General Yuzuru Chat

[Umebachi]

26 minutes ago, BrightonDogwoods said:

Oh, I wish I could Like your post 10,000 times, I agree with it all and you said it so much better than I could! I immediately read it to my husband (he also loves Yuzu and agrees about his genius) and I was practically sobbing while reading it out loud. (Just following Hanyu-senshu's advice about 'crying it out' )

 

The part about Nathan really touched me, I do think he is a decent and respectful young man, and I think Yuzu asking (with a gesture) Nathan for a hug out on the ice during the gala finale, is his signal to the public that their relationship is respectful and CARING. That was no 'pat-pat' bro-hug, that was from the heart. I think Nathan is the catalyst Yuzu needs right now, like Javi was earlier. 

 

I don't blame people who feel bitter, but I think it's important to try to get past it, and be as positive as you can! In this case, I think we have alot to be hopeful for, I do think Yuzu has the motivation and the growing strength to achieve his greatest dreams.

 

I believe that in some 'undetectable' way, all human life has a connection, so that in some way Yuzu has a 'sense' of the various feelings of his fans (heh heh, or, just lurking twitter, line, weibo etc), and I would much rather be emanating a positive, happy vibe in his direction than negativity. And then I naturally find myself being a nicer person to the rest of the world, and hopefully the cycle just keeps going!

 

Yes, we are all connected in this lifestream - and Yuzu's fragile brilliance helps to light up our links, our Kizuna 絆.  Thank you for sharing with your husband!!

 

[rockstaryuzu]

19 minutes ago, Umebachi said:

 

Yes, let's spread the wave outwards!  We will transform our energies into an emergent swarm of compassionate fanyu birdies who will rise as a Phoenix. 

 

 

Oh that's so pretty!! (I love textiles, especially embroidered ones, by the way, and collect them when i travel). Or is it a painting? Where's it from? 

[MatchaBeans]

6 hours ago, airi said:

I know you're joking (right? ) but in case not:

1. 5T may or may not be easier technically than 4A, but it IS 0,5 rotation more, and that requires insane rotation speed which I'm not sure any adult man can achieve (I believe it may not be, but so were people saying about 4A and Yuzu is SO close, so...) [btw landing it on harness is completely different]

2. If ISU would want do assign values to quints, it won't happen in this Oly cycle for sure

3. Judging wise, it will change nothing

4. I don't want Yuzu to kill himself. I have to say I trust him less after GPF and his 4A practice but at least that is probably his biggest (achievable) dream now.

 

 

Ghislain has said Yuzu has landed 5T with harness (but without any effort from the harness) on his second attempt. His rotational speed on his 4A was already insane, almost as fast as the quad ladies'/Rika's, but he said what he needs now is more height to be able to land it.

 

I hope the ISU puts a limit to quint jumps - only one in the FS - if the day does come, just to be fair to other athletes, as only the select few in the world can manage that.

 

2 hours ago, fyere0 said:

 

I raised my eyebrows at this quote, but OP added that Raf was actually talking about YUZU'S QUAD LUTZES and smiled at him. As in, Yuzu didn't manage the Lz in that runthrough but Raf said he'd already seen Yuzu do good ones before. So don't worry, Raf is not an ass all the time.  

 

Raf is actually one of the coaches whom I really like. He is a man of principle (e.g. refused to poach Sasha Cohen from his friend) and he has such a big heart. Many of his students, Nathan included, have said he's like their father. He let Adam Rippon live in his house and refused to take coaching fees from him during the period when Adam was tight financially. I have observed a few times, at the Kiss & Cry, when his students did not perform that well, he was very supportive, saying things like 'everyone makes mistakes, it's OK' when some other coaches would stay dead silent, pull a sour face, shake their heads or even roll their eyes. 

 

Even in the recent GPF, after Nathan's FS and before his scores were announced at the K&C, the camera panned to Yuzu and Yuzu clapped for Nathan and did this salute gesture, and when the camera panned back to the K&C, we saw Raf making the gesture back. It's so heartwarming to see the mutual respect between rival coaches and athletes. Imagine the Eteri gang doing this for Brian or the Japanese coaches? Never in a thousand years.

