Yuzuru Hanyu: 2013-14 Season | Page 210 | Golden Skate

Yuzuru Hanyu: 2013-14 Season

Thank you very much for translation channah! I coud read Yuzu's interviews for hours and never get bored !

I would also like to see what kind of attitude Yuzu has every time he's angry and quit!
 
Just impressive work Channah ! Thanks ! It is so touching to see his admiration for Akikawa...

I'm just watching a video where there is a mix of different scene about Yuzuru before, during and after winning the gold medal at Olympics. It also shows backstage and at the end a friendly hug between Ten en Yuzu ! So adorable : http://telly.com/1HTK7N3
What words Yuzu said during his different interview ? All sequences of the video are vibrant. The quality is good.

And thx for this video : http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1v08hr_2014-05-16-ゆづフィーバー_webcam

The 4t and 3a were just ... Hope it will be this show that shall broadcast in June !
 
Yuzusan said:
And thx for this video : http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1v08hr_2014-05-16-ゆづフィーバー_webcam

The 4t and 3a were just ... Hope it will be this show that shall broadcast in June !
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I have a question about the PIW on show. I think the other day I saw a short promotion video (sorry I totally forgot where, perhaps between the Plushenko show but I am not sure at all) about it. The caption translated something like "PIW: Asada Mao presented", not mentioning Yuzu's name. Does that mean the PIW broadcast in June are going to be the ones Mao presented there? I don't think Yuzu and Mao showed up in the same PIW shows. And it doesn't seem that they are going to merge different shows together either...
 
channah said:
Hello Yuzusan
Here is part 3 of the translation of the video.

Part 3 of the interview between Arakawa Shizuka and Yuzuru Hanyu 2013 July
13mins 40secs ~ end
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Thanks you for all your hard work translating Shizuka's interview with Yuzuru channah! I was touched to read Shizuka telling Yuzuru: "I want to be able to support you in all of the challenges you have ahead. I really mean that." Yuzuru is indeed lucky to have her as a role model as someone who was able both to win an Olympic gold medal while pursuing her college education and now has found personal happiness. Shizuka's a great skater, a great lady, and I'm sure will be a great mother as well. :)

That was a good question Shizuka posed to Yuzuru about how he is getting angry. Was amused at his answer that "I don’t really do anything but I show it in my general demeanour and attitude [and] kind of let everyone know that I’m angry with my attitude." As for his arguing with his parents bit, with parents you can argue with them all you want but their word is basically law until you move out ;). Seriously, he obviously has great parents. I agree with echotpe that his mother seems like the "tiger mom" type in the sense of setting high standards for him and expecting him to live up to them. I'm sure he's even exceeding expectations!

Lovely also to read Yuzuru's tribute to Daisuke as someone from "[e]ven from the most basic level ... has been pulling Japanese skating forward [and whose] passion for skating even after he was seriously injured is admirable due to the fact he was mentally strong enough to overcome such difficult things." Right now it is basically Yuzuru's technical prowess that puts him on top (he himself acknowledges that), but I believe he has the potential to eventually develop a depth of artistic expression that can rival Daisuke's. When that happens, that will be really a sight to behold!

PS. Thanks also to those who posted video links :).
 
ranran said:
I swear this is the most random championship interview ever. With Nan Song and Yuzuru have no idea whats going on and need translator then Yuzuru's translator sit on the podium beside him looking at his prize. :laugh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpxZd44vMvU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J46LUL_mD4
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Oh, wow. I tried watching this and it is pretty random. Look at his expression when answering the questions, he was so young back then. :laugh:

Maria Victoria said:
At the Emperor's spring garden party, he looked like the flower of Japanese youth, its best and brightest.
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Yeah, I totally agree. He's usually the youngest person attending these events, so he stands out more than he already does. ;) It would be nice if he could have tea with the emperor sometime when he's back in Japan. Also, maybe it's necessary to stay away from media for a while to focus on skating/university work.
 
:laugh: So we made another full circle and came back to his costumes again? Since everyone loves him in his training outfits, maybe he should go for something like his 2009 SP costume again. I thought it looked really good on him and he looked extra tall and slim in it. It was pretty blinged out as well :p (Can't find a picture of it...but there is a video)

Thank you everyone for the translations and videos~ :clap:
 
Interview between Yuzuru Hanyu and Arakawa Shizuka, 30th June 2013
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1...rs&utm_campaign=Alert-SubscriptionDigestUsers

Below the translation: BIG THANKS TO CHANNAH FOR HIS WORK AND PASSION.


