Patrick Chan | Page 131 | Golden Skate

Patrick Chan

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
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This will be the first Worlds in six years Patrick will not compete in. I miss him already.
Which just underscores how relatively injury-free he has been throughout his entire career. It still amazes me that, other than this Worlds, he only missed one international event in six years. I miss him already too. I want to see Four Seasons in competition at least one more time. There's only so many times you can rewatch TEB. :laugh: I WANT MORE!!! Maybe if he comes back, he'll get a new short but keep that as the long.

In other news...

Patrick Chan ‏@Pchiddy
Had a great day at the Harbourfront with these future Olympians!! rbc #LearnToSkate http://instagram.com/p/lGS21Sx15F/
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
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Regarding the French talk show, here are some quotes from another thread about what Patrick said:

I'm not surprised that Chan isn't going since he had been hinting at it for the past few weeks, and I caught part of his appearance on Tout Le Monde En Parle on French CBC the other night where I think he said he was taking a year off to decide what he wants to do next.
I watched it again, and to the question will you be in Korea in 2018, he said that 4 years was a long time to do the same thing every day, and that he would take a year off "avant de recommencer à nouveau" - before starting over again.
He talked about his Olympic experience, Joannie's tweet (the co-host asked Joannie for a scoop about Patrick and apparently she said he was ticklish - which Patrick confirmed to be true), why he started skating (his hockey coach told his mom to put him in figure skating to learn the basics), how he learned how to speak French (his father grew up in Montreal and thought it was important for a Canadian to be bilingual).
ETA: Apparently the French audience was quite impressed by the fact that Patrick was bilingual. :)
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
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Some quotes from this article are worth bringing over here:

On a Monday afternoon media teleconference, Chan called skipping worlds a relatively easy decision.

"I know myself at this point in my career," the 23-year-old Chan said. "How I feel now was how I felt [for] the last three World Team Trophies (held after worlds). I do not have the best track record there. If I'm not fully invested and attentive to be there, I don't skate well."

"My long, long-term goal is to win another world championship," he said. "I don't even know if I want to go to another Olympics.

"I got off of the plane and sat down in my car and thought, 'I don't feel like this is the end,'" he added.

Whether that meant competing next season or taking a break and returning at a later time, he couldn't say.
Whatever happens in the future, I am a Patrick fan for life! :biggrin:
 

torontonian

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Whatever happens in the future, I am a Patrick fan for life! :biggrin:

Agree totally! For Patrick, I wish him peace with all of his many upcoming decisions during life, and much, much happiness. He is special.

-------------

Thank you to everyone who has been providing these recent updates/translations. :)
 

Violet

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
I saw another similar article about Pat:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/sports/398097/chan-won-t-defend-world-figure-skating-title-in-japan

"Honestly in my heart, I know I want to win another world championship."

"For the immediate moment, I know I don't want to be involved in the competitive side but in the future -- 2016, 2017, 2018, or even 2015 world championships -- I may tackle those challenges and those goals."

I hope Pat can go to next year's worlds! Can't wait to see him again!
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
I saw another similar article about Pat:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/sports/398097/chan-won-t-defend-world-figure-skating-title-in-japan

"Honestly in my heart, I know I want to win another world championship."

"For the immediate moment, I know I don't want to be involved in the competitive side but in the future -- 2016, 2017, 2018, or even 2015 world championships -- I may tackle those challenges and those goals."

I hope Pat can go to next year's worlds! Can't wait to see him again!

I hope he will also attend the next Olympic.:yay:
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
ETA: Apparently the French audience was quite impressed by the fact that Patrick was bilingual. :)

He is actually more than bilingual though not quite fluently trilingual. :)

I wrote that Patrick would miss Worlds for the first time in six years but it has actually been seven seasons, i.e. he has been to six consecutive World Championships, winning two Silver medals and three Gold consecutively, and this is the seventh Worlds, which he will miss, and be missed.

I completely understand Patrick's trepidation about a competition after the major event of the season and about doing it in Japan. (I wrote about how those who just won the WC don't win in the event after (WTT) because psychologically and physically their season is over and the goal of the season has been accomplished.) However, there are two instilled beliefs that I really hope he will get rid of - those about his 3A and his performance and chances in Japan. He needs to reset his mind and terminate the self fulfilling and self perpetuating patterns.