 

5 hours ago, Terrapin said:

Hi, just a few thoughts about my personal experience of the GPF (I was there for the FS only and had to depart before the second VC because I was staying at a friend of mine's who lived quite far from Torino so I didn't get the chance to meet anyone from here, although you seem to all have made an amazing job :)) : when I arrived near the arena I could see all these people walking around with poohs in their hands, hanging from their bags or as headbands and it felt like I was part of a secret society of Pooh lovers ^^

I had a silver seat so I had a great overview of the arena but couldn't see the details : all I can say is that Yuzu's outfit is very sparkly ! He looked like a Christmas tree from afar and was therefore easy to spot, especially in the dark xD I survived the ordeal of seeing Yuzu skate his five-quad program with my heart in my throat and real elation at seeing him land them one after the other. It was surreal ! Until the mistake on the axel I thought I was witnessing a miracle: the mistake reminded me that Yuzu was very much human and seeing him stumble after his final pose was quite touching. He really gave his all, and the arena thanked him by literally unleashing Pooh chaos all over the ice. The friend who came with me was completely flabbergasted ! I threw my Pooh and my Goat as far as I could but they still landed on people's heads who in turn threw them on the ice. Nathan was still able to skate around as the soft toys were mainly covering the sides of the ice. As for Nathan, he skated well: you could see he kept his energy from beginning to end and was hitting everything without giving any sign of being tired. And the end of the program was actually quite entertaining: I wasn't expecting such a high score, but all I can say is that you could see at the end of Yuzu's program that he was dead tired, while Nathan seemed fresh (at least from afar ^^). Of course I was more emotionally invested in Yuzu's program and I am glad I witnessed such a beautiful 4lz with my own eyes ! Actually, I had seen Yuzu win the GPF 3 years ago in Marseille but I loved Torino more: Yuzu didn't skate an excellent program in Marseille and had shown signs of tiredness too, but here in Torino he literally went beyond himself. This fight he put up with his own limits is priceless, so to me this silver medal is actually a victory. Actually, everything to me that comes after Pyeongchang is a bonus and a victory to me, which I've learned to appreciate. I'm so glad I was able to see him live for the second time ! After the VC he did a lap around the rink and carefully looked up at everyone in the upper bleachers and waved at us. Me and my friends had made a sign with Happy Birthday written on it and he acknowledged it. I think my job was done there. 

What I want to say is simply this: Yuzu is a beautiful candle that keeps burning bright but his body will one day reach its limits. He found a very athletic rival who fuels this fire again in him, but I think there is a struggle within Yuzu between his pride, his love for the sport, his irrepressible need to push his limits and quest for perfection on the one hand, and his fear of injury and his own physical limitations on the other hand. He wants so much ! But the thing is, his mind is often ahead of his body: and his hunger, his hard-work as well as his pure heart led him to these incredible accomplishments. I really wish he will end up his competitive career with a supernova: by landing a beautiful 4A and leaving an indelible mark on the history of the sport and our heart (and this, he's already done it, and nobody can take it away from him !). 

Thank you for your report of watching him live, must have been such an experience!

 

I totally agree with you that Yuzu's mind is often ahead of his body and he wants EVERYTHING!! Of course him being a stubborn-head doesn't help, LOL. He is never going to let go of his artistry for the sake of landing the jumps. 

 

Also I doubt he will retire once he lands the 4A, because he said he wants to land the quints too. God help us... 

[Umebachi]

36 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Oh that's so pretty!! (I love textiles, especially embroidered ones, by the way, and collect them when i travel). Or is it a painting? Where's it from? 

 

It's by a famous Japanese artist from mid-Edo era named Ito Jakuchu 伊藤若冲

Title of the painting is Old Pine and White Phoenix 老松白鳳凰

I went to his exhibit in the National Museum in Ueno this summer and saw this amazing print - it was moving and inspiring!

So it makes me wonder: 羽生選手はもう白鳥より白鳳凰に変身しようとしてるのかな？　Is Hanyu-senshu in the process of transforming from a swan into a white Phoenix?  The flame is burning brightly, intensely...  

 

 

 

[yuzuangel]

A nice article about Ghislain Briand. It's in French but you can google translate (translation is quite good).

 

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2019/12/07/larchitecte-dun-monument-japonais

[Paskud]

 

 

[Paskud]

Citizen is amazing.

 

 

[yuzuangel]

looks only barely <

 

 

 

[CaroSkate]

43分鐘前, yuzuangel說:

A nice article about Ghislain Briand. It's in French but you can google translate (translation is quite good).

 

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2019/12/07/larchitecte-dun-monument-japonais

It is a nice article, though they miss out little Romeo's Bronze medal when they count his Worlds medals

 

 

20分鐘前, Paskud說:

Citizen is amazing.

 

 

Scores aside, GPF Origin with 5 clean quads (not counting the triple flip in the combo), beautiful lutz and loop while still staying healthy is a big step forward from SCI Origin. It is why (I think) Yuzu's percentage went up from 30% to 50%.

 

To me personally as a fan, he has achieved enough titles and world record scores for me to be zen about his future competitive results. Of course I will be thrilled if he wins (especially 4CC lol) and if he is satisfied with his results, but I am happy by just witnessing how he is still getting better and better (and being healthy!).

 

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. This competition will only make Yuzu stronger.

