Kazuki Tomono | Page 59 | Golden Skate

Kazuki Tomono

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
OK, that wasn't too bad at all! He landed his quads, just popped his first axel and doubled some combos.
He scored 141.39 total, 70.29 TES and 71.10 PCS.

I'm mostly happy with his performance but HOW CAN HE GET 6s and 7s in PCS, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING JUDGES? :curse:
 

Giu

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Country
Italy
I'm mostly happy with his performance but HOW CAN HE GET 6s and 7s in PCS, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING JUDGES? :curse:

6s and 7s in PCS are outrageous!!!! Were we watching the same performance???

By the way the streaming is terrible, can’t they hire a better cameramen?
And what happened with that bottle of water?! 😂😂😂
 

Ichatdelune

Long live the Queen and her successors
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Country
South-Korea
So I caught up on Kazuki, pops and stumbles but no major disasters, I'm relieved. He was tired at the Stsq, I could see that, but still he performed to the best of his extent. Judges need to stop having designated PCS for the first skaters, that was NOT a 71.10 performance :curse:
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
So, for those who missed it, here's his Lombardia FS performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnGusIF5ubQ
Protocol: https://twitter.com/koron_1258/status/1173228114299633665

He finished 6th in the free skate, 7th overall. While I'm sure this is not the result he was looking for, it's not a tragedy. The season is long, and it's better if he makes mistakes now and learns from them, rather than at his GPs or Nationals.

The biggest takeaway for me should be the psychological issue: While it's obvious that his jumps improved a lot over the summer, he was too nervous to perform them well at Lombardia, so I hope he and his coaching team work on making sure he's calm and has the right kind of focus during competition. :pray:

Having said that, he did a pretty good job in keeping his levels: All his spins apart from one were level 4, and not only both his step sequences were level 4, he also got great GOE for them. In fact, it seems that he had the second highest StSq score for the whole competition! https://twitter.com/bigfanofskating/status/1173238484787556352 So really well done on this front, Kazuki! :thumbsup:

I'm really glad he's doing Kinki Regionals before his first GP, it will be another opportunity for him to get used to his programmes and hopefully his new layout, too.
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
I have to praise Kazuki for not giving up and fighting bravely till the end. I love his SP! His FP is also engaging, though I'd still give the vocals a one-way ticket to another part of the universe because they don't suit Kazuki's persona at all. And I raise my eyebrows a bit at lv4 for spins because at least in the SP the last two seemed a tad wobbly. That's the only criticism from me. Kazuki still has the most engaging performances of the field for me (sorry Matteo, not sold on the FP), at least in the FP where I had the luxury of watching most skaters, and his improved performance skills really show.
Now, Kazuki should repeat the wise words of Kaetlyn Osmond: "It can only get better from now on" (not sure I recall correctly). I am sure he's going to enter the GP circuit much more at ease!
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
Kazuki's little fan strikes again, copying 'Chroma' this time:
https://twitter.com/srk10253236/status/1173280029247074310
https://twitter.com/srk10253236/status/1173280029247074310
Kudos to him for taking on this complex choreography :biggrin:

Tim Koleto retweeted one of the videos, tagging Kazuki and saying: 'Have you seen this? Cute' https://twitter.com/Timkoleto/status/1173484941708890112
And Kazuki replied saying 'Healing' https://twitter.com/naniwatomono/status/1173485665503170562
(according to Google Translate)

This hilarious GIF is also going around on Twitter, 'Kazukinception': https://twitter.com/beth_gifs/status/1173420391739662338 :laugh:
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION 🔥
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Country
United-States
I know TSL is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I was very happy that in this week’s You Tube, they were very complimentary of Kazuki and his skating.

I am just paraphrasing, but they were saying he has some of the best all-around talent. He could be a contender with 4S, 4T, and 3A and by being clean and consistent. He is like a Frank Carroll dream –the Japanese qualities of a Sato, the Frank Carroll refinement like Denis Ten only with even more artistry. He has an exquisite presence on the ice.
https://youtu.be/fnvY3Klo8OA?t=3862
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
I know TSL is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I was very happy that in this week’s You Tube, they were very complimentary of Kazuki and his skating.

