General Yuzuru Chat

[quadaxelwin]

21 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.

 

 

Imagine what Yuzu could achieve with 1 year of professional ballet training as part of his off-ice training lol.

It is probably really just natural talent. I also think looks are really important in figure skating, and I think Yuzu has that balletic "look" and the right long leg and arm proportions that make him look more like a swan on ice than any of the men out there. It also helps he never has to consciously be on a diet all the time because he has good genetics to be forever very slim. 

 

I think sometimes life is unfair, and sometimes God gives all the right materials for a person to work with to become a legend in figure skating. 

And with Yuzu, God really was unfair and gave him all the right start-up materials he needed to become the greatest of all time figure skater. 

Except, God was like...

 

Maybe if I give everything, it would be too boring, so I'm gonna give him asthma, ISU politics and endless career drama.

 

Haha, sorry to the atheists out there, but I do believe in God, and this is how I see how God created Yuzu lol

[MatchaBeans]

26 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.

 

According to the ISU profile page, Yuzu only practices 10 hours a week.

 

Practice low season:				10 h/week Toronto/CAN
Practice high season:				10 h/week Toronto/CAN

 

I could not believe this when I first saw it. Most skaters do around 28-30hrs/week. Then I came across a couple of interviews, which sort of confirmed it. He said he practices so little to the point where he got told to practice more LMAO. Tracy also said that he does not spend too much time on ice but he is very focused when he does, so it's OK. 

 

I too can't see ballet background in Nathan. On the contrary, I would have thought Yuzu had it as he is built for it. Long limbs, long neck and all. He would look absolutely stunning in a tutu! 

[quadaxelwin]

11 hours ago, sweetwater said:

Looks like I failed to get my point across, so I rephrase.
I am baffled to see you repeatedly tried to hold someone back because you think Japanese fans want it, not because you think it is wrong or inappropriate or inconsiderate, or anything. I think trying to control someone saying because someone else wants it is not right.
It is true that there were Japanese fans reacted negatively to the cake and the song, but they all have different reasons. And those who seriously wanted to stop other fans are trying to reach out to them by themselves on their responsibility, explaining their reasons, choosing how to word their opinion.
Japanese fandom is huge and diverse. We have all kinds of conflicts between fans as well. So it is impossible to speak for majority. To do so is just to create a phantom.

 

This is your quote:

"not because you think it is wrong or inappropriate or inconsiderate, or anything"

 

Go back and read all my replies in relation to the Kiss and Cry birthday song. I repeatedly stressed like 10 times that I think it's wrong because it would disrupt the next skater skating after Yuzu, and a birthday song would disrupt his warmup. That was repeated more than 10 times I think, now that I check back on my profile. I did stress Japanese fans feel this way and that too. I admitted that in my earlier post and said I would refine generalizing fandom opinions next time. But don't say I didn't state why I thought singing during the kiss and cry was inappropriate when my whole profile history has post after post explaining how unfair it would be to the next skater skating after yuzu if we sung the song during kiss and cry. I repeatedly stressed this more than any other claim I made about how Japanese fans feel on the matter. Please check my profile history posts before you say I never said why it was inappropriate. Did you even check my past posts about this?

 

I was very polite the first time, and I agreed, apologized, explained with you and thanked you for your feedback, but now I realize you haven't even read my previous posts regarding this matter. 

 

This is what I said previously on the thread. Please go check my profile post history before you say I never stated why it was inappropriate.

 

"The issue of HPB song is not about standing out. It's about the possibility of distracting the next skater warming up during kiss and cry. Yuzu wants to stand out but is equally sensitive to how the next skater feels. Their discomfort is the same as his discomfort. That's why he always makes gestures to the crowd to calm down for the next skater during kiss and cry. He did this for Nam at Skate Canada after his free skate. "

 

I personally like to check out someone's profile and read what they posted, before claiming they never said or implied this or that.
It's why a profile history exists. So you can double check what a poster said or has not said, before claiming they did.

