Yuka Sato

[Likethewind]

Does anyone out there think like me that she is one of the greats of all time?????

I LOVE LOVE LOVE her skating. Bezic was dead wrong when she said she is reminiscent of Hamill. She is reminiscent of LYNN!!!!! She is 100$ pure joy and confidence on the ice. She has edges to die for - ALL the current eligible skaters could take a lesson from her in that regard!!!!! -
She has INCREDIBLE footwork - no female skater has ever equalled it - her spins are gorgeous and on a dime -

and her jumps are easy and all still there.

But most of all - she has KNEES - KNEEEEESSSSSS!

KNEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!

She skates INTO the ice and her knees are so soft you feel like you are floating when you watch her.

I sure wish she could compete again at the olympics both in singles and in pairs as she is equal aritistically to anyone out there and techinically very very close.

I just love her skating . I wonder if anyone out there agrees?

[A.H.Black]

One of my favorite tapes of her is from the Vail Christmas show several years ago. She was skating to Mary Poppins and during the program she fell badly on a jump. She got up with a huge smile on her face and by the end of the program you would have to think hard to remember that she wasn't perfect.

I have always liked her skating - since I first saw her in '92. For me it's the openness of her artistry. She is always giving emotionally but more importantly she always lets me in. I'm always skating with her, not watching from a distance.

[Likethewind]

How beautifully said! She does indeed let you in. She seems to have an infectious love of skating. And Jason never ever looked so relaxed and happy as he does when he skates with her. He seems to have "caught" the joy from her! He never looked as happy with Ina.

[Spinner]

And think, in 10 or 20 years, commentators will be saying "so-and-so is reminiscent of Yuka Sato." ;) :mrgreen: In person, she's one of the most strikingly beautiful people I think I've ever met. I was fortunate enough to meet her (and Jason) at the 2000 American Open and I couldn't take my eyes off her--just gorgeous.

[kwanlover]

Add me to the Yuka fan club!!
She exudes joy and passion for skating everytime she takes the ice! She is such a pleasure to watch...and I am so glad I have been able to for all these years. She was stunning, and deserved that win!!! So proud of you Yuka!!!! :)

[Likethewind]

I think the two things that really GET me about her are her UTTER CONFIDENCE AND JOY and.......

those EDGES!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is so darn deep in the knees that she can really get a huge lean and super secure edges and I am sure that the judges recognized this. No one else out there had nearly as deep or secure edges. I so wish they could all do an edge seminar with her! This bodes well fro Fumi Suguri who is coached by Yuka's father!

[bunghodog]

Yuka is wonderful, I have always felt that way, her edges are so deep, and the pure joy on her face, skaters like her are reason so many people love the sport

[TAF2984]

To original poster:

I agree Yuka's skating is wonderful. she is a very complete skater. It was a deserved win.

"She is 100$ pure joy and confidence on the ice. She has edges to die for - ALL the current eligible skaters could take a lesson from her in that regard!!!!! -
She has INCREDIBLE footwork - no female skater has ever equalled it"

Ahh Michelle Kwan? Who is also able to do that in amatuer competition not in just IP skates. How soon we forget.

[Suzanne]

I much prefer Yuka's skating to Michelle's... just my preference! And part of the reason IS the wonderful footwork (which you so rarely see in women skaters) and the deep edges. But most of all I love seeing that big smile of hers!!

[dbell]

I LOVE YUKA! :)

She skates like a feather. The moves are polished, finished and never fake. The smile on her face is not forced. There is nothing false about her. Oh, and I loved her comment at Hallmark about the $ coming in handy for the remodeling! :lol:

[duane]

yuka is definitely a complete skater--great edges, technically perfect jumps, awesome footwork, and consistency (my opinion based mainly on her professional career. i was never impressed with her as an eligible).

the one issue i have with her is not her skating, but how similar her programs have been year after year. i wish she would skate to more upbeat, fast-tempo music, like the music she skated to at the 94 Olympics (which showcased her amazing footwork skill).

[Meredith]

Yuka has been one of my favorites for years. Watching her skate simply makes me smile. She the most complete skater I've ever seen.

Both Yuka and Jason's programs and Yuka's solos were so well received at the Hallmark event. They had among the loudest and longest ovations of the day. As the ladies' comp. proceeded, the crowd absolutely roared as she knocked her competitors off, one by one. Beautiful. :D

[smurf]

I always like Yuka, but the one thing that keeps impressing me is that she is keeping her skills. So many of the ladies, once they turn pro have not kept things up. Yuka is always so solid. I assume she must be quite disciplined, which I really respect.

[spiralsrfun]

Yuka is just amazing. She never fails to deliver. :D

[Alexeiskate]

Originally posted by duane
yuka is definitely a complete skater--great edges, technically perfect jumps, awesome footwork, and consistency (my opinion based mainly on her professional career. i was never impressed with her as an eligible).

the one issue i have with her is not her skating, but how similar her programs have been year after year. i wish she would skate to more upbeat, fast-tempo music, like the music she skated to at the 94 Olympics (which showcased her amazing footwork skill).

I agree with Duane on this. Yuka is always a pleasure for me to watch but she has been skating to the similar type of soft music for the past several years now. I also don't think she is showcasing her footwork to its maximum capability. Maybe Yuka just doesn't have the time to train that much, because she's also doing pairs and coaching.

[sk8rzmom]

I saw Yuka skate at the Extreme Expo in the Chicago area last Labor Day weekend and she blew me away. Our current international skaters would do themselves a big favor to watch and learn from her effortless speed and flow over the ice. The softest knees and most beuatifuyl edges!
She is what every skater should aspire to be.

