ゆづくん大好き
Can't help but love his skating, his artistry, his cuteness, his character, his love for his country, his life story, everything.
[I translate and post about things that touch my heart. Do not use nor repost my blog material without my permission]
A special cheer song chosen by Yuzuru Hanyu
Yuzu: Good evening, everyone. I am Yuzuru Hanyu.
Yuzu: The special cheer song I have chosen is “YUME NI EGAKU KISEKI (a miracle I have dreamed of)” by “Pandalion”.
(Music: “Our best wishes for you will always strongly support your back, even when faraway across the ocean…”) (Narrator: In fact, this cheer song was made especially for Yuzuru, who managed to gain the entry entitlement for the 2014 Olympics for the first time in his life.)
Yuzu: The vocalist of this group and I were originally friends, as he is an alumnus of the same high school that I attended. This song was made completely for me from my viewpoint, which really makes me determined that I have to fight with my full strength. Whenever I listen to it, either during my pre-performance warm-up or after the competition, natural power springs up from within. This song makes me lively [“GENKI” in Japanese] every time I listen to it.
(Narrator: Which phrase made the deepest impression on you?)
Yuzu: After the main melody in the second verse, there is a phrase which says “Look, your hometown will also stand up, just as you are of full strength”. After the Sochi Olympics, I was able to bring back the best result and I was really happy. Upon return, I received lots of appreciation and comments from those affected people [by the Great Eastern Earthquake in 2011] living in the damaged coastal area. So, it made me realise that there is meaning to my figure-skating, and that my personal fight had meaning [for reconstruction].
(Music: “I pray so that our wish reaches you…Look, your hometown will
also stand up, just as you are of full strength… If I believe in my own
strength, I feel I can do more and more. Let’s go…”)
END
-Translation by Sophie Moroi in FB YHIFG.
-From a programme called “Cheer Songs for Spring chosen by famous people”
——————————————————-
This is the video of the song that Yuzu was talking about- “YUME NI EGAKU KISEKI” (A miracle I have dreamed of)” by Pandalion, with really heartwarming and encouraging messages from the people of Sendai:
FRIENDS PLUS -Shizuka Arakawa’s talk show with Yuzuru Hanyu as guest, aired on 29 Feb 2016. The show is almost an hour long, so this translation is VERY LONG. Only for true-blue Yuzu fans. ^^
[Edit (Oct 2020): original video links do not work anymore. Thanks to a friend D, this is another link. Translation starts at 1:50 of this video.]
Intro (summarised): Friends’ Talk between 2 people who obtained first Olympic
gold medals for Japan, 2 people who grew up doing figure skating in
Sendai, 13 years apart in age. Recorded on 17 Jan 2016, after an ice
show.
Yuzu (getting ready) : I am very curious about what headphones the soundman is using.
Shizuka (holds out hand): Please turn. Yuzu: Eh??? I turn?? (takes Shizuka’s hand and turns, then sits down
and laughs) It’s the opposite! I became the lady!! ^^
Shizuka: At today’s ice show, you did a beautiful quad loop. But what
surprised me is not so much the loop, but that after the show, you said
“Oh my legs have reached their limit!” and after that you still landed
the loop! I think you’re the only one who can do that. You are someone
with no limits, right?
Y: (laughs) I am now also practising
quad lutz. When I jumped the quad loop, I was nervous. There were so
many top skaters there. They immediately made space for me and were
watching me, so I was very nervous!
S: When you are skating, do you look at your surroundings?
Y: Yes I do. When it’s a show and there’s just a spotlight shining on
me, I might not be able to see much, but I do look at the audience.
S: I had the image that once you are focused, you will not notice
what’s around you, and you will be just focused on your performance. Y: Before a performance, I will force myself to focus. S: If not, you will notice your surroundings?
Y: Yes. I tend to notice it. In the past, I was even more affected
by it. If the surroundings are different from my pattern for focusing, I
would be thinking, “oh no, I can’t do it, I can’t do it…..”
S:
In the past, I have felt that you’re the type who gets your energy
from being watched (by others) and it enables you to give your best.
How is it now? Y: It’s the same, I think. But the feeling of
others watching you, it gradually changes as you get older. It is kind
of related to results achieved over the years, and the audience are also
changing, the situation does not stay the same. So receiving strength
from the audience, and inside me focusing on things that I must focus
on, I try my best to do the performance that I can only do for that day.
S: So you give the performance each time based on your feelings; the performance changes? Y: Even the choreography changes! S: Oh really? Based on feelings?
Y: Yes. When I receive a choreography, I really like to fit the
movements to the rhythm, drums, percussion instruments and such.
Choreographers have told me that I’m good at that. So it’s different
each time. (laughs) For example, if I land a jump nicely, the
landing will fit with a sound. But if I land it a bit early, I will do a
pose. That’s what I normally do.
[they talk about how the music
sounds a bit different in different places due to things like
reverberation and the sound system of the venue]
Y: Sometimes I can’t hear the music because of cheers from the audience, then I will try to feel the music.
[Song- ‘Be the light’ by One Ok Rock]
Yuzu jumps and turns in the air. Then he laughed heartily and clapped
because they told him his head was out of the camera frame. (he jumped
too high, haha….)
About choosing music, Yuzu: There are many types to how people
choose their music. There are people who need to play the music in the
rink to know (if they want it), and there are those who will just take
it when they receive a piece of music. Some will spend time searching
for something they like. Many types. I am the type that can decide very
quickly when I listen to a piece of music, “yes this is it.”
Yuzu: For Seimei, at first I had no image at all in my head.
When I first heard the Onmyoji soundtrack, I thought : Ah the flute is
beautiful. So I was attracted by the flute sound at first and I thought,
shall I try this? Since I have a *court noble’s face* anyway. (laughs)
[*means typical Japanese face]
S: It really suits you.
