Shoma Uno: 2014-2024

[hamaguri]

She truly is like such a doting (grand-)mother towards him, isn't she? :luv17: (But then again, Shoma seems to bring that side out in most people around him ) I've always been wondering how much Shoma is actually coached by her? Does anyone know, if it's a more or less 50/50 distribution between her and Higuchi-sensei with either one focusing on specific areas? I know, that Higuchi-sensei does most of Shoma's choreography, but I'm sure she does a lot more than that! And then they bring in specialists from time to time as well, of course... (or more like Shoma gets sent to them)






Yes, please. :luv17: Maybe that would be best to post in Dai's thread then, if you get around to do it? Or did they talk a lot about Shoma?

topic: I wanted to buy this magazine, but couldn't find a retailer, that distributes it. Do you happen to know an online-shop, that would dispatch this to Europe or is it only sold in stores?

of course, i will post it in Dai's thread if i do this work! I posted the topic concerning shoma here!
And about the magazine, I'll send you PM later about it.

 

[synesthesia]

There was a program last month or so introducing Higuchi sensei. She even does blades sharpening and costume design for skaters at Chukyo. Multi-tasking!

Ok, how many coaches actually sharpen blades?! She is incredible! Ya gotta just love her!

Now that is something, her job really is her one true passion (besides fluffy coats of course )! I feel like it's the same for Yamada, so retirement is probably not on the horizon for quite a while. I bet she will cling to it as long as she can. Maybe Shoma will sooner be retired from pro-skating than she will be from coaching , even if she primarily lends her name these days. On the other hand they have so many students, that it would be quite a task for one coach to watch all of them.

There was an old article (2014? 2015?) in one of the tumblr blogs that said Higuchi-sensei really is pretty much Shoma's day to day coach. I wonder if possibly at this point Coach Yamada just lends her name and prestige to their students and mentors Higuchi. And of course, Higuchi-sensei is the wearer of the beautiful fluffy, pink jacket! :luv17: Anthony Liu worked with Shoma on his 4T jump, and he has worked with Stephane extensively this year (mostly working on the tango movements). And most recently he has worked with Alex Ouriashev on a variety of things including footwork and jumps. .

I knew about him working with Anthony (he also helped Tatsuki considerably to improve his jumping technique), Stephane and Alex. Shoma's team knows exactly, who to consult to achieve the desired results. Dai's former/Keiji's current coach Utako Nagamitsu once said, that knowing your own limitations is also a huge part of coaching. That's why she has Takeshi Honda as jump specialist on her team and sent Dai to Olivier Schoenfelder to work on his skating skills for instance. And team Yamada/Higuchi seem to pursue a similar philosophy with Shoma now. Maybe they learned from past omissions in regards to several of their other skaters? (Kana :sad4

of course, i will post it in Dai's thread if i do this work! I posted the topic concerning shoma here!
And about the magazine, I'll send you PM later about it.

You're such a dear!

 

[Arriba627]

Now that is something, her job really is her one true passion (besides fluffy coats of course )! I feel like it's the same for Yamada, so retirement is probably not on the line for quite a while. I bet she will cling to it as long as she can. Maybe Shoma will sooner be retired from pro-skating than she will be from coaching , even if she primarily lends her name these days. On the other hand they have so many students, that it would be quite a task for one coach to watch all of them.

I knew about him working with Anthony (he also helped Tatsuki considerably to improve his jumping technique), Stephane and Alex. Shoma's team knows exactly, who to consult to achieve the desired results. Dai's former/Keiji's current coach Utako Nagamitsu once said, that knowing your own limitations is also a huge part of coaching. That's why she has Takeshi Honda as jump specialist on her team and sent Dai to Olivier Schoenfelder to work on his skating skills for instance. And team Yamada/Higuchi seem to pursue a similar philosophy with Shoma now. Maybe they learned from past omissions in regards to several of their other skaters? (Kana :sad4

I wonder if anyone knows how many students they have. I'm sure we don't hear about all of them. Seems like right now we hear a lot about Mie Hamada and her large group, but other than Yura Matsuda, I don't know a lot about their students...Oops, didn't mean to repeat all that other info you already knew! Didn't realize you had been following Shoma for that long.

