Yuzuru Hanyu: 2013-14 Season

mikaboo said:

Well, Mr. Sano (the older guy, ex-figure skater also) said that you have to be a narcissist to be a figure skater and Miki said he's a high-level narcissist in a good way. I don't think she said it in an offensive way. I can't go back to watch the video again right now, but I think Machida was mentioned because of his unique choreography. And yes, being a figure skater, he has to be a narcissist also.

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It reminds me too of what Scott Hamilton said in the NBC commentary on Yuzuru's Team SP peformance in Sochi about figure skating being a sport of show-offs and "boy, this kid [referring to Yuzuru] can show off," to which Sandra Bezic quickly responded that Yuzuru has the goods (to show off).

Yuzuru also admitted that Kanako has "always said to me 'You are a narcissist.' Even though I don’t intend that way…" (http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/masqueradewaltz/folder/387811.html?m=lc&p=2).

I think any elite athlete has to have a fair amount of narcissism or egocentrism, but as I've noted in Yuzuru, this tendency is tempered by a high sense of responsibility to others (his family, his hometown, his country).

I put my very rough translation of "Kataritei" (which I done in March) in another Yuzuru's thread

^Oh thank you, yude!

This part of yude's translation:

"Miki: Yeah, the difference between Plushenko and him is masculin, powerful sexual attractiveness which he doesn't have yet. He is still a teenager who is young, adorable, cheerful...but once he gets the sex appeal in addition to his skating technique...!
Mitz: He is going to be untouchable."

Maria Victoria said:

I think any elite athlete has to have a fair amount of narcissism or egocentrism, but as I've noted in Yuzuru, this tendency is tempered by a high sense of responsibility to others (his family, his hometown, his country).

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I agree. I'll just assume that in this case narcissism means, that you are aware of the positive aspects of your personality and also the great abilities you possess. When you operate at the level of a top athlete, there should be no need for understatement. On the contrary, it's probably better when you're able to say "I'm really good at this and I know that I can do this".
So, I guess I just decided not to hear high-level narcissist in a bad way, but to hear it as "having an enhanced sense of self-worth and self-confidence" (I'm pretty good at hearing what I want to hear )

~Pamina~ said:

I agree. I'll just assume that in this case narcissism means, that you are aware of the positive aspects of your personality and also the great abilities you possess. When you operate at the level of a top athlete, there should be no need for understatement. On the contrary, it's probably better when you're able to say "I'm really good at this and I know that I can do this".
So, I guess I just decided not to hear high-level narcissist in a bad way, but to hear it as "having an enhanced sense of self-worth and self-confidence" (I'm pretty good at hearing what I want to hear )

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I would say that some much more prosaic, old fashioned "liking to be at the center of the attention, to have all the eyes concentrated on you" kind of narcissism while in real life has also his disadvantage, in sport, especially in a sport like figure skating where you need to engage a spectator for quite some time, is fundamental...

jace93 said:

I would say that some much more prosaic, old fashioned "liking to be at the center of the attention, to have all the eyes concentrated on you" kind of narcissism while in real life has also his disadvantage, in sport, especially in a sport like figure skating where you need to engage a spectator for quite some time, is fundamental...

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yup, I agree, I'd say that's pretty much essential for the performance aspect of this sport. You can't really expect the people to care about your performance if you yourself don't look like you are willing to put on a show, but just go through the motions. (but that goes for pretty much every performance of any kind)

mikaboo said:

No, Mr. Aoshima didn't mention anything about Peak Performance's influence on Yuzuru. But then again, maybe he "forgot" to mention it
I've translated some other things related to Yuzuru from the article below. I have a very short concentration span.

Mr. Aoshima has been a therapist for a lot of Japanese figure skaters for a long time (the first being Shin Amano) and Yuzuru has gone to see him since he first landed in Toronto 2 years ago. He does maintenance work on Yuzuru everyday as an exclusive massage therapist and accompanies him to competitions. He is also registered as a massage therapist for JSF and JOC.
He spends a lot of time with athletes so he is like a father figure to them in Toronto. He supports their mental state as well as physical health. According to Mr. Aoshima, taking the right nutrition, sleep and stress management are important factors to maintain the flow in the body. Team work is vital to achieve this ideal state so a psychiatrist may be necessary to manage stress and mental state, or conversing with athletes from other fields helps too. If you converse with athletes from your own sport only, you can probably understand and share the stress with each other, but this will not lead to any solution for progress. In Hanyu's case, he has found a new way to manage his stress and mental state by conversing with a skiing athlete and is currently doing practices based on the new discovery.
The article continues about the same logic applying for treatment for ordinary people also.

