Kazuki Tomono | Page 96 | Golden Skate

Kazuki Tomono

KiraraChin said:
My thoughts exactly! I think the guys were a bit mean telling Kazuki to retire 😂
Click to expand...

Must be their onsen humor ;) I hope Kazuki's career works out!
And thanks for the level 8 explanation, Rainbow! I had no idea what it entails. I hope Sota can get it too. He must be motivated to see Kazuki get it.
 
KiraraChin said:
My thoughts exactly! I think the guys were a bit mean telling Kazuki to retire 😂
Click to expand...
They are just teasing Kazuki. They know Kazuki will only consider retirement seriously after the Olympics season and encourage him to go for his dreams. Kazuki has two Olympics dreams; to compete at the Olympics and, and to go to the Olympics as an instructor.
Two is much better than just one, isn't it?
 
Preview of Kazuki-Mitsuki Online Talkshow (Aug. 23) transcript in “Figure Skating Life Vol. 22” to be published on Oct. 22:
Translation of 1 of 2 pages:

--Today this online talk show and Insta live show by Yuto Kishina senshu and Miyake senshu happen at the same time.
K: They sure do. A while ago I practiced during the same time as Sena at KTC (National Training Center), and I walked up to him and demanded an answer, “Hey, what’s going on?” [laughter] He said he knew nothing [laughter].
--So he didn’t know [laughter].
K: Yes, that’s right. I’ll also ask Yuto later. Sena seemed to know nothing about the schedule clash, so I’ve decided to give him a pass [laughter].
--Last time I’ve asked Tomono senshu to talk about this topic, and now I would like to ask Sumoto senshu about his new program. You get a new free program, didn’t you?
M: Yes, it is “The Mission.”
--Could you please tell us its highlight and the story behind the choreography.
M: I am not good at quick steps at all, and Nanami sensei (t/n: Nanami Abe who was Yuzuru’s former coach and choreographer) seemed to have wanted to do more difficult choreography for me, but I struggled [laughter]. But I think if I can control all my jumps, the choreographic moves will be very touching. Since I haven’t done it in competition yet, I am planning to get the video taken at the All Osaka competition next week which is my first event so that I can watch it.
--What is the highlight of the program?
M: About halfway through the program I do a step sequence, and the highlight is three jumps after the steps.
K: Ahhahaha, that’s insane.
M: I do combination jumps and another choreo sequence towards the end, so I would like you to pay attention after the steps.
--Sumoto senshu is so well suited for ”The Mission” that it makes me wonder if you have done it before. But it’s your first time, isn’t it?
M: I’ve never done it before. And yet “The Mission” is the one I had always wanted to do since around the time I skated to “The Miserable.” Since I saw Mai Mihara-chan’s free program, I had always wanted to skate to it.
K: Totally, it’s perfect for him [laughter]. I saw him doing steps and have been thinking he was so good. I have been telling him he was good. His entry into a jump after steps was really hard. He keeps trying slightly different entries. After he tries, I sort of copied his move saying “Aren’t these steps hard?” [laughter]
M: I’ve seen you doing that [laughter]
K: I tried to imitate his entry, and I sucked and realized how hard it was. We both were saying “Can you do this?” and “No can do” [laughter]
M: The entry into the Lutz was also very hard, but Kazuki was the first one to pull it off.
--Really? Is that so?
K: Oh yeah? You couldn’t do that at that time? Is that right?
M: I couldn’t tighten my core enough. It was the Lutz from bracket turn, but I couldn’t take off the Lutz from bracket turn and backward crossover.
K: It was too hard to rotate.
M: Yeah, but after Kazuki was able to tighten his core, I wanted to tighten mine too [laughter].
Everybody laughed.
M: After that, things went smoothly.
K: Mitsuki was working on it and I thought, “What? Isn’t that entry tough?” I do like imitating other skaters’ so I jumped and said “Mitsuki, I made it! I jumped!” [fist-pumped], like this.
M: I was kicking myself at that time.
K: Later, he was able to tighten his core and landed the jump super clean.
--Then, you owe Tomono senshu.
M: That’s right.
K: Oh I see. It was your first time. Sorry [laughter]
M: Yes it was. That’s why Takeshi (Honda) sensei was so happy I made it. He said “You managed to tighten it!”
K: I’m glad to hear that. I am glad I could help because it is so intense after the steps.