Y: I also felt the character (in the movie) was not bad.
S: I thought it was hard, putting that world view in 4 and a half
minutes, and conveying it to people all over the world. Was it hard?
Y: At first, it seemed a bit flat. Of course, the music is very
beautiful, there are sounds of the taiko and such, and there is
variation, but still, the music is considered a bit plain to some
degree. So when I got my choreographer, we tried different things with
the percussion instruments and the Japanese taiko and the tempo. We
worked on it quite a lot.
S: That’s why it feels very original.
Y: Yes. If you listen to the original music, it seems like a different piece of music…… So that was interesting.
Narrator: Naming it “SEIMEI” and participating in the editing of the music himself, it became a programme that’s one of a kind.
Yuzuru x EVOLUTION [10.20~15.55 of video]
S: When you were younger, in your free skate, it feels like you
have not enough energy for the 2nd half, because you are always giving
it your all, but now you can maintain your energy right to the end. Is
it because you managed to pace yourself or you have increased your
stamina?
Y: I think it is something to do with technique.
Although it has been said from way back that I have no stamina… When a
jump fails, it takes up a lot of energy, doesn’t it? So when the
success rate for my jumps improved, maybe mentally I am doing it with a
bit more ease. And I don’t use unnecessary energy when doing jumps. The
way to maintain my body axis, the way to take-off for jumps, I think I
have become a bit better in these areas
S: Do you gradually adjust based on your own feelings?
Y: For my jumps, I do have an ideal form in my mind. That ideal is
probably based on the thinking of my childhood coaches and also what I
have seen in top skaters’ jumps, it’s a combination of various things,
so I will think and adjust based on my feelings. But there is also my
coach and people who have watched me skate for a long time. I will ask
for their opinions. Then, plus my own theories, I will adjust, let’s try
doing this or let’s pay attention to that.
S: You are always
evolving in your jumps, which I think is amazing. Plus there is also
skating and spins. How do you practise these parts? Y: I think it is based on the foundation that I accumulated from young.
S: I’ve always thought your spins are really great. Spins get better
with practice. So I am wondering, how much do you practise spins? Y: One week about 5 minutes… (covers mouth and laughs) S: Really??? Y: Really. I spend time on skating and steps, but for spins I don’t spend much time practising it. It’s like that, isn’t it? S: That’s true. It is usually left to the end. I feel that you are very good at grasping the essentials of the movements.
Y: I loved spins when I was young. I competed with peers like Ryuju
Hino and Han Yan at that time. Their spins were very fast! When we are
small, our spins are much faster, isn’t it? And also, around that
period, I met Stephane Lambiel, at Katsuyama Rink. [Sept 2006 Champions
On Ice] S: Oh you met him when you were a child! Y: Yes, when my hair was still like that. (gestures around face with hand) S: (laughs) Yes I remember.
Y: At that time, I really loved spins….. and my Biellmann was
decently fast. Decently fast. (laughs) I did spins together with
Lambiel. I think that was very encouraging and motivating.
Yuzuru x FLEXIBILITY
S: In the past, you have said that your flexibility is something you
were born with. Flexibility can mean less stability in movements…. Y: Yes. When I was small, I could not jump well at all. S: Because your range of movements is so wide, it’s hard.
Y: That’s right. My 2T was the last among all the double jumps. But I
got 2A quite fast. Toeloops, and 3T, I got them very late. My muscles
were not sturdy at all. My toe jumps would all be off….. S: Now you give the impression that your body is much stronger, you don’t sway anymore.
Y: This season, after Skate Canada, I started to do some simple
training, 5 or 10 minutes each day. But it is not hard training….so I
think it has just enabled me to use my body well.
[16.10~22.10 of video]
Half a year before the Olympics (18
years old), he was a guest on this show. He said: I have 2 kinds of
feelings towards the Olympics– I am looking forward to it and I am
anxious. Because it’s my 1st Olympics, I am really looking forward to
it. But precisely because it’s a big thing, I am also anxious. So
these two feelings are mixed together and are in the right balance, I
think. It’s hard to describe it well.
Narration: Then at his 1st Olympics, he became the 2nd person in history aged below 20 to win that gold medal.
Yuzuru: My desire to get the gold medal was very strong. My SP was good
and I felt very good. My thoughts after having actually competed in
it: although the environment is totally different, the things you do are
the same. You don’t specially change the way you warm up just because
it’s the Olympics, your past experiences also don’t disappear. I
didn’t win the Olympics with a perfect performance. If I had won it with
a performance like this season’s NHK Trophy or GPF, I may have felt
more high. But I failed on the salchow and the flip, I made
various mistakes. So rather than feeling that I won the Olympics, it
felt like I won another competition where I found problems to work on. I
still have that image.
S: You won the Olympics, then you
became Worlds champion, the interviews and also things outside of
skating increased, you had to think about many things, and then the next
season came quickly, this could be the most difficult I thought. How
did you handle it?
Y: Yes that was very difficult, but then the collision accident happened. (laughs) [Nov 2014 Cup of China, collision with Chinese skater]
I was injured in China, and that unexpectedly freed me. Before that, the title of
Olympic champion kept coming… “as an Olympic champion…., as an
Olympic champion….” When I had the injuries, it made people very
worried and it also left bad images; but conversely, thanks to it,
instead of being the champion, the thought was I must “resurrect”!!!
S: The thought that somehow I must overcome this situation….
Y: Yes, that thought was the strongest. I did overcome that season, and
so to some degree, I have put aside the Olympics. In the end, I got a
silver at last season’s Worlds. Even though I won at GPF and I won at
nationals, it does not change that silver. So that is something for me
to chase after.
S: You are always turning things into something positive.
