General Yuzuru Chat

[memae]

You guys, I was so sad about missing 4CC once I knew Yuzu was going to do Chopin and Seimei (I'd expected him to be there though) and the only thing that could possibly make me feel any better about it is happening right now. Even better than pyramids (got sidetracked by Europe and I haven't made it to Egypt yet lol). I'm in pretty Brasov and it's SNOWING. (I'm just inside charging my camera). It's so pretty that I even smiled despite how sad my poor heart is about missing Seimei. 

[glilikoi]

9 hours ago, Umebachi said:

 

OK, here is my interpretation of what he is trying to say... a bit long.  In reference to your * query: in this context, I think he meant "skate" rather than "fail" (slipped on ice).  My understanding is that when he skates... (and here pauses for reflection) he doesn't feel that he is all that special, but when he hears others say that "he is a legend" makes him tense up (grit his teeth, kuuu) with the thought that this (his skating) is not good enough (to be called a legend).  To me, he is telling us that we shouldn't be lowering our standards just because we think he's a legend.  We have to remain true to our core principles and not allow such sentiments cloud our judgement... 

 

He communicates in a very Japanese style - not through logical construction of thoughts revealing cause and effect - but rather by conveying all shades of emotional nuances.  It's difficult to translate into English for this reason: to convey this sense, it requires a much longer discourse on his intonation (how he says things, including the thoughtful pauses), and a sweeping description of that emotional landscape that he is painting for the audience.  Hence, his choice of the word moya-moya もやもや to describe his feeling is so colourful and provocative - for me it brings to my mind the misty fog clinging over the dark pine trees on a steep mountainside - typical sumie style.  Moya means mist in Japanese, not the light and wispy kind, but the foreboding kind that you find hanging over dark forests.  And it describes that feeling of frustrating, lack of clarity, like a blind man struggling through such a landscape... 

 

And as you know, he is also expressing all this in these interviews because he wants to capture these evanescent moments in words before they are forgotten, so that he can reflect and later analyze more objectively about his own state of mind.  A true student of Human Sciences!    

Thank you so much for writing down your thoughts, and for others who commented as well! It's really interesting to hear how others would interpret and translate certain nuances. I like doing these translations to practice my Japanese, so I try to think carefully about every aspect of the language that is being used, but it's often really difficult to convey. So getting feedback or comments from others is as interesting as doing the initial translation. And Yuzuru really is such an interesting person - the more I hear/read his interviews, the more interested I get in his worldview. 

[IULIANA]

1 hour ago, memae said:

You guys, I was so sad about missing 4CC once I knew Yuzu was going to do Chopin and Seimei (I'd expected him to be there though) and the only thing that could possibly make me feel any better about it is happening right now. Even better than pyramids (got sidetracked by Europe and I haven't made it to Egypt yet lol). I'm in pretty Brasov and it's SNOWING. (I'm just inside charging my camera). It's so pretty that I even smiled despite how sad my poor heart is about missing Seimei. 

Well, lucky you, somehow, Brasov is absolutely marvelous, especially when it is snowing. Not cheap either, but! You have a lot of magnificent sorroundings as well. Try to see as much as posible and make the best of it!

[monchan]

 

Very happy reading recent interviews of Yuzu. They confirmed several things which I feel are good move for him:

1. He DID consider new programs, but short time didn't allow it so he went back to SEIMEI and Chopin => We may have new programs next ss 

 

2. He realized it's better to skate his OWN programs. This is the key thing that I feel take off a lot of his burden. What I was always worried about Origin isn't its difficult structure, but more about his far-and-high ideal of that program, and how Yuzu always feel his current skating isn't even 50% of that vision. I feel the huge pressure of living up to his idol's legacy and his lofty ideal has drawn a lot from him.