... To be continued
 
Thank you so much, rRainbow! 🥰
I love the way they support, but also tease, each other. Poor Mitsuki, though, seeing Kazuki 'steal' his lutz entry in training, what a copycat 🤣 But I guess it helped Mitsuki after all...
 
Part 2 of 2

M: Every move is hard. I asked her to make the program harder though.
K: You never thought it would be such a hard one.
M: I didn’t think the entire program would be challenging [laughter]. It’s really crazy. It’s exhausting.
K: Yeah. But he makes it look so easy. The transitions are so hard to do, but thanks to Mitsuki’s skating skills, it is the program that showcases all of his strong points. When I saw it I thought “Wow, awesome!”
M: You sure know how to flatter.
K: But I’ve always told you that.
M: Yeah, right. You’ve told me that [laughter].
K: That I love your steps.
M: When we meet and you see me doing the program, you always tell me so [laughter].
K: Right. I love it, so I think Mitsuki fans will be crazy about it. This program is packed with his appealing features. I’m spreading the word here [laughter].
--Wonderful. Great. I can't wait to see it. You two got off to a good start and I would like Sumoto senshu to speak a lot today.
K: I think so far he is doing fine.
--He is doing fine.
M: [drinks water shyly]
K: Like Sota, you should get out of character a little.

Not Remembering When They First Met

--[laughter] Then, please tell me a story when you two first met.
K: Yes! We are going to tell you the honest truth.
M: We don’t remember.
K: We don’t remember the first time we met.
--Huh? You said so during the rehearsal and you two planned to recall how it went?
K: We planned to, but we talked about it yesterday and ended up saying “We have no memories, don’t we?”
M: None [decisively].
K: We started skating around the same time? No, I started earlier, by two years?
M: Yeah.
K: As a result, we were in different classes. We hung out with other kids including Sota, but as we were in different classes we didn’t have many chances to get together.
M: Yeah, we all played together, but I was with Sota all the time, so I didn’t talk with Kazuki very often.
K: In junior years we spent a lot of time together, and we have many memories of that time, but it is not the first time we met. Mitsuki was very tiny and looked absent minded all the time [laughter]. Now, I want to ask Mitsuki what his impression of me was. Do you remember?
M: Kazuki? I don’t remember, as I was with Sota all the time. When I changed my team from Rinkai Club to Uenoshiba Club, they held Uenoshiba sports festival.
K: Oh, I remember.
M: At the rink we competed in a bread-grabbing sprint race and such.
K: We did a relay race and played dodgeball too.
M: We did many things. On that day I moved to Uenoshima Club, but Kazuki didn’t know that until that time.
K: Oh, yeah! [remembering]
M: He was super happy, and I remember that really well.
K: Sure, I remember! I thought “There he is!” [laughter].
M: Yeah, yeah. That’s how I remember Kazuki. But it was when we were in elementary school, perhaps.
K: Our club had very few kids, as it was a weak and small club [laughter]. Yes, it was such a small club.
M: There were only three boys.
K: Mitsuki joined us. I remember that I was glad a boy joined our club.
M: After that we started to hang out together.
K: I cannot remember at all when we were small, but we spent time together every day. We played baseball and things like that.
M: Yes we did.
K: Sota was our leader when we built a secret base, and we also played hide and seek every day. My best memory, I can say this now, is that Mitsuki and Sota had a big fight one time.
M: Ah, I did [laughter].
K: You had a big scuffle with him.
M: We pulled each other’s hair.
--That was more violent than I thought [laughter].
K: That was super fun. I watch them fight laughing my head off [laughter].
M: We had so much damage on our bodies that the next day we both had to take a day off from practice.