Have a well deserved rest, Paddy. I hope to see you at next Worlds, after the Nationals. (SC does not operate like the Russian Fed and Patrick is not the Canadian Plushenko. :))
 

Violet

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
He is actually more than bilingual though not quite fluently trilingual. :)

I just watched two old vids of Pat where he each speaks one sentence of Cantonese. You guys probably have seen already. It seems his Cantonese is very limited.

Here, he was practicing how to say "Chan Wai Kuan is on Hong Kong's A-sport headline". He is so cute. I love his voice :love: "Chan Wai Kuan" is his Cantonese name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gA1mKuPkQs

Another vid four years ago where he said "I really love skating" in Cantonese.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnwJ2IW931E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzU7iBFI2_0
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
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I just watched two old vids of Pat where he each speaks one sentence of Cantonese. You guys probably have seen already. It seems his Cantonese is very limited.

Here, he was practicing how to say "Chan Wai Kuan is on Hong Kong's A-sport headline". He is so cute. I love his voice :love: "Chan Wai Kuan" is his Cantonese name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gA1mKuPkQs

Another vid four years ago where he said "I really love skating" in Cantonese.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnwJ2IW931E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzU7iBFI2_0
Patrick trying to speak Cantonese is so adorable. He's way ahead of me. :)

Violet, here's a vid of Patrick speaking Cantonese - 'welcoming people to watch the Worlds in London'.

Look at these young cuties ... Yuna, Patrick, Mao, Veneer, Amodio .... I think this pix was taken at a Worlds Junior?

Found this old vid of Patrick skating to Vivaldi at TEB 2006. I think he's only 15/16 yo then?
That picture blows my mind. They all look SO young! Patrick was 15 at 2006 TEB and it's amazing that he won it the very next year! It's a different experience to watch that program without the 3A.

Speaking of throwback stuff, here's his Ex at 2007 TEB. I love this program because most of it is footwork and I could watch Patrick do footwork all day. :love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQmzVBmsUec

I think all Patrick vids should come with this warning: "DO NOT watch if you need to be productive, because you will end up watching several more, and time will get away from you." :laugh:
 

Violet

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
Violet, here's a vid of Patrick speaking Cantonese - 'welcoming people to watch the Worlds in London'.

Look at these young cuties ... Yuna, Patrick, Mao, Veneer, Amodio .... I think this pix was taken at a Worlds Junior?

Found this old vid of Patrick skating to Vivaldi at TEB 2006. I think he's only 15/16 yo then?
Thank you for the vids & pic! Even as a mandarin speaker, I still can't figure out every single word he said... I will consult my Cantonese friends. :)

Here is an old interview where at the beginning he said in mandarin "I am Patrick Chan. I come from Canada". The grammar was not correct for the second sentence :p I heard Pat has been learning mandarin, not sure if he has made any progress... :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioxjeY-0THk
 

Angela V

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
I will miss Patrick at the Worlds. However I can understand why he is not going. If he is not ready to put what happened at the Olympics behind him yet, than he shouldn't go. He's only 23 so I hope he finds his feet again. I want to see more of his fantastic skating.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
I will miss Patrick at the Worlds. However I can understand why he is not going. If he is not ready to put what happened at the Olympics behind him yet, than he shouldn't go. He's only 23 so I hope he finds his feet again. I want to see more of his fantastic skating.

Patrick's decision is based on his two patterns of experiences. 1. He usually does not do well in Japan, and 2, he usually doesn't win nor like to compete in WTT, the event after Worlds each year, and which also takes place in Japan. This year's World is like WTT to many skaters as the event after the Big One.

The main reason he does not do so well is because these events in Japan are either pre or post season. Japan Open is when the skaters try out their new programs for the season. Patrick has won in it but with falls which incur criticism, though I, along with other fans, thoroughly enjoyed and loved his Aranjuez at JO. The other event in Japan is the WTT and all the Worlds winners don't win there, which I attribute to psychological factors, i.e. they have achieved their season's goals and mentally their season is over and physically they are tired and past their planned peaks. Patrick never competes at NHK because there is usually one Japanese Worlds Men medalist competing on home ice. So, all in all, Patrick is known to have not been his best in Japan and the idea is instilled in him. He was glad with his Silver medal at the last GPF because he was able to do his LP well after the poor SP and happy to have overcome the Japan "jinx".