Narrator: It is half a year until the Sochi Olympics, and just at the start of the Olympic season, Arakawa Shizuka’s Figure Skating TV show “Friends Plus” is back on the air.
Today’s Guest….She has known him since he was this small (pic of Yuzuru as a very young boy) the guest that is coming in today is from her hometown and is one of her junior skaters.

AS: I always had the image of him as a kindergartener, and somehow without really noticing he is now taller than me. Now as a skater and as a person he has really risen and is continuing to grow….
It’s kind of a strange feeling….To have known him as a person and as an athlete from about the age of 5 and to have watched his progress, it is actually something a bit unusual.
Because we are in the same group I have been able to observe him for so long. It really is a valuable thing for me.

N: From Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture, Hanyu Yuzuru is 18 years old. He is the youngest of the all of the Japanese men’s figure skaters to have made it on to the World’s podium.
He converted the traumatic experience of the natural disaster (the 2011 earthquake) into strength and this ever improving youngster even moved his base to Canada to so that he could keep aiming high.
As one of the top skaters in Japan he is going to lead the new generation……… “YUZURU HANYU!!!!!”
Just before he begins his challenge in his first Olympic year he has a face to face meeting with the previous Olympic Gold Medalist.

Y: I have a lot of things to ask you.

AS: Really? You have lots of questions?

N: He wants to know about how Arakawa Shizuka got ready for her road to the Olympics.

AS: In my mind I knew I really wanted to win.

N: During this off-season we can enjoy this valuable chat between the two of them.
There is only half a year until the Sochi Olympics and this is the only place you will see Yuzuru Hanyu like this.
This program is presented to you by Awakawa Shizuka’s figure skating program “Friends Plus 2013

2mins 40secs
Y: Hello. Excuse me. I feel like I’m entering “Shi-chan’s” room.

AS: Of course you do!

N: The age difference between them is 13 years but these two were brought up in the same local area they have lots of shared memories and they have seen each other grow and change over the years.

AS: (Laughing off camera) You saw that didn’t you? I think of all of the guests I have talked to you are the quickest to have sat down.

Y: Really?

AS: Usually the guests stand around and talk a bit more than this.

Y: Well, I’m a bit nervous.

AS: That must be a lie! Are you really nervous?

Y: Yeah.

AS: You don’t get nervous.

Y: Yes, I do.

AS: I have always thought that you have a furry coat around your heart. More than just hair, it’s like a really thick fluffy coating.

Y: But, I’m actually a nervous type of person.

AS: You do get nervous but you are able to have a good relationship with your nerves.

Y: I guess so. I have had lots of experiences where I have been able to overcome my nervousness.

AS: Yes, it is impossible not to feel nervous so having the ability to get over your feelings of nerves is a really great thing.

Y: Thanks for saying so.

AS: Well, I have known you since you were just this tall…

Y: Yes.

AS: Its strange.

Y: Yes, a bit weird.

AS: I didn’t know you were as strong as you are.

Y: Even from years ago I hated to lose. This is my own way of thinking about it but I always had the image that if I got nervous I was losing against myself and I never wanted to lose to that version of me.
So, even when I did feel nervous I would always try to get over those nerves so that I could give a good performance. It was a mental wall that I always tried to climb over.

AS: You like to have people watching you, don’t you?

Y: Yes. Even when I was very small I only really loved the competitions like the local public competitions.

AS: I feel nostalgic about the competitions you are talking about….

AS: The competitions that decide the number of Olympic athletes are something that I didn’t try to focus on but I found once the competition actually started that was somehow always in the back of my mind.
You have had your first experience of that now.

Y: Yes.

AS: How was it for you? Were you nervous?

Y: Yes. I was really nervous.

AS: How was your experience at this year’s World Championships?

Y: At this year’s Worlds I personally took on too much of a burden. I felt that as I had won the Japanese Nationals I felt a lot of pressure from myself to be on the top of the podium at Worlds, too.
I felt a lot of responsibility.