I am so encouraged that it seems they will not allow Shoma to go down the same path that Kana did. For one thing, I think he seems to be a lot more motivated than her. I'm also hoping that he will be able to stay in Japan and not have to go abroad to train. And part of that is them knowing their limitations. I wonder if Takeshi could coach Shoma on his jumps. (BTW I still LOVE watching Takeshi's SP to Don Quixote!).

 

[synesthesia]

I wonder if anyone knows how many students they have. I'm sure we don't hear about all of them. Seems like right now we hear a lot about Mie Hamada and her large group, but other than Yura Matsuda, I don't know a lot about their students...

Gotta admit, I don't really know either. : I just assumed they must have many, because there are always quite a few other skaters whizzing by in Shoma's practice videos from Chukyo, but they could also be coached by other people, of course. Does anyone have an idea, who else besides team Yamada and team Sato trains there?

I am so encouraged that it seems they will not allow Shoma to go down the same path that Kana did. For one thing, I think he seems to be a lot more motivated than her.

Yes, Shoma seems to have much more competitive fire than Kana, but for Kana it might also have been a vicious circle initiated by disappointing results, which are in turn owed to her flawed jump technique, that never got fixed properly.

I'm also hoping that he will be able to stay in Japan and not have to go abroad to train. And part of that is them knowing their limitations. I wonder if Takeshi could coach Shoma on his jumps.

Takeshi is part of the Kansai Club, so Shoma would have to come to Osaka to work with him as Honda has to be there for Nagamitsu's students most of the time (and they are a very large group). And although he helped Daisuke tremendously regaining his jumps after his ACL injury, I'm not sure he'd be the right choice for Shoma. One of the things Shoma shares with Dai is having issues with the takeoff-edge on the Lutz and Takeshi wasn't able to entirely fix Dai's Lutz-edge either. Team Nagamitsu's students often have beautiful landings though (when they're on), so this is something Shoma could potentially benefit from.

(BTW I still LOVE watching Takeshi's SP to Don Quixote!).

I enjoy his Riverdance StSq very much and think, that he had great step-sequences in general (in addition to fantastic jumps obviously)! :agree:

Oops, didn't mean to repeat all that other info you already knew! Didn't realize you had been following Shoma for that long.

Don't worry! I'm the same when it comes to Daisuke (as you can tell ). We just love conveying as much information as possible about our favourite skaters, I guess. But to be honest, I haven't been following Shoma for that long, I just read up on him quite a bit in the past year or so, and I'm still lagging behind...

 

[skatefan22]

I wonder if anyone knows how many students they have. I'm sure we don't hear about all of them. Seems like right now we hear a lot about Mie Hamada and her large group, but other than Yura Matsuda, I don't know a lot about their students...Oops, didn't mean to repeat all that other info you already knew! Didn't realize you had been following Shoma for that long.

Here is a recent video of Ryuju Hino and Miyabi Oba introducing Chukyo Ice Rink. They have two rinks, one for high profile skaters, the other for younger ones. Their facilities look pretty luxurious. They say at peak times, they have around 10 skaters at the rink (not so many in my opinion). As far as I remember, known skaters at Chukyo (except those already retired) nowadays include Shoma, Kanako, Rika Hongo, Yura Matsuda, Mako Yamashita (jr), Ryuji Hino, Miyabi Oba, etc.

 

[synesthesia]

Here is a recent video of Ryuju Hino and Miyabi Oba introducing Chukyo Ice Rink. They have two rinks, one for high profile skaters, the other for younger ones. Their facilities look pretty luxurious. They say at peak times, they have around 10 skaters at the rink (not so many in my opinion). As far as I remember, known skaters at Chukyo (except those already retired) nowadays include Shoma, Kanako, Rika Hongo, Yura Matsuda, Mako Yamashita (jr), Ryuji Hino, Miyabi Oba, etc.

+ Mao or has she changed her training base?

So it's at least two more coaching teams, that train their students there (Nagakubo and Yuko Monna)? Anyone else? 10 skaters during peak time is not that much indeed, considering Chukyo/Nagoya is one of the two biggest japanese skating hubs. (The other one being Kansai/Osaka and I think that one gets a lot more crowded.)

