General Yuzuru Chat

[Toni]

19 minutes ago, barbara said:

I think that today this kind of collision, and the force of it, and his immediate disorientation, would be enough for him to not allowed back on the ice.  But then the ISU has demonstrated less regard for the health (especially long term health) than any sports organization I can think of.  I think of Natasha Richardson (actress, Vanessa Redgrave's daughter, Liam Neeson's wife) who had one spill while learning to ski and hit her head.  She seemed fine, didn't go to the hospital and ended up dead.  I don't know if she'd have been okay if she'd immediately gotten medical treatment but it was a wakeup call for a lot of people. 

It really is amazing that Yuzu could skate and continue getting up, fall after fall, and do so well.  He is tenacious and refuses to give up.  But I hope people are paying more attention to head injuries these days.

 

I suspect Yuzu has hit his head many many times in training. He can probably feel a difference between a concerning pain and just a headache. He was also never unconscious; he just had the wind knocked out of him and he couldn't breathe. Natasha probably didn't have any experience and probably didn't know the warning signs, which is why she refused a medical evaluation. But the Doctor who evaluated Yuzu was a sports doctor who probably had lots of experience treating concussions and looking specifically for brain injury. It's true, after Natasha died, there was much more awareness here in the USA. They instituted helmet rules all across sports.

[yuzu-san-fanyu]

7 hours ago, yuzuonice said:

Hey everyone, we're planning to hold a #YuzuSkatingParty this Saturday! It'll be fun, join us!! ^^
 

 

Will there be a recording posted after the party?

[sallycinnamon]

I made two threads about NHK Trophy and Rostelecom Cup 2021, please post everything about tickets, travel, etc here:

 

 

[Muralla17]

35 minutes ago, sallycinnamon said:

I made two threads about NHK Trophy and Rostelecom Cup 2021, please post everything about tickets, travel, etc here:

 

Thank you so much!

 

[barbara]

4 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

This is awesome!! Would you mind posting it in our video library? 😍

Not at all....I also have video from ACI 2019, but we had to shoot through the thick puck-marked hockey glass....  Thanks.

Edit: I tried - I got a message saying the file is too big (?).

[IceWings]

On 7/3/2021 at 4:32 PM, barbara said:

...  To be fair to the other PW poster, the lighting was very weird in the arena for the SCI Gala, so clarity isn't magnificent. 

Thanks for the upload. Such great memories! 

They ran the fog machine to give the gala some "atmosphere". It didn't make for good pictures or videos though! Lol.

 

 

22 hours ago, Toni said:

 

I was in a ballet troupe when I was young. Pain is just part of the life for certain professions....

And I think some people are just not bothered by pain as much. My brother often crashed and burned on his skateboard, bicycle, mountain bike, dirt bike, etc. It never stopped him from launching himself into the air off of some ramp, etc. A trip to Urgent Care for some stitches and wounds bandaged and as soon as he was healed, he was back at it again. I'm sure my mom has lost many years of her life raising him. Mama Hanyu probably relates.

 

 

17 hours ago, yumeaki said:

... I definitely wish to go to Beijing Olys but there's words that China will still have quarantine requirement until end of next year. I'm not sure how my boss will feel about me working remotely in hotel for Yuzu (even though he knew I like him ).  And can Yuzu join another comp in Canada after the Olys season? my ETA to Canada applied for last year Montreal WC will expire next year. I really do wish to go visit Canada...

Ok, priority. First wish should be for this pandemic to F off. I am quite tired of all the restriction caused by dear corona.

I heard that China was going to see what happens with the Tokyo Olympics before deciding, but that really doesn't give them much time to make arrangements. I also heard that it's likely they will keep pandemic restrictions until the end of 2022, so Beijing Olys is really starting to look impossible. 

 

With Japan comps also looking impossible, the most likely opportunity to see Yuzu would be COR   But even that, Russia needs to lift travel restrictions too, and there's still the ticket battle. Plus sitting inside an arena with thousands of unmasked, screaming fans during a pandemic is not really the best thing.   

How's the vaccination rate in Russia? 

 

I really hope Yuzu will continue after Olys, because it will be too cruel for it to be his last season with no chance to see him! 

 

12 hours ago, Lemon said:

On Sochi gala, my guess is Notre Dame de Paris (a bit out of the box?)  ....

 

 

I still think he will do PW because he knows the Sochi audience will love that, and it may be his way of thanking them.

 

 

9 hours ago, hope-and-yuzu said:

The CoC14 situation is terrifying and honestly I agree with the idea that the decision shouldn't be (entirely) left up to the skater/coach, or at the very least there should be a proper protocol and procedure....