Y: Yes…. but sometimes I do get affected for some reason. For
example….. recently, at the nationals in Sapporo; when I was there 3
years ago…no, 4 years ago, my SP was clean but the free, the quad was
not done well….. I can’t say that I was not affected by those
thoughts. [2012 first win at nationals, SP 1st, FP 2nd] [2015 4th straight win at nationals, but fell twice in FP]
S: Really???
Y: Yes. And how do I say it….. there are times when all I can think about is failure.
S: So there are times when there is a negative Hanyu?
Y: Yes… there are times when I become very negative, to the extent
where I want to reject everything and I become withdrawn. (laughs) But
maybe because I do love skating after all….
S: So once you go onto the ice, your feelings change….
Y: Right. When I go onto the rink, basically I have not felt “I can’t
do it, I can’t do it” while I skate…. and I love jumps. Doing a
performance, it’s the only time when I can do as I see fit. How much
can I concentrate, how is my body condition, how is my mood… all this
will emerge, isn’t it? Of course I am also supported by everyone. I
really love times like that, being able to do as how I would like to. In
a way, it seems a little isolated. But there are people who support me
and cheer for me, people who are directly watching me. So I really love
that.
HOBBIES. [24.00~27.56 of video]
S: I’ve always wanted to ask, what is the energy that sustains that slender body of yours? Y: Mmm……. Hobbies. Will you ask about that? S: Yes I will ask about hobbies. Y: It’s enough about hobbies already, isn’t it?? (laughs) S: Last time, you said you were obsessed about earphones. Y: It hasn’t changed. S: It hasn’t? Has it evolved? Y: It has evolved in terms of price. (laughs)
She asks him to recommend one kind of earphones, he thought for a while
and said it’s hard because there are so many that he wants to talk
about. Then later he said there are headphones called HD800. It is
good for his FP music because there are flute and taiko sounds and he
really loves the reverberation of the Japanese music instruments through
the earphones.
S: When you listen to it on your earphones, the
effect is so good and you can enter into your own world. But then when
you listen to it in the rink, the feeling is so different…. have you
felt that way? Y: I will create the feeling, at those times.
Y: As a hobby, I listen to rock, J-pop and various songs that I love. I
will sing along and get really high all by myself. I often do that,
right? (laughs) S: Yes! (I’ll be thinking) Ahh he’s really into it…..
Y: I will get really high and I will enter into that world. Then,
when it’s on shuffle, sometimes my own (skating) music starts to play, I
will think, “It’s here!” S: I’m the type that will skip it immediately! Like “oh no, why is it playing?!” (both laugh)
Y: I will think “Yes! It’s playing!!!” Then as I listen, the image
in my mind grows, and sometimes I find something unexpected. How do I
put it….. Precisely because it is my music, I sometimes make new
discoveries like “ah the sound is like this!!!” Those are the happiest
moments. (I will think) with this sound, this movement might be better. Like for
exhibition programmes, (I will think) ahhh with these lyrics, the
choreography can be this way. I will get various inspirations.
His #1 form of relaxation:
Y: There’s a game I’m crazy about. I play it… and I escape from
reality.(laughs) It’s called Monster Hunter Cross. It can be played
online, so I play with my friends.
FOOD [from 28:05~] S: Do you eat well? Y: Yes I do…. I think. S: What do you like?….. What food energises you the most? Y: 'Nabemono’ (hotpot food) It gives me the most feeling of the food going into my body and spreading throughout. I also like 'sujouyu’ (a dipping sauce of vinegar+soy sauce) and 'mizudaki’ (chicken and vegetable hotpot). [see pic below] Lately I’m addicted to 'yudoufu’ (tofu hotpot). S: So healthy!
Y: I was having breakfast at a restaurant that had delicious tofu, and
there was 'yudoufu’. It was really good. Then I went to the convenient
store and bought a lot of tofu to eat. S: You really love tofu! Y: Yes I do, and it’s also very good for the body. S: You also give a feeling of being very smooth and fresh like tofu. (Yuzu laughs) Y: And also soft and flexible. (laughter)
But way back, I was not called tofu. I was called konnyaku (a food with
texture of firm jelly). I think it was my first nickname after I
started skating. Teachers always called me that. Konnyaku. S: But now it’s konnyaku with a core. Y: Ah yes, there’s a bit of core. (laughs) S: Isn’t it? Your body/torso has become much stronger.
Source of energy [from 29.44~]
S: Although you are slender, your body is very strong. But you are not the type that eats a lot and gets the energy from there, so what is your energy source? Y: It’s difficult to answer. I have thought about it too and I still don’t know. S: Even when your body condition is not very good, you still have a lot of energy…… where does that come from? Y: There are times when my body condition is not good and I look tired, right? S: It is tiring! You always put in all your effort, every time, even during practice. And definitely during rehearsals too. Y: Yes, during rehearsals, I will do all the jumps. S: Jumps and spins…. and dance at full power. Y: And skate at full power. S: I get worried for you. Y: Well…… maybe because I really love to skate, I can do it to that extent. Even when my fuel is almost burned up, as long as there is the feeling of being able to jump and there is the feeling of wind as I skate and there are moments of emotional release….. I love that and so I just do it without thinking too much beforehand. S: That is highly efficient! As you skate, even as you are getting tired, you are still charging. Y: I am most at ease when I’m skating. S: You’re like an energy-saving car. You can get charged while you’re running. (laughter) Y: Like a hybrid. Running on gasoline and battery gets charged at the same time. (laughter)
Y: Sometimes, in between two ice shows, I do some practice. S: Normally we don’t do that! Y: Because I’m feeling too frustrated (with a jump) and so I want to practise. S: Occasionally I have seen you doing that. Y: For example, I fell on a quad in the first show. Once the show is over, I will immediately practise the quad. Then I come back for the 2nd show feeling quite tired. And then I don’t do very well at the opening and finale. Only my own solo performance is ok. There were times like that.