I am just paraphrasing, but they were saying he has some of the best all-around talent. He could be a contender with 4S, 4T, and 3A and by being clean and consistent. He is like a Frank Carroll dream –the Japanese qualities of a Sato, the Frank Carroll refinement like Denis Ten only with even more artistry. He has an exquisite presence on the ice.
https://youtu.be/fnvY3Klo8OA?t=3862

OMG thank you for the heads up, Arriba!
I will try to transcribe it at some point, but I listened, it's really high praise indeed!
 

AQFS

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
First, thank you all dears for the updates and news. Thanks @Giu and other fans at the Arena for being there for him :luv17:

I have been feeling terrible for our boy over the past days (can't imagine how he feels himself), I couldn't even watch the whole performances till now (just watched cuts) :(

I am glad he still gathered himself somehow after that SP disaster and delivered a better performance in the FP and also on a happy note, I am so in love with his FP costume. I did expect to see red there and it looks great on him :love:

Let's hope he learns from this experience and better work on his nerves (a problem he continues to have since last season), puts this competition behind him and hopefully, we see him showing what he worked hard on training the whole offseason in his future competitions :pray:

Kazuki Gambatta, we know you can do it!!!
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
I have been feeling terrible for our boy over the past days (can't imagine how he feels himself), I couldn't even watch the whole performances till now (just watched cuts) :(

Hi AQFS, hope you manage to watch his whole programmes, because even with the jump issues, they were both great performances!
I actually have rewatched them several times now, and the more I watch them, the more I like them... ;)

Just wanted to share some more photos from Lombardia (with Wakaba):
https://twitter.com/absoluteskating/status/1173992344619761665
https://twitter.com/Phantom_Kabocha/status/1174024088966369280
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
I know TSL is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I was very happy that in this week’s You Tube, they were very complimentary of Kazuki and his skating.

I am just paraphrasing, but they were saying he has some of the best all-around talent. He could be a contender with 4S, 4T, and 3A and by being clean and consistent. He is like a Frank Carroll dream –the Japanese qualities of a Sato, the Frank Carroll refinement like Denis Ten only with even more artistry. He has an exquisite presence on the ice.

I don't think I agree with them regarding Kazuki having more artistry than Denis - he's different, and I'd say more expressive, but not necessarily more artistic. However, I agree on the rest, and it's good to see Kazuki getting the attention he deserves. I think his SP is great.
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
I don't think I agree with them regarding Kazuki having more artistry than Denis - he's different, and I'd say more expressive, but not necessarily more artistic. However, I agree on the rest, and it's good to see Kazuki getting the attention he deserves. I think his SP is great.

TBH as a relatively new skating fan, I didn't understand their references very well. I've heard of Denis Ten (but not super familiar with his skating, so don't have an opinion), and Frank Carroll was Michelle Kwan's coach, right? Does anyone know who's this 'Sato' they refer to?

As promised, here's a transcription. I would still recommend listening to it if you can, to pick up on the tone they use, etc. But just in case there's someone out there who struggles with listening, here it goes:

Dave: My favourite skater was not Dmitri Aliev.
Jonathan: Fair enough... Sorry about your eyesight problem. No, just kidding!
D: I think he did a very nice job... (but) was not my favourite.
J: Oh... Oh! I know who your favourite is, and I agree with you. The Japanese skater.
D: Kazuki Tomono.
J: Loved him, yes!
D: I don't necessarily love the cut of Moulin Rouge, I appreciate they were going for a different cut, going back and forth between pieces, and... I just LOVE his skating.
J: It was beautiful!
D: I think he has some of the best all-around talent. I don't know if he's a quad lutz boy, but he seems like if he can get a quad toe, and a quad sal, and triple axels, he can be a contender just by being clean and consistent. Obviously, the short programme was a disaster, but! You see him in the free, and you think, this boy is getting closer and closer to DOING IT!
J: Yeah.
D: He's gonna have to perform well at Japanese Nationals, with Daisuke in the mix and I just... To me, he's like a Frank Carroll dream! He's got the Japanese qualities of a Sato, and the Frank Carroll refinement, it's like a Denis Ten, but even with more artistry.
J: Yeah. There's something absolutely inherently exquisite about his presence on the ice, and the way he moves. Yeah... I'm a big fan. I hope it goes well for him this season. Because, you see, you have Shoma, Hanyu and Daisuke... (then they say something about Keiji which I'm not gonna transcribe because it's a bit mean). This would be a thrilling addition to that lineup.
D: C'mon, Kazuki.
J: Do it, do it!
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION 🔥
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Country
United-States
Glad you had the patience to transcribe all that. They interrupt each other so much that I didn't feel like doing it! :laugh2: I like that they acknowledge that his SP was not the greatest, but they still look beyond that and see what his potential is. I think both of his programs are going to really progress as the season goes along. Also, this is the first time he's worked with Philip Mills, so it might have seemed a little more difficult to him. Consistency is going to be the key. Come on Kazuki, you can do it!
 

