Kazuki Tomono | Page 28 | Golden Skate

Kazuki Tomono

Congrats to Kazuki on his coming of age this year! Btw, I've read that the age of becoming an adult in Japan was moved to 18 last year, is that true? If so, why are yong people still celebrating 20 as coming of age - tradition? Thanks for any clarification. :)
 
surimi said:
Congrats to Kazuki on his coming of age this year! Btw, I've read that the age of becoming an adult in Japan was moved to 18 last year, is that true? If so, why are yong people still celebrating 20 as coming of age - tradition? Thanks for any clarification. :)
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You are right! The law was introduced last year, but it will only take effect from 18 Apr 2022. So Sota-kun will still be able to celebrate his Coming of Age next year ;)

It also seems that, despite the changes many local authorities already said they will keep celebrating Coming at Age at 20: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190114/p2a/00m/0na/009000c
 
So... I'm sorry for flooding the thread :p
But I listened to Misha's interview with TSL and I transcribed this bit about Kazuki, because I've seen so much talk about Kazuki being 'inconsistent' with absolutely no consideration to the enormity of the challenges he's been facing this season. Including from people who should know better, such as so-called 'journalists' and podcasts. Misha doesn't even mention other things such as the fact Kazuki has been training his 4T and dealing with increased pressure and expectations since his 5th place finish at Worlds. All things considering, he has been doing extremely well this season IMO.

Disclaimer: I fixed some of the grammar (not all of it) to make it easier to understand.

Dave: So we also saw you working with Kazuki Tomono at Japanese Nationals, complete other side of the world Now, he’s such a talented up-an-coming skater, here are so many big stars in Japan, how long have you been working together and what are you trying to bring out of Kazuki?

Misha: So we started working since this season, from the summer, so we started from… How did it start? It was in Milan after the World Championship, the Japanese Federation come to me and the ask me that they wish I can choreograph for Kazuki this year so… Of course, I appreciate their trust, and of course they’re looking to Kazuki as a potentially good senior Team Japan skater for the future, so they want to see him build up and grow and… They also understand that things don’t take quickly, it takes time, so if they want to see him in a few years to be a very good world skater, they start working on it earlier.

So we started on the programme, which was short and then… By working on the programme, hey also send me, they also give me a few things that they want to see him to grow, and I wrote them down in the notes, and when I met with Kazuki and his coach, it was one of the few main criteria we have and we tried to improve through the programme. So by doing this programme there’s a huge thing we want him to improve this season, and learn, so he is capable to grow. But at the same time, if you want to grow and improve with that, you can’t just create one programme and just leave it there. You have to improve your skills. So the good programme can only be good… Well executed and be improved if you improve your skills, right? So, while I was staying in Japan, I stayed there for a few weeks in summer, I was giving him a lot of practice exercises and, like, homework that he had to improve on. But at the same time, not only that, I was teaching him some other stuff as well, so we kind of become a team with his coach and they were also as happy and wished we can have a long partnership and work on that, and so step by step we start to work together as a team, so…

Now after, let’s say, more than half year work, I would not actually say I’m his choreographer, I’m more like his coach, you know, so we together with his coach Taijin, he’s been teaching him for over ten years since he was a little baby, and I respect… I respect his work, and… we have good understandings, you know. I try not to cross my line too much, because I understand the foundation they built, it was by many years, and they built a lot of good things, so based on those good things, I try to teach him even more. Not say like, ok, break out those things, throw it again, I gotta teach you new stuff, no. Not that way. Like, and I always communicate with his coach even though we have a language barrier, because it’s not that easy for them to speak in English, but still I try sometimes to simplify the English and speak slowly, with simple words, and sometimes I show the technique or the movement, so through these few months we found a better communication, and then, eventually, better understandings to how to improve him.

Dave: So, when you talk about skills, you were talking about bringing out passion with Evgenia, now, with Kazuki, is that more skating skills, is it projection, facially, what kind of homework are you giving him?

