#midori ito

[tenchisupremacist]

Midori Ito at the 2023 International Adult Figure Skating Competition

She’s 53, she’s amazing and she radiates joy ✨✨

(She won btw)

[eggplantgifs]

Midori Ito: Aqua » 2024 ISU Adult Skating Competition

[tsarinajissa]

Thanks to reddit user kemmes7 for this video of Midori Ito continuing to be amazing on ice at age FIFTY FOUR

(International adult figure skating competition in Oberstdorf 2024)

[allekha]

Fun With Jump Arm Variations

When jumping, different skaters put their arms in different places, but generally they are pressed flat against the torso, especially on higher-revolution jumps. This compressed shape increases the skater’s rotational speed, which is important for attempting triples and quads.

But as anyone who has watched much skating has seen, you can jump with your arms in different positions, too. There are two main arm variations you will see in modern skating programs:

One arm above the head - these are nicknamed ‘tanos’ after Brian Boitano, who did not invent but did popularize the variation. Ones where the arm is bent a lot may be derisively nicknamed ‘helicopter tanos’, as some fans don’t like how they look. (Brian Boitano 1988 Olympics SP, Brian Orser 1988 Olympics SP, Petra Burka 1965 FS, Wendy Burge 1976 Olympics FS, Ekaterina Kurakova 2022 Euros FS)

Two arms above the head - these are nicknamed ‘rippons’ after Adam Rippon, who also did not invent them but popularized them when he started doing it on his lutz. (He did tanos on it for a while, but then started using both arms when he trained with Brian Orser, because he felt bad doing ‘tanos’ in front of Orser, who famously took silver behind Boitano at the Olympics.) (Adam Rippon 2016 GP France FS, Midori Ito 1988 Olympics SP, Ting Cui 2018 JGP Ostrava  SP, Sihyeong Lee 2021 Nebelhorn FS)

However, there are also other arm variations. These are all rare nowadays, although if you watch older programs, you are more likely to spot a variation that’s not a tano or rippon. Ones I’ve seen include:

Hands on hips - these used to be much more popular back in the day but have fallen out of fashion. I would guess it’s because they slow down rotational speed too much, as every one I have seen is a double except this one by Michael Chack, but I don’t know for sure. (Jill Trenary 1990 Worlds FS, Michael Chack 1992 USNats FS, Rory Flack 1988 USNats SP, Tonia Kwiatkowski 1988 USNats SP, Midori Ito 1987 Worlds SP, Anna Kondrashova 1988 Olympics SP, Yuzuru Hanyu 2010 JPNats FS)

Helicopter arms - this one has been used as a warm-up by Yuzuru Hanyu, and I’ve spotted it in competitions a couple of times with single and double jumps (Rory Flack 1994 US Open Artistic Program, Yuzuru Hanyu 2012 Finlandia Trophy SP warmup)

Arms behind back - I’ve only seen this one performed by Jason Brown in his Riverdance program, where depending on the event he placed either one or both arms behind his back during the second jump of this combo (2013 SA FS, 2014 Nats FS)

Arm switching midair - I’ve only seen this one in this lovely axel variation by John Curry (1976 Olympic SP)

Hands by the head - I believe I may have seen this used by at least one other skater, but the only example I have at hand is this one by Nancy Kerrigan (1990 Goodwill Games SP)

Beginning in 2009, ‘varied position in the air’ became a positive GOE bullet point for jumps. This was because they are supposed to add to the difficulty of a jump, although I’ve seen arguments back and forth from skaters about how true that is for some arm positions (and even if which arm is raised makes a difference for tanos). Years later, they exploded in popularity, particularly in the women’s competition. The trend had its beginning around 2014 or so; the previous season, junior World medalists Evgenia Medvedeva and Serafima Sakhanovich were given programs constructed to include raised arms on a couple of jumps, which wasn’t too unusual, but in 2014, their programs contained many more of them. Medvedeva would go on to dominate the senior circuit for several years and notably used raised arms on most of her jumps during that time, which started the trend in earnest among other skaters.

