Patrick Chan

He was so cute at the medal ceremony, seemed so happy and in awe of what was happening and got all teary during the National Anthem. :gclap:

See TSL's 2015 Skate Canada Recap video for their discussion of Patrick starting at 2:05. They don't like the costume, lol.

Thank you vivley for bringing the articles. They got me in real mixed emotions for and about Patrick.

I am often of two minds about Patrick's openness. I'm glad to know his state of mind better yet I'm concerned how his honesty can easily work against him. He gives away much of his "secrets" of success and at the same time his vulnerability revealed can make him more vulnerable.

Even as I realized the extraordinary pressure he was under that was hard to fanthom and yet completely disregarded by most people, I still hurt for him to "hear" him tell it and the pain he went through.

He walked away from competition after probably the greatest disappointment of his life. Coming back after a year and a half, he needed to pick up his most difficult skills again and relearn how to compete, meeting the most formidable rival at the first competition at home under intense watch and speculations. The pressure he put on himself was similar to the one he did when he debut his quad and fell many times - he feared he would disappoint many people and fail their expectation. Then he consulted someone who understood, Brian Boitano, and overcame the mental obstacle to go on to dominate the figure skating world for 4 years. This time he found a trusted trash can for his mind dump, and peace and focus in performance.

I didn't want to have unfair and unrealistic expectation for the super intense first competition but he showed how a true champion can be almost super human to triumph when most succumb. He blew just about everybody away with the glorious performance and victory last night. Shock and awe indeed.

Now that that is over, I'm so very happy for him for having acquired another exhilarating experience he can bank and a new mental skill he can use again to bring him more success and ever closer to his goals. I hope he will always remember 'Alright, I'm just going to go out and do what feels good."

My admiration and joy for him go up another level. And I now dare to dream really big for him, as big as he dares to dream.

I don't know... SkateFiguring... I think that he is not exposing his vulnerability in a way that it can be more difficult for him later on, but sharing what he has gone through as he is learning through it... this sort of openness isn't unusual after a big loss, a year off and so on... a bit like grieving, he is now in the fully aware and acceptance phase and he is not afraid to share it with his fans. For me it simply means maturity and control. If he were worried or unstable or very vulnerable, he wouldn't speak about his inner feelings quite the same way.

in the end, we all wish him to keep skating better and better and better and 4ever

Thanks for your insight, SkateFiguring. Yes, that's why I thought sometimes he said too much to the press about his struggles. But one of the impressions I got from him was that perhaps he was trying to moderate the expectations of others, to save them from disappointment and to lessen his own pressure.

After reading your comment:

He walked away from competition after probably the greatest disappointment of his life.

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The thought occurred to me that perhaps he struggled emotionally with his reason / purpose for coming back to competition in part because of a big what if - "What if I, who lost the Olympic gold medal and let everyone down, go back into competing and lose big again? Could I bear the disappointment? Should I even risk it? And am I good enough to do this?"

That is why I think we hear a lot from him now that he is more concerned about his performance than his scores, which is certainly the right way for him to go, as long as he means it. I think sometimes he says the right thing that he knows he needs to do, often before he knows how to put it into practice. E.g., at 3:25 in this video, where he admitted that he said all the time that he wanted to skate for himself, but he could never figure out how to until last night.

And the speed of his mental turnaround! I'm glad he found another way to let go of the pressure through his tears! I'm very glad that Kathy was able to remind him to go out and skate for the love of it, and he did exactly that.

On a side note, I just came across this video of Patrick on Chinese language TV from February of this year. I don't know if anyone here has seen it:

http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2015/02/17/atext1178116.html

You can see Patrick starting at 0:39. He speaks at 1:08 and 2:05 in the video.

vivley said:

Thanks for your insight, SkateFiguring. Yes, that's why I thought sometimes he said too much to the press about his struggles. But one of the impressions I got from him was that perhaps he was trying to moderate the expectations of others, to save them from disappointment and to lessen his own pressure.

