General Yuzuru Chat

[Pianistliz]

Visiting my in-laws this week and my sister-in-law knew I'd woken up at 5am to watch Yuzuru Hanyu. She asked a bunch of questions about who he is and about how figure skating works, and she wants me to send her some videos of him. I'm trying to think of a Top 5 Best of Yuzu list for a beginner.

Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Masquerade

2. Rondo

3. 2014 Olympics SP

4. NHK Seimei (it was a toss-up between NHK and Olympics idk)

5. Let Me Entertain You (Worlds)

Thoughts? There are sooooooo many favorites I didn't list (Notte Stellata, Heaven and Earth, Hope and Legacy, R and J 1, all the Chopins, 2018 Rostelecom SP, etc) but I wanted to narrow it down to five and give her as much variety as possible

[CiONTUw4A]

 

This should end the R-word speculation. 

 

 

This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

[Paskud]

6 minutes ago, CiONTUw4A said:

 

This should end the R-word speculation. 

 

 

2019, my villain origin story

[SuzyQ]

I came back home nearly midnight from the Nationals yesterday, and I've not come to myself yet 

 

I arrived the venue with my friend one and a half hours before the venue opening time, but there was already a long, long queue surrounding the hall.

All seats were of course reserved, but we just wanted to watch the final official practice 

 

We tried the same the day before yesterday to watch men practicing, but the queue was not so long.

 

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/6f1e61c5d4b4e8fd604ce01a7d0d873b910e440a/images/000

 

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/6f1e61c5d4b4e8fd604ce01a7d0d873b910e440a

 

Yuzuru seemed a bit nervous at his 4A, saying something to himself. 

He tried 3A + 3Lo sometimes (I already can't remember this happened yesterday or the day before yesterday, or both  )

And he tried 3A + twizzle (3 turns?) sometimes at the location of 4A.  I wondered what this was for?

 

Two kohais talked about Yuzuru's performance.

Shoma:  It's too amazing.

Yuma:  Normally, we run out of energy after doing the Axel. 

 

Shoma seems crying a bit.

 

Yuzuru:  It (4A) is difficult.  Super difficult. What you saw was (yet) what I got from my really hard work for 2 years.

Shoma:  The height of my 3A in the short program is 52cm.  Yuzu-kun's is 73cm, 20cm higher than mine. Crazy, isn't it?

               It's ridiculous there is 20cm difference for the same jump.

 

This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

[PoohandYuzu]

All Fanyus attending galas, could we please give Yuzu the Starry nights during his solo performance this afternoon? 

 

Hope this will also become another tradition to show support for him going forward.  Pooh rains and starry nights 

 

Yuzu, you have worked too hard, take good care and thank you very much!  

 

[yuzuangel]

2 hours ago, CiONTUw4A said:

 

This should end the R-word speculation. 

 

 

This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

Sounds like he ain't going back to Toronto either. This works for him.

[shanshani]

4 hours ago, Pianistliz said:

Visiting my in-laws this week and my sister-in-law knew I'd woken up at 5am to watch Yuzuru Hanyu. She asked a bunch of questions about who he is and about how figure skating works, and she wants me to send her some videos of him. I'm trying to think of a Top 5 Best of Yuzu list for a beginner.

Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Masquerade

2. Rondo

3. 2014 Olympics SP

4. NHK Seimei (it was a toss-up between NHK and Olympics idk)

5. Let Me Entertain You (Worlds)

Thoughts? There are sooooooo many favorites I didn't list (Notte Stellata, Heaven and Earth, Hope and Legacy, R and J 1, all the Chopins, 2018 Rostelecom SP, etc) but I wanted to narrow it down to five and give her as much variety as possible

I would split comp and exhibition skate recommendations since the format for those is different and it might be confusing if you jumble them together. For the top 5 most iconic competition programs, I'd say:

 

1. Seimei (2015 NHK or GPF--Olys is good but a different beast and I generally prefer to recommend clean programs first)

2. Chopin (2018 Olys or 2020 4CC)

3. Tenchi (2020 JNats -- think she has to understand how the sport works before she can understand the significance of the 2021 one)

4. Hope and Legacy (2017 Worlds)

5. Parisienne Walkways (2014 Olys)

 

This list is a bit less focused on displaying his full range of program styles though, and LMEY is probably a good recommendation for newbies since it's a crowd-pleaser. I also have to bring up R&J 1 (2012 Nice) because it's both a stylistic contrast from the rest of the list and the best program from his early career, if you want to give a career overview. I would skip Rondo just because it's only had one outing and therefore we can expect it to grow as a program (and maybe get another costume--not a huge fan of this one).

