THE COMPETITION IS ALREADY CRAZY | FIGURE SKATER REACTS | Medalist Episode 15 | メダリスト

[00:26] channel and to another video. Today we are watching Metalist episode 15. So, episode two of season 2. Last episode, Enoi is getting ready to do the block championship. So, top five from the block get to go to uh all Japan. So,

[00:42] this is a very big deal because she is aiming for her goal of getting to skate against Hikadu. She doesn't get to here cuz Hiatu decided to not do this one since she can just skate [music] directly in all Japans since she's so

[00:55] good. Hi actually seems to be in Russia working on ballet and all that sort of stuff. So, it'll be interesting to see what she's like when she gets back. But Enoi is living her dream about a year after skating. Yes, this is fast, but

[01:09] sometimes people move through things very quickly, especially when they start late. I did want to answer a question that I got in the comments last week. read comments a little bit more, so I might be responding a bit more. But this

[01:22] video because I thought it was a good question. And the question was, is the opening something that actually gets used in skating? And I can say yes. I

[01:35] myself, I don't think I've ever actually been put in a pole harness. I've been in many a harness that's connected to the ceiling. And what the regular harness learning a jump. The coach can literally

[01:48] like pull on it and help you like get air time and literally like keep you from falling. A pull harness is for when you are closer to landing the jump because it's completely something that a coach has to hold on to. So many times

[02:05] from falling like the harness that's attached to the ceiling does cuz it doesn't have the same like big they can just like yank on it and keep you upright. The pole harness does not allow for that. So you actually see some like

[02:18] There's actually a video I'll put it in the description. It's a interview that they did with Alyssa Louu and there's actually some shots of her in the pole harness working on a triple axle. [music] So, it is a very common thing to

[02:31] it doesn't keep you from falling, it does give you this feeling of safety and it can help you fall lighter so that it's not as hard when you're working on harness that is attached to the ceiling because that one is going to keep you

[02:47] from falling because the coach is not like reliant on their own strength to the ceiling, it just does that. The pole harness is for when you're getting much closer and you need to learn to fall, but you still are getting some guidance

[03:01] with the pole harness. But it is a very real training tool that you see every single day, especially on highle freestyles. So, if you have any other questions for me within the skating world or with my skating journey, put

[03:13] answer them. But, we are going to dive right in because I'm quite excited for today's episode. I think we're diving right into the competition. So, it's video, subscribe to the channel, and leave a comment your thoughts. Let's get

[03:27] into it. Okay. Guru Guru Danish Guru Guru Danish Danish. [laughter]

[03:40] Wow. Okay, look at me. I can read things. Okay, here we go.

[04:06] Skating first sucks. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but skating first sucks. sucks. Okay, so some of you called out. It does

[04:18] look like a rose. That's cool. That's very cool. Okay. My card. My cards. My cards. Interesting.

[04:39] looking at. Like, why are all the skaters out at the same time?

[05:07] Rude. [laughter]

[05:20] Is this going to be like figure skating 101? [laughter]

[05:41] because there's literally been times where I've had like parents of skaters that I coach that were like, "Please explain to me what the difference explain to me what the difference between a flip and a toe loop is." And

[05:54] I'm like, um, how do I describe this in a way that would make sense to someone who doesn't know other rules of skating? It is one of those things where it's unless like you invest your time and money and every

[06:10] like you are the fan of skating, the biggest fan of skating, and that's all you pay attention to. It's very hard to explain the rules because in order to other rules. [laughter] You have to know the difference between

[06:23] an inside and an outside edge in order to be able to tell the different jumps don't understand the difference between an inside and an outside edge unless themselves. You can describe all you

[06:36] want about how an inside edge is when you lean to the inside of your skate. And an outside edge is when you lean to the outside of your skate. In theory, that makes sense. But the difference between a flip and a lutz is just that

[06:53] edge. But it's hard to just see the difference if you don't know like how it feels, if that makes any sense. So it's funny that he's like freaking out because it's really hard to describe the rules of figure skating to someone who

