Shoma Uno: 2014-2024

[Bel]

^^^Called this morning to see if I could find out specific dates for the August training, but they couldn't tell me yet. After apologizing for being such a pest , I told them it was quite a coup to get Shoma for their show. They never asked him, he offered to do it! Yes, he is a really good guy...

:agree:

But what a program -- love the running steps, the little hop-turns, the spin where he is holding his blade and he lowers the blade, the cool pause where he faces the audience, the nuances, the passion, the intensity, the fingers, Ok that's enough -- I LOVE IT! And we probably still haven't seen the for-real costume.

I am ready for the real costume to make it's first appearance. I've seen worse (insert dead chicken ) and this is ok but I'm not a fan of the onesies. They remind of babies and Shoma's certainly not one :noshake:

Finally managed to watch Shoma's Winter at DOI and he had a new variation on his first spin after the half Biellman! He lowered his leg slowly, blade still caught, while spinning. I LOVED it! Keep this, Shoma!

I'm always happy to see new variations on spins. I loved that too!

 

[MaiKatze]

^^^Called this morning to see if I could find out specific dates for the August training, but they couldn't tell me yet. After apologizing for being such a pest , I told them it was quite a coup to get Shoma for their show. They never asked him, he offered to do it! Yes, he is a really good guy...So he has The Ice in Nagoya from Aug. 4-6. Even if he comes here pretty quickly, probably the soonest he is at the rink is Aug. 8 or 9. I'm gone Aug. 2-13 so would hopefully still get to see him a few times. Of course, this is still just speculation on his dates.

I can't....he's never going to lose my support, no matter what happens....how can he even exist?

 

[Arriba627]

I am ready for the real costume to make it's first appearance. I've seen worse (insert dead chicken ) and this is ok but I'm not a fan of the onesies. They remind of babies and Shoma's certainly not one :noshake:

They have to be really careful with his costumes because of his height. All one color tends to make him look taller. And two different colors for top and bottom chop him in half. True confessions, I do have a weakness for the leprechaun costume. Last year we didn't see the "for real" costumes until Lombardia, so we may still have a bit of a wait.

 

[Bel]

They have to be really careful with his costumes because of his height. All one color tends to make him look taller. And two different colors for top and bottom chop him in half. True confessions, I do have a weakness for the leprechaun costume. Last year we didn't see the "for real" costumes until Lombardia, so we may still have a bit of a wait.

I guess Loco was technically a onesie but it had the jacket so it didn't look like one. I think the Worlds sp costume was really good even though it had 2 colors. They have some thinking to do.

Maybe you have a little bit of Irish in you!

 

[xeyra]

I guess Loco was technically a onesie but it had the jacket so it didn't look like one. I think the Worlds sp costume was really good even though it had 2 colors. They have some thinking to do.

Maybe you have a little bit of Irish in you!

Black pants make legs look longer, I think, especially with a higher waistline. They work really well on Shoma too. I'm not sure if any future costume will top Loco for me, because that's one of the best men's costumes I've seen in figure skating, but I am enjoying the costume he is using for Winter at the shows. I'm still not sure if it's the same or different than the Primtemps one, but it has a much better mesh color and I love the red detail at the back.

 

[Latremu]

^^^Called this morning to see if I could find out specific dates for the August training, but they couldn't tell me yet. After apologizing for being such a pest , I told them it was quite a coup to get Shoma for their show. They never asked him, he offered to do it! Yes, he is a really good guy...

In offering to skate in the show, he offered to:
- lose 2 days in round trip travel and have to deal with jet lag, to be there for a few days to skate in the show
- probably, pay for his own flight, food, and lodging for the stay (or at least pay for some of it)
- bring in the goodies for his fans (Arriba and the KitKats! How many do you have left?)
- spend time taking a gazillion pictures with fans and the kids

Seriously, how sweet is he? No wonder BESP uncle Chris was raving about him during Worlds! He really is a good guy. Very thoughtful. Not a side of him that's generally well-known, and I think he's so modest and humble that he prefers to keep it that way.

