General Yuzuru Chat

[airi]

51 minutes ago, barbara said:

Just because he qualified for 4CC doesn't mean he'll go.  He may decide he needs to rest and train for the extra month before Worlds.  And I kind of hope he does (wasn't planning on 4CC for me anyway..). Keiji can go and Yuzu can take World's!  He knew, his coaches knew, that he had too many competitions too close together an that his principal issue was exhaustion.  I'm shattered he didn't get gold, but so happy for Shoma.

He confirmed he asked for 4CC assigment, he wants the title and additional comp before Worlds.

That's very good sign that there's no injury and he has enough time to recover until then.

[glilikoi]

I've been feeling very emotional and mostly sad after today's FS, but in the long run, I think this is just a natural step in the process. Seeing Yuzu be the runner-up twice in a row hurts, but I think in a way losing is good sometimes - the more often Yuzu wins, the more pressure keeps building up, and I think sometimes it gets to unhealthy levels of expectations towards him. He described feeling kind of relieved after Saitama silver (like a bubble of others' and his own expectations had burst), then went back to winning both GPs this autumn, creating a lot of hype - and now losing again, reducing the pressure of huge expectations. Maybe returning to a kind of 'underdog' position is good sometimes. Especially if Yuzu does keep working towards Beijing, I feel that it's natural to have a kind of a low ebb (or several) during an Olympic cycle.

 

Yuzu doesn't need to win all the time and that's obviously not why we support him. I don't even really care about the results, I just want to see good skating - but I know Yuzu cares, and it makes me sad to see him be so hard on himself. So watching the FS today was rough. I also felt the scoring was blatantly favourable to Shoma, who had lots of issues here and there as well. But this wasn't as bad as GPF - Shoma wasn't overscored to the ridiculous extent Nathan was, and the selection of 4CC and Worlds teams seemed pretty fair (for the women as well). 

 

This is obviously just speculation and kind of pointless to say, but I have a feeling Yuzu may have had a bad asthma attack or other health issue sometime between GPF and travelling to Japan. It seems a lot of little signs are there. He looked extremely tired and had deep dark circles under his eyes - this isn't the first time we've seen jet lagged, sleep-deprived or anxious Yuzu, but I don't remember seeing such dark circles before. Of course it could be he's just getting older and slower at adapting to jet lag, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was an effect of him still recovering from a health issue. He was also apparently wearing an additional health monitor he doesn't usually wear, his breathing after the FS seemed worse than after the five-quad effort at the GPF, and Brian mentioned this having been a "tough week". It might also explain why Yuzu was travelling to Japan so late. I don't think he would talk about it because he hates making excuses, but it seems to me that this wasn't just regular exhaustion/jet lag, but the after-effect of an asthma attack (or possibly influenza or something similar). I remember he had a bad asthma attack a couple of weeks before Helsinki Worlds - maybe this time, it happened closer to the competition so the pattern of recovery was different. But yeah, this is kind of empty speculation since we haven't heard anything from Yuzu himself..

Of course, it's also possible that he really was just physically too tired from having to adapt to this extremely demanding schedule for the first time in a few years. 

 

In any case, I'm glad he's going to 4CC and that there should be enough time to rest and recover. I do think that it makes a lot of sense to go, to do a test-run of the Worlds layout and (heaven forbid..) possibly the 4A, as he said himself. For now, I hope he can just rest and enjoy a quiet new year's with his loved ones. This has been a tough season, but all things considered, he's done amazingly well, and I'm so proud to be his fan. 

[strelec]

20 minutes ago, glilikoi said:

I've been feeling very emotional and mostly sad after today's FS, but in the long run, I think this is just a natural step in the process. Seeing Yuzu be the runner-up twice in a row hurts, but I think in a way losing is good sometimes - the more often Yuzu wins, the more pressure keeps building up, and I think sometimes it gets to unhealthy levels of expectations towards him. He described feeling kind of relieved after Saitama silver (like a bubble of others' and his own expectations had burst), then went back to winning both GPs this autumn, creating a lot of hype - and now losing again, reducing the pressure of huge expectations. Maybe returning to a kind of 'underdog' position is good sometimes. Especially if Yuzu does keep working towards Beijing, I feel that it's natural to have a kind of a low ebb (or several) during an Olympic cycle.

