Yuzuru Hanyu Will Compete With His 2017-18 SP & FS At 4CC

[ruga]

I don't see many benefits of recycling these programs, besides the sentimental ones. Bits of Seimei will have to be changed because Men's free programs are shorter now so he won't be entirely familiar with that compared to his current free. Also, these programs are great, but will the judges be willing to give the PCS for them?

 

[eaglehelang]

Slightly topic: but if Yuzuru REALLY had to repeat a program, then I would've preferred LGC. He never repeated it, never skated it perfectly, and the program itself was undoubtedly one of his best in terms of musicality and performance, even if he apparently didn't adjust to it as well as to his other programs (who knows, maybe repeating it may have helped him adjust!). But again, at this point I wouldn't even appreciate him doing this anymore because of his terribly long history of repeating. :hslap:

.

It has been mentioned for LGC the reason could be copyright issues. That the rights to use the song has expired.

If I recall correctly, Yuzuru has not skated LGC in the numerous ice shows he's been performing. Neither did he perform it at galas.

 

[eaglehelang]

It’s been on the morning news in Japan. If it’s a typo then a lot of reputable news sources have been taken in.

It wouldn’t be the first time but it would be surprising.

They only have the ISU bio to go for as source. ISU it seems, has had errors in skaters bio before - songs for 2 skater from different countries have been swapped before.

 

[1111bm]

So I am surprised that nobody is considering this and people basically criticize him when he needs a bit of support from all of us. His last two seasons were basically struggling with injuries consequences, misunderstandings with his main coach,…

Sorrento I wonder if you know how many skaters actually are struggling with injuries and misunderstandings with their coach before you start to use this as an argument. Experiencing injuries and coaching trouble is a common thing in figure skating.

 

[1111bm]

If it’s true then…

Agree about the Prince program, if he has to recycle old stuff, I would rather see him repeat that one. Or PW, which even though he’s already repeated that one twice too, at least it's also different and stands out more stylistically (and it’s one of my all time favourite programs, so that helps ).

Just dropping back to say I can think of two reasons...

And the most likely makes me sad and will make the accountants even sadder.

Why everyone is so shy to talk about this- this is also a sign that he may retire after Worlds 2020. Still want to say meh to his music choices? He is using his best programs to say the most beautiful good bye to the sport.

Ah, I see. So he’s retiring while demonstrating to us that hey, it’s not such a big loss, because he’s just repeating old material and not bringing anything new to the table anyways.

 

[moonvine]

My thoughts are that I just live for the poohs and him thanking the ice.

 

[luckyu2]

All of us who love this sport appreciate so much of his talents and are just more excited to see him create something new than repeating his classics.

That being said, maybe his goal here is to add 4A to his programs (though I doubt it would be to both sp and lp) and it is safer to do that with the programs he is most comfortable with. We shall wait and see.

 

[Interspectator]

https://twitter.com/fujitubo5963/status/1223957556285935616?s=21 Interview on this subject with Yuzu was just aired.
My personal take is that he can do what he likes within the rules and I’ll be happy to watch every chance I get.
I’d like to see new programs, and perfect health and perfect execution and interesting music and nuanced choreography and new costumes and fair judging and accurate replays, but how many of those things will we get? And what is most important?
Yuzu must find his own motivations and his own path forward now. Because he’s at a point in his career other skaters have not yet reached.
Good luck at 4cc to all, and for variety in programs, there’s going to be a ton to watch. We don’t have to count on any one skater to bring that variety, thank goodness.

It’s lucky for me I love Seimei as much as Origin, so either one is :thumbsup: for me.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Well, I suppose repeating programs is appropriate for Groundhog Day.

(For greater accuracy, the thread title should really say that he is competing with his 2014 SP and 2015 LP at 2020 4CC. )

This to me tells me he isn’t confident with his programs this season even though he slayed Origin at Skate Canada and the GPF and has had strong Otonals. And given he’s guaranteed to win 4CC I don’t see the rationale in getting back to old programs.