I also actually liked the "leprechaun" costume, at least the top, although I didn't mind the green velvet pants too much. I thought it fit the theme of the prince singing "Nessum Dorma" and anticipating his victory over the princess Turandot, despite the fact that Shoma was so boyish that year when he skated it. Whatever the costume will be, it's going to be interesting. At least we know it's not going to be a shirt and pair of pants that you can buy in any store.

Makes me wonder if he really will perform his long program in THE ICE? It's coming up end of July! Not long now.

I hope you get to see him in Chicago again, Arriba!

 

[Latremu]

Black pants make legs look longer, I think, especially with a higher waistline. They work really well on Shoma too. I'm not sure if any future costume will top Loco for me, because that's one of the best men's costumes I've seen in figure skating, but I am enjoying the costume he is using for Winter at the shows. I'm still not sure if it's the same or different than the Primtemps one, but it has a much better mesh color and I love the red detail at the back.

I agree with the black pants. Sort of downplays his "huge" thighs, too. Looking at the detail of the Winter costume, it seems to be the Printemps one (there's also the red color at the back), but it looked like it was incomplete back then- less sequins and the neckline was not finished. Definitely looks better now.

 

[xeyra]

I agree with the black pants. Sort of downplays his "huge" thighs, too. Looking at the detail of the Winter costume, it seems to be the Printemps one (there's also the red color at the back), but it looked like it was incomplete back then- less sequins and the neckline was not finished. Definitely looks better now.

The Primtemps stream was so low quality I didn't even notice the red on the back. I only remember crying at the really yellow mesh he had on that version of the outfit. I think the mesh color got changed too because it's not as glaring now? Or maybe they covered it up with more sequins as you say. Whatever they did, it worked. It's also an outfit that looks great under show lights.

 

[Hronop]

On a different note -- I have recently become quite obsessed with Sho's cantilever (I am sure many of you enjoyed that compilation), so I started 'collecting' his cantilevers and looking at them in some detail (as you certainly know, there are many nuances there in his hand positions, how deep his body bends, etc.). It's interesting that you can always tell how tired he is at the end of the program just looking at his cantilever move, since he always 'cantilevers' (does that work as a verb?) at the very end. At the Worlds 2017, for instance, he made this 'simpler' version (not quite reaching his usual 90 degrees angle between his legs and his body), because he was clearly so exhausted at the end. So, I am now thinking about using these materials and posting some observations in my blog (it's in Russian, so forgive me for not giving you a link).
Now, I vaguely remember seeing a video here where Shoma and someone else (some female skater, I think) are doing that cantilever move on the floor (and both fall at the end, but Sho falls second, hehe). I scrolled through like 50 pages of this thread, but could not find it -- I would be really grateful if someone can post this link again. Also, I remember someone saying here that Sho started practicing that move at elementary school. Is there any other information or any really early videos of him doing it? Or is his 2010-11 EX ('Fly me to the Moon') the earliest recorded version?
Any help will be most welcome (and properly referenced in the blog)!

 

[0smile0]

On a different note -- I have recently become quite obsessed with Sho's cantilever (I am sure many of you enjoyed that compilation), so I started 'collecting' his cantilevers and looking at them in some detail (as you certainly know, there are many nuances there in his hand positions, how deep his body bends, etc.). It's interesting that you can always tell how tired he is at the end of the program just looking at his cantilever move, since he always 'cantilevers' (does that work as a verb?) at the very end. At the Worlds 2017, for instance, he made this 'simpler' version (not quite reaching his usual 90 degrees angle between his legs and his body), because he was clearly so exhausted at the end. So, I am now thinking about using these materials and posting some observations in my blog (it's in Russian, so forgive me for not giving you a link).
Now, I vaguely remember seeing a video here where Shoma and someone else (some female skater, I think) are doing that cantilever move on the floor (and both fall at the end, but Sho falls second, hehe). I scrolled through like 50 pages of this thread, but could not find it -- I would be really grateful if someone can post this link again. Also, I remember someone saying here that Sho started practicing that move at elementary school. Is there any other information or any really early videos of him doing it? Or is his 2010-11 EX ('Fly me to the Moon') the earliest recorded version?
Any help will be most welcome (and properly referenced in the blog)!

That's U.S. pair skater, Tara Kayne.
https://twitter.com/ak1ri2ngo17/status/810001006763225088

The earliest recorded video I know is 2009 Medalist on Ice.
You will need an account to watch it, though.

