[00:02] my defense, I had a good reason. I was competing.
[00:17] are reacting to medalist episode 20, so season 2 episode 7. Yes, I competed this weekend. I actually competed at my sectional championships, which is all the way in Washington state, which is quite away from me, hence why it took me
[00:33] was tired and then I got a little bit sick. So, I'm finally here. This was my very first sectional championships. I have actually never competed at any sectional championships ever in my life. I competed at regionals, which is a
[00:47] little bit smaller, but that was before they done away with regionals and now it goes straight to sectionals. And I finished in sixth out of 12, which I know is not as exciting as when I could show you my medal because I did not win
[01:00] a medal here and I did not qualify for the championship round at nationals. However, I am really proud of how I skated. I was able to skate just [music] in general better than the first time. Even my husband noticed that I skated a
[01:13] lot faster. like I was a bit more expressive and I performed the program a little bit better. [music] I also didn't fall, which is kind of nice. I was able to land both of the jumps as I was expecting to the first time. I messed up
[01:27] my combo spin, which cost me about two points because we did add in a new combo instead of a level two and it was a little bit less consistent in practice, so it was a risk that I unfortunately missed. But, I don't think that spin
[01:43] mistake cost me enough to say like I would have gone to nationals if I hadn't. I was about three points out of fourth place [music] and the spin loss cost me about one and a half to two points. So, the best it could have done
[01:58] is put me in fifth, which I honestly kind of prefer sixth since fifth is the first one to miss qualifying and a medal. Fifth is the first alternate also, so you kind of have to keep training as if you are going [music] to
[02:13] nationals, but you aren't necessarily going. So, I think that being second alternate, being sixth place, I'm really proud of being in the top six, and now I know where I'm at. I'm probably going to do
[02:28] sectionals again next year. I think going into this, I wasn't sure if I was going into this, I wasn't sure if I was going to. I felt like if I showed up and won everything I did, which was probably never going to happen, but you know,
[02:40] there the thought crossed my mind that maybe it would. I think if that had happened, maybe there would be [music] an argument to be had that, "Okay, go to nationals, win nationals, and then that's good. Like you you close the door
[02:52] on the skating career that you had." Maybe I would have felt like that was Maybe I would have felt like that was the perfect close to my story, but now I definitely not only feel like I did not close the door, but I also love
[03:06] competing. It was very strange. The [music] competition in February, I felt so nervous, and I think it was partially because it has just been [music] so long since I have competed that it was like almost completely foreign to
[03:20] when I was little, and I was always nervous when I was competing [music] before all the way up until I was like 22 when I stopped. So, that was nothing new, but I was definitely nervous enough that I felt [music] very shy on the ice.
[03:34] could. I didn't perform as well as I could. At this competition last weekend with sectionals, I felt a lot more just [music] happy. I think it's partially because literally in between both of
[03:47] these competitions is when Alyssa Liu won the gold medal and has just completely blown up everywhere. I keep seeing quotes from her and it makes it a little bit easier. I've been trying to like emulate her the entire time I've
[04:00] mindset she's been in ever since she came back. But because [music] her quotes were literally everywhere, they were mainstream, she's mainstream now, into that mindset and I found myself even smiling during my warm-up. I found
[04:16] myself excited and making eye contact with the judges before I even took my starting position. So, a lot of small wins. My score was two points lower on the component side, which was a little bit frustrating considering I know that
[04:30] I skated this program better this time than the time before. But everyone tells me that when it comes to adult competitions, the scoring is not consistent and you can't really take your components and compare because no
[04:43] matter what, there's going to be some panels that are just running a little running a little bit lower. The girl that won my group in February also won this group and had about a five-point discrepancy in her component scores when
[04:58] she skated just about as well as she did the time before. So, it's all relative. feels like you can't really improve. Like I always take a competition as an and score better, but if the judging is
