Shoma Uno

Plumededragon said:

I haven't gone to the SA Men thread, but I heard about people saying he shouldn't have had higher PCS than Brown (lol), nothing much related to Yuzu, except that there're both rivals for top spot (which is true).
At least both skaters get along very well (I stopped counting the number of times they praised each other) and are happy in each other company (especially Shoma, who's slowly (but surely) coming out of his shell). I can only hope that Shoma isn't peaking too soon.

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I think Jason and Shoma are developing a nice friendship, probably because Jason is learning Japanese - and knowing Jason, he's not afraid to practice what he is learning! It was fun to watch them on the ice together during practices. They are both very intense, but every now and then they would say something to each other and smile. In Post #1908, I wrote some of the nice comments Jason said about Shoma, and I know Shoma admires Jason's skating.

I think Shoma's team has a plan for how to take him all the way to the top, and they have already started by having him work with outside teachers. The fact that he arrived 5 days early for SA showed that they have given consideration to how can he perform in top condition. He comes out of the gate fast at the beginning of the season. When others are struggling to pull their programs together, he has already been skating his new programs for around 3-4 months. But he has to watch out for burnout. That layout plan of 3 quads, plus a 3 jump combo at the end of the FS is gonna be rough for him. He was totally spent when he left the ice. I know adrenaline kept him going, but I was hoping Mihoko sensei wasn't going to have to drag him off the ice! Ice Network was discussing how much it takes out of a skater to do a quad, and it was no wonder he was tired...An interesting aside, I watched the CBC You Tube version of the FS, and Shoma had barely skated a few steps when Kurt Browning said, "Look at how strong his core is." So he may be little, but he's mighty! :luv17:

LOL about the bickering going on in the SA Men's thread. I read through it with my morning coffee today and had a good chuckle.
SC is coming soon and Shoma will be forgotten for awhile as the bickering will start up again on someone else's tech mark, pc's score
costume, etc.

I am sure Shoma and his team are not losing any sleep over what is written about him on a message board.

GO SHOMA!!!

demarinis5 said:

LOL about the bickering going on in the SA Men's thread. I read through it with my morning coffee today and had a good chuckle.
SC is coming soon and Shoma will be forgotten for awhile as the bickering will start up again on someone else's tech mark, pc's score
costume, etc.

I am sure Shoma and his team are not losing any sleep over what is written about him on a message board.

GO SHOMA!!!

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Then the following weekend after Skate Canada they can argue about Shoma vs. Javi vs. Max vs. Deniss for Rostelcom. Totally agree that they could care less about a message board!

liv said:

I went over to the SA men's thread and, my goodness, not a fun place. I am a huge Yuzu fan, he is my favourite, but I have no problem recognizing that great long by Shoma. He is a huge threat to Yuzu, no question... it frightens me! You can tell he has been performing it all summer, tweaking it with Stephane... it is totally ready to compete against anyone. Yuzu is playing catch up right now from those months off but this weekend will give a better idea of where he is in comparison.If someone were to tell me Shoma would win the gpf, I would not be surprised one bit. How lucky Japan is to have both of these young guys right now. I am a fan of them both.

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Looking forward to seeing Yuzu this weekend. I'm sure he's been working hard since Autumn Classic. For me, it will be hard to top his Chopin SP from last year...But then it will be fun to compare him with Shoma.

Arriba627 said:

Ha ha! You sound like me. I had to stop reading all the nitpicking and hairsplitting over everything wrong (?) with Shoma's programs. Could they possibly be worried that he's starting to catch up to his top rivals? Maybe they should be looking over their shoulders. I think he's catching up!

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liv said:

I went over to the SA men's thread and, my goodness, not a fun place. I am a huge Yuzu fan, he is my favourite, but I have no problem recognizing that great long by Shoma. He is a huge threat to Yuzu, no question... it frightens me! You can tell he has been performing it all summer, tweaking it with Stephane... it is totally ready to compete against anyone. Yuzu is playing catch up right now from those months off but this weekend will give a better idea of where he is in comparison. If someone were to tell me Shoma would win the gpf, I would not be surprised one bit. How lucky Japan is to have both of these young guys right now. I am a fan of them both.

