send. I also tend to think his kuyashii if he won with simplified programs would be comparable to the kuyashii of winning with mistakes. He might feel better going all out and losing than taking it easier and winning. (I'm also not sure he would win, because his heart's not fully in it.) If it comes from him, that's a different issue. But not if he lets himself be convinced, but in his heart he still has doubts. That's what happened at ACI. He got 112 points, but he wasn't happy. Not really. And then he fell apart in Seimei, because he had doubts that that was the right choice. Whatever choice they make, he has to be 100% behind it. If he has doubts, it'll possibly backfire on him. So I really, really hope in TCC they're not making any suggestions like that.

 

I doubt there is any chance of Yuzu and Javi competitions at TCC. In fact I wonder if they've even seen each other recently. Yuzu only got back to practice recently and Javi was only in Toronto for a short while, before Euros. I also wonder if with all the Yuzu secrecy, they'd have one of his biggest rivals witness his form. I wouldn't be surprised if by now they're completely separated. Though who knows, really. I hope their usual mutual support system is firmly in place, but I wouldn't bet on it right now. Yuzu's secrecy sounds like serious business to me.

 

I also agree Yuzu's biggest rival is himself. However, increasing technical difficulty, while maintaining everything else at the same high level is also part of who he is. And it's an additional challenge.

 

This, IMO, has always been the case, but perhaps now it's even more so: when it comes to the choices he makes, it might eventually come down to choosing between the safest way to get the OGM, or the best way to get closer to his skating ideals and stay true to those. Of course, the ideal is a balance between the two. But he's not usually one to play it safe. He went with recycled programs, but increased the difficulty and added the lutz. To me, that's him trying to balance it. It might eventually come to a point where he won't be able to find a balance anymore and have to choose. That entirely depends on his condition. Personally, I'm sure if he reaches his ideals, it'll be a guaranteed OGM, but it is much riskier.

 

I trust Brian and Tracy and Yuzu do have a plan and will stick to it. Hopefully it'll work out. Right now, I have a good feeling, but it kind of changes every day lol. I have to admit one of my concerns is how much time Yuzu has really had with Brian. He's been so busy... But I like to think one of the lessons he hopefully has learned from last year and even NHK, is not to depend on Brian that much. Ever since they said Brian wasn't going to be at NHK, I worried, because Yuzu seems to depend on Brian a lot. But I hope he's learned to deal with that more now... As long as he has Brian's advice and other coaches nearby, he should be fine even if Brian isn't physically there, by now. I hope.

 

We'll just have to wait and see what happens, I guess...

[Danibellerika]

One thing I respect about Yuzu is that he does not underestimate his opponents.