General Yuzuru Chat

[Sombreuil]

3 hours ago, Sun_Rise said:

 

But there could be.Japanese Gymnastics Association partnered with a Japanese company, Fujitsu, to introduce a judging system based on 3D laser sensors and machine learning "changing the world of sports with judging support system" (JGF's words). This is branded as a Japanese contribution to improving sports (see here). 

 

Watanabe, the President of JGA said: “If this system is perfected, inaccurate scores will become a thing of the past, and a long-standing dream of the sports world will come true.”

 

Now, imagine that JSF could also contribute to improving the scoring system, partner with Yuzuru as a face of these operations, partner with a company offering technology (here it would need to be the use of inertial sensors rather than the laser), do the tests and pilots, this would be a great contribution to fs. Btw both the Japanese and International Gymnastics Assoc didn't have to contribute financially, as this has been a huge marketing move for Fujitsu. This could be a win-win for everyone involved: JSF, the skaters, and for fs in general. Plus adequate honoring the most legendary skater that Japan ever had. 

Are Fujitsu’s PR dept asleep?  They could have Uchimura and Hanyu in their ads - imagine the epic footage we could get from that?

[Sun_Rise]

36 minutes ago, Sombreuil said:

Are Fujitsu’s PR dept asleep?  They could have Uchimura and Hanyu in their ads - imagine the epic footage we could get from that?

 

The main man behind it is Fujiwara Hidenori, director of Fujitsu’s sports business division. See here the article on how he was persistent to make it happen. The article opens with saying that (a) revolutionary AI-based system that automatically scores gymnastic routines has solved many of the problems that used to plague the judging process in that sport.

 

One problem is that this particular technology may not be so useful for fs, as the 3D lasers are quite static and detect movement at a spatially limited area. One could imagine this could work  for judging the jumps, but then the skaters  would need to jump in designated areas, where the lasers would be placed. So the method from Yuzuru's thesis with inertial sensors placed on the body seems better, because the skater can jump anywhere on the rink. 

 

However, I think 1) they could do a pilot or a test on jumps in designated area 2) they could further work on developing the technology with the sensors on and 3) develop a super laser or place the lasers around the rink (??). 

[Guest Mary_kyo]

Yuzu: “I lost heart in coming here and was met with despair many times. But even when I thought it was impossible, I stood back up repeatedly to make it here."

Brb crying. 

[YuzuSkating_IsTheTruth]

On 3/11/2022 at 5:52 PM, Yuzuwinnie said:

 

 

 you wrote perfectly about who Yuzu is and I don't see anything to add   and also   for having described him so well = he is one    and the fairies leaned over his cradle and made him this good / talented / generous / worthy man and here are other mottos of Mr Le Baron Pierre de Coubertin :  https://citation-celebre.leparisien.fr/auteur/pierre-de-coubertin 

@Yuzuwinnie, thank you for your kind words. Sorry for the slow response as I don't have much time to spend on the planet. Thanks for sharing more meaningful of mottos of Mr Le Baron Pierre de Coubertin. I enjoyed reading them. 

 

My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the Japanese earthquake, including fellow satellites.

 

I have been preoccupied with some thoughts and after taking time to organise them, I would like to share it here. Apologies it's lengthy and if it makes someone feels uncomfortable (though that is not my intention).

 

Spoiler

What was happening in the years after 2018 PyeongChang up till the recently concluded Beijing Oly? I’ve been pondering over this and  I’ve finally come to an understanding why I had felt a growing sense of vengeance by FS governing bodies towards Yuzu with consistent dubious judging and underscoring while placing their appointed one on the pedestal with increasing enthusiasm and inflated scores. In fact, it felt like Yuzu has been singled out and persecuted these past few years.

 

If the US narrative is merely looking to end their men’s singles OGM drought, they could have easily achieved it with their closest rival, Yuzu being awarded with a silver medal at the Beijing Oly.  The 2010 Vancouver Oly came to mind where American Evan Lysacek overtook Russian Evgeni Plushenko as the Oly champ (when both big Feds vying for gold, we know which one calls the shots). Even in the ladies singles at Sochi, Russian Adelina Sotnikova went on to win gold while favourite South Korean Yuna Kim walked away with a silver medal.

 

But things were developing very differently for Yuzu at the next Oly cycle (heading towards the  Beijing Oly). Besides the same 2018 Oly favourite from the big USFed, we also see new favourites emerging from Japan as medal contenders these recent years. Sure, they are talented but none is a real threat to Yuzu in TES and/or PCS if scored fairly. Looking back, things seem to become clearer, the dots are connecting. Seeds have already been sowed that Yuzu should be off podium at the next 2022 Winter Olympic if he is still competing and any of his WRs to be broken by an American skater.

 

To the US FS community, their best showing in Olympics men’s singles discipline is by Dick Button, a two-time back to back OGM, a record unbroken since his win in 1952 Button was the first US men’s figure skater to win any Olympic medal, the first man to land a double axel and a triple jump in competitions and other figure skating elements that have become standard for athletes today. As such, many viewed him as the GOAT.