AS: As careers grow and develop the end result rather than the taking part becomes ever more important when that starts to happen, if you have developed strength from participating in big events then you are able to shine and have confidence.
Which of the two (participating or the final results) is easier for you to handle?

Y: I don’t think I have had enough experience in big events to have learned enough, when I was in the Novice category I did have some experience of that though and because of that experience I am able to pick up on the things I still need to work on.
I try to focus on the areas that need to be brushed up.
Before a competition begins I often think that I need to beat this athlete or that athlete but when the competition actually starts I usually think I just need to win over myself and that tends to draw all of my focus and I just do my best for that.

AS: As an outside observer only, it always looks like you are always competing with yourself but I have never really had the chance to ask you about how you really feel.

Y: I have participated in quite a few competitions when I was injured, and this caused the people around me some trouble. This was quite a regular pattern.
Even from when I was a junior, before the World Championships I would get a sore back, or sprain my ankle or things like that but I wouldn’t really tell the people around me how I was feeling.
But sometime even when I didn’t say anything I wouldn’t be able to stand it any longer, especially if the injury was going on for a long time.
But basically, somebody would notice that something was wrong with me…

AS: Was it your coach who noticed?

Y: It was usually my parent(s) that noticed first, people in my family.

AS: Well I guess the people you are living with would notice.

Y: Then the coach would notice and ask me why I didn’t say anything and I would be scolded and because of my poor behaviour I would always thing I need to do better.

AS: Are the injuries caused by over training?

Y: Over training is probably the main reason. Before a competition, I would watch the video footage of the previous competition for image training but if I had lost in the previous competition I would feel that I have to do better and try harder in the next competition.
Even if I won the competition, I would always feel that there was something that needed to be worked on and it would spur me on to try my best on a daily basis.
So pretty much I would over train before every competition.


7mins 40secs

As: At the end of last season you sustained some injuries but you battled through.

Y: Yes. The year before too, at the World Championships I injured my right ankle but at that time I was helped and supported by so many people and that turned out to be a very emotional competition.
This year too, also turned out to be an emotional World Championships and I realised that I get a lot of power from the people around me.
While I was skating I didn’t have the feeling I was skating under my own power.
During the competition I never felt that my leg was sore or that I was in pain…

AS: You felt that that you were being supported and held up by the people around you?

Y: Very much so. Truthfully, it felt really good and I was able to do my best right up until the end of the competition.

8mins 31secs
Narrator: “JOY” At the age of 12 he experienced for the first time the feeling of “Joy” as a skater.

Y: I wasn’t able to go the rink (as it had closed down) and thanks to the efforts of Awakawa Shizuka the rink was reopened. At that time I was truly happy.
I remember thinking how happy I was that I was able to train again at that rink.

N: His first experience of living abroad was in Toronto in Canada.

AS: Now, you have chosen Canada as the environment in which you are doing your training and you are also working with a new coach. This has been ongoing now for a while.

Y: This is my second season there.

AS: Your second season…Since going overseas to Canada, what would you say has most influenced your skating style?

Y: I have to do a lot more basic skating practice. That skating practice also includes parts that will improve my muscles as well as being a practice schedule that is designed for me and that can be adjusted to include the skating skills that I need to work on, things that will make my skating better.
This was something I had never done before in my training.

AS: Are you enjoying your life there now?

Y: I am really enjoying it but in some respects it is hard, too.

AS: It the training tough?

Y: Until now, I have just thought about my programs in terms of having to do the jumps. In that practice I would fall a lot of times while practicing the jumps.
Rather that working on my skating skills I would always think “I need to concentrate on my jumps”. I now realise that it wasn’t an integrated approach and that skating skills should also be taken care of.
I also have the feeling that the jumps are improving as they are coming out of my improvement in the skating skills department and that is a really fun thing for me.

AS: If you are able to notice and improve your skating skills then you have more ease, especially towards the end of a program and it also has a good influence on a skater’s ability to jump.
When it come to skating skills, as we become more mature and more adult we come to realise how important that part of training is.
If you can notice that now, even if it is tough maybe you will start to notice all kinds of things to work on.

Y: Basic skating skills often look easy but to do it properly you really need to concentrate on what you are doing. And because that is difficult it is a really enjoyable challenge.
I keep thinking to myself, “If I can just get over this tough bit then things will be much easier”. It is a series of small steps, just like the small steps we take to build physical strength and that kind of thing helps to keep me motivated.

