birdie02 - Tumblr blog

birdie02 · 4 years

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hiatus

Taking a break from Tumblr. I’m still in shock after the scores from GPF 2019. Not blaming the skaters - they are all very hardworking and inspirational; I’m just fed up and perhaps getting a bit too upset with how the judging is getting more and more wild. This includes my fanblog for Alena K. (alena-kostornaia), sorry to say. Maybe I will be back for major competitions (Worlds?) but we’ll see for now. I think I need a break to figure out what I want to look for in figure skating if I do not believe in the scores.

Meanwhile, I may somewhat be active on my Twitter @birdiewings02 but I think I’ll just feel better about figure skating after drawing some art, I dunno...

#psa #:(

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birdie02 · 4 years

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Hi hanyusan, I saw your post on the reasons Nathan Chen lands so consistently in his jumps is because of his very basic (or entire lack of) complex and difficult transitions into his jumps. It's obvious even to a person who knows little about figure skating that Yuzuru is a vastly more artistic and expressive skater than Nathan. I was wondering if you could talk more about how Yuzuru's transitions are different and superior to Nathan's? I would like to understand more! Thank you!

Oh boy. What a loaded question.

I don’t remember saying that specific thing about Nathan, though I do have to agree that that should have something to do with his success rate. I’m also not sure that I’m the right person to ask about this since I’m not as well-versed re: all the technicals/physics of everything as others, but maybe my layman’s perspective will help in a different way.

When it comes to artistry, it might be important to note that that’s not exactly what the judges are scoring. Rather, they’re scoring the technical aspects of a program that make you, as the audience, feel like it’s “artistic.” It’s kind of nuanced, but this is why skaters don’t have to be actually “expressive” to obtain PCS (though it helps); but they do have to ensure that their skating ability properly comes across through the entire duration of their program, not just in specific elements like jumps and spins.

Following this, the reason why Yuzu’s transitions are widely accepted as “superior” is because—as you mentioned—they make his programs difficult and require a lot of skill to execute. When it comes to jumps, it takes preparation to enter, rotate, and then land one. That’s why you’ll sometimes see crossovers (exactly what it sounds like, crossing each foot over the other on and off the ice) and/or looooong gliding before someone jumps; these don’t take much effort and will thus allow for the optimal entry into a jump. On the other hand, including transitions immediately beforehand can be incredibly risky because they can mess with the timing and speed necessary to make a jump perfect. If a skater can do it right, they should be rewarded.

Yuzu frequently incorporates transitions prior to (and after he does) a jump, meaning that he’s busy doing moves which take away from time that could be spent preparing his body for the jump. Most famous is his back counter into 3A; which is also where the saying “triple axel out of nowhere” comes from—he is doing so little preparation beforehand that you can’t tell it’s coming until it’s pretty much over.

To see how Nathan’s style differs, here’s a comparison between a 4S by Yuzu and the same jump by Nathan. Both were performed this past week at GPF and received the same GOE of +4.16 by the same panel of judges.

Yuzuru:

Nathan:

In this instance, Nathan utilizes a quick couple of crossovers to get him prepared for the jump whereas Yuzu opts for none, instead including some footwork that I don’t have the eyeballs to name one-by-one; but hey, I don’t even have to for you to know that it’s not some trivial business. (Also note how Yuzu refuses to put his free leg down afterward. Instead he lets it swing like he’s a fragile little leaf, floating along in the autumn wind. Sorry, I’m getting distracted.)

You can spot their styles pretty consistently across all their programs: Yuzu likes his components, Nathan likes his jumps. It’s pointless to argue which one is “better,” but by giving these two jumps the same GOE, the judges are saying that good components aren’t necessary to get a good score. Which is an interesting perspective, given that they’re a part of the rubric.

All this being said, I think that the problem isn’t Nathan’s lack of difficulty in transitions and/or components, but rather how his scores don’t reflect that. Imagine you took a math test and your deskmate got full points for a question that he only showed half the work for and wrote down a random answer. Do you blame your deskmate for not knowing the answer? No, you blame the teacher for being a flipping idiot and allowing your deskmate to think that he’s right.