Shoma talked about cantilever a bit in the interview on "Cutting Edge 2011".
"The skaters who I practice together on same rink are Mai-chan, Mao-chan, Kanako-chan. There are lots of great skaters here. And the skater I often watched practice when I was little is Maekawa-kun. Why I startd practicing the eagle I am doing now (cantilever) is because I watched him practice it and wanted to try. ~”

Tadayoshi Maekawa was probably retired in around 2004-2005?, when Shoma just started figure skating.
http://ameblo.jp/seikeiboy/entry-12106658341.html
Second photo is his cantilever.

I think Shoma really got great influences from the skaters around him.

 

[Latremu]

On a different note -- I have recently become quite obsessed with Sho's cantilever (I am sure many of you enjoyed that compilation), so I started 'collecting' his cantilevers and looking at them in some detail (as you certainly know, there are many nuances there in his hand positions, how deep his body bends, etc.). It's interesting that you can always tell how tired he is at the end of the program just looking at his cantilever move, since he always 'cantilevers' (does that work as a verb?) at the very end. At the Worlds 2017, for instance, he made this 'simpler' version (not quite reaching his usual 90 degrees angle between his legs and his body), because he was clearly so exhausted at the end. So, I am now thinking about using these materials and posting some observations in my blog (it's in Russian, so forgive me for not giving you a link).
Now, I vaguely remember seeing a video here where Shoma and someone else (some female skater, I think) are doing that cantilever move on the floor (and both fall at the end, but Sho falls second, hehe).

Trying to look for it, found a different cantilever here:
https://twitter.com/Chatgris577/status/729859235983425536

 

[Arriba627]

On a different note -- I have recently become quite obsessed with Sho's cantilever (I am sure many of you enjoyed that compilation), so I started 'collecting' his cantilevers and looking at them in some detail (as you certainly know, there are many nuances there in his hand positions, how deep his body bends, etc.). It's interesting that you can always tell how tired he is at the end of the program just looking at his cantilever move, since he always 'cantilevers' (does that work as a verb?) at the very end. At the Worlds 2017, for instance, he made this 'simpler' version (not quite reaching his usual 90 degrees angle between his legs and his body), because he was clearly so exhausted at the end. So, I am now thinking about using these materials and posting some observations in my blog (it's in Russian, so forgive me for not giving you a link).
Now, I vaguely remember seeing a video here where Shoma and someone else (some female skater, I think) are doing that cantilever move on the floor (and both fall at the end, but Sho falls second, hehe). I scrolled through like 50 pages of this thread, but could not find it -- I would be really grateful if someone can post this link again. Also, I remember someone saying here that Sho started practicing that move at elementary school. Is there any other information or any really early videos of him doing it? Or is his 2010-11 EX ('Fly me to the Moon') the earliest recorded version?
Any help will be most welcome (and properly referenced in the blog)!

Oh, I see someone already beat me to it. That is one of my favorite U.S. pairs skaters -- Tarah Kayne of Tarah Kayne & Danny O'Shea. She and Shomita became friends when Tarah and Danny participated in some performances of The Ice in Japan last summer. www.instagram.com/p/BI9433zBecn.** My only recollection of them "goofing off" with the cantilever was a little clip on Daily Motion. That was backstage at Skate America 2016. And I just LOVED when Danny lifted Shoma overhead and you hear Tarah say "Say hi Shoma!" and you hear this little voice go "Hi" as if to say "Put me down!"

Happened to bump into Tarah and Danny at Worlds 2016. They are two of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. Danny is from the Chicago area. https://pic.twitter.com/nmvrtTllCV

**ETA -- Hey, wait a minute. Did Tarah really get to touch the mighty thighs?! Not fair!

 

[Arriba627]

I guess Loco was technically a onesie but it had the jacket so it didn't look like one. I think the Worlds sp costume was really good even though it had 2 colors. They have some thinking to do.

Maybe you have a little bit of Irish in you!