Seimei’s my fave FS of his (and one of the best FS ever in general) but he’s already performed these to the best of their ability, but hey you do you, boo.

He can do whatever he likes, that’s his prerogative. Looking forward to Chopin/Seimei v6.0 at the Beijing Olympics!

 

[cathlen]

I understand that he feel his current programs are not good enough, but I'm not sure going back once again to same programs he had done more than once is the answer....

 

[YuBluByMe]

There’s no thematic difference between Chopin and Otonal anyway; those two programs are completely interchangeable. I hate his free program and find the step sequence lazy and uninspired and that’s without comparison to Plushenko. Needless to say, I welcome the “change.”

I don’t think he’s returning to these programs in hopes of bettering his PCS. His PCS is already high. The only time his PCS falls below mid-90s is when he makes too many errors and the judges are forced to lower his second mark in accordance with the rules. And as some have already noted, his PCS isn’t the problem. His consistency is.

I’m sure he’s aware of that as the cleanest Hanyu has ever been was when he was skating to Chopin and Seimei. I think he’s repeating these programs for the umpteenth time because he has a special connection with them and is more able to get into the best mindset to skate to the best of his ability.

Either that or he’s retiring or is just getting desperate.

 

[evasorange]

I don’t think he’s retiring, didn’t he just say in Grand Prix final press conference he wants to compete as much as he can now? Anyways doing a short program for the fourth season is utterly ridiculous and there should be a rule against using the same program so many times. Can you imagine the Yuzu fan outrage if Nathan dared to do this? Honestly this reminds me of Ashley going back to moulin rouge in the Olympics season. She was panicking and instead of settling down and getting comfortable with her new program went back to something that she felt safe with. Of course it’s not exactly the same since Yuzu was already doing yet another cycle of repeat programs but I think the feeling behind the switch is the same. Nathan and Shoma are progressing artistically and pushing themselves to try new styles and Yuzu keeps going backwards. It’s kind of sad

 

[Mrs. P]

By the nature of the new rules and fs length, Seimei isn’t gonna be the same program..

I get why people would prefer a skater have different programs but Yuzu is hardly the first nor will be the last skater to do this and it used to be far common in the 1980s and 1990s. This is a far less high profile example but there was Sammi Cesaeio, the Us Ladies skater, who did a Carmen program for either the short or long for several seasons.

Also I’m of the school of thought he’s bringing the programs back just because 4CC is in Korea and he’ll go back to Otonal/Origin at Worlds.

In the end Yuzuru had no obligation to continue after Pyeongchang and if this is the way that keeps him motivated to compete, fine.

 

[rosy14]

He's on painkillers since when? Olympic Games in Pyeongchang? He's on painkillers almost every single day to assure practice and then- competitions. I wonder if any of you know how it feels to experience severe pain on daily basis for a very long period of time. And even on OG he said it was not eliminating the pain properly.
The fact that he doesn't talk about it too much does not mean he's totally fine as he tries to assure his huge mostly mid-age women fanbase.
I don't think he wants to go as far as to live on wheelchair.
So doing a 4A is not funny at all. This jump is pretty dangerous as it requires a very strategic planning, catching momentum at take off and using the top skill to land it properly. If he ever does it- it would be an opening jump in his Free Skate. Just think of it- it has to be perfect to be noted and to allow him finish the skate properly.
And given his current conditions saying bye after completing 4A is a very logic thing. At least to me, as long as I don't see anyone sharing my viewpoint here.

You’re not alone here, Sorrento.
As soon as I knew of the changes, I thought: he needs his two very comfortable pieces of music to try and execute 4A. At 4CC, when he has no real contenders. And then at Worlds. He can lose them, but if lands a4A successfully, who cares ? He’s in history.
Ah, and I agree with all you’ve written.

 

[Skater Boy]

I don't see many benefits of recycling these programs, besides the sentimental ones. Bits of Seimei will have to be changed because Men's free programs are shorter now so he won't be entirely familiar with that compared to his current free. Also, these programs are great, but will the judges be willing to give the PCS for them?

