- Joined
- Dec 24, 2014
:hopelessness:
Javier Fernandez
- Thread starter matmuh
- Start date
:hopelessness:
Yeah, only excactly one month to the Europeans sp on Jan 17 and the freeskate on Jan 19...
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2014
Yeah, only excactly one month to the Europeans sp on Jan 17 and the freeskate on Jan 19...
Hope it's because of lack of pressure in the competition:noshake:
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2006
We woke up early before the entire city and made it to the rink before senior ice dance practice. The trouble was that it was not really open to the public, I guess, and the doors were closed and there was no one to open them. Luckily, one of the skaters and his family came and we managed to sneak in with them...
The senior guys took to the ice with junior pairs and got to do practice but no runthroughs. Javi was all good - he did not do any quads but everything else was just fine and dandy.
(We skipped all the comps until junior men to do some sightseeing - it's not as if any of us likely to come here any time soon... A nice romanesque church, 17th century fortress, minor bits of medieval buildings and probably a good many hiking paths around the city we did not have time to take.)
The same in the warm-up many hours later, no problems with any if the jumps. Things looked just fine.
This is beginning to be the story of this season (and also most of last season). Good SP and a mediocre/poor FS. They used the nationals as a testing ground once again - the 3Fcombo and the 3Lz had changed places. But that does not help much is the axels don't work and so on. The mood was pensive and dark.
I personally would like to change the tone of the conversation to something positive and hopeful, but it is a bit difficult at the moment, of course. I try to trust in Brian's ability and skills as a coach to find the solutions asap and Javi's resilience and happy character to get him over this by the time the FS will really start to count. It took them a while to get the 2 quad SP under control and they will get this unruly FS to work fir him!
E
The senior guys took to the ice with junior pairs and got to do practice but no runthroughs. Javi was all good - he did not do any quads but everything else was just fine and dandy.
(We skipped all the comps until junior men to do some sightseeing - it's not as if any of us likely to come here any time soon... A nice romanesque church, 17th century fortress, minor bits of medieval buildings and probably a good many hiking paths around the city we did not have time to take.)
The same in the warm-up many hours later, no problems with any if the jumps. Things looked just fine.
This is beginning to be the story of this season (and also most of last season). Good SP and a mediocre/poor FS. They used the nationals as a testing ground once again - the 3Fcombo and the 3Lz had changed places. But that does not help much is the axels don't work and so on. The mood was pensive and dark.
I personally would like to change the tone of the conversation to something positive and hopeful, but it is a bit difficult at the moment, of course. I try to trust in Brian's ability and skills as a coach to find the solutions asap and Javi's resilience and happy character to get him over this by the time the FS will really start to count. It took them a while to get the 2 quad SP under control and they will get this unruly FS to work fir him!
E
hey! it’s been a while since I last wrote, but, besides trying new things, you have to think that Javi just goes to nationals because he has to, but there’s no pressure there, just standing ovations, a pleased crowd, happy fans and lots of love and family time. so even though they try to take it seriously... i think they know they “cant”, and im sure javi just “gave up” on trying to do a perfect FS after the 2A and the quad fall. its not a competitive environment, its not the best rink, etc. so dont take this FS into account and dont get too worried. i have complete trust in our little boy and brian and im sure everything will work out fine [emoji1][emoji7]
What an intense 72 hours flying to Barcelona and then taking a road trip to Jaca and back for my very first nationals of any country! Really happy it was that of Spain, just in time to catch Javi's very likely last ever appearance on home ice! And what a treat it was, everything considered! If I hadn't taken the chance to see Javi as many times as possible with the end so close in sight, I would have regretted it forever.
First of all, seeing first hand the level of skating in Spain across the various disciplines and age groups in general really put it into context for me just how much of an alien Javi is in his own country. Please don't take this the wrong way. I don't intend to talk down on Spanish skating at all. It's the reality of the situation. Most of these skaters have no opportunity because they simply don't have the resources, the expertise or the facilities around them to achieve real development. There were promising skaters of course, but in general the singles discipline is pretty much a full jump rotation behind the more serious international level of the respective age groups. And then there's Javi, who, with a combination of luck, determination, sacrifice and pure talent, somehow broke out and now stands so high above that is difficult to put into words.
And of course everyone there treats him accordingly. Javi is very popular wherever he goes but it was wonderful to see what a rock star he is at his own nationals. The buzz going around the stands anytime he was sighted in the shadows by the ice, waiting his turn to practice or compete. The cheers following his every single move during warmup. The stands being so full, in Jaca of all places, a tiny town far away from any major city, that the French federation for example can't even imagine at an international event! (Looking at you, Grenoble...) The people hanging off the railings to get a glimpse of him and take a picture as he was waiting for his scores in the K&C. Or Javi quite understandably having to use some back entrance during competitions instead of the regular one leading directly into the crowds in the main foyer, otherwise he would likely have been mobbed. Still, he had to be asked by security to finally stop signing autographs for people in the stands handing stuff down to him through the railings at the end of the competition because they had to empty the building.
Rather interesting however that the federation thought it was a smart idea to schedule senior men FS practice for Saturday late evening, an hour or so AFTER they competed in the SP. Apparently when the skaters asked to allow for practice sometime on Sunday morning instead, they were given an ice time of 20 minutes which they had to share with 3 pairs, resulting in Javi and the other two guys having to navigate around the pairs doing their throws and lifts. They didn't even get to do any runthroughs because the federation clearly didn't think it appropriate to simply delay the schedule they were never able keep to anyways, to grant proper practice opportunity for the two guys fighting for the 2nd Olympic berth AND Javier &#!$ Fernandez, their 2 time world champion and arguably biggest name in the entire country's winter sport history.