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Totally agree with both of you. And nobody is more aware than Yuzu which is why he's doing all he can to push the technical envelope. I feel positively spoiled that there are so many amazing skaters out there. Yuzu and Shoma are firmly 1-2 for me. But we are seeing Shoma's rise to where he deserves to be and that is going to ruffle feathers. He has what it takes to be in any gold medal hunt and I will happily bury my head in the fan fest sand and soak up his success and amazing skating with you guys. I think we're at the point now where depending on the day it can be anybody's competition because they all have their weaknesses. And Shoma is now in that mix whether people like it or not. I worry a little bit about him peaking too early, but then part of me feels like he's looking so solid that he's simply building consistency. And he DID have mistakes here. I think GPF and Nationals are going to be VERY interesting. I'm happy to root for my faves to skate their best and the chips will fall where they may. Clean amazing skates are the biggest reward for me. I don't think the men's discipline has ever been THIS good. We the fans are truly the ones winning out.

A bit late to the party but congratulations Shoma on winning SA!
That 4F in the FS, has he ever landed it any better in competition than he did there? It was gorgeous! :yes:
And he sells his program so well that it's growing on me now (even with the vocals ), my mom and I were talking about how much his performance skills are developing. I can only imagine how good it will be with a few more competitions under the belt this season (though he has competed a lot already!)
With this gold medal, his spot at the GPF is basically guaranteed, so I hope he can repeat a podium finish there

Omg! This is so cute! Team Sharah for 2018! Sorry Danny!

TheGrandSophy said:

Omg! This is so cute! Team Sharah for 2018! Sorry Danny!

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Oh my gosh -- love that photo! These 2 are becoming more and more like Laurel and Hardy when they get together. They met while touring with The Ice ice shows in Japan. Fun to see how Shoma is coming out of his shell as he gets to know more and more of the skaters on the senior level. Here they are during the ice shows for those who haven't seen the photo:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BI9433zBecn

ETA: I happened to meet Tarah and Danny at Worlds. They are both SO nice! Tarah is the sweetest thing, and she is so tiny in person you can hardly believe it. I'm amazed that she can lift Shoma! (Now that I saw the video, I think it was Danny who actually lifted Shoma!).

It is so cute, isn't it?

In connection with my little contretemps in the Comp thread, I will say, guys, if I may to people I don't know well, that it is probably best not to ascribe motives to people who criticise Shoma nor to dwell on what is said in The Edge here. The Edge is The Edge and the Fan Fest is the Fan Fest for a reason. They have different purposes. It is best to focus on positive aspects- love, respect and constructive criticism- and not talk about other fans negatively, even mildly. That can lead down a path that is hard to get away from and this has always been a lovely thread.

I enjoyed watching the broadcasts of Shoma's programs from 4 different sources. It's so fun to get different perspectives on what the commentators think of his skating. Here are some of their thoughts. Excuse this if it's really old news by now. I suppose everyone else has watched all the different broadcasters too!

B. ESP
--The difference in Shoma is that not only does he have the quads, but he has real quality in his Skating Skills.
--He finally shows he is human! (comment after he fell on the 3 jump combo)
--This music (tango) is difficult to interpret...Isn't he wonderful to watch?
--Japan has the greatest skater in the world in Yuzuru Hanyu, but this guy is gonna run him very close this year.
--ETA -- The Brit broadcasters did not care for the tango music. One of them described it as "dark".

CBC (Kurt Browning & Carol -- talking about FS & SP)
--Beautiful 4F! Oh, that's good stuff! Look at those Skating Skills. Look at that core -- so solid.
--Toller Cranston (note: fabulous Canadian skater!) would love this! The stillness in his upper body while making all those changes of direction in the footwork is absolutely phenomenal.
--His speed across the ice is so fast, although you probably don't get that sense on your TV screens. It is exceptional. He gets the most he can out of every stroke.
--He is a bit of a magician! Even with the quad flip, it's still the skating skills and the musicality that catch your attention the most.

NBC (Tara, Johnny, Terry Gannon)
--(Tara) It's hard to believe this is only his second year as a senior. He is the complete package - he has the difficult jumps but is also a beautiful skater. This quad flip is insane!
--(Johnny) I was touring this summer with Shoma in ice shows, and already at the beginning of June, he was doing full run throughs of his program -- so he is prepared.
--(Johnny) This is brilliant skating. Piazzolla (tango) is very difficult to pull off. But with the costume, the hair -- it works.
--(Tara) His jump landings are so soft and beautiful. For not having that much experience, he really takes command on the ice and does not back down going into his jumps.
--(Johnny) He is so wonderful and has such a quiet confidence. He will definitely be a threat in the next Olympics.

During the slow motion replay: The speed he has coming out on the landing of the 4F is so difficult. These jumps were technically perfect. Watch the beautiful arm positions -- so neat, correct, and collected! There is no error to be found anywhere. Terry Gannon said he loved the program.