Misha: There’s so much, so… There’s actually through this half-year, I split his routine in, let’s say, three steps, probably. So, in the summer, there was some basic preparation on the foundation of his skating skills, on his movements, body and extension. Then, later on, there were more technical aspects, his power, his gym routine, his all-round skating… Some of his spins, which I’m still not happy about (laugh)… and the third step was to give him a little bit more advanced routine, there was also psychology, his rest, his recovery, his mindset, so… Honestly, there’s so much behind-the-scene work that I try to do with him, when he was in LA, I tried taking him to my teachers, so, my coaches, my dad and mum worked with him in different aspects, I tried to take him to another of my mentors, Philip Mills, to check up on him, and also to my ballet teacher, so… And I took him to dance classes in Hollywood, which was the Millennium, it’s one of the most difficult and crazy dance studios you can have… So, it’s like a lot of these little aspects.

But I also understand that I tried to give him a lot of different information, but to really be able to understand this information, to be able to put it in your head and really execute it, it takes time. The things I’ve been learning, it took years, and years, and years, and it’s not only in one country, it’s been travelling around the world, being taught by my parents, being taught by a lot of great world successful coaches and choreographers, and it took years for me. So, it’s the same for him, it’s gonna take time. But, hopefully, slowly, step by step, we can move forward.
 
Here is translation of his short message to ABC Call :)

https://twitter.com/axelsandwich/status/1085084116394041345

And I really love that fan made video :luv17:

KiraraChin said:
So... I'm sorry for flooding the thread :p
But I listened to Misha's interview with TSL and I transcribed this bit about Kazuki, because I've seen so much talk about Kazuki being 'inconsistent' with absolutely no consideration to the enormity of the challenges he's been facing this season. Including from people who should know better, such as so-called 'journalists' and podcasts. Misha doesn't even mention other things such as the fact Kazuki has been training his 4T and dealing with increased pressure and expectations since his 5th place finish at Worlds. All things considering, he has been doing extremely well this season IMO.
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Thanks khtmyzr for the video and thanks for the transscript, I have seen the video but this surely is very helpful :thumbsup:

I know what you are talking about and although I actually don't mind reviews or opinions on skaters/competitions even if I am not agreeing with them but the way to convey that should be more professional and unbaised which sadly rare to see.
 
It's a bit late, but I translated parts of the college articles at Doshisha Sports Atom
(Only Tomono-kun's part though. Please don't hesitate to ask if you find something unclear in my translation)

The first article on Intercollegiate (I'm not too familiar with this term, let me just spell it as "In-Colle (インカレ)" instead.)
http://doshisha-atom.net/headline/result.php?linkno=5&no=3312

A big cheer by teammates echoes in the rink. “I decided to enter In-Colle because I love that atmosphere,” says Tomono. Hearing his teammates’ supports, Tomono started his routine. Starting with his clean quad salchow, he succeeded with all the rest of his jumps. His elegant steps to the music attracted the audience. Although he made a mistake with his last spin, he sure responded well to his teammates’ cheers. “I do find it disappointing, but I could finish it positively overall. I had a great start for tomorrow.”

Interview after SP

- Look back at your performance today
Overall, it feels as though I only managed to do each of the elements, kind of. I landed all the jumps, but the quality wasn’t as good. For now, I guess I had a great start for the next match. As for the mistake I did on the last spin, it was a waste, I had a similar mistake at Nationals and I find it disappointing. But I could finish it positively overall, so, I had a great start for tomorrow.

- Your mental condition after Nationals and for In-Colle?
It’s like I was set free from all the pressures and stress after the Nationals. I’ve been doing great with training and all now. I’m afraid I was a bit too tensed at Nationals and that’s another thing I should reflect upon. Right now, I don’t have to feel burdened or anything and I’ve been able to work fine with my training and competitions. So, I think I’m doing this competition very positively this time. I would like to keep up this momentum and go along with it tomorrow.

- You hear direct cheers from your team at a short distance at In-Colle
That atmosphere is what I love about In-Colle, and that’s why I decided to enter. I’ve experienced a lot of other big competitions, but I also want to cherish and keep bonds (emotional ties) with my friends, and competitions like this means a lot to me. I fully enjoyed the fun of performing in a lot of cheers, and I find it really nice.

- You said before in an interview that you wanted to grow by doing a lot of competitions. Any fatigue or difficulty of conditioning after multiple competitions in a row?
No fatigue in particular. Like, I perform in a competition, then I switch, then I do another competition, and switch, and it goes on like that. I rested well on New Years holidays and then I switched back again. So for the time being, I have no fatigue at all.