[07:07] doesn't know it at all because you just don't know where to start if they don't it to someone who's learning how to skate because you have to teach them the trying to watch for fun, you can get a lot of it, but there is some stuff

[07:22] that's really just hard to explain without putting you out on the ice and showing you. I'm not saying it's impossible, but

[08:18] want to turn all 10 of those elements into one step sequence because that's the point. You have these 10 elements and they're all scored separately, but you want to make them as cohesive as possible so that it's like all one big

[08:34] step sequence. You will get more points that way. That's a really great way to describe it. See, I'm not a storyteller. [laughter] What did she just say? Into a single step sequence. Yeah.

[08:56] the one who doesn't fall is the one who wins, but it depends on what jumps they wins, but it depends on what jumps they attempt.

[09:13] I can't believe I'm competing in two weeks. Not at this level, but okay, here we go. Triplets.

[09:33] Triple cell. Triple toe. He did it in order from most difficult to least difficult. Axle lutz flip loop.

[09:48] Sow toe loop. So, I would usually, and I'm getting really in the nitty-gritty here, as I normally do, if I were explaining to someone who didn't know skating, I would go from easiest to most difficult. I don't know if there's

[10:02] really a right or wrong answer, but normally I would go like, well, he said Axel is the most difficult because there's an extra half rotation, then Lutz because of that darn outside edge. I am a chronic flexer and it's really

[10:15] annoying. then flip, then loop, then saow, then tip. I wonder. It's interesting that they capitalized axle, Lutz, and Saow. And I think that's named after a person, and then flip, loop, and to aren't interesting.

[10:30] loop, and to aren't interesting. Let's flip, loop, saow, toloop. Yep. High risk, high reward.

[11:04] It It is like a part of skating. If you skate first, you skate first.

[11:20] a whole separate video because he's doing a very good job at it. But I want to talk more. I'm trying to But I want to talk more. I'm trying to let it go.

[11:33] sport is very mental.

[11:51] that novice does a short and a free, but this is a free skate. She's done like five jumps. Short programs only have three.

[12:07] separate video to break down what he said, but everything was perfect the way he talked about it. Again, it just makes me so thankful we have a show like this because this is the first show I've ever seen that not only gets the details

[12:19] right that it's like they know the inside of a skater's mind and what happens when you compete and you go out and you land the most difficult jump. Like a good example of this would be someone like Amber Glenn. Okay, so Amber

[12:34] Glenn is really well known for having a very consistent triple axle, which at the Olympics in a couple weeks attempting this. Amber Glenn, Ammy Nakai, and Adelia Protoian. Alyssa Lou

[12:47] might, we'll see. She might surprise us and attempt it. But the triple axle is and attempt it. But the triple axle is worth sixish points more than a double axle. So, in theory, if Amber Glenn were to go out and land that triple axle

[13:00] first thing, you would automatically assume that means that she's going to assume that means that she's going to win or be on the podium. But she still win or be on the podium. But she still has six more jumping passes. And all of

[13:13] those jumping passes, if she starts to make mistakes, all of a sudden that six point gap that she created for herself closes and closes and closes and closes.

[13:25] "Okay, her base value is way higher because she has that sixpoint advantage, but I'm using Amber Glenn as an example because she tends to let a mistake or two happen later on in the freekate. She often times ends up not quite at the top

[13:41] or on the podium of big events. like she ended up fifth at Worlds because she she tends to nail that opening triple axle and then let like little mistakes creep in here and there that keep her down. While someone who goes out and does a

[13:55] clean, easier program is going to have higher component scores because they didn't make mistakes, going to have just like better GOE's across the board. It's a more cohesive thing. So, doing the difficult elements, high risk, high

[14:09] difficult elements, high risk, high reward, but you have to like be able to do it all. And that's what makes skating so hard is that even if you jump ahead of everyone else by doing a jump that pretty much no one else is doing, you

[14:23] still have to be clean. And the Olympics is going to be so interesting because we have so many different players. There's like six skaters who could truly be on top of the podium and like seven or eight that could be on the podium. So,

[14:37] event and it could literally just come down to who skates the cleanest. So, I I'll probably make a separate video about what he said.