 

I also think when someone makes efforts to thank you for your feedback the first time round politely and explain their mistakes, apologize and makes promises to edit and refine their mistakes to you, and states that they will do things differently next time,

it is manners to check their profile page and read through what they said, before making a false statement about what they said.

It's fandom manners to make equal effort to read over what the poster said previously before going off on another false claim about them. 

 

Because literally there is a history page to disprove it. 

 

I will also repeat what I said in my previous post to you: yes, over generalizing fandom general opinions or fully translating tweets without context needs to be refined. I don't know why I have to repeat this apology again to you, when I already tried to apologize and end it nicely with you the first time round, and then you suddenly making false claims about what I said. 

[cuddlebuggy]

14 minutes ago, MatchaBeans said:

 

According to the ISU profile page, Yuzu only practices 10 hours a week.

 

Practice low season:				10 h/week Toronto/CAN
Practice high season:				10 h/week Toronto/CAN

 

I could not believe this when I first saw it. Most skaters do around 28-30hrs/week. Then I came across a couple of interviews, which sort of confirmed it. He said he practices so little to the point where he got told to practice more LMAO. Tracy also said that he does not spend too much time on ice but he is very focused when he does, so it's OK. 

 

I too can't see ballet background in Nathan. On the contrary, I would have thought Yuzu had it as he is built for it. Long limbs, long neck and all. He would look absolutely stunning in a tutu! 

 

Haha absolutely! As a dancer myself, natural talent/physical attributes definitely plays into it, but without training, even those born with a great dancer's body look super iffy and ungraceful. Amongst the top dancers in the world, there are people blessed with aesthetically pleasing bodies, but they definitely still put in their hours. Usually more so than everyone else to get where they are.

 

Watching the field, for me Yuzu looks like he has so much body control and effortless grace. I'd never have guessed Nathan of all people to have a ballet background, he's so athletic and definitely uses his muscles a lot to create powerful jumps which would make me think more like sportsperson rather than dance person.

 

Of course I'm sure Yuzu is super super hardworking, which is what everyone seems to say about him, haha I'm just curious about how he achieves so much in the sport while doing what looks like less than others. Definitely, having super focused practice sessions are key, but damn, ok this boy is GOAT.

 

Hopefully all this efficient practice means he stays in tip top competition shape for a long long time, although I also do look forward to when he starts to do more shows and can let all that creativity, emotion and expressiveness shine!

[AkaneYamashina]

16 hours ago, cuddlebuggy said:

 

Haha absolutely! As a dancer myself, like there are definitely people who are born to do it and have a beautiful body for dancing, and some who don't have that perfect body, but without training, even those born with a great dancer's body look super iffy and ungraceful. Amongst the top dancers in the world, there are people with natural ability and blessed with a beautiful body, but they definitely still put in their hours. Usually more so than everyone else to get where they are.

 

Watching the field, for me Yuzu looks like he has so much body control and effortless grace. I'd never have guessed Nathan of all people to have . ballet background, he's so athletic and definitely uses his muscles a lot to create powerful jumps which would make me think more like sportsperson rather than dance person.

 

Of course I'm sure Yuzu is super super hardworking, which is what everyone seems to say about him, haha I'm just curious about how he achieves so much in the sport while doing what looks like less than others. Definitely, having super focused practice sessions are key, but damn, ok this boy is GOAT.

It seems Yuzu has the talent to emulate the movement of others while watching them. He picks things up pretty fast. If I remember correctly, he learned Shae-Lynn's Masquerade choreo through a video by watching it for a couple of hours just before the FAOI itself. One wouldn't think that he had it down in less than a day with that marvelous performance.

 

 

 

 

[rockstaryuzu]

3 hours ago, Umebachi said:

 

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...  

 

 

 

I think he's already the Phoenix. His costume last year was definitely phoenix-like. He's in the process of rising from the ashes IMO. 

 

I'm only going to quote Tracy "We thought we'd seen his best, but his best is yet to come." I feel this very strongly. 