[05:13] this inconsistent across competitions, then it's going to be a lot tougher because you can't really compare a competition to competition. But I think it's normal to feel like the little bit of disappointment that I feel. I
[05:25] definitely wanted to qualify and I felt like I could have, but I also knew going into it that I was running with a much lower base value because I was only doing single axels and my double sal was just not doing what I needed it to do in
[05:38] order to be prepared for it in competition. So, I I did what I felt like I could and considering I only had two single axles and a botched spin, I would say coming in sixth is a pretty good thing. So, now I have a few more
[05:54] I will be competing at local competitions here in my state, which I'm really excited about so my friends can come, my coach will be there, it'll feel a little bit less nervy and a little bit more just like a fun exhibition. There
[06:09] is definitely the chance that a lot of these will have very few competitors, like maybe one competitor, maybe two, maybe none. I might just be guaranteed a gold medal going into the competition because there's not a ton of adult
[06:21] skaters in my level in my area, but I'm hoping I have a little bit of competition, but because it's going to be a little bit lower stakes, I'm probably going to start to just throw the double sal in just so I can start
[06:33] trying to get it in competition so that by the time sectionals rolls around next year, I not only will feel confident in it, I'll maybe have more doubles in it so that I can get myself on that podium and get myself qualified for nationals.
[06:46] enough about me yapping about the weekend, I'm really excited to watch this episode of medalist and it's been quite a while since I've seen an episode. It's been almost 2 weeks. Last episode, of course, we introduced the
[06:59] jump specialist. I can't remember his name. All I remember about him is that >> [laughter] >> I did see someone call out that he was a jump specialist, which was kind of funny because Demon Slayer was a weekly shonen
[07:14] jump, so you could technically call Tanjiro a jump specialist because he's such a popular main character from such a popular shonen jump manga. So, it only made sense that he has the same voice actor because you could technically call
[07:28] >> [laughter] >> And I was like, that's great. But, yes, I did recognize him as soon as he said "Kimi". I was waiting. I didn't remember what his character looked like cuz I only saw one picture briefly. So, I was
[07:42] like not sure it was him, but I was waiting for his character to show up. moment I heard him. I didn't think I was going to know with him just saying Kimi though. Yeah. Anyway, so we're coming to the
[07:56] we're going to see much more competing. I think we're just building the story. Inori is on a quest to land her triple lutz in order for her to be competitive at the All Japan's, which I think All Japan's will definitely be the movie. It
[08:10] up for that. So, very excited to see what happens in this episode. We are do, don't forget to like this video, subscribe the channel, and leave a comment your thoughts. Also, if you are interested in seeing my reactions early
[08:24] and unedited, join my Patreon. It is linked in the description. I have some more plans for Patreon at some point soon once I get a little bit less busy. So, you definitely want to join in there. But with that, let's get into
[08:36] minutes already. Holy moly. Okay, here we go. The frozen lake. Feels like it's been so long since I've watched this.
[08:51] He does have a checkered scarf. >> [laughter]
[09:07] do it without the harness though, it's a big difference.
[09:26] Oh. >> [laughter]
[09:39] time in a pole harness. I if I was in a harness, I was usually in the one that's connected to the ceiling, but I very much struggle to land it right after being in the harness cuz it's easy to land it in the harness. But then when
[09:52] you take the harness off, it feels like it's still there, but you are conscious that it's not. So, it's like actually harder. So, most coaches try keeping the belt on and disconnecting it. So, you still feel like you're in
[10:07] the harness. So, you might land it even though you're not connected to the harness because it's all mental. It's like a very strange feeling when you've been in the harness for a moment and then you get out and it almost always is
[10:20] until like your body gets used to not being in it anymore. I don't know. So, it's like, oh, okay. She's fine. She's just She's good now. Cool. All right. just She's good now. Cool. All right. That's all she needed.
[10:47] easily. Fun fact, my double flip and double lots I pretty much never got consistently. Good times. Good times. >> [laughter]
[11:03] >> They're all having the time of their life landing jumps, no?