Pretty sure Loco was 2 pieces, and you can see the jacket zipped up the back. That was such a phenomenal costume, it's going to be hard to top that! That's true, the Worlds SP costume did look good. I think the blouse-y look of the top gave him a bigger appearance, and the black pants did make his (teeny) legs look longer. Who knows, maybe they read the Golden Skate Fan Fest that kept saying "PLEASE, no more deep Vs!"...I'm sure they're putting lots of thought into the Turandot costume. Seem to remember reading somewhere that the color GREEN is associated with Turandot. I don't know why. Oh no, another green costume?! :whack: (No, no Irish blood in my heritage. Although I would be proud of it if there were. I had many people speak Finnish to me. Don't know if I look Finnish? )

Latremu, I also thought about what you said about all the expenses Shomita incurred in order to come here. He is pretty amazing. Some still seem to want to make him into a big talker, but although he's better now, I just don't see it happening. He just seems like a quieter, humble guy who would rather let his skates do the talking!

In offering to skate in the show, he offered to:
- lose 2 days in round trip travel and have to deal with jet lag, to be there for a few days to skate in the show -- I HEARD HE WAS SO EXHAUSTED, HE LEFT WITHOUT SAYING GOOD-BYE WHICH IS UNUSUAL FOR HIM
- probably, pay for his own flight, food, and lodging for the stay (or at least pay for some of it) -- PROBABLY MINIMUM $1,200 PER TICKET FOR HIM (AND MOM TOO), HOTEL $150 PER NIGHT, FOOD ?
- bring in the goodies for his fans (Arriba and the KitKats! How many do you have left?) -- 400 YEN PER BAG; 11 LEFT - I DON'T EAT THEM, I JUST LOOK AT THEM! :scard8:
- spend time taking a gazillion pictures with fans and the kids -- THE PATIENCE OF A SAINT

 

[Bel]

I agree with the black pants. Sort of downplays his "huge" thighs, too. Looking at the detail of the Winter costume, it seems to be the Printemps one (there's also the red color at the back), but it looked like it was incomplete back then- less sequins and the neckline was not finished. Definitely looks better now.

I agree with the thighs comment. We don't want judges to be too distracted when watching him skate!

Pretty sure Loco was 2 pieces, and you can see the jacket zipped up the back. That was such a phenomenal costume, it's going to be hard to top that! That's true, the Worlds SP costume did look good. I think the blouse-y look of the top gave him a bigger appearance, and the black pants did make his (teeny) legs look longer. Who knows, maybe they read the Golden Skate Fan Fest that kept saying "PLEASE, no more deep Vs!"...I'm sure they're putting lots of thought into the Turandot costume. Seem to remember reading somewhere that the color GREEN is associated with Turandot. I don't know why. Oh no, another green costume?! :whack: (No, no Irish blood in my heritage. Although I would be proud of it if there were. I had many people speak Finnish to me. Don't know if I look Finnish? )

I guess I have to eat my words a little bit since Loco was a great costume. Apparently there's a song called green sleeves and Turandot is sometimes referred as lady with the green sleeves.

topic: You never know, you might have some Finnish ancestry in you! There was a big migration from Finland to America in the turn of the 18 - 19th century and a lot of them located in e.g. Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

 

[Hronop]

Thank you so much for your help, 0smile0, Arriba627 and Latremu, this is greatly appreciated! I am discovering so many configurations of Sho's cantilever now! Never really appreciated before how many versions he has for different occasions!

 

[Latremu]

In offering to skate in the show, he offered to:
- lose 2 days in round trip travel and have to deal with jet lag, to be there for a few days to skate in the show -- I HEARD HE WAS SO EXHAUSTED, HE LEFT WITHOUT SAYING GOOD-BYE WHICH IS UNUSUAL FOR HIM
- probably, pay for his own flight, food, and lodging for the stay (or at least pay for some of it) -- PROBABLY MINIMUM $1,200 PER TICKET FOR HIM (AND MOM TOO), HOTEL $150 PER NIGHT, FOOD ?
- bring in the goodies for his fans (Arriba and the KitKats! How many do you have left?) -- 400 YEN PER BAG; 11 LEFT - I DON'T EAT THEM, I JUST LOOK AT THEM! :scard8:
- spend time taking a gazillion pictures with fans and the kids -- THE PATIENCE OF A SAINT

Aw, the sacrifices he made. Really, what can we say? When I found out that the ice show was like a skating recital for the kids, I wondered who paid for his flight. In reality, it's like he paid to skate in the show. I idly thought the JSF might have funded some of it? Maybe his sponsors?- although they didn't really have a reason to do that. Anyway, whatever the case may be, a very generous and thoughtful act on his part. Also, his mom was with him?

