General Skating Chat

[meoima]

11 minutes ago, Joey said:

 

I'd still bet actual money on seeing the 4Lz in the SP as well  His 4Lo was a bit iffy at CoR overall, Yuzu is Yuzu and loves his risky things, and he even tends to be more successful with higher risk (look at Chopin with 1 quad vs 2 quads ). If so, RIP Brians hair!

 

 

@kaeryth I'm late, but I can share some of my impressions from CoR (aka I will talk your virtual ear off I'm afraid!). Regarding Yuzu, I thought he looked in really good shape. He focused quite a bit on the lutz in practice, and his succession rate with it increased throughout the practice days (I saw all 3 from thursday to saturday). At first, he popped a lot, last day had more low landings/step outs. When he lands it, it is absolutely wow - the highest jump I've seen in FS I think! What really makes it special, like meoima said, is the short prep time Yuzu takes for it compared to every other 4Lz we've seen so far. It gives the take off even more oomph to me (the reason I love lutzes anyway - the outside edge and counter rotation make the take off so explosive, where flips for example look softer to me. Yuzu's shorter entry into the 4Lz makes it look like a gunshot/bullet, it's awesome!). In good old cranky jealous girlfriend style, his 4Lo was on and off too. IMO it might be related to after effects of less training time caused by the knee troubles, and maybe the 4Lz also interferes a bit with his loop timing. Everything else was spot on. And that would be 3As, 4Ts, 4Ss and one lonely 3F (because practicing non-axel triples is for whimps I guess! as is practicing spins, lol, who practices spins?! Jk, normal people do, normal people do). Yuzu was actually the first to jump, every time. He starts off with a bit of stroking, then bam!, 3A. Perfect every time. Then he went to 4T, 4S, then 4Lo, lastly the lutz. He didn't miss one 3A throughout CoR. The worst 4T he had in practice had a scratchy landing, and that was it (which is why his competition 4T mistakes really frustrated me "xD). And his 4S is still my favorite non-3A of Yuzu, the ice coverage and flow he has really are insane. Outside of jumps he was a bit low on energy (probably also related to early practice times), but every time he focused on a bit of choreo/steps, he locked really sharp. Honestly, he looked great. In competition, he was a bit more tight IMO. Especially in the SP, but also the 2nd half of the LP. Guess most of his energy really went into the 4Lz, which is fair, given that it is a big new element and when it comes to Yuzu, there is so much anticipation and hype around everything.... he must have had so much pressure to land it. Regarding Chopin I still have to say I'm too meh about it being back, so I don't really know what to say... the 4-3 placement really is divine, but only when he lands it as for Seimei, it is an improved version compared to 2015-16 in every way, IMO. The placement of the last 4T and 3As so close to each other, it's a real climax moment and showcases Yuzus skill perfectly by highlighting the non-existent set up. Given the great shape he's in right now, I think he'll get those perfect programs he wants, and they will be even better then 2015 NHK/GPF. Let's hope it will be at the Olympics!

Yeah... his 4S in practice is still the biggest quad I have seen. I can’t tell about the 4lz as It’s still not his best attempt yet. And his best 4lz I was sitting above and not sideway, so I a, unclear about the distance, unlike like when I saw he landed 4S. However, we all agree the 4lz was really high and wow. Image when he finally masters it...

 

Btw, knowing Yuzuru... he might add 4lz in the SP... or put 3A as the first jump and do both quads in the second half. And there goes my sanity. 

[Joey]

2 minutes ago, meoima said:

Yeah... his 4S in practice is still the biggest quad I have seen. I can’t tell about the 4lz because It’s still not his best attempt yet. And his best 4lz I was sitting above and not sideway like when I saw he landed 4S. However, we all agree the 4lz was really high and wow. Image when he finally masters it...

 

Btw, knowing Yuzuru... he might add 4lz in the SP... or put 3A as the first jump and do both quads in the second half. And there goes my sanity. 

 

I vote 4Lz out of spread eagle. Everything needs to be spread eagled!

[Danibellerika]

27 minutes ago, Lunna said:

I think Boyang's and Mika's (when he lands it) lutzes are the most WOW cuz of it's hight and distance. Yuzu has good hight and distance - his wow factor is short setup (not like... seeeeeee noooow there'll be a lutz) and the jump looks effortless (especially good ones at practice) like his other jumps - you can't say that it's the hardest jump (for now).

Yuzuru's lack of telegraphing always takes my breath away. In fact, it's what made me take notice the first time I saw him do PW.  Quad toe like nothin'.  All I could say was "Damn! Who is that?!" This sport will remember the name now, that's for sure .   Though I'm so used to how he does the jumps now and where they're supposed to be that I can anticipate it more, but it's still awesome. 

