General Yuzuru Chat

[quadaxelwin]

1 hour ago, yuzuangel said:

i watched a few programs from alena kostornaia bc everyone always says such good things about her

i think she is definitely special but i find her a bit stiff? her musicality and SS are definitely her strengths compared to her peers, but her jumps are not the most beautiful, IMO.

 

As for Yuzu, does he mean that he watches the junior men? He definitely did that leading up to Pyeongchang because he knew the upcoming juniors were going to be his main competitors, and they were. I'd wager he doesn't watch the junior ladies, though.

He did say he watches Yagudin, Plushenko and Weir recently in the interview on Media Day. I remember him complimenting Marin Honda that she was a strong skater in one of the video interviews, and I thought he watched her from Jr, because that interview was before she came to the senior ranks.

 

Yuzu did say he watched Zhenya perform (Ice Jewels Interview) before, so I think he does watch Senior Ladies GP. But I'm not sure if he watches the ladies Jr JGP. But seeing as he is a hermit and loves skating, maybe he watches all of them? I also heard him say he watches Ice Dancing as well (he said he watched Shae Lynn Bourne whilst she was competing), so maybe he watches all events... 

[kaeryth]

 

 

 

[LucyH]

Oh man... is this the most highly anticipated season or what?! Can't wait to see programs and potentially the 4A

[KatjaThera]

Lots of discussions on the topic of swimming... I agree it's probably not impossible for him to swim. It's not like he could kick with all his might and still sink. However, the extra effort required, combined with his asthma and possible allergies - although I don't remember him ever saying he was allergic to chlorine, but there was someone once who had posted links to studies about whether swimming is good or bad for people with asthma, which also touched upon the fact that for many chlorine is a bigger issue than the effort of swimming, IIRC - probably simply makes it not worth taking up. Especially when he doesn't really need to practice another sport to stay in shape. (He might consider learning to ride the bicycle, though lol) And I vaguely remember he once said he doesn't like sand or the feeling of it, either, so I think beaches might not be his favorite place... (I get it, too... though some types of sand can be nice. I'll forever be in love with Enoshima sand lol)

 

As for him watching Junior skaters... I don't think he'd need to watch them regularly to form some opinions. I also think predicting the quad revolution or that his main rivals would be upcoming juniors didn't really require him watching them regularly. Some of that was obvious even without knowing the juniors... He does probably like to stay up to date, but I'd be surprised if he really spent a lot of time watching them... I also don't remember hearing this before, but I could have missed it.

[quadaxelwin]

8 minutes ago, KatjaThera said:

Lots of discussions on the topic of swimming... I agree it's probably not impossible for him to swim. It's not like he could kick with all his might and still sink. However, the extra effort required, combined with his asthma and possible allergies - although I don't remember him ever saying he was allergic to chlorine, but there was someone once who had posted links to studies about whether swimming is good or bad for people with asthma, which also touched upon the fact that for many chlorine is a bigger issue than the effort of swimming, IIRC - probably simply makes it not worth taking up. Especially when he doesn't really need to practice another sport to stay in shape. (He might consider learning to ride the bicycle, though lol) And I vaguely remember he once said he doesn't like sand or the feeling of it, either, so I think beaches might not be his favorite place... (I get it, too... though some types of sand can be nice. I'll forever be in love with Enoshima sand lol)

 

As for him watching Junior skaters... I don't think he'd need to watch them regularly to form some opinions. I also think predicting the quad revolution or that his main rivals would be upcoming juniors didn't really require him watching them regularly. Some of that was obvious even without knowing the juniors... He does probably like to stay up to date, but I'd be surprised if he really spent a lot of time watching them... I also don't remember hearing this before, but I could have missed it.

There's a interview where he said he watches his main rivals Chan's videos alot. Like the way he uses his blades and stuff to study and research. Yuzu is as much of a figure skating mania as the hardcore skating fans himself, so I think he watches all the main events (GP, Worlds etc). The question is, does he still watch the ladies too? And I wonder why the Japanese media never asks him "Who is your favorite female skater at the moment?" 

When he was Junior, they asked him this question, and he said he liked Mao Asada and Yuna Kim. But once he turned senior, it was like this question became taboo or something. 
He never spoke since then which female skater he gets inspired from.

