Yuzuru Hanyu: 2014-15 Season

[foruiz]

If he is smart then he has be strategic. I think there is this kind of quality in him- have you noticed the way he planned his LP when he stood back on the ice for a warm-up? He calculated the steps before jumps, calculated the jumps, he adjusted the spins- nobody told him what to do- he did that by himself. He was aware of what he was doing. He was in shock, he experienced a lot of pain and he made himself think, plan and execute. He is a rare find. I totally admire him.

It was amazing seeing his brain at work tweaking his FS and doing those hand gestures and counting, I am sure he was adding up those BVs. It is a reminder of that mathematical mind that he has.

I was thinking about that too, I hope the scar is below the chin. His pretty face I will recommend him Mederma cream to reduce the scar once the cut has healed.

Ooops! we all thinking about the scar....gosh we really love this boy :yes:

I am sure there are wonderful Japan made products will work wonders with him too.

Yes, if it's Yuzuru who said "pain is alright"... then I am sorry we need some oxy tank watching him again because I am afraid we might pass out even before he passes out.

And he is only 19, though turning 20 next month :yay:. I hope our hearts all survive until the time that he decides to turn pro.

 

[Pamigena]

p. 764-772

According to the article below, the worst part of his injury was his left tight since it got hit quite hard on the ice.

http://t.asahi.com/gdtm

Kanako's reaction when watching Yuzu skate. She is visibly worried.

Here is a vid-clip that will cheer people up!
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29slr1_レジェンド-羽生結弦-と-ものまね織田くん_sport
Showing Hanyu as a 10 year-old doing dodge ball, back-bends, jump rope and tricks on the ice!

It's part of a variety show...Nobu is part of the show and he does impressions of Akiko and Hanyu.

This aired today but was shot before Hanyu's accident. Nobu sent a message out saying he's sorry about doing a Hanyu impression when Hanyu is injured...but that the video was already recorded before that time. --I don't think anyone will mind.

I know it is a bit late to share, and probably a bit off-topic now, but let me post three voice memos.
I think we need something relaxing here, so I do recommend the second one.
Post SP Interview in the Mixed Zone (in Japanese)
Post SP Press Conference (in Russian/Japanese/Chinese with English translation)
From 12:00 after asking the question in English, the reporter asked him if he would like her to repeat the question in Japanese again. He first said no, then after a few seconds he realized he actually didn't quite catch that question, so he asked the reporter to repeat it in Japanese, and of course everybody just laughed.
Post LP Press Conference (in Russian/English)
Brian surprisingly showed up from 3:20 because it was announced before that he didn't want to come.

^Link updated now.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29swt4_1110-報ステ_sport
Here is an interview with Hanyu directly after his performance. It's a quick translation I did so if you find discrepancies, please correct me.
This comes at the last half of the video clip.
Narrator:
Amidst the differing opinions of whether or not Hanyu should have skated, this is what he said right after his performance.
Hanyu in wheelchair in the back hallway
Hanyu: Thank you, I’m sorry for the trouble.
Interviewer kneeling in front of Hanyu in wheelchair
Matsuoka: Your feelings came across strongly.
Hanyu: You don’t have to…please stand up.
Matsuoka stands: Did you not feel the choice to withdraw?
Hanyu: No, I thought about it. At the 6 minute warm –up I thought, ‘so this is the end of it’
I couldn’t even stand. (blood I think) was in my throat so I couldn’t breathe. I was looking at the ceiling thinking , it’s going to end here.
But I DID IT so it’s all ok!
Matsuoka: I thought you felt you had something to prove as an OGM? I think you showed everyone…not to give up.
Hanyu: That’s good. I’m really glad I didn’t give up.
At this time Hanyu is wheeling himself toward a van in a parking lot. He bows to Matsuoka.
Hanyu: Thank you very much. I was helped by everyone. Thank you!
Staff members help him out of the wheelchair and they are trying to get him into the van but he turns and bows again at the camera and says ‘Thank you!’

https://twitter.com/EvgeniPlushenko/status/531831476946362369
I believe that Yuzuru Hanyu is a big fellow, so risky. Personally, my opinion is that it's just a Grand Prix and risking his health on such a small competition is not necessary. In any case, Yuzuru is a professional and a real boy! http://instagram.com/p/vOW0bFGy0G

Yuzu practice FS before competition....what could have been

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/11/10/skating-slammed-letting-hanyu-compete

Brian personally tweeted Yuzu is resting at home in Sendai

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/figureskating/kurt-browning-pj-kwong-recap-cup-of-china-1.2830701 Kurt Browning and PJ Kwong recap of Cup of China. A figure skaters view on the collision.