[14:49] because I want to know what happens next. [laughter] So, she had a fall and she put her hand down on one element.

[15:03] hand down on one element. Kiss and cry. Yeah. Being able to sit in a kiss and cry is like randomly a goal of a lot of skaters is to get to the level where you get a kiss and cry.

[15:52] 70 is a decent score still at their level.

[16:11] Oh, I'm getting chills. This is so exciting. It's like the uh leader chair that they have now, too.

[16:27] Yeah. Make a name for yourself as the winner, which they probably never get to winner, which they probably never get to do if Hikatu is usually here.

[17:19] feel like every time I see her in something, she's falling. So I kind of I something, she's falling. So I kind of I kind of saw that coming. [laughter]

[17:41] back. You you just have that mistake now. I was wondering how they were going to do this with like all the skaters because I think there's what 16 skaters or something. I was like, it's going to

[17:56] or something. I was like, it's going to take a while to get through all of them.

[18:11] is the composer for My Hero. I can hear it a lot more this season. it a lot more this season. It has the same vibes.

[18:30] done with the correct positions to get levels.

[18:50] it is. Yeah. sport is so freaking mental because you're out there on your own. Your coach

[19:03] is at the boards, but they can't do anything for you. They can't stop you. You can't take a timeout. You have your 3 minutes and there's no going back on those mistakes. And for a lot of skaters because it's so mental and I mean like

[19:19] aspect you have to be physically trained for this but mental I would say is over 50% of being able to be a good competitor if you can handle the mental much better skater over someone who's like maybe a better skater than you but

[19:34] can't handle the stress right when you fall just in general but especially on fall just in general but especially on the opening jump you are now like doing the math of what you've lost, especially if the opening jump is a

[19:47] because I think he also said this earlier, you want to do the more because you want to do it when you're least tired. The less tired you are, the more likely you are to land the difficult jumps. The more tired you are,

[20:02] difficult jumps. That's just how it works. It's how our bodies work. So, after the halfway mark to get more points because they train in a way that But most people are going to put the most difficult ones, especially in the

[20:16] freekate because in these skaters, they fell in their first jump. If it was a planned combo because that was their very first jump, they can put that combo somewhere else, barring crazy rules that it seems that these skaters do have. So,

[20:29] where you can put the combo if it's a combo that you missed. And you're also just like thinking about the fact that you made a mistake and that can start to seep in and it can either turn a skater into like they nail everything else from

[20:44] out from there on out or it could be a skater that shuts down afterwards. So you have to have the mental fortitude to just leave it in the past and keep going. And that can be very very difficult because the moment you make a

[20:57] are overthinking everything. You know you cannot make another mistake.

[21:19] forwards and be able to change things on the fly if things happen. Many coaches have a plan. Oat.

[22:26] Last competition we saw her. They are literally Oh my god. same. They're literally moving exactly the same. O

[22:43] the same. O yikes. It's so the way you qualify for things in skating is so tough too because so

[22:55] many other sports you qualify by like points you get for everything. Every game you play, every competition you do, you just gain more and more points. And like in some situations that's kind of the case for an Olympic team. They do

[23:10] season. And usually the better season you've had, even if you have a bad nationals, you might still go. But in these cases where it's these lower levels, it's the same here. You compete in sectionals. Your entire season and

[23:25] in sectionals. Your entire season and your possible dreams are crushed just because you maybe had one iffy competition or, you know, it's it's cutthroat and it's so tough because it's just there really is just no room for

[23:40] error in this sport. But there always is error because it's such a difficult thing to be able to do. We are having to sprint for 3 minutes straight while sprint for 3 minutes straight while doing jumps and spins and also have to

[23:53] make it look pretty. You get more points the prettier it looks. There is nothing that compares to how mentally and physically demanding this sport is. And we're seeing it firsthand with the show. They're capturing this so well. you go