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Very interesting what this man do! Thanks for sharing mikaboo.

Yude! Thanks so much for the translation. I feel the same about his FS, those mistakes give him the will to improve more and also give him motivation.

^ No problem Hanmgse!

I just realized that Mr. Aoshima has his own column in the magazine on p59.
http://issuu.com/tomeko/docs/vol35_062014/59?e=3374392/8058980

This is the rough translation. He writes in first person, but I couldn't be bothered fixing it half way through.

During his career of performing therapy on athletes, Mr. Aoshima has seen many cases where the root of the problem in their physical conditions comes from things that the athletes themselves do not even realize because they've been shielding the problem with perseverance and hard work at the expense of overworking their bodies and minds only to end up with worst case scenarios. Without self-analysis, and listening to people other than themselves, the athletes tend to overlook the things that need to be tended to, and end up with injuries.
Athletes are faced not only with the problems of the physical conditions, but also with various stress factors such as the environment in which they live, human relations, etc. After realizing this, a treatment plan was established by looking at the problems from various angles and a style was formed where specialists from other fields were brought in at necessity for support and advice.
He introduces the team that has been supporting the Japanese athletes training in Toronto, dubbed the KOB50. KOB50 has worked together for 7 Olympians in the past 20 years, 5 Olympic Games, and the 7th athlete achieved the OGM. KOB50 stands for Kin Medal Otasuke Brothers (Brothers to help achieve the gold medal) in their 50s.

1) Real Estate Agent: He is the man who Hanyu relies on the most as a father figure in Toronto. He helped Hanyu find a house despite all the restrictions of living in a foreign land with a visa and acts as a body guard as he became more famous. He advises Hanyu about the practical side of life and acts also as a chauffeur from time to time.
2) Athlete from another sport: He has been teaching Hanyu about sportsmanship for the past 2 years and helped him overcome the slump. Hanyu appreciates his teachings very much for helping him find the starting point for his practices even after winning the OGM.
3) Psychiatrist: Advises him on controlling the psychological ups and downs, and relied on as a healer since athletes are always under tremendous amounts of stress.
4) Acupuncture practitioner/Massage therapist: He is the man behind the scenes that Mr. Aoshima shares information such as Hanyu's physical condition so he can act in Mr. Aoshima's stead when his schedule doesn't work with Hanyu's or in urgent cases.

Maria Victoria said:

Thanks mikaboo! First link worked for me (but not the second), and I contented myself looking at the pictures of Mr. Aoshima with not just Yuzuru but also Nobunari and Takahiko. Is there anything in the accompanying Japanese article that you think we should know?

Noriaki Kasai's a ski jumper so close enough. Yuzuru didn't mention Peak Performance?

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Now that I found about KOB50, I think it's this man.
2) Athlete from another sport: He has been teaching Hanyu about sportsmanship for the past 2 years and helped him overcome the slump. Hanyu appreciates his teachings very much for helping him find the starting point for his practices even after winning the OGM.

mikaboo said:

I just realized that Mr. Aoshima has his own column in the magazine on p59.
http://issuu.com/tomeko/docs/vol35_062014/59?e=3374392/8058980.

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Thank mikaboo so much for information to clarify my longtime confusion. I finally understand what Yuzu exactly said in Nakano's interview last June.

Despite of good communications with people of Cricket club in most of time, Yuzu still feels gentle sadness in English life. Fortunately, his mother is along with him and supporting people in Toroto who take care of his health management and other affairs are Japanese, thus eliminating a little sadness in language barrier. (This should be the people you mention above - Mr. Aoshima & KOB50)

I am much interested in the ecosystem of Japanese figure skating industry including their skater’s career development, overseas and locally. Your information provides another piece of the puzzle in whole picture. Thanks! :thumbsup:

mikaboo said:

I just realized that Mr. Aoshima has his own column in the magazine on p59.
http://issuu.com/tomeko/docs/vol35_062014/59?e=3374392/8058980

This is the rough translation. He writes in first person, but I couldn't be bothered fixing it half way through.