-- End of preview pages --
 
Awwww thank you so much!
The way Kazuki praises Mitsuki is so sweet. Also, lol, I can't even imagine two shy and mild-mannered guys like Mitsuki and Sota having a fight!
 
Excerpts of an interview with Kazuki by Figure Skating Fanbook 2020 sold by Amazon Japan and Amazon USA

--It came up in the (onsen club) talk show that all of you compete wholeheartedly in competition. When do you switch into competition mode?
K: At the competition, we still hang out and chat in the locker room [laughter]. But during the warm-up and right before performances, everyone is so intensely focused on himself. Therefore, we get into competitive mode naturally, rather than shifting gears at one point. Each one concentrates on his skate.
--I see it is a wonderful relationship in which you inspire each other. Well, we did an interview with you during the stay-at-home period. You resumed on-ice practice afterwards, and how did it go?
K: On the first day I went back on ice to practice, I found it hard to skate as my body lost its touch. During the time I spent all my time on land, I didn’t have to control inside and outside edges and I was totally used to that. The moment I went on the ice, I thought “Whaaat!” [laughter] My body glided on its own even without a push, and I fell down pushing my edges too deep. I really enjoyed how rusty I was and kept grinning while stroking. On the second day I completely got back to myself, and I was surprised how adaptable the human body is [laughter].
--It has been about one and a half months since you restarted on-ice practice. Have you gotten your jumps back?
K: My jumps are already back. Or rather, they may be better than before. My lower body has been strong, but my upper body was a little weaker. That’s why I did workouts to strengthen my upper body and as a result my stronger upper body has helped to stabilize my jump axis better. I can jump quads very easily and I can feel my improvement.
--I understand that at the 4CC Kaori Sakamoto senshu asked you for advice on 4T. What kind of advice did you give her?
--K: I wonder what I told her. [after thinking a little] I think I told her something like “When you jump a quad, don’t strain yourself and you should keep a natural flow. To jump a quad, you have to move your body with maximum efficiency and your upper body and lower body need to coordinate with each other, so I guess I told her something like “Have a triple in mind and kick it up a notch by increasing the rotational speed.” I remember telling her to pay attention to the flow.
--At the senior training camp, Sakaoto senshu watched you train the 4Loop, and she trained the 4T hard as well.
K: That’s right. Kao-chan was trying to jump the 4T and I was working on the 4Loop. I am the one who was inspired by Kao-chan.
--What do you think of the level of completion of Sakamoto senshu’s 4T and 3A?
K: I would say her 3A is almost there. Like her 4T, when she takes off, her body is a bit unsteady, so I would like her to gain more control of her take off. Well, like her, when I’m not in good form, I overstrain myself and get wobbly or my force goes in the direction out of my control. Anyway, she is practicing really hard and I hope she will master it.
--I am looking forward to her success. Can you tell us your jump layouts?
K: My short program has almost the same layout as the last season. The layout for the free is the same as the one at the 4CC: Three quads (4T, 4S in the first half and 4S in the second half), and two combinations in the second half.