S: But still, in that slim body, the energy you have is amazing…. You seem to have a lot of adrenaline. Y: Yes maybe I’m that type. S: …and you always want to put on a good show for the audience. Y: I don’t really feel embarrassed when I fall. Of course if I fall during the opening, it’s very embarrassing. (Yuzu remembers one time that Shizuka fell during the opening and they talked a bit about it. She said, you remember so well my embarrassing moment!) Y: Regarding my jump challenges, I feel quite proud of it. If I fail on a jump, I will feel frustrated, and I hate it, but I will still want to do it.
QUADS [33:48~] Narrator: It was 5 years ago that he landed his first quad at an ice show. Now he is challenging a new kind of quad.
Y: Quad loop. I took a long time to get the 4Lo. I did it during the summer ice shows but many were falls. S: It’s best to do the loop without using much strength, but when it’s a quad, you have to put in a certain amount of strength. But if you go a bit more inclined, it will fail. So that balance is very difficult. Y: Yes it’s difficult. S: I also fail at the 3Lo sometimes. Y: It’s okay. I even fail at the 2Lo sometimes. S: No you don’t! (laughs) Y: At practice, after my blades have just been sharpened or I have just changed my shoes, when I do a 2Lo with my hands stretched out, I often fall. S: Really? Y: Yes… I will go waaaaa……. (moves like he’s falling)
S: Talking about this, you have gained much better control for your salchow now. Y: Yes, I don’t fall on that much anymore. … Maybe it’s because my body is stronger or maybe the way I control my body is better. S: In the Olympic season, when the feeling of wanting to jump is very strong, you bend too much and the edge is too inclined, then you fall. Y: As I enter the jump, even when I’m thinking I can do it, the moment I take off, I know it’s going to fail. I will try really hard, but I will feel myself falling. When a jump is not good, it is very tiring, because you try so hard to turn (to save it).
S: Watching you, I feel that you jump quads without putting in strength. Y: Some jumps, if you use too much strength, you can’t turn properly. Like loops. S: Ah yes, loops and salchows, if too much strength is used, it will result in a fall. That’s why I think it’s so amazing to master that.
Y: The 1st triple jump that I could do was a salchow. I like edge jumps more than toe jumps. So I think my salchow should be more stable than my toeloop. I can make use of the centrifugal force, and also I like jumping with the axis established, I like the 'shuu~~t’ (gesture upwards). So when I first started practicing salchow and loop, I felt the stability.
PROGRAMS [from 37:20~]
Shizuka: Is there a genre that you want to try now? Yuzu: Genre…… I want to try jazz. But not for competition. S: Oh, for ice shows? Y: Long time back, during novice, I used 'Sing Sing Sing’ for a short programme, and I also used it with vocals for exhibitions. We also use it for skating time. I really love this song 'Sing Sing Sing’, and within me, it has become a standard song. (laughs) This kind of song, with a very light feel, I would like to use it again. I also want try more 'kakkoii’ (=cool/attractive) type of music. I am already using 'rock’, so I just want to try something different, like movie music, or some other 'kakkoii’ type of music.
S: Even if the same song is used, as we grow older, we accumulate more experiences and our expression of it will change. Like if we do the same music that we did a few years ago, it is very interesting. Y: Yes. Like me too, before we had decided on the music for this season, and also during holidays, when I just need to move my body, I will play all the music that I have skated to before. I put them on shuffle. Like 'Firebird’ from junior days, and 'Paganini’ which was used when I won Junior Worlds, and also music from novice period. I will skate to all of them. I still remember most of the choreography. S: But the little details will change, right? Y: Yes. 'Ah so the music had this meaning, and that is why the choreography was made this way!’ I would have this kind of discoveries. I really enjoy myself while doing this.
S: It’s still 2 more years to the Olympics. I don’t know if you have thought about the music you want to use. Is there any music that you think you want to use for competition for that important season? Y: I don’t know yet. In this one year, I want to try widening my range, not only in terms of music styles, but also in my expression. And then from there, I hope to choose something that most suits myself.
NEXT OLYMPICS [from 40:33~]
S: Having gone through one Olympic Games, have you thought about how you will be facing the next one? Y: Mm. I think maybe nothing very different from the competitions up to now. Having experienced it once, it is not so much the anxiety and excitement of facing an unknown world; I did it once, and I got it, I got what I was aiming for. I will dare to boldly take it on again.
S: The expectations will be different from the last time. Is that expectation a pressure to you or is it an energy? Y: The expectations of people, like saying 'the 2nd straight win’, the expectations are of course very big. When I won the gold, I was 19. Now I am 21. I will continue to experience more things and develop in my performance. The pressure can become a strength, and the expectations can also lead to nervousness. But everyone is on the same stage, we will all have the same nervousness. So it’s not very scary. S: Really? Amazing.
S: Many people think in the right way, but are not able to put that thinking into action. But you always put your ways of thinking into action. I think that is really great. Y: Maybe it is not that I think and then I do it, but I do it and then I think about it. (laughs) … I will justify/rationalise it. Theoretically speaking, if you say negative things, it has a negative impact inside you. So I don’t think too deeply about certain things.
Y: The Olympics is like a culmination year. I have only experienced it once, and so maybe I have not fully understood this meaning of culmination. To me, the Olympic stage is not just about these 4 years, but my whole competitive life. So in my life up to now, what can I express, what have I experienced, what do I want to express, I hope to figure that out.
A question for Shizuka Arakawa: Yuzu asked her about pro-skating. [43:34~48:20] -translated by Echo Cheng in YH Int’l Fan Group (click on link to read)
FROM HERE ON [49:21~] S: Based on your own feeling, how much more will you progress/ evolve? Y: First of all, I want to do jumps up to the axel. S: Quad axel??? Y: Yes. Doesn’t matter if I put it in competition or not. S: Just to challenge it, to be able to jump it. Y: Yes. I think I can do it on its own. S: You look like you can! Seeing your kind of 3A…
Y: But I will need time to practise, and another thing is, there are risks to the body. When I first practised 3A, not so much injury but there was some damage to the body.