 

3. He realized Chopin & SEIMEI look like himself most, which I totally agree! 

 

[glilikoi]

2 minutes ago, monchan said:

 

Very happy reading recent interviews of Yuzu. It confirmed several things which I feel are good move for him:

1. He DID consider new programs, but short time didn't allow it so he went back to SEIMEI and Chopin => We may have new programs next ss 

 

2. He realized it's better to skate his OWN programs. This is the key thing that I feel take off a lot of his burden. What I was always worried about Origin isn't its difficult structure, but more about his far-and-high ideal of that program, and how Yuzu always feel his current skating isn't even 50% of that vision. I feel the huge pressure of living up to his idol's legacy and his lofty ideal has drawn a lot from him.

 

3. He realized Chopin & SEIMEI look like himself most, which I totally agree! 

 

I was feeling a bit confused about the program change initially, but the more I hear Yuzu's own words about it, the more I feel this was the right choice to make. I think keeping Origin/Otonal would also have been fine, but it seems that this is really about his identity as an artist/athlete/performer and about expressing the things he really want to express. It makes me really proud of him that he's able to take action like this, to steer himself back towards the path that feels 'right' for him at a point where he feels he might be going the wrong way. It takes a lot of courage and self-awareness. Somehow I'm getting a very assertive vibe from him right now, like he's really setting out to do things his way after feeling lost for a while, and that makes me happy. 

 

I also feel it's so ironic that some people are complaining about Yuzuru's recycling being a sign of artistic laziness or unwillingness to try new things. The way he talks about his programs and his skating in general, it's clear to me that he's constantly trying to delve deeper into the things he wants to express, to bring out new nuances and refine his programs into the ideal version of his own expression. That's like the complete opposite of laziness in my book. It doesn't even matter so much whether he's skating to new programs or existing ones, the program seems to be just a canvas where he sets out to create something beautiful. But it's also clear that the choice of program matters very much to him - it's interesting how he seems to  have such clear images or archetypes of each program in his head, selecting ones that help create a particular kind of mood/atmosphere/expression. In some interviews, he's also said he classifies his programs into types like 'beautiful programs' (kirei-kei) - not sure how many 'types' there are, but it would be interesting to know. If Yuzu continues to choose competing after this season, I think he'll create some new programs again, and I'm very much looking forward to that. But I also think it's very rewarding to see him revisit these old programs, because every time he adds new layers and something more of himself to them. If he does Origin and Otonal again at some point in the future, I'm sure they will also have evolved and gained new meanings. 

 

There are many forms of art where it's common to use existing forms, but it's clear that every artist and performance will be imbued with their own unique feeling and meaning - classical music is one obvious example. There are thousands of recordings of Chopin's pieces, but every one of them is subtly different, and the most memorable ones strike a balance of conveying something unique while also staying true to the core of the original piece. I think this is a mindset Yuzuru has adopted since a young age, maybe partly because he's also a very 'musical' skater, and it seems what really bothered him about Origin/Otonal was the feeling of not being able to express the music flexibly enough. 

 

Sorry for the rambling comment, I've just been thinking about the way Yuzuru seems to view his programs after reading these recent comments.

[Crow]

I think its beautiful how thoughtful his interviews are, he tries to convey what he really thinks and feels and he is really authentic. So many others just have generic discourses to give to the press, which I understand and its also fair to want to guard yourself and not wanting to share private thoughts with something so mechanical like it is the media, but because of this Im also very grateful that Yuzu makes himself open and vulnerable and shares this with us. Well he is indeed very brave, we know that.

And I agree we got a lot of insights on his program change, and from what I was able to understand, and from what I remember him saying before he needed Origin and Otonal, going back to his roots he once said, to figure out where he wanted to go, to have a pause and reset and it seems to be that he is clear on what he wants now. I completely agree he sounds very assertive and sure of himself right now and that makes me very happy. 

Yuzu is very thoughtful and deliberate with his skating so people that call him lazy just dont know anything about him

[micaelis]

5 hours ago, barbara said:

As someone who spent half a decade in post-grad study (in Geosciences, so nothing like what you are doing), I can say that is an exquisite thesis topic.  Even better for a dissertation.  Go straight to the PhD - it saves time.  Work on your proposal starting now and know that you will have SO much material to work with and a huge audience for your diz - unlike most that are read by your committee and go into an archive.  And you can even follow his maturation over a decade in how he phrases what he wants to say and how that has evolved,  I'd read it.