Ice Network (Not sure who it is - maybe Michael Weiss?)
--That was a nice 4F, better than in the short. He got great height on the 4T. This was a great skate, almost an amazing skate. It has been so much fun to watch his growth.
--The whole program was seamless. The 4F did not become a distracting element but rather felt that it was part of the choreography. Excellent on the quad toe.
--The spread eagle into 3A is very hard to do, and he did a good job. He would have gone over 200 if he had been able to complete the 3A, 1Lo, 3F combo (note: he fell).

My Note: With Shoma's gold medal, Japanese men have won the gold 9 out of the last 12 years at Skate America. And last year Shoma won the silver. I would say overall, SA is good luck for the Japanese men!

Thanks guys for your posts! I dont konow why, but my posts yesterday’s afternoon and night were suddenly blocked and i couldnt post! I was sooo frustrated.


About the concern of peaking or burn-out, ive read his comments saying like that he must be careful of his peaking and try not to worsen his condition towards Worlds.

shoma comes back to japan yesterday..
http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/...m_medium=social&utm_campaign=nikkansports_ogp
he's noticed a result a lot in skate america both in scores and his performance itself. further, he says he must improve his jump sequence which he missed. he also got a confidence about quad flip.

his facial expression is so good. For me, what's important is he is satisfied with what he's done. he stated once the reason why he'd got a lot of tears in worlds 2016 was his hard work didnt pay off. it was his first experience and he was shocked so much. then he changed his mind , his mentality and attitudes towards figure skating. he realized it worked well in skate america.

I found some news clips focused on him, his interview at hotel, etc. I’ll try to identify them if i have time today. What impressed me was he was so glad to make it with 4t after three turn.

hamaguri said:

Thanks guys for your posts! I dont konow why, but my posts yesterday’s afternoon and night were suddenly blocked and i couldnt post! I was sooo frustrated.


About the concern of peaking or burn-out, ive read his comments saying like that he must be careful of his peaking and try not to worsen his condition towards Worlds.

shoma comes back to japan yesterday..
http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/...m_medium=social&utm_campaign=nikkansports_ogp
he's noticed a result a lot in skate america both in scores and his performance itself. further, he says he must improve his jump sequence which he missed. he also got a confidence about quad flip.

his facial expression is so good. For me, what's important is he is satisfied with what he's done. he stated once the reason why he'd got a lot of tears in worlds 2016 was his hard work didnt pay off. it was his first experience and he was shocked so much. then he changed his mind , his mentality and attitudes towards figure skating. he realized it worked well in skate america.

I found some news clips focused on him, his interview at hotel, etc. I’ll try to identify them if i have time today. What impressed me was he was so glad to make it with 4t after three turn.

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Not quite sure what was happening with the posts. I received a message at about 1:15 this afternoon that I had a message from you, and then I couldn't find it. I thought possibly you had deleted it. Seems like maybe it's ok now?

He definitely has things to work on, and I'm sure he will. I'm not quite sure what's going on with his spins. His final spin at the end of his SP was beautiful and nicely centered. The final spin of the FS was sloppy with lots of traveling. Maybe he was super tired and lost his concentration. They'll figure it out though, I'm sure. I'm glad he started out the season with a positive experience. That would be great to see the news clips!

Arriba627 said:

Not quite sure what was happening with the posts. I received a message at about 1:15 this afternoon that I had a message from you, and then I couldn't find it. I thought possibly you had deleted it. Seems like maybe it's ok now?

He definitely has things to work on, and I'm sure he will. I'm not quite sure what's going on with his spins. His final spin at the end of his SP was beautiful and nicely centered. The final spin of the FS was sloppy with lots of traveling. Maybe he was super tired and lost his concentration. They'll figure it out though, I'm sure. I'm glad he started out the year with a positive experience. That would be great to see the news clips!

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Oh yes, i tried to post several times in some threads, but again and again they were blocked saying "this is your very first post...". my comments about 10 were wasted. i quated your comments, so you must receive some message from the administration. Sorry! tody i got up and found that the error was fixed. i was so relieved!

Further, in news clip, the topic about his hairs is shown! yes, change of his style draw our attention. he is said he tried to change of his images with this new hair style, but the truth is, he just go to the salon and he slept during cutting. when he got awake to find that his hair was changed. he doesnt care the things other than figure skating! hope i can find the video again (i watch youtube on TV and they show videos automatically.)

hamaguri said:

Further, in news clip, the topic about his hairs is shown! yes, change of his style draw our attention. he is said he tried to change of his images with this new hair style, but the truth is, he just go to the salon and he slept during cutting. when he got awake to find that his hair was changed. he dont care other than figure skating! hope i can find the video again (i watch youtube on TV and they show videos automatically.)

