General Yuzuru Chat

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

37 分, xeyraさんが言いました:

Hey come on, let's not be too mean to Nathan. I actually really like his SP choreography this season. But the less balletic is used in the same sentence as him the best for my peace of mind. As someone once said, the more you try to hammer in that someone is artistic the less they probably are. And Nathan is no slouch, he just unfortunately can't quite make his EX potential co-exist in harmony with 5 quad programs quite yet.

 

Lol I'm not sure if I'm included but in case I am, if you read what I said properly, you would see that I wasn't doing it in any way at all. Unless telling it like I see it=mean. In which case, my intentions weren't mean-spirited, at least. I've said before that out of all the younger contenders, he's the one I'm rooting for the most and that is still true now. I enjoyed his SP a lot when I saw his CoI  performance of it last year and didn't expect it to flow as nicely as it did there in comps once all the quads are in. And I was okay with it when, as expected, it didn't, still doesn't, and I was able to enjoy it despite that since my expectations were well-managed.

 

But then they started spinning the ballet yarn again, when that aspect of it is clearly missing in his competition performances. It was something I was originally able to overlook to enjoy what actually *is* there instead, without really thinking too much about whether or not he deserved the scores he's been getting, but now they've gone and made the lack and the score inflation glaring, which made me think back to his gala showing of it where he had the moves to back up these claims, and the difference became even *more* obvious as I'm reminded that he *does* have them. Just not in competition. And now...now the placid enjoyment I had earlier of his SP in competition is somewhat ruined. 

 

Oh and a short throwback to the TE topic, another reason I feel it'd be a huge bonus is the fact that no matter how much stamina one regains in training, when in competition, the stamina required is always higher due to the pressure that is unique to competition. If Hanyu is able to show up for the TE, he'd be able to use it to train up his competition stamina. Of course, if he isn't, then his mind will have to make up for the physical lack of it in the individuals. Either way, fingers crossed!

[yuzupon]

18 minutes ago, xeyra said:

Hey come on, let's not be too mean to Nathan. I actually really like his SP choreography this season. But the less balletic is used in the same sentence as him the best for my peace of mind. As someone once said, the more you try to hammer in that someone is artistic the less they probably are. And Nathan is no slouch, he just unfortunately can't quite make his EX potential co-exist in harmony with 5 quad programs quite yet.

 

12 minutes ago, Floria said:

I think nobody wants to be mean to him, we are just annoyed about the scores and tired of balletic nonsense, that's all. 

 

I am not trying to be mean (it gets super ugly when I try). Not only am I tired of the balletic line of defense, I am just tired of excuses in general, and especially so when it comes to USFS PR 'protecting' Chen. From where I see it, every time they tried to elevate him (or other skaters of theirs with any chance of podium finishing), it is always at the expense of his opponents, whether directly or subtly. And when he did not deliver, it was always external factors (boots problem: no WC podium, among others).

 

I guess I am just too spoiled with the way Yuzu and his team handle both victories and defeats. 

 

I'll try not to comment further on this matter, less my personal lack of preference of the attitudes and choices of skaters and their teams or feds colours my judgement on specific things like this.

[SparkleSalad]

1 hour ago, Forcefield said:

 

Curves!

 

I've always wondered why I find Nathan awkward looking even when I like his costumes and he has good enough proportions. Finally, I understand why. Sometimes his costumes makes his torso look boxy because he doesn't have such a slim waist or broad shoulders to offset it like what I'm used to in Yuzu and Javi. It definitely makes such a difference in their costumes and what I personally find aesthetically pleasing. I never thought I would prefer curves on a guy but wow I do. But this may also just mean I don't like the cut of some of Nathan's costumes.

 

He has an unusual figure for a male skater and those sort of lines are covered by flowing skirts in ladies so I love how LGC brings them out - it gives the jumps in that program a distinctive character. Just wait until all the ladies start jumping 3As in unitards!

[SparkleSalad]

15 hours ago, Danibellerika said:

When Yuzuru is capable of positions like the pic below, I don't see why he needs to waste his time on ballet.  He's got great posture and lines and expressiveness even through his fingertips. And since when is ballet a PCS requirement? You know what is? Skating skills, and you know who excels at it? He does.  You know who doesn't as well? Nate. 

 

 

 

I don't think that tweet really matters so much but I'm glad it was brought up because this gorgeous photo was shared. Does anyone know who the photographer is or where it was published?