- Your enthusiasm for FS tomorrow?
I just need to go for it and pull it off myself. I hope what I do tommorrow will lead me to another (challenge, opportunity, chance or whatever for the future).

- People are expecting you to win both the individual and group titles.
In-Colle is a group match, so I want us all to deliver good performances and get a good result together.


The second article
http://doshisha-atom.net/headline/result.php?linkno=5&no=3313

Tomono was placed 1st after SP, and his consecutive victory was clearly well within the scope. After landing the first combo with a quad salchow clean, he fell with the next jump, and he gave a lackluster performance with his jumps afterwards. “The true cause was my poor extension on landing (easy jumps), let alone mistakes on quads,” he calmly analyzed his own defeat. “I found it very important to execute (jumps) in the actual performance.” As his jumps were stable during the 6 minutes warm-up, it was even more disappointing. What Tomono pointed out himself after the game was that ‘he was losing points for what he’s supposed to gain from’. It stood out how he lost points in relatively easier elements for his actual ability, such as his spin at SP and jumps at FS. Tomono’s season, however, isn’t over yet. We all hope he’s going to bring out his real strength and deliver his best performance to prove himself at 4CC and Universiade.

Interview after FS

- Look back at your performance today
The true cause of defeat was my poor extension on landing easy jumps, like loop and flip, let alone mistakes on quads. That’s where I failed in gaining enough points. I wasted a lot of points there, or more like, there were rough parts with my programs, both SP and FS. Like I lost whole points in spin at SP, where I was actually supposed to gain points from. That’s what I need to reflect on from this competition.

- You skated last after the performances by two other teammates of yours.
I feel really sorry. Both Sasahara senpai and Tokikuni senpai really did their best. I don’t know if it’s appropriate for me to say this, but they both did great with their performances.

- Did your teammates say anything before or after your performance?
(We shared the same room during the competition time?*) So, we encouraged and said to one another, let’s concentrate, try to deliver what we’d been practicing and do our best.
Notes: I can't tell what the () part meant... It's either their typo or there's something I'm missing from the available context there.

- During 6 min warm-up, your quads were fine and you showed us great steps too.
My condition wasn’t bad during the warm-up. I could start it well in a good manner, I completed the necessary practice soon and I could even check my steps too. It went really well. That makes it even more frustrating that I couldn’t execute them. I found it very important to execute them in an actual performance, yet again. I mean I’ve been reminded of that too well throughout the season, and I really think I’ll need the strength for actual executions in performance.

- What you call, ‘the strength for actual executions in performance,’ is it connected to mental strength to overcome and deal with pressures?
That too, but (as for me), I needed more practice.

- For 4CC and Universiade
I want to set aside enough training and practice to pull it off to the best of my ability with the programs consisting of the elements I can currently execute.

- You once challenged a 4T at (Gensan) Summer Cup (in Shiga in August). Considering any changes to your programs?
It was a challenge looking ahead for the next season, and not something I have fully acquired yet. I do want to try it in the next season, but for now, I want to do a program consisting of the elements that I’m confident with. After resolving the problems I have now, I would like to have a 4T in a program in the next season.
 
Thanks a lot, Tsurara for the translation :thank:

It is nice to read his thoughts about that competition. It is understandable how frustrated he feels not being able to show his best till now and what he said about his feeling after the nationals. Also to hear about the 4T again ;)

Hope he can show us a great performance in 4CC :pray:
 
Tsurara said:
Yeah, indeed. Not sure when their Atom/Kanspo collaboration interview gets published, but that bit looks to me like a response for KiraraChin's question!:yes2:
Click to expand...

THANK YOU SO MUCH, TSURARA! You are truly an angel! :love:

So many good points there!

- How sweet is it that he took part in this tournament to be with his friends? :luv17:
- He doesn't get tired with so many competitions! His stamina is amazing.
- The difference in the tone between the first and second interview is striking. I guess his assessment was accurate that he needs to learn not to make silly mistakes in competition. I hope to see him very focused on his accuracy at 4CC.
- The 4T question! :love: It's sensible that he's not doing it this season. I liked that he said 'I haven't FULLY acquired yet', does it mean he has acquired it somewhat? ;)

On a different note, did you guys see his latest instastory with Keiji? It's Kazuki laughing because Keiji lost on the janken and had to eat Level 5 spiced curry :laugh2:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsz_7BOBLdv/
 
khtmyzr said:
Poor Keiji :laugh: I wonder which level Kazuki eats. I personally love the level 5!
Click to expand...