Which is weird because I hear female skaters all the time about how much they admire Yuzu as a pure skater (Zagitova, Zhenya, Kostornaia: her instagram activity) and so forth. He is a skater's skater. So many professional skaters praise him in interviews. But it's rare you see Yuzu praise other skaters in other disciplines. (He mainly talks about men's field), which I don't blame in the slightest. Just curious why. 

[MeowZu]

12 minutes ago, LucyH said:

Oh man... is this the most highly anticipated season or what?! Can't wait to see programs and potentially the 4A

I kinda agree that this season is highly anticipated partly because some are genuinely curious just how much better can Yuzu can get after winning 2 OG. For me, personally, he still has so much in his bank esp. on the artistic side. Boy is unbelievably talented. Also, the pressure on him has been lessened, so, that just might do the trick in unleashing something we've never seen before. 

[Sammie]

15 minutes ago, quadaxelwin said:

There's a interview where he said he watches his main rivals Chan's videos alot. Like the way he uses his blades and stuff to study and research. Yuzu is as much of a figure skating mania as the hardcore skating fans himself, so I think he watches all the main events (GP, Worlds etc). The question is, does he still watch the ladies too? And I wonder why the Japanese media never asks him "Who is your favorite female skater at the moment?" 

When he was Junior, they asked him this question, and he said he liked Mao Asada and Yuna Kim. But once he turned senior, it was like this question became taboo or something. 
He never spoke since then which female skater he gets inspired from.

Which is weird because I hear female skaters all the time about how much they admire Yuzu as a pure skater (Zagitova, Zhenya, Kostornaia: her instagram activity) and so forth. He is a skater's skater. So many professional skaters praise him in interviews. But it's rare you see Yuzu praise other skaters in other disciplines. (He mainly talks about men's field), which I don't blame in the slightest. Just curious why. 

He did say he watch pairs and ice dance though but nothing about the ladies. 

[quadaxelwin]

36 minutes ago, Sammie said:

He did say he watch pairs and ice dance though but nothing about the ladies. 

I thought he was interested in ladies, because it is singles, like the men's. 

[kiches]

During World Team Trophy 2017 Yuzu watched the ladies compete (since he was cheering for Team Japan) and said he learned a lot watching them compete. I believe he said something along the lines of it being important to consistently skate clean and he learned a lot. 

[kaeryth]

I don't think Yuzu watches any specific discipline on purpose. He's a fan of the sport in general. Lately, he said he watches more 6.0 programs (inspiration for his new programs maybe?), pairs, and ice dance.

 

As for the ladies' discipline, he said that he watched Satoko and was cheering for her in the Olympics (perhaps because they've both suffered from setbacks with injuries?). After watching the ladies at WTT'17 he concluded that having consistently clean skates is important (thereby praising Medvedeva).

 

I think the only time I remember him specifically talking about juniours was in relation to Jason Brown. He was the same age as Yuzu and won the JGPF (I think in 2011?) without a quad or a 3A - beating other competitors like Han Yan who had both a quad toe and a 3A.

[monchan]

I feel he only watches smt that he can learn/benefit from it, not for the purpose of giving opinion like casual viewers. Just rmb how much he keeps an eye on his competitors: chan, javi, shoma, boyang nathan etc. and always on point when saying about their skating. 

 

I can get he watches pairs and ice dance cuz they might offer some different qualities not often seen in single. 

 

[quadaxelwin]

58 minutes ago, kaeryth said:

I don't think Yuzu watches any specific discipline on purpose. He's a fan of the sport in general. Lately, he said he watches more 6.0 programs (inspiration for his new programs maybe?), pairs, and ice dance.

 

As for the ladies' discipline, he said that he watched Satoko and was cheering for her in the Olympics (perhaps because they've both suffered from setbacks with injuries?). After watching the ladies at WTT'17 he concluded that having consistently clean skates is important (thereby praising Medvedeva).

 

I think the only time I remember him specifically talking about juniours was in relation to Jason Brown. He was the same age as Yuzu and won the JGPF (I think in 2011?) without a quad or a 3A - beating other competitors like Han Yan who had both a quad toe and a 3A.

So when a Jr ladies skater comes up to him for a photo during banquet, Do you think he will know their names? 

[kaeryth]

9 minutes ago, quadaxelwin said:

So when a Jr ladies skater comes up to him for a photo during banquet, Do you think he will know their names? 

 

Who knows... I certainly won't speculate. (although I would hazard a guess that he at least knows Trusova due to all the hype and news she has made/is making with her quads).