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

27 分, yuzuponさんが言いました:

 

 

I am not trying to be mean (it gets super ugly when I try). Not only am I tired of the balletic line of defense, I am just tired of excuses in general, and especially so when it comes to USFS PR 'protecting' Chen. From where I see it, every time they tried to elevate him (or other skaters of theirs with any chance of podium finishing), it is always at the expense of his opponents, whether directly or subtly. And when he did not deliver, it was always external factors (boots problem: no WC podium, among others).

 

I guess I am just too spoiled with the way Yuzu and his team handle both victories and defeats. 

 

I'll try not to comment further on this matter, less my personal lack of preference of the attitudes and choices of skaters and their teams or feds colours my judgement on specific things like this.

 

Haha I try not to fault the skater for the choices of the various machines surrounding them, since they don't usually have much choice but be caught up in it image-wise. If anything, these things shine an even better light on Hanyu and his team. I always find it amazing how the guy doesn't manage to get caught up in it, good or bad, no matter how much they use his name. Factors such as him knowing exactly what he wants and not being afraid to ask for it (calling the shots), him being able to take responsibility for himself without relying on his team, him finding people who would not just respect his choices but try to see things from his unique perspective even if it's really difficult to (or maybe he just trained them really well) and be willing to shrug it off when they can't and he steamrolls over their concerns anyway, and him training in a faraway foreign land play a very dominant role in achieving this outcome.

 

Most others don't seem to have the same privilege and have little choice but let their choices be influenced by those around them who "know better" and being told that they should concentrate on skating and leave everything else to others who "know what they are doing."

[micaelis]

Introducing a new but related topic here - Was the fix put in or is it just the way things worked out?  What's at issue?  Is it just coincidence that the men's individual events (SP and FS) are placed in the morning in Korea so that the live broadcasts are smack in the prime time hours in the US and Canada (8 PM Eastern time both events)?  For us here in North America it's a gift from heaven but I'd like to know who to thank/blame for this because if the fix were in on this, the reason wasn't to give Yuzu maximum exposure, but to give Nathan.

[Katt]

48 minutes ago, micaelis said:

Introducing a new but related topic here - Was the fix put in or is it just the way things worked out?  What's at issue?  Is it just coincidence that the men's individual events (SP and FS) are placed in the morning in Korea so that the live broadcasts are smack in the prime time hours in the US and Canada (8 PM Eastern time both events)?  For us here in North America it's a gift from heaven but I'd like to know who to thank/blame for this because if the fix were in on this, the reason wasn't to give Yuzu maximum exposure, but to give Nathan.

Its NBC, they want it in US prime time.  This has nothing to do with Nathan because it was decided way before his breakthrough last season and many people complained about it. All the figure skating events, even the gala start in morning  and only ladies's have a day rest between. 

[ruruzest]

1 hour ago, Katt said:

Its NBC, they want it in US prime time.  This has nothing to do with Nathan because it was decided way before his breakthrough last season and many people complain about it. All the figure skating events, even the gala start in morning  and only ladies's have a day rest between. 

I hate us media deciding this without any concerns about athletes 

i would gladly wake up at the ungodly hour to watch comps at the comfort of my house so that the hard trained athletes can optimize their performances with the ideal schedule but sadly $ always is the priority for media 

[liv]

40 minutes ago, Katt said:

Its NBC, they want it in US prime time.  This has nothing to do with Nathan because it was decided way before his breakthrough last season and many people complained about it. All the figure skating events, even the gala start in morning  and only ladies's have a day rest between. 

 

Every Olympics I've been able to watch live coverage here in Canada and then the packaged US shows at night... it's interesting to see their spin and packaging compared to the live events (and i obviously prefer our live coverage) but it drove me crazy when they'd have so many commercials, so much build up, so much *stuff and fluff pieces* when I just wanted to watch the competition.  Just the other day i saw that NBC was promoting its first ever Live! Olympics... with everyone using the internet and seeing the results, Olympic viewership was really declining.... so for this Olympics they put money and influence into getting prime events in their prime time (not gonna lie, we benefit here in other parts of NA too). The athletes will have to make changes, but to the sponsors, they're here to entertain us... I guess (I don't agree with it, but what can you do...).

[PPOS]

On 1/25/2018 at 1:31 AM, CupidsBow said:

 

I imagine he did some training to maintain his muscle, particularly in his legs and probably his core, at least. Things like weight machines that he could use without engaging his ankle in the process. IDK about cardio. Depends on what his off-ice training is like and what would be useful to him, if swimming isn't possible because he can't float (lol) then honestly I'm not totally sure what he could do cardio wise while he needed to totally rest his ankle. But while he was in rehab and could put weight on it, just had to go easy on it.....I imagine some stationary bike or something could work. 