I love spicy curry too! Kazuki seems to like food with lots of flavour, so I wouldn't be surprised if he likes it spicy ;)

AQFS said:
Haha, love Kazuki laughter in the background. Poor Keiji though :laugh:

I love how our boy is always bonding well with everyone. And was that Hiroaki Sato with them?
Click to expand...

Yes, it was! So nice to see him hanging out with his senpais :luv17:
I love his hearty laugh, he was obviously having a great time :biggrin:
 
KiraraChin said:
- The 4T question! :love: It's sensible that he's not doing it this season. I liked that he said 'I haven't FULLY acquired yet', does it mean he has acquired it somewhat? ;)
Click to expand...
That's exactly how I understood that too, from the original line, "まだまだものには出来ていない", like he has acquired it somehow, but not quite there yet. It's a combination of the success rate being relatively low/lower, his confidence level not satisfiable (at least for him or possibly his coach and/or Misha), and a bit of typical humbleness added. Just in case, to break up the phrase there, まだまだ/not yet*2 + "ものにする" is a bit tough term but it's like, to fully acquire to make it one's own + 出来ていない/haven't been able to ~

Maybe I too need some extra spicy curry to generate enough energy while waiting for my big favorites games :slink:
 
Tsurara said:
That's exactly how I understood that too, from the original line, "まだまだものには出来ていない", like he has acquired it somehow, but not quite there yet. It's a combination of the success rate being relatively low/lower, his confidence level not satisfiable (at least for him or possibly his coach and/or Misha), and a bit of typical humbleness added. Just in case, to break up the phrase there, まだまだ/not yet*2 + "ものにする" is a bit tough term but it's like, to fully acquire to make it one's own + 出来ていない/haven't been able to ~

Maybe I too need some extra spicy curry to generate enough energy while waiting for my big favorites games :slink:
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for clarifying, Tsurara! I'm very happy that he seems to at least made some progress with it, that's amazing considering all the changes he has been going through in his training :luv17:
 
Came here to read Kazuki news, leaving in a state of shock that dekiru has a kanji form. And I didn't have an inkling it existed. Yikes. There's still so much to learn.
How much is level 5 spiciness, btw? Three chilli symbols on the menu or something?
 
surimi said:
How much is level 5 spiciness, btw? Three chilli symbols on the menu or something?
Click to expand...
In general, many Japanese would find up to level 3 fine or okay, some up to 4, but 5 is like a torture for most.
(Some Asian people who are used to spicy food may disagree.)

You can go to this site to check their menu (download pdf file for a detailed one with spicy levels)
Here's a screenshot image of the spicy levels
https://imgur.com/a/wBuDP1r
It has: 甘口/Amakuchi (for kids or those who hate spicy food), 普通(futsuu/normal), and １辛(ichi-kara/spicy level 1) to １０辛(spicy level 10)
However, only those who have (completely) eaten ５辛 before can try 6+.
(Keiji now may try 6+ if he wants.)

Definition of the spiciness level:
Level 1 Generally hot (not very hot, but may be very hot for those who aren't used to spicy food)
Level 2 About twice as hot as Level 1
Level 3 About 4 times as hot as Level 1
Level 4 About 6 times as hot as Level 1
Level 5 About 12 times as hot as Level 1
:
Level 10 About 24 times as hot as Level 1
(Sweet curry with honey has sweet level up to 5 but I've never tried it)

Considering how much he was laughing, I'm sure they all find it too hot to enjoy, but somehow bearable.

(Regarding the kanji for dekiru, some people don't like using it, some do, and most textbooks avoid using it for many reasons. I generally avoid it when I'm writing/typing, too. So don't worry too much about it as long as you can read it when you see it.)
 
So, the AnAn magazine with Kazuki was published today! I haven't found any pics yet, but I've seen people on Twitter saying his interview was really nice :love:

Also, Kazuki will feature on the next edition of the SPUR magazine! It's a women's fashion magazine who did cool photoshoots with Nathan Chen and Stephanie Lambiel/Deniss Vasiljevs last year ;)
https://twitter.com/wacaco2/status/1087690802195705856
 
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