From the Chinese press :

http://japan.people.com.cn/BIG5/n/2014/1111/c35467-26005707.html

Reported that some Japanese (associated with skating) think its unusual for Yuzu to have collision like this during warm up as he is usually very focused. They believed he came to COC ill prepared and this is because his training schedule is frequently interrupted by the need to attend exhibitions, made worst because Mao and Daisuke were retiring. It reported that Brian has complained this to JSF but JSF only responded to say they know with no corrective action done.

OK. I'll just clear this for everyone before things have any possibility of getting out of hand: this article seems to be a translation of THIS Japanese article (I'm assuming, because I can't read Chinese) which is something of a sensationalized/gossipy/opinionated piece from a women's magazine. Although it is food for thought and no doubt we've seen Hanyu very overworked this summer, I wouldn't take what is said in here as absolute and credible truth. Let's not bring out all the pitchforks just yet

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?....115848978582752.23790.100004729509588&type=1

A picture posted on Tadashi Aoshima’s FB page:

"If I was there as a support member, I absolutely stopped him on my responsibility because I know his present condition.

I know it is difficult to stop him because I have an experience to make him withdraw from Finlandia Trophy.
It was necessary to tell him what Oser really means in Japanese.
I think support members have to persuade him when they need.
Yuzuru has an impact on many athletes now, so he should not do an impertinent action by personal feeling .

He must learn real courage and judgment.
I felt keenly that support members need skill up more by this accident.
Although he is a gold medalist, he is a youth ,19 years old.
Although he may not be a perfect champion, please cheer Yuzuru who will grow up from now on.”

English translation by Asuka Takahashi from Facebook

*Tadashi Aoshima is a massage therapist in Toronto*

I've uploaded NBC & CBC's version of Yuzu's FS. Sorry the quality is not very good because I'm still trying to figure out how to rip the files out from my tv box, so the intermediate solution is filming it with my ipad while having the files play on TV >_<

(A very nice fan from the facebook fan group posted the conversation between Yuzu and Brian at the K&C)
http://ameblo.jp/mkp2012/entry-11951015901.html

Even in less optimal condition, he is still lovely

Phantom appreciation #1
Phantom appreciation #2

http://telly.com/1HTK7N3

Old video but thought i would share since Yuzuru is cutely conversing in English at 8:06, makes me think his English is better off camera than on

Don't forget to appreciate his new bottle cases:
SP: https://33.media.tumblr.com/1f91ece7be3d103e2d93ccfd2eea8121/tumblr_new1seN1ez1rp3ki0o2_r1_1280.jpg
LP: https://38.media.tumblr.com/596079b1cdf90a2275a6f84bd468789e/tumblr_new1seN1ez1rp3ki0o1_1280.jpg

Saw people are wondering why the case for LP doesn't resemble his costume. I think it resembles only the white part. But why leaving out that gorgeous black and red part?? And where is that golden color from?

There's the Chinese commentator version of Yuzu's FS.

Original source

Translation

What the “Persistent Prince” needs to go back onto the ice is that his legs fully recover. Gold medalist in men’s singles in the Sochi Olympics Yuzuru Hanyu had five injuries with some being on his head. It was revealed on the 11th that if his bruises on his left thigh and sprain in his right ankle heal, he will be able to resume training.

During the six minute warm up of Cup of China, Hanyu and China’s Han Yan suddenly collided, resulting in bleeding from his head and chin. He returned to the country to do a medical examination that found “head contusion, chin contusion, bruising in abdomen and the left thigh, and a sprain in the right ankle”. Luckily, no abnormalities were found in the brain. According to authorized people, the doctor who had examined Hanyu had said that “As long as the pain in the leg is gone, you can resume your training.”