AS: In Canada, you have met a lot of people, coaches for example. Who is the most interesting person you have met?

Y: When you say interesting…. I have to say David.

AS: I thought you would say that.

Y: The world interesting matches him well. I never know what is going to come out of him.
He is extremely good at creating programs that match the music. He is always thinking about which step goes where and is very aware of the levels.
He is moving and creating in his own way but he is always making calculations about what needs to be included. In addition, as a person he is a really interesting guy with an interesting personality.

AS: It seems like he is the kind of person you can trust to create a good program for you.

Y: Yes, that’s right. If David is there I feel in safe hands. We can call on help from a spin coach or from a step specialist, but if David is there then I can trust him to help me with those things.

AS: While you are in Canada, what do you like to do to relax?

Y: I play games.

AS: Do you like games?

Y: I love them a lot. The place where I am living now is really high and that region is pretty flat?

As: Do you mean high as in high above the ground or high as in an expensive place? (The Japanese word “takai” 高いcan express both of those meanings so it is slightly ambiguous.)

Y: I mean that I am living on a high floor in the building, so when I look out I can see really far into the distance.
When I am tired from studying or tired from skating I like to listen to music and look out at the view. I find this is a good way for me to relax.

AS: Now that you are living and training in this new environment, have you found anything that you want to try or anything that you feel you need?

Y: I feel that I need to put all of my energy into completing my new program. Every season, one of my programs, either the short or the free, I don’t perform as well as the other.

As a skater, even though it is very difficult I want to be able to perform the both with the same “good” quality. So this season I, I will try not to miss anything out.
With the Olympics as my final goal, I want to go into each competition with the view that I will find something to work on and improve on.


13mins 50secs


Narrator: Six months before the Torino Olympics Arakawa Shizuka states:

AS: I had just finished the choreography on the music that had been decided for the Olympic season. That was the stage that I was at the six months out mark.
All I had to do was focus and begin practice and preparation. I wasn’t yet fully into “Olympic Mode” rather than that I was just at the end of the “off season” which is quite a tough time as it is when you do some soul searching before that start of the season.
While practicing on the ice, it is a time to really focus, but when you step off the ice you need to kind of switch off. If you don’t do that then you will be in “on mode” for too long.
It was the time I was trying to find the balance between being “on” and “off”.

Friends on Ice 2011 footage ~ 15 min to 17mins 53 sec

Narrator: April… Just before the start of the academic year Hanyu selected the same university as Arakawa Shizuka; Waseda University.


AS: You have entered Waseda University.

Y: Yes.

AS: What did you choose to enter Waseda University?

Y: Well, the fact that you chose to study there was a big thing for me.

AS: Why?

Y: Your way of thinking… Your way of approaching our sport, from all of the times we have talked together, it is something I can have the utmost respect for and something that I have admired, so I kind of wanted to follow in your footsteps.

AS: Thank you very much. Did all of the cameras broadcasting to the world get that comment on film?

Y: I really wanted to follow the path you had opened. You got the Torino Olympic gold medal and Olympic gold is something I am aiming for so I want to do my best, just the way you did.
We both went to Tohoko High School and that school really focuses on sports but is also a place that makes you study hard.
So our life wasn’t just skating. For example, if we got seriously injured that could be the end of our career or even as a professional skater the length of the career is limited so for those reasons we also need to study to have something to fall back on.

AS: When I started organising my shows I realised I had learned a lot of things but that there were still things I needed to know.
So what I learned before is helping me now but there are still many of the things l learned in the past are connected to the new world I have stepped into.

Y: Did you have the regular schooling classes in university?

AS: They didn’t have other types of courses then (there were no online courses) I went to university regularly every day.
Until high school I knew I was on the sports track with skating but after that in order to get myself ready for the regular world I decided that I needed some time to prepare and so I didn’t choose the sports track in university.
That’s why I chose Waseda University.

Y: When I hear that I realise how great you are.

AS: In that way, I was able to remove myself a little from the sport and have time for other things. It was kind of taking the long way round I guess.
Rather than being on a very singular sports track like some of the other students, on that “long way round” I was able to pick up various things that are really valuable to me now.
There wasn’t a single wasted minute on that journey; everything can be a valuable life experience. In that I way I want to be able to support you in all of the challenges you have ahead. I really mean that.