Skate Canada has adopted a Concussion Protocol although they don't always follow it. . 

There definitely should be a standard protocol in place for all competitions and not left to each Fed, or the athletes and coaches.

 

 

7 hours ago, Toni said:

 

I suspect Yuzu has hit his head many many times in training....

Spoiler

This is not good. Repeated head injuries can also lead to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), and this can only be diagnosed from doing an autopsy on the brain. CTE received a lot of attention after a young football player (I think he was only in his 20's) committed suicide. There's a lot they still don't know about CTE, but they think that repeated hits to the head even if it doesn't result in a concussion can still lead to CTE many years later.

 

[Sha]

The first thing that any skaters learn is how to fall so that you don't injure yourself too much. I didn't learn to skate until my body memorized how to fall properly. While Yuzu has fallen many many times before (https://sportymags.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/yuzuru-hanyu-hard-work-and-spectacular-falls/) I am very sure that he knows how to fall in the 'right' way to avoid hitting his head or injuring himself too badly. 

 

I somehow can't find the interview anymore... but during an interview after the crash, he mentioned that he rarely hits his head. He did when he was really young once, and he think that was definitely a concussion because he could feel it, and he blacked out totally. If I find that interview again, I will post and share it.

[Sha]

Ah, I found it!

 

https://yuzuland.tumblr.com/post/129711465692/kenjis-room-with-yuzuru-hanyu-episode-4

 

He describes how he was very sure he had no concussion at that particular crash. Although it is indeed worrying that he probably had some amount of concussion when he was younger... 

 

I don't think he takes injuries lightly or anything. He takes them very seriously. In fact in an even later interview, he said that he acknowledges that if either of them hadn't done some last minute maneuvering, he might have died (https://31translations.wordpress.com/2016/09/03/【figure-skating】hanyu-yuzuru-talks-about-the-incident-and-his-goals-for-nhk-trophy-・nhk-trophy-press-conference-transcription/). 

 

"An Australian cricket player passed away on the 27th after having a ball strike him in the head. In China, you seemed to have the possibility of a concussion. Do you think that not taking the risk would have been better?

“I did not know about this news, but in reality, sports mean to constantly continue challenging your physical limits. In a way, it means that you’re constantly side by side with death. To tell the truth, if the timing had been off by even a fraction of a second, I might have died. Even so, it was very fortunate that we did not get too heavily injured. We had collided when we had turned around, so we were able, to some extent, turn our heads around [to avoid direct collision]. Also, because I was able to shoot my arm out in time, so I was somehow able to avoid some of the shock.  

 

My chin had hit the ice, and the side of my head had hit Han Yan’s shoulder or chin, but even so, there was not a lot of blood. From the force of the impact, it didn’t feel like my head had shook much. It was because of this that I had believed that my body would be fine. 

 

In addition, it was really fortunate that there was a doctor present from the American team who had immediately rushed to my aid, and had did a careful checkup of me, and had also interviewed (*This word is used in a medical sense where the doctor asks the patient for symptoms, etc.) me. Through these examinations, it was decided that I did not have any symptoms of a concussion, and both my coach Brian [Orser] and I had understood this. 

 

I had understood that there were risks, but we had decided to believe in the doctor’s words, and had thus skated with that kind of feeling in mind. 

 

I know that there are risks. For me to be able to be here right now is a miracle itself. A lot of people had said that it was too reckless, and too dangerous, that there is a risk of a second impact, that I should be forbidden from competing, and have used this chance to criticize my coach and the members of the skating federation. However, I am very thankful of Brian and the members of the skating federation for allowing me to compete in China, and to allow me to be here today. I would like to thank my body [for persevering and recovering]."

 

He judged based on the information he had at that time what was the best way forward for him. If the doctor had diagnosed him as having a concussion at that point, he would have maybe made a different decision. Likely he would have withdrawn. Or Brian/JSF might have forced him to withdraw, since you can hardly make coherent decisions when you have a concussion. But since the doctor said he did not have a concussion, he wanted to go ahead. Maybe we can say we don't trust the doctor's diagnosis or something and that it is hard to find out if someone has a concussion or not (I am not a medical doctor), but Yuzu chose what he did because of the information he had at that time. He chose to trust the doctor. He chose to trust his own assessment of his body. 