However, it will take an estimated 2-3 weeks for all five of his injuries to heal. His back injury prior to the Cup of China also worries many. It seems for now that his attendance t NHK Trophy will be a tough decision. Hanyu’s original plan after Cup of China was to return to Canada to train, but because of the incident, he was rushed back to Japan on the 9th and received a full-body examination in a hospital in Tokyo. No major problems were found, and he returned to his hometown, Sendai, on the same day. He will not return to Canada before NHK Trophy, so if he does compete, he will have to make adjustments in Japan.

Hanyu’s comment that was announced the day before (10th) through the Japan Skating Federation was “For now, I want to slowly rest and receive treatment” and “I want to think about my schedule from today on as I see how my injuries recover.” For the sake of standing on the rink in a competition once more, he will have to stay calm and wait for the foot to recover.

After roller-coaster weekend, these make me laugh..check the comments

Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski discuss collisions in figure skating

http://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/20...ion-tara-lipinski-johnny-weir-figure-skating/

Weir said he would like to see the International Skating Union increase warm-up time from six minutes to 10 minutes, but not necessarily to split the six skaters into groups of three for five minutes each. Rather, he emphasized that six minutes is a short period for a skater to warm-up an arsenal of program elements.

Additional clips uploaded from NBC & CBC - warning if you are still not ready to rewatch the actual collide......I only had the courage to look at that part of the clip last night >_<

CBC - Men FS 6-min warmup highlight: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29ye08_2014-coc-men-fs-warm-up-cb_sport

NBC - Men FS 6-min warmup highlight: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29yeah_2014-coc-men-fs-warm-up-nb_sport
NBC - Opening highlight on Yuzu & Yulia: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29yelu_2014-coc-opening-highlight-yulia-yuzu-nb_sport (wish both of them best of luck for the remaining of this season!)

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20141112-00000066-spnannex-spo

This article says that Yuzuru can return to training when pain in leg will go away, so thankfully seems nothing to be worried about the head *

* if google translator don't lie

 

[lbc2138]

After roller-coaster weekend, these make me laugh..check the comments

He is precious, i sometimes forget how much of a warrior spirit he has just by looking at his face

 

[lbc2138]

Poor Tracy, although she seemed quite detached while commenting Yuzu's FP, but seemed really upset when seeing the actual incident

Even though she's one of his coaches, she has to stay objective when commenting the FP but I'm sure she was very concerned during the actual accident/aftermath

 

[Meoima]

OMG Han Yan's updates, so worried. http://magicaleggplant.tumblr.com/post/102452145148/update-from-hans-weibo-11-12-2014
If Han Yan indeed has a concussion (I hope a mild one?) then maybe Yuzuru also??? omg I knew it they shouldn't have skated.

 

[flutz16]

OMG Han Yan's updates, so worried. http://magicaleggplant.tumblr.com/post/102452145148/update-from-hans-weibo-11-12-2014
If Han Yan indeed has a concussion (I hope a mild one?) then maybe Yuzuru also??? omg I knew it they shouldn't have skated.

so sad, they should at least be a mandatory pull out of their roster from their next GP
as not attempt another heroic* sarcasm competition

 

[Sandpiper]

If he could participate in NHK, he should give up 4S and changed it to 3S, then 4T as it is, and 3Lz+3T as in CoC, with less difficult SS. This would reduce the burden, but still there would be a strong possibility that he can secure the podium, hopefully 2nd or higher, but 3rd might be enough to go to the Final.

Withdrawal may be the best, but if he goes to NHK, he and his staff would be thinking some strategy, I hope.

I agree. He definitely doesn't need that third quad, and probably not even the quad salchow. I don't want him to fall and break something again. If he's going to compete, it's a good idea to do the minimum required to get into GPF. He still has the rest of the season to get through... he's probably too stubborn to withdraw from anything. :scowl:

 

[Meoima]

I am extremely worried right now. If Han Yan indeed turns out to have a concussion (even just a mild one) according to his blog, then there's high possibility that Yuzuru also has a concussion.