I know this is off-topic but the issue has been raised about grad studies.  I've been through the mill, as they say, and I know the drill.  In my case graduate studies were conceived from the beginning as going for the PhD.  Since my financing was guaranteed I was able to proceed as rapidly as I could, so rapidly, in fact that I had already finished half of my doctoral course work before I received my masters.  In my case a master's thesis was not required so I did not have that formality, but I felt I needed the experience of working on a large project and my adviser agreed so I did six hours of independent study under his direction and produced a 103 page paper comparing the Japanese zen notion of enlightenment (satori) with the Aristotelian concept of catharsis (a purgation of emotion when witnessing a tragedy).  It gave me an idea of what was involved when dealing with a project on a comparatively large scale so that when undertaking my doctoral dissertation I had a firm notion of the logistics involved.  Thus my advice here is to aim for your doctorate but make sure that you have experienced the strategies involved when dealing with a large-scale project.  Much, of course, depends on what field you are in, since different fields have somewhat different notions of what exactly comprises serious research.  Your adviser should be most helpful in your specific circumstances and also helpful in pacing you depending on whether you are working or not.  My situation, because of private financing, was such that I came out of graduate school without owing a single cent.  It would be nice if everyone could do the same.

[Henni147]

4 hours ago, glilikoi said:

I also feel it's so ironic that some people are complaining about Yuzuru's recycling being a sign of artistic laziness or unwillingness to try new things.

 

People who call this particular program change 'laziness', didn't bother to think about the reasons for a single second.

 

1. Dropping two tribute programs in the middle of the season before skating them to his satisfaction, must have been the hardest and most painful decision in Yuzu's entire career so far. It needs a lot of courage to admit to yourself and the whole world that your program choices didn't suit you and didn't work out the way you wanted.

 

2. The fact that the music choice has such a big influence on Yuzu's skating, just proves once again, how strong his bond with the music is. For him it's not just a random exchangeable background sound but the pulsing heart of his performance. Every jump entry, every transition literally stands and falls with his feeling for the music. And sadly this bond didn't seem to be strong enough this time. (That's how I interpret his latest interviews.)

 

3. Yuzu took a huge risk with the revival of Chopin and Seimei. If anything goes wrong, he taints his two signature programs that brought him all the success and popularity over the past years. He put himself under enormous pressure with this choice. To call him "lazy" is completely unfair and inapropriate in this situation.

 

I wonder, if any of these people could bear 1% of the pressure that Yuzu carries on his shoulders every day. I bet, they would flee every civilization as fast as they can and never write a single word on social media again.

[Swann]

I fear that judges won't give him very good marks and that he won't be able to beat Nathan with his recycled programs  (I hope I am wrong)

But as far as he is happy with this, I will support his choices 

[Swann]

After watching practices and run-throughs I take back what I've said about judges not giving him high marks. JUDGES, I DARE YOU NOT TO GIVE THIS PERFECTION A GOLD MEDAL 

[rockstaryuzu]

3 hours ago, monchan said:

2. He realized it's better to skate his OWN programs. This is the key thing that I feel take off a lot of his burden. What I was always worried about Origin isn't its difficult structure, but more about his far-and-high ideal of that program, and how Yuzu always feel his current skating isn't even 50% of that vision. I feel the huge pressure of living up to his idol's legacy and his lofty ideal has drawn a lot from him.

 

 

I understand what he's getting at here, but I never saw Origin & Otonal as anything but Yuzu's own programs. As much as he was doing them from a sense of tribute to Johnny and Plush, from the beginning, they didn't look like anything but Yuzu to me. However, he probably felt a responsibility with them not to stray too far from the original vision of paying tribute to his influences and maybe that was the issue.  He didn't feel fully free to do the things as Yuzu alone. 

