Yuzuru Hanyu: 2015-16 Season

[jaq]

Yuzu needs a sports psychologist (something I feel every elite athlete should have tbh). He needs someone experienced who speaks Japanese. His English is not good enough for working out his mental issues. Yeah, it's true his performances and skill have shown he is one of the greatest. But, Michelle Kwan is one of the greatest and very obviously regretted not getting those Olympic titles. It means a lot to these athletes that breathe the sport.

 

[xibsuarz]

Well, This championships weren't very good for Japan in singles. Yuzu was the only medalist, and I'm still sad that after 10 years a Japanese lady was not on the podium but oh well. They will kick butt next year! Does anyone know what and when he will be skating in the gala?

I've been trying to look for the list, but no such luck yet

 

[Interspectator]

NHK Happened! GPF happened! and this WC, the SP happened! Yuzu is amazing and getting more amazing-er.
I'm looking forward to seeing the Jonetsu tairiku documentary on the 9th.

 

[alia jackson]

Yuzu said in the press conference that he's happy he did a good short program even if his free program wasn't that good. It's the very first time EVER he doesn't self-whip himself and handwaves away his accomplishment to focus on his mistakes. I call that an improvement.

I love it when I heard him say that

 

[Athena13]

Well, This championships weren't very good for Japan in singles. Yuzu was the only medalist, and I'm still sad that after 10 years a Japanese lady was not on the podium but oh well. They will kick butt next year! Does anyone know what and when he will be skating in the gala?

Ugh my heart broke all weekend since I've been a huge fan of team Japan since Vancouver.

BUT...since 4CC is in Korea next season which is geographically close and at the Olympic site it can prove to be great momentum heading into worlds.

TBH I feel like next season will be really good for Yuzuru and team Japan. I was really disappointed for them at first but now it makes me more excited for next season since Yuzuru and Team Japan will being going all out for sure. arty:

 

[Meoima]

There is a distance from "the improvement" to the "enjoying his medal"..and it's a huge one. The guy is devastated, the failure is right here and there is no point trying to gild the pill. We only try to understand what went wrong and what could change.That doesn't mean he has to change the coach, that doesn't mean he won't come back as a winner but acting like nothing happened, don't worry be happy is not rational.

Exactly my point. I can see that his demon is getting bigger each year along with the expectation and pressure on him. This season it's so huge and so hard because he broke records after records. If he doesn't learn how to cope up with it, or his coaching team doesn't figure out the root of the issue, then how can he defend his Olympic title when the pressure will be like 10000x of Sochi and Boston?

I'm puzzled that some people try to brush this off as a way of saying "we should trust pros". I mean... Is it that hard for pros to figure out Yuzuru's mental issue? If they know it why they haven't figured out how to help him? Instead all we get from the press is how the long time relationship with his coaching team work so well, how his teammates are friendly etc. Had they spent more time together, maybe Brian could have noticed what's wrong with Yuzuru earlier.

And honestly I think not going to 4CC was a huge mistake because he had to endure 3 months without any competition. His mind is blank and he lost the competitive feeling.

 

[Hanmgse]

Exactly my point. I can see that his demon is getting bigger each year along with the expectation and pressure on him. This season it's so huge and so hard because he broke records after records. If he doesn't learn how to cope up with it, or his coaching team doesn't figure out the root of the issue, then how can he defend his Olympic title when the pressure will be like 10000x of Sochi and Boston?

I'm puzzled that some people try to brush this off as a way of saying "we should trust pros". I mean... Is it that hard for pros to figure out Yuzuru's mental issue? If they know it why they haven't figured out how to help him? Instead all we get from the press is how the long time relationship with his coaching team work so well, how his teammates are friendly etc. Had they spent more time together, maybe Brian could have noticed what's wrong with Yuzuru earlier.

And honestly I think not going to 4CC was a huge mistake because he had to endure 3 months without any competition. His mind is blank and he lost the competitive feeling.

I fail to understand how "this demon" is getting bigger, last season many people thought he would never be able to skate a clean competition, this season he did it two time by smashing records. I mean that's clearly an improvement, he himself said he still has a lot to learn and that's true. But as you wrote on another post, his amazing performances from this season can't be denied.

 

[melmel]

There is a distance from "the improvement" to the "enjoying his medal"..and it's a huge one. The guy is devastated, the failure is right here and there is no point trying to gild the pill. We only try to understand what went wrong and what could change.That doesn't mean he has to change the coach, that doesn't mean he won't come back as a winner but acting like nothing happened, don't worry be happy is not rational.

Well if you prefer to feel miserable and wallow in worry while Yuzu is being a big boy dealing with his issues quite nicely with his team and himself, that's your choice. I prefer to look on the bright side of stuff and life and right now it's Yuzuru having fun and being a big boy who doesn't need the extra anxiety of some fans on the internet.

Nobody is acting like "nothing" happened. We're just saying that Yuzuru himself seems to have learned that winning a silver medal with one great SP, a not perfect FP while the gold winner had an absolute perfect FP, isn't the end of the world and is probably not worth bringing down everyone's moral here just to hash out more speculations.

