team japan owns my ass @ice-cinderella - Tumblr Blog

“That confession about yuna not liking skating as much as zhenya is stupid. Yuna fought for skating to rise in her country, fought for the olympics to come to her country. She was always an introvert and she was uncomfortable with media attention unlike Zhenya. She even moved to Canada to train away from the spotlight. She came back to compete at another olympics which many female OGM don’t do. You really think she fought through serious injuries for almost a decade for a sport she didn’t like?“

figure-skating-confessions

“Uh, can I just say I stan my Olympic champions so hard? Like, three months after their win, and I’m still in absolute awe. I just love them all”

figure-skating-confessions

“People think Yuna Kim is “great” just because she is the first skater from Korea who has won something. If she was from any other country, nobody would care about her, she would be just another gold medalist, one from many. She is nothing special. There are ladies skaters, who have won much more in their careers, but they are not called “queen"“

lazaruspithottub

I guess being the only ladies singles skater to have a grand slam (junior and senior worlds and GPF, 4CC/Euros, Olympics.) and the first figure skater in any discipline to do this isn’t enough for this anon???

Also the first and only figure skater to have never finished off the podium in her entire career under the current ISU judging system sooooo…

Oh, let’s see, and she also previously held the combined total, short and free program scores longer than any other ladies singles skater.

#QUEEN yuna #fuck off anon

the-real-xmonster

More #YOLO Jumps © Yuzuru Hanyu

(—since you guys seem to like ‘em—)

2011 Nebelhorn Trophy FS: 3S+2T

Why he did it: he popped his second triple Lutz, which was supposed to be in combo (3Lz+2T+2T).

Why it was awesome: this triple Salchow was the last jumping pass in his program, and in Romeo and Juliet 1.0, that pass came really late (preceding only the final spin). To pull off a combo at that point, and with the very limited stamina he had back then, that took some serious guts.

2011 Rostelecom Cup SP: 3Lz+3T

Why he did it: he stepped out on the opening 4T, which was planned to be a combo (4T+3T).

This 3Lz combo was more of a plan B, since throughout this season, Yuzu struggled quite a bit with the quad toe in Etude (it’s the first season he included a quad in his SP) and kept having to resort to putting the 3Lz in combination instead.

Why it was awesome: this plan B worked for Yuzu because both of his jumping passes in the SP had connecting steps leading in (yes, even the quad toe, which, remember, was a jump / jump combo that he had never attempted in an SP before that season), so it didn’t matter which jump he chose to put in combination.

2015 World Team Trophy FS: 3A+2T

Why he did it: this was an on-the-spot change of plan. He popped his quad toe into a triple earlier in the program, so in order to avoid Zayak-ing, he switched the planned 3A+3T combo into this 3A+2T.

Why it was awesome: he was remarkably clear-headed in recognizing the need to change his layout and then executing it (also I have a thing for his Rippon 2T so I just like gif-ing it any chance I have).

2015 Autumn Classic International FS: 3Lo+1Lo+3S

Why he did it: he stumbled on a triple Axel (yep, you read that right, a triple Axel) and failed to put it in combination (3A+1Lo+3S).

Why it was awesome: very good job of nabbing that opportunity to put the 3Lo in combo. It’s also impressive because this happened towards the end of the program when he didn’t have a lot of stamina left (worsened by the fact that he had to deal with a fall earlier), plus it was not an easy combo, and one he didn’t even practice often.

2015 Grand Prix Final EX: 3A

Why he did it: he popped his first Axel and decided to get instant revenge by immediately doing another one.

Why it was awesome: he did this 3A with no entry speed, almost from a standstill, ended up over-rotating it (how? dark arts?) and promptly saved it like a pro. Also, it.was.a.frigging.exhibition. Why on Earth does he feel the need to YOLO stuff in an exhibition? Scientists can’t tell.