BOTH should stay out of their next GP!!!!

 

[phaeljones]

^^^^^ Agree.

An athlete like Yuzuru comes around only once in a lifetime. I feel privileged to watch this young man as he fulfills his destiny which I believe to become one of the greatest (if not the greatest) figure skater of all time. What we witnessed at CoC was a display of grit, determination, resolve and an uncanny ability to focus through extremely adverse circumstances. It may have been foolish, but these qualities define his greatness.

So true, MSTEACH3.

Many great comments on the board here. Everyone who has followed, for any time, Yuzuru’s unequaled skating and his wonderful personality (his wearing his heart on his sleeve, and his decency and kindness towards others) as it relates to his brilliance on and off ice, I don't think, could have been surprised that he would decide (to our horror nevertheless) to go back onto the ice. (And as for his breakdown at the end, I think he earned the right to have it.) We saw a really decent good talented person stretched beyond his limit by a personality that would not allow himself to retreat from competing and trying his best. But, as we know, it is a very dangerous achilles heel.

It was mortifying to watch him skate (even though some of that skate was truly beautiful injured or not). Watching his quads especially, every time fully rotated, with his pre-knowing full well he would not have the legs, let alone his soft-knee, so to save the landings was horrifying. He was only doing those jumps to complete the rotations and get what points he could, landing on what were already wrecked ever-more collapsing legs. It makes me wince just thinking about it. What bothered me about most about the broadcasts, and why I think I had to check them out, each and every one, reliving that painful skate (Meoima's reaction really resonates with me and I doubt that I will be able to much revisit them after the dust settles here) was to check out if any of the commentators had the guts to go off-script and say what should have been obvious: "He should not be skating!" Perhaps playing to script, none of the commentors did, and probably none of them could. Of the English language broadcasts, I think the NBC one, with Tracy Wilson, comes the closest though (you can hear the emotion in her voice as she is commentating during the showing of the collision, and she gets upset with the male commentator during the Han Yan skate when she has to explain to him why Han Yan was smartly changing his program to reduce the chance of further injury). Of all the commentators on the English language broadcasts I think she conveyed through her commentary an understanding of the context of Yuzuru's and Han Yan’s pain and accident the most. But on the absurd side of the equation, on the B.ESP broadcast one of the color commentators actually comes out and says that Yuzuru made the right decision to skate! That floored me. Just floored me.

But from happened generally, there was something else that troubled me, and I have not read it mentioned (although I might have missed it). When injuries like this happen in hockey, at the few games I have been to and seen serious injury, the first thing that the paramedics do when a player is down is actually not help them up. First, they are very careful to assess what kind of injury the athlete has sustained and how it would be safe for the athlete to move or be moved in case that there might be possible back injuries or other injuries that might be aggravated with movement. Kind of obvious thing to do, isn't it? If you watch the videos of the accident, the paramedics (if that is what they were) just go out, didn’t even bother with Han Yan already on his way to the boards, and go over to Yuzuru to little more than prop him up and push him to his feet to then allow him to skate on his own back to the boards. What if he had been unable to get up? Would they have known what to do? Aside from that though, did any of these guys looking at him think that his legs or back also could be totally wrecked, or on their way to being wrecked, if he gets up and skates without assistance? Not even touching on Han Yan, who was allowed to get up on his own and skate to the boards with no paramedic anywhere in sight and forget about the time factor, but am I missing something here?

The bright side is that we have the gift of a wake-up call. The mechanisms for letting a skater back onto the ice have to be changed across the board for all skaters in the sport (not just subjective but objective mechanisms - perhaps also an independent examination), as must also be changed the procedures for getting injured skaters off the ice. As bad as this situation was, it could have been a lot worse. We are so lucky for both of these skaters. What has happened has happened and we have this time the luxury of the skaters' recovering to only have to worry about building better safety into the sport for the future. Something positive can be had from what has happened here and we can even get our Yuzuru back (and the wonderful Han Yan too).