 

[skatefan22]

+ Mao or has she changed her training base?

So it's at least two more coaching teams, that train their students there (Nagakubo and Yuko Monna)? Anyone else? 10 skaters during peak time is not that much indeed, considering Chukyo/Nagoya is one of the two biggest japanese skating hubs. (The other one being Kansai/Osaka and I think that one gets a lot more crowded.)

Right. How could I foget Mao?

I think it is good that only 10 skaters at peak times. Most of the time, in many other footage, there are only 1-2 skaters owning the full rink at Chukyo.

 

[kornkorn]

Glad that Chukyo has very a very spacious training environment. From what I've seen of Marin Honda's training on Japanese Media videos in the past, she was always inside a rink that's INCREDIBLY CROWDED. Almost as if >50 skaters are training there.
I think it's slightly better now, since she's mainly training with senior skaters, and they get more spacious training environments (still 15 skaters on the rink or more though). But towards last year and the year before her junior debut, Oh My.
I wonder about skaters training where it's not a skating hub though. Like Wakaba, she trains in Tokyo right? Must be hard to get private practice? Since rinks in Tokyo are mainly public rinks.

 

[synesthesia]

From what I've seen of Marin Honda's training on Japanese Media videos in the past, she was always inside a rink that's INCREDIBLY CROWDED. Almost as if >50 skaters are training there.
I think it's slightly better now, since she's mainly training with senior skaters, and they get more spacious training environments (still 15 skaters on the rink or more though). But towards last year and the year before her junior debut, Oh My.

Yes, she practices at Kansai in Osaka, which is the training base of Hamada's and of Nagamitsu's students and they are both very large groups. I suppose the schedules have to be planned meticulously for all of them to get enough practice time. This is a feature about the Kansai rink, in which you can instantly see how much more crowded it is there in comparison to Chukyo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ-nSy-pBsc

Fun trivia: Did you know, that Kansai University built this rink specifically, so that their elite skaters at the time, Daisuke and Nobu, had a place to practice at? It's pretty amazing how popular the Kansai Skating Club has become since then.

 

[MaiKatze]

So, as Yuzuru has withdrawn it seems very, very likely that Shoma will be the japanese Champion this year. Not how he wanted to gain that title I am sure. Honestly, I thought he could've done it this year, even with Yuzuru competing. But even like this. I don't want to celebrate, when it's not done, but I don't see anyone taking that title from him!

 

[kornkorn]

Yuzu out of Nationals...
I'm sad we have to wait till Worlds to see him skate again :sad46:. So Shoma, you better do well & crown Loco the new King to save this! arty:

I was actually looking forward to a chance when Shoma can just win it with Yuzu inside the competition. But I guess that'll have to wait...

 

[shyne]

JSF is forcing the Japanese Champions to attend Asian Winter Games instead of 4CC, the test event for next year's Olympics.

I hope they are not serious with this. Shoma would benefit a lot from competing at a test event.

 

[skatefan22]

Yuzu out of Nationals...
I'm sad we have to wait till Worlds to see him skate again :sad46:. So Shoma, you better do well & crown Loco the new King to save this! arty:

I was actually looking forward to a chance when Shoma can just win it with Yuzu inside the competition. But I guess that'll have to wait...

I was so looking forward to their head to head battle at National and then the WD news of Yuzu came. Sigh...

But Shoma, don't give yourself too much pressure. Just do what you need to do. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Plumededragon]

JSF is forcing the Japanese Champions to attend Asian Winter Games instead of 4CC, the test event for next year's Olympics.

I hope they are not serious with this. Shoma would benefit a lot from competing at a test event.

If she wins again, and I hope she will, Satoko said that she wanted to do both, and considering her stamina and steel nerves I understand... if Shoma is really forced to do AWG, maybe he could do 4CC as well, but I really don't think it would be a good idea (especially if his knee isn't fully ok). Kid may gonna get exhausted and with Yuzu and the 3rd man, they'll have the difficult task at World 2017 to get the 3 spots for Japan at the next Olympics.
I guess we'll know soon enough. With Yuzu WD, now Shoma can get the National title.

 

[synesthesia]

These are such disappointing news, but at least Yuzu doesn't seem to be beset with anything serious (which I was dreading when I first heard about his withdrawal). There's not much of a competition left in the men's event, so they can all be a little more relaxed now. Go get your first national title Shoma!