Tsurara

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 3, 2018
the step sequence was beautiful, and the program is potentially the most beautiful, so original and perfect for him... and the crowd was all for him...
I'm so happy to hear that. The streaming didn't show much of the crowd as expected, and I was wondering what their reaction was like. (I'm looking forward to your videos too!!!:love:)

For me it's very clear that his mistakes with jumps were more psychological than technical - it's great that he improved his physical strength and power but he needs to work on his mental strength, too. He was obviously too nervous and anxious to show the results of his hard work. Here's a nice 4T he landed on warm-up: https://twitter.com/cantileverlove/status/1172546293132070917
I was wondering if he had some backache or something, so if it wasn't that, then great. I tend to start suspecting of a back problem whenever I see a skater/athlete moving in this certain way and putting their hands on their back. (I can't explain, but there's this weird movement? that some ppl kinda have when they have a backache, but very often it's just me worrying too much only because I had suffered from one before.)

Having said that, he did a pretty good job in keeping his levels: All his spins apart from one were level 4, and not only both his step sequences were level 4, he also got great GOE for them. In fact, it seems that he had the second highest StSq score for the whole competition! https://twitter.com/bigfanofskating/status/1173238484787556352 So really well done on this front, Kazuki! :thumbsup:
It's the most important of all for me, and I think some of his goals are achieved I believe, no matter what he thought about it. (Bummer, no press to report his words after the competition!) Remember how exhausted he looked even to us at Gensan's? His stamina actually upped, it seemed, so, (1) getting levels on spins and steps (that's what he said 'mottainai mistakes' that he repeatedly said he wanted to fix before the season started), (2) stamina issue to do these tough programs, (3) delivering the program's atmosphere to the audience, the modern and neat but odd and unique style of contemporary SP, and showing strong and masculine power of FS with figure skating's classic air. All he needs now is to integrate them with big guns and polish bits here and there. Yes, the season has just started and this is not at all a bad start, considering how he needs to gear up towards GP, Nats, and then 4CC and possibly Worlds.
One by one, step by step. He has just climbed up the first few steps for the season!

I raise my eyebrows a bit at lv4 for spins because at least in the SP the last two seemed a tad wobbly.
I agree with many other things you said, but maybe a bit of misunderstanding here I'm afraid; spin levels are not about how beautiful it looks, but it's about how many of tech elements the judges counted as the level features to decide the base value. GOE is where you see how well they're done (to judges' eyes). So you see that his spins in SP were all level 4 but many judges gave negative GOEs, and his level 3 spin in FS got positive GOE, meaning he missed one level, but it didn't look too bad overall. (Like jumps, compare triple to quad, no matter how bad it looked, a quad is a quad once it's called so, and no matter how beautifully done, a triple is a triple and cannot get the base value of a quad.) SP's spins were well-calculated by Mills sensei, like we saw in the choreo video, to gain all the levels he could get and he did it (hurray!), it just needs some polishing (and perhaps even a bit more stamina to do so?)

I know TSL is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I was very happy that in this week’s You Tube, they were very complimentary of Kazuki and his skating.