...to be continued
 
Last part

--Next, about this season’s programs, you announced you are keeping the short “Chroma” and the free “Moulin Rouge.” When did you decide that?
K: I made a final decision a little before the senior camp.
--I understand you were working on “”Life is Beautiful” choreographed by Misha Ge remotely. Do you plan to use it after this season?
K: I went with my gut feeling and gave it up. In fact, that happened in the 17-18 season as well. We put together a new program. But I felt something was not right, so I took a chance and got a new program, which was “West Side Story.”
--You felt something was off. Can you elaborate on that?
K: I didn’t feel like the program was coming into me very much. Of course that was because I didn’t practice enough, but I felt the same way as Hiraike sensei in that I was not absorbing it.
--I see you talked with Hiraike sensei.
K: He pointed out I was feeling uneasy and he was right on the money. In the past what he pointed out has always been correct, so I value his advice very much. When he suggested that I should keep “Moulin Rouge” this season, I was very frustrated as I worked so hard on the other program. But I could not deny that something was not quite right. The main reason was I did not have enough technical skills to get the program to gel. I resisted at first by saying I wanted to stick it out, but he saw through me and knew that I was just stubborn. Then, I realized again that’s something only my coach could do.
--It was a big decision.
K: I love the music “Life is Beautiful,” and I was hoping it would make a good program. But at the end of the day, there was something missing in my performance. When I explained that to Misha my heart ached. I was obviously not capable of making it work, and I was very sorry for him. Personally, I feel that it is not because remote choreography made the process harder, and it would have been the same with in-person choreography. Just my gut feeling.
--What do you do better in your short and free than last season?
K: During the off-season I practiced focusing on spins and skating skills, and I would like to show my improvement. Because my programs are the same, it will be easier to show the changes, and I want to show how I stepped up. Also, I want to make transitions more difficult, and I hope the viewers will notice my progress since the last season.
--Many competitions will be held without spectators. How do you feel about it?
K: I enjoy engaging the audience, and I will miss it. I’ll have to get used to it. I’ll probably have a deeper sense of appreciation of fans cheering. When I made mistakes or I was about to lose heart, cheers and clapping by the audience encouraged and helped me.
--What do you expect to be crucial this season?
K: As you might have guessed, it is the Japanese Nationals. For the past a few years I have been unable to deliver my best skate at the Nationals, so I want to peak at the Nationals this season.
--This season, what are your strengths and any problems to work out?
K: My strong points are spins and skating skills which are more refined than last season. Also, I’ve been fine tuning some of the details so the higher level of overall balance and perfection are my strengths. Since I have practiced skating skills I am able to do so many things than before, and I’ve started to feel great while skating. I guess that’s the biggest progress I’ve made. Overall completeness and quality including spins and skating skills are also the area of improvement for me.
--This season is pre-Olympics season. How far do you think the Olympics are?
K: I think this season’s results will play a big part. Young skaters such as Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato are joining us, and competition at the test skate event will be fierce. I myself have been aiming at the Olympics, so I will make all-out efforts to achieve that goal.
--We don’t know yet what lies ahead, but what is your goal this season?
K: I want to be on the podium at the Nationals, and to be on Team Japan for the Worlds and the 4CC.

--The End--
 
Thank you so much, rRainbow! 🥰
Very interesting stuff about the thought process behind his decisions to keep his programmes, and how Hiraike-sensei helped him to reach a decision. I hope Misha wasn't upset!
 
Absolutely love their interactions, they made me laugh so much!
I was also very touched when Shoma pointed out that Kazuki couldn't get selected for JGPs as a junior, but now he's at the very top of the list, and that's amazing 😭 Thank you, Shoma!
 
Good news! Kazuki leads after the SP at Western Sectionals with a score of 83.62 :clap:
Here are the full results: https://twitter.com/kaz9804803/status/1322030073206120450
He did 4T3T 4S(fall) 3A, here is his protocols: https://twitter.com/Tomono_Infonet/status/1322029978246995968
As you can see, his 4T3T and 3A got good GOE, and reports say his 4S looked good too, he just had an unfortunate slip on the landing.
His spins seemed OK (two level 4s and one level 3), but he got level 2 in StSq.
Judges were extremely stingy on PCS in his tournament, though... Sigh.

He skates in last tomorrow :drama:
Here's the detailed schedule: https://twitter.com/kaz9804803/status/1322038236986814464
 
Congrats to Kazuki! Well-deserved. He delivered the cleanest layout. Good luck in the free.
@Kirara, please share any videos you may find on social networks :pray:
 
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