Shoma Uno: 2014-2024 | Page 22 | Golden Skate

Shoma Uno: 2014-2024

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If I'm understanding this correctly, Pigeon Post is going to publish an interview they did exclusively with Shoma on September 3, soon on their website. Meanwhile, they have tweeted some Q&A from a joint interview. I've translated (& paraphrased) what we have for now. Please let me know for any mistakes.

https://twitter.com/ppsk8/status/643700850674655232
Looking back on last season: "There were good competitions and bad competitions, it was a season where a lot of changes occurred. When I look back on it, I have a good impression of it, where more positive things happened than negative things."

https://twitter.com/ppsk8/status/643701155432783872
His thought on the new season: "Competitions for juniors start from August so as a senior, I feel like 'finally, a competition' but since the off-season is longer, I think I have more time to get accustomed to the programs so I'll do my best. I'm in the role of a chaser again so I want to enjoy the competitions."

https://twitter.com/ppsk8/status/643701467249950720
Asked about how much he practices jumps: "I practice 4T the most because it has the lowest success rate but I practice all the triple jumps equally because I don't want to neglect them. But I think I practice the toe loop and the axel the most. My success rate with the 4T is 70%."

https://twitter.com/ppsk8/status/643701818489311232
Asked about the other quad jumps: "Unlike the 3A where I was practicing it tensely, I'm having fun practicing them." He's practicing the 4S and also the 4Lo which Stephane Lambiel recommended for him.

https://twitter.com/ppsk8/status/643702177614053376
"When I did some exhibitions with Stephane Lambiel and Johnny Weir, I thought they were really good and they 'owned' each and every movement of theirs. It's like you wan to copy them, but you can't… it was theirs only and they were really attractive."

https://twitter.com/ppsk8/status/643702725805346816
Regarding Japan Open: "It's a competition where there'll be many people in the audience who'll be cheering loudly. I don't know if I'll get nervous or excited but I hope to give a fantastic performance so I'll be training hard for it."

https://twitter.com/ppsk8/status/643703082140897280
He likes to play games on his mobile phone and asked if he plays to relax, his reply was, "I'm told by other skaters that I play it too much but it's becoming more of a 'job' than a way to relax because I don't want to lose."

https://twitter.com/ppsk8/status/643703420755427328
Asked to self-evaluate himself, Uno says that he's "still a mediocre skater who can do so-so" and nothing more.

------

I'm glad he did ice shows during the off-season so he had a chance to watch Stephane and Johnny closely. They should be great role models for him. And I didn't know he's been practicing the 4Lo too.
Good luck to him this week! Hopefully there'll be videos uploaded soon after :bow:
 
Aww, bless him. He always is so humble about his abilities. in many ways, it is good as he is not brash and it makes him work hard. However, I do hope he gives himself time to rejoice when he does well or improves and develops skills too.
 
ioanap said:
Self-deprecating again I see. :drama: Thank you for the translations, mikaboo!
Click to expand...

TheGrandSophy said:
Aww, bless him. He always is so humble about his abilities. in many ways, it is good as he is not brash and it makes him work hard. However, I do hope he gives himself time to rejoice when he does well or improves and develops skills too.
Click to expand...

I didn't expect anything more (or less?) from him:laugh: but good if it works for him, rather than putting himself under too much pressure (like Sota). He probably already gets that from everyone else :drama:
 
mikaboo said:
I didn't expect anything more (or less?) from him:laugh: but good if it works for him, rather than putting himself under too much pressure (like Sota). He probably already gets that from everyone else :drama:
Click to expand...

The Japanese media can be a... bit much, can't they? :ohwell:

I mean, they christen everyone promising as 'the next big thing' and don't give enough breathing space, from my observation.
 
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By Shoma standards, that was a complete disaster. The last time he got a score like this in the SP was probably 2011 so that says a lot. The 4T and the 3A were doomed from the take-off (what's with the leg wrap?) and he probably thought they'd give him a 4T<<. The rest of his skating was quality, as always.

I think it's too early to predict things based on a single competition, whether it's a good one or a bad one. And too early to panic or be stressed over a Challenger series event so early in the season. Maybe that's just me, I've been desensitized ever since I had to sit through Machida's GPF free and subsequent retirement. :slink:

In any case, it's better to have a meltdown now than later. He put the 3A in the second half of the program and the new layout, as well as his perfectionism might have contributed to this bad performance. We'll see what he does in the free but it's best we be patient with him, it's his senior debut and he's under a lot of media pressure and scrutiny.
 