I am just paraphrasing, but they were saying he has some of the best all-around talent. He could be a contender with 4S, 4T, and 3A and by being clean and consistent. He is like a Frank Carroll dream –the Japanese qualities of a Sato, the Frank Carroll refinement like Denis Ten only with even more artistry. He has an exquisite presence on the ice.
https://youtu.be/fnvY3Klo8OA?t=3862
Thanks, Arriba, for informing us!!! (I actually stopped watching it halfway, didn't have enough time watching it all yet)

TBH as a relatively new skating fan, I didn't understand their references very well. I've heard of Denis Ten (but not super familiar with his skating, so don't have an opinion), and Frank Carroll was Michelle Kwan's coach, right? Does anyone know who's this 'Sato' they refer to?

As promised, here's a transcription. I would still recommend listening to it if you can, to pick up on the tone they use, etc. But just in case there's someone out there who struggles with listening, here it goes:
Thanks a bunch, KiraraChin! :love: I'm sure a lot of Japanese readers who have hard time hearing in English are pleased to have it transcribed! (and I can also confirm myself that I did hear them correctly :devil: sometimes I can't be sure either!)

I was wondering the same thing about their references.
First of all, 'Sato' is the second most common family name in Japan :laugh: and I can't be too sure who he meant, but if I may assume, most likely the Sato family of Nobuo Sato, Kumiko Sato, and Yuka Sato (their daughter), and their students. They are known for great skating skills, and "the quality of a Sato" by this context sounds like a huge compliment for nice skating skills, at least to me. (Yuka herself, and Takahiko Kozuka are particularly well-known for their skating skills. Kao Miura (junior) recently started training under Nobuo Sato, but not there yet.)
As for Frank Carroll, he taught many talents including Michelle Kwan, Evan Lysacek, Gracie Gold... but then, hearing of Sato and Frank Carroll, I got reminded of Daisuke (Dice) Murakami under Frank Carroll and Kumiko Sato, the most. (Remember, Tomono-kun was a substitute for Dice at NHK Trophy in 2017? and that was his very first GP iirc.)
It was when Daisuke Takahashi announced his retirement in 2014 that Dice Murakami changed his SP to Roxanne, to dedicate it to his senpai (Takahashi did Roxanne long ago in 2000s), and he did a fabulous job, winning his first gold medal in GP series at NHK to join the top skaters after all the struggles he had had. I'm pretty sure these two remember that too. (ETA: Oh yes, and Dice was also doing Phillip Mills programs!)

All in all, I'm so glad to hear such great compliments from them and I believe "all-around talent" is what Tomono-kun really wants to hear. (His "many colors' comment in his interviews.) I wonder if he already had a chance to hear their praise!?

On a different note, Frank Carroll often said in interviews that he tells his skaters to forget about the crowd to calm down and skate normally like when they practice at home rink. Dice too did say he made it thanks to this advice of his and he could calm down to perform well. I'm sure that works for many too and I know Frank Carroll is a great coach. BUT that's NOT what I want Tomono-kun to do, because one of the best qualities of Tomono-kun imo is that he's always connected with the audience as an entertainer and I love that. I don't want him to forget about the crowd at all!!! I would want him to go more like Lambiel way for his mental solution (even though his top 2 students haven't managed it yet, so far) and keep connected with the audience during his performance as he always does. And I want to believe he's just started learning how to achieve that. He already has everything he needs to be in the zone. I remember seeing Tomono-kun sometimes did this traditional (Japanese) superstitious habit of writing a kanji character of 'person(人)' on his palm and swallow it to calm him down. But as Stephane says, getting nervous is not a bad thing. The most important is to learn how to deal with it and enjoy feeling adrenaline rush through one's system to get peak performances.
 

Giu

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Country
Italy
I'm sorry for being late; these are the links to my humble videos and pictures from Lombardia:

https://imgur.com/a/4byWd0L
https://imgur.com/a/mTi3T9k

The quality is really poor and probably you have already seen better contents somewhere else! :eek::
All the videos are really short and shaky but I was trying to enjoy his skate with my eyes and, at the same time, filming and hoping that he wasn't moving out of the frame!!!
You will see stumbles and falls (one on footwork :() but believe me he did also some great jumps!!!
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
Glad you had the patience to transcribe all that. They interrupt each other so much that I didn't feel like doing it! :laugh2: I like that they acknowledge that his SP was not the greatest, but they still look beyond that and see what his potential is. I think both of his programs are going to really progress as the season goes along. Also, this is the first time he's worked with Philip Mills, so it might have seemed a little more difficult to him. Consistency is going to be the key. Come on Kazuki, you can do it!

