General Yuzuru Chat

[cuddlebuggy]

3 minutes ago, Tabby said:

 

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!

100% . agreed!

 

I used to watch skating when I was younger, but stopped for a while as more and more people left behind their artistry to pursue jump after jump after jump.

 

Not saying that people who jump aren't amazing and athletic, but I feel the program becomes boring coz all we see are big jumps and then a big load of nothing in between.

 

I came back to following skating after I saw a bunch of Yuzu's videos and yes I love that everything he puts out has gone through so much detailed consideration. He is truly an artist.

[glilikoi]

2 hours ago, KatjaThera said:

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. 

I also think this is a really impressive quality in Yuzu. He doesn't seem to be hung up on narrow ideas of what 'male skating' or 'female skating' should be like, he's just aiming for his ideal form of 'figure skating', period. This is evident in how he's recently talked about wanting to learn from the Russian ladies (and, for example, in how he was really trying to imitate the correct landing style when doing that rotating lift with Ondrej in gala practice :D). I just can't imagine almost any other (current) male figure skating saying/doing something like that. Yuzu's ideal figure skating is a seamless combination of athleticism, technique and artistic expression, and he's not afraid to imitate or be influenced by the expression of female skaters. Please note I'm not talking about his identity but just about what he does as a figure skater/how he seems to think about figure skating.

 

I don't think there is anything essentially female about beautiful artistry, but the way men's figure skating currently is, there just isn't as much focus on gracefulness as there is in the ladies' field. There are some women whose skating style has a stronger element of athleticism than 'gracefulness' (right now Trusova comes to mind), but they are in the minority, and in the men's field it's vice versa (there are a few other men who pay more attention to beautiful extensions etc. but they are quite few). It's always good to have diversity/different styles of expression, so I'm really happy that Yuzu is out there confidently saying he can learn from the women too. And of course you can see Yuzu influencing women - for example, Rika and Trusova have both studied Yuzu's jumps afaik. It's just a positive phenomenon in this sport and I wish there was more of this kind of interaction. 

 

// Just as a side note - I think Yuzu's skating style has been a big influence on Mana Kawabe, who won the Japanese JNats this year. She did a beautiful Black Swan FS that I think somehow has lots of elements of Yuzu's skating - graceful gestures and expressions with this wild energy running underneath, giving it her all but still trying to execute each element with care. And she's stated she's a fan of Yuzu. So I think that's one interesting example of an up-and-coming female skater who has been influenced by Yuzu not just in terms of jumping technique, but his style in general. 

[quadaxelwin]

8 minutes ago, glilikoi said:

I also think this is a really impressive quality in Yuzu. He doesn't seem to be hung up on narrow ideas of what 'male skating' or 'female skating' should be like, he's just aiming for his ideal form of 'figure skating', period. This is evident in how he's recently talked about wanting to learn from the Russian ladies (and, for example, in how he was really trying to imitate the correct landing style when doing that rotating lift with Ondrej in gala practice :D). I just can't imagine almost any other (current) male figure skating saying/doing something like that. Yuzu's ideal figure skating is a seamless combination of athleticism, technique and artistic expression, and he's not afraid to imitate or be influenced by the expression of female skaters. Please note I'm not talking about his identity but just about what he does as a figure skater/how he seems to think about figure skating.

 

I don't think there is anything essentially female about beautiful artistry, but the way men's figure skating currently is, there just isn't as much focus on gracefulness as there is in the ladies' field. There are some women whose skating style has a stronger element of athleticism than 'gracefulness' (right now Trusova comes to mind), but they are in the minority, and in the men's field it's vice versa (there are a few other men who pay more attention to beautiful extensions etc. but they are quite few). It's always good to have diversity/different styles of expression, so I'm really happy that Yuzu is out there confidently saying he can learn from the women too. And of course you can see Yuzu influencing women - for example, Rika and Trusova have both studied Yuzu's jumps afaik. It's just a positive phenomenon in this sport and I wish there was more of this kind of interaction. 

 

 

I remembered that Yuzu loved Johnny's Ave Maria EX program, and picked it as the program he most wanted to see again at a Japanese show.

It reminds me alot of Notte Stellata in many ways. You can see where Yuzu got his artistic influence from by watching some of Weir's old programs.