#figure skating #thoughts and opinions #yuzuru hanyu #nathan chen #<3 #this explains it all

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birdie02 · 4 years

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▷𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗬𝗨𝗭𝗨𝗥𝗨: 𝗔 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 [template credit: ✗ and ✗]

#figure skating #yuzuru hanyu #gifs #aesthetic #seimei #origin #let's go crazy #hope and legacy #parisienne walkways #chopin ballade no.1 #otonal

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birdie02 · 4 years

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Ok so saw your tag about ISU putting a target on Nathan’s back to push him out of the sport via overscoring him. I’m intrigued and see where you’re coming from with this but please elaborate, I have not seen it in this perspective

/x-files theme/

Recount with me the events of the ladies’ singles event at the Sochi Olympics back in 2014:

Yuna Kim is the crowd favorite.

Yuna does not win; the gold goes to Adelina Sotnikova.

The results prompt people, especially Yuna fans, to be consumed by outrage against the judging system and corruption of the ISU.

Some take to the internet to bash Adelina in every possible way and the attacks become personal, all because she held a gold medal that someone else gave to her. She is very young, and there is no way her mental state doesn’t take a hit from the harassment.

In the following years, Adelina falls almost completely off the radar. She cites injuries behind why she can’t attend competitions. Regardless, her legacy is stained and will remain that way.

Replace “Yuna” with “Yuzuru” and “Adelina” with “Nathan.” Obviously, the last point isn’t true for Nathan, but I hope you see my point: the unfair scoring harmed Yuna, but it also harmed Adelina—possibly even more so.

None of the Yuzuru-Nathan fiascos are on that scale; and at the very least, Nathan has already made enough of a name for himself that he won’t vanish. But with Yuzu arguably being even more of a superstar than Yuna, the backlash on Nathan has been terribly unkind. The guy can’t even post a goat emoji on Instagram without being crucified.

Specifically, I don’t think that the ISU wants Nathan out; not in the same way that they want Yuzu to go. Not too sure what they would gain from that (though, I’m not too sure about anything when it comes to the ISU). However, I do think that they’re not interested in keeping Nathan’s legacy clean. He has the capacity to win fairly, so why won’t they let him? They inflate his PCS in comparison to Yuzu’s in such plain sight that no one can miss the numbers. They have to get him to take home the gold while letting people question his victory and challenge his abilities as a figure skater. Oh, and while being harassed by the internet. Hmm.

#figure skating #gpf 2019 #yuzuru hanyu #nathan chen #yuna kim #adelina sotnikova

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birdie02 · 4 years

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Kamila Valieva || 2019 Junior Grand Prix Final, FS: Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3

#figure skating #kamila valieva #jgpf 2019 #exogenesis symphony #gifs #aesthetic #her extension holy cow

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birdie02 · 4 years

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yuzuru + streamers in the gala finale || 2019 Grand Prix Final

#figure skating #yuzuru hanyu #gpf 2019 #notte stellata #omg he looks so happy #best part of gpf right here #his smile ahh #best***#gala #ex #gifs #aesthetic

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birdie02 · 4 years

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2019 Grand Prix Final: Yuzuru Hanyu + Notte Stellata

#figure skating #yuzuru hanyu #gpf 2019 #notte stellata #gifs #aesthetic #gala #ex

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birdie02 · 4 years

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Yuzuru Hanyu finishing his Free Skate “Origin” at the GPF 2019 + being rewarded with the biggest Pooh-Rain ever

OP note: At the end of his Free, Yuzuru toppled over and didn’t even have the strength to hold himself anymore. He gave his all. His everything, his last breath, he deserves everyone’s resepct and it can’t be put into words of what he managed to create on the ice today. Not only did we witness his otherwordly skating all over again, we also got to see a strong mind with unbelievable willpower and an absolute epitome of an athlete. Thank you, Yuzuru ♡

#figure skating #yuzuru hanyu #gif 2019 #origin #gifs #aesthetic #pooh rain #best***

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birdie02 · 4 years

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If you guys are as upset as I am about the outrageous judging in the men’s event (and tbh, all events for a while now) people on twitter have suggested cutting off support to the ISU! This means unfollowing on twitter, IG, unsubscribing for their YouTube channels, etc. Basically, any support that does not go directly to Yuzu (or another skater you support!) gets cut off. Several of us already watch events through illegal streams anyway, and the JGP series is over, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to transition. Think about it if you want to!

#figure skating #gpf 2019 #isu

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birdie02 · 4 years

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