[24:07] to these events with these dreams of going to nationals of going to the Olympics and there's always next year especially for these skaters who are in novis so they're like 10 11 12 right but you feel this like I have to do this now

[24:23] I want to do this now and all it takes is one bad skate out of 10 good ones but if the bad one is at the qualifying event then you don't go anywhere and event then you don't go anywhere and it's it's so cutthroat Because you see,

[24:38] I remember when I was competing 10 years ago, there was one skater. She was just like the skater of the level I was in. Like everyone thought she was going to go on to nationals, win the entire thing. She was a hard worker. She had

[24:53] her triples. Like she was so good. But at regionals, which was at the time you sectionals and then you went to nationals. This is like if they finish top five here, they go to nationals. And regionals isn't a thing here anymore.

[25:07] You go straight to sectionals. She fell apart at regionals and did not even qualify for sectionals. And I don't think she ever got to nationals again. I think that was like the start of the end of her career because it's so demanding

[25:20] on your psych when stuff like that happens when you're doing so well. But at these levels, there's no body of work. It's what you can do on the day. She probably doesn't have she doesn't get to train enough.

[25:51] something. And that is a very real thing, too.

[26:09] Is this the skater who was introduced last season? She's not one of the new ones. I could be misremembering though.

[26:28] double axle, like the easiest one just to warm up and feel good. You know you're gonna hit it, but if you miss it randomly, that makes it even worse. randomly, that makes it even worse. Double flip. Okay.

[26:50] so she's doing the triples after the halfway mark. know they mentioned that they have to do like a loop flip and LUTs. I would imagine it can be either double or triple. Usually that's kind of how it

[27:05] triple. Usually that's kind of how it works. Like senior level short program must have an axle, but it can be a double or a triple axle. A lot of levels like intermediate novice have to have an axle, but it can be a single or a

[27:17] assumption would be even though they must do a loop flip and a lutz, they can do a double or a triple. So, I'm wondering if she is doing I Let's just wondering if she is doing I Let's just find out. [laughter]

[27:42] High reward if done well, but even bigger risk.

[27:54] It's a very tough strategy. You have to be in top form. I have my two easiest be in top form. I have my two easiest jumps. Well, not too easiest, but my beginning of my program. I just get them out of the way. All right. Trip triple

[28:07] loop with our hand down. Okay. So, just some negative GOE. It's not the So, just some negative GOE. It's not the worst.

[28:26] to watch. I hate to see so many skaters make I hate to see so many skaters make mistakes like this. Yeah, that's that's the risk.

[28:45] of points though. So, triplelets double axle. Nice. Okay.

[29:20] your jumps in the second half if you wanted to. Um, but a couple skaters kind of use that to their advantage, so they changed the rules. In the free skate, internationally, you can only get a bonus on the last three jumping passes.

[29:33] If I was counting correctly, she did four after the halfway mark. So unless Japan lets novice ace skaters get a bonus for all jumps. I know like in the US once that changed internationally, all of the judging changed here. So I

[29:50] have how many jumping passes do I have? Six. I can only put two after the doesn't mean I have to put only two after the halfway mark. It just means that only two will get the bonus. So, I

[30:02] Japan or if I miscounted. I could have miscounted, honestly. [laughter]

[30:19] to watch. Okay. She still managed to be in first. Okay. even with the two mistakes. But that's what it means to still put those combos

[30:31] after the halfway mark, those extra points build up. those extra points build up. So now these skaters are and she's out.

[30:59] just every skater from their rink? I feel like that's a plot point that I feel like that's a plot point that seems to be important.