[rockstaryuzu]

52 minutes ago, Terrapin said:

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). 

Personally I think Yuzu is better off for not having the dance training; posture aside, he didn't have to unlearn any habits that would interfere with his skating. The two disciplines are completely different ways of moving through space, IMO. Not having dance instruction in his head probably frees Yuzu up to do what actually works well for his skating without any unnecessary 'shoulds' getting in the way. 

 

Besides which, if he really thought he needed it, he could get dance training now easily enough. I don't think he'd find it much of a challenge, honestly. He could probably already manage grand jete (sorry no accents on my phone keyboard), cabriole,  saute de basque, and maybe even barrel turns pretty easily. 

 

 

[quadaxelwin]

1 minute ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Personally I think Yuzu is better off for not having the dance training; posture aside, he didn't have to unlearn any habits that would interfere with his skating. The two disciplines are completely different ways of moving through space, IMO. Not having dance instruction in his head probably frees Yuzu up to do what actually works well for his skating without any unnecessary 'shoulds' getting in the way. 

 

Besides which, if he really thought he needed it, he could get dance training now easily enough. I don't think he'd find it much of a challenge, honestly. He could probably already manage grand jete (sorry no accents on my phone keyboard), cabriole,  saute de basque, and maybe even barrel turns pretty easily. 

 

 

 

 

Wasn't there a Spirit of the Athletes Documentary in 2012 showing him taking Justin Bieber boyfriend hip hop classes at TCC?

Or was that a summer camp short term thing?

I thought he kept taking those dance lessons at TCC

[rockstaryuzu]

11 minutes ago, quadaxelwin said:

 

 

Wasn't there a Spirit of the Athletes Documentary in 2012 showing him taking Justin Bieber boyfriend hip hop classes at TCC?

Or was that a summer camp short term thing?

I thought he kept taking those dance lessons at TCC

Yeah, TCC makes stuff like that available to their skaters if they want it. And we've seen in previous Japanese interviews that Yuzu spends a lot of time doing dryland runthroughs of his programs in front of a mirror at home, plus from videos posted by various TCC skaters they have a dance studio they can use to work on routines together or separately. 

 

So even if Yuzu is only on the ice 10 hours a week, he is probably spending quite a bit more time than that working on his skating while off the ice. 

 

Training for a sport, as I learned back when I was a competitive swimmer, is never about how much practice you do, but about how smartly you practice. Being focussed and using the time wisely will take you a lot farther than hours of endless repetition. 

 

Unless you're trying to up your endurance. Then you need to put in the miles.  If Yuzu is serious about the five quad layout with 3A3A seq., he probably will have to put in some miles to build his stamina.

[quadaxelwin]

47 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Yeah, TCC makes stuff like that available to their skaters if they want it. And we've seen in previous Japanese interviews that Yuzu spends a lot of time doing dryland runthroughs of his programs in front of a mirror at home, plus from videos posted by various TCC skaters they have a dance studio they can use to work on routines together or separately. 

 

So even if Yuzu is only on the ice 10 hours a week, he is probably spending quite a bit more time than that working on his skating while off the ice. 

 

Training for a sport, as I learned back when I was a competitive swimmer, is never about how much practice you do, but about how smartly you practice. Being focussed and using the time wisely will take you a lot farther than hours of endless repetition. 

 

Unless you're trying to up your endurance. Then you need to put in the miles.  If Yuzu is serious about the five quad layout with 3A3A seq., he probably will have to put in some miles to build his stamina.

 

 

OMG imagine a video of him running on the treadmill at the gym!

I've never seen a documentary clip of him doing long term stamina training 

We've never seen that clip yet lol

 

[cuddlebuggy]

2 hours ago, quadaxelwin said:

 

 

Wasn't there a Spirit of the Athletes Documentary in 2012 showing him taking Justin Bieber boyfriend hip hop classes at TCC?

Or was that a summer camp short term thing?