Shoma US Classic FS

Much better. Thank goodness.

Still, I am a little worried how exhausted he was by the end and he clutched his leg. Was it just nervous exhaustion or something else?

Hopefully, he got his 'bomb' out the way as he really didn't seem himself.

With Keiji

He is so cute and he is smiling so hopefully all is well.
 
TheGrandSophy said:
Still, I am a little worried how exhausted he was by the end and he clutched his leg. Was it just nervous exhaustion or something else?
Click to expand...
Well, he did have a scary fall on his 3Lz. He seriously needs someone to help him with that jump. Anthony Liu kind of fixed it last season but it's not working anymore.
 
Yeah, I was wondering if he could get access to a jump coach regularly. He came on a lot with Liu's help for that short time. But, under pressure bad habits come back. I think he really needs some longer term help.
 
MAXSwagg said:
Is Mihoko his primary coach or Machiko? Any who, so glad he had an okay free skate.
Click to expand...

I think it's supposedly Machiko, but maybe Mihoko in actuality because Machiko is getting old and wants to retire when Kanako decides to call it quits.

I agree with everyone who thinks he needs a new jump coach if he doesn't already have one. His jump landing and falls are so scary looking. But if it's going to be long-term, who should it be? Nagakubo is supposed to be the best jump coach in Japan, but Rika's lutz doesn't give me much confidence. How about Onishi? I'm thinking that the lutz jumps of his former/current students (Tatsuki, Sota, Mitsuki) are quite good although I'm no technical specialist. Also, I wonder if it's possible for him to replace the 3T with a 3Lo as a second jump in the future if he's going to continue popping the 4T into something he's not sure what he popped it into (if that makes sense). Or replace the 4T with a 4S or a 4Lo :p
-----

I was looking for old pictures of Keiji and Shoma and found this video. Is Shoma sitting on Keiji's lap? Keiji's going to look like Shoma's dad no matter how old Shoma's going to get :laugh2:

Anyway, congratulations to Shoma on getting 1st place in the FS! (and yay, a silver medal for Keiji!)
 
Tatsuki has always been a good lutz jumper and he only started working with Onishi in 2013. I wish he could at least give Shoma some advice, just like Mura helped him with his quads. I've said this before, but they should really consider sending him back to Anthony Liu; he should become his permanent coach. He taught him how to jump the 3A and fixed his 3Lz in the span of a few months (maybe weeks?) last season. There's only so much Yamada and Higuchi can do, and if Shoma is to become a top skater he should get a better jump coach and start working with different choreographers in order to keep improving.
 
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ioanap said:
Tatsuki has always been a good lutz jumper and he only started working with Onishi in 2013. I wish he could at least give Shoma some advice, just like Mura helped him with his quads. I've said this before, but they should really consider sending him back to Anthony Liu; he should become his permanent coach. He taught him how to jump the 3A and fixed his 3Lz in the span of a few months (maybe weeks?) last season. There's only so much Yamada and Higuchi can do, and if Shoma is to become a top skater he should get a better jump coach and start working with different choreographers in order to keep improving.
Click to expand...

Anthony Liu would be ideal but the reason I was only thinking of coaches in Japan is because I don't see Shoma as the type to drop everything and move abroad. He could totally surprise me by doing it though. I guess it depends on what he wants to achieve through his skating career.
I just realized that Shoma is probably in his last year in high school now. And here I was, concerned that he'll miss out on his high school education if he were to live abroad (because he doesn't look like the type to study if left by himself) but maybe he'll make a move somewhere next year. Or, even more likely, enter Chukyo University...
Yamada and Higuchi aren't stupid so hopefully they'll get someone to help him on the lutz by SkAm. Any help would be welcome from Machida :)
 
I hope Shoma will be in Milwaukee, the location of Skate America, earlier than this time for preparaton.
Because he seemed very tired at the Int'l Classic, and I'm afraid the time lag might be one of the reasons :think:
Of course the altitude affected as well, I think.

It's strange, but as far as I feel from my experience, moving eastbound by flight (in this case, to North America) may make you more tired than westbound flight (for example, Europe). Some of my European friends say the same thing. They say it requires them longer to get used to the local time when they come to Japan, and not so much when they go back to their home country. And, I heard Takahiko Kozuka had mentioned he felt like fatigued more at the competition in North America.

And I also heard Shoma had not experienced any competition in North America before Int'l Classic.

I sincerely hope he can compete the Skate America in a perfect condition.
 
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