Daisuke Takahashi

[skatinginbc]

This is a Valentine's gift for all Dai fans, an intimate place where we can express freely our love for Dai the person, the skater, and the world champion, an informative place where we share news of Dai, a safe place where we discuss his skating, his programs, and everything about him. Post long and often.

[Olympia]

Go, Daisuke!

I haven't seen videos of his skates from 4CC yet, but I'm hoping to when I can hunt around for them. Happy Valentine's Day to Dai and all his fans.

[skatinginbc]

Here is a collection of Dai's recent videos:
2012-SOI (Roxanne): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV87MF5HvdM&feature=fvsr
4CC SP (In the Garden of Souls): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29Ek2...eature=related
4CC LP (Blues for Klook):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7f_0bigGrg
4CC Ex (The Crisis): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XoEN...eature=related

One thing I like about Dai's programs is: I never know who the choreographer is. All I see is Dai the artist, not the shadow of somebody else.

"It (Dai's quad) looked really good in practice (at 4CC). I don't doubt it's going to be better come end of March," said Patrick Chan. Takahashi had a long journey plus jet lag and high altitude to contend with in Colorado Springs (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...e41c39c4a9e.21). May Dai have successful quads at the Worlds!!!

The recent interview at Nikkei Seminar on 1/12/2012 gave me great insight into Daisuke as a person and skater (click [cc] on the bottom bar of the videos to make English subtitle appear):
Daisuke Takahashi Nikkei Seminar English Subtitle 1 of 6 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaATK...eature=related)
Daisuke Takahashi Nikkei Seminar English Subtitle 2 of 6 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUUp6...eature=related)
Daisuke Takahashi Nikkei Seminar English Subtitle 3 of 6 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pk_w...eature=related)
Daisuke Takahashi Nikkei Seminar English Subtitle 4 of 6 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq0rzvtamZ0)
Daisuke Takahashi Nikkei Seminar English Subtitle 5 of 6 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TWuf...eature=related)
Daisuke Takahashi Nikkei Seminar English Subtitle 6 of 6 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7yYn...eature=related)

Brief Summary of the interview
1. He placed last in his first skating competition. As a novice skater from a back country, he was not particularly great in dancing and techniques. He was told he had ugly hand movements and posture. Those remarks motivated him to learn more about dancing. Even when he placed well in his junior years, he felt it was due to luck and did not have confidence in himself. He met his current coach Nagamitsu by chance, who saw a dancer in him. He learned most of his triple jumps from her.
2. After he won the Junior Worlds, his mind could not catch up with the high expectations from others. He couldn't do quads and it was critical in the senior level. He thus went to Canada, US and Russia with Ms. Nagamitsu to receive coaching from others. Those days were the hardest time. They didn't have money, so they shared one room cheap and not very clean. They washed their own clothes by hands. Trained by so many coaches whose opinions could be at odds at times, he sorted things out himself and acknowledged he could not do everything.
3. He met Nicolai Morozov in Russia, whose greatest contribution was giving him confidence--brainwashing him that he was great, scolding him for having low self-esteem, and boosting excitement in training. He trusted Nicolai till their separation. It was difficult for him. He felt bad mentally and suddenly had to make all training decisions by himself. Then of course he injured himself. The rehab (physiotherapy) was monotonous and tough, day in and day out, about half a year. He became more conscious of his body and lost all his jumps for a while, and it took a few years to adjust. He started to think that earning another medal might be farther and farther out of reach. He could see the "reality" (No hope for a medal). To vent his emotions, he had quarrels with Ms. Nagamitsu and threw his cell phone at his trainer (Mr. Watanabe) who was his punching bag. He felt ashamed, pathetic and disgraced when he went to competitions and felt that he was the only one without a secure jump. Eventually his body recovered just enough to attend the Olympic in Vancouver. It was a thrill for him to win a medal there and he felt obliged to continue. Though he won the Worlds that year, he couldn't understand how he got the 1st place with his performance. He felt he was not as good as other competitors.
4. As he gets older, he feels younger than before: "When you see the end, you feel you only have limited time left." Each of his day is more fulfilling and alive. Because his body is now more sensitive to fatigue, he does stretching routinely.
5. He bought an IPad to see his recorded practice and identify areas for improvement. He hated watching his own videos. He felt disgusted by his "ugly" skating and performance. This season he also watched videos of other skaters to learn from them.
6. He communicates with the audience through eye contact and adjusts his performance based on the response from them.
7. He feels he is full of inferiority complexes. He likes clothes because he puts them on to hide his low opinion of himself. He looks at a mirror to check if anything goes wrong with him.
8. He never chose the music for his programs. He would try whatever the choreographer brought to him. His favorite pieces of music are too "gloomy" and "dark" for skating.
9. He is taking ballet lessons to strengthen his posture and center axis. His big dream is to contribute to the change of training conditions (e.g., shortage of ice rinks) in Japan.