I think his costumes are also inspired by Johnny Weir's too, especially that fluff on the shoulder thing. I love how Yuzu isn't afraid to add lots of sparkles, laces, feminine bright colors to his costumes. No offense but one of the main reasons I couldn't get into Patrick Chan and Nathan Chen's programs are because of the plain frugal tops they wore as costumes. I sense some male skaters are afraid to try "girly" colors, patterns, laces, sparkles and styles and it puts me off. Figure skating is art to Yuzu and I'm glad he is never afraid to try and express all different types of costumes, expressions, music etc. 

[yumeaki]

42 minutes ago, Tabby said:

 

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!

 

Exactly. I agree there are graceful skaters but what I see is a human skating gracefully. Beautiful moves but still, human. 

First time I saw Yuzu, I thought I saw a fairy dancing and flying across ice. 

[KatjaThera]

33 minutes ago, glilikoi said:

I also think this is a really impressive quality in Yuzu. He doesn't seem to be hung up on narrow ideas of what 'male skating' or 'female skating' should be like, he's just aiming for his ideal form of 'figure skating', period. This is evident in how he's recently talked about wanting to learn from the Russian ladies (and, for example, in how he was really trying to imitate the correct landing style when doing that rotating lift with Ondrej in gala practice :D). I just can't imagine almost any other (current) male figure skating saying/doing something like that. Yuzu's ideal figure skating is a seamless combination of athleticism, technique and artistic expression, and he's not afraid to imitate or be influenced by the expression of female skaters. Please note I'm not talking about his identity but just about what he does as a figure skater/how he seems to think about figure skating.

 

I don't think there is anything essentially female about beautiful artistry, but the way men's figure skating currently is, there just isn't as much focus on gracefulness as there is in the ladies' field. There are some women whose skating style has a stronger element of athleticism than 'gracefulness' (right now Trusova comes to mind), but they are in the minority, and in the men's field it's vice versa (there are a few other men who pay more attention to beautiful extensions etc. but they are quite few). It's always good to have diversity/different styles of expression, so I'm really happy that Yuzu is out there confidently saying he can learn from the women too. And of course you can see Yuzu influencing women - for example, Rika and Trusova have both studied Yuzu's jumps afaik. It's just a positive phenomenon in this sport and I wish there was more of this kind of interaction. 

 

// Just as a side note - I think Yuzu's skating style has been a big influence on Mana Kawabe, who won the Japanese JNats this year. She did a beautiful Black Swan FS that I think somehow has lots of elements of Yuzu's skating - graceful gestures and expressions with this wild energy running underneath, giving it her all but still trying to execute each element with care. And she's stated she's a fan of Yuzu. So I think that's one interesting example of an up-and-coming female skater who has been influenced by Yuzu not just in terms of jumping technique, but his style in general. 

To further add to this, because I forgot to mention it, another thing is, IIRC, that Yuzu asked Shae-Lynn for guidance on doing more feminine movements for Hope & Legacy. And I think he pretty much interpreted female characters in programs, too, at least somewhat. I love the fact that he seems to think in such a genderless way. Good skaters are an inspiration, who cares what their gender is? If there's something to learn, and there almost always is, he will learn.

 

I agree it shouldn't be an issue of gender, but I admit one of the reasons I didn't get into men's skating before Yuzu was because I saw it as a weird mix of athletics and some very awkward attempts at being graceful, but they seemed so reluctant. Like those stiff arms some men have, which seem to be a sort of attempt at... something, but it just looks awkward as hell. Javi used to have that as well and it's the one thing I hated about his skating. Luckily, towards the end of his competitive career, he seemed to focus more on flowy movements. On the other hand, Yuzu has such grace and all of his movements have a very pleasant and natural flow to them, I had a "THIS is what I wanted to see in men's figure skating!" To be honest, as a Yuzu fan, not even ladies seem as graceful to me, now. He's on a different level from most of them. (Of course, there are exceptions. Shizuka for example, is stunning. Having had the chance to see her at FaOI was an honor.)

 

In men, I have to say I like Roman and Camden quite a lot. I like them more than Kevin, tbh. If both of them were to get consistency in their jumps, and manage to upgrade their technical content, I think they could be worthy descendants of Yuzu lol Roman has gorgeous spins and I like the way he flows on ice, too. And when his jumps work, like they did at NHK, it's very nice to watch. Camden I didn't think or know much of, but at ACI he really caught my eye, precisely because he has a grace and flow that reminds me of Yuzu, because he seems to fully embrace it - despite being an American male who could easily do the macho thing, because he's also really good looking, and not so much in the pretty boy way, like Roman; most guys his age, especially in figure skating, and with his looks, would probably avoid being graceful, but he seems comfortable with it and I really liked that. I know there was another boy or two at Worlds or Euros last year that caught my eye, but I forgot who... I'd like to think Yuzu is to thank for more boys becoming comfortable with such an approach. (And as both Roman and Camden seem to be fans, I think he is lol Was it pointed out that Roman has Irene gloves, btw? lol I had to freeze his pre-NHK vlog to double check lol)

[Henni147]

35 minutes ago, KatjaThera said:

In men, I have to say I like Roman and Camden quite a lot. I like them more than Kevin, tbh.

