Shoma Uno: 2014-2024

[Arriba627]

Thanks for the video! Also, the opening of the show. All credits to 221320 Green for the videos.

https://youtu.be/QexoktGjqUg

Shoma's wearing his red costume and doing "scary" split jumps! Sweet how Kanako sort of gestures to introduce him.

I didn't realize that Machida was quite popular, you can hear some excitedly screaming ladies in the audience when he came out.

Darn -- the video shows BLOCKED for me. I heard he had said something about scary split jumps. Must not be his thing. He may need Jason to tutor him in that!

Machida is still an awesome skater. His new 9 minute Don Q program is posted in his thread and also in a special thread in The Edge. Guess it's good Shoma isn't going to skate to Don Q like I had hoped he would. I saw Machida skate to Lavender in 2014, and it's fun to see the differences in his and Shoma's versions. That was Machida's last year of competing.

 

[demarinis5]

Darn -- the video shows BLOCKED for me. I heard he had said something about scary split jumps. Must not be his thing. He may need Jason to tutor him in that!

Machida is still an awesome skater. His new 9 minute Don Q program is posted in his thread and also in a special thread in The Edge. Guess it's good Shoma isn't going to skate to Don Q like I had hoped he would. I saw Machida skate to Lavender in 2014, and it's fun to see the differences in his and Shoma's versions. That was Machida's last year of competing.

Try this one "See you Again"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxxMYA9oyvk

 

[Arriba627]

^^^Didn't see any scary split jumps, but it seems like he's made a few changes to See You Again. I thought it looked good. Love that he seems very at ease in the interview, and (as always!) I wonder what he's saying!

 

[Scarymouche]

^^^Didn't see any scary split jumps, but it seems like he's made a few changes to See You Again. I thought it looked good. Love that he seems very at ease in the interview, and (as always!) I wonder what he's saying!

Cantilover translated the interview! As always, Shoma is very classy, and very humble.

 

[Arriba627]

Shoma's wearing his red costume and doing "scary" split jumps! Sweet how Kanako sort of gestures to introduce him.

Ah ha! Found a video of the opening of the show(although it has no sound) and saw the scary split jumps. I thought Shoma looked good doing them. Ok, now he has to do that in his Winter program. A new move!

_______________________________________________

Finally had a chance to watch Shoma's This Town EX that he skated at the World's gala. It took me long enough. There were just a few comments from Tanith White and Ryan Bradley (from NBC Sports Network).

T: These exhibition performances provide a unique opportunity for some of the younger skaters (Shoma just 19 years old) to really develop their performance skills, the way to interact with the audience without the pressure of those quad jumps looming . It’s nice to see him developing that side of his skating.

R: Being only 19, he skates with such a maturity. Everything he does is done with quality. He moves off of his center with ease. So to be able to do that and also do such incredible jumps – that’s why he’s second place in the world right now.

T: A beautiful performance from world silver medalist, Shoma Uno. So many incredible Japanese skaters for Shoma to look up to…He is certainly making a name for himself.

 

[Hronop]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9eLUaGcmrk

I don't have any idea who's the person behind this video, but I think it's an amazing overview of the 2016-7 season. Very nicely made.

 

[Arriba627]

Looks like it's official! The French GP event will be in Grenoble, Nov. 16-19. Maybe it has already been posted elsewhere, but I was looking at the ISU site thinking "Come on! Tell us!", and there it was. And now only 40 days until they tell us who goes where! Where oh where will the Winter Prince go??!!

 

[mirai4life]

rooting for him for the OG or ...any color

 

[Arriba627]

Now that it's off season and there is actually a little time to think, I've been mulling over in my mind what an amazing season of growth and improvement this has been for Shoma - not just in terms of jumps / elements, but in on-ice and off-ice experiences whether they have been technical, artistic, personal, or otherwise. I started making a list and was surprised at how many different things made this a terrific season for the Lavender / Winter Prince! And help me, what did I leave out?!

