Ghislain Briand: 'Life is Action'

[gsk8]

Canadian coach Ghislain Briand is one of the most prestigious and well-known jumping coaches in the world of figure skating. He worked with two-time Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko until 2001, and later began working at the Toronto Cricket and Curling Club as a jump specialist alongside Brian Orser for many years. With Orser, he coached Japanese superstar Yuzuru Hanyu to two Olympic titles.

Briand and Orser recently parted ways as Briand decided it was time for a new chapter, and the 60-year-old is now working as a self-employed coach. His current arrangement is a collaboration with Stéphane Lambiel at the Skating School of Switzerland.

We caught up with Briand in Champéry this summer where he was coaching at Lambiel’s summer camp. After watching some of his training sessions, we discussed his three main principles of each figure skating jump: rhythm, direction and body alignment. Listen in while he explains why he feels these three aspects are essential.

Briand also took us for a quick trip down memory lane of his coaching career while reflecting most precious memories of his forty years of coaching. We also cover his special relationship with Hanyu and their work on the quadruple Axel.

In this interview, the coach also pointed out that the health of young athletes is very valuable and injury prevention should be the number one priority for all coaches. We touch on the recent development of quadruple jumps in the junior category, and Briand explains why he agrees on the recent age limit rise.

Briand, who usually brings a good amount of humor and fun into his training sessions and competitions, explains why this is important for the competitive atmosphere.

Lastly, we learn what Briand is looking forward to the most concerning the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Ghislain Briand: "Life is action"

Canadian coach Ghislain Briand is one of the most prestigious and well-known jumping coaches in the world of figure skating. He worked with two-time Olympic ...

youtu.be

 

[Mathman]

He seems like such a comforting and comfortable person. I can see why skaters at all levels and ages appreciate him so much.

"If you don't enjoy it, then what's the point.? You can be serious about your goals and have fun at the same time."

The interviewer was exceptionally well-prepared.

 

[TallyT]

I always loved watching him in the Kiss and Cry, the warmth and trust there is obvious, so it's lovely to hear him talk about what he does and how it all works and his relationships with his skaters, especially what he says about Yuzuru.

 

[el henry]

Ghislain seems like such a grounded and engaging individual, glad I took the time to listen.

So interesting to hear, from someone who has so much success in the skating world.

1) skaters should have fun during practice. Work yes, but also fun.

2) The age limit being raised is a good idea, kids should be kids

3) world champions are fun, but if I only work with world champions, I am only working with one skater, and I want to work with more than one skater.

Also allusions to wanting more autonomy than he had at TCC and more financial security than Kinoshita was offering.

 

[Arriba627]

Thoroughly enjoyed this interview with Ghislain. Glad to see he is spending more time with Team Champery. I enjoyed watching him interact with Deniss and Shoma during Skate Canada practices. He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself! His perspective is so refreshing.

 

[ladyjane]

I liked this. Ghislain seems to know exactly what he wants, he likes to keep on learning, he's relaxed and can put things into perspective. Champions as gravy. Yeah!

 

[Magill]

Well, champions might be "gravy" but when they "put you in front", it is really endearing, isn't it?
Seems like he really appreciated Yuzuru standing up for him and no doubt they have had a great admiration and respect for each other. Even now he always manages to put in some warm words about Yuzu in whatever interview he gives. Great to know they stay in occasional touch, even if not in the coaching-student relationship anymore for obvious reasons.
And yes, Ghislain comes across as nice and wise, both as a person and as a coach. I particularly liked the acknowledgement of skating being just a part of any skater's life, achievements being relative and getting fun from what you're doing being a part of the process, however serious your goals are.
I am pretty sure Shoma and others will benefit greatly from his stronger engagement in Champery now.

 

[rabidline]

I didn't expect Ghislain to put the work with Kinoshita Academy "on hold" for a year. I thought things were going well based on the quotes and interviews during the Kinoshita-Champery joint training camp in Kyoto last July. Also interesting insight about possible movements by "Mr. Kinoshita" in regards to funding matters related figure skating in Japan and what it all entails, especially considering Kinoshita Group has entered into a supporting contract with JSF (and adds Mao Shimada as one of their sponsored athletes but through one of their subsidiaries). But I do relate with Ghislain in putting his own financial security first.

A few years ago I would be very surprised to hear Ghislain saying "Champery is my priority, Stephane is my number one" but hey, things change and here we are. Stephane has been vocal about wanting to not just coach top skaters but also children who just started learning skating, so it's very much in line with what Ghislain was saying about how if he only worked with the World Champion, he'll be only working with one skater a year (since only one skater win Worlds every year) and how he learns new things from working with younger skaters. And I assume his work with Champery pays well too (good for him).

Also of all the things to compare about I'm surprised Ghislain finds Shoma open-minded while keeping his distance from Yuzuru. I wonder if he just took Shoma's limited English vocabulary of "yes" and nodding continuously as a sign of being open-minded, LOL. And yeah like the interviewer said, as a Shoma fan I never thought Shoma working with Ghislain was ever a possibility because of his past employment (and the same goes with Raf) but knowing that it's an actual thing and now they can and did work together (not much, but still) is quite amazing. The whole team looked pretty comfortable in GPF 2022 and Ghislain seems to have no issue blending seamlessly. Also man, that's some bold statement saying he looks forward to Worlds 2024 with Stephane and Shoma and Deniss, LOL. Shoma hasn't even made his FS...

I wonder who the skater he's going to work with in September. Someone who he hasn't worked with in the last few years and seems to be likely to go to Worlds... Junhwan Cha, perhaps, newly free from TCC? I think he's planning to resurrect his 4F to competition, so Ghislain's technical expertise will be very helpful in that. And it's likely too that he (and KSF) has the financial means now that Jun doesn't have to pay TCC membership fees...