 

Yuzu doesn't need to win all the time and that's obviously not why we support him. I don't even really care about the results, I just want to see good skating - but I know Yuzu cares, and it makes me sad to see him be so hard on himself. So watching the FS today was rough. I also felt the scoring was blatantly favourable to Shoma, who had lots of issues here and there as well. But this wasn't as bad as GPF - Shoma wasn't overscored to the ridiculous extent Nathan was, and the selection of 4CC and Worlds teams seemed pretty fair (for the women as well). 

 

This is obviously just speculation and kind of pointless to say, but I have a feeling Yuzu may have had a bad asthma attack or other health issue sometime between GPF and travelling to Japan. It seems a lot of little signs are there. He looked extremely tired and had deep dark circles under his eyes - this isn't the first time we've seen jet lagged, sleep-deprived or anxious Yuzu, but I don't remember seeing such dark circles before. Of course it could be he's just getting older and slower at adapting to jet lag, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was an effect of him still recovering from a health issue. He was also apparently wearing an additional health monitor he doesn't usually wear, his breathing after the FS seemed worse than after the five-quad effort at the GPF, and Brian mentioned this having been a "tough week". It might also explain why Yuzu was travelling to Japan so late. I don't think he would talk about it because he hates making excuses, but it seems to me that this wasn't just regular exhaustion/jet lag, but the after-effect of an asthma attack (or possibly influenza or something similar). I remember he had a bad asthma attack a couple of weeks before Helsinki Worlds - maybe this time, it happened closer to the competition so the pattern of recovery was different. But yeah, this is kind of empty speculation since we haven't heard anything from Yuzu himself..

Of course, it's also possible that he really was just physically too tired from having to adapt to this extremely demanding schedule for the first time in a few years. 

 

In any case, I'm glad he's going to 4CC and that there should be enough time to rest and recover. I do think that it makes a lot of sense to go, to do a test-run of the Worlds layout and (heaven forbid..) possibly the 4A, as he said himself. For now, I hope he can just rest and enjoy a quiet new year's with his loved ones. This has been a tough season, but all things considered, he's done amazingly well, and I'm so proud to be his fan. 

Thank you for your worlds - you covered everything I was thinking myself. 

 

I am not supporting Yuzuru and watch all of his perfomances just for the results, but especially because I love the way he is skating, for his attitude, for his smart brain... There are so many things which pleasure me and motivates me in my own life...

 

Thank you Yuzuru, have a nice rest. And also you and everybody here on the planet - I wish you mary Christmas and a hapy new year.

[ZuCritter]

2 hours ago, glilikoi said:

I have a feeling Yuzu may have had a bad asthma attack or other health issue sometime between GPF and travelling to Japan. It seems a lot of little signs are there. He looked extremely tired and had deep dark circles under his eyes - this isn't the first time we've seen jet lagged, sleep-deprived or anxious Yuzu, but I don't remember seeing such dark circles before. Of course it could be he's just getting older and slower at adapting to jet lag, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was an effect of him still recovering from a health issue. He was also apparently wearing an additional health monitor he doesn't usually wear, his breathing after the FS seemed worse than after the five-quad effort at the GPF, and Brian mentioned this having been a "tough week".

Yes to all this. I had noticed those things but hadn't put them together before -- especially the part about the additional monitor that was visible under his training gear. Taken as a whole, they do seem to point to something beyond normal tiredness and jet lag. I'll trust that with several weeks to rest and regain strength, whatever afflicted him will be behind him before 4CC. 

[memae]

He really didn't look well when the camera caught him after Shoma's FS. 

[rockstaryuzu]

27 minutes ago, memae said:

He really didn't look well when the camera caught him after Shoma's FS. 