[sweetwater]

24 minutes ago, Sha said:

The first thing that any skaters learn is how to fall so that you don't injure yourself too much. I didn't learn to skate until my body memorized how to fall properly. While Yuzu has fallen many many times before (https://sportymags.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/yuzuru-hanyu-hard-work-and-spectacular-falls/) I am very sure that he knows how to fall in the 'right' way to avoid hitting his head or injuring himself too badly. 

 

I somehow can't find the interview anymore... but during an interview after the crash, he mentioned that he rarely hits his head. He did when he was really young once, and he think that was definitely a concussion because he could feel it, and he blacked out totally. If I find that interview again, I will post and share it.

I guess it's Kenji's Room ep. 4?

You can find the link in here

 

ETA: Ah. @Sha has already shared a translation of the interview! Sorry for double post!

[Sha]

1 minute ago, sweetwater said:

I guess it's Kenji's Room ep. 4?

You can find the link in here

 

Yes! Thank you! It took me a while to find it again but you found it so quickly 

[Melodie]

The release of the photobook "Regrowth" seems to be shady. 

 

This one

 

 

Apparently, Yuzu's name as the "author" was removed from the book. Some fans inquired the publisher as to why, and the reason was, per the publisher's response, a request from Yuzu and his team. The book went ahead anyway. 

 

I don't like it when things are shady...

 

[IceWings]

3 hours ago, Sha said:

The first thing that any skaters learn is how to fall so that you don't injure yourself too much. I didn't learn to skate until my body memorized how to fall properly. While Yuzu has fallen many many times before (https://sportymags.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/yuzuru-hanyu-hard-work-and-spectacular-falls/) I am very sure that he knows how to fall in the 'right' way to avoid hitting his head or injuring himself too badly. 

 

I somehow can't find the interview anymore... but during an interview after the crash, he mentioned that he rarely hits his head. He did when he was really young once, and he think that was definitely a concussion because he could feel it, and he blacked out totally. If I find that interview again, I will post and share it.

In recent interviews where he talked about training 4A, he said that he cannot go into the jump with too much speed because he might hit his head when he falls, so he is definitely trying to protect himself while training that monster. 

[Anni]

LMEY has just reached 1.9 Mio views 

 

Let's go to 2 Mio views 

[barbara]

On 7/4/2021 at 7:57 AM, Toni said:

They followed the protocols. He was properly evaluated for concussion before being given the choice to skate. On the recordings, Brian told him repeatedly that he didn't have to do it, and that his health was more important. Yuzu was given all the information he needed to make his decision. He was also extremely well experienced in injury management from many years of falling on the ice. If you've ever been in a bad accident, you know you feel disoriented even if you don't hit your head. The Doctor also told Yuzu he didn't have a concussion. By the time he got back on the ice, he seemed perfectly lucid to me. He actually did a magnificent job, not forgetting anything he needed to do. He nailed the choreo and step sequences. I believe the falls were because of the sprained ankle and injured thigh, not disorientation. If I was Yuzu's coach, I would remember how intelligent and knowledgeable Yuzu is, and I would trust him 100%.

it wasn't Brian's decision and no one NO ONE should have left the decision to skate to an injured teenager who is known to shake off injuries.  Someone with a concussion does not know they have a concussion. Period.  Your brain can get snapped around inside your skull and consequences of that injury are unlikely to appear immediately but can be devastating.  I am grateful that Yuzu doesn't seem to have suffered any permanent damage from that collision but everything about how that was handled was wrong (and not because of his coach, who, oddly, had no influence over the decision to skate anyway.)

 

Today (and in almost any other sport) he'd be sent to a hospital to be properly evaluated. 

[Yuzuwinnie]

9 minutes ago, barbara said:

it wasn't Brian and nobody's decision. NOBODY should have left the decision to skate to an injured teenager known to get rid of his injuries. Someone with a concussion doesn't know they have a concussion. Period. Your brain can move inside your skull and the consequences of this injury are unlikely to appear immediately but can be devastating. I'm grateful that Yuzu doesn't appear to have suffered permanent damage from this collision, but everything that was handled was wrong (and not because of his trainer, who oddly enough had no influence on the decision. to skate anyway.)

 

Today (and in almost every other sport) he would be sent to a hospital for proper assessment. 

 

 

Certainly Barbara : it was in 2014 and the unconsciousness of the Drs who came on the ice and lifted him immediately :  never to do (that was written by?) They should have kept his head in the position where he was (I took first aid courses and this is part of the 1st module) and put on a neck brace and carried in a stretcher     and, as you wrote, there could have been displacement of the brain and, therefore, Yuzu was somewhat fortunate not to have suffered any damage in this post-collision and I agree that in 2021 he and Y Han would have been to the hospital for an MRI