 

Then for exhibitions, maybe list 3:

1. Masquerade 

2. Notte Stellata 

3. Hm, probably Hana wa Saku (2021 WTT) to maximize stylistic variation and give you a chance to explain about the earthquake, but I also really like Requiem and Haru Yo Koi. HYK also has the benefit of definitively shattering the yes-Yuzu-sometimes-wears-very-feminine-costumes ice lol

 

41 minutes ago, yuzuangel said:

Sounds like he ain't going back to Toronto either. This works for him.

Honestly he's made more progress with the current training setup. Maybe there are a few things he can access easier at TCC, but overall I don't see much reason to go back.

 

[hamaguri]

8 時間前, rockstaryuzuさんが言いました:

I think it's a reasonable thing to wonder about, but right now thanks to the omicron variant it's completely out of his hands as he may or may not be able to travel. 

 

I think there are resources at TCC that he simply can't get in Sendai that he might to choose to draw upon but that's up to him. 

Yeah, true. Moving is now not so easy.

I believe Brian and his team do the best job as they have done. I have no worries!

 

 

 

 

[Melodie]

This is Yuzu's (manga) world and we are just living in it LoL.

 

 

 

[Guest turquoiseblue]

11 hours ago, turquoiseblue said:

[NEWS]

 

This translation by Olympic Channel might not be accurate:

 

 

[NEWS]

[liv]

Yuzu felt he stagnated around age 24 -25... so after Olympics...the plushenko/weir tribute years, and first time training without javi. Yup, sounds about right. Post Olympic seasons can be hard, according to athletes.  He seemed lost around then, remember Brian said he even said he missed javi? If it's taken the pandemic years for him to feel like he's found the solution, then I'm glad things have worked out. He's not alone. People around the world have re-evaluated their lives, changed things, and adapted in so many ways the last 2 years. Shoma seemed lost after the Olympics too for a few years, even going to train with eteri for a short bit. Now he seems back too. People and situations need changing sometimes. 

[Yuzuwinnie]

7 hours ago, Pianistliz said:

Visiting my in-laws this week, my sister-in-law knew that I had woken up at 5 am to watch Yuzuru Hanyu. She's asked a bunch of questions about who he is and how figure skating works, and she wants me to send her videos of him. I'm trying to think of a Top 5 Best of Yuzu list for a beginner.

Here is what I think:

1. Masquerade

2. Rondo

3.2014 SP Olympics

4. NHK Seimei (it was a draw between NHK and Olympics idk)

5. Let me entertain you (worlds)

Thoughts? There are so many favorites that I haven't listed (Notte Stellata, Heaven and Earth, Hope and Legacy, R and J 1, all Chopins, 2018 Rostelecom SP, etc.) but I wanted to narrow it down to five and him give as much variety as possible

 

 

 

YES you made a GREAT list of TOP Yuzu programs and not easy to choose, in fact   and I add the world 2017 which is splendid 

[Guest turquoiseblue]

[NEWS]

The Asahi Shimbun article on Yuzu:

 

FIGURE SKATING/ Hanyu tries again but just misses nailing elusive quad axel
December 27, 2021

 

Quote

His failed attempt at the quadruple axel failed to diminish the Japanese superstar's confidence or command of the ice in the rest of his free skate program.

 

“I gave it my best effort, though,” he said at a news conference afterward.

 

Hanyu said he had practiced the quadruple axle more than 1,000 times, which he has long set as a goal to land in competition. 