[11:16] >> It's going to take a while to get used to his voice being in this. normal. I I'm going to call it out and say from what I've seen when it comes to
[11:28] a pole harness, it does help. It's not some like magical thing that just makes just saying. >> [laughter] [snorts] >> He could just be so good.
[11:40] >> He could just be so good. >> [laughter] Japanese well enough yet to not pay attention to the subtitles.
[12:06] defense, what I'm talking about with seeing skaters not necessarily land it so quickly after being put in the pole harness is that the coaches that are doing it are not necessarily pole harness specialists. They're just
[12:19] regular coaches. Maybe they're not doing it right. Maybe maybe we need to find this guy. Who where are you? Come on. Okay, Hanes and get over here. Someone else get over here. Let's let's make a pole harness specialist show up.
[12:32] >> [laughter] >> If that's literally all he does, I just don't know if it's like something you can do with technique.
[12:49] I'm maybe going back so I can keep hearing him talk. I I need to pay closer attention. Holy moly. Okay.
[13:04] >> It came from a skating world where quintuple jumps are the Uh it's funny. I mean, he maybe came from a world where demons exist. >> Maybe a quintuple to toe loop is really easy.
[13:17] easy. So. Uh That's a big jump, Kamamoto.
[13:29] But she can land a triple axel. No, don't leave. It's true. Jumps will always be the thing that reigns supreme.
[13:47] Everyone loves him. >> [laughter]
[13:59] >> They're all going to be sad now. I'm sad, too. Oh, he bought one? >> [laughter]
[14:15] >> See, even Skasa has to go through his training arc.
[14:30] next to him and being able to match their movements because ice dance has to their movements because ice dance has to be very close to each other. time while everyone else was landing their jumps, now she's going to
[14:48] Oh, she still can't land her double axel. Be really difficult to watch Yūri just shoot up ahead of her then.
[15:09] to be a little bit more magical than than it actually is. I'm not going to than it actually is. I'm not going to lie. Aw. >> [laughter]
[15:47] >> Was he going to do it him He's going to put himself in it?
[16:08] Which is a good thing. She's got better ice coverage, which leads to higher GOE. ice coverage, which leads to higher GOE. Uh-oh.
[16:31] like you take a chance when you have the pole harness because it is more dangerous for the coach to use a pole harness. So, of course like you have to learn how to use it. You have to start probably with like smaller skaters and
[16:45] that sort of thing and then like gradually get there with like the skaters who are like closer in size too because it's all about like where you're shifting the weight, where the axis is, right? So, in this case like obviously
[16:58] he hit a dent in the ice, which makes it a has to be very careful because if they fall while they're doing it and they like let go of the pole, then that's very dangerous for the skater, but then
[17:11] they're going to land on their face and hopefully Sakasa is okay.
[17:38] me go through like thinking characters are going to die, okay? I Not that I are going to die, okay? I Not that I think Tsukasa is going to die, but
[17:52] But, you might have broken your nose, though. And that that is a normal thing that can happen. Like, you really It It's Oh.
[18:14] on his face. So, I guess like you can I've never So, I guess like you can I've never fallen so far forward, but Now, Tsukasa, you're being a little bit too much like Tanjiro again.
