what the heck is this?

[JasPR]

[Nancy M.]

JR
It appears to be the Kokugyo 38 bu winner.

[PapaBear]

Brady, Brett, Richard...
You guys need to find a way to get past the import rules so some of yours can enter the show next year...
Looks like they need a little "outside" competition.
jmho

[Campcheryl]

Hey where are the eyes on that fish JR?

[Brutuscz]

It appears to be a sanke. I don't understand the question?

[JasPR]

Brutus, I know you to be above all, a pattern guy! So I'm really glad you responded. "What the heck is this?" was a comment not really about the variety, but about this being a show fish.
Obviously this is an interesting looking fish. Likely male, very finished and sharp looking. You or I might even like to own it for the fascination of the thing. It is, in my view, a Collector's Fish. But is it a show fish? I think not. More like a collectors fish in a koi show.

This is a tricky subject. The reason being is there is the standard or prototype show fish based on conventional taste and against the backdrop of judging rules and standards. A show fish, as livestock and a potential breeder, must be forst and foremost a sound animal- n deformities or abnormalities that are genetically inheritable. After that, a show fish should reflect the standard. And the standard is the ideal. This is why in the old days, there was a point system for judging like at a 4 H club event. But as a strict fixed laundry list of requirements, a standard can be limiting. So two decades ago, subjectivity was built into the standard so that exceptional specimens but with technical violations of the standards could still win. This , in effect, made the standard more like a 'living/ flexible document' and thus it would evolve as the fish evolved. As they say in the hood, " I'm down with that"!
But then there are Collectors fish. These are also valuable and remarkable works of breeding and nature. But they are so far afield of the standard that they can not be judged against fish that excel within the standard. One very famous example of a remarkable collectors fish was the Isawa sanke with the giant patch of deep black hole like sumi at the shoulder. It was amazing- but no show fish.
I see this fish I posted at the beginning of the thread , a really nice collector's fish. Very special and very amazing, just not a great show fish

Here's a picture of the Isawa sanke-

[MikeM]

Too much ignoring of patterns? ..tsk, tsk.

[KoiCop]

In a 'young koi' show, no less.

I'll see your tsk-tsk and raise you an Oh, my!

[Brutuscz]

JR...guilty as charged. Even though I am trying very hard to appreciate conformation and quality more and more. I still cannot resist a unique work of art. It is definitely a fine line between a collectors fish and a show koi in some cases. After years of keeping koi, we desire to see something different and exciting. Do I look for a 2 step kohaku with excellent conformation and quality....or search for a uniquely artistic fish, that may be slightly inferior in those departments.
My opinion is judges should award the different and unique. In the AJKS, look at the kohaku owned by Martin and Mark!!! It beat out others with more conventional, by the book, patterns. I think the judges appreciated the pattern greatly on that koi.
Here are two koi that I have dealt with recently. I have sold the doitsu sanke..but was really tempted to keep it. Yeah, the conformation is thin...probably a male. But...the pattern looks like a work of modern art.
The other is my new 5 inch kohaku. Hard to appreciate the quality as it was taken indoors with a flash. The beni is deeper than it looks here. It was sitting right next to a textbook 3 step kohaku...with a perfect tailstop. But..this had an interesting pattern, so there it is...waiting to go into my pond.
My idea.....life can be boring....so reward the interesting!!!!

[markgardner]

This Koi was absolutely horrible, there was nothing whatsoever that I liked about it!!!!