 

[Meoima]

I fail to understand how "this demon" is getting bigger, last season many people thought he would never be able to skate a clean competition, this season he did it two time by smashing records. I mean that's clearly an improvement, he himself said he still has a lot to learn and that's true. But as you wrote on another post, his amazing performances from this season can't be denied.

Yes he will always have some stellar performances, I am sure, next season and even the next. But the issue is to pull it out when it counts. And this is the biggest issue he and his team need to fix.

Why is he such a Gps skaters? Why he always peak at GpF and usually national? Why not at WC and Olympic?

Yes he is young and he needs to learn. I know people have taken his talents and experience for granted. I mean like... Yeah a world silver sounds nice to most skater, but not to him. It is a trial for him to overcome the pressure and he lost to it again.

Until now he has had like 1-2 horrible meltdown each season and it turns out to be in the most important competitions of the season. Now look at this, when he did well SP and bombed the LP (Coc and NHK 2014 I don't count because he was injured)
SA 2012, SP WR - LP bombed
Sochi - new WR - Lp bombed (he was lucky Patrick also bombed)
Shanghai - lead the SP - LP bombed
Boston - lead the SP - Lp bombed

Of course there are times he managed well enough after the lead in SP. But the above performance were very alarming. His mental issue has always been there, it's the thought of "I must win" merging with the burden of "I have to be perfect" and all else. These failure show the same kind of mental mistake, it simply has always been inside him and waiting to come out in the biggest events.

Doesn't this look not well for Yuzuru? He can still do well Gps and GPF, win overwhelmingly but then fail the delivery at World, doesn't that ring any bell? He needs to seal this and overcome this fear. So he can finally delivery in the biggest competitions aka WC and Olympic. He only has 2 years left, he needs to fix this mental issue asap.

 

[melmel]

Exactly my point. I can see that his demon is getting bigger each year along with the expectation and pressure on him. This season it's so huge and so hard because he broke records after records. If he doesn't learn how to cope up with it, or his coaching team doesn't figure out the root of the issue, then how can he defend his Olympic title when the pressure will be like 10000x of Sochi and Boston?

I'm puzzled that some people try to brush this off as a way of saying "we should trust pros". I mean... Is it that hard for pros to figure out Yuzuru's mental issue? If they know it why they haven't figured out how to help him? Instead all we get from the press is how the long time relationship with his coaching team work so well, how his teammates are friendly etc. Had they spent more time together, maybe Brian could have noticed what's wrong with Yuzuru earlier.

And honestly I think not going to 4CC was a huge mistake because he had to endure 3 months without any competition. His mind is blank and he lost the competitive feeling.

You're a fan on the internet. Not a part of Yuzuru's personal team nor one of his family member nor one of his close friend. What is the point in you excruciating yourself in worry over things you have no control over and will never have any influence in ? If Yuzu's mind was so blank and his competitive feeling lost, how do you explain his incredible SP at this event ?

 

[xibsuarz]

I was thinking, how likely could it be for Yuzu to go to other GP that's not NHK? Maybe that could help him go to 4CC because having NHK, GPF and Nationals one after the other exhausted him and that's one of the reasons why he skipped 4 CC. So, if he were to chose an earlier GP event, he may have some time to refuel and skate at 4 CC.

 

[melmel]

Yes he will always have some stellar performances, I am sure, next season and even the next. But the issue is to pull it out when it counts. And this is the biggest issue he and his team need to fix.

Why is he such a Gps skaters? Why he always peak at GpF and usually national? Why not at WC and Olympic?

Yes he is young and he needs to learn. I know people have taken his talents and experience for granted. I mean like... Yeah a world silver sounds nice to most skater, but not to him. It is a trial for him to overcome the pressure and he lost to it again.

Until now he has had like 1-2 horrible meltdown each season and it turns out to be in the most important competitions of the season. Now look at this, when he did well SP and bombed the LP (Coc and NHK 2014 I don't count because he was injured)
SA 2012, SP WR - LP bombed
Sochi - new WR - Lp bombed (he was lucky Patrick also bombed)
Shanghai - lead the SP - LP bombed
Boston - lead the SP - Lp bombed

Of course there are times he managed well enough after the lead in SP. But the above performance were very alarming. His mental issue has always been there, it's the thought of "I must win" merging with the burden of "I have to be perfect" and all else. These failure show the same kind of mental mistake, it simply has always been inside him and waiting to come out in the biggest events.

Doesn't this look not well for Yuzuru? He can still do well Gps and GPF, win overwhelmingly but then fail the delivery at World, doesn't that ring any bell? He needs to seal this and overcome this fear. So he can finally delivery in the biggest competitions aka WC and Olympic. He only has 2 years left, he needs to fix this mental issue asap.

For god sake Yuzuru has won every title ever!!! (aside the european one in which he's not allowed to participate, and 4CC because clearly he's not interested in it anymore).

Yuzu has won 3 GPF titles, 1 Olympic Gold Medal at his first ever Olympics, 1 bronze, 2 silver, 1 gold world medal, I don't even remember how many gold medal at Nationals.