[Likethewind]

I used to skate as an adult on sessions where there was a lot of coaching of freestyle kids and I rarely ever heard any coach STRESS that the key to good edges is a deep knee bend. I have rarely ever seen anyone skate with terrific edges - even many olympic level skaters don't have them.

You can tell these things quickly by 3 clues:

1.how QUIET is the skater. Listen next time you watch - to Slutskaya and how noisy her blades are and then listen to Kwan - utter silence. Yuka has whisper blades too as did Debby Thomas. A true champion has silent running blades - which equal maximum efficiency due to no drag.

2.Because of no.1, these skaters are able to get down the rink in about 3 pushes as opposed to the ones like SLute again who push push push because they are not getting the best use of the blade run. Sasha (who is my favorite but needs work here) also slogs around with way too many pushes and needs to work on this. I want her coach to teach her to skate with no sound.

3.The lean - skaters with deep edges have a very very noticeable lean to their skating - for shallow edges think of SLute again who always looks very upright - or of course the worst example of no edges at all - Bonaly. The best deep knee bend, deep edges, huge lean skaters I can think of are Yuka, Robin COusins (OH THOSE EDGES!) Torvill and Dean, and Janet Lynn.

My teacher always told me to try and make no noise when I skated and that the way to do it was a deep knee bend and a very firm sense of the the location fo the center of the body regardless of where it was leaning.

Yuka has it all.

I am not at all bored by her sameness in many programs becasue she is honest. SHe is not trying to be something she is not - like a sex bomb or something that isn't her. An example of this not being yourself in my opinion is Hughes Blackbird program which makes no sense to me. She is a kid who is by all accounts pretty serious and this sort of vaguely sexy forced and rather phoney lightheartedness leaves me cold. She does much better with the ethereal stuff.

Worse yet was Sasha doing her Fossi or whatever it was - yikes! Did not suit her at all - sleazy and made her skating look bad if that is possible!

Yuka never commits these errors in taste and is always true to herself.

Sure wish she and Jason were my neighbors!

[TAF2984]

Likethewind
I agree with most of your post, but I also would add MK to number 3 ala Fields of Gold.

[Mistyeyed]

Yes, I agree. I posted pretty much this same thing on another thread, under Hallmarks result, I believe. Yuka is a very lovely skater.

[Melanie Z]

Yuka has always been a favorite of mine. Heard her described once as a "skaters skater" and I imagine that's true. It will never make any sense to me why SOI did not resign her, especially with the lack of single ladies on tour. :?:

[duane]

Originally posted by Likethewind
I am not at all bored by her sameness in many programs becasue she is honest. SHe is not trying to be something she is not - like a sex bomb or something that isn't her.

Yuka never commits these errors in taste and is always true to herself.

i dont think skating to a fast, upbeat tempo (and no, this doesnt mean a sex kitten routine ala chen lu) would take anything away from yuka, or would be untrue to her. there was nothing distasteful about her 94 olympic program. i actually think yuka's skating is much greater now than it was then, and would love to see a 2002-03 remake of the program. :)

[Alexeiskate]

If you take a look at the routines Yuka did for the Ladies Rider Cup competition several years ago, you'll see that Yuka was a very versatile skater. She had a good mixture of fast, energetic numbers and the more traditional soft, flowing kind. My favorites were Yuka's Donna Lewis "I Love You", Spartacus, and Zorzo (sp ?). I also think Yuka need to compete against someone with the consistent caliber of a Kristi Yamaguchi to push her to do more technically. I only saw Yuka landed the 3lutz one year as a professional, because she knew she needed it to best Kristi.

[donnamarie]

As lovely as Yuka is, I too sometimes get tired of the sameness. Even the sweet smile never changes, and the programs are all pretty much the same. As lovely as Yuka is, no, I wouldn't want every skater to try to be like her. Variety is good. After a nice quiet program by Yuka, I'm ready for a lively program by Sasha or Klimkin or whomever :) just to keep things interesting.

[trixie]

I have been a big Sato fan for many years. I agreed with Bezic that she shares many of the qualities of Hamill, for example, edges, lyrical movement,wonderful audience communication, smooth transitions, on a dime spins that could go on forever, big, open jumps ,speed and marvellous overall technique.Also, like Hamill, really blossoming as a pro.

I think the Lynn comparison became in vogue last season when she skated to" Appalacian Spring", when Janet was on the panel at Landover,... or was that the season before?

Anyway, wasn't Yuka coached at some point, later in her career by the Dunfields, who worked with Dorothy before she went to Carlo?

[zowie]

Originally posted by donnamarie
As lovely as Yuka is, I too sometimes get tired of the sameness. Even the sweet smile never changes, and the programs are all pretty much the same. As lovely as Yuka is, no, I wouldn't want every skater to try to be like her. Variety is good. After a nice quiet program by Yuka, I'm ready for a lively program by Sasha or Klimkin or whomever :) just to keep things interesting.

yes, I always had the same feeling about her as a singles skater.

However, as a pairs skater, I LOVE her!!! Wow Wow Wow!

[skatingrocks]

This is a little off-topic but it is related to Yuka.

Can anyone post a link to a recent close-up pic of Yuka? I LOVED her hair on Hallmark, and want to take a pic to the stylist! The only one I can find isn't nearly close enough to show the color.

Thanks! :)

[2boysmom]

Add me to the list of people who love to watch Yuka. I know she has great edges but the thing that gets me is that it seems she is never actually touching the ice. It is like she is floating on top of it. She always looks happy and at peace when she skates. I am enjoying watching her in pairs now as well.