Yes, thanks so much , mot. I've long been an admirer of Nobuo Sato as a coach, and now of "Sato family"I always loved Yka's skating, and I'm so glad she's able to coach with such success.
Utako Nagamitsu and Hiroshi Nagakubo have been more mysterious figures to me , so I'm always interested to hear more about them.
mot, that was awesome. Thank you
Olympia, An example of what you refer to.
Gloriosky! A triple-triple-triple. Thanks so much for posting that, Pogue. Anyone who says that Arakawa won the Olympic Gold by default should watch this tape. I know she didn't do triple-triple combinations in her actual long program, but she sure had the wherewithal to do them if needed. And then there's her Ina Bauer...what a splendid combination of artistry and athleticism she is.
And, golly, I think I managed to leave her out of my favorites list on the other thread! I'll have to go back and edit.
Thank you so much Mot
I really appreciate this, as I can't speak Japanese, I cannot access to many detail information on Japanese skater and coach. Your translation really give me the opportunities.
Dai's coach is very interesting women to me, she seems to be very confident and believe in herself, but at the same time she know her own weakness and limit. No wonder why Dai has become what he is right now.
thank you so much, mot, for these translations. of course it was fascinating to read about the journey of nobuo sato, but i have to say the greatest discovery for me is dai's coach is a really intriguing person--i'll pay to read her autobiographyalthough perhaps someone else should be writing that book, someone more willing to give her credit for her actual achievements (she may be confident but she's self-effacing, as expected, perhaps?) i actually adore _her voice_, the voice that comes through these articles. and i love daisuke even more after he said his coach is more 'manly' than him LOL it's very thoughtful, the way she navigates the issues, the psychology of social hierarchy, having older male mentors around daisuke because she thinks (knows?) it's easier for him to seek advice from them. thanks again
Wow! Thanks for the translations!
Very interesting - thank you, mot. Sato is the ultra-serious, patient, humble builder of skating skills who doesn't focus on the goal but the process of "endurance and perseverance." Nagamitsu is the visionary who sees the potential of a young skater to go all the way to the top, and (with her own kind of humility) does whatever it takes to nurture his special artistic gift (and seems to have fun with him too). Very different personalities, both awe-inspiring in their different ways. Does anyone else thinkg Nagamitsu sounds something like Tarasova and Sato a bit like Frank Carroll without the sharp edges?
I don't know Tarasova well enough, but yeah, I agree with the Sato-Carroll comparison (without the sharp edges, as you say)
Except I don't think Tarasova has taken any singles skater that is near the developmental stages and turned them into champions. She takes skaters who already have good technique, then polishes them into champions. Nagamitsu looks like she may be willing to "coach from the trenches", so to speak, where she may take someone who is near the developmental stages of their training.Originally Posted by Spun Silver
But both women do know their weaknesses and are willing to let students go to other coaches to get them the results they need.
Forget about medals. How many of these Japanese skaters did not go through the route of Morozov?
I am overwhelmed by positive responses. Thanks everyone for taking time to read these translations. It was worthwhile, it seems, and I tremendously enjoyed doing it. It made me think really hard and ensure I understood each sentence, which I would have otherwise scanned through - translating something allows me to question whether I really understand the materials in the first place. So it's beneficial for me too.
Morozov is another interesting coach indeed. I think the following Japanese skaters have been coached by him:
Former students of the Satos
- Shizuka Arakawa (only for 3 months, but Morozov was in Tarasova's team when Shizuka was with Tat. So he had choreographed her programmes before)
- Fumie Suguri (for one season)
- Miki Ando (since 06/07 season to current)
Also coached by Utako Nagamitsu
- Daisuke Takahashi (officially for 2 seasons only, but he was Daisuke's choreographer for 05/06 season, and Utako stayed with Daisuke as his sub coach, and looked after him while in Japan.)
By others
- Nobunari Oda (2 seasons)
- Daisuke Murakami (2 seasons, I believe) - by the way, he is now coached by Nagakubo while in Japan and by Frank Carroll while in US
For those who are interested, this is something I posted in another forum a while ago - what Dai and Miki had to say about Morozov:
Daisuke Takahashi on Morozov;
- Morozov taught me how great step sequences could be, by creating programmes which are highlighted by step sequences for me.
- He drew out the strength in me.
- While being with him, I started winning competitions. He gave me confidence; I used to underestimate myself but now I can assess my own ability more objectively, thanks to him.
(Note: he said all these after his rather difficult split with Morozov.)
Miki Ando on Morozov;
- It took two years, but there is mutual trust and respect established between us. I can say anything to him without worrying about its consequences.
- Even though he has many pupils, the ways he faces and treats each pupil are different. He understands different strength in each of them and tries to build upon it.
- It is great that he can show you step sequences by skating them himself. It's great to be able to see deep edges of a former ice dancer so close.
- It was his idea to have my Olympic season programme (Cleopatra) choreographed by Lea Ann Miller, as he thought it was time to try something fresh.
My understanding is that Morozov is a coach known for taking on young skaters, giving them confidence, and establishing their own unique and recognisable style. That's what he is trying to do with Amodio and Fernandez now, and one can say he's successful by looking at their competition success - regardless of whether we like that particular style or not.
^^^^
Also Oda
Utako Nagamitsu's relationship with Daisuke somehow reminds me of Machiko Yamada's (another important figure skating coach from Japan!) relationship with Midori Ito.
Both Dai and Midori are from families of rather modest means, and they would not have been able to continue skating without financial support from those who were impressed by their unique talent. Midori was sponsored by Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, a former owner of Seibu Railway Group and a die-hard figure skating fan, since she was a junior high school student. Officials of Okayama Skating Federation used to collect donations amongst themselves to send Dai to competitions abroad.
Midori lived with Machiko since she was 14, so that she could concentrate on skating. Utako invited Daisuke to live with her when he moved to Osaka to start university, in order to save on daily expenses, and he stayed there until 2009.
It's amazing to think until he moved to Osaka, Dai was practising at his home rink in Okayama, where no professional coach was available, during the week, and went to Osaka to be coached by Utako at weekends. He still managed to win the World Junior Title though.
Oda's in my list
I am afraid I do not have anything Oda said about Morozov at hand to quote, if that's what you are after - sorry.
Oda is one of the best 'whole package' skaters today, imo. He wasn't always. I think Morozov gave him the path to go after the audience which he was lacking.
The 6.0 was not just a separate great Tech and a great Performance, it was the mesh of both the Tech and Performance. The CoP treats them differently without meshing them.
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