… I don’t know if I can really do it, but to me, to master thoroughly the jump as a skill, I want to work hard to do jumps up to the (quad) axel.
… Now, jumping the lutz, and I am also jumping the loop; the skill level is gradually going higher. Like what Plushenko-san has said before, 100 years ago, people were jumping singles and doubles. When I heard that, I thought, ah yes it’s true. As the era changes, jumps and other skills also change along with it. Like at Vancouver and Torino and Salt Lake and also my own era of Sochi, the characteristics of the performances at each period are so different, what the skaters are aiming for. I thought it was so interesting. And also I thought I have to be someone who can pull that along (ie. raising the skill level).
S: I feel that you place great importance on achieving things one by one. What is right ahead for you at this point? Y: Well…. in actual terms, I don’t really know what my limits are. There are still many things that I want to do. S: You are a person whose limits are not visible! Y: Yes, I feel there is still lots more I can do. Of course for jumps, ….and also for movements. Each movement can be polished further… I have been working really hard on that though. (laughs) S: Oh I can see that! Without practice, you can’t perform like that, that I do know. Y: Like a soft expression or a strong expression, much of it is still not good enough, like the posture is bad, POSTURE is bad (sits up very straight and laughs). S: (also straightens up) Everyone is suddenly sitting up very straight! (laughing and gesturing towards the camera/studio staff)
Y: (laughing) So yes, in areas like these, I can do better. Even in ballet, there are different types, like modern, classical and jazz. But it’s not just about that. As skaters, within the framework of figure skating, how do we show it in the most beautiful way? We skaters are watched by the audience from all around, 360 degrees. From any angle, at any time, any photo taken will still be beautiful, anything that we want to express can be understood, I want to become a skater who is like that.
S: But I think you have achieved that in your performance. I think it’s beautiful from any angle. Y: It’s better now. A long time back, I had the roughness of youth, but that was also put to good use at that time. At the Sochi Olympics period, I still didn’t know which direction I should take, what kind of expression would suit what kind of music. I felt I still didn’t know how to control myself. But this season, my free programme SEIMEI gave me a very good opportunity; I had a talk with Mansai Nomura-san. I discovered things like, oh so I have this way of expressing it, I have this expression, this way of going with the sound, the use of space/pause…. I really learned a lot.
TOWARDS WORLDS 2016 [from 53:57~]
S: World Championship is coming. What are your thoughts? Y: I had the honour of getting over 300 points, so I will aim for that again. But on top of that, I have to do a performance that’s of even higher quality. If I put in the 4Lo that I’m practising now, but if the quality of my performance isn’t better, the points are not going to increase. (laughs) … 4S and 4Lo, the difference is only 2 points. Whether I should do it for these 2 points, that’s the difficult part. But then, it is not merely about points. I want to challenge my limits. As I continue to skate, this kind of era is coming, these 2 years. So the loop, the lutz, the axel if I can, I will increase the kinds of quads. And also, the quality of the programme, the affinity with the music. As a competitor, I will seek to improve on all these aspects.
(note to OOR fans: One Ok Rock’s 'Be the light’ plays in the background.^^)
S: Thank you very much for your time with us today. Please take care of your health. Y: Thank you. Yes I will. S: Why do I worry about you like a mother? Like, are you eating properly, are you well…. (laughter) I just want to see a healthy Hanyu-senshu in the rink again. Please take care of yourself. Y: Thank you. I will work hard.
~To everyone who has always been supporting him~ Y: Hello, I am Yuzuru Hanyu. This season, having had 2 (sets of) good performances straight, I am very happy. But this is not my limit. I will continue to improve. Please give me your support.
[translated by me] [much thanks to video uploaders]
P&G interview done some time ago but published on 1st April:
What figure skating taught me: ~about life.
–The enjoyment of skating, the joy of expression, the cheers of many people….. figure skating is a sport that gives a lot of joy. At the same time, it also holds difficulties like the hardships of training, the severity of competitions, injuries, etc. Yuzuru Hanyu has certainly experienced both the joys and the harshness of figure skating. He tells us about the important things he learned.
—————–
Figure skating is not an interpersonal competition like baseball, soccer or tennis; it all depends on yourself. Of course, there are rare occasions when you win because your competitors are not in good condition, but whether you can make good jumps and do clean performances are your own issues. Precisely because you are competing with yourself, you cannot lose. Techniques, powers of expression and concentration can be raised through practice and coaching advice, but whether you can show that ability at the critical moment is most important. How much concentration and motivation is kept, how much of the pressure is turned into power…. in the end, the one who wins is the person who is strong at controlling himself mentally.
Before a competition, there will be nervousness and anxiety. But that is just proof of your seriousness. If you were not thinking that you want to do really well, you would not be nervous nor anxious. Even negative feelings, if you can think about why you are feeling that way, you can turn them into a plus. Thinking this way, the things that I experienced through figure skating, not one of them was in vain. Of course, it is not only things that that I am proud of, but when I go through various experiences and know various emotions, I may be able to turn them into expression. Anger and frustration/regret may lead to powerful jumps. And so, without running away from negative emotions, I want to value each and every one of my experiences.
In order to control the psychological/mental aspect, it is important to keep the body in the best condition. For the pace and amount of training, I myself think and adjust it daily, but everything else around me is mostly done by my mother. She notices minor changes in my physical condition and thinks of well-balanced meals and makes them for me; I am thankful. In Canada, talking to my mother is also a psychological plus for me. Mother worries about me and tells me many things, and sometimes I argue with her. It is common parent-child interaction, but being in a foreign country, just speaking in my native language makes me feel at peace and energised. My mother’s presence is a support for me physically and psychologically.