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I think it's just his personality and habit. I've figured out a long while back that he says exactly what he means, very literal even if often people try to interpret him. (I made an easy assumption once and later found out it really was literal.) Even he has expressed regrets about this trait of his but I don't see him having changed it. I've said before most figure skaters including his rivals can learn a lot from what Patrick says. Of course, many success factors are transferable to various aspects of life. Patrick is quite aware of that himself and he learns from idols from different sports and both genders.

After reading your comment:



The thought occurred to me that perhaps he struggled emotionally with his reason / purpose for coming back to competition in part because of a big what if - "What if I, who lost the Olympic gold medal and let everyone down, go back into competing and lose big again? Could I bear the disappointment? Should I even risk it? And am I good enough to do this?"

Click to expand...

I'm sure he did a lot of soul searching and has mostly resolved that issue. Acceptance is the initial step to give up resistance, end struggles and start fresh, so he rebooted and came back but evidently he has not really let go of the fear of letting others down and, like all feelings suppressed, it came back like a demon to overwhelm him at the critical moments.

That is why I think we hear a lot from him now that he is more concerned about his performance than his scores, which is certainly the right way for him to go, as long as he means it.

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Again I believe he really means it though that competitiveness in him cannot be completely suppressed. But he needs not suppress his nature but to let another part of his nature to develop. I was going to say desire for excellence is part of competitiveness but immediately I think otherwise, that competitiveness is part of the desire for excellence. Maybe it doesn't matter, it's all part of wanting to grow and to have greater and greater goals, a process of self actualization and to be the best you can be. It benefits the person as well as the human race.

And the speed of his mental turnaround! I'm glad he found another way to let go of the pressure through his tears! I'm very glad that Kathy was able to remind him to go out and skate for the love of it, and he did exactly that.

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That's what gave me mixed emotions - the empathy and the awe. The human frailty and emotional turmoils, as well as the super human mental strength and resolve by the great ones among us, are both so real and truly amazing. Turning intense struggle around into triumph when it is required is a triumph in itself and may be a life changing experience and skill many need and look for. It shows it's all about the mind. I told of how I helped a few pingpong players. I tell them developing techniques takes practice and a long time but a mental change can make an instant breakthrough. They prove me right by instantly changing their game into one of ease and control.

I think sometimes he says the right thing that he knows he needs to do, often before he knows how to put it into practice. E.g., at 3:25 in this video, where he admitted that he said all the time that he wanted to skate for himself, but he could never figure out how to until last night.

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A moment of insight is worth more than a life time of experiences. And an insight, an epiphany, is something you can use for the rest of your life. How it comes by is a hard search by many, including Patrick. It usually comes when the mind is left empty and open to receive, often at moments of surrender. It's ironic that it comes when you stop searching your own way.

This is another case and observation that keep my interest and curiosity in human mind going, especially that of the great and successful ones.

SkateFiguring said:

Thank you vivley for bringing the articles. They got me in real mixed emotions for and about Patrick.

I am often of two minds about Patrick's openness. I'm glad to know his state of mind better yet I'm concerned how his honesty can easily work against him. He gives away much of his "secrets" of success and at the same time his vulnerability revealed can make him more vulnerable.

Even as I realized the extraordinary pressure he was under that was hard to fanthom and yet completely disregarded by most people, I still hurt for him to "hear" him tell it and the pain he went through.

He walked away from competition after probably the greatest disappointment of his life. Coming back after a year and a half, he needed to pick up his most difficult skills again and relearn how to compete, meeting the most formidable rival at the first competition at home under intense watch and speculations. The pressure he put on himself was similar to the one he did when he debut his quad and fell many times - he feared he would disappoint many people and fail their expectation. Then he consulted someone who understood, Brian Boitano, and overcame the mental obstacle to go on to dominate the figure skating world for 4 years. This time he found a trusted trash can for his mind dump, and peace and focus in performance.

I didn't want to have unfair and unrealistic expectation for the super intense first competition but he showed how a true champion can be almost super human to triumph when most succumb. He blew just about everybody away with the glorious performance and victory last night. Shock and awe indeed.