[Paskud]

2 minutes ago, CaroSkate said:

It is a nice article, though they miss out little Romeo's Bronze medal when they count his Worlds medals

 

unacceptable

[quadaxelwin]

4 hours ago, Chitsuki said:

 

Hahaha, well we've had quite a few snow days too in the past week.

 

In all honesty, he'd probably have fan incidents anywhere if he has a "regular" route they can discern. I mean, we all look at potential flights whenever he flies for competitions.

 

But I do believe, for the most part, his life in Toronto is fairly normal. The majority of people here wouldn't recognize/know who he is. Plus it's a very multicultural city - sure the signs are in English, but I don't even think people would turn to look at him twice if they hear Japanese.

 

 

Didn't he have an incident in 2014 where a fan from Asia took a two-shot photo with him at some supermarket in Toronto? He stopped taking photos with fans in public in Toronto after that. Probably because that fan revealed that Yuzu told her "he lives around here"

I heard some stalkers in Japan started looking for a supermarket in toronto downtown with the same supermarket background interior, and then uploaded the address of that supermarket online..... I found that very creepy indeed.

 

 

 

 

No wonder he stopped taking photos with fans in Toronto streets or public places since then.

[cuddlebuggy]

I was watching Yuzu's interview on Kenji's Room recently and he said that most people think he skates all day, but he really doesn't. He spends 2h on the ice and then goes home where he eats/studies. He also mentioned that he doesn't have a dance background and did like a month or two of ballet while growing up. At the 2019 GPF press con Yuzu mentioned really envying Nathan for having ballet/gymnastics background. (Coincidentally, Jin Boyang also says he came from a mostly dance/ballet/jazz background.)

 

So let me get this straight, Yuzu has limited dance background, and practices for 2h a day (which is a lot but probably less than his competitors), and he looks and skates like that?! *mindblown*  Wha--? How? Is this what they call natural talent because it's too overwhelming :O  I think most people can agree with me when they say that Yuzu has the best artistry/beauty of skating of the current men's field.

 

I mean not to bash anyone, but looking at Jin Boyang/Nathan Chen's skates, they are definitely not skaters I would have believed came from a dance background. So that begs the question, where did Yuzu's crazy beautiful expressive/dance skills come from?

 

I know he's intensely private but do we know anything about his off ice training/training regime in general? Cuz I'm just speechless.

[Terrapin]

2 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

A nice article about Ghislain Briand. It's in French but you can google translate (translation is quite good).

 

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2019/12/07/larchitecte-dun-monument-japonais

I love how it says that Yuzu always wants Ghislain by his side and that it clicked between them right away  And how they are both nerds of biometrics for studying jumps 🤓

[Terrapin]

8 minutes ago, cuddlebuggy said:

I was watching Yuzu's interview on Kenji's Room recently and he said that most people think he skates all day, but he really doesn't. He spends 2h on the ice and then goes home where he eats/studies. He also mentioned that he doesn't have a dance background and did like a month or two of ballet while growing up. At the 2019 GPF press con Yuzu mentioned really envying Nathan for having ballet/gymnastics background. (Coincidentally, Jin Boyang also says he came from a mostly dance/ballet/jazz background.)

 

So let me get this straight, Yuzu has limited dance background, and practices for 2h a day (which is a lot but probably less than his competitors), and he looks and skates like that?! *mindblown*  Wha--? How? Is this what they call natural talent because it's too overwhelming I think most people can agree with me when they say that Yuzu has the best artistry/beauty of skating of the current men's field.

 

I mean not to bash anyone, but looking at Jin Boyang/Nathan Chen's skates, they are definitely not skaters I would have believed came from a dance background. So that begs the question, where did Yuzu's crazy beautiful expressive/dance skills come from?

 

I know he's intensely private but do we know anything about his off ice training/training regime in general? Cuz I'm just speechless.

First I think that Yuzu is naturally graceful: even him simply extending his hand is mindblowingly beautiful ! Especially when it is covered by a glove. Then you add the shape of his body (small waist, long arms and legs) and his sensitivity : Yuzu really feels the music and invests himself totally in it. And this you can’t be taught : you simply are. Of course Yuzu had problems with his posture when he was younger : his shoulders tended to sag when he was tired. But it seems that he worked on this (and this is where you can see he didn’t have a proper ballet training). 

[quadaxelwin]

13 hours ago, ICeleste said:

5 MILLION views for this video!!!! and 7 thousand likes.

There's no excuse for ISU not to give him the MVP award. 

based on number of votes, he should win the other 2 as well but ISU probably manipulate those numbers too.

 

 

I imagine a video of Yuzu finally landing that 4A will get around 10 ~ 15 Million views on twitter, if the pooh rain can get 5 million views in a few days.