 

We see one such example in an interview where Scott Hamilton, the1984 Calgary OGM, recognised that Dick Button is a GOAT and Yuzu would be acknowledged as one only if he becomes a 3-peat (in other words, surpass Button’s records). But will those in power allow this to happen in the first place?

 

I would think with his back-to-back win at PyeongChang, Yuzu had unknowingly set himself as a target of persecution for the coming years.

 

The US was bitter to the core that heir narrative had been crushed. After all their media hype, they were humiliated when their fave flopped unexpectedly at his SP and ended up off the podium. To add salt to the wound, Yuzu won the gold in 2018, with an injured ankle.

 

Winning his second back-to-back gold, Yuzu made history in 66 years by tying Button’s sacred record. No one in decades had done it, so no one expected Yuzu to do so too, not when he was recovering from a bad ankle injury. Never mind that Button, being a great athlete, said that ‘Records are meant to be broken — and tied’. Maybe some literally interpreted it as that was max limit allowed for Yuzu’s achievements. Nothing more.

 

For the nationalistic stakeholders, it was a bitter pill to swallow and probably unforgivable that an Asian skater had reached such great heights in a sport dominated by Western skaters, namely from the two big Feds.

 

Spoiler

With supreme talent and great work ethos, Yuzu remains a dominant force in men’s singles as long as he continues his competitive career. He was and still is the only and biggest threat to the US narrative. Hence, his dominance in the men’s singles discipline had to be looked into and worked on.

 

To preserve US/Button’s  GOAT legacy/status and at the same time, end the drought of men’s singles gold medal, the foundation for ‘Make America Great’ campaign was first laid down with the introduction of the +5/-5 scoring system GOE. During Yuzu’s absence, the appointed one collected the important (his first) WC title and his 2nd GPF title under his belt by end 2018. Note, all past US Oly OGMs were at least National champs and Worlds champs.

 

Hence, the time is ripe to launch him as the dominant skater with the timely, big push in both his TES and PCS scores to Yuzu’s levels at the 2019 US Nationals, in view of him capturing the 2019 WC title and breaking WRs.

 

With him having consistent multi-quads in programs, reduction of BVs of jumps (minimal impact on him cos whatever reduction in BVs can be easily countered by high GOEs of jumps but not so for the hunted skater) and the q rule followed. All these changes allow greater manipulation of scores to further clip Yuzu’s wings at every opportunity while elevating the favoured one to Yuzu’s level and eventually surpassing him in scores, paving the way for a US domination, with every WRs held by him.

 

Meantime, more skaters who can come close to/match Yuzu’s 5 quads (his FS at GPF 2019) are needed and identified where a similar strategy of elevating their scores while suppressing Yuzu’s scores is used to achieve the level of Oly medal contenders to help increase the chance of bumping Yuzu off the podium (think JSF, Japanese skaters and Vincent where he received the most advantage from the q rule).

 

Hence, in one of Yuzu’s recent translated interviews,  it was not surprising that reflecting on what happened to him the past few years, he felt he was being punished for winning at 2018 PyeongChang.

 

Frankly, looking at Yuzu’s conditions and performances at the 2021 JNats, I am certain some people must have been rattled by him as it provided a good feel/preview of what’s to come next in Feb, 2022 Winter Oly. I had confidence in him medalling at the Oly, at least a silver. The great reception of his SP after JNats and the given attention on the complexity of this program, I was hopeful it would get a WR at the Oly if skated cleanly. If it happened, added pressure on medal contenders to perform might unsettle their mental state and affect their SP performances and scores, hence their chances on the podium (2018 Oly came to mind).

 

I would like to think that from 2021 JNats to 2022 Oly, there was sufficient time to come up with contingency plans to crush Yuzu’s Beijing Oly dreams (otherwise, US legacy/narrative will be crushed).

 

Spoiler

For many, it may sound far-fetched (I know I risk being seen as an idiot/self-deluded/an extreme fanatic supporter but to me, that’s a win at all costs strategy) but as the stakes are very high for a certain nation, I’m inclined to believe the hole in the ice is such a contingency plan where it might (that would be perfect)/might not affect him (there are always alternative plans). It was critical the unfortunate incident affected his first jump as it would have a great negative impact on his mind/concentration/confidence and ability to deliver the rest of his routine flawlessly (think NC’s SP performance at 2018 Oly).

 

Once again, an unforeseen situation happened to Yuzu where this time, the most prestigious title was at stake. Coincidentally, such unfortunate/unusual incidents started popping up/happening to him from 2019 GPF onwards. When things happen once too often only to him, my rational mind started to explore other possibility.