I LOL'd at the "just looking at the kitkats" part! I imagine that 100 years from now, someone will just find those kit Kats and put them in a museum (well, at least the wrappers enclosing the disintegrated chocolate). You should label them so future generations know the significance of these particular candy bars! "Given by 2017 World Silver medalist (likely a future Gold medalist) Shoma Uno to super fan Arriba627 in the Glacier ice arena in Chicago". Fits the Back to the Future theme of the show!

To Hronop, you're very welcome. I enjoyed finding that clip. I'm glad 0smile0 also found what you were looking for. Good luck on your project!

 

[Kanna]

um..he paid. that's why he joins all shows in Jpn. During the interview of Darts one, he said that there's no profit actually minus in his skating life, I mean 'money', experience'd be worth. Look at DOI, only Kose cosmetic's a sponsor. poor Shoma. that's why I decide to see many shows. maybe others think same here.

 

[Latremu]

um..he paid. that's why he joins all shows in Jpn. During the interview of Darts one, he said that there's no profit actually minus in his skating life, I mean 'money', experience'd be worth. Look at DOI, only Kose cosmetic's a sponsor. poor Shoma. that's why I decide to see many shows. maybe others think same here.

Wow, he really is a precious human being! :luv17:

topic: Kanna, I'm so glad you and many of the other Japanese fans are so supportive of the figure skaters and ice shows. I had to educate myself on how expensive it is to skate. I knew it was expensive, but now I know that it's EXTREMELY expensive. It requires so much passion to pursue the sport/art, with no guaranteed financial rewards. Definitely not a sport that everyone can participate in (kudos to those supportive parents!), but one most people can enjoy watching (if not in person, at least online).

 

[Arriba627]

Figure skating prize money is extremely low in comparison to other sports, but the fact that Shoma is winning different events doesn't exactly hurt! :luv17: (Go Shomita! ) Here is what I can see of his prize (and other) money:

--Japan Open 1st place team -- $20,000
--Skate America 1st -- $18,000
--Rostelecom 2nd -- $13,000
--Grand Prix Final 3rd -- $12,000
--4 Continents 3rd -- $8,000
--Worlds 2nd -- $27,000
--World Team Trophy 1st place team -- $25,000
--Ice shows 33 x $5,000 -- $165,000
--Japan Nats 1st (couldn't find)
--Top tier athlete stipend from JSF (don't know)
--Toyota salary (don't know)

So without knowing 3 key pieces of the puzzle, it seems that Shomita earned $289,000+. Sounds like a lot of money, but he does also have a lot of expenses. Without the ice show money, his intake wouldn't be too high. I would think he is also responsible for paying for his mom to travel with him, and he would pay for Fluffy too. Fortunately at Skate Am, Kanako would split the Fluffy expenses with him, and at Rostelecom Yura Matsuda and Kanako would have split Fluffy's expenses with him. Not a cheap sport by any means when you figure in all the travel, costumes, choreography, special training, lessons, Kit Kats, and the 5,000 pounds of beef he eats per year {{}}. As you become an elite skater, you can receive skates (and I would bet other things too) for free. A skater I know who is moving up the ranks just paid $1,400 for her skates. Unlimited freestyle ice time at the rink Shoma goes to when he comes to the U.S. is $400 per month. Anyway, the list can go on and on. I found the following article interesting. (Thank you to this tumblr for the compilation of all the details)...I know some U.S. skaters coach or teach beginner's classes to earn some money. Bottom line, you have to be really dedicated in this sport!

http://soyouwanttowatchfs.tumblr.com/post/153867523490/

ETA -- Endorsements, sponsorships, etc. are key. He is so fortunate that Toyota is in his corner now. Not sure what his Toyota salary is either. Besides Colan Totte, can't think of any other affiliation he has. There could be more.

 

[demarinis5]

OMG Arriba "5,000 pounds of beef he eats per year" I almost choked on my iced tea. You are too funny!

Thanks for the info. Yes FS is a very, very expensive sport.