He looked on the verge of being sick to his stomach as he took his opening position, actually. 

[rockstaryuzu]

Hey, satellites! 

 

This is somewhat of a topic change, but please everyone remember to be careful what you post. It's a public forum and exceedingly easy for folks to casually screenshot any portion of what we say and post it elsewhere. Even if it's something that the mods hide later, for the time that it's up, your words can be taken and twisted way out of context. 

 

So please post with caution. 

[quadaxelwin]

11 hours ago, glilikoi said:

I've been feeling very emotional and mostly sad after today's FS, but in the long run, I think this is just a natural step in the process. Seeing Yuzu be the runner-up twice in a row hurts, but I think in a way losing is good sometimes - the more often Yuzu wins, the more pressure keeps building up, and I think sometimes it gets to unhealthy levels of expectations towards him. He described feeling kind of relieved after Saitama silver (like a bubble of others' and his own expectations had burst), then went back to winning both GPs this autumn, creating a lot of hype - and now losing again, reducing the pressure of huge expectations. Maybe returning to a kind of 'underdog' position is good sometimes. Especially if Yuzu does keep working towards Beijing, I feel that it's natural to have a kind of a low ebb (or several) during an Olympic cycle.

 

Yuzu doesn't need to win all the time and that's obviously not why we support him. I don't even really care about the results, I just want to see good skating - but I know Yuzu cares, and it makes me sad to see him be so hard on himself. So watching the FS today was rough. I also felt the scoring was blatantly favourable to Shoma, who had lots of issues here and there as well. But this wasn't as bad as GPF - Shoma wasn't overscored to the ridiculous extent Nathan was, and the selection of 4CC and Worlds teams seemed pretty fair (for the women as well). 

 

This is obviously just speculation and kind of pointless to say, but I have a feeling Yuzu may have had a bad asthma attack or other health issue sometime between GPF and travelling to Japan. It seems a lot of little signs are there. He looked extremely tired and had deep dark circles under his eyes - this isn't the first time we've seen jet lagged, sleep-deprived or anxious Yuzu, but I don't remember seeing such dark circles before. Of course it could be he's just getting older and slower at adapting to jet lag, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was an effect of him still recovering from a health issue. He was also apparently wearing an additional health monitor he doesn't usually wear, his breathing after the FS seemed worse than after the five-quad effort at the GPF, and Brian mentioned this having been a "tough week". It might also explain why Yuzu was travelling to Japan so late. I don't think he would talk about it because he hates making excuses, but it seems to me that this wasn't just regular exhaustion/jet lag, but the after-effect of an asthma attack (or possibly influenza or something similar). I remember he had a bad asthma attack a couple of weeks before Helsinki Worlds - maybe this time, it happened closer to the competition so the pattern of recovery was different. But yeah, this is kind of empty speculation since we haven't heard anything from Yuzu himself..

Of course, it's also possible that he really was just physically too tired from having to adapt to this extremely demanding schedule for the first time in a few years. 

 

In any case, I'm glad he's going to 4CC and that there should be enough time to rest and recover. I do think that it makes a lot of sense to go, to do a test-run of the Worlds layout and (heaven forbid..) possibly the 4A, as he said himself. For now, I hope he can just rest and enjoy a quiet new year's with his loved ones. This has been a tough season, but all things considered, he's done amazingly well, and I'm so proud to be his fan. 

 

 

I completely agree. The media treated Yuzu as if the 2018 Olympic gold medal made Yuzuru invincible. Also the fact that Yuzu won all the Grand Prixs except GPF after PC olympics solidified the narrative around his "invincible" status. He has been so consistent after PC olympics, way better than he was before PC olympics in terms of consistency. But sometimes Yuzu is human too.

 

What I didn't like is how some media reacted to his Silver at Saitama Worlds, Torino GPF and 2019 Nationals.