I thought he kept taking those dance lessons at TCC

 

He said in one of his interviews (Kenji's Room maybe?) that he does take dance classes but only over the summer. 

 

But I was just curious what else he did cuz obviously most of the top skaters do some kind of dance related off ice training... so how come it doesn't come across in their dancing

[KatjaThera]

I think Yuzu used to do more on ice training, I think it was maybe 14 hours a week last season? I remember we were all surprised when we saw 10 hours . I think now they put more emphasis on quality rather than quantity. On top of it, Yuzu needs to be careful, because even if his ankle is now blissfully pain free - from what he's said at NHK, IIRC - I think he will always be more prone to injury than others. So it makes sense to emphasize quality over quantity and spend more time doing off-ice training, especially now working on training his leg muscles - to further protect his ankle - and all the other muscles he needs for the 4A. What exactly this off-ice training is, we don't know. I do remember seeing footage of him jumping while holding dumbbells, but I'm sure he has off-ice stuff now... Although I admit I can't quite imagine Yuzu lifting weights and such...

 

As for dancing, aside from natural talent, I think he has also spent a lot of time polishing his gestures to the point that they are now naturally graceful. We know he watches himself a lot and I'm sure he micromanages every gesture and angle and position of every limb.

 

But I think something else that perhaps sets Yuzu apart from other male skaters is that he has never hesitated in following female role models, too. He started skating because of his sister, and IIRC, he really liked what she looked like when skating and wanted to look like that, too, so he would do whatever she did. That's how he developed his flexibility as well, because, imitating his sister, he would do many of the things girls were doing, including Biellman and I guess Ina Bauers, too. That he then would do them as part of his programs as tributes to Plushenko and Shizuka is true, but IIRC, he started doing them because of his sister. Then, of course, looking up to Shizuka, I'm sure she was a model in some ways, too. And he also said way back when that he learned 3A while watching Mao. And looking up to Johnny, too, because Johnny has always been graceful, too (though IMO, Yuzu looks more naturally graceful than Johnny now lol Although I also found Johnny much more pleasant to watch in real life than on video, he has a special Johnny charm when skating.)

 

Yuzu was never able to skate as much as peers because of his asthma - which I'm still quite convinced is the more severe kind; my father has asthma, too, but it only bothers him at times, while we know Yuzu always has to be extra careful, just in case. This competition was a reminder, yet again, that he still needs to work harder on stamina than others. But his life seems to be 90% skating anyway, everything he does is related to skating in one way or another, he spends a lot of time studying, researching, analyzing, so I think it is possible he, overall, spends more time on skating than most other skaters, even if only a small part of that time is spent ACTUALLY skating.

[Veveco]

8 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 started translating the whole article because it is really nice indeed. I'll share when I'm done (it was too long to finish in one go) 

I had been curious about Ghislain's backstory for a while so this was really interesting. 

[Tabby]

1 hour ago, cuddlebuggy said:

But I was just curious what else he did cuz obviously most of the top skaters do some kind of dance related off ice training... so how come it doesn't come across in their dancing

 

Honestly, Yuzu is just so naturally graceful. I remember when I first watched him at the PC olympics vs watching other skaters, Yuzu really seemed to fly across the ice like the ice was an extension of himself. It's what attracted me to him first. With other skaters, I could tell they were putting effort into being graceful especially during large movements, whereas with Yuzu it felt weightless, and even the smallest of movements was elegant. And it's not just his skating, his jumps are so liquid smooth- he even said that the kind of jumps he wants to do are those that look like they don't need much power. One of his best points imo is that he makes everything look so easy, like how on earth he makes a twizzle-3A-twizzle look that effortless is beyond me...

His natural grace combined with his excellent foundation of skating skills including things like deep knee bends etc. makes him such an aesthetically pleasing skater to watch- I initially thought he was the one with a background in dance when I was exposed to him for the first time at pyeongchang lol The whole feather/wings imagery his brand has suits him sooo much!

[Paskud]

Thank you, Ondrej.