[meoima]

Just now, Joey said:

 

I vote 4Lz out of spread eagle. Everything needs to be spread eagled!

I can see it on the horizon. Overall I hope he will get rid of 4lo in the SP, maybe finally he will skate clean SP agan.

[Lunna]

20 часов назад, kaeryth сказал:

/crossposting/

 

By the way, for people who attended COR (congratulations! hope everyone had fun and got home safe), any thoughts on seeing Ballade 3.0 and Seimei 2.0 live? Of course both are still far from the perfect performance Yuzu envisions, but what do you think about the prototypes and what about the costumes? Any thoughts on things (other than the obvious stamina and jumps) on what he needs to improve?

 

How were all the other skaters? Any highlights? (How were Piper & Paul???)

Chopin 3.0 - feels different to me (and I also was at Barcelona GPF). It's hard to pinpoint what is different - maybe the mood/feeling of the programme - true masterpiece. It was a pity about a combo mistake, but even after mistake he sold that wonderful stsq. Only two first spins seemed to be a little slower this time.

Love the costume! Finally gold triangles are gone so it's flowy again! The first thing I saw during warm up was shiny golden collar under the jacket  At the arena you can't see the details like on photos - but you see the sparkly gold!

SEIMEI is still a wonderful programme - of course Yuzu needs to get together all his jumps so the whole world can go  but even with not perfect skate I think he still was in character. Also I don't know where he found strength to pull off that ending 

New costume is exquisite and shiny - very beautiful close-up although I still think the dark color could compliment his lines better.

Oh, and he had that flick of the head and hands after choreo stsq and before IB right on the beat that got me  (maybe cuz it was right under my nose)

 

[Lunna]

34 минуты назад, Mastyaeva сказал:

I still remember the end of the men's practice last Saturday. Yuzu started his bows just three seconds before Nathan ended his ones and the difference in the level of cheers was simply dramatic. Maybe I'm imagining things a bit, but for me it looked like Nathan just gave up his bows that moment and left the ice. Even if I'm not correct, sure, the situation should to be a bit unpleasant for him. But, frankly, in any case, if we compare the level of ovations, sorry Nathan, but between mens, the second seems to be Misha Ge)

In addition, I think, there were not so many American fans in Moscow (except some Japanese with American flags). But Nathan still has home grand prix to give justice to him. 

I hardly had my eyes on anybody but Yuzu  I remember how he almost waited on purpose to give his bows last 

I don't think it depends on American fans or not. More like when I was at GPF and Worlds there were loud cheers after every good performance, especially from the top men (and Misha of course), but here the reaction to Yuzu's every move seemed to be extra like he is 

[MrPudding]

24 minutes ago, Lunna said:

I hardly had my eyes on anybody but Yuzu  I remember how he almost waited on purpose to give his bows last 

I don't think it depends on American fans or not. More like when I was at GPF and Worlds there were loud cheers after every good performance, especially from the top men (and Misha of course), but here the reaction to Yuzu's every move seemed to be extra like he is 

The applause he got at CoR is unbelievable. In the fancams, even during the gala when he was lifted up.. you could hear the different in the screams  And I sorta felt bad for the winners while they were taking the winner's photo, because I heard a lot of people just focused on Yuzu and screamed while Yuzu played with the confetti. It was like he was the star of the show.

[Lunna]

21 час назад, kaeryth сказал:

How were all the other skaters? Any highlights? (How were Piper & Paul???)

Misha was great and emotional  especially liked the SP

Liked Nate's SP

Deniss was wonderful in the SP!  FS wasn't that good. At the OP was funny when Yuzu skated during Sway RT - got me thinking how that music can suit him 

Moriss was nice and fun to watch.

Dima Aliev was a disappointment sadly - didn't like the SP, he looked slow especially after Deniss and the music was much stronger then him. I think FS music suits him much better.

Mika's SP wasn't very interesting, on the other hand FS can be really fun and he can sell it, but he needs to get together his jumps.

 

Latina in the SD was hard on my ears  Piper and Paul were fun at least! Maia has gorgeous dress but beige shirt on Alex looks strange 

Seguin/Bilodeau - I loooooooooove that SP!!!  Unusual and cool song, they just need to be completely in tune with beats and it'll be awesome. Also in pairs Astakhova/Rogonov were great, Valentina and Ondrej  as fun as ever, Tarasova/Morozov have such an amazing elements so it's a pity I have nothing good to say about programmes.