To me, figure skating is…..
~…..not everything, but it’s very important
In the past, I have felt that skating is my life. But after going through the earthquake and various experiences, I have come to think that life is life, skating is skating; they are not equal. It is worrying that ‘once skating is gone, I will have nothing’, and so maybe I consciously detach myself from it. But certainly, skating is the axis around which the human being, Yuzuru Hanyu, is formed, and it is without a doubt an important part of life.
~Experiencing life through figure skating
Skating has taught me positive things like the importance of hard work and the strength of not giving up, and also made me aware of negative areas like my own weaknesses and over-confidence. I learned a lot from there and it has influenced my ways of thinking, my regular words and actions, and my life in society. But it is not that everything is correct…. what and how you absorb is your own choice. My relationship with figure skating– more than learning from it, the closest feeling is “through skating, I experienced many things of life”.
Besides skating, what sports would you do?
“I want to try Kyudo some day.”
Besides skating, the sport I want to do is Japanese archery (Kyudo). Because I am the type that’s good at concentrating for a short period of time, I have been thinking since some time ago that I want to try Kyudo. I feel a sense of closeness to it because I am born in December, a Sagittarius, and my name Yuzuru also has a connection. (t/n. 弦 = bowstring or string of music instrument) I am interested also because it is a sport that’s done with stillness, very different from skating. At one time, I also had an interest in tennis, but it is a sport that’s done outdoors even in the hot summer, not very suitable for me who is the indoor-type, so I gave up (the idea) very quickly. [laughs]
Hiroyasu Shimizu is a Japanese speed skater who won an Olympic gold medal at 1998 Nagano Olympics. He is well-known to be only 1.62m and he has asthma. He wrote about Yuzu in a short article for Asahi. My translation:
I have written about this before. It’s about meeting figure skater, Yuzuru Hanyu. Nagano Olympics had ended and some time had passed. I went to Sendai for an event and a boy came to me to request for my autograph. Not on coloured paper but on a knapsack. After I signed, I noticed Plushenko’s signature was there as well. “I’ve got the signatures of my 2 heroes!” an innocent voice said happily. That was Yuzuru Hanyu.
At that time, his mother was with him and she said to me, “This boy has asthma. Shimizu-san also has asthma, right? But even then, you achieved a gold medal. Is it alright for this boy to continue with figure skating?"
I replied, "It’s alright. For the part where the lungs are weak, he must continue with the hard training . When he can surmount that, the hard work that he did more than other people will enable him to compete against the world. ” After that, the next time I met Hanyu-kun was after he had won the gold medal at Sochi Olympics. I said to him, “You’re amazing! That’s why I said it’s alright, isn’t it?” Hanyu-kun looked very surprised and said, “Eh??? You remember about me???” He was so humble. —END—
I was moved when I read the article…. a boy’s dreams, a mother’s worry, and hard work that is way more than what a normal athlete has to put in.
[Q&A with Yuzuru Hanyu “Looking back at this season”]
Looking back at the 2014-2015 season, Yuzuru Hanyu (20) summarised “it
was a season of experiences”. Below are the questions and answers with
Yuzuru Hanyu, looking back at this season and looking forward to the next season. ===============================================
(How would you envisage the next season?)
Yuzuru: It will probably start with creating a programme, but I haven’t
thought of the kinds of music, and there are many elements undecided. I
would like to try a programme with 3 quads, though, which I was
[initially] trying to challenge this season.
(During this
season, you have fought hard and won, but you had to stay in Japan due
to injuries and health condition, therefore unable to train much in
Toronto. How have you coped with such situation?) Yuzuru: It was
indeed difficult being unable to train with Brian. Meanwhile, we kept
having close communications, and I was able to do good performances in
GPF, which gave me self-confidence. It was hard to train all by myself,
but such environment enabled me to do lots of run-throughs playing my
music many times. I guess this contributed to the stability of 4S.
(Which part of learnings this season would you like to apply to next season?)
Yuzuru: Well, this season was filled with injuries. Even before the
CoC, I had an ankle sprained. This season including those injuries has
served as a good occasion to plan more carefully my self-control,
health-management, and training methods, and to think what is necessary
and what should be done, one-by-one.
(How would you describe this season full of torment?)
Yuzuru: “Experiences”, perhaps? Only few skaters would experience what I
have gone through. From the win at the Olympics, how to keep morale
towards the following season, training methods, how to heighten my
motivation, etc. all have become extremely good experiences. The big
accident at the CoC has made me think of how to deal with my fear of the
6mins practice, how to recover my condition after injuries, and how to
prepare my body through rehabilitation. So, this season allowed me to
gain lots of rich experiences.
(What about your goals of “no-mistake” performance or a total of 300 points?)
Yuzuru: It would be good if I can get 300 points, if possible. It
wouldn’t shock me even if I cannot get 300 points; it would neither
shock me if I failed to get 100 points for SP or 200 points for FS. But
one thing for sure is that I feel extremely frustrated with myself
since I couldn’t do any clean performance even for once throughout this
season.
(One might well feel defeated after all these
[difficult] experiences, but you remain always positive. How do you
control yourself?) Yuzuru: I didn’t mean to control myself, but
it’s just that my character is naturally as such, perhaps thanks to my
parents who gave birth to me. Thanks to my character, I was able to climb
up from the unforeseen accident. My eagerness or want for winning, or
my strong determination to win a victory are due to the DNA of my
parents as well as expectations from so many people. These play large
parts in myself.
(Did you imagine right after the accident at
the CoC that you would be able to end this season in a relatively
satisfactory manner?) Yuzuru: I imagined nothing. All I have aimed at has always been to make a good performance.
(Every competition this season was under different circumstances. Did
you discover anything with regards to the ways of concentration?)