 

[yesterday]

I wonder if he just took Shoma's limited English vocabulary of "yes" and nodding continuously as a sign of being open-minded, LOL.

I wouldn't worry about that or think so. He is the one who's met him several times for several hours. And his experience on top make him entitled to this opinion. I trust him there that he can identify this properly.

 

[TallyT]

Yuzuru, for all his good nature and kindness, is also well known to be quite reserved (as anyone would who's been in the media frenzy the way he has since his teens, probably in Japan only Mao has anywhere vaguely near the same level), tenaciously driven, and someone very much has always had his own ideas and pursues them stubbornly. Shoma is a different person with very different experiences, and I think we can accept that as a coach, Ghislain sees other sides to the skaters that we as fans or even those who are friends may never. He is after all speaking from a professional point of view.

 

[rabidline]

Yuzuru, for all his good nature and kindness, is also well known to be quite reserved (as anyone would who's been in the media frenzy the way he has since his teens, probably in Japan only Mao has anywhere vaguely near the same level), tenaciously driven, and someone very much has always had his own ideas and pursues them stubbornly. Shoma is a different person with very different experiences, and I think we can accept that as a coach, Ghislain sees other sides to the skaters that we as fans or even those who are friends may never. He is after all speaking from a professional point of view.

Well yeah, and Shoma is also someone who admitted that he "listens, but don't listen." to other people. I am glad that Shoma and Ghislain worked well professionally though (in the few times they did), and that Ghislain seems to still have a good relationship with Yuzuru. Working with former rivals of your students can be complicated, especially people related to Yuzuru who is under so much fan attention!

 

[Magill]

Well yeah, and Shoma is also someone who admitted that he "listens, but don't listen." to other people. I am glad that Shoma and Ghislain worked well professionally though (in the few times they did), and that Ghislain seems to still have a good relationship with Yuzuru. Working with former rivals of your students can be complicated, especially people related to Yuzuru who is under so much fan attention!

But do you feel there was anything derogatory to Shoma in Ghislain's remarks? Cause otherwise I do not really understand what is the problem here. Yuzuru and Shoma surely are very different individuals, they worked with GB in different circumstances, and even Ghislain himself makes a point to stress that this is ok..

 

[rabidline]

But do you feel there was anything derogatory to Shoma in Ghislain's remarks? Cause otherwise I do not really understand what is the problem here. Yuzuru and Shoma surely are very different individuals, they worked with GB in different circumstances, and even Ghislain himself makes a point to stress that this is ok..

Nothing derogatory! It's just an interesting thing to compare them on. Especially because from what I can see in past competition and video footage, Yuzuru seems to be very close to Ghislain, so it's a surprise for me that Ghislain said they kept distance from each other. And on the other hand, Shoma hasn't really talked about his work with Ghislain except from a short paid voice note and he also is known for not being able to speak much English, so it's also a surprise for me that Ghislain think of him as easy to work with and open-minded. It's just different from what I have seen from them in public footage, but like the answer above Ghislain knows them in a professional setting, including away from cameras, which is more than we fans can ever see. So someone who seem to be more of a social butterfly can be more reserved while someone who seem to be keeping to himself most of the time can be more open-minded.

And yes, there is no problem of course. It's just still pretty cool to me that Shoma is able to work with Ghislain at Champery and get his counsel in some of his competitions. I think a few years ago it seems impossible because Yuzuru was still competing, but even afterwards I didn't expect the opportunity to ever come or come so quickly!

 

[Magill]

Nothing derogatory! It's just an interesting thing to compare them on. Especially because from what I can see in past competition and video footage, Yuzuru seems to be very close to Ghislain, so it's a surprise for me that Ghislain said they kept distance from each other. And on the other hand, Shoma hasn't really talked about his work with Ghislain except from a short paid voice note and he also is known for not being able to speak much English, so it's also a surprise for me that Ghislain think of him as easy to work with and open-minded. It's just different from what I have seen from them in public footage, but like the answer above Ghislain knows them in a professional setting, including away from cameras, which is more than we fans can ever see. So someone who seem to be more of a social butterfly can be more reserved while someone who seem to be keeping to himself most of the time can be more open-minded.

And yes, there is no problem of course. It's just still pretty cool to me that Shoma is able to work with Ghislain at Champery and get his counsel in some of his competitions. I think a few years ago it seems impossible because Yuzuru was still competing, but even afterwards I didn't expect the opportunity to ever come or come so quickly!

Thank you for this explanation! Yeah, as the public we have to be aware there must be so much more to personalities and relationships than what we can see on TV footage (or even sitting in the audience live). As for the language issues, Ghislain has been working with Japanese skaters and/or in Japan for some time now so he must have learnt to handle it somehow by now (in fact, it relates to many situations of non-English speaking skaters working with English-speaking coaches as surely not all of them are fluent in English, regardless of their nationality)
OTOH, difficult to know what exactly he meant by this.

 

[icewhite]

From my limited knowledge about these people I would think that Shoma is more open to suggestions regarding his work, while Yuzuru has his own clear ideas about what he wants and needs and doesn't want much interference. Both have (had) huge success with their approaches, I think they are just different.

 

[rabidline]

Yeah, as the public we have to be aware there must be so much more to personalities and relationships than what we can see on TV footage (or even sitting in the audience live).

I agree. For me it's always pleasant surprise when everyone who is involved directly in skating like coaches or skaters subvert our expectations in a positive way, compared to what we can see as the public.