LOL I know what you mean, TSL interrupt each other all the time, and also the sound in their videos isn't brilliant... Thank you again for the heads up and the summary! It's great to see Kazuki getting more recognition.
I completely agree with you that both his programmes will progress a lot over the season. Moulin Rouge seems more 'ready' at this point, since it was choreographed earlier and it's a more conventional programme. But I do think Chroma will be magnificent later on!

I was wondering if he had some backache or something, so if it wasn't that, then great. I tend to start suspecting of a back problem whenever I see a skater/athlete moving in this certain way and putting their hands on their back. (I can't explain, but there's this weird movement? that some ppl kinda have when they have a backache, but very often it's just me worrying too much only because I had suffered from one before.)
Nooo what a terrifying prospect :sad21: From all the clips and reports I've seen he seemed very healthy in practice, and Giu said Hiraike-sensei was smiling, so I do believe he is healthy and was just nervous in his first international competition of the season.

Thanks a bunch, KiraraChin! :love: I'm sure a lot of Japanese readers who have hard time hearing in English are pleased to have it transcribed! (and I can also confirm myself that I did hear them correctly :devil: sometimes I can't be sure either!)

I was wondering the same thing about their references.

You're very welcome! :luv17: I'm glad I could help.

Thank you so much for your explanation about the references, it makes a lot more sense now! It does sound like they referred to the Sato family, and it's a huge compliment especially considering how much Kazuki has been improving in his skating skills.
I actually rewatched his performance from Lombardia last year, and compared with his performance this year, and the difference is astonishing!
His crossovers, stroking and general speed across the ice are so much better now! You can really see the work he's been doing with Misha starting to bear fruit.

I'm sorry for being late; these are the links to my humble videos and pictures from Lombardia:

https://imgur.com/a/4byWd0L
https://imgur.com/a/mTi3T9k

The quality is really poor and probably you have already seen better contents somewhere else! :eek::
All the videos are really short and shaky but I was trying to enjoy his skate with my eyes and, at the same time, filming and hoping that he wasn't moving out of the frame!!!
You will see stumbles and falls (one on footwork :() but believe me he did also some great jumps!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Giu! :love:
Really fascinating to have a glimpse of his practice! I can usually tell how nervous he is by the amount of popped axels in practice, and there were a few there :(
On the other hand, I really loved that quad sal in one of the clips! That stumble in the steps was funny, actually, poor Kazuki :laugh:
 

KiraraChin

Medalist
Joined
May 5, 2018
Right, now onto the news!

Kazuki participates tomorrow (22/09) at the Osaka's Autumn Challenge Festival, part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics series of events. He's one of the headliners of the event, as you can see in this poster! https://twitter.com/osakacity_koho/status/1173874480457732096 (I wish they had chosen a more flattering picture :laugh:)
He's participating in a talk show, 'sports experience', and there will be a draw in which the winners will receive presents from Kazuki and another athlete.
HOWEVER, they also announced the event might be cancelled if there is a storm warning earlier on the day :(
I really hope they don't cancel, because it sounds like such a fun event!

Also, Kazuki's eating ramen again with Ohayo Call ABC TV show! https://www.instagram.com/p/B2qA7X2HNYG/
Broadcast is scheduled for the 27th! They seem to be calling his appearance 'Baka noodle fool corner' - I wonder if they do this to other people, or they created a ramen-themed segment just for him... :laugh2:
I really love the pictures (as you can see from my new avatar ;))! He looks so happy and that ramen looks amazing! Apparently, it's an Italian-inspired recipe.
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION 🔥
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Country
United-States
I'm sorry for being late; these are the links to my humble videos and pictures from Lombardia:

Always love photos or videos taken by fans! They give us a completely different perspective. Thx for sharing!
 
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