[18:28] too much like Tanjiro again. >> [laughter]
[18:52] to have to call him back. But, you can't be reliant on the it's like a double-edged sword. Because first things first, when it comes to jumping, you can land the jump for the first time and land it for the day or
[19:07] the next day, you don't necessarily have it consistent. I remember when I learned my single axel, I landed it for the first time one day and then I lost it for like a week a few days later and then I got it back
[19:21] the next day again and then I got it back a week later. Like it it took a while for it to become consistent. Once you land a jump, that does not mean that you are now just going to land it all
[19:33] the time. Even now with my double sal, I'll have days where I land all of the attempts. I land three out of three, I land four out of four. Maybe I pop one in between, but it's like just a quick pass around, do it again, land it. Then
[19:47] there's some days where it's like I try eight and I land the eighth one and it's >> [snorts] >> It's because consistency takes a while to build up. It'll start to build up once you land it the first time because
[20:01] now you know that feeling, but jumps are finicky and your body is especially for women going through changes throughout the month and your energy levels might be lower or mentally you might be a little bit more exhausted
[20:15] or mentally you don't even realize that you're thinking negatively about your jump and that can affect your ability to jump as high or rotate as fast, that sort of thing. And then on top of that, it seems
[20:28] a little bit like because the skaters the sky shows up, he puts them in this harness, it's fun. They start landing everything which okay, so so fine. They
[20:40] this was this magic thing that worked this well for them, but now that's only a temporary help. So now it's almost as if as soon as Inori can't be in that harness, she is struggling again because she's already internalizing that harness
[20:56] blanket. Which you can't have that when you compete. The harness is there as a tool to help you get to the point where you can at least land the jump and then from there on out it's a it's all about you and your ability to keep
[21:10] where you are falling on it a lot. Be okay with the days where you're maybe struggling a little bit more. Know that it's part of the process and keep going. more and more prevalent the higher and
[21:23] it was for me with doubles. I would assume with triples it might be even more that way. It might be even more lengthy of a process to get from the to getting to the point where you land at 90% of the time in practice. So,
[21:38] can mess with your head and I feel like you know what he has gotten to bypass just the way the story is written and she's an MC or you know, occasionally those skaters don't really have those issues, but at some point you probably
[21:53] will. Like you are going to get to the point where all of this talent is going to catch up to you. So, I do think that there like she's relying on this harness a little bit too much now. And it's almost like, yeah, I
[22:08] want them to call this guy back because he has my favorite voice actor. But at the same time, she can't be so reliant on it.
[22:30] skaters in it. It can get very dangerous. forgot his name already, my apologies. Um, I'm sure it took him a long time to
[22:43] get to the point where he's as good as he is at it. And if it's all he does, he just goes ring to ring to do it, which is normal for a jump technician to not have their own students but to go to different rings to help students out and
[22:56] you know, that sort of thing. If that's all he does, then that's all he does. He's going to be really good at doing it, but Skater needs to like ease it, but Skater needs to like ease himself into it.
[23:21] Oh. Okay. Nine more days. That is a very scary thing though.
[24:24] >> [laughter] >> I mean, it depends. Like we flew to my last two competitions cuz they were just far enough that it was like a 6-hour drive. But we don't really have buses. We don't have trains.
[24:37] >> So, it's like for me, yeah, I'd be driving, but I was like, oh, they they'll they should Well, Niigata is they're in Nagoya, right? They're in Nagoya. So, Niigata is like on the other side, like then by the Sea of Japan
[24:52] instead of the Pacific Ocean, right? Help me with my Japanese geography here, But I think it's like the other side. It's like when we went last year, we went to we we landed in Tokyo and then we took a train to Kanazawa, which is
[25:07] like the opposite coast. And I'm pretty sure Nagoya and Niigata are like farther apart than Tokyo and Kanazawa. But I'm feeling like it's like a similar process. Like you're going from one coast to the next. Which is by
[25:23] Shinkansen two and a half hours, three hours, something like that. I I don't know well enough. I've been there once. [laughter] [laughter] >> [snorts]
[25:38] >> It's just like such a weird like culture difference. I love it. It's like so cool to learn about the difference. It's pretty late.
[26:01] >> Of course he's going to say yes to anything she wants.
[26:18] Although I don't think it's technically allowed here in the states anymore cuz allowed here in the states anymore cuz of safe sport. Maybe driving together is fine, but not a hotel room.
[26:35] but I know he's saying which is the looks like the number three with a little loop. Girl, go to sleep. >> [laughter]
[26:55] >> Oh, to be 12 again. You better sleep. regular time with your coach. It's always so like business, business, business. But your coach knows more about you than
[27:09] the average person. Cuz they spend so much time with you. It's so cute. It's so wholesome. I love their dynamic so much.