[let`s talk]

Yeah, I agree with Kozuka. Dai is Louis Vuitton and Gucci. And Kozuka is Prada. LV and Gucci are the 1st and 2nd accordingly in world sales. Both are old euro brands, with the taste of elegance, fashionism, unique-ness and unlimited luxury. Like the hotel Carlton Cannes which doesn't need any stars. It is by itself above all stars. Prada is a boutique too, not everyone's cup of tea with their tendency to simply-ness. It is still an upper-class brand, but it's just one of many.

For now, I think Dai's performance at NHK in Sapporo, both SP and LP, were the best. The audience got mad and Dai-twisted.

[Olympia]

Here is a collection of Dai's recent videos:

Thanks so much, BC! I especially look forward to seeing the interview. This guy is one of the all-time greats, and he'll never leave my Best of the Best list, where he'll reside with the likes of Browning, Curry, and Yagudin.

[demarinis5]

Thanks for posting. I really enjoyed the Nikkei Seminar.

[TelmoFe]

The recent interview at Nikkei Seminar on 1/12/2012 gave me great insight into Daisuke as a person and skater (click [cc] on the bottom bar of the videos to make English subtitle appear)



He is so nice, relaxed... good interview!

[evangeline]

One thing I like about Dai's programs is: I never know who the choreographer is. All I see is Dai the artist, not the shadow of somebody else.

That is one thing I truly love about Daisuke's skating: he makes the music his own and has creative ownership of his own skating. Although Morozov did give him confidence, in the end, I am glad that Morozov dumped him because this freed Daisuke and allowed to experiment with different choreographers, music other than tired old warhorses like Phantom of the Opera, Romeo and Juliet, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, etc., and further develop his style on the ice. I try not to use the term 'artistry' lightly in skating, but I think Daisuke is indeed an artist, or as close as an artist one can be in competitive figure skating.

3. He met Nicolai Morozov in Russia, whose greatest contribution was giving him confidence--brainwashing him that he was great, scolding him for having low self-esteem, and boosting excitement in training. He trusted Nicolai till their separation. It was difficult for him. He felt bad mentally and suddenly had to make all training decisions by himself. Then of course he injured himself. The rehab (physiotherapy) was monotonous and tough, day in and day out, about half a year. He became more conscious of his body and lost all his jumps for a while, and it took a few years to adjust. He started to think that earning another medal might be farther and farther out of reach. He could see the "reality" (No hope for a medal). To vent his emotions, he had quarrels with Ms. Nagamitsu and threw his cell phone at his trainer (Mr. Watanabe) who was his punching bag. He felt ashamed, pathetic and disgraced when he went to competitions and felt that he was the only one without a secure jump. Eventually his body recovered just enough to attend the Olympic in Vancouver. It was a thrill for him to win a medal there and he felt obliged to continue. Though he won the Worlds that year, he couldn't understand how he got the 1st place with his performance. He felt he was not as good as other competitors.

I find reading about this dark period of time in Daisuke's life very fascinating, as I admit, during the time when he was injured, I actually had no idea all this was actually happening despite the fact that I was a fan of his skating even back then. Another anecdote: I read on another website that Daisuke ran away from his hospital in Feb. 2009 and coach/training team were panicking because they actually thought that he had left to commit suicide! In reality, Daisuke had travelled to Tokyo empty-handed and without telling anyone, and he spent time there wandering the streets and going on a spending spree out of spite and frustration. In the end he did return to the hospital but yeah....pretty intense.

[Sasha'sSpins]

I didn't think it was possible but I am an even bigger fan of Dai's than I was when I first really took notice of him at the Olympics. I wish so many great things for him!

[Olympia]

Thanks for going back and summarizing the interview for us, BC. I started my day with this wonderful profile of Daisuke. As with Sasha'sSpins, it's made me an even more devoted fan. I love his remark that his own choice of music would be too gloomy for skating. I can just imagine him sitting in his room listening to claustrophobic music before going out and working like a demon on his conditioning. What a lovely view of a life of determination and perseverance. Go, Daisuke!

[emma]

Just wanted to join fest!!! I haven't had time to read all of this, but thanks for the thread! I look forward to reading this more this weekend. Go Dai!

[demarinis5]

Cute Photo from ISU Facebook page of Dai, W/P and Camerlango at the 4CC closing dinner. Dai's expression is so silly and full of fun.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater.

[skatinginbc]

Here is another Dai's silly pic (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=3&theater). And I noticed Misha Ge's comment in the ISU Facebook: "I'm feel very Japanese on this picture." Is Misha the only non-Japanese in that group photo? I'm getting the impression that Misha is a big fan or good friend of Dai. He listed Dai as one of his favorite skaters (among Jeffrey Buttle , Evgeni Plushenko, and Alexei Yagudin). And I forget which commentator once said that Misha watched Dai's practice to learn artistry from him. Also, is Dai short-sighted? I noticed he wore glasses in the photo.

[demarinis5]

^You know the first few times that I saw photos of Dai with glasses I thought it was fashion, but if you notice he squints quite a bit in the K&C when reading his scores, so I am thinking his glasses are prescription rather than just fashion.

[fscric]

I've posted the link on Patrick's thread, it's only fitting to post it here as well.

Someone at FSU posted the post 4CC small medal audience Q&A video clip, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcPQN...ure=plpp_video