I hope he will bury these experiences and the mental block thus developed, along with his mental issue with the 3A, which he is completely capable of doing wonderfully but for the trepidation entering the jump.
 

Becki

Medalist
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
Thank you for the vids & pic! Even as a mandarin speaker, I still can't figure out every single word he said... I will consult my Cantonese friends. :)

Here is an old interview where at the beginning he said in mandarin "I am Patrick Chan. I come from Canada". The grammar was not correct for the second sentence :p I heard Pat has been learning mandarin, not sure if he has made any progress... :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioxjeY-0THk

In the first video, he said:

"We welcome you to watch the Figure Skating World Championships in London, Canada." Of course, in Cantonese, the phrasing is a bit different but the semantics are the same.
 

Suzzie

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
so sad that Patrick will not go to Worlds. I already miss him. Worlds is not the same without him, not so interesting for me. But I understand him. Hope, he will be back more stronger
 

Violet

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
so sad that Patrick will not go to Worlds. I already miss him. Worlds is not the same without him, not so interesting for me. But I understand him. Hope, he will be back more stronger

I miss Patrick, too! I really hope he can get a new technical coach, who can help stabilize his 3A! He still has a lot to prove. I believe he will come back stronger. We will see.

You are right. The skating world is far less interesting without him :(
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
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One year ago today, Patrick gave us this gem! There is something truly magical about this particular performance of Elegie. It’s almost as if there were microphones under the ice, picking up every little edge and movement of the blade. When I watch this performance, I almost forget about the music and just listen to Patrick’s blades. What a sweet sound! :love: The edges seemed particularly deep and clear during this Elegie. The jumps weren’t perfect in the air but he landed them successfully and had the fire in his eyes. The icing on top of it all is his reaction at the end.

After the Olympics, Patrick said this to CBC about his Elegie SP:

“The unique feature about this piece of music is that there’s a lot of quiet moments. It takes a really, really experienced skater who is comfortable with those silent moments. You can make beautiful moments out of where there’s no music. You create your own music.”
This quote makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I agree with it completely. I love the music that Patrick makes with his blades. I’ve never felt like his program music overpowered him at all. With Patrick, the music is an extension of his body and his movement on the ice. People can say whatever they want about his perceived “lack of artistry,” but to me every program he does is its own unique work of art. He is, and always will be, an artist in my eyes.

Here’s a question to ponder: Do you prefer Patrick’s Elegie as an Ex or as an SP? I know the goals and requirements/constraints of each program are different and I absolutely love both. That said, I think I prefer the SP simply because of the footwork section that begins in the silence of the music. It’s funny because now when I watch the Elegie Ex, I picture the footwork from the SP when it gets to that point in the music. :laugh: For reference, here’s the Ex.
 

Violet

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
Hi skatingfan4ever, I was never a big fan of Patrick until I watched his Elegie SP at TEB this season. I was totally stunned. What an artist on the ice! It's always difficult to skate to quiet music, because such soft music cannot carry you but need you to carry. I was simply speechless. Every step, every movement he does seem to interpret the music so naturally, as if his program and the music were born together. He was completely in the music--the program creates a new world that embraces you as you watch the program. Rachmaninoff would never expect, after 100 years, somebody would be able to create such beautiful moments on the ice with his music. Patrick has a classical and introvert aurora on the ice that his artistry is not always easy for skating fans to discover. You need to have a really serene mindset to appreciate his artistry. I would like to call him "poet on the ice". Novels and plays are usually much easier to get into but you need a lot more patience to appreciate poems. I think that's why many people don't appreciate Patrick's artistry, or simply don't see it.

As for the program, I think TEB is my favorite version. He hit every bit and nuance of the music perfectly + I love the costume better + TEB's ice rink is so pretty, the light suits the program better. Also, I prefer the SP to EX because the SP is more sophisticated and seems to have a better overall interpretation of the music. Here is a nice drawing of his SP :eek:::
http://www.mediafire.com/view/fw6fgvi5f1vm3if/pat.jpg
 
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