In ladies - I am not a fan of Evgenia, I appreciate her hard work and consistency - just her skating doesn't touch me (but can't say I'm a fan of any on the ladies rn) - though I liked her at Gala. Anyway I must give kudos to her cuz she tries to improve though she's at the top already (she has a good example))) - her first combo in FS had great height, also I think her overall speed became better. I liked Caro's SP but her FS seemed boring to me. Mirai had great 3A during warm up - better then in competition. I liked Kaori - great speed, good jumps, nice programmes. But the highlight of the lady's comp for me was Wakaba's FS - suits her 100%. I liked the new dress - at the arena she looks tiny in it and also you don't see the straps under the mesh from afar.

Can I also add that a 12th year old boy in the Gala was amazing? It'll be interesting to see how his career goes.

[Lunna]

25 минут назад, MrPudding сказал:

The applause he got at CoR is unbelievable. In the fancams, even during the gala when he was lifted up.. you could hear the different in the screams  And I sorta felt bad for the winners while they were taking the winner's photo, because I heard a lot of people just focused on Yuzu and screamed while Yuzu played with the confetti. It was like he was the star of the show.

Well, he WAS the STAR of the show  and all this "aaaaahhhhh" and "oooohhhhhh" during OPs  and the unbelievable amount of poohs in the end. I wonder why it was like that this time: of course there was a lot of Japanese ladies, a certain amount of Russian fans (who came across the country for him), it seems there also was a big amount of Chinese girls and they were quite emotional 

[Murieleirum]

1 hour ago, Joey said:

I'd still bet actual money on seeing the 4Lz in the SP as well 

 

Max Ambesi agrees with you 

[Joey]

17 minutes ago, Murieleirum said:

 

Max Ambesi agrees with you 

 

Well that's company I like

[ruruzest]

1 hour ago, MrPudding said:

The applause he got at CoR is unbelievable. In the fancams, even during the gala when he was lifted up.. you could hear the different in the screams  And I sorta felt bad for the winners while they were taking the winner's photo, because I heard a lot of people just focused on Yuzu and screamed while Yuzu played with the confetti. It was like he was the star of the show.

He IS the star of the show, there’s no doubt about it. That happened at ACI too, he got the loudest applause every time he appeared, and one of the loud cheer was from me,( lost my voice afterwards). 

[ruruzest]

2 hours ago, Lunna said:

Chopin 3.0 - feels different to me (and I also was at Barcelona GPF). It's hard to pinpoint what is different - maybe the mood/feeling of the programme - true masterpiece. It was a pity about a combo mistake, but even after mistake he sold that wonderful stsq. Only two first spins seemed to be a little slower this time.

Love the costume! Finally gold triangles are gone so it's flowy again! The first thing I saw during warm up was shiny golden collar under the jacket  At the arena you can't see the details like on photos - but you see the sparkly gold!

SEIMEI is still a wonderful programme - of course Yuzu needs to get together all his jumps so the whole world can go  but even with not perfect skate I think he still was in character. Also I don't know where he found strength to pull off that ending 

New costume is exquisite and shiny - very beautiful close-up although I still think the dark color could compliment his lines better.

Oh, and he had that flick of the head and hands after choreo stsq and before IB right on the beat that got me  (maybe cuz it was right under my nose)

 

Was it your screaming voice at the end ? It sounded lovely btw! 

[Lunna]

One more thing about screams: that was a very loud scream of excitement after 4Lz landing in the FS - don't think the TV coverage do it justice (at least how it sounded in my "lutz" corner)  but well I can laugh over it now but it was indeed a very exciting and important moment cuz from OPs it seemed like it will be all (nail it) or nothing (pop) - in the end it was tough but successful attempt. During OPs the most good ones were less tilted and Yuzu snaps really fast into it. Like during SP OP there was: pop... pop... wow a beauty out of nowhere!  After that good attempt he watched the video on the tablet. Also there was one not very good one on Saturday which almost looked like GPF's SP 4Lo - he bended almost parallel to the ice on landing, don't know how he didn't end with his face on it  But I must agree that as the week progressed there were more successful or more or less successful attempts and less pops.

We'll see how Lady Lz behaves next, you can say that the first night was... adventures   Only I want to hug Miss 4Lo now - feels like she stands in the corner and glaring hard  even 4S demands attention  

[Lunna]

9 минут назад, ruruzest сказал:

Was it your screaming voice at the end ? It sounded lovely btw! 

No, actually it was a Chinese girl next to me - she was very emotional during FS. I was like in Japanese/Chinese row most of the comp  (and I silently admire all these Chinese self-made fan/pooh stuff, clothes and so on)