21mins00secs.
Narrator: When Yuzuru Hanyu gets ANGRY.

Y: I often argue with my parents. I tend to become quite, I stop talking. I don’t really do anything but I show it in my general demeanour and attitude. I kind of let everyone know that I’m angry with my attitude.

AS: When you just started skating, who were the skaters that you admired?

Y: I admired Evegheny Plushenko.

Narrator: From his elementary school days his hero was the Russian skater Evegheny Plushenko.

AS: How was it when you skated with the skater you admired for the first time?

Y: I was able to have the opportunity to skate with him at a number of ice shows. At that time I was still only a junior high school student…

AS: Did you feel his aura?

Y: Totally. It was amazing. I actually told Plushenko that he was my hero. I felt that everything he said when he talked was just so cool.

AS: You thought he was cool? Hahahahah..

Y: Is there anything from Plushenko that has inspired your skating style?

Y: He always seemed to have the feeling of delivering his programs. Under the old 6.0 scoring system for the jumps etc. in his programs he was always able to tell a story and at that time skaters could do it more freely.
Nowadays, the program component scores have become more important, the step sequence is really important, the spins have become important but even within those parameters the ability to tell a story that connects with the music and incorporates all of the elements is something that I learned from Plushenko.

AS: The winner of the Salt Lack City Olympics was Alexi Yagudin but even so you were a fan of Plushenko. What was the biggest reason you were his fan?

Y: I think it was because I probably only saw competitions that Plushenko won. At that time, I now know that they were great rivals and that the both wanted to be Olympic champions and that Yagudin won the Olympics.
I have now seem them perform many times as part of my own sporting life and I think they are both amazing, but at that time when I was a boy I only had eyes for Plushenko.

AS: Have you ever competed against him?

Y: I haven’t. If I’m lucky enough to be chosen to compete in Sochi I am wondering what it will be like. I’m a bit nervous about that actually.

AS: But are you looking forward to it, too?

Y: I am totally looking forward to it.

AS: As a skater, when you start to compete in a lot of big competitions you get to meet a lot of different kinds of athletes…
Are there any skaters that you have encountered that you think are great, not counting Plushenko?

Y: I have to say that now I really admire Daisuke Takahashi. Even from the most basic level he has been pulling Japanese skating forward.
As a sportsman also I admire him. His passion for skating even after he was seriously injured is admirable due to the fact he was mentally strong enough to overcome such difficult things.
That is something that I truly admire in him.
Narrator: Suddenly at the age of 18, Hanyu has really become big in our eyes…but he is still only 18…

AS: What are you most interested in now? It is ok to mention skating things, or things outside of skating, too.

Y: I like earphones.

AS: You like earphones?

Y: Yes. I really like them. There are different kinds…

AS: Are you an earphone collector?

Y: Maybe I’m a collector.

AS: That’s a bit unusual..

Y: Takahito Mura also likes earphones.

AS: Does he?

Y: Yes.

AS: Are earphones in fashion now?

Y: I can’t really say that they are in fashion but I do know a lot about them.

AS: You mean like, earphones for listening to music?

Y: Yes.

AS: Which type are the best for listening?

Y: It is impossible to say which one is best. It is a little bit deeper than that.


AS: You really know a lot about them, then?

Y: Well, hahahahaha. Yes.

AS: Do things sound really different depending on the type of earphone you use?

Y: Yes, completely different.

AS: Is that so?

Y: Yes. After, I will teach you about them.

AS: You really seem to be deeply involved in that world.


Y: I also really like electrical appliances, too.

AS: What have you gotten recently that you really love?

Y: Something I have now….I would have to say earphones. Hahahahahah. Friends Plus.

End of the video.
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annca said:
clearer version of hanyu's fp at 2012 worlds :)

thanks to mama nono for the upload :)
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And here's the translation of Ana @WhateverHime: http://anaandherbrain.tumblr.com/

Lady *laughing excitedly*: He is simply unbelieveble! […]* Such energy, such generosity, such talent! The people in the arena are on their feet, they’ve been clapping along his program almost from start to finish. We have already forgot about that fall in the step sequence, because other than that it’s been magnificent, magical, whatever you want to call it.

