Originally Posted by pangtongfan
Now I understood that you had been sarcastic. I already started to worry.
Radio-Canada (French CBC) write-up on Chan
I'll translate Chan's quotes:
On Japan Open, where he won first place in spite of three falls:
"It was a good occasion for working my programs. I had not had much training before going to Japan. My goal was just to exercise myself* and to enjoy the pleasure of skating. Technically it was not perfect, but it was still good."
*"m'exercer" (exercise/exert myself) may be better translated here as "do my thing" or "do my best", I think. Then the "it" later would refer to this exercise/thing he did.
On his training and goals:
"I don't like to see myself as a big favorite. I have become an egoistic skater. I focus only on me and my effort to improve. Since I won the World Championship, people ask me what is my motivation? I answer that I am in a competition against myself."
"I have changed since last year. I try to better myself form year to year to arrive at the next Olympic Games."
Last edited by SkateFiguring; 10-17-2011 at 08:02 PM.
None of it is because of rule changes. Patrick always had a plan which had him adding the quad to his LP in the Olympic year. First the 3A in his first senior season, then in his 2nd senior season making the 3A consistent, and for the Olympic season adding the quad. He landed the quad at Liberty the summer before the Olympics but tore up his calf muscle which caused him to skate badly at Skate Canada, and to pull out of his second GP event that season. If not for the calf muscle tear, Chan would have been doing a quad at the Olympics. Since that wasn't possible for him, he added it this year.
Chan's "PCS advantage" has to do with his speed, power and command of the ice, something he's had since 2008. I noticed immediately at Skate Canada that year that Chan's skating had moved into a whole other level from the rest of the field. I hadn't seen anyone skate with that much command of the ice since Plushenko and Yagudin at their peaks.
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Good for him that he could set his mind like this!
It would be better translated by to "practice" or "rehearse".*"m'exercer" (exercise/exert myself) may be better translated here as "do my thing" or "do my best", I think. Then the "it" later would refer to this exercise/thing he did.
Thanks for the link, SF, and the translation. I went back to the article itself, and I'm thrilled that I could read it. I guess my French hasn't rusted over as much as I feared. My one question is whether the word égoïste has negative connotations here, as it would in English. I think that if a skater speaking in English (and I don't know whether Chan interviewed in French or was translated by the journalist) said, "I've become an egotistical skater," it would imply something a bit selfish. I think most skaters might phrase it in a less loaded way, such as, "Right now I'm paying attention only to myself and not comparing myself with others," or some such.
(This isn't a criticism of Patrick! I'm just interested in the nuances of the word and wonder if you have any thoughts on it.)
His 3 falls at Japan Open were impressive, and not in a good way.
Yes, I think this is a great way to approach the competitions and the progress. Judged competitions are about performances as there are no interactions among the competitors. It's all about doing one's best at the time that matters. I would tell a skater that competition happens when choreographing, training, stretagizing etc. every day except the day of the competition. That's when a skater should not think about competing or his/her competitiors. It's time to put everything out of his/her mind except the performance. As it's usually said, be in the moment. For someone at the top of the pack like Patrick especially, competing against himself is the best mindset, for everyday as well as at competition. If he can beat his earlier results, he'll likely win. If he doesn't, it's still a win as a goal achieved and there's nothing he can do about someone else's progress and performance anyways. It's a great uncluttered way to focus and do away with distractive pressures. Meanwhile, it's a loftier goal than winning titles. It's to raise the standard of the sport.
Alvyne, you're correct. I was trying to think how it would come out in an English speech.
Olympia, I thought of the different implications due to the languages too, but in context his meaning is clear. It's more egocentric then egotistic. Ecocentric is neutral in itself but is usually thought of as negative. In this case, it's more like self-focused, which sounds betters than self-centred.
Maybe I shouldn't venture into translation. I got into enough hot water translating another skater's interview from Chinese already.
Other than 3 falls, his choreography and his much matured beautiful skating were very impressive in a good way!
SkateFiguring, you are amazing!Translating Chinese as well as French! French has a special place in my heart. It's such a beautiful language! Second to a soothing song. It's so cute to hear Chan speak it. But I've never ventured to learn it.
Last edited by Bluebonnet; 10-19-2011 at 01:22 PM.
JO is not a serious competition but a cheesefest and a pre-season opportunity for skaters to try out their new programs for some judges' feedback. Patrick didn't have much time to train this past summer. He "competed" in a summer club competition without quads and 3A but in JO he put in the highest technical elements nonetheless. It was a good and brave practice. He happened to win because the falls were fully rotated, all other aspects of his program and skating were of very high levels, and the other skaters too were similarly at their pre-season low with problems to work out.
JO simply offered us a glimpse of some of the best skaters' new programs. I'm looking forward to see how all of them evolve and improve over the season.
Thanks for the insights into the word égoïste, SF. It's just that I was curious as to the connotations of the word in French, and I wondered whether it had any positive or neutral nuances in that language that it generally doesn't have in English. I wasn't questioning your translation at all but was getting all language-dorky about how the idea passed from one language to the other.
And you should keep translating French for us! We're so lucky on this site to have people who read in and out of so many languages, because it opens up the skating world to us skate fans. We're not stuck with just reading the few snippets that English-language papers publish. We have access to French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean...it's a treasure.
Left to my own devices, I could have figured out the gist of this article for myself (supposing I even knew enough to locate it!), but I never could have offered a translation for others. One word, but, I never even encountered before. I was just thrilled I recognized the past tense eu!
When top skaters emerge from different countries, their native fans often oblige to educate us about their languages and cultures. What a great side benefit for figure skating fans to learn and to understand more about our world and appreciate the differences as well as commonalities as humans!
It's the best approach but so difficult to do. It's a winning attitude for all kinds of competitions, not just skating. More power to Chan if he could stay in such mindset!
Yes, isn't it, SF! I always say, become a figure skating fan and see the world. And I've never felt so connected as I do now that I'm a GS member. Even in the days when we got to see a competition every weekend, I didn't feel I knew or picked up on so much. Now I've got people all over the world keeping me informed.
I really have to bone up on Patrick before the season starts. He seems to have grown in terms of technique and interpretation by leaps and bounds. (And there's a pun in there somewhere.)
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