[rockstaryuzu]

8 hours ago, Noelle said:

 

I agree, gloom is more darkness, sadness and despair, but I was thinking murky can have an atmospheric feeling similar to the heavy misty imagery Umebachi was describing, so it's similar in that sense... we should just stick to もやもや probably!

To me, gloom is something that eventually lifts, while murky has a more physical, liquid quality, like muddy water. Anyway, translating Japanese is an adventure. 

[Umebachi]

5 hours ago, glilikoi said:

Thank you so much for writing down your thoughts, and for others who commented as well! It's really interesting to hear how others would interpret and translate certain nuances. I like doing these translations to practice my Japanese, so I try to think carefully about every aspect of the language that is being used, but it's often really difficult to convey. So getting feedback or comments from others is as interesting as doing the initial translation. And Yuzuru really is such an interesting person - the more I hear/read his interviews, the more interested I get in his worldview. 

 

I appreciate your translations!  Yuzu's comments are open to different interpretation, and sometimes I think he himself is ambivalent about his own feelings which is reflected in the ambivalence of his statements.  I am the same way.  Sometimes when I tried to respond in English to my staff (an international bunch) on a complex question, they would get confused and frustrated because they weren't sure whether I was saying yes or no to their question.  I realized that I was letting my lack of certainty on an issue to come out too explicitly, leading to this reaction.  My expression would have been more finely tuned in Japanese but in English they come out wishy-washy and indecisive.   

Japanese language has so many shades of nuances that can be conveyed through a particular choice of word or tense/declension that is not available in English.    Rather, in English we have to choose from a very rich and expansive selection of vocabulary to describe that feeling - and this would require a whole essay rather than one word or phrase.  (Well, Shakespeare was such a master at this and he could find the right expression in very few words - what a genius!)  The term moya moya is a good example.  It does not translate directly to "gloom" - which is too straightforward;  moya moya refers to that foggy vague feeling just slightly tinged with frustration and gloom but is neither frustration nor gloom because those feelings are far too strong...  and so on. 

Until now I was only vaguely aware of this but as I am not a professional translater I never thought about it much. Now that I listen to Yuzu's comments I am made much more keenly aware of these linguistic differences in communication styles.  Thanks to Yuzu, I am learning more about my own mother tongue and grateful for this.   

 

 

[Vadrouille]

43 minutes ago, Swann said:

I fear that judges won't give him very good marks and that he won't be able to beat Nathan with his recycled programs  (I hope I am wrong)

But as far as he is happy with this, I will support his choices 

I agree with you. In my opinion, Yuzuru considered his ideal of skating as a complete package with artistic, athletic sides of skating, also expressing the music. So maybe this requires more difficulties than simply one side of skating ,like athletic skating with 5 or 6 quads in a program.These days, the judges prefer athletic skating, like Chen, so they give him all the candies, high BV, GOE +5 for all his jumps, PCS maximum 9.9 or 10. Nobody can beat scores like that. 

So for me, Yuzuru can skate to any programs he likes and give him confidence, make him happy.

I don't hope for a win against Chen. Just enjoy Yuzuru 's skating. Hope he is healthy and happy.

[monchan]

23 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

 

 

I understand what he's getting at here, but I never saw Origin & Otonal as anything but Yuzu's own programs. As much as he was doing them from a sense of tribute to Johnny and Plush, from the beginning, they didn't look like anything but Yuzu to me. However, he probably felt a responsibility with them not to stray too far from the original vision of paying tribute to his influences and maybe that was the issue.  He didn't feel fully free to do the things as Yuzu alone. 

Yeah they ARE his programs, we all see so. But for Yuzu, he might feel the responsibility to skate up his own far-fetched vision of those programs. I don't think he cares about straying too far from the original, cuz his choreos are ALL different, nothing related to Nijinsky etc. It's his abstract vision of the programs which inspired him for so long that made it so difficult. Before Origin, I never heard he said smt like "my skating is still farrrrr from the VISION I have of the program, but I can't put it (the vision) down exactly", which concerned me. There's no prob like that with his own programs.