[27:42] >> [snorts] >> This is so adorable. Oh yeah, sorry. Go to sleep.
[27:59] Yeah, but is him doing it going to be a specific help this time?
[28:34] fix them. Just heal on their own.
[28:53] >> Too deep. Need to find like a shallower body of water to skate on.
[29:08] have ups and downs. But you got to take it in stride. You're still probably in pain though. Come on, Tsukasa.
[30:39] I think he wanted to skate on the ice forever, but no one believed in him.
[31:24] >> Okay, then. Cool. >> [gasps] >> Okay. into the office when I record medalist because chances are I'm going to cry.
[31:42] Okay. So, I hope I kind of got the point across with the pole harness. I I don't know how I feel how they're writing it to be in the show because it's not just to be in the show because it's not just some magic fix to land jumps. It's not
[31:56] like suddenly that much easier. It's really to help you get a feel for the jump, to help you get a feel for landing it, to make sure you are able to understand where your access is supposed to be and
[32:09] that sort of thing. But, it doesn't necessarily make you just able to land know what he's still struggling with it without it. So, I think that she just has to be careful and not build a reliance on the pole harness because
[32:22] like I said, you can't compete with it. So, that ending though, I don't know. I don't know what why that made me so emotional. I think it's just like she's so casually just believes in him. And of Of like
[32:35] she's a young 12-year-old who kind of went through something similar to him. But, for her to just like casually say, "I bet like you're so warm, so you're you can just skate forever." As in like you were born to skate, but
[32:48] no one ever believed in his ability to do that. And now, like it that energy into Inouye and and believing in her instead. And it shows how much Tsukasa is such a selfless person. You
[33:04] know, like I think I made a joke a while back in season 1 that he is like Tanjiro because he now has been told essentially like you have a career in front of you you could be in shows and that sort of thing.
[33:17] thing. But, he wants to pour his energy into her instead. And that's not even something I could do at this point. Like me. I'm not trying to teach other skaters.
[33:30] I'm not trying to do anything. I'm I'm just doing skating for me, which I guess made me a little bit emotional cuz Tsukasa is my favorite character. So, Anyway. So, other than that, like the show is
[33:45] definitely in like a part that's just very like build-up, build-up, build-up very like build-up, build-up, build-up for all Japans. We only have 9 days. And we're going to Niigata to work with him again. I need to memorize this guy's
[33:57] name. I like disrespecting Hanaisan here. Ubuchi. Kakeru Ubuchi. They're already headed to him. So, that's great. That means that he'll be back in the next episode, which
[34:11] So, I don't really have anything else to say. Um let's see if we can get the triple lutz. It's just it's so tight. It's such a tight turnaround. And she needs it though if she wants to be Hikaru. I
[34:24] still I just don't I don't see her beating Hikaru this early on in the going to have a short story where we're going to end it not long after or maybe, you know, we'll have a win and then we'll
[34:37] have a loss. We will see, but I just don't feel like it's realistic for her to expect to beat Hikaru at this point. Could I be wrong? Maybe. We are not going to find out until the movie, which I'm going to assume the movie will
[34:51] probably come out in Japan early next year and then probably not till the spring here. It's not super well known here, so I don't expect the delay to be a short delay. Uh
[35:04] >> Maybe the movie will come out in like November when I'm back in Japan and we figure things out without the subtitles. Who knows? We'll see. But that is going to be it for today's video. I will be back in just a couple
[35:19] so much for watching. If you enjoyed it, don't forget to like the video, Don't forget to join my Patreon if you are interested in this early and unedited. Also, don't forget to follow me on Instagram. I have a lot of skating
[35:32] pictures and other things on there as well as other fun content. Follow me on X. It's all linked in my description, [music] so [music] so yay. All right. That's it. Nothing eh.