Now that that is over, I'm so very happy for him for having acquired another exhilarating experience he can bank and a new mental skill he can use again to bring him more success and ever closer to his goals. I hope he will always remember 'Alright, I'm just going to go out and do what feels good."

My admiration and joy for him go up another level. And I now dare to dream really big for him, as big as he dares to dream.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for writing this!

4everchan said:

^^ I am glad to read that Kathy helped him reach the zone... with all the crap we hear about 'he needs a jump coach" etc... maybe what he really needs is someone who helps him focus. Considering the quality of his jumps yesterday, I'd say he is fine with Kathy

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Indeed. Well said!

Anyone knows what accident he had as a child to do with his eyes? Some sort of conditioning? I read it somewhere...? Many Thanks!

MM mentioned it but I don't know where his source is. It seemed he had known about it from our discussion. There was a hilarious video by Patrick and Kurt, in which Patrick demonstrated how he couldn't move his right eye upward. I know he used to be turned round and round in a chair before going on ice to overcome the effect of his eye condition. As to the cause, I've no idea.

Patrick has been ridiculed about his eyes for a long time, called rape eyes even, but bless MM for speaking up against such mocking ever since he knew of Patrick's physiological condition.

Violet Bliss said:

MM mentioned it but I don't know where his source is. It seemed he had known about it from our discussion. There was a hilarious video by Patrick and Kurt, in which Patrick demonstrated how he couldn't move his right eye upward. I know he used to be turned round and round in a chair before going on ice to overcome the effect of his eye condition. As to the cause, I've no idea.

Patrick has been ridiculed about his eyes for a long time, called rape eyes even, but bless MM for speaking up against such mocking ever since he knew of Patrick's physiological condition.

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Now that's just offensive :con3: Not calling attention to someone's physical attribute- especially on their face -is a basic manner, afterall..

Great articles. Does anyone else feel that he's better now than ever before? Those jumps were just so perfect, so textbook.

Sam L said:

Great articles. Does anyone else feel that he's better now than ever before? Those jumps were just so perfect, so textbook.

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I've always maintained that Patrick has the perfect techniques for all his jumps. It's all mental during competition. His occasional 3A imperfections were blown out of proportion and created a belief that it was his nemesis and he didn't have the technique. So much so that even Patrick bought into it to create and amplify the apprehension during competition. When he is able to bypass the mental issue and focus on the skating at hand, he lands his jumps securely in a beautiful flow with the program, as part of the magnificent performance.

Blaming his lack of a "proper" or technical coach is an easy lazy thinking IMO and I have always defended his choice. At Patrick's level, any skater would love some technical coaching from him! A coach has to be the right person who can bring out the best from him and be supportive during the progress, including any necessary detour. Mao went through an even longer and more painful detour but there was no clamour about her need to change to a jump coach. And every top skater has jump problems most of the time without their coaches being blamed. It is easy to deride Johnson as just a dance coach and because of Patrick's relationship with her daughter.

As I stated before, I believe Patrick knows what works for him and he would get himself a new or additional coach if he needs to. As it is, Patrick seems to be very close to Johnson and relies much on her technical advice and emotional support. Why argue with results?

Violet Bliss said:

I've always maintained that Patrick has the perfect techniques for all his jumps. It's all mental during competition. His occasional 3A imperfections were blown out of proportion and created a belief that it was his nemesis and he didn't have the technique. So much so that even Patrick bought into it to create and amplify the apprehension during competition. When he is able to bypass the mental issue and focus on the skating at hand, he lands his jumps securely in a beautiful flow with the program, as part of the magnificent performance.

Blaming his lack of a "proper" or technical coach is an easy lazy thinking IMO and I have always defended his choice. At Patrick's level, any skater would love some technical coaching from him! A coach has to be the right person who can bring out the best from him and be supportive during the progress, including any necessary detour. Mao went through an even longer and more painful detour but there was no clamour about her need to change to a jump coach. And every top skater has jump problems most of the time without their coaches being blamed. It is easy to deride Johnson as just a dance coach and because of Patrick's relationship with her daughter.