 

I second this. If I only look at their body movements and pure skating, I prefer Roman and Camden, too. They are really amazing, when they're on.

 

 

However, there are currently two male skaters who's movements cause me goosebumps and difficulty in breathing. These two are Yuzu and Guillaume Cizeron. They are totally different types of skaters from different disciplines, but they equally mess up my emotional household, when I watch them stroking 

[ralucutzagy]

 

 

[quadaxelwin]

1 hour ago, Henni147 said:

 

I second this. If I only look at their body movements and pure skating, I prefer Roman and Camden, too. They are really amazing, when they're on.

 

 

However, there are currently two male skaters who's movements cause me goosebumps and difficulty in breathing. These two are Yuzu and Guillaume Cizeron. They are totally different types of skaters from different disciplines, but they equally mess up my emotional household, when I watch them stroking 

 

I would like to add 1 more skater to your mix. 

Yuzu, G & Cizeron, Alena Kostornaia are my 3 favorite artistic skaters. These 3 give me goosebumps.

 

 

Stepanova and bukin are next in the lineup

[Henni147]

I promised you to upload a compilation of Yuzu's performances at CiONTU 2018 before the GPF, but totally forgot about it in all the excitement 

EDIT: Get that. +22 minutes pure skating without a single jump. I can watch it in loop.

 

Well, here it is (720p):

 

 

[yuzuangel]

6 minutes ago, Henni147 said:

I promised you to upload a compilation of Yuzu's performances at CiONTU 2018 before the GPF, but totally forgot about it in all the excitement 

 

Well, here it is (720p):

 

 

Thank you  

[Sabrina]

i filmed his Gala Program at the GPF it’s not the best quality but it’s passable 

[Veveco]

I have translated the article on Ghislain. Apologies for any unintended butchering of English grammar 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: there's a mistake in my transcript, the diagnostic was in 2008, not 2018. Sorry 

[micaelis]

7 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

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.

Does anyone know for sure that Yuzu can't swim?  If he can, there's a pool at TCC in which he could do laps to build stamina.  Swimming's much safer than running for stamina building since one doesn't risk injury to knees or ankles there.  The recent near-collapse at the end of his FS at GPF does serve to remind us that he still has asthma and thus he has limits to what he can do that the others skaters do not.  Just another reminder to us of how Yuzu's battles even include his own body when seeking the perfection he knows he can achieve.

[river]

21 minutes ago, micaelis said:

Does anyone know for sure that Yuzu can't swim?  If he can, there's a pool at TCC in which he could do laps to build stamina.  Swimming's much safer than running for stamina building since one doesn't risk injury to knees or ankles there.  The recent near-collapse at the end of his FS at GPF does serve to remind us that he still has asthma and thus he has limits to what he can do that the others skaters do not.  Just another reminder to us of how Yuzu's battles even include his own body when seeking the perfection he knows he can achieve.

I thought I read somewhere he can’t swim, but I’m not totally sure where I saw it. Swimming would definitely be easier on the knees and ankles, but it gets rough on your shoulders if you do enough of it - I had a friend who was training for the Olympic trials and had a career-ending rotator cuff injury. And I’m not sure what sort of water treatment they use at TCC - if they use chlorine as opposed to salt water, then that could potentially be an airway irritant. It always was for me back in my competitive swimming days and I don’t have any underlying airway disease. Also, while it’s possible to swim with his build, he’s definitely not buoyant to start with.

 

But if he wanted to learn to swim, I think @rockstaryuzu and I would be more than happy to teach him. Just say the word, Yuzu!

 

Edit: the article I’m reading about exercise in patients with asthma says “children with asthma can participate in sports at any level (including the Olympics) with proper treatment.” Well, yeah, obviously. 

[Paskud]

43 minutes ago, Veveco said:

I have translated the article on Ghislain. Apologies for any unintended butchering of English grammar 

 

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