Any Nobunari Oda news? | Golden Skate

Any Nobunari Oda news?

Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Does anyone know how is doing? Has he made any public appearances this season? Is he at home quietly working on his programs?

Do you think he will be ready for Japanese Nationals and for a shot at the World team?

His layoff from competition could make him rusty -- or he might come back rested, refreshed, and loaded for bear!
 

yelyoh

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Is the Japanese Fed even allowing him to compete this year? I thought not. Hope I'm wrong though.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I think how it worked out was that he couldn't compete internationally for four months and he couldn't compete ntionally for three. Or something like that. I believe they arranged it so his sentence was up just in time for him to compete at Japanese Nationals, then at Worlds.
 

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
I dont like his skating at all. I prefer Takahashi's skating about 3 times more. I find Oda just a jumper with a goofy overmarked presentation. I think his absence allows Takahashi to gain even more spotlight and pull further ahead of him and I am glad for it since Daisuke is the much better and more complete skater. If he doesnt make it to Worlds I wont be crushed, I dont think he is much of a factor this year anyway.
 

sorcerer

Final Flight
Joined
May 1, 2007
MM, you are practically right.
He was told not to participate in official games for ninety days, so he'll be in the Japanese Nats and perhaps to the Worlds.
He's practicing in his Kansai Univ.
No other news at all, AFAIK.
 
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M

mars

Guest
I think he will be ready for the National, he and Daisuke are definitely head and should above the rest of the field in National. But i am not sure how he will fare internationally.??
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
S-fan, how can you not like Oda? (Wait, don't answer that, LOL) He's fresh, he's spunky, he's the descendant of a great legendary warrior and an overall sweet guy.

If Takahashi is so much better, he doesn't need for Oda to be sidelined to gain the spotlight and pull ahead. Let Daisuke gain the spotlight and pull ahead on the ice, not in the inner councils of the Japanese Skating Federation. :cool:
 

Hsuhs

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
I think Daisuke can handle the fact that he's got competition in his own country. I even think it's good for him.
 

Oscilla

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 1, 2006
Does anyone know how is doing?
Has he made any public appearances this season?

If cleaning the river area and other public places can be considered a "public appearance"...

Is he at home quietly working on his programs?

He was in Canada for some time in September to get a new SP. He had to cover the expenses himself. He probably will not be able to afford a new LP. He did not work with Wilson, either. No idea who he worked with, actually.
All I know is the things that Nobu's fans managed to find out, as there was no official statements at all.

His layoff from competition could make him rusty -- or he might come back rested, refreshed, and loaded for bear!

Again, if by "rested, refreshed, and loaded for bear" you mean "exhausted, mentally ill and afraid if his own shadow..."
There was no time for rest for him, certainly. He worked as a "volunteer" as a part of his punishment - cleaning public areas and working for the Kansai Rink.
His training time was very limited - he was asked not to come to the Kansai Rink in "normal" hours in order not to call negative attention to the University. He was allowed to train only in very early or very late hours, and his home is about 1,2 hour away from the rink, so I don't know when he slept at all.

For a month he was not even sure if he will be allowed to continue his education (he is 3rd year student at the Department of English Literature) and use the Kansai Rink. After a month, Kansai Uni officials "graciously" said that he had been punished enough and therefore they will not throw him out (yet).

He had been announced to compete in the Japanese Regionals some time ago, but he was scratched off the list. Official reason: SP not ready. Personally I suspect he was not ready mentally rather than technically; he was able to prepare LP before Wolds in much shorter time, and if the new one wasn't ready, he could always skate to Fly Me to the Moon...

There were two reports concerning his training. One fan wrote on Japanese BBS boards that he/she saw him langing fully rotated quad Lutz.
Some time later an user on Mao Asada fan board who trains in Mariposa said that he practiced with Nobu at the same rink. Nobu was apparently landing quads ant 3A with ease and making other skaters envious.
Before that, at Japan on Ice camp he was reported to land 3A-3T-3L, 3Lz-3T-3L, 3F-3T-3L and jumps and combinations with arms in unusual positions. At DOI he wowed fans with much improved flexibility and new spins.

Not many news after that, I'm afraid, because Nobu seems to avoid people. One time that a fan spotted him, he was wearing a cap and sunglasses trying to hise his face. :(
This hit me the most, I met him in Canada once and he was the nicest, friendliest person I've ever met in my entire life. He had such a strong positive aura the room he was in was glowing. Made me think that if there are people like that in the world, maybe the world isn't such a cesspit after all. :(


Do you think he will be ready for Japanese Nationals and for a shot at the World team?

To say the truth, I don't think he will ever fully recover mentally. :( He could not recover after his stopping the program at FCC 2006 - a year later when asked about his most frustrating moment he said that he could not forgive himself for stopping his program and had tears in his eyes.
There's one thing that makes me hope that he will survive: the constant support from his family, girlfriend, friends and fans... And the childlish hope that goodness of heart should be appreciated and rewarded.

