Yuzuru Hanyu: 2016-17 Season

[Yatagarasu]

Starting with 4 quads and then upgrading to 5 is much more Yuzu than tarting with 5 and then downgrading to 4

If he decides on five quads in the FS next season, it is going to be five right from the start. It takes time to get used to it, it's not just stamina but rhythm of the program and concentration too and then there's the matter of choreo too. It is too risky to simply go for the five once, and at the very Olympics.
Now will he do it, remains to be seen. IMO, he will because there are several skaters who are too close. And unlike this season, he is healthy, knock on wood, and has all the time in the world to work on his stamina during the summer.

In the end I think the introduction of the 4Lo this season will end up being the thing that was the most important decision on the road to the Olympics. He has it down now, I'm sure he's already doing those 4Lo-3Ts in practice and with the solo 4Lz, he'll be as ready as he can be.

 

[Altie]

Yes, it's true, he never downgrades...
Easier layout doesn't guarantee clean skate. Look at what happened to Javi.

I'm not sure that adding a new quad in (both SP and LP ?) and having only quads and triples in the LP could really be considered "easy"
And of course there's no guarantee. But having the 4Lz, if I understand well, would really make it safer compared to his layout of this year, or even Javier's layout. Because in case he pops a quad with such a layout he can improvise easily another quad later. And 3-3 combos are less risky that 4-3 combos... so, yeah, if he manages to have a consistent 4Lz (which is a big "if") it seems safer, safer than this year in fact. With higher BV.

But if (when ?) Yuzu finds this layout easy, then, sure, next step is 5 quads XD

ETA (Yatagarasu) : yes Yuzu doesn't want to play safe, and he could do 5 quads because of pride. But he's insisted on health and consistency a lot lately, so... I'm pretty sure he's wondering the same things as we are right now.
I guess it depends on the maturity of his 4Lz and if he's already able to do it in a spread eagle sandwich or something like that

 

[beki]

Wait a minute. I just realized he will be performing LGC again looking 16 with his new haircut I'm subtracting PCS

 

[Danibellerika]

I don't know what happened to my post responding to this.

I think popularity of a skater has to do with longevity (how long they compete in the senior circuit) and their results. Kwan and Cohen were around for multiple Olympic cycles and were repeat winners/medalists on the National and World stage. Even though, they didn't get the OGM, they at some point were good enough that they were considered real OGM contenders. Tara and Sarah were both around for only a couple of years in the competitive circuit before retiring after their respective OGM.

I can't speak for Arakawa, but Mao has been around for a long time with 3 World medals and multiple Japan titles. She's been popular since her Junior days and remained that way.

Yuzuru, had he retired immediately after his OGM, would not be nearly as popular as he is today. His story would have been similar to Sarah's where they're not really the front runner and won a surprise OGM (Tara actually was a front runner so I'll leave her out).

It also has to do with which athlete a nation's skating federation is pushing and who's story the media wants to cover. I remembered NBC tried to push Rachel Flatt's story during Vancouver and I (the American) thought, who are they kidding. She's not really a contender and frankly, don't have that X factor.

I do agree that longevity is a part of the mix. Yuzu won big and won big early, decided to stick around the entire quad unlike most champs that either retire or take time off. And in the process we've seen him grow and become a better skater, so we love him even more for it. As fans we're on the roller coaster with him too. Hard to not be so invested.

For Sasha though, I actually thought she was underappreciated and I'm only surprised to notice how much she is remembered now. She was my favorite of course, but she was always in Kwan's shadow. And now I think the US would do anything for a Sasha who could still medal at the big ones consistently and be a gold medal contender. And I wasn't the biggest Kwan fan at the time but I have more of an appreciation for her as well. And she did help fill some seats to keep the popularity of the sport going in the US. One thing I noticed in Boston was how the crowd skewed so much older than what I remembered at my first worlds in 2003. And then in Helsinki it was a much healthier mix.

Sounds like a good motto for the upcoming Olympic season too.

And you all who have been discussing the pronunciation and other language things, keep it coming! I learn so much just reading this thread. ^ ^

As long as you guys don't mind, hahaha. I will say that when hearing my name from others, like Japanese people, they don't pronounce it the English or American way. My name is Erika (which is actually a fairly common Japanese name, along with Eriko). So when they talk to me the "r" sounds like their "r" and not an american "r". And they don't say my last name like a native English speaker would say it either. And why would they? Whenever I'm introducing myself I alter it to how they'd say it. It's honestly more natural for me to do that when talking to them than to say it normally. So in a sense it makes sense that the pronunciations can vary.