Guy: But we shouldn’t forget about the fall, because that’s the one thing that allows us to say that he remains human, and he’s not some alien. Yuzuru Hanyu.

Lady: Look at him, he is exhausted. He’s crying.

Guy: But this is a program that will go down in history.

Lady: It’s absolutely amazing what’s just happened.

Guy: Oh oh oh. It’s wonderful. I hope you’ve enyoyed it in front of your TVs, because it had emotion, it had [a strong] technical side, it had suspense and it had [a feel of] surprise.

Lady: The crowd is overwhelmed by ecstasy. They are many Japanese fans in the arena, but it’s not only them [that are excited].

Guy: Like I was saying, he is so intensely emotional. And how he does it, how does he manage to pass that emotion to us? It’s amazing, I had the goosebumps during most of his program. […]”

Thanks Ana! :)

And I'm also sharing this beautiful comment by chima chibi this time to the Rai commentary, which exactly captures my feelings about Yuzuru after I had watched that skate for the first time (and have watched it many times since):

"What are you gonna do, if you've been born with a great gift? You just give it away. With complete generosity and love. Isn't that what this pencil thin kid did on the ice? And nobody can give a score to this kind of performance." http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=HTGzHcxKqUo&lc=cwLLyZR2jO7kMwVmtpAoVlPMeqwlCYkZ_glJqLiUe-g
 
Yeah, this performance was just magic. For me it was even better with this fall. It has added even more drama and emotions into it , to fall and right after that fly to a huge 3A 3T combo:biggrin:
 
Continuation of the interview between Arakawa Shizuka and Yuzuru Hanyu

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTg5NjcyNDMy.html?from=y1.2-1-98.3.9-1.1-1-1-8

26mins26secs ~
Narrator: There is something that Hanyu Yuzuru can’t be separated from….That thing is music.
AS: More than piano I have an image of you with violins.
Y: I guess that’s about right.
AS: I’m talking about with your skating style.
Y: Well as part of the kanji character in my name is the symbol “gen - 弦” which means “string”.
AS: Yeah, so it does.
Y: I really like violin music.
AS: When your parents gave you that name was there any special connection there?
Y: No, I don’t think so. My mother really likes music but my father is more into sports.
AS: Ah, he’s a sportsman…What sport does your father like?
Y: Baseball. He used to play baseball. When I was small I used to play baseball with a plastic ball. It was when I was really small, I couldn’t even walk properly yet but we played baseball.
AS: Wow, you really were young.
Y: It was even before I started skating, and he would play baseball with me. I think he wanted me to become a professional baseball player in the future.
AS: But you turned into a completely different type of athlete, didn’t you.
Y: Yes, I did. Basically, even from when I was a small kid, I always wanted to do what my older sister was doing and try to copy her.
AS: Why did your sister start skating?
Y: I think it was because the rink was really close to our house. She would join the summer short training courses and when she went to things like that I always wanted to do the same. I would keep saying “ I want to do it, too. I want to do it, too.”
AS: That was during my last years in Sendai when your sister started to skate.
Y: I was barely able but I followed my sister to the rink.
AS: I guess it was a case of you were entering and I was leaving. The thing I remember was you coming in were wearing your kindergarten uniform and that you had a really cute hairstyle.
Y: It was like this. (gestures the style around his face)
AS: It was really cute and was always well cut.

Narrator: What does “family” mean to Yuzuru Hanyu?
Y: This will probably sound like a bit of a cliché but family are a really important thing for me. I really feel that from the bottom of my heart. The reason I am able to skate the way I do is because my father worked hard and used the money to pay for lessons and mother supported me and my sister cheered me on. If I didn’t have those people in my life I would never be in this position now. To get this far, I can I know how much I have struggled but when I think about it, I realise that they probably struggled much more that I ever did. I practiced skating hard; I trained really hard, I would eat and sleep and that daily routine continued for a long time but my mother and father did a lot of things to make sure I would be able to do that. When I think about it, I know I should be very thankful for their efforts. I need to be more thankful than I am.