Yuzuru: Methods vary for each and every competition. Sometimes I
“air-sing” or listen to music, but these are not all of the methods. If
I rely on certain methods, my concentration is occasionally cut. I
have always tried to identify what I quest for under the given
circumstances and how I should concentrate [on myself]. I was able to
keep thinking those kinds of things during this season.
(What would you think of Plushenko coming back?)
Yuzuru: I have a mixed feeling: I am pleased but I feel nothing
different at the same time. Of course, I –as a fan- feel excited to be
able to see his new performance. But there is no change whatsoever to
what I have to do as a skater, so I just have to keep concentrating on
myself.
(Please tell us a bit about your programmes next season)
Yuzuru: At the moment, I feel like composing a programme in the same
way as I had initially aimed at. But there are many areas to try new
things, such as the number of times or how to go into Axels, so I would
like to make difficult programmes eventually, as my stamina comes back.
(Was it difficult to start this season as an Olympic champion?)
Yuzuru: In retrospect, it wasn’t difficult. But I have been certainly
entangled by that identity [of being an Olympic champion]. I was able
to recognise such a feeling precisely because I became an [Olympic]
gold medalist.
(How would you prepare your morale towards next season?)
Yuzuru: If I reflect deeply, my performance ultimately will have
nothing to do with having won a gold medal at the Worlds or at the
Olympics. It would be as if I fought against an invisible enemy. I
should just try to digest what is visible and to control what is
invisible in an objective manner.
(You have been trying quad loop during training.)
Yuzuru: Well, I did it yesterday only… [Sat 18 April 2015]. I am not
yet intending to include quad loop in a competition. The success rate of 4S
has been increasing, and I thought if I use this trend, it might
facilitate my mastering of quad loop. That’s why I tried it yesterday.
(It seems that you were supported by the cheers of fans this season.)
Yuzuru: I made them really worried for me. There were many accidents,
and due to my mistakes, so many people got worried for me. Indeed, I
was able to complete this season supported by such people. I am saying
the same thing after the end of every season, but I need to thank all my
fans and people surrounding me.
(To make anything into a [learning] experience, did you already have this way of thinking right from the very beginning?)
Yuzuru: It might or might not be so. But one thing
for sure is this — last season, when I wasn’t able to beat Mr Patrick Chan at
all, when I wasn’t able to do my own performances at all at the Grand Prix Series and I was absorbed with the thought that “I have to beat Mr Patrick
Chan, I have to beat him”, I tried to re-set myself and consider “how
can I concentrate on myself”. This experience served as a trigger to
reflect upon my own mental condition and my jumps and things like that.
END
Translated by Sophie Moroi (FB) and slightly edited by me
Don’t be called “Uncool” anymore! 1. Yuzuru Hanyu’s clothes mix-and-match 30 days 2. Quad loop class parka coordinates 3. How to wear it so you absolutely can’t see it’s from Shimamura 4. Lesson on cute overly-long sleeves 5. Perfect guide to toe-socks
[left] Clothes Book Lots of clothes introduced by Yuzuru Hanyu after serious consideration! Carry-around collector’s edition!
[right] Aim! “Guy with beautiful skin” Special feature on earphones that you desire Yuzuru Hanyu X AE, special collaboration OK or NG? Borderline on layering of necklaces
–my translation (haha… what a great mag! Pity it’s not real.) –pic credit: yuzuru_chan@twitter (via horiyan)
Yuzuru Hanyu accomplishes 3rd consecutive victory with intermittent abdominal pain(28/12/2014)
Brief translation of video: Yesterday, Yuzuru Hanyu won his 3rd consecutive national title. However, there was a shocking notice. He withdrew from the exhibition, Medalists On Ice, because he needed medical examination for abdominal pain. What happened? On closer look, there were signs that things were not normal. (From 1:06) The day before, after his SP, he bowed deeply to the audience several times and he picked up flowers and soft toys. Same as what he normally does. But after yesterday’s free, he just bowed his head to the audience. And then his right hand was pressed on his stomach. Yuzu (with a laugh and his hand brushing away his fringe): “Somehow my condition today isn’t good. But it’s not injury or such…." Yuzu watching the monitor: "Wasn’t it tough from the final round?” (funny laugh^^) He gave a message today: ‘Since the GPF, I have had abdominal pain intermittently. The doctor advised me to get a thorough medical examination.' So we await the results. (At the time of this programme, the medical results were not known yet.)
–Don’t know why I translated this (outdated news) but I did. Must be missing him too much. Fighter-warrior-samurai Yuzu.
Yuzuru Hanyu talks about that moment: 2014 GP series
–It was after Sochi Olympics, in November 2014. At a Grand Prix series competition in Shanghai, during the official warm-up just before the free skate, suddenly there were screams from the audience. On the ice lay the figures of 2 skaters. Hanyu had collided with another skater. (t/n. Han Yan, Cup of China)–
INTERVIEW
At that time, we were each concentrating on our own practice and did not see what was around us. Because when we perform, it is not always necessary to be looking towards the direction we are going. The moment I turned round, the other skater was already right in front of me. Our speed in that situation was 60 to 70 km per hour, and so there was nothing I could do. I was hit in the abdominal area and flung to the ground (by the impact), and my chin hit the ice hard.
That moment, it was just pain. And because my abdomen was hit, I could not breathe; it was so painful to the extent that I was thinking what I should do so that I could take a breath. My head was in a daze and I could not think and time just passed by. I received some stitches on my chin and above my ear; this was very painful too as it was done without anaesthesia. But after resting a while, I became calm and I could walk. Then I thought, “I definitely can skate, I definitely want to compete.”
–After receiving first aid and being diagnosed as having no concussion,
it was a tricky situation. Enduring the pain and going against the worries of his coach and
parents, he decided to compete; what was his intention?—
‘I did not want it to end here.’
