October 28, 20232 yr I'm leaving Canada now - but will watch him tomorrow... Just now, rockstaryuzu said: What about his ankle? He seemed to have it wrapped in an ace bandage or something when he was in kiss and cry
October 28, 20232 yr Author 2 minutes ago, ImmortalBeloved said: Oh Jun. We love you....but it is very stressful watching! Yes, stress stress stress. 😩 Watching Yuzu compete was stressy like this, x 100 1 minute ago, barbara said: I'm leaving Canada now - but will watch him tomorrow... He seemed to have it wrapped in an ace bandage or something when he was in kiss and cry Noooo.....
October 28, 20232 yr Author 1 minute ago, ImmortalBeloved said: I love this waltz program of Jun's. It is a great program for him. It is. He knows how to pick music for sure. It's 1 am here, I'm off to bed!
October 28, 20232 yr finished watching the replay of the mens short, some thoughts: Conrad: I know that when I first saw him I thought there is potential and if he can work some things out he could be really good. And after seeing him with his program...it feels like he developed and then it stopped? Its like, he was on the right track but then got on a not moving foreward line. Please mind, this is just my opinion. I like his program, but it feeld like he kind of got stuck in his skating skills..... Mikhail: That's a great program. I love if a skater has a clear theme you can see it in the costum, no guessing game. A clear "this is matrix" statement. And if he gets the program polished it will be so much fun to watch. Looking forward to seeing more from him. Sota: Such a enjoyable program. He was great, I loved everything even if I think his costum is a bit too plain, but it kind of screams Sota, so it works just fine. Matteo: Great music choice, fits him really well. Certainly not bhis best day, but a nice program to watch (just not sure if I like his costum). Jun: Sigh....he needs to get rid of these long approaches for his jumps. The first one worked just fine and it had the shortes "before" time in my opinion. But I love the program. Hope his ankle is ok and it is just some safety measure, because this was some tight wrapping they did on it.....Looking forward to the free program.
October 28, 20232 yr Let me share some thoughts on the Japanese and Korean skaters whom I really root for. Kaori Go, Kaori! I like this program. Kaori seldom does princess-y programs, and I tend to find her programs rather meh at the start of the season, which she somehow manages to light on fire by the end of the season, every time. But I like this program already. I didn't find the music boring, nor did I find it super princess-y, I just found it to be peaceful and happy. I also seldom like Kaori's costumes but I like this costume and her styling for this program! Not a perfect combo, but she'll polish it. Also, I don't know if it's just me, but I seem to feel that her upper body movements have gotten better, at least in this program. Normally, I find her arms to be kind of flailing around or too stiff, but I didn't notice that in this program, it was controlled and nice. I hope she keeps this up! Good luck in the FS! Chaeyeon She caught my attention last season for being a skater who only started skating in 2017, but is able to compete at the elite level. Well, she certainly hasn't disappointed me! I like this program, especially the ending pose. I think she has a style that is quite unique and quirky, but is still quite feminine. It's a very distinct style of her own, especially among the Korean ladies. It's great. She has a very nice ease in her skating that doesn't look laborious at all, and it reminds me of Rika Kihira. Love the costume too. Rino Nice skate, nice score too! You could hear that the audience was enraptured by it as well with the applause. Hopefully this marks the start of a smooth comeback for her. She looked very pleased too! And she's in medal contention now. Rinka Very striking costume, I think everyone's eyes would follow it if she were on the rink. Everything was going so well until the lost combo She seems to be struggling with her triple-triples since local competitions began at the start of the season, and she needs to fix it quickly to not let it derail her entire season. She's in a difficult position after the SP, would like to see her come back strong in the FS. Kazuki I really root for Kazuki as he's one of those skaters who have been skating for so long, so near, yet so far from the top. He's come a long way from that surprise 5th place finish at the 2018 WC. To me, it seems he's grown from a ball of energy exploding uncontrollably around the rink to a high-energy performer who knows how to use his energy to entertain the crowd. It's certainly one of his strengths, compared to most of the Japanese men who have more timid styles. This program surprised me even more, as his programs from the recent years have mostly leveraged on his high energy performance style, and I had not noticed that his fundamental skating abilities have also improved so much. His skating is so smooth and controlled now, no wasted energy. If he keeps up his consistency, he's definitely going to be one to watch out for this season. A big waste on the StSq, as it was a really nice part of the program. Hope he does well in the FS. Sota Sota has very nice, big jumps with beautiful form. They often remind me of Yuzu's jumps. A pity about the 4S landing, but good that he still remains in first. I think his program was okay, but I was a bit surprised at the PCS scores he received as I think I recall he was receiving higher PCSs last season. I hope he manages to bring back his strength from early last season, and he will be a very strong contender. Junhwan Very stylish and has good presentation skills as always, but I think I prefer his program from last season. It's still early, so it could still get better. I wonder why he thought he had to do a second quad in the SP? I hope he is able to get it consistent as the unclean SPs might hurt him. His jumps always seem so big and powerful, with his incredibly long legs when he launches into the jumps. I do wish he could get them consistent with shorter set ups though. I wonder if it's difficult for him due to his height. Kao Umm I think he had quite an impression on me some time ago, I forgot if it was last season or the year before. So far his program this time did not have any strong impression on me, and I can't seem to remember much of it. I hope he polishes this as the season progresses. Pity about the invalidated quad in the second half, that really hurt him. He needs to keep up his consistency to maintain his PCS scores.
October 28, 20232 yr Kao seemed much better last season. Maybe it's just a rough start.... I think Jun's height is a factor in the run ups to his jumps - but he still needs to work on those because they seem interminable. And it used to be only his 3A he telegraphed (though he's better this year). Fingers crossed he has a clean free. (and I love his choice of music for his SP. Powerful and full of energy. It suits him...) One comment about Conrad - he ceased improving when he left TCC. I don't know if that's because he left them or if that would have been his stasis point. Looking forward to Kaori today. And Jun. They really are the only ones I care about winning -
October 28, 20232 yr Author I'm currently watching the Pairs practice stream direct from the Skate Canada website and I'm really enjoying it. First of all, it's very relaxing not being rinkside for Pairs because watching Pairs in person is just terrifying - people sailing through the air all over the place is way more nerve-wracking than you'd think. Secondly, Kristen Moore-Towers and Kaitlyn Weaver are doing a great job of providing in-depth commentary that's giving a lot of insight about skating and athlete life. I'm learning tons. Also, how cool is it that Deanna and Max are doing Interview with the Vampire for their free skate? Such a unique choice!
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