Practically and realistically I think the judges will give Hanyu the pcs. I mean they already are giving ridiculous pcs for Nathan. And the scoring system does not have anything for a new program, originality or deductions for using past programs or choreography. Now the human side maybe but I don't think it will matter for Hanyu.

 

[rosy14]

There is repetitions and there is repetitions. I mean: there are skaters who apparently change their programmes, but in reality they change only the music. The layouts is always the same. Others change music and layouts, others keep the music, but change layouts. See, for istance, Origin: skated in two seasons, never the same layout.
Seimei will be par force different, because it must be cut of about 30 seconds and one jumping pass less in order to follow the rule introduced in2018-2019.
Chopin is simply a masterpiece: it seems that Frederic has composed it for Yuzu and Buttle did his best choreo ever.

 

[rosy14]

He planned to complete LGC in Pyeongchang but he was given an advice by officials to get back to Chopin because it was a clear favorite from judges. My guess that program had not been structured for him to get the best momentum for quads and he let it go. He's a practical person in that regard. I too love it but... whatever works best for him. He can totally skate it in the shows. In white costume please.

Perhaps, even now judges have expressed their feelings. Perhaps they don’t quite like Otonal or Origin. After all they were Weir’s and Plushenko’s, not the most loved ones by judges.

 

[TontoK]

There seem to be a lot of conspiracy theories that pop up online with anything Yuzu-related.

The explanation might be very simple. For instance, he really wants to beat Nathan Chen at Worlds, so he is trying out these programs at a lesser competition (relatively speaking) to see if he's more confident with them.

I'm pretty sure that if he believes these programs are the missing pieces of the puzzle, he won't care if he's performed them in prior seasons.

 

[1111bm]

There’s no thematic difference between Chopin and Otonal anyway; those two programs are completely interchangeable. I hate his free program and find the step sequence lazy and uninspired and that’s without comparison to Plushenko. Needless to say, I welcome the “change.”

I don’t think he’s returning to these programs in hopes of bettering his PCS. His PCS is already high. The only time his PCS falls below mid-90s is when he makes too many errors and the judges are forced to lower his second mark in accordance with the rules. And as some have already noted, his PCS isn’t the problem. His consistency is.

I very much agree with this, especially the first paragraph (although I don’t hate Origin). Which is why I’m surprised he’s going back to Chopin, precisely because there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference and he’s put out perfect Otonal performances, so it would appear that he’s very comfortable with it.

Anyways doing a short program for the fourth season is utterly ridiculous and there should be a rule against using the same program so many times. Can you imagine the Yuzu fan outrage if Nathan dared to do this?

I thought the exact same thing!!
But different strokes for different folks, I guess... (otherwise known as bias)

I don't think he wants to go as far as to live on wheelchair.
So doing a 4A is not funny at all. This jump is pretty dangerous as it requires a very strategic planning,…

Um yeah…. That’s why he was recklessly attempting the 4A all by himself during GPF practice, basically kamikaze style.
Oh wait, that was you-know-who and his fed's, as well as a certain union’s fault, pushing him to such an extreme behaviour (not mentioning any names, just drawing a picture here).

 

[Tahuu]

Hanyu is a winning mania, in both good and bad sense. He wants to win that 3rd Olympic gold to surpass Button. He can’t stand losing to Nathan. You can see how much pain he suffered losing to Nathan from that backstage video at the Saitama Worlds. And yet the biggest blow to his ego was his dream of winning the GPF on his birthday was shattered in Torino.

Going back to Chopin and Seimei is both desperate and practical for his desire to win the next Worlds. These programs had produced his best scores under the old IJS and best results in his career. He wants that winning psyche back. He can’t skate Otonal and Origin with those losing memories hanging over his head. He has to trash them and care less of a tribute to Weir and Plushenko. Practically, Chopin was a great program and the slow pace of Seimei can give him the best chance to complete a 5-quad program without being gassed out.