--Stabilized landing on 4T
--Added rolling 3s entry to 4T
--Added 4Lo, jumping it for the first time at 4CC (with a good GOE)
--Improved 3A technique -- both the jump and the entrances/exits***
--Increased success rate on his 3-jump-combo and got rid of toe hammer on the flip part of it***
--Made great strides in his expression, artistry, and musicality
--Skated in more than 30 off-season ice shows
--Learned 3 new EXs
--Worked with 2 new choreographers
--Went overseas twice to train with jump specialist
--Was on the podium at every competition he entered (5 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze)
--Broke 100 in the SP at 4CC with a score of 100.25
--Scored over 200 in the FS at Worlds with a score of 214.45
--Joined the 300 Club at Coupe du Printemps with a combined total of 303.68
--First man in the season to receive +3 GOE from all 9 judges on a spin (his beautiful GPF FS combo spin)
--Played an important role for Team Japan in the team event competitions, Japan Open and WTT - both as a skater and a cheerleader! ***
--Skated in a completely new style (for Loco) where he had to perfect a new way of moving
--Fought hard in his biggest battle – the battle against his own nerves
--Executed his team’s well-thought-out plan to help him peak at the right time
--Trained smarter, not harder
--Continued his pattern of determination, grit, and humility
--Improved in his interview skills
--Improved his language skills and can now in English say “thank you”, “hi”, “oh my God” and "what is the question again?"; in Spanish he now knows one word, “piantao”
--Gave us all a few heart attacks with his costume changes (wait, maybe that wasn't a good thing! :scard7



***Added

 

[Latremu]

Now that it's off season and there is actually a little time to think, I've been mulling over in my mind what an amazing season of growth and improvement this has been for Shoma... And help me, what did I leave out?!

--Was on the podium at every competition he entered (5 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze)

--Improved in his interview skills
--Improved his language skills and can now in English say “thank you”, “hi” and “oh my God”; in Spanish he now knows one word, “piantao”
--Gave us all a few heart attacks with his costume changes (wait, maybe that wasn't a good thing! :scard7

What about placing first in the men's skating in the team events, and thus being essential in winning Japan Gold for the Japan Open AND World Team Trophy (the latter being completely unexpected! The ladies did so well too!). Plus being a very supportive teammate throughout. I loved some of his facial expressions while watching his teammates skate.

Also, add "What's the question again?" to his English sentences. (12:54 on video)

https://youtu.be/C7kqd285XQo

Not sure if this has been posted, but here's the show Medalists on Ice sometime after Japanese Nationals. He debuted the quad loop (listen to the commentators) unexpectedly during "See you Again". The first part is the interview. I don't understand Japanese, I only know he said he was so frustrated after the SP in Nationals that he sent his cellphone back to Nagoya to avoid distractions (but later regretted it after he won, haha). The skate starts around 1:30 in the video. So fun to find things during YouTube surfing!

https://youtu.be/1Ri8Ajf2sPU

 

[synesthesia]

I agree with your list, Arriba!


One more thing that stands out to me is how much his 3A has improved. It used to give him so much trouble, it seemed he'd rather eat vegetables than to ever befriend that bloody beast of a jump. Looking at the past season he missed it only in his FS at Skate America and 4CC. Other than that it has become such a strong jump for him with good air position and distance, plus secure landing and very good flow out. He's now so stable with it he added non-standard transitions (inside spread-eagle + cantilever) in and out of it and even experimented with tagging a 4T (!) at the end. Yes, the latter might have been underrotated (it was difficult to judge from the footage) and no, we obviously won't see this combo in competition, but boy is this unbelievable for someone, who botched more than half of his 3A attempts just two seasons ago and basically didn't even have one prior to that!


My personal highlight is his 3A+1Lo+3F, which has already become a signature combination for him as far as I'm concerned. I could watch that one on replay all day long! He's one of very few skaters, who manages to make that infamous "stepout" in the middle look like an actual aesthetically pleasing jump.



On the topic of working with other choreographers: Stephane has hinted at working with Shoma during the off-season again! Possibly to choreograph an ex for him and maybe to fine-tune his competitive program(s)? What's everybody's best guess? Steph is a "Four Seasons" and "Nessun Dorma" expert after all!

