Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 12

Episode 12 – Gotta Super-Super Charge It!! Grand Prix Final Free Skate



This episode starts out as if the journey is about to end. “After the final, let's end this,” Katsuki said to Victor. He continues with “thank you for everything. Thank you for being my coach.” There are a few times where I have been thinking about when would I actually stop skating. It's like when I ask myself, when will I stop cosplaying. Am I too old for this? In both hobbies, I have seen many who are older than me and sometimes I see families participating. I've seen families dressing up together at conventions and skating together at rinks. To be honest with you, I do not know when I'll say goodbye to my coaches. Probably, the obvious answer would be if one of us moves. Can't really coach from afar.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 11

Episode 11 – Gotta Super-Super Charge It!! Grand Prix Final Short Program

If you have been keeping up with my writings, I mentioned earlier that I only skate oncze for a competition and that determines my placement. So, I only have one chance in skating better than anyone. As Katsuki said, “I have to take a risk...I can't afford complacency and finding out how far I can push myself will help motivate me to keep fighting through the final...Since then I focused a lot of practice time on the Quad Flip.” Now, obviously, I don't do ANY quad jumps. Dear lord no. I prefer keeping my knees intact, thank you very much. However, I know how Katsuki feels. Sometimes being flawless isn't enough. I can be competing against one person, but my required elements have to be higher in difficulty and executed much better.


Sunday, October 29, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 10

Episode 10 – Gotta Supercharge It!! Pre-Grand Prix Final Special!



This episode starts out with what appears to be a relaxing set up. You hear Victor say, “sometimes you on vacation time away from your hectic everyday life when you relax and be yourself.” See, I have a normal day job, where I'm at work for 8 hours a day. Personally, I haven't felt the “need a vacation” yet. HOWEVER, to my surprise, I felt like that with skating! I don't have a schedule like the senior level competitors on TV, but there was a time where I told my coach that I didn't feel like taking a lesson. It was in February 2017 and within one week I had TWO events. One was a competition and the other an exhibition. I only agreed to the exhibition because I thought I DIDN'T have competition that week. Turns out, the rink hosting the event gave me permission to compete without a coach. Well, I guess I had to perform twice that week, which resulted in me being exhausted. I was like coach...I don't want to see you...no skating...and that mentality lasted for TWO weeks. Yes, no skating for those weeks, not even leisure.

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 9

Episode 9 – Yuri vs Yuri The Honor! Rostellecom Cup, Free Skate


Knowing that he can't be there, Victor tells Katsuki, “I'm sorry, Yuri. I know I won't be here; I'll be there with you in spirit.” My coach does something similar. Even though he has other priorities, he has told me to text him when it's going to be my turn to perform. So, he prep talks me over text messaging aka SMS. Lol. Also, he has other ways of showing that he cares about my performance; he always asks for a video.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 8

Episode 8 – Yuri vs Yuri The Honor! Rostellecom Cup, Short Program

Katsuki said something to Plisetsky that makes sense for any type of competition, “I know both of us can't win. I'm sure we'll both skate well.” Yes, there's only one first place. The two characters are more friendly rivals than friends. I don't have rivals like that, at least not yet anyway. However, I know eventually I'll be skating against a friend. It might be easier if we were friendly rivals. It's harder when it's against a friend. I'm sure we both want to get on the podium. The question is, who's going to get gold.


Thursday, October 26, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 7

Episode 7 - China's On! The Grand Prix Series Opening Event!! The Cup of China Free Skate

Well, this episode starts out with a dose of reality. Victor said to Katsuki, “you haven't slept have you?” Ah yeah...I know that feeling. I don't know why it happens. I had a competition at 10am, but I had to get on the ice at 8:45am to warm up. That means, I had to wake up around 6am to do my usual morning routine in addition to applying on make up and leave on time to catch the train. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep after midnight...with eyes staring at the ceiling, but I did make it pretty early for the rink's 8:45am freestyle session to do my warm up.


Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 6

Episode 6 – China's On! The Grand Prix Series Opening Event!! The Cup of China Short Program

With some reflection, I've been to four competitions and performed at an exhibition. I've already developed a pre-competition eating habit. Victor asked Katsuki, “why aren't you eating the shrimp?” and his response was “no raw food for me, not night before competition.” Unlike, Katsuki, I eat the night before. However, I try NOT to eat a full meal before competition. Why? Because 1) I don't want to have to use the bathroom 5 minutes before my turn and 2) I don't want to have a stomach ache during the program. I already have to calm my nerves, I don't want to be concerned with actual bathroom issues.


Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 5

Episode 5 – Face Beet-Red!! It’s the First Competition! The Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu Championship


As a veteran competitor, Katsuki is probably used to the competitive annual cycle. He knows how to get “ready for the 1st competition of the season.” Because he’s been in it for so long, he’ll notice the age gaps and the up and coming skaters, “I’m the oldest by a lot.” For me, I’m in my first cycle. My first competition was in October 2016…and…I did notice all the kids there. However, the competition was divided by category and age groups. So, I didn’t compete against the kids. Regardless, your first competition can be exciting and nerve wrecking.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 4

Episode 4 – Like Yourself… and Complete the Free Program!!


At some point, you practice so hard that your body will give up on you. There will be times where you are mentally and physically exhausted. Because of this, Katsuki woke up late and didn’t arrive on time for his lesson. Yes, that has happened to me…I can’t twirl into my clothing like Katsuki, but I had to blaze through my morning routine to catch the train! However, I was still late…probably at least by 10 minutes. FYI, if your coach is strict, you would have to pay for the lesson duration that you originally intended. If it’s $30 for 30 minutes, but you are late by 10 minutes, you still must pay $30.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 2

Episode 2: Two Yuris ?! Drama at Yu-topia


Alright, so we are left off with Victor Nikiforov's ambition on teaching Yuri Katsuki. No matter who your coach is, there are coaching fees. Victor said to Katsuki, “defer my coaching fee for now, I'll bill you once you win something.” Well, that's nice of him to put it on a bar tab, but coaching fees add up even if you pay after each lesson. There are coaches that are paid by 30 minutes or an hour, while others are paid based on a contract. However, the amount of time (could be a six-month contract or a 15 minute lesson) and costs are agreed between the coach and skater. So, all us skaters, including Katsuki, need to save for those lesson fees!

Friday, October 20, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater - Episode 1

Episode 1: Easy as Pirozhki!! The Grand Prix Final Tears


The episode starts out with someone figure skating and all you see is their skates. This is the moment where you learn about Katsuki Yuri’s admiration of Victor Nikiforov, “ever since I first saw his skating, it's been an unending chain of surprises.” I'm sure that many figure skaters, regardless of the level you are in, have one figure skater that they idolize. Mine is Michelle Kwan. Not sure if she had an “unending chain of surprises,” because she won so many gold medals! However, the ONE possible event that can probably be view as a chain is the unattainable Olympic Gold. She did not get it 1998, 2002 and 2006. Regardless, till this day, I continue to admire her.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Reflections of Yuri!!! On Ice from an Adult Skater


I'm sure we’ve all heard of the 2016 anime hit series during the start of the 2016-2017 figure skating season. If you are a figure skater: competitive (very general: skater who qualifies to compete or old school term “amateur” figure skater), professional (retired from the competitive career, but in general does ice shows or coaches) or adult (very general: started skating after 18 years old), you probably heard about the show through the community. That's basically how I found out about it.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES EVENTS FOR CREATOR AKIRA HIMEKAWA DURING NEW YORK COMIC CON 2017

Creators Of The Bestselling Manga Based On
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Nintendo Video Game
To Appear As Guests Of Honor At New York Comic Con
San Francisco, CA, September 19, 2017 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, announces special appearances and autograph sessions for the creative team behind THE LEGEND OF ZELDA manga series, Akira Himekawa, during New York Comic Con 2017 this October.