 

[phaeljones]

I don't know ho other other can determine if Yuzuru is having pain or not if not he


I was excited about 3 quad LP, but in my opinion he should drop it this season. He can't train consistently it now, it's too much. He should go back to this subject next season :disapp:

I agree with what you say. In the present case though, wasn't Yuzu injected with pain killer in his leg before he skated his free skate? I remember reading that (when he went behind the closed doors away from the camera). I just kind of glossed over it, but I thought I read that. Asking: Anyone know? That is a kind of statement onto itself if it happened. But the other aspect of this particular situation is that it was known that Yuzuru had back issues recently, and those are very difficult to diagnose and very dangerous if not treated. Given his recent health history, even forgetting about the head injury which makes this almost moot, shouldn't he have been pulled to have competent medical advice before being allowed to return, even if meant forfeiting the competition. They need to have a system that errs on the side of caution. Right now, they are letting competitors speculate. But if there was ever a situation where a skater should have been over-ruled, both his and Han Yan's skates surely qualify.

 

[wingsofliberty]

The bright side is that we have the gift of a wake-up call. The mechanisms for letting a skater back onto the ice have to be changed across the board for all skaters in the sport (not just subjective but objective mechanisms - perhaps also an independent examination), as must also be changed the procedures for getting injured skaters off the ice. As bad as this situation was, it could have been a lot worse. We are so lucky for both of these skaters. What has happened has happened and we have this time the luxury of the skaters' recovering to only have to worry about building better safety into the sport for the future. Something positive can be had from what has happened here and we can even get our Yuzuru back (and the wonderful Han Yan too).

Unfortunately I highly doubt this will be any sort of wake-up call at all. Nothing changed after the Song/Rippon collision, and some people like Kurt Browning are shrugging this off while the JSF thinks the problem is sending medical doctors to more events. What I think the solution is, frankly, is a rehaul of the ISU rules regarding withdrawal. There's a good amount of information here about that, but if you don't want to read the entire thing I'd skip down to the third section about ISU regulations and the recommendations for mandatory medical reviews of any skater who is suspected to have suffered a head injury.

Not only must the procedures be changed for skaters who are injured and need to be transported off the ice, but there must be an ISU medical doctor in charge of deciding whether or not the skater is at risk and may be allowed to compete. If a skater is injured during a program and cannot stand up within 40 seconds, they are automatically withdrawn. the same protocol should apply to warm-ups, permitting a rejoining of the competition only if the skater has been cleared by the non-partisan ISU medical doctor.

I'm really angry that so little regard is given to a skater's heath and safety. There's so much pressure on them to compete. At the very least, the ISU should take the decision of whether to compete injured away from them in the most potentially severe on cases, so we don't have another Yuzuru Hanyu and Han Yan stumbling around the ice looking desperately pained but very determined not to be seen as a quitter.

 

[lbc2138]

I think given light on Han Yan's condition which I actually thought was a little less severe than Yuzuru because at least his head didn't bash into the ice after the collision, the JSF needs to be careful and do what's best for Yuzuru. Honestly, Yuzuru should not compete in NHK Trophy. He has time to defend his title at Japanese Nationals and Worlds, and maybe even snag a title at 4 Continents if he so chooses. But the fact that Yuzuru was only diagnosed with a brain contusion only makes sense if he has a harder head than Han (which I could totally see since he is extremely hard-headed in a metaphorical sense). I'm not a doctor of course so if anyone with medical experience could explain how one had a concussion and the other a contusion while the one with the contusion had the seemingly "worse" end of the collision would be greatly appreciated.

Also, another concern was his comments about it afterwards. Yuzuru said that he was glad that he ultimately did not give up in that interview with Matsuoka. But to me and a lot of people watching, it was not the idea of giving up but factoring health and well-being. Not giving up is when you have a bad short program skate and you redeem yourself in the long program. Or you fell on your first jump but do the rest of the program beautifully. I don't like the fact that from his perspective withdrawing because of a potentially life-threatening injury = giving up/being a coward/unworthy of being an Olympic champion.

And while we credit him for usually being a bright young man. He is young and this pressure seems to have clouded his judgment just a tad.