 

I am kinda imagining him not necessarily swimming but doing water aerobics...Like old ladies do....But its also a good/common way of doing sports rehab because its easy on joints but it good resistance training

I do aqua aerobics every week and am far from an OLD lady!!!!!!! 

[micaelis]

49 minutes ago, Katt said:

Its NBC, they want it in US prime time.  This has nothing to do with Nathan because it was decided way before his breakthrough last season and many people complained about it. All the figure skating events, even the gala start in morning  and only ladies's have a day rest between. 

Thank you for the info.  I imagine NBC is thanking the skating gods that Nathan came up gold every contest this season.  This gives them the rationale to tout the big story this Olympics - Will the American Nathan Chen dethrone Yuzuru Hanyu, the reigning king of men's skating?  They could hardly have wished for a better scenario.  Add to that the suspense of how much on top of his game is Yuzu after the long layover.  NBC will be doing trailers about Nathan vs Yuzu all over their program blurbs heading to PC.  For us Yuzu fans, though, there is the collateral damage(?) that far more than the normal men's skating audience in North America will be watching men's singles this time around.  Yuzu will probably have the biggest TV audience he's ever had this Olympics, at least as far as North America is concerned.

[Katt]

14 minutes ago, liv said:

 

Every Olympics I've been able to watch live coverage here in Canada and then the packaged US shows at night... it's interesting to see their spin and packaging compared to the live events (and i obviously prefer our live coverage) but it drove me crazy when they'd have so many commercials, so much build up, so much *stuff and fluff pieces* when I just wanted to watch the competition.  Just the other day i saw that NBC was promoting its first ever Live! Olympics... with everyone using the internet and seeing the results, Olympic viewership was really declining.... so for this Olympics they put money and influence into getting prime events in their prime time (not gonna lie, we benefit here in other parts of NA too). The athletes will have to make changes, but to the sponsors, they're here to entertain us... I guess (I don't agree with it, but what can you do...).

NBC is known for their endless fluffs and drama. It surprise me that a broadcaster has that much power to decide the timing for all FS event, given the decline popularity of this sport there. Tbh the men's LP in helsinki was about the same time, but the fact that 3 of 4 discipline dont have a day rest between really bother me I thought they know more after Sochi. As for me, I live in Asia so the timing is ok, but it suck for Euro viewers

[Xen]

17 minutes ago, Katt said:

NBC is known for their endless fluffs and drama. It surprise me that a broadcaster has that much power to decide the timing for all FS event, given the decline popularity of this sport there. Tbh the men's LP in helsinki was about the same time, but the fact that 3 of 4 discipline dont have a day rest between really bother me I thought they know more after Sochi. As for me, I live in Asia so the timing is ok, but its not good for Euro viewer

Well it'll be interesting come 2022....I wonder what CCTV and the various Chinese online broadcasters will do and how NBC will handle it. I don't recall 2008 summer olympics being that good for US viewers, since China tends to cater to the domestic base, especially pairs and men's (since we have Boyang-man now). 2022 Chinese New Year's is Feb 1st, so Chinese broadcasters will want things to be later in the day (early morning North American times and midday for Europeans) since most people in China will be working starting midway through the Olympics. 

 

Other than the men's, I think the schedule in PC is absolutely brutal for the pairs skaters. If they fall or anything, there's less time to rest and recuperate. 

 

@micaelis: he'll have a good chinese fan base tuning in. It's Chinese New Year's week for us, and we get to watch him on TV while folding dumplings or waiting for other things to stew. I imagine my family needs to keep me away from sharp objects or delicate objects (like porcelain plates). My dumplings will be totally folded wrong.  As for the  ballet training, I agree that people tend to confuse two elements of artistry on ice-posture/carriage and musicality. Ballet can help with posture/carriage, but not musicality. But then again, almost any type of traditional dance discipline could help with posture and carriage. Musicality is another matter. I think in Asaichi interview, Yuzu said they did some ballet training in the off season, but he's never done it long term. His main advantages are his musicality, and his superior skating skills that allow him to execute to express his musicality. Also, I find it funny that most of the people I know who have had more systemic dance training (ballet or traditional chinese here), have very little to complain about his posture and carriage. 

 

[yuzuangel]

6 hours ago, Floria said:

Find 10 differences...

 

 

thebackthebackthebacktheback

 

why does nathan look hunched here? is it an optical illusion

[MrPudding]

6 hours ago, Floria said:

Find 10 differences...

 

 

Ehem 

Spoiler

The damn curves.