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I wonder if he is one of those people who needs a lot of sleep! Or maybe he had jet lag after a competition. I thought that his hair looked a little bit messy, but oh well! Maybe it goes with the tango?!:confused2: I think someone pointed out that the back of his hair is shorter this year, and I think it really does look better. The rest of it -- well?

Arriba627 said:

I enjoyed watching the broadcasts of Shoma's programs from 4 different sources. It's so fun to get different perspectives on what the commentators think of his skating. Here are some of their thoughts. Excuse this if it's really old news by now. I suppose everyone else has watched all the different broadcasters too!

B. ESP
--The difference in Shoma is that not only does he have the quads, but he has real quality in his Skating Skills.
--He finally shows he is human! (comment after he fell on the 3 jump combo)
--This music (tango) is difficult to interpret...Isn't he wonderful to watch?
--Japan has the greatest skater in the world in Yuzuru Hanyu, but this guy is gonna run him very close this year.
--ETA -- The Brit broadcasters did not care for the tango music. One of them described it as "dark".

CBC (Kurt Browning & Carol -- talking about FS & SP)
--Beautiful 4F! Oh, that's good stuff! Look at those Skating Skills. Look at that core -- so solid.
--Toller Cranston (note: fabulous Canadian skate!) would love this! The stillness in his upper body while making all those changes of direction in the footwork is absolutely phenomenal.
--His speed across the ice is so fast, although you probably don't get that sense on your TV screens. It is exceptional. He gets the most he can out of every stroke.
--He is a bit of a magician! Even with the quad flip, it's still the skating skills and the musicality that catch your attention the most.

NBC (Tara, Johnny, Terry Gannon)
--(Tara) It's hard to believe this is only his second year as a senior. He is the complete package - he has the difficult jumps but is also a beautiful skater. This quad flip is insane!
--(Johnny) I was touring this summer with Shoma in ice shows, and already at the beginning of June, he was doing full run throughs of his program -- so he is prepared.
--(Johnny) This is brilliant skating. Piazzolla (tango) is very difficult to pull off. But with the costume, the hair -- it works.
--(Tara) His jump landings are so soft and beautiful. For not having that much experience, he really takes command on the ice and does not back down going into his jumps.
--(Johnny) He is so wonderful and has such a quiet confidence. He will definitely be a threat in the next Olympics.

During the slow motion replay: The speed he has coming out on the landing of the 4F is so difficult. These jumps were technically perfect. Watch the beautiful arm positions -- so neat, correct, and collected! There is no error to be found anywhere. Terry Gannon said he loved the program.

Ice Network
--That was a nice 4F, better than in the short. He got great height on the 4T. This was a great skate, almost an amazing skate. It has been so much fun to watch his growth.
--The whole program was seamless. The 4F did not become a distracting element but rather felt that it was part of the choreography. Excellent on the quad toe.
--The spread eagle into 3A is very hard to do, and he did a good job. He would have gone over 200 if he had been able to complete the 3A, 1Lo, 3F combo (note: he fell).

My Note: With Shoma's gold medal, Japanese men have won the gold 9 out of the last 12 years at Skate America. And last year Shoma won the silver. I would say overall, SA is good luck for the Japanese men!

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Me too! Im lurking some videos with different commentaries (and very thankful to you, since my listening skill is not perfect!)

Kurt admires his musicality. honda-san also said once his musicality is inherent talent. Further, the commentators really praise his skating skills. He has the speed. Ive read the difficulty of a technique changes according to speed. One technique becomes difficult with more speed. Executing elements with speed is difficult and i suppose judges see that sort of thing.

Arriba627 said:

I wonder if he is one of those people who needs a lot of sleep! Or maybe he had jet lag after a competition. I thought that his hair looked a little bit messy, but oh well! Maybe it goes with the tango?!:confused2: I think someone pointed out that the back of his hair is shorter this year, and I think it really does look better. The rest of it -- well?

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I think so, and johnny said the hairs match the tango!

oh, this is already shared? so nice news clip by local TV of his hometown. their views are warm. Shoma is like their child since they've watched over his growth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVMGtx3hZ14

it shows his training on summer in cicago. the kind of works that he'd never done helped him a lot with stamina. he got confidence.
In abroad, he longs for wide variety types of cuisine available in japan. further, he loves the japanese type bath (deep bath tab, this is ordinary type of bath in japanese house, so lovely a video by a canadian girl living in japan https://youtu.be/A6hqHq7MLsc) and have some complaint about shower only. but he stands all since what's important to him now is figure skating and his trainings overseas are really good for his skate. his current problem is English! (nice scene with Max and his coach!)