 

[Arriba627]

What about placing first in the men's skating in the team events, and thus being essential in winning Japan Gold for the Japan Open AND World Team Trophy (the latter being completely unexpected! The ladies did so well too!). Plus being a very supportive teammate throughout. I loved some of his facial expressions while watching his teammates skate.

Also, add "What's the question again?" to his English sentences. (12:54 on video)

https://youtu.be/C7kqd285XQo

Yes, will add something about the Japan Open & WTT...Whoa! I never noticed the "What's the question again?" thing. Could he possibly be studying English in his spare time?! That would definitely be something to add to the list. I know he had said he knew he needed to learn more English. Hmmm. :scratch3:

 

[Arriba627]

One more thing that stands out to me is how much his 3A has improved. It used to give him so much trouble, it seemed he'd rather eat vegetables than to ever befriend that bloody beast of a jump. Looking at the past season he missed it only in his FS at Skate America and 4CC. Other than that it has become such a strong jump for him with good air position and distance, plus secure landing and very good flow out. He's now so stable with it he added non-standard transitions (inside spread-eagle + cantilever) in and out of it and even experimented with tagging a 4T (!) at the end.

My personal highlight is his 3A+1Lo+3F, which has already become a signature combination for him as far as I'm concerned. I could watch that one on replay all day long! He's one of very few skaters, who manages to make that infamous "stepout" in the middle look like an actual aesthetically pleasing jump.

On the topic of working with other choreographers: Stephane has hinted at working with Shoma during the off-season again! Possibly to choreograph an ex for him and maybe to fine-tune his competitive program(s)? What's everybody's best guess? Steph is a "Four Seasons" and "Nessun Dorma" expert after all!

Yes! Don't know how I forgot the 3A and (my favorite) the 3 jump combo. The 3 A is a thing of beauty! On the 3 jump combo his consistency is higher, and he has pretty much gotten rid of the toe hammer on the flip. I really LOVED the way TheGrandSophy described his 3 jump combo as looking like a pebble skipping across the water. Going to add these two things to the list.

Oh, so happy to hear about Stephane! I loved what he did with his student's (Deniss Vasiljevs) "Four Seasons". This is the best news! Since Shoma now has 3 EXs that are relatively new, my guess would be that Steph would help out on the fine tuning. They seem to work so well together! Hooray! I was afraid he might be too busy to do things with other skaters, since he now is coaching Deniss.

 

[xeyra]

His 3A-1Lo-3F has become a thing of beauty indeed. :luv17: I love that he no longer seems to even have a slight wait before going into the 3F; it's so very smooth now, you barely notice there's a half loop in between.

 

[MaiKatze]

Thank you so much for posting your personal best-of-Shoma this season, Arriba! By the way I your new avatar. Hehe....

There is so much...evolution and progression for Shoma during these 6 months, it was incredible, and I think I never saw this before in FS. I think what impressed me the most this season was the peaking at Worlds, at exactly the right time. And his cool-head. With all his experience Fernandez fell apart and out of the podium. Shoma WATCHED Yuzuru's World Record Performance and it didn't faze him at all. He thought about 'enjoying' and 'having fun' doing what he loves. This is what seperates the top from those with 'potential' who have the talent, but not the nerves. To deliver when it really counts. It's the reason why I'm not going to be afraid of practice reports or warm-up mess ups ever again. Competition, for Shoma, is something else.

 

[demarinis5]

His 3A-1Lo-3F has become a thing of beauty indeed. :luv17: I love that he no longer seems to even have a slight wait before going into the 3F; it's so very smooth now, you barely notice there's a half loop in between.

This is my favorite jump combo too and what impressed me so much was that he put that difficult combo
near the end of his FS, on tired legs, and that is quite an impression to leave on the judges mind. He is an incredible athlete.

 

[Arriba627]

Thank you so much for posting your personal best-of-Shoma this season, Arriba! By the way I your new avatar. Hehe....