During his career of performing therapy on athletes, Mr. Aoshima has seen many cases where the root of the problem in their physical conditions comes from things that the athletes themselves do not even realize because they've been shielding the problem with perseverance and hard work at the expense of overworking their bodies and minds only to end up with worst case scenarios. Without self-analysis, and listening to people other than themselves, the athletes tend to overlook the things that need to be tended to, and end up with injuries.
Athletes are faced not only with the problems of the physical conditions, but also with various stress factors such as the environment in which they live, human relations, etc. After realizing this, a treatment plan was established by looking at the problems from various angles and a style was formed where specialists from other fields were brought in at necessity for support and advice.
He introduces the team that has been supporting the Japanese athletes training in Toronto, dubbed the KOB50. KOB50 has worked together for 7 Olympians in the past 20 years, 5 Olympic Games, and the 7th athlete achieved the OGM. KOB50 stands for Kin Medal Otasuke Brothers (Brothers to help achieve the gold medal) in their 50s.

1) Real Estate Agent: He is the man who Hanyu relies on the most as a father figure in Toronto. He helped Hanyu find a house despite all the restrictions of living in a foreign land with a visa and acts as a body guard as he became more famous. He advises Hanyu about the practical side of life and acts also as a chauffeur from time to time.
2) Athlete from another sport: He has been teaching Hanyu about sportsmanship for the past 2 years and helped him overcome the slump. Hanyu appreciates his teachings very much for helping him find the starting point for his practices even after winning the OGM.
3) Psychiatrist: Advises him on controlling the psychological ups and downs, and relied on as a healer since athletes are always under tremendous amounts of stress.
4) Acupuncture practitioner/Massage therapist: He is the man behind the scenes that Mr. Aoshima shares information such as Hanyu's physical condition so he can act in Mr. Aoshima's stead when his schedule doesn't work with Hanyu's or in urgent cases.

Click to expand...

mikaboo said:

Now that I found about KOB50, I think it's this man.
2) Athlete from another sport: He has been teaching Hanyu about sportsmanship for the past 2 years and helped him overcome the slump. Hanyu appreciates his teachings very much for helping him find the starting point for his practices even after winning the OGM.

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Oh this is fascinating information mikaboo! It shows that it really takes a team (KOB50 in Yuzuru's case besides his TCCC coaching team) to produce an Olympic champion. Thanks again for your hard work in translating for us.

echotpe said:

I finally understand what Yuzu exactly said in Nakano's interview last June.

Despite of good communications with people of Cricket club in most of time, Yuzu still feels gentle sadness in English life. Fortunately his mother and supporting people in Toroto who take care of his health management and other affairs are Japanese, thus eliminating a little sadness in language barrier. (This should be the people you mention above - Mr. Aoshima & KOB50)

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It would be a miracle if that hint of sadness didn't exist because it's really hard to learn English when your mother language is significantly different (especially in Yuzu's case since his first language is Japanese).

A comparative example would be: someone from North America whose first language is purely English wanting to learn Mandarin. In this case, it would be more than difficult to become fluent. :think:

Despite the language barrier, I'm glad that Yuzu is doing/training well in Toronto.

yuzu has come back to Japan!

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/winter/20140601-OHT1T50257.html

^Hope we can be able to see a sneek peek of the new LP that Shae-Lynn Bourne choreographed in his upcoming ice shows.

So someone posted in tumblr that today is international childrens ´day. And this will be Yuzuru last year as a "kid", does Japan celebrate this day?

Yes, Japan celebrates Children's Day (Kodomo no Hi).

cruzceleste said:

So someone posted in tumblr that today is international childrens ´day. And this will be Yuzuru last year as a "kid", does Japan celebrate this day?

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Bonesfan said:

Yes, Japan celebrates Children's Day (Kodomo no Hi).

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But Japan's Children's day is on May 5th....

So, did he got a gift?

【news】The sales of Yuzu’s autobiography ranks top 4 in first half of 2014 in sports category.

Oricon, a famous marketing investigation company in Japan, today releases the latest book sales in first half of 2014.

Yuzu’s autobiography is ranked top 4 in sports category with 59 thousand copies. At same category, the top 1 is soccer player Yuto Nagatomo with 15.3 thousand copies. In the past of figure skating field, the highest rank of book sales was Dai with 14th place in 2012.

Yuzu’s autobiography “Blue flame” (Japanese edition) was published in April 2012 by Fusosha, a publishing company of Fujisankei Communications Group.
http://www.fusosha.co.jp/books/detail/670

Oricon aggregated on the basis of sales from 1,940 stores nationwide including web mail orders. The investigation period was from November 18, 2013 to May 18, 2014.