Technically, he certainly has the ability to make the team and the World podium. When I saw him at DOI I thought this was going to be his year - none of the other male skaters impressed me as having made as much progress as him, even though his jumps weren't quite there because he was breaking in new boots.
The problem is if he'll be able to recover mentally, Nobu never seemed to have any belief in his skating. Now when he lost belief in himslef as well, describing himself as worthless trash... well, my heart just breaks. :(


I think Daisuke can handle the fact that he's got competition in his own country. I even think it's good for him.

Yep. Daisuke himself said that it was Nobunari's strong will and the ability to work hard that inspired him.
In the Olympics fluff about Daisuke and Nobu, "A friend in my Heart", Daisuke said: "Oda-kun, please forgive me that after taking the spot away from you I did not deliver. I will do my best to improve, so to the next Olympics we can go together."

They are great friends off the ice. Daisuke nearly cried when he was asked why he thinks about Nobu's mishap; he said he wanted to see him ack on ice as soon as possible. Miki Ando was also reportedly devastated and did not agree with JFS decision (I hope JSF doesn't know about it and won't throw a hissy fit).

He's practicing in his Kansai Univ.

Are you sure? I thought he just went back to Canada and trains in Mariposa.


Just to credit sources of info: Japanese Yahoo Message Board - Nobunari's fans thread, Japanese fan blogs, Mao Asada fan forum, z4mboni's posts and Okami's translations.
Please forgive me if something is inaccurate; I quote everything from my memory, and well, memoria fragilis est.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Thanks so much for the update, Oscilla.

How depressing (except for the reports of the quad Lutz!).

IMO the Japanese Federation made a terrible mistake. In trying to be so holier-than-thou they have dealt a fine young man a blow that he might never recover from.

If Mr. Oda had a different type of personality, he could just chalk it up to experience and come back stronger than ever. I hope he makes it. :yes:
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
and Oscilla, I was so touched by the solidarity among Japanese skaters. It's something Johnny and Evan could learn from (although I think it's more Evan than Johnny...)....
There was a British star Track athlete who after winning the Olys said (and I am paraphrasing), I enjoy being the only British guy to win gold. I'll get the most publicity.

Why not? you are training not as a team but as individuals and there is glory in Oly gold. Peggy Flemming, I believe was the only American to win Gold at the Grenoble Olys.

Joe
 

cassieandcheetah

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
There was a British star Track athlete who after winning the Olys said (and I am paraphrasing), I enjoy being the only British guy to win gold. I'll get the most publicity.

Why not? you are training not as a team but as individuals and there is glory in Oly gold. Peggy Flemming, I believe was the only American to win Gold at the Grenoble Olys.

Joe

well, I'm of Asian heritage, but it's been almost 12 years since I moved to the states and I'm only in my mid-twenties...And on top of it all I'm currently in medical school, so of course I know what it's like to compete, and to compete for yourself alone, but sometimes I feel so shameful for being so competitive, because every now and then I get reminded of how things were different back in my "home" country, where I remember as kids we used to share so much and really cheered for one another because we had a genuine sense of altruism and caring for one another even though we were competing academically and so on...I can imagine it would be somewhat hard for americans to understand, but those of you who grew up in an Asian country, could you relate to my sentiments here?

But then again, I don't really think one has to be Asian to be able to be good teammates and competitors...The example of Artur Dmitriev and Sergei Grinkov comes to my mind.....I just get turned off when the American skaters try to put on an act to intimidate the other skaters, like Emily Hughes seeming so incredulous that she was beaten by Kimmie Meissner at last year's nationals (even though she got lucky that day and the general consensus remained that Kimmie's a better skater--she was the reigning world champion for goodness's sake!), and Evan trying to act so macho around Johnny, etc...I've yet to see an example of an American skater praising a direct competitor's performance (except maybe Belbin/Agosto cheering for Davis/White)....Is it really that impossible to show a certain deference/respect for one another and still be able to compete?
 
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Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
There was a British star Track athlete who after winning the Olys said (and I am paraphrasing), I enjoy being the only British guy to win gold. I'll get the most publicity.

Why not? you are training not as a team but as individuals and there is glory in Oly gold. Peggy Flemming, I believe was the only American to win Gold at the Grenoble Olys.

Joe

This sounds out of context. They were talking about good friendship, weren't they?
 

ruriruri

Spectator
Joined
Feb 11, 2007
new SP

there was a news about his SP yesterday.

his new SP is [Masquerade] choreographed by Lori Nicole.

He is supposed to be back on the ice at the Nationals on Dec.26th.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
^ Nicole will bring out the best in him. :yes:

A new day, a fresh start.

Here is my wish and advice for Nobunari:

1. Grab your hat.
2. Don't forget your coat.
3. Leave your worries on the doorstep.
4. Direct your feet...to the sunny side of the street! :)
 

bostonskater

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 2, 2006
Thanks so much for the long report on Oda, although it is very depressing. I feel really sorry for him. He always seemed too sensitive for this sport anyway, and this punishment seems to have been, well, extremely punishing. I'll be waiting for news from Japanese Nationals with great interest.
 
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