There is so much...evolution and progression for Shoma during these 6 months, it was incredible, and I think I never saw this before in FS. I think what impressed me the most this season was the peaking at Worlds, at exactly the right time. And his cool-head. With all his experience Fernandez fell apart and out of the podium. Shoma WATCHED Yuzuru's World Record Performance and it didn't faze him at all. He thought about 'enjoying' and 'having fun' doing what he loves. This is what seperates the top from those with 'potential' who have the talent, but not the nerves. To deliver when it really counts. It's the reason why I'm not going to be afraid of practice reports or warm-up mess ups ever again. Competition, for Shoma, is something else.

It was fun to put a list together. The more I thought about Shoma's improvements, the more I realized when you took each thing separately, it didn't seem like such a "big deal". But the total of everything he did was pretty amazing - including some things that were a little more intangible. And I'm sure there were other things I forgot! Just thinking of his progress with his nerves - I remember seeing this You Tube of him early in the season at Rostelecom where before skating he almost seems as if he were hyperventilating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_CoYMxlMkY Looks like Fluffy is working her magic to get him to calm down. Such a difference by the end of the year! The practices are always a little scary, but then he comes out and skates the real thing and he makes you go

topic: :giveup: BTW, hope you had an enjoyable birthday! Did you receive the hoodie you were hoping for?

 

[MaiKatze]

Unfortunately no hoodie for me, but that's ok. Rewatching Daisuke videos is enough joy for me.

Speaking of joy, I read somewhere that Shoma has just one expression on his face, he always plays the 'intense' character. I totally disagree with that. It's another thing that has really been obvious the more the season went on. He often has a big smile on his face, almost a laugh, and a twinkle in his eyes. He's one of the very few, skaters who does more than the 'concentrated' face and he plays with his expression. It's such a talent to have.

Did you guys see this? Shoma and his brother at the supermarket (his brother is 4! years younger than him)

Shoma's aunt strikes again, handmade pressies for Maé Bérénice Méité.

I love birds. So this post resonated with me. Isn't that the sweetest?

Just realized that this picture of Shoma and Itsuki is older. Why haven't I seen it before? :noshake:

 

[MaiKatze]

More birds.

 

[Arriba627]

Unfortunately no hoodie for me, but that's ok. Rewatching Daisuke videos is enough joy for me.

Speaking of joy, I read somewhere that Shoma has just one expression on his face, he always plays the 'intense' character. I totally disagree with that. It's another thing that has really been obvious the more the season went on. He often has a big smile on his face, almost a laugh, and a twinkle in his eyes. He's one of the very few, skaters who does more than the 'concentrated' face and he plays with his expression. It's such a talent to have.

Did you guys see this? Shoma and his brother at the supermarket (his brother is 4! years younger than him)


I love birds. So this post resonated with me. Isn't that the sweetest?

I remember seeing that supermarket photo and wondering where it was taken. Sounds crazy, but just from that picture, the store looks familiar to me (as in Whole Foods), and I wondered if it was taken in the U.S. I am thinking eventually Itsuki will probably be much taller than Shomita! :luv17:...How ironic that Shoma's photo would be taken near the vegetables!

Those bird photos are awesome! Someone is a very creative thinker. I am the proud (and sometimes annoyed) owner of a beautiful blue and gold macaw parrot, and birds have always been near and dear to my heart. Wonder if he has any blue and gold costumes?!

The expression thing is so weird. How many skaters are good with expression? I think it's another skill that has just been gradually going by the wayside. I know I don't see Shoma as a one-expression skater. I noticed in something I was watching the other day, he actually gave this sort of cheeky little grin to the judges during one skate. It was really funny...Just did something crazy today - I went back and read the Lombardia Trophy Men's FS thread. It was SO interesting, because it was the first time most people saw Loco (in September). I had been watching it from ice show performances since June, but it is AWESOME to read the initial comments on it about how people think it's so awful and they're so disappointed, etc. etc. For me, it's just more testimony to how hard he worked on the program itself and how hard he worked to "sell" it. Very fun. ETA -- There were also comments about people not liking the Loco costume, which seem really funny to me now.

Glad for all the Dai fans that there are more videos out of the new show he is doing! Enjoy!