As for Yuzu and the quad race. It's just making my head spin all over again. This year nobody with less than 4 quads made the podium. It's looking like next nobody with less than 5 will make the podium. And if Nate goes for the loop next year he could try 7.

 

[Yoa]

He has grown as a skater since Sochi. He has enough time now to adjust to 5 quads LP and then to 4 quad if necessary. It's better to have more options. And other skaters will have 5-6 quads next season for sure.

Yes, he has grown as a skater since Sochi. I am sure he can do 5 quad program during GP series. But with Olympics it's completely different story. FS is a day after SP, doping tests will propably be at night (= lack of sleep), attention from media will be crazy. Plus Yuzu is a reigning champion, there will be much more pressure on him than on any other guy. But Yuzu is Yuzu... He is competitive so I am sure he would like to challenge 5 quad program... But from his recent interviews it seems that being clean and staying healthy are his priorities for next season. It's hard to predict what he will do.

 

[HanDomi]

That quad toe in practice looked so easy, I'm sure he will be attempting 5 quads here with 1 3A

 

[YuzusHydroblade]

I do agree that longevity is a part of the mix. Yuzu won big and won big early, decided to stick around the entire quad unlike most champs that either retire or take time off. And in the process we've seen him grow and become a better skater, so we love him even more for it. As fans we're on the roller coaster with him too. Hard to not be so invested.

For Sasha though, I actually thought she was underappreciated and I'm only surprised to notice how much she is remembered now. She was my favorite of course, but she was always in Kwan's shadow. And now I think the US would do anything for a Sasha who could still medal at the big ones consistently and be a gold medal contender. And I wasn't the biggest Kwan fan at the time but I have more of an appreciation for her as well. And she did help fill some seats to keep the popularity of the sport going in the US. One thing I noticed in Boston was how the crowd skewed so much older than what I remembered at my first worlds in 2003. And then in Helsinki it was a much healthier mix.




As for Yuzu and the quad race. It's just making my head spin all over again. This year nobody with less than 4 quads made the podium. It's looking like next nobody with less than 5 will make the podium. And if Nate goes for the loop next year he could try 7.

I'm seriously worried about the toll it will take on their bodies. They are young but they are human too... I think of Nathan's boots and i imagine just what is happening to his body...

As long as you guys don't mind, hahaha. I will say that when hearing my name from others, like Japanese people, they don't pronounce it the English or American way. My name is Erika (which is actually a fairly common Japanese name, along with Eriko). So when they talk to me the "r" sounds like their "r" and not an american "r". And they don't say my last night like a native English speaker would say it either. And why would they? Whenever I'm introducing myself I alter it to how they'd say it. It's honestly more natural for me to do that than to say it normally. So in a sense it makes sense that the pronunciations can vary.

I'm an armchair linguist, i could talk about this as much as Yuzu can talk about skating and headphones
In my case... People call me Fer (This is why i said i know how my name sounds in Yuzu's voice ), so when i say it in japanese i add a veeeery weak u sound at the end, it comes out naturally that way if i was previously speaking/hearing japanese If i try to use spanish phonology if i'm speaking to a japanese person i feel it would be a bit rude like "this is how you say my name and i won't accept anything else" or something
The same if i'm speaking english and i have to say a spanish word or my name, i use english phonology instead: it preserves the flow of the language and if i'm expecting to switch between english and spanish a lot i stay in a middle ground and my accent is terrible in both languages

 

[Floria]

Wait a minute. I just realized he will be performing LGC again looking 16 with his new haircut I'm subtracting PCS

Yuzuru, you should have waited only three weeks to get a new haircut. [emoji17]

Yes, he has grown as a skater since Sochi. I am sure he can do 5 quad program during GP series. But with Olympics it's completely different story. FS is a day after SP, doping tests will propably be at night (= lack of sleep), attention from media will be crazy. Plus Yuzu is a reigning champion, there will be much more pressure on him than on any other guy. But Yuzu is Yuzu... He is competitive so I am sure he would like to challenge 5 quad program... But from his recent interviews it seems that being clean and staying healthy are his priorities for next season. It's hard to predict what he will do.

Olympic schedule doesn't help really, but he mentioned in a recent interview that he started adjusting himself to it (I don't remember exact words). Anyway I believe he knows himself better then anyone and will do the right thing.