2017 Four Continents Championships FS: 3A+3T / 4T+2T / 3A

(instead of 3A+2T / 3A+1Lo+3S / 3Lz)

Why he did it: he popped his second 4S, and he was pissed off from having committed the same error in his SP, and he was super salty about not having the 4CC title on his resume.

Why it was awesome:

This one was a plan B. All season long, anytime he failed to put the second 4S in combo he’d switch his 3A+2T into a 3A+3T to get back some BV. It’s nice only because no other skater in the world would consider 3A+3T a combo easy enough to be produced in a pinch, on demand.

This quad was absolutely not planned.

This one came out of nowhere and almost gave Brian a heart attack. Also, it’s a triple Axel, out of a layback Ina Bauer, as the final jumping pass in a long program. It’s the definition of #YOLO.

Plus, overall, exceptionally quick thinking on his feet: his layout for this performance was structured on the spot, and yet he managed to pull it off pretty damn well without Zayak-ing anything.

2017 World Team Trophy FS: 4T+1Lo+3S

Why he did it: he was, again, pissed off because his SP the previous day was a mess. Apparently, before going into the free, he’d already decided he was going to try 5 quads. In the end he got 4 of them landed, 3 of which in the second half.

Why it was awesome: He could’ve gone with something easier, like a 4T+2T, but no, of course when Yuzuru Hanyu YOLOs stuff, he has to always pick the more ridiculous option. Also, I’ve no idea how he managed to stay on his feet throughout that combo because he was all over the place on the landings of both the quad and the triple.

And, finally, just throwing in this combo again because it deserves to be gif-ed from another angle:

2018 Olympic Winter Games FS: 3A+1Lo+3S

#Yuzuru Hanyu

doramaticbites

To the Japanese, Hanyu may not be GNC

A week or so back @shomouno posted this answer to a question about whether Hanyu Yuzuru was gender non-conforming. I thought it was a great question, and also a great answer, one that acknowledges that from a primarily Western point of view, Hanyu, his costumes, his programs and such, would definitely be considered gnc.

And it got me thinking – what would the Japanese point of view be? While I’m not a Hanyu fan, and neither am I Japanese (if it matters, I’m Chinese), I live in South Hokkaido, which is 2 hours from Hanyu’s hometown Sendai. Hanyu is an obsession in this area. He is constantly featured on shows, newspapers, and every single competition of his is discussed in detail not only in media but in the workplaces and schools. I may have missed something due to inattention, but I’ve never heard anyone call him too girly. I have heard people accuse him of ‘acting cute’ despite being an adult (a complaint I’ve never heard thrown at models in their 30s who make duck faces and speak in a child-like voice, ahem), but that has more to do with societal expectations of age-appropriateness, not gender. Also, it didn’t strike me that Hanyu himself was motivated by a desire to challenge gender norms in his program choices.

I had an inkling in my mind, but this post ignited enough interest within me to want to read up more and join the discussion when I felt a little more informed. I’d done much research in school regarding gender in Japan, but it was mostly on the representation of women in the media, so I definitely needed to study more before I posted anything. I am still no where near an expert on this subject, but I’d like to present what I’ve learnt within this short week of reading up on the topic of gender norms in Japan. If there is anything that I say that anyone would like to add on to/dispute/etc, please feel free!

So, that being said here’s what I concluded after my readings.

I found that it is not so much that the signifiers of ‘femininity’ (graceful curves, ruffled tops) differ greatly between Japan and say, America, but rather that ‘femininity’ in Japan traditionally has more positive connotations such as courtliness, harmony and culture. I also found that in Japan, ‘femininity’ in the realm of the arts, especially high art – belongs to men. As such, from the perspective of the Japanese, because Hanyu is both an athlete and an artist, his programs will most likely not be seen as gender non-conforming. In fact by performing femininity, Hanyu as a person will be seen not so much as ‘feminine’ as in more like a woman and/or less like a man, but ‘feminine’ as in a man, but one who is more professional, refined and cultured.

Czytaj dalej

#Yuzuru Hanyu #this is so interesting