- Joined
- Feb 4, 2012
This! I remember watching Shoma at 4CC 2015 and being completely mesmerized by his skating, but I was also a bit doubtful about his growth trajectory. His jumps were a bit messy and it just seemed unrealistic for him to be competitive technically. Flash forward to 3 years later and I've never been happier to be proven wrong. Year by year, his weaknesses become less glaring and that's entirely due to the efforts of a smart coaching team and a diligent and talented pupil. Brian is a brilliant coach, but let's not forget that his most successful students, Yuna and Yuzu, were absolute phenoms who very likely would've succeeded without his guidance. I love Brian but he's not the only coach who's capable of producing total package skaters.
He's a fighter, and a hard worker. He doesn't give up. Never. Even if something doesn't work out, he leaves it behind and looks forward. I think the last group of Worlds was pretty telling, even more than his fall at the Olympics. It took so much guts and core strength, stamina, and most of all so much willpower and mental toughness. He is so freaking strong.
I admire him.
Sure, I think he's cute and a wonderful performer and funny and all that, but I really admire him as an athlete more. All his career he was fighting, and I think he will continue to fight against the odds. How many skaters are so small and can do what Shoma does? He's been in the senior circuit for three years, and so much happened, the sport evolved so quickly in such a short time. It's amazing, how he kept up with it. And to me, of course, I want Shoma to win Worlds or the GPF or 4CC. But more than that I just want to keep watching him. New programs, to see his progress artistically which is so much harder these days than it was when his idol Daisuke Takahashi became World Champion. To keep that balance and to stay relevant technically is hard, but I'm looking forward to many years of wonderful skating from Shoma. And it will happen. Because I believe in him.


! You've perfectly summed up why Shoma's such an impressive and admirable athlete. It's rare for athletes to fearlessly confront their weaknesses, but Shoma on the other hand has always faced his weaknesses head on and worked diligently to improve. I strive to be even half as fearless Shoma 