Yuzu has always won 2 silver medals per season before PC olympics, but somehow they act as if ***************SHOCK*******************

 

"The 2 time olympic champion GOAT can get silver in a competition?!!!!!!!!"

 

Ah no........ like he has always won silver medals before and it's not because he is getting "older per say"

If you followed Yuzu for long, you will know that he sometimes even got bronze occasionally and that sometimes he skates like

 

2012 Skate America FS (bombed)

2014 CoC FS (after injury, so perfectly understandable that he bombed)

2019 J Nationals FS (bombed)

 

He's also bombed some Skate Canada and ACI free skates in the past even when he was at the "prime age of early 20s"

he also was setting World Records at GPF in 2015, but not being as good at Boston worlds when he was in his early 20s. 

so older age is not the main factor he bombed J Nats yesterday

 

it's just Yuzu. He always has ups and downs like everybody else, and guess what

A SILVER MEDAL IS FRICKIN BRILLIANT, some of them act like Yuzu placed off the podium or won bronze or something

 

I wouldn't mind if Yuzu ever gets bronze before he retires, but the media (especially some Japanese media) will blow it out of proportion and act as if Yuzu is "falling" blah blah, that he is now a bronze medalist (if he ever gets one, I hope not)

 

 

I wish Yuzu competed for the joy of skating and lay aside the crazy expectations, but Yuzu will always be Yuzu: he skates to win.

 

I just hope the media and some fans let Yuzu sometimes win silver or bronze before he retires and be chill with it. Congratulate him for medaling even after all his successes in figure skating. (As long as the judging is fair, I don't mind Yuzu not winning to be honest)

 

And I hope Yuzu can sometimes be okay with it too (I guess he is though for now). 

[CiONTUw4A]

 

Honestly, I feel quite calm about the results of JNat. Yuzu has been in the sport for 10 years, and he certainly 

understands that no one can win each and every competition. Although he hates to lose, I am sure he can

handle defeat very well.  The way he congratulates and hugs his rivals shows that he is just full of grace and class.

Haters are going to hate no matter what. I am going to stay positive because that's how he inspires me to be.

 

[barbara]

2 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Hey, satellites! 

 

This is somewhat of a topic change, but please everyone remember to be careful what you post. It's a public forum and exceedingly easy for folks to casually screenshot any portion of what we say and post it elsewhere. Even if it's something that the mods hide later, for the time that it's up, your words can be taken and twisted way out of context. 

 

So please post with caution. 

I love your protectiveness.  Really, I do. Especially for those you care about.  And Yuzu.

[rockstaryuzu]

4 minutes ago, barbara said:

I love your protectiveness.  Really, I do. Especially for those you care about.  And Yuzu.

Thanks. I'm just sharing a lesson learned. 

[memae]

2 hours ago, quadaxelwin said:

 

 

I completely agree. The media treated Yuzu as if the 2018 Olympic gold medal made Yuzuru invincible. Also the fact that Yuzu won all the Grand Prixs except GPF after PC olympics solidified the narrative around his "invincible" status. He has been so consistent after PC olympics, way better than he was before PC olympics in terms of consistency. But sometimes Yuzu is human too.

 

What I didn't like is how some media reacted to his Silver at Saitama Worlds, Torino GPF and 2019 Nationals.

Yuzu has always won 2 silver medals per season before PC olympics, but somehow they act as if ***************SHOCK*******************

 

"The 2 time olympic champion GOAT can get silver in a competition?!!!!!!!!"