JSF is forcing the Japanese Champions to attend Asian Winter Games instead of 4CC, the test event for next year's Olympics.

I hope they are not serious with this. Shoma would benefit a lot from competing at a test event.

The last two times the AWG were held, none of the japanese champions participated in them. May I inquire, where this notion, that anyone is forced to compete there comes from? Did JSF communicate anything on that matter or are people assuming this, because they are held in Japan this time? If this year's national champions utter an interest in going to 4CC, I'm pretty sure that they will get their wish.

If she wins again, and I hope she will, Satoko said that she wanted to do both, and considering her stamina and steel nerves I understand[/B]

Did Satoko really say this? The competitions are basically scheduled right after each other (4CC 14-19 Feb/ AWG 23-26 Feb), so it would be quite gruelling to compete in both of them. She's a tough girl, if it's true!

Kid may gonna get exhausted and with Yuzu and the 3rd man, they'll have the difficult task at World 2017 to get the 3 spots for Japan at the next Olympics.

This is very doable for them, as long as both Shoma and Yuzu are in good physical condition at that point. *knock on wood* I refuse to get in a panic way ahead of events (there's still enough opportunity to do that when the actual competition comes around )

 

[Arriba627]

Darn, very disappointing about Yuzu's flu, but the way they all fly all over the world, it's amazing they don't get sick more often! Really wanted to see Yuzu and Shoma go head to head with both skating well. Imagine the disappointed people who probably paid a lot for their tickets...Go out and do your best Mr. Loco Lavender Man! And stay well!

 

[demarinis5]

Fingers crossed that Shoma can handle the pressure. I am not going to get ahead of myself and anoint Shoma National Champion yet.
Yuzu's withdrawal has leveled the playing field and might change the whole flavor of Nationals.

That said I think Shoma has the goods and firepower to win Gold. I will be rooting for him!

 

[Danibellerika]

I had a feeling Shoma could probably get a win at Nats this season. I just didn't think it'd be this way. Even still I wish him luck and hope he has performances he is proud of!

Yuzu out of Nationals...
I'm sad we have to wait till Worlds to see him skate again :sad46:. So Shoma, you better do well & crown Loco the new King to save this! arty:

I was actually looking forward to a chance when Shoma can just win it with Yuzu inside the competition. But I guess that'll have to wait...

Yuzu wants to go to 4CC so maybe we'll see him then.

The last two times the AWG were held, none of the japanese champions participated in them. May I inquire, where this notion, that anyone is forced to compete there comes from? Did JSF communicate anything on that matter or are people assuming this, because they are held in Japan this time? If this year's national champions utter an interest in going to 4CC, I'm pretty sure that they will get their wish.

It's in the JSF President's hometown I believe? So they want all nats champs there. Especially their singles which is what they're actually good at.

 

[mikaboo]

I’ve given up trying to catch up on reading the last couple dozens of pages here so I’ll just congratulate him now on his bronze plastic medal at GPF (and wow at his last spin in the FS with Level 4 and+3 GOE from all the judges), wish him a happy birthday from last week, wish him luck at nationals this weekend as well as report that I updated his OP with results from GPF.

Here’s Shoma’s schedule for the rest of the season, as of now/that I know of. Actually, I was trying to work out when he’ll go to Chicago to train, but it’ll have to be between after Nats and before SOI. I hope he takes care of his injuries even if they are not serious now.

Dec.23-25 Nationals
Dec.26 Medalists on Ice (if he medals)

Jan.13-15 Stars on Ice Japan
Jan.14 THE LEGENDS (Medal Winners' Gala)
Jan.21-22 Prince Ice World Kumamoto

The rest are TBD, depending on which competitions he’ll be sent to, if not all of them.
Feb.14-19 4CC
Feb.23-26 Asian Winter Games
Mar.29-Apr.2 World Championships
Apr.20-23 WTT

They are all in Asia so no jetlag issues there. It'll be interesting to see how he'll deal with it in Finland. Maybe they'll start looking for an ice rink where he can practice at so he can arrive there early.

 

[da96103]

Who is Shoma's coach in Chicago?