[KatjaThera]

1 hour ago, kaeryth said:

I don't think Yuzu watches any specific discipline on purpose. He's a fan of the sport in general. Lately, he said he watches more 6.0 programs (inspiration for his new programs maybe?), pairs, and ice dance.

 

As for the ladies' discipline, he said that he watched Satoko and was cheering for her in the Olympics (perhaps because they've both suffered from setbacks with injuries?). After watching the ladies at WTT'17 he concluded that having consistently clean skates is important (thereby praising Medvedeva).

 

I think the only time I remember him specifically talking about juniours was in relation to Jason Brown. He was the same age as Yuzu and won the JGPF (I think in 2011?) without a quad or a 3A - beating other competitors like Han Yan who had both a quad toe and a 3A.

I agree with this. I think he might occasionally follow a skater, for reasons, but I don't think he actually sits down to watch competitions like regular fans. I do believe he is a fan of the sport, though, and I think he might watch it more regularly after retiring.

 

I also think he might specifically watch programs that he feels he can learn something from. Or he might even watch for research purposes (I was joking just yesterday with Sparkle that his University graduation paper might be on the topic of jumps, as it'd also put to good use all those times when he asked other athletes about jumping in their sports lol So he could be watching other skaters, and specifically other disciplines, to do research for that ) But remembering what he said about the other skaters being probably more interested in watching what he's doing, rather than him watching them, I think he might not really feel he has much to learn from the younger skaters... But who knows?

 

24 minutes ago, quadaxelwin said:

So when a Jr ladies skater comes up to him for a photo during banquet, Do you think he will know their names? 

I think he might be the type to make sure he knows everyone who is at a particular event, to avoid any awkward situation. It seems to fit his very thorough personality. Also he seems very thoughtful and to have a very good memory for faces and names, so I wouldn't be surprised if he actually does know their names, or at least very vaguely who they are. It's not like there are tons of juniors at banquets, either, I think, so it shouldn't be that hard to keep track of them...

[quadaxelwin]

7 minutes ago, KatjaThera said:

I agree with this. I think he might occasionally follow a skater, for reasons, but I don't think he actually sits down to watch competitions like regular fans. I do believe he is a fan of the sport, though, and I think he might watch it more regularly after retiring.

 

I also think he might specifically watch programs that he feels he can learn something from. Or he might even watch for research purposes (I was joking just yesterday with Sparkle that his University graduation paper might be on the topic of jumps, as it'd also put to good use all those times when he asked other athletes about jumping in their sports lol So he could be watching other skaters, and specifically other disciplines, to do research for that ) But remembering what he said about the other skaters being probably more interested in watching what he's doing, rather than him watching them, I think he might not really feel he has much to learn from the younger skaters... But who knows?

 

I think he might be the type to make sure he knows everyone who is at a particular event, to avoid any awkward situation. It seems to fit his very thorough personality. Also he seems very thoughtful and to have a very good memory for faces and names, so I wouldn't be surprised if he actually does know their names, or at least very vaguely who they are. It's not like there are tons of juniors at banquets, either, I think, so it shouldn't be that hard to keep track of them...

I get curious of these things, because Yuzu is one of the very few skaters that don't have social media. When you see who the other skaters are following on instagram, they all seem to follow each other alot. So I always wondered who Yuzu would follow if he ever makes Social Media (Except Nobu, Plu, Weir and Javi, because it's so obvious he would follow them). 

 

I can't imagine Yuzu trying to memorize Junior skaters before banquet events 

He probably doesn't know their names, but just takes pictures with them, when they ask for it. LOL 

Like I wonder if he knew Zagitova well when before she asked for a photo at 2016 GPF. 

(Unless he watched the entire JGP season) 

 

32 minutes ago, kaeryth said:

 

Who knows... I certainly won't speculate. (although I would hazard a guess that he at least knows Trusova due to all the hype and news she has made/is making with her quads).

I would love it if the media one day asks about Trusova directly to him. They would be like, "So Jr ladies are now jumping 4Lz. What do you think about this?" And he would go all praise mode on how fast the sport is evolving in the ladies lol. 

 

 

Adding to my earlier discussion, if Yuzu ever makes social media, these are the accounts he would follow in my opinion:

 

1. Plu

2. Weir

3. Brian Orser

4. Tracy Wilson (maybe?)

5. Javi

6. Jeff B

7. Shae Lynn 

8. Nobu

9. Lambiel

 

and probably the olympic channel, edea skates, john wilson blades and ISU official.