ETA: it is another recent video clip of the similar type, focused on his stamina training
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXgcQxGvf0I

Arriba627 said:

I enjoyed watching the broadcasts of Shoma's programs from 4 different sources. It's so fun to get different perspectives on what the commentators think of his skating. Here are some of their thoughts. Excuse this if it's really old news by now. I suppose everyone else has watched all the different broadcasters too!

B. ESP
--The difference in Shoma is that not only does he have the quads, but he has real quality in his Skating Skills.
--He finally shows he is human! (comment after he fell on the 3 jump combo)
--This music (tango) is difficult to interpret...Isn't he wonderful to watch?
--Japan has the greatest skater in the world in Yuzuru Hanyu, but this guy is gonna run him very close this year.
--ETA -- The Brit broadcasters did not care for the tango music. One of them described it as "dark".

CBC (Kurt Browning & Carol -- talking about FS & SP)
--Beautiful 4F! Oh, that's good stuff! Look at those Skating Skills. Look at that core -- so solid.
--Toller Cranston (note: fabulous Canadian skate!) would love this! The stillness in his upper body while making all those changes of direction in the footwork is absolutely phenomenal.
--His speed across the ice is so fast, although you probably don't get that sense on your TV screens. It is exceptional. He gets the most he can out of every stroke.
--He is a bit of a magician! Even with the quad flip, it's still the skating skills and the musicality that catch your attention the most.

NBC (Tara, Johnny, Terry Gannon)
--(Tara) It's hard to believe this is only his second year as a senior. He is the complete package - he has the difficult jumps but is also a beautiful skater. This quad flip is insane!
--(Johnny) I was touring this summer with Shoma in ice shows, and already at the beginning of June, he was doing full run throughs of his program -- so he is prepared.
--(Johnny) This is brilliant skating. Piazzolla (tango) is very difficult to pull off. But with the costume, the hair -- it works.
--(Tara) His jump landings are so soft and beautiful. For not having that much experience, he really takes command on the ice and does not back down going into his jumps.
--(Johnny) He is so wonderful and has such a quiet confidence. He will definitely be a threat in the next Olympics.

During the slow motion replay: The speed he has coming out on the landing of the 4F is so difficult. These jumps were technically perfect. Watch the beautiful arm positions -- so neat, correct, and collected! There is no error to be found anywhere. Terry Gannon said he loved the program.

Ice Network
--That was a nice 4F, better than in the short. He got great height on the 4T. This was a great skate, almost an amazing skate. It has been so much fun to watch his growth.
--The whole program was seamless. The 4F did not become a distracting element but rather felt that it was part of the choreography. Excellent on the quad toe.
--The spread eagle into 3A is very hard to do, and he did a good job. He would have gone over 200 if he had been able to complete the 3A, 1Lo, 3F combo (note: he fell).

My Note: With Shoma's gold medal, Japanese men have won the gold 9 out of the last 12 years at Skate America. And last year Shoma won the silver. I would say overall, SA is good luck for the Japanese men!

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for this! Even though I've seen some of these, it is good to have comments written down here for posterity in the thread.

hamaguri said:

oh, this is already shared? so nice news clip of his hometown. their views are warm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVMGtx3hZ14

it shows his training on summer in cicago. the kind of works that he'd never done helped him a lot with stamina. he got confidence.
In abroad, he longs for wide variety types of quinesene available in japan. further, he loves the japanese type bath (deep bath tab, this is ordinary type of bath in japanese house, so lovely a video by a canadian girl living in japan https://youtu.be/A6hqHq7MLsc) and have some complaint about shower only. but he stands all since what's important to him now is figure skating and his training overseas are really good for his skate. his current problem is English! (nice scene with Max and his coach!)

ETA: it is another recent video clip of the similar type, focused on his stamina training
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXgcQxGvf0I

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You are so great about providing clips! Thank you!

Mikaboo, thank you for how you update the original post here with all the links for different commentaries. It is so great!

While I know these tv people love to play the emotional, kawaii side of things it kind of annoys me that every tv episode, even in 2016, shows that Shoma is Mao's 'little brother' perspective. We get it. We know it by now. He's 18, focus on the man himself and not some video in which his chibi-self shortly skates behind Mao. What I do appreciate is the way they show him from barely able to do a triple axel to jump one of the most difficult quads in just a few years. That's determination. I really think it's motivating, and such a great growth. It's almost scary to think what he can do in the future. :cool2: