- Joined
- Nov 14, 2018
Summary of Jason's interview with Meryl for Olympic Channel. Some of this we already knew and some is brand new information!!
He felt very amped up for Skate America, he wanted to go out and perform but just kept facing set backs and not being able to perform - he wasn't able to perform at Champs Camps, and then withdrawing from Nebelhorn. But he's proud of the performance he put out at Skate America.
Car crash - He goes into detail about the accident. He was in the back, but luckily the backseat air bags went off. It was obviously very scary, but he was able to make sure he wasn't injured anywhere else and knew he was going somewhere (Champs Camp) with medical who could look after him. He had whiplash and concussion worries, and was off the ice for a week. It was then when he went back on to the ice that he began to feel nauseous when spinning, had difficulty orienting himself during programmes.
He mentioned that he was worried about the bright lights of arena affecting his concussion at Skate America. He'd heard from other people's experiences of concussiont that things (noises/lights) can trigger concussion symptoms, and this uncertainty made him feel anxious.
TCC - Brian is a really strong personality and he expects a lot from his athletes and expects results. He values hard work you put into the ice & training and for your performance to show that. Jason said that gives a sense of added pressure. But Tracy is more of a "good & bad we're going to grow from it, lets see how we can improve" person. She comes from an entirely different perspective but together they're a perfect blend. Jason commented that Brian really does care and is invested in his skaters - can here him screaming from the boards "good boy". He really values both of their perspectives.
Skate America - Brian and Tracy (and Jason) were unsure about scoring and what sort of marks he would be getting. After the short, felt Brian was surprised at his score, thinks he may have expected it to be lower. After the free, Brian said "It was just beautiful" which really touched Jason. Brian was really happy with the result.
Jason struggled with his practices but was really glad the programmes went well. Wanted to debut programmes for ages, wanted to do them justice.
Schindler's List - The story is so powerful, part of history. Meant so much to him, he has wanted to skate for it years. He was going through music suggestions with David Wilson and mentioned it, but was not sure. But when David Wilson agreed with his music suggestion, he realised he was ready to skate to it. He feels grown up enough to portray the story, get the message across. It's Conflicted, but also beautiful and powerful.
PCS vs TES - Nathan said to Meryl he really admires Jason's skating. Jason said he was very flattered to hear this from the best skater in the world and that he is very jealous of Nathan's jumps. He feels that Nathan has pushed Jason to improve his artistry. He tries his quads every day and still struggles with them, so in the meantime he realised he needs to keep pushing all the other elements to maximise points.
He also wants the younger generation to know that there is still a place in the sport for those who do not have the quads but love performing and spins and footwork. There is room in the sport for both.
Jason's first time in Vegas - he didn't want to make any plans for after his skating until it was done. Went for dinner somewhere at the Bellagio with his parents and then went back to his hotel where he had his first experience of gambling
and had so much fun!Fan questions:
Female quads - he thinks the technical progression of the sport is amazing. If you can jump quads, do it!! He doesn't want people to think he is against tech - If Jason could do the quads like others he would be doing them! For the ladies, it's exciting as it's the first generation, wants to see where it will go. Jason say's he remembers the first time he landed his 3 Loop and his coach saying "You've landed your first jump that you'll never have to add another rotation too!" Because at that point (10 yrs ago), only quad sal/toe were being tried. So quads for men have really developed since they first started, and it's exciting to see where it will go in ladies.
Competing in Pairs vs Ice Dance- Jason would say Ice Dance, Pairs would scare him, he'd be anxious about tripping. They asked viewers to send in recommendations about who Jason should pair with for Ice Dance/Pairs! (He said it would have to be someone small because he doesn't have the upper body strength to lift anyone haha)
NHK - feels great that he has a full 4 weeks to prep for it. He feels very relaxed about it right now. Excited to debrief with coaches and get back on ice and training and be further healed.
Quads - This summer was working on Quad Sal, Toe and FLIP!! But now (assuming post-concussion) he is just training the Quad Sal and Toe every day. Flip is put on the backburner...
Craziest fan experience - During a trip to Japan, flying in and out of a smaller airport. Walking into the airport post competition, he was completely swarmed by people and had no idea what was going on, didn't know where to go. He couldn't see his coach and all the signs were in Japanese. People were screaming, taking pictures. He found it a bit scary, but it was a cool, check it off the bucketlist kind of way.
Reactions to Pairs suggestions for Jason - 1) Evgenia. He laughed, said she was the most determined person he's ever met. They'd be motivated if they were together. He'd go for it!! 2) Kaori Sakamoto. He loves her. She's always smiling/happy. 3) Alysa Liu. He loves that too. He thinks at this moment they could do pairs and dance!
Daisuke Takahashi- One of Jason's biggest inspirations when it comes to performing. Very excited to see his transition to Ice Dance. But at the same time, Jason acknowledges that Dance is soooooo difficult, and that isn't acknowledged because the dancers make it look so easy!
If it is, please correct me.