 

The world was excited to witness sporting feats by Yuzu - a 3-peat and an attempt to conquer  4A at the Beijing Oly, with the exception of those in power. No way would they come unprepared to witness another round of humiliation where their appointed one might flopped and be denied of a gold medal once again at the Beijing Oly by the same man. Hence, Yuzu will never be allowed (in spite of how much he has improved/progressed and how hard he fought) to beat him to the gold, or Button’s record with one extra medal (even by a bronze medal). No, this same man must suffer the same humiliating fate as their champ back in 2018 ie. off the podium, let alone become a 3-peat at the Beijing Olympics (which we naively think it was possible as long as Yuzu did his part).

 

We saw how judges didn’t want to give his Oly 4Aq (where the benefit of doubt is given to the skater, so Bv stays and only GOE of the jump will be affected by -2) but only a 4A< as it would affect his BV and GOE receives -2 or -3 (keeping his scores low in case other medal contenders skating after him make mistakes, any help to get them stay on the podium and Yuzu off the podium).

 

 

Moving forward, with deep-seated discriminatory and corruption culture (as long as I$U main sources of income remain the same) persisting and those in charge of the governing bodies remaining in power (read there’s a proposal to increase maximum age for ISU officials to 80) and the sport moving towards the direction of athleticism, I see a dying sport.

 

With deep knowledge and understanding of the sports and its rules, when changes are planned and even before they are implemented, those responsible already know how to exploit loop holes/apply the rules in favour of their preferred skaters.

 

The sport has been reduced to a mere child’s game where the rules are changed and/applied inconsistently by the leader of the group in favour of some players to win the game. 

 

[Yuzurella]

 

Yuzu is truly a light in the darkness for so many people, in this case even literally. It's so heartwarming that Yuzu's merch was helpful for people during the earthquake.

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

[Yuzurella]

 

I wanna go too! If only I could travel to Japan...

I wonder if overseas fans can also order merchandise online.

 

[NEWS]

[Anni]

The Ice Rink Sendai will reopen next week Tuesday 

 

 

2 more postcard books will be published [release day: 25th April]

 

Postcard book "Wings-Free Skating"

 

Postcard book "Dreams-Short Program"

[NEWS]

 

 

[Yuzuwinnie]

11 hours ago, Yuzurella said:

 

Yuzu is truly a light in the dark for so many people, in this case even literally. It's so comforting that Yuzu's product was helpful to people during the earthquake.

This post was tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

 

 

I have, approximately (without radio and without charging a laptop) this kind of lamp which has a kind of crank and which charges like a bicycle dynamo : 

https://www.club-cycliste-alleins.com/blog/comment-fonctionne-dynamo-velo.html   since France was crossed by a devastating mega storm at the end of 1999 (transition from the year 2000 to the candle as in 1900 ..... ) and I remained 3 weeks without electricity and without heating and I understand that Yuzu as an ex victim of the tsunami is thought of this very useful lamp 

 

Ahhhh also that I would like to live in Japan to admire this exhibition and see live what is proposed   

[Anni]

16 hours ago, TokyoDream said:

Off topic but I hope Nobu is OK. He posts stuff on Insta most days but hasn't posted since the earthquake. I'm sure he's just busy!

 

Yes I also hope that he is doing well. He shared in his IG storie today that he will participate at FOI. I'm happy for him.

 

[Guest Mary_kyo]

There goes my interest for FaOI. It will be so weird to watch both Johnny and Javi with Yuzu in group performances. Because let's be honest, those ice shows (with pricy tickets) will be sold out due to Yuzu and two-faced "friends" will make $ from them while being petty about Yuzu. I mean why they don't do American ice shows*? IMG did anything for Nathan's OGM to revive FS in America and both Javi and Johnny are really fond of Nathan and his skating. Why coming all the way to Japan and ice-shows that is Yuzu centered? 

 

*the ticket for SOI in America is apparently around 10-15$. Very high demand I know lol

[Anni]

 

14 hours ago, Yuzurella said:

 

 

 

These 2 pictures have been added to exhibition website 

 

[NEWS]

 

 

Beautiful 3A

 

[SuzyQ]

Fantasy on Ice: First announcement of skaters and detailed schedule. 

 

 https://www.fantasy-on-ice.com/skaters.html

 

https://www.fantasy-on-ice.com/schedule.html

 

 

 

 

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

[Mor2904]

 

I hope everyone (and Yuzu and his family, of course) are OK.

 

[Yuzuwinnie]

21 minutes ago, Mor2904 said:

 

I hope everyone (and Yuzu and her family, of course) are doing well.

 

 

AGAIN   it is fate and I sincerely hope that there are no injuries for the Japanese people and Yuzu and his family and I found an article from today that talks about the construction of houses / people who learn to protect themselves and why Japan is an earthquake zone, etc .: 

 

https://www.infobae.com/fr/2022/03/18/le-japon-face-aux-tremblements-de-terre-constructions-resistantes-et-population-empechee/   and sorry it's in French 

[Sha]

24 minutes ago, Mor2904 said:

 

I hope everyone (and Yuzu and his family, of course) are OK.

 

 

I hope so too. It it times like these that puts into perspective how we are all really living on this small planet floating in the middle of nowhere and that nature has no eyes...