I insisted on competing because I absolutely wanted to compete at the Grand Prix Final at the end of the series. It was solely because of that. To qualify for GPF, I had to obtain points from this competition. I had already got a partial score from the short programme, so even if my free programme was not good, points could be obtained based on placing if I did my performance to the end. Doing this will lead to possibilities at the NHK Trophy coming up next. And also, the previous season, I achieved the triple crown of Olympics, World and GPF, so I definitely wanted to win the GPF which has a meaning of being the season champion.
‘I will stand to the end no matter what.’
During the performance, the inner part of my knee was in pain and my leg could not bend. Thinking about it now, I feel I skated well. Even if I fell, I could get points for rotating the jumps. For rotating a triple jump, 2 or 3 points can be obtained, so I thought, I will absolutely rotate it. In reality, just standing up was already hard, but somehow, my feelings were “I can jump even the quads”. When I finished skating without mishap, the feeling was, I managed to pull it off. At the kiss and cry, I was so relieved…. my tears could not stop.
–After the accident, Hanyu had to undergo rehabilitation. The damaging effect of the collision was worse than he thought.–
After that competition, doctors said I would be able to walk after a week, but actually, I could not walk for about 10 days. When I could do a half run/ jog, I tried going to the rink and onto the ice, but the pain was so great I could not skate. Before this, I had experienced injuries but I had never had so much pain before….. maybe I cannot skate anymore, I seriously thought. My feelings were so depressed that I thought of quitting skating.
For the first time since I was born, I said to my mother, “I can’t skate anymore.” Mother’s response was out of my expectations. "How about just giving it a try anyway?“ she said. From the time I was small, whenever I said I wanted to quit, she had always said, "Why don’t you quit?” but now….. "If you skate just a little on the ice every day with the intention of rehabilitation, the situation may change for the better while doing that,“ she told me. Then somehow, I was suddenly invigorated and I felt that it was possible to skate again. And even more, "I will definitely win the next NHK Trophy!”, that willpower gushed forth.
Now when I think back about the accident, at that time if I had withdrawn from the competition, and if I did not have those words from my mother, perhaps the person that I am now would not exist. I am once again grateful for my mother’s words.
Translated by me; original source: P&G, myrepi.com
[next month, new theme for YUZU DAYS– What figure skating taught me]
For my past translations of these monthly articles [X]
(update: sorry, videos have become unavailable. Links don’t work anymore)
Two actors and the director of the movie had a ‘talk event’ at a mall. (@3:40 of video) 1) Sadao Abe-san asked the audience, “Have you seen Yuzuru Hanyu before? No, right? So I was very surprised. And I thought, ahh he exists!!!” 2) Yudai Chiba-san: “Newspapers wrote things like ‘The Treasure of Miyagi’. I am also from Miyagi but I thought this time I will surrender to Yuzuru.” 3) Abe-san: “I asked him questions like, how long are your training sessions… and is it ok that you eat the same bento as us….” (laughter)
Abe-san said, “He was amazing. He’s a top athlete but he can act as well. It was really hot because filming was in summer, but he did not complain at all. (It must have been hard for him because) he is usually on the ice.” Then he added, “Even the way he ate his bento was beautiful.” (laughter)
Some numbers from Yuzuru’s victory celebration parade (22/4/2018) in Sendai…..
1) The temperature of parade day was 29.9°C, the highest ever recorded for April in Sendai. The next day, the temperature fell to 14°C and it was cloudy with brief rain. (*thank God for good weather on parade day!*)
2) Yuzu received the total of ¥10,000,000 /approx.US$93,000 (¥5,000,000 from Japan Olympic Committee and ¥5,000,000 from Japan Skate Federation) as the reward for his Olympic Gold. He donated the whole amount to be used for the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake/Tsunami (¥5,000,000 to Miyagi prefecture and ¥5,000,000 to Sendai City), at the ceremony before the parade.
He did the same four years ago, after Sochi Olympics. At that time, the money he received from JOC and JSF was ¥6,000,000 in total, and he donated it all as well.
(Btw he also donates all royalties he receives from his 2 autobiographies, ’Aoi Hono’ 1 & 2, to Ice Rink Sendai.)
3.a) Yuzu’s parade T-shirts and wristbands were manufactured and sold to cover the cost of the parade. The T-shirt is ¥2500 each and they made 80,000 shirts, and 70,000 shirts were sold by the day of the parade. 70,000 x ¥2500 = ¥175,000,000 /US$1,623,500 b) The wristband (a set of 2 wristbands, purple and blue) is ¥1000 /set and they made 10,000 sets and all were sold out on the day of the parade. 10,000 x ¥1000 = ¥10,000,000 /US$92,800 a) + b), the sales of those items were ¥185,000,000 / US$1,716,300 in total. In addition to this, many people donated for this parade and their donations reached ¥20,000,000 /US$185,550. (note: these are not the final numbers as the amount was still going up at the time of original post)
【¥205,000,000 /US$1,902,000】take away【the material and labour costs (yes, it gave a good influence to the local economy too)】was the profit = fund for the parade. If it is more than the actual expenses for the parade, the rest will be used for the recovery of Tohoku. (They did the same for the parade after Sochi).
4) Over 100,000 people (the official announcement is 108,000, but many who were there say the number should be higher!) turned up for the parade, and 1000 volunteers were ready for the after-parade clean-up, However, hardly any rubbish was found on the streets. Yes, almost zero rubbish!! (*I’m so proud of us! haha*)
5) Another interesting figure… according to the TV program ‘Kininaru’, Yuzu said “arigato” more than 294 times on the parade van! xD
********
Translated by Shuko Doyle, info from yahoo.co.jp and other Japanese media sources. Much thanks to Shuko for giving me permission to share this in my blog; original post in YHIFG. Pic credits are marked on each photo; last 2 photos (showing sale of T-shirts and wristbands) are mine.