This GOE bullet point was removed for the 2018-2019 season. But if arm variations no longer get that bit of GOE, why do we still see them so often? There are probably a few reasons:

Skaters who trained them for GOE a few years ago got used to doing them that way and don’t want to mess with their muscle memory

They can add to a program aesthetically

Skaters and their teams may still hope to impress the judges by using them

Skaters have said that rippons help straighten their jump axis

I’ve also seen speculation that rippons can be used to help muscle jumps using the upper body in some cases

I would also like to shout out arm variations on jump exits that aren’t the standard check-out position. These aren’t as common as mid-air variations nowadays and rarely get talked about as their own thing - probably in part because they were never a GOE bullet - but they can add difficulty to the exit as well as give a nice choreographic touch to a program. You can see a few in the above gifs, but here’s a few more:

(Petra Burka 1965 Worlds FS, Yuzuru Hanyu 2021 “White Nights” EX, Anett Pötzsch 1976 Olympics FS, Hana Mašková 1968 Worlds FS, Claudia Kristofics-Binder 1976 Olympics FS, Brian Boitano 1988 Olympics SP, Vladimir Kovalyov 1976 Olympics SP)

[storyteller-aprendiz]

Midori Ito, Dynamo 2024

[dozydawn]

Midori Ito competes in the World Figure Skating Championships, 1989. Photographed by Jean-Loup Gautreau.

[roseandsalt]

[smcempathy]

[triple-axel-triple-threat]

The best dress in skating.

[storyteller-aprendiz]

Midori Ito 1992 Albertville Olympics Exhibition (USTV)

Featuring: singing under the rain and under the rainbow.

[dozydawn]

Midori Ito Exhibition Gala at the Winter Olympics, 1988. Photographed by David Madison and Eileen Langsley.

[pokemonheritageposts]

ooooohhhhhhhhhhh i was really hoping someone would ask for this

specifically because #1 is just. incredible. like this is in the running for my favourite card of all time.

10. Poliwhirl (illus. Kurata So, 151 61/165)

9. Poliwhirl (illus. Kagemaru Himeno, Neo Discovery 44/75)

8. Poliwrath (illus. Naoyo Kimura, Skyridge 24/144)

7. Poliwag (illus. Midori Harada, Sun & Moon - Unbroken Bonds 36/214)

6. Politoed (illus. Atsuko Nishida, Skyridge 25/144)

5. Poliwag (illus. Miki Tanaka, Skyridge 87/144)

4. Poliwag (illus. Asako Ito, Sun & Moon 30/149)

3 (TIE). Poliwag/Poliwhirl/Poliwrath (illus. Yuka Morii, Expedition 125+89+60/175)

2. Politoed (illus. Tomokazu Komiya, Neo Discovery 27/75)

1. Poliwhirl (illus. Gemi, 151 176/165)

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

ISU released an article about Shoma

Two-time ISU World Champion and three-time Olympic medalist Shoma Uno of Japan has announced his retirement from competitive skating after a long and distinguished career and is ready to open a new chapter in his life.

“I have decided to retire from active competition,” Uno wrote on Instagram. “I am very grateful to have been able to continue skating for 21 years since I was 5 years old, and to have had a wonderful athletic life.”

The Japanese star will talk in more detail about his retirement and future plans in a press conference scheduled for May 14.

The 26-year-old looks back at a career with many highlights and also difficult times, but he always came back, proving his talent and showing resilience. When five-year-old Shoma went to the ice rink in his hometown of Nagoya with his father to have fun, he had no idea that he would become a World Champion, Olympic medalist and super star of the sport. He only knew that the enjoyed skating and kept coming back to the rink, taking lessons. He trained with Machiko Yamada, the coach of Japanese skating icon Midori Ito and also with Mihoko Higuchi for many years and worked his way up in the skating world.

Uno debuted in the ISU Junior Grand Prix in 2011 and was so tiny that he was unable to look over the boards. He won a few medals on the Junior circuit but his breakthrough came in what was his last Junior season in 2014/15 when he qualified for the first time for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final where he claimed gold. Shoma went on to take the ISU World Junior title in 2015, in what was his fourth and final appearance at the event (climbing from 10th in 2012, 7th in 2013 and 5th in 2014).

Once at the senior level, Uno quickly became one of the top Skaters in the World. In his World debut in 2016 he placed 7th but then the next year won silver, his first of a total of four World medals. In his first Olympic Winter Games in 2018, Shoma skated off with the silver medal and returned on to the Olympic podium four years later, earning the bronze. In 2022 and 2023 Uno crowned himself ISU World Champion.

However, in between there was a time of struggle. In the 2019/20 season, for the first (and only) time in his career, Uno finished off the podium in the ISU Grand Prix Series. He had left his coaches since childhood and struggled with confidence.

“At first, to be honest, I was thinking about finishing my career,“ he said in an interview at Skate America 2021 about this time.

“I did not know how much longer I would keep going. But imaging the end (I thought) maybe I'll enjoy the rest of this career as an athlete.“

Uno started to work with two-time World Champion Stéphane Lambiel as his coach and choreographer in fall 2019 and soon came back strong. He grew as an athlete and a performer with beautiful programs that highlighted his versatility: “Turandot” (Free Skating 2017/18), “Great Spirit” (Short Program 2020/21), “Bolero” (Free Skating 2021/22) and “Spiegel im Spiegel” (Free Skating 2023/24) to name a few.