Yuzuru is NOT lacking in titles, what even is the point of this worry ? And what's so shameful in doing well in GPs and at the GPF ?

 

[Meoima]

You're a fan on the internet. Not a part of Yuzuru's personal team nor one of his family member nor one of his close friend. What is the point in you excruciating yourself in worry over things you have no control over and will never have any influence in ? If Yuzu's mind was so blank and his competitive feeling lost, how do you explain his incredible SP at this event ?

You're right. Fans can do nothing even when they see that his team might haven't figured out how to improve his mental issue. We are just no one so we shouldn't feel worried about this.

About the SP, I have mentioned all in the above post. There is a pattern when he did well the SP and lead, then bombed the LP. As for why it's a huge issue, well it's always in the biggest competitions of his life. That's why it's serious.

But then again we are no one so we should shut up about this matter, right? I'm out.

 

[Lindacrow]

I was thinking, how likely could it be for Yuzu to go to other GP that's not NHK? Maybe that could help him go to 4CC because having NHK, GPF and Nationals one after the other exhausted him and that's one of the reasons why he skipped 4 CC. So, if he were to chose an earlier GP event, he may have some time to refuel and skate at 4 CC.

My secret hope is that JSF will choose Shoma as host pick instead of Yuzu. But Yuzu likes skating in Japan so

 

[Meoima]

For god sake Yuzuru has won every title ever!!! (aside the european one in which he's not allowed to participate, and 4CC because clearly he's not interested in it anymore).
Yuzu has won 3 GPF titles, 1 Olympic Gold Medal at his first ever Olympics, 1 bronze, 2 silver, 1 gold world medal, I don't even remember how many gold medal at Nationals.
Yuzuru is NOT lacking in titles, what even is the point of this worry ? And what's so shameful in doing well in GPs and at the GPF ?

It's not about lacking the titles. It's about getting the medals he want. Do you honestly believe that Yuzuru care about GPF more or equal to WC and Olympic?
If he want to realistically win the medals he wants most, aka more WC and OGM, then he must overcome this mental issue. Why isn't it so clear?

 

[melmel]

I was thinking, how likely could it be for Yuzu to go to other GP that's not NHK? Maybe that could help him go to 4CC because having NHK, GPF and Nationals one after the other exhausted him and that's one of the reasons why he skipped 4 CC. So, if he were to chose an earlier GP event, he may have some time to refuel and skate at 4 CC.

I'm not getting my hopes up to see him again at TEB (though I'm still hoping for Javi to come back !). He seems to like NHK because he likes skating for his homecrowd but I do find it a bit too close to the gpf + nationals, too. The rythm in december just go completely wild when he does NHK :/

 

[Lindacrow]

About the SP, I have mentioned all in the above post. There is a pattern when he did well the SP and lead, then bombed the LP.

I find it so weird, from 2012-2014 worlds Yuzu always did bad in the short and AMAZING in the LP. I guess the pattern reversed.

 

[Hanmgse]

he broke the records when the pressure wasn't the biggest,when it wasn't expected, the Worlds are the most important event, he even said so himself, that the tension is tremendous here..he failed 3 times at the biggest events in 3 years.So probably he can't control the pressure? i don't accuse him, but he doesn't deserve that. He's the best male skater of all times.

yes because I'm sure he didn't feel pressure going into the GPF after his smashing performances at NHK and with the possibility of becoming the first man ever to win the title three times in a row...

 

[Nontama0817]

I gathered the courage to look at this clip and thought it was not really as bad as it seems. Scorewise, comparing to his WR, yes it is a meltdown. But actually the key was his quad sal and triple toe combination. If he was able to do 2nd quad sal he was able to regain confidence and could avoid minor mistakes which followed. What he is doing is so difficult, therefore accompanies risk. But as he masters that as he has done for 3A, he can overcome his hyper nervousness as I said before. He must have been feeling awful and felt really lost, but still after fall on 2nd 4sal he did beautiful 3A 3T because that jump is really in his bone and he can do it like his is just hopping on ice. He had come long way with 4 sal, but only this season he was turned it into money earner. 4 sal status is suddenly rising, but he did not have full trust in it like the case of 3A. And yes, he made mistake in 2nd 3A, but it is super difficult entry and really toward the end of program. He did not fall on the last Lutz and step sequence was level4, that shows he gained stamina.
He will analize this kind of things and work it out. He said for PW, he had such technical confidence in it, he was not nervous at all and did not feel like he would make any mistake in Sochi SP. I am sure that is what he is planning to do before Pyonchang. Next season would be key and he knows he has to train hard to be confident. But for that the most important thing is stay healthy. That what he was able to do this year, I mean without any major injury. I think he clearly learned a lesson.


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x41lcoz_2016-0402-夜news_sport

 

[melmel]

It's not about lacking the titles. It's about getting the medals he want. Do you honestly believe that Yuzuru care about GPF more or equal to WC and Olympic?
If he want to realistically win the medals he wants most, aka more WC and OGM, then he must overcome this mental issue. Why isn't it so clear?

Because from what I've seen, Yuzu enjoy very much winning the GPF thrice in a row.