As I stated before, I believe Patrick knows what works for him and he would get himself a new or additional coach if he needs to. As it is, Patrick seems to be very close to Johnson and relies much on her technical advice and emotional support. Why argue with results?

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Totally agree, I always wanted interviewers and even people like Kurt and Tracy to just shut up about this whole triple axle business! Enough skaters have trouble with it, it's not like Patrick couldn't do them, but he is definitely one to let things get in his head and I can see this being one of those issues.

Congrats, Violet Bliss, for turning violet. At first I thought I had replied to the wrong person! Lol! Your comments are very zen-like.

I saw this video interview last night with Patrick and Kathy Johnson, where he talks about his panic right before the skate:

https://youtu.be/HVs9zTOfeyY

I just got a warning from my cell phone network provider that I've used up 85% of my data before they have to slow speeds. And it was all used on - you guessed it - watching Patrick's wonderful skating on YouTube over and over again, ha! (Then the thought occurred to me yesterday as I was showing a Japanese co-worker that wonderful performance... How many times has Hanyu watched the same video of Patrick's performance? Maybe as much as I have? Just a musing thought - no need to reply.)

vivley said:

Congrats, Violet Bliss, for turning violet. At first I thought I had replied to the wrong person! Lol! Your comments are very zen-like.

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Ah, you noticed my new enlightened hue! I originally picked a skate related username in a hurry, fueled by the shock I saw how Patrick was slandered, ridiculed and derided online. I never liked it and welcomed an opportunity to change it except for the loss of recognition by the forum pals after having been bsing for so long and so much here! (I noticed most who changed their usernames didn't have yet so many posts.) Then I decided to leave a clue of my former identity in the title and went ahead and transmuted.

Why violet? I decided neither the red pill of harsh reality nor the blue pill of blissful illusion was desirable. Their hybrid yields the purple harsh illusion and the violet blissful reality. Voila, I took the violet pill! Violet is the colour of our crown chakra, of the Budha lotus, the ultra of the rainbow, and that of the divine violet flame. It is generally a colour of connection to the divine. Thus, I'm now living and basking in the divine violet bliss.

And violet bliss is what I wish for Patrick as well whenever he skates in competition, if not everyday.

May the bliss be with you all.

lol i am so used to your posting style that i read one, and then i was ohhh this violet person writes like SF… how come I have never seen him (her) in the fan fest? then i saw everything still not sure i can get used to the new names hard to swallow LOL

Violet Bliss said:

Ah, you noticed my new enlightened hue! I originally picked a skate related username in a hurry, fueled by the shock I saw how Patrick was slandered, ridiculed and derided online. I never liked it and welcomed an opportunity to change it except for the loss of recognition by the forum pals after having been bsing for so long and so much here! (I noticed most who changed their usernames didn't have yet so many posts.) Then I decided to leave a clue of my former identity in the title and went ahead and transmuted.

Why violet? I decided neither the red pill of harsh reality nor the blue pill of blissful illusion was desirable. Their hybrid yields the purple harsh illusion and the violet blissful reality. Voila, I took the violet pill! Violet is the colour of our crown chakra, of the Budha lotus, the ultra of the rainbow, and that of the divine violet flame. It is generally a colour of connection to the divine. Thus, I'm now living and basking in the divine violet bliss.

And violet bliss is what I wish for Patrick as well whenever he skates in competition, if not everyday.

May the bliss be with you all.

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Watching Patrick Chan skate is like a dream. Seriously, he does everything my coach used to tell us to do and, everything I tell my students to do. He's one of those skaters you have your students watch on the big screen when he performs.

mrrice said:

Watching Patrick Chan skate is like a dream. Seriously, he does everything my coach used to tell us to do and, everything I tell my students to do. He's one of those skaters you have your students watch on the big screen when he performs.

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Encourage our students to see him live!