At the same time, the Japanese star always pushed the limits technically and made history by becoming the first Skater to perform a quadruple flip in competition in 2016.

“When I train and want to become better, it's not good for me to work on what I can already do. If I'm satisfied with just giving 80 per cent, I'm not good. The right training for me is to push my limits,” Uno said in an interview.

The Japanese Skater has an independent mind and a fun personality. He has a Youtube Channel where you can meet his three toy poodles Emma, Baron and Toro.

“When I am on the ice, I am totally focused on my sport, but when I'm off the ice, I am sure most people know I am just a lazy slacker, but I thought that would be a good way to show to the people how I am off the ice, but still this is Shoma Uno,” he explained.

When asked who inspires him the most, Shoma’s surprising answer was:

"Myself. Of course, I think I am inspired by many people and heard some good words from everyone, too, but in the end when you break it down, I do feel that it is myself that inspires me and sadly, I don't listen to anyone. Sometimes I listen, but mostly I go with my own mind,” he added.

For sure Uno will follow his own ideas in the years to come but you can certainly expect to see him gracing the ice in shows for a while.

[rikeijo]

Today’s translation #681

Miracle!!! on ICE, Hirose Idumi’s interview

Part 1.

-- The first thing - could you please, tell us about the role of color setting in Yuri!!! on ICE?

Hirose: I think that overall it is the same as in other shows, but Yuri!!! uses a lot of sparkling and lace elements that are pasted on , and it was me, who created those collage materials. I used real-life skaters' costumes, both Japanese and foreign, as reference.

-- Are the sparkling elements mean to be covered in sequins?

Hirose: Sequins and rhinestones, embroidery and see-through elements made of mesh fabric. I was working on those materials, imagining how I want them to look on screen and one thing that I was mindful of is to not make them too bright, because the light effects would be added later. The photography team was responsible for adding the sparkling light - every time, I was looking forward to see how it turned out after filming.

-- I've heard that, just as the Diretor Yamamoto Sayo and Kubo Mitsurou, you too are a figure skating fan.

Hirose: I have been watching skating competitions on TV since Ito Midori's era, but I became a real fan around 2012. However, I'd never seen a competition in person, because from the stands you can't see a lot of details, and I though that it's surely more enjoyable to watch in peace at your home. But Yamamoto Director told me it's much better when you watch live, and now I'm here.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Naruto (2002) ナルト

Director: Hayato Date Screenwriter: Kishimoto Seiji / Sumizawa Katsuyuki / Takegami Junki Starring: Akira Ishida / Yasuyuki Kase / Romi Park / Shuji Nakata / Soichiro Hoshi / Nobutoshi Kanna / Shinichiro Miki / Hiroki Nakamura / Hiroshi Ienaka / Nobuaki Fukuda / Daisuke Kusunoki / Takako Honda / Hiroaki Hirata / Kenjiro Tsuda / Tomohiro Tsuboi / Tomoyuki Kono / Keiko Nemoto / Takuma Suzuki / Yumiko Kobayashi / Eizo Tsuda / Kazuaki Ito / Kiyomi Asai / Nozomu Sasaki / Hikaru Miyada / Junko Midori / Hideo Ishikawa / Tomoyuki Dan / Takayuki Sugo / Ken'ya Horiuchi / Masahiko Tanaka / Kenta Miyake / Susumu Chiba / Shunsuke Sakino / Akino Watanabe / Tomoyuki Morikawa / Takeshi Aono / Shizuka Ishikawa / Seiji Tsuta / Takeshi Watanabe / Masuo Amada / Mamiko Noto / Keihachi Tsuji / Makoto Tsumura / Hisaya Suganuma / Yasushi Yamamoto Genre: Comedy / Animation / Adventure Official website: www.naruto.com Country/Region of Production: Japan Language: Japanese/English Date: 2002-10-03 (Japan) Number of Seasons: 2 Number of episodes: 722 Single episode length: 24 minutes Number of Movies: 23 Number of Games: 60 Also known as: Fox Ninja / Naruto: Shippuden IMDb: tt0409591 Type: Appropriation

Summary:

Naruto is a Japanese anime television series based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga series of the same name. The story follows Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. Just like the manga, the anime series is divided into two separate parts: the first series retains the original manga's title and is set in Naruto's pre-teen years. The second series, a direct sequel titled Naruto: Shippuden, takes place during his teens. Both anime series were animated by Pierrot, produced by Aniplex and licensed in North America by Viz Media.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naruto_(TV_series)

Link: https://www.wcostream.tv/anime/naruto-kai-english-subbed