Narrator: Hanyu Yuzuru’s Ina Bauer was born when he performed it in front of the Torino gold medallist and now for him it is a sentimental memory.
AS: I remember you put your hand up and said “I can do an Ina Bauer.” I thought there is a really great child here.
Y: At that time I was totally excited about trying to go to the Olympics. It is a really nice time to think back on.
AS: It was quite unusual. Whenever I was helping kids (especially boys) to skate and I would ask the question, “Can anyone do any moves?” most of the time nobody would put up their hand to volunteer. But you you put up your hand and said, “I can do something. I can also do a Beilman spin.” And I remember thinking “Ohhhhh”
Y: At that time I was thinking I can do an Ina Bauer but I can’t do the Beilman spin. At that time, I was growing and doing the Beilman spin felt bad. It was the one move I never wanted to do.
AS: But even now you are still doing it and I think that’s amazing.
Y: Yes, I am.
AS: When male skates start to get muscles their bodies become stiff and rather than flexibility, strength is the thing they have.
Y: When you do a quad jump, I think there is a difference. When I started doing quads I felt that my body became hard/stiff.
AS: When you get muscles in your back, that weren’t there before you aren’t able to move in the same way as before.
Y: I have always been on the physically flexible side, just like you.
AS: Actually, I didn’t use to be so flexible.
Y: Really?
AS: Yes, really. I would try to do moves that not many other people did so from that it looked like I was more flexible than I really was. I could do the Ina Bauer very well and from that move it made it look like I could do other moves with the same flexibility but it was only really that one. I would try to do some stretches. I would be doing them in from of the TV and Dai-chan (Takahashi Daisuke) would ask, “What are you doing?” This was when we were having training camps together, “What are you doing?” and I told him I was stretching. He said you are lying as he was surprised at how stiff I was.
Y: Now I am not doing any flexibility training.
AS: I guess that is normal for male skaters. There aren’t so many flexible skaters, and nobody was as flexible as Sasha Cohen.
Y: I don’t think I need to be as flexible as that as that would mean I would lose some muscle and I would be afraid of that but I do think that now I have a good balance between muscles and flexibility.
AS: What body part do you want most? Is there any part that you want to alter?
Y: I thought you were going to ask me which type of earphones I want most?
AS: The earphone conversation is over. If ended a while ago.
Y: What body part do I want?......A spine. I want to have a new spine.
AS: A spine.
Y: My spine is curved like a cat’s so I want to be able to have it changed.
AS: I don’t really have an image of you as a cat.
Y: When I jump a lot and I start to get tired like all humans I start to bend over. But I probably get more bent over than most people. In that condition people tend to bend from the waist, but I bend from the shoulders (translation based on the gestures he made with his fingers). When I get like that I am unable to land my jumps. On self reflection, at the World Championships, the short program in the last World Championships, I fell on the quad jump and it was for the reason I mentioned before. When I go into competition mode it is often like that.
AS: I understand what you are saying. So the toe loop gets loose.
Y: And I land with a thud. It is a very embarrassing memory.
AS: Really?
Y: Yes, when I fall like that.
AS: Friends plus.

Narrator: The decision to skate competitively for the last time was in the Torino Olympics.
AS: When I decided to end my amateur career at the end of my last season I had goals I had set for myself and I wanted to end with no regrets. So at the start of the season I wanted to live everyday deliberately and with purpose. But in saying that, if you don’t have enough space in your life then you won’t be able to do what you need to do. Still, it was a stoic time for me. But I remember that every day felt significant and important. It didn’t matter what I was doing, I remember trying to do everything to the best of my ability during that season. When I think about it, the way I felt six months before my first Olympics and the way I approached my second Olympics in Torino, and the way I lived everyday was completely different. I think everybody who is preparing for an Olympic run approaches it differently at the six months out mark.

Narrator: As he aims for his first Olympics, what is Hanyu thinking?
Y: It is kind of a subtle thing. There are two things that I am feeling simultaneously. I am really looking forward to it and I am also feeling quite anxious. As it is my first time, I am really looking forward to it a lot. This season, as it is an Olympic season, which is a big event, makes me feel anxious. So those two feelings are mixed together, but I have a good balance between them I think, but it is difficult to portray both of those things at the same time. So it is subtle. (The Japanese often use this word to mean something kind of “in-between”.)
35mins.00secs
 
Thank you Channah :clap:

Is nice reading about his father, I feel like he almost never get mention. He seems like a serious guy, I think is only the third interview where I remember he talks about it.
 
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