 

“I banged my body over and over again against the ice, making the attempt as if I was going to die,” he said.

 

He finally felt good about his prospects before his first competition of the season, the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, NHK Trophy, in November.

 

His attempt at landing the jump prior to the competition “was way worse than (today’s attempt), but I could finally stand up,” Hanyu said.

 

But immediately after that, he sprained his right ankle. Furthermore, he suffered from esophagitis due to stress.

 

“I couldn’t do anything at all for a month,” he said.

 

He did not have an opportunity to attempt the jump in actual competition.

 

“I should quit,” he said he sometimes thought.

 

But during the final practice session before the national championships, he almost made the jump, failing just a quarter-turn short.

 

He then decided to continue the challenge because, “I’ve come all the way here.”

Quote

Hanyu said, “Because it is a dream that everybody is laying their hopes on me. I am doing it for myself, but I want to make everyone's dream come true.”

 

A record-tying third consecutive gold medal in figure skating is at stake for Hanyu at the Beijing Olympics.

 

“I haven’t thought about the Olympics much. But now that I am competing in it, I want to work hard to land a quadruple axel as a weapon so that I can solidly grab the victory,” he said.

 

[Guest turquoiseblue]

[NEWS]

The Japan News article (English-language newspaper published by The Yomiuri Shimbun)

 

Hanyu earns shot at 3rd straight Olympic gold by winning natl title
December 27, 2021

 

Quote

“The biggest reason for making up my mind to go for the Beijing Games is that I wanted to make the quad axel,” Hanyu said. “I will do my best to win by nailing a quad axel, which I’ve been so committed to successfully doing.”

 

In the free program, he landed the quad axel attempt on both feet and failed to finish the final half-rotation.

 

“The 4½-spin jump is about the only thing I can add to my performance right now, so I will work in practice to get it right,” he said in an online interview Monday.

Quote

■Pursuing the quad axel

 

Following the championships on Sunday, Hanyu spoke of his determination to win a third consecutive Olympic gold.

 

“I’m the only one in a position to win a third in a row,” he said at a press conference. “I’d like to bring a different strength to the Olympics than I did the last time and the time before that.”

 

Prior to the competition, Hanyu refrained from openly stating that he was aiming to appear at the Beijing Games. What possessed the star was achieving the quad axel, which remains the Holy Grail of figure skating.

 

At Pyeongchang 2018, he became the first man in 66 years to win a second straight Olympic figure skating gold. “They were the stages of my dreams since childhood,” Hanyu said of his first two Olympics in Sochi and Pyeongchang, where he pursued his dreams of gold and made them come true.

 

Having fulfilled those dreams, he did not see himself on the road to the Beijing Games. “I did not spend much time thinking about a third straight [Olympic gold],” he revealed.

 

Last season, with the COVID-19 pandemic raging, Hanyu had no coach in Japan and was forced to practice on his own. He experienced a slump in which at one point he could not even perform his specialty, a triple axel, a difficult jump with 3½ revolutions. He looked for various ways to get out of the slump — watching videos of men’s gymnastics champion Kohei Uchimura, and even studying the training routines of track-and-field athletes.

 

What finally fired him up was the quad axel, which calls for 4½ revolutions. An right ankle injury this season only added to his funk and left him wondering if he should quit. It was only shortly before the national championships that he found the resolve to go for it.

 

“If I’m the only one who can do [a quad axel], then that’s my mission to perfect it,” he decided.

 

That gave him the incentive to make the Beijing Games became his next objective.

 

“Seeing as how I will appear [at the Games], I want to go for the win,” Hanyu said. “I’ll do my best so that I can use the 4½-spin jump as a weapon.” he said.

 

In the online interview on Monday, Hanyu revealed feeling pressure as the two-time defending champion.

 

“I have already won two times in a row, so there is a fear of losing [my streak],” he said. “But I have to go for the win.”

 

He said that when he put on the national team jacket after his free program, it further boosted his determination bring home another gold.

 

[Guest turquoiseblue]

[NEWS]