 

Ah no........ like he has always won silver medals before and it's not because he is getting "older per say"

If you followed Yuzu for long, you will know that he sometimes even got bronze occasionally and that sometimes he skates like

 

2012 Skate America FS (bombed)

2014 CoC FS (after injury, so perfectly understandable that he bombed)

2019 J Nationals FS (bombed)

 

He's also bombed some Skate Canada and ACI free skates in the past even when he was at the "prime age of early 20s"

he also was setting World Records at GPF in 2015, but not being as good at Boston worlds when he was in his early 20s. 

so older age is not the main factor he bombed J Nats yesterday

 

it's just Yuzu. He always has ups and downs like everybody else, and guess what

A SILVER MEDAL IS FRICKIN BRILLIANT, some of them act like Yuzu placed off the podium or won bronze or something

 

I wouldn't mind if Yuzu ever gets bronze before he retires, but the media (especially some Japanese media) will blow it out of proportion and act as if Yuzu is "falling" blah blah, that he is now a bronze medalist (if he ever gets one, I hope not)

 

 

I wish Yuzu competed for the joy of skating and lay aside the crazy expectations, but Yuzu will always be Yuzu: he skates to win.

 

I just hope the media and some fans let Yuzu sometimes win silver or bronze before he retires and be chill with it. Congratulate him for medaling even after all his successes in figure skating. (As long as the judging is fair, I don't mind Yuzu not winning to be honest)

 

And I hope Yuzu can sometimes be okay with it too (I guess he is though for now). 

 

Let's not forget all of 2017 too. I know he won WC because he got it together for his FS, but that season was full of trouble. Yuzu's history shows that this happens sometimes. After 10 years, it's the good ones that stand out and get remembered. It's easy to look back now and feel like he's never had a bad run because GPF '15 and Sochi and PC and WC '17 (etc) are so dazzlingly bright in our memories. He's tired, he's had a lot of big flights in just a couple of weeks, and he didn't look well. And cold is bad for asthma - at this time of year he has to contend with that when he's outside of training too because of the weather.  

 

Also, Shoma just had the skate of his life. It's not the best skate he's ever done, sure, but after the season he's had so far it may as well be and I'm sure it felt like it.  

[wildstrawberry]

 

 

[quadaxelwin]

2 hours ago, memae said:

 

Let's not forget all of 2017 too. I know he won WC because he got it together for his FS, but that season was full of trouble. Yuzu's history shows that this happens sometimes. After 10 years, it's the good ones that stand out and get remembered. It's easy to look back now and feel like he's never had a bad run because GPF '15 and Sochi and PC and WC '17 (etc) are so dazzlingly bright in our memories. He's tired, he's had a lot of big flights in just a couple of weeks, and he didn't look well. And cold is bad for asthma - at this time of year he has to contend with that when he's outside of training too because of the weather.  

 

Also, Shoma just had the skate of his life. It's not the best skate he's ever done, sure, but after the season he's had so far it may as well be and I'm sure it felt like it.  

 

Agreed. To be honest, I would rather stan Yuzu who has ups and downs but still consistently podiums, than stan someone like Zhenya who won nearly every single competition for 2 years straight, and started losing competitions and placing off podiums all of a sudden (I respect her, but just as an analogy)

 

Yuzu never dominated the senior circuit like Zhenya did during her first 2 senior circuits. Zhenya was almost unbeatable, but Yuzu never was. And that's why I was so attracted to Yuzu, because he seems, real, human, yet electrifying, and brilliant even during his worst days (J Nats SP was awesome!)

 

And what attracts me to Yuzu is that his life is like a movie. Yes, we have downs, but when he goes up, the high is so high, the winning glory is so dramatic and movie like, that I can forget all the unfair judging and bad competitions of the past, in that glorious moment when he finally wins something BIG. 

I'm talking about Yuzu winning olympics twice and him sometimes skating the skate of his life at 2017 Worlds FS.

 

It's those moments that erase all the down times with Yuzu for me. Those big moments when he wins. Because it seems he has luck on his side, and also steps it up despite the immense pressure when it comes to the competitions that really matter; the Olympics.  

 

 

If Yuzu continues to compete, he will eventually have competitions when he gets silver or maybe even bronze (I hope not). 

But there will always be days when he makes a comeback. I think that is the essence of who Yuzu is. He always comes back from a down time with a  BIG BANG. 

[CaroSkate]

Through the guessing the gala game, I suddenly think that Yuzu's best programs are like the best classical music pieces, which are played and replayed for so many times but people are still attracted to them.