[31:26] a feeling it's going to take a while because I think this whole entire season is going to be mostly following that. So, that was episode 14 or episode two of season 2. They really nailed explaining not just some of the rules,

[31:43] but also a lot of the mechanics of what goes on inside a skater's brain and everything. Like, good job, Sakoma. He He understands a lot. He He gets it. So,

[31:55] I I'm still considering doing a little bit more of a breakdown of some of the skaters. I don't know if I'm going to be able to. I'm a lot busier at work than I was last time. So, when I finish work, instead of like having the energy to

[32:11] record after work, I'm like I need to go sleep. I also have to go to the rink after work a lot now, too, cuz I am competing in two weeks. So, you know, we'll see. But I think I kind of got the point across. I was mostly just agreeing

[32:26] point across. I was mostly just agreeing and continuing on explanation of what he was saying. So this is a really interesting event. It's very high intensity as expected. This kind of stuff just this this makes me feel like

[32:40] not dread is not the right word, but just like this feeling of this is going to sectionals, adult sectionals. Like I'm trying to get to adult nationals, which is very different than regular nationals, but I'm going to adult

[32:54] nationals, but I'm going to adult sectionals in the beginning of March and I'm trying to qualify for nationals. Top four go. Last year there were 18 skaters four go. Last year there were 18 skaters in my level and four go to nationals. So

[33:09] in my level and four go to nationals. So my current strategy is go clean. I have a slightly easier base value. Like I mentioned, I only have single axles planned, but I actually did a few double s the other day and they were pretty

[33:24] good. So, we might put them one in for sectionals just to bump up my base value, but only if I'm landing them and they're all the way around cuz that's the other thing is I tend to under rotate a little bit. So, it's really not

[33:39] worth it to even do an underrotated double cell because the point difference double cell because the point difference between a double and a single is not as big of a difference as the point difference between like a triple and a

[33:52] double. So, what that means is for a senior or like a novice level skater to do a triple s over a double s, the difference is like four points. But for a skater to do a double s over a single s, the difference is less than a point.

[34:08] s, the difference is less than a point. So at my level, it really is more you want to aim for cleanliness over going for the difficult jumps because the the difference between a double and a triple jump. So we're we'll see. I I

[34:23] double sow in for sectionals, but it kind of depends on how my competition goes in a couple weeks. What I score, do I skate it clean? Do I need to work on something else? Are my spins good? You know, that sort of thing. So, we'll see

[34:36] how it goes. But this is definitely like getting me pumped for my skating, but also very like [sighs and gasps] I can't believe I'm getting myself into this. What am I doing? Why am I doing this to myself? I love it. It's because I love

[34:51] it. It's hard to explain. It is terrifying. It is nerve-wracking. it is you when you go out to compete and you're taking your starting position, so much? Why do I do this to myself? But there is something about it that we just

[35:06] can't help. I was trying to explain it to my husband because he was confused why I wanted to compete when every time he ever saw me compete, I was like a ball of nerves. And he was like, "You only seem stressed. Like there's no way

[35:18] you can enjoy that." And I'm like, "I don't know what it is, but I still love it. I swear there's something wrong inside our brains if we're figure skaters. We picked like the most difficult sport

[35:32] a sport at all, which is absolutely insane. Anyway, this was a really great episode. Really exciting. They did such a good job at explaining some of the details. Truly, I said when I was reading the manga, so if you missed it,

[35:45] because not as many people saw my manga reviews, it truly feels like this show and this story is a love letter to figure skating. I think the difference between Metalist and a lot of other shows with skating is that skating in

[35:59] this is not just a backdrop for a different story. This story is about skating. Yes, Inori is the main character and it is about her, but the heart of the show is the skating. Even something like Yodi on Ice that got the

[36:13] details for the most part correct, skating felt still more like a backdrop to a different story about like Yodi and Victor. Metalist feels like there is

[36:25] Victor. Metalist feels like there is still the story about Enoi and Hikadu and all the other skaters, but the main plot is the skating. So, I think that's probably why I enjoy it so much because they really took their time and are

[36:40] correct. So, I've been yapping for almost 50 minutes and I still have to edit and get this posted today. So, I'm going to end the video there. But, thank If you liked it, don't forget to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and

[36:53] leave a comment your thoughts. And I will see you all next week. M