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- Jul 28, 2003
http://www.allsport.ru/index.php?id=5282
April 2, 2007 22:24 Figure Skating
[size=+2]Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov: Russian figure skating will not die if it survived 1896[/size]
Following figure skating world championships in Tokyo, where for the first time since 1962 our skaters did not win a single medal, legendary Olympic champions of 1964 and 1968, Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov sent and e-mail to the president of the Russian figure skating association (FFKR) Valentin Piseev. In it, they expressed their point of view on what happened at the world championships and the future of Russian figure skating. With Valentin Piseev’s permission, sport information Agency “All Sport” is publishing the letter without cuts, and maintaining original spelling.
“Dear Valentin Nikolaevich!
Congratulations on getting back from 2007 WC. It’s not as bad as everyone thinks. Life is like figure skating. It needs balance as much as when one’s on the ice. In total, Earth spends exactly half the year at daytime, and half the year at nighttime. Decent people are always side by side with bandits (as in ISU). There is youth, and there is old age. There is life, and there is death. There is decline, and there is revival. There are two sides to everything in life. There is a man and a woman who cannot live without each other – they are one. Beneficial bacteria and malicious microbes coexist in the body. Various slumps and downturns are as natural as the rises. People yearn for stability that does not exist. If everything were always good, than humans with their lazy nature would never know what bad is. That is what made Russian general Kutuzov always say, “Time and patience, patience and time – those are my best friends”. He, apparently, understood without any computers or rockets, that life is an “UP AND DOWN” system.
Russian figure skating won’t die if it had not done so in 1896! Yes! It was “tank” internationally, and “Boom” at home. However, the “incubation period” won’t hurt at all; it and the quality of its realization will determine the future of Russian figure skating. A break from dominating will create a positive change for the psychological base of both the skaters and the coaches. Interest in Russia will only heighten. As they see, “hurry, but don’t rush”. The paradox is that there is a need to learn to skate again, not just to practice the triple jumps which are now manageable even for the 45th participant of the ’07 WC. You can’t use old methods to teach the new, though old methods also have much to teach us. Today, we shouldn’t teach how to fall correctly – on the hands, knees, or the behind. We have to teach the mastery of how “not to fall”, then the jumps won’t look like a “guillotine”. We need new aesthetic knowledge and education. Russia, like no other country, is rich in cultural values and traditions.
Every day, we’re learning to skate anew, even in our “young age”. They young – they hold all the cards.
Wishing you much success and good health,
Oleg and Ludmila
March 26, 2007”.
April 2, 2007 22:24 Figure Skating
[size=+2]Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov: Russian figure skating will not die if it survived 1896[/size]
Following figure skating world championships in Tokyo, where for the first time since 1962 our skaters did not win a single medal, legendary Olympic champions of 1964 and 1968, Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov sent and e-mail to the president of the Russian figure skating association (FFKR) Valentin Piseev. In it, they expressed their point of view on what happened at the world championships and the future of Russian figure skating. With Valentin Piseev’s permission, sport information Agency “All Sport” is publishing the letter without cuts, and maintaining original spelling.
“Dear Valentin Nikolaevich!
Congratulations on getting back from 2007 WC. It’s not as bad as everyone thinks. Life is like figure skating. It needs balance as much as when one’s on the ice. In total, Earth spends exactly half the year at daytime, and half the year at nighttime. Decent people are always side by side with bandits (as in ISU). There is youth, and there is old age. There is life, and there is death. There is decline, and there is revival. There are two sides to everything in life. There is a man and a woman who cannot live without each other – they are one. Beneficial bacteria and malicious microbes coexist in the body. Various slumps and downturns are as natural as the rises. People yearn for stability that does not exist. If everything were always good, than humans with their lazy nature would never know what bad is. That is what made Russian general Kutuzov always say, “Time and patience, patience and time – those are my best friends”. He, apparently, understood without any computers or rockets, that life is an “UP AND DOWN” system.
Russian figure skating won’t die if it had not done so in 1896! Yes! It was “tank” internationally, and “Boom” at home. However, the “incubation period” won’t hurt at all; it and the quality of its realization will determine the future of Russian figure skating. A break from dominating will create a positive change for the psychological base of both the skaters and the coaches. Interest in Russia will only heighten. As they see, “hurry, but don’t rush”. The paradox is that there is a need to learn to skate again, not just to practice the triple jumps which are now manageable even for the 45th participant of the ’07 WC. You can’t use old methods to teach the new, though old methods also have much to teach us. Today, we shouldn’t teach how to fall correctly – on the hands, knees, or the behind. We have to teach the mastery of how “not to fall”, then the jumps won’t look like a “guillotine”. We need new aesthetic knowledge and education. Russia, like no other country, is rich in cultural values and traditions.
Every day, we’re learning to skate anew, even in our “young age”. They young – they hold all the cards.
Wishing you much success and good health,
Oleg and Ludmila
March 26, 2007”.
