MY SANCTUARY

i can’t help my tears falling down in this part

they surely have run so fast till the extent of exhausted

and thanks God,this year they got chance for enjoying their tiny little bit break time with the 5 of them

I Love You,Arashi!!!\

✩ Grade of Execution (”GOE”) in figure skating, ft. Yuzuru Hanyu ✩

There are now less than 24 hours to the 2018 World Championships in Milan, possibly the last competition in which a GOE scale of -3 to +3 will be used. From the 2018/2019 season onwards, it is likely that the GOE scale will be expanded to -5 to +5, allowing for GOE to make an even bigger impact on scores.

+1 GOE is awarded for every 2 of the following bullet points a skater fulfils:

unexpected / creative / difficult entry

clear recognizable (creative, interesting, original for jump preceded by steps/movements of the SP) steps/free skating movements immediately preceding element

varied position in the air OR delay in rotation

good height and distance

good extension on landing OR creative exit

good flow from entry to exit including jump combinations or sequences

effortless throughout

element matched to the musical structure

Being the King of GOE, Yuzuru Hanyu racked up the highest GOE score at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games, at 31.16 points. His training mate Javier Fernandez came a close second at 29.45 points while newcomer Boyang Jin was third at 16.41 points.

Sources: x x x x x x     

Three sides of Yuzuru Hanyu at the PyeongChang Olympics gala

“Happiness and excitement, I’ve yet to fully digest these emotions.”

Coach Brian Orser said these words at an exclusive interview he granted on 19 February, two days after Yuzuru Hanyu won his second consecutive Olympics. 

Hanyu’s victory this time was the third consecutive Olympic gold medal for Orser as a coach, after Yuna Kim’s in Vancouver and Hanyu’s in Sochi.

“But Yuzu’s gold medal this time is something special”, Orser said with emotion in his voice.

When Hanyu sustained the injury during official practice at the NHK Trophy on 9 November 2017, Orser who was recovering from a gall bladder surgery was not accompanying him.

“I watched many times the video of how he fell and could see that it was a rather severe injury. Although I feared that he had also injured his knee, luckily his knee was ok.”

In order to rehabilitate, Hanyu returned to Toronto in the later half of November. 

“I sat facing him and we had a thorough discussion face to face. When I asked him about his thoughts, he replied clearly “I want to win (the Olympics).” I told him, then, we need to come up with a plan.”

According to Orser, they had detailed discussions on changes to the content of his programmes, the setting of numerous small goals, and that he should definitely not push himself too much.

“He was calm. He did not get discouraged and listened carefully to what his body was telling him, and with tremendous patience and endurance followed the plan loyally.”

Off-ice rehabilitation was left entirely to Hanyu himself and a specialised trainer. In early January, when Hanyu was finally back on ice, Orser was away for Canadian Nationals and other competitions.

“I heard from Tracy that they spent a lot of time on stroking, and then single jumps and waltz jumps. But the day after, as the pain returned slightly, he had to rest for a few days.”

When asked if there was any occasion when he had felt that Hanyu might not make it in time for the Olympics, after just an instant of silence, Orser answered “There was. When Yuzu had just gotten back on ice and could only do no more than single jumps. While watching him practice, Tracy and my eyes met, and I wondered if it would be ok given the condition he was at.”

From that point on it was a race against time.

“Each day, everyday was time he needed. But Yuzu already had foundations he had trained and built up. The sense of balance, the flow in his skating, how to control his body and so on were things he had mastered in the six years since he came to Canada.”

Orser explained that image training also contributed greatly. “During mental training, to ensure he did not forget the feeling of taking off and landing jumps, he always did image training, including by watching videos and so on.”

“Make winning the highest priority” was something he hashed out and confirmed through many discussions with Hanyu who until the injury had continued to challenge more difficult jumps, the 4Lo and then the 4Lz.  

“I think through that Yuzu was able to find a level that was comfortable to him. That helped him to face the competition with confidence.”

Entrusting Hanyu and Javier Fernandez to his colleagues Tracy Wilson and Ghislain Briand, Orser left for Korea on an earlier schedule, arriving on 5 February. Before he set off, he had a training session with only Hanyu and himself at the Cricket Club rink. “By that time he could perform all his jumps in his run-through to music, and I was confident that he is in time, it will be ok.” 

Hanyu himself made the final decisions on his jump layouts at the Pyeongchang Olympics. Among the quad jumps he decided to include only the 4T and 4S, with two quads in the SP and four in the FS. With the exception of minor mistakes in the FS, he successfully defended his title with performances of an astounding degree of perfection. 

“ “I’m proud of you” was the first thing I said to him. This was not because he won the gold medal, but because he overcame such a serious injury and gave us such wonderful performances.” Orser said this in a somewhat confiding tone.

“From this point on for a long time, he will continue to be an inspiration not just to people in Japan but in the entire world. Not just in the world of sports, but to anyone facing difficult situations, in seeking to overcome such situations I think they will think of him and be able to feel encouraged.”

Another of Orser’s students, Javier Fernandez also skated two high level performances in the SP and FS and won the bronze medal. 

“Javi was aiming for a medal. Yuzu was aiming to win. Both of them achieved their goals splendidly.” With these words, the interview drew to a close.

“My experiences here will probably be something unforgettable in my coaching life.”

In the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach. — J. R. R. Tolkien —

The tweet links to a photo of one of the pages in which Yuzu gives thanks to all his coaches, and it was just so sweet I had to share.

Actually, besides the ‘Gold Medal’, I had another dream for the [Sochi] Olympics. When I was young, I watched the Olympics and the scene of an athlete who expressed, at length, his gratitude for his coach really left a strong impression on me. After I saw that I thought “In this place (the interview area) I will say the names of all the coaches who have taught me!”.  And so after that, almost every night I ran simulations and in that way, spent many sleepless nights. I still do that now. (Laughs). In reality, I was not able to say it, and so that [dream] did not come true, so please allow me to borrow this platform to say it.  Mami-sensei, Tsuzuki- sensei, Matsuda-sensei, Seki-sensei, Nanami-sensei, Natasha-sensei, Igor-sensei, Nagakubo-sensei, Brian, Tracy, Ghislain, David, Jeff, Shae, Stephane, Plu-san.

For bringing up someone like me, really, thank you very much!

Of course, that very last line was written in polite speech. 

Also…

Sensei means teacher (and in this case, Coach). It’s interesting that Natasha and Igor are the only non-japanese coaches to be called sensei, whilst everyone else is just called by their names. Except of course, Plushy. hahaha Plushy gets a -san (this is usually translated as ‘Mr’, but in no way is ‘Plu-san’ a formal way of address; keep in mind that Pooh is also translated as Pooh-san lol)