 

[skatedreamer]

The blog post referenced by wingsofliberty is definitely worth the time, IMO. I read it yesterday; it's well-written and makes some persuasive arguments. My only issue is that it made me more concerned about Yuzu's and Han's injuries than I already was. It was hard to watch their LPs thinking that they might be hurting themselves even more.

 

[Meoima]

I think given light on Han Yan's condition which I actually thought was a little less severe than Yuzuru because at least his head didn't bash into the ice after the collision, the JSF needs to be careful and do what's best for Yuzuru. Honestly, Yuzuru should not compete in NHK Trophy. He has time to defend his title at Japanese Nationals and Worlds, and maybe even snag a title at 4 Continents if he so chooses. But the fact that Yuzuru was only diagnosed with a brain contusion only makes sense if he has a harder head than Han (which I could totally see since he is extremely hard-headed in a metaphorical sense). I'm not a doctor of course so if anyone with medical experience could explain how one had a concussion and the other a contusion while the one with the contusion had the seemingly "worse" end of the collision would be greatly appreciated.

My friend said doctor couldn't reveal the full details of their patients' condition to the public if their patients don't want to (there's some rule or something like that? Like confidential code). And that's why she was quite doubtful of Yuzuru's medical test results. He might not want the public to know more about his condition?
I remember he still has back pain and it's chronic, why they didn't mention it in the article about his test results?
I know I am over-worried and it's better to trust Japanese doctors but still...

 

[satine]

My friend said doctor couldn't reveal the full details of their patients' condition to the public if their patients don't want to (there's some rule or something like that? Like confidential code). And that's why she was quite doubtful of Yuzuru's medical test results. He might not want the public to know more about his condition?
I remember he still has back pain and it's chronic, why they didn't mention it in the article about his test results?
I know I am over-worried and it's better to trust Japanese doctors but still...

Patient confidentiality? :yes:

 

[GermaricanMix]

I don't know, it's quite possible that Yuzu has a concussion and they're just not making it public, but in my opinion Han Yan seemed more out of it after he got off the ice. Once Yuzu could breathe again and got up he was moving around almost constantly and it even looked like he was doing math to figure out his new FS layout, while the second Han Yan got off the ice he collapsed on to his back and didn't move for a long time. Horrible stuff either way and I really wouldn't mind if they both drop out of their next event. I guess we'll see.

 

[Meoima]

Patient confidentiality? :yes:

Yes, thank you.
Personally I do think that JSF has no reason to hide anything about Yuzuru's health condition. But still worried is worried. I think his parents will not let him do something unsafe now that's he is at home.

I don't know, it's quite possible that Yuzu has a concussion and they're just not making it public, but in my opinion Han Yan seemed more out of it after he got off the ice. Once Yuzu could breathe again and got up he was moving around almost constantly and it even looked like he was doing math to figure out his new FS layout, while the second Han Yan got off the ice he collapsed on to his back and didn't move for a long time. Horrible stuff either way and I really wouldn't mind if they both drop out of their next event. I guess we'll see.

Maybe the reason was that Han Yan got up right away after the collision, while Yuzuru stayed on the ice for about a minute.

 

[GermaricanMix]

Maybe the reason was that Han Yan got up right away after the collision, while Yuzuru stayed on the ice for about a minute.

I'm just speculating cause I'm not even qualified to play a doctor on TV, but it looks like Han Yan took the entire collision force on his jaw. I believe that's a knock out spot, isn't it?

 

[Silvia451]

Now I'm so worried for Han...I thought he was ok. It was so dangerous for them to compete. The doctors couldn't know in just some minutes that they can go back on the ice.

(after the competition I tried not to take part in the discussions about the skaters' decisions to compete and I also tried not to blame anyone (coaches etc.) for this, but now I'm really reconsidering the situation...)

 

[lbc2138]

Personally I do think that JSF has no reason to hide anything about Yuzuru's health condition. But still worried is worried. I think his parents will not let him do something unsafe now that's he is at home.

Haha if anyone can reel in Yuzuru's recklessness it should be his own mother. She looks like a lovely woman but I can assume that she's probably a tiger mom... Other Asians/Asian-Americans such as myself can relate to that (I mean, have you seen Yuna Kim's mom?)