That quad toe in practice looked so easy, I'm sure he will be attempting 5 quads here with 1 3A

If he jumps about 40 quads during practice session, 5 quads LP doesn't sound unrealistic. I know, it is not the same but still...What worries me most about 5 quads LP is that the artistic side will surely suffer. He will be saving energy for quads and the quality of other elements like spins will go down also. But if it brings gold, so be it.

 

[lilsailor]

With anything less than a 5Q program, he'd be relying on people like Nathan and Shoma crashing out at the Olympics. He's not far enough in front with the PCS to rely on it alone, he needs to upgrade the technical because surely everyone will be bringing new quads, etc. We know that if he goes clean ATM, he's essentially unbeatable, e.g. Helsinki FS, but with everyone upgrading, the younger ones maturing, that garauntee isn't gonna be as certain..

 

[Yatagarasu]

Brilliant news everyone. It had been a long surgery but Meoima has come through it well and is resting now!

 

[YuzusHydroblade]

Brilliant news everyone. It had been a long surgery but Meoima has come through it well and resting now!

YAY!! Sending her hugs and positive feelings I'm so glad!

 

[raebia]

Brilliant news everyone. It had been a long surgery but Meoima has come through it well and is resting now!

Great!

 

[nekun]

Brilliant news everyone. It had been a long surgery but Meoima has come through it well and is resting now!

AW, I'm happy to hear that
get well soon meoima

 

[mcq]

Honestly 5-quad program vs 4 -quad program only have BV difference of less than 2 points. I don't know why there is this impression just because you have 5 quad you will get an extra 5-7 points, CoP doesn't work like that. It is the ability to include the extra triple when you do different type of quad.

It's just like Yuzuru's + Patrick BV at Sochi, though they both are doing 2 quads, Patrick only do 1 3A (I think) + repeat a 4T while Yuzu put all of his combo in the second half thus where Yuzu gets that extra points in BV. Nathan's 6-quad layout has a BV of 112 (he frontloads and did not repeat 3A) while if Yuzu has a 4Lz and do 4-quad layout, it will have a BV of almost 110. Judges will give clean performance with less tech content/quads/BV higher scores than performance with more quads/BV but not clean. This is what Yuzuru learned at 4CC and Worlds and why he said it is more important than ever to have a clean performance. That said, over 10 points difference in BV is still too much, but including 4Lz alone will lessen that gap to 2-3 points even with the one who has the highest BV.

Also, agree 100% with Marin. He won't show us the 4Lz unless he is sure it is damn (more) consistent and is in better quality than everybody else, it is a pride thing for him. Boyang's 4Lz is gorgeous and I think anything less than that, he will not show it to the public eye. Which means we will see it only when he is comfortable doing it from steps. You will likely only see him do 4-lo-4 in gala.

Brilliant news everyone. It had been a long surgery but Meoima has come through it well and is resting now!

Glad to hear that! Send my get well soon wishes for Meoima.

 

[Pamigena]

Wait a minute. I just realized he will be performing LGC again looking 16 with his new haircut I'm subtracting PCS

It could be worse

 

[Hannah555]

Yatagarasu, thank you for bringing good news! Meoima, stay strong and have a good recovery! :2thumbs:

 

[mcq]

Anyway, I just realized, there is no official practice today but he got to use the ice for training?

 

[Emzie]

It could be worse

Amen to that .The first one looked like spinning pizza dough...

 

[YuzusHydroblade]

Anyway, I just realized, there is no official practice today but he got to use the ice for training?

Hydro's Mental Theather
Yuzuru Hanyu, arriving to Yoyogi National Gymnasium. He is carrying his stuff. Someone saw him go out of the hotel, they alerted the media.
Now, he sees cameras outside. He seems a bit nervous but figures out he will be long done with his practice by the time they air the images.
He seems awfully sneaky and prone to jumping everytime someone talks.
He puts on his headphones, and starts to skate, without a care in the world.

As soon as he's done. He hurries out of the rink. The media is a bit confused: no one else but him was there, they don't mind though, they got really good shots.
Yuzuru goes out of the gymnasium and greets the security guard on his way out. Just as he was breathing a sigh of relief when crossing the doorstep, he hears the man say in a firm voice:
"You sure took a long time to look for your missing iPod"
The camera men whisper. Yuzu turns around and gives a mischievous smile to the guard.

No one was supposed to be on the ice that day.

 

[Yatagarasu]

Anyway, I just realized, there is no official practice today but he got to use the ice for training?

I think they all did. During the LGC steps there's at least one more person on the ice with him, if not two.