Then there was the competition itself of course, with a wonderful SP from Javi yet again, despite that fluke stumble just before the spin. Seeing it from the back was a whole new experience, because of course some key moves are choreographed for the judges side, but while those had less emphasis this way without seeing his face, it also showed just how much Javi uses his whole body to communicate the music and the character. And of course the FS, not so wonderful again, and visibly a disappointment for both Javi and Brian. I can't quite make sense of what's going on with his FS, so I can only trust Brian and hope that they will be able to sort out whatever is going on in Javi's mind. And also who knows what else may have contributed? For one, the arena was completely unheated and it was incredibly cold inside. The 10-11 °C on Saturday went down even more, to 8-9 only by Sunday, after a really chilly night. As everyone else, Javi was also struggling to keep himself warm as he was waiting for his turn to skate, rubbing his hands, massaging his thighs. That must have been tough. Also, Jaca is quite high above sea level, and it would make sense for that to take its toll during the FS in particular. In any case, Javi was clearly fighting for breath, and by the time he got to his step sequence he looked close to keeling over. I've never seen him so exhausted in the K&C. He was really struggling to pull himself together, whenever he wasn't asked to smile for the official photographers anyway. (I have a really funny series of shots of him looking dead, then cracking a smile for the cameras with Brian, and then looking dead again.
) Luckily Gangneung is close to sea level, so if the altitude was indeed an issue now, that shouldn't be a factor at the Olympics for example.
I was really hoping for a good FS for Javi after everything that's been going on this season. Not a perfect one of course, but something that would be an undeniable step upward. That clearly didn't happen. Still, after the dust had settled I felt it was a bit less of a downer compared to Grenoble. Seeing the state he was in, 2nd half mistakes were bound to happen. But he also hit some nice things, like the 3Lo with the glorious entry and exit, and his 3Lz continues to be rock solid. But I hope he never does that silly thing again, aborting his Lo-S combo after the 3F and tagging it on the 3Lz instead. He was lucky the panel here was obviously forgiving and didn't count that aborted attempt as a 1Lo and then invalidate the back end of his actual combination. I do find his 1st 3A slightly worrying though. That comes quite early in the program so can't be explained by any stamina issue, and he has now made his first mistake on it a couple of times which then led to more mistakes. I hope that doesn't become a trend. But to focus on the positives as well, Javi really is on an incredible roll with his SP for a good year now. Excluding the stomach bug inflicted COC disaster, he has basically been doing good to absolutely marvelous SPs since last year's nationals. If he can keep that going, it can be a major advantage for Javi against a lot of the top guys.
And finally, getting Danny Boy during the gala was a special treat too, this time in full light instead of the usual darkened arena. It was really interesting to see because while it didn't have the intimacy which darkness naturally provides, it actually put on perfect display how incredibly smooth and light his skating and how gentle his movement is.
First of all, seeing first hand the level of skating in Spain across the various disciplines and age groups in general really put it into context for me just how much of an alien Javi is in his own country. Please don't take this the wrong way. I don't intend to talk down on Spanish skating at all. It's the reality of the situation. Most of these skaters have no opportunity because they simply don't have the resources, the expertise or the facilities around them to achieve real development. There were promising skaters of course, but in general the singles discipline is pretty much a full jump rotation behind the more serious international level of the respective age groups. And then there's Javi, who, with a combination of luck, determination, sacrifice and pure talent, somehow broke out and now stands so high above that is difficult to put into words.
And of course everyone there treats him accordingly. Javi is very popular wherever he goes but it was wonderful to see what a rock star he is at his own nationals. The buzz going around the stands anytime he was sighted in the shadows by the ice, waiting his turn to practice or compete. The cheers following his every single move during warmup. The stands being so full, in Jaca of all places, a tiny town far away from any major city, that the French federation for example can't even imagine at an international event! (Looking at you, Grenoble...) The people hanging off the railings to get a glimpse of him and take a picture as he was waiting for his scores in the K&C. Or Javi quite understandably having to use some back entrance during competitions instead of the regular one leading directly into the crowds in the main foyer, otherwise he would likely have been mobbed. Still, he had to be asked by security to finally stop signing autographs for people in the stands handing stuff down to him through the railings at the end of the competition because they had to empty the building.
Rather interesting however that the federation thought it was a smart idea to schedule senior men FS practice for Saturday late evening, an hour or so AFTER they competed in the SP. Apparently when the skaters asked to allow for practice sometime on Sunday morning instead, they were given an ice time of 20 minutes which they had to share with 3 pairs, resulting in Javi and the other two guys having to navigate around the pairs doing their throws and lifts. They didn't even get to do any runthroughs because the federation clearly didn't think it appropriate to simply delay the schedule they were never able keep to anyways, to grant proper practice opportunity for the two guys fighting for the 2nd Olympic berth AND Javier &#!$ Fernandez, their 2 time world champion and arguably biggest name in the entire country's winter sport history.
Then there was the competition itself of course, with a wonderful SP from Javi yet again, despite that fluke stumble just before the spin. Seeing it from the back was a whole new experience, because of course some key moves are choreographed for the judges side, but while those had less emphasis this way without seeing his face, it also showed just how much Javi uses his whole body to communicate the music and the character. And of course the FS, not so wonderful again, and visibly a disappointment for both Javi and Brian. I can't quite make sense of what's going on with his FS, so I can only trust Brian and hope that they will be able to sort out whatever is going on in Javi's mind. And also who knows what else may have contributed? For one, the arena was completely unheated and it was incredibly cold inside. The 10-11 °C on Saturday went down even more, to 8-9 only by Sunday, after a really chilly night. As everyone else, Javi was also struggling to keep himself warm as he was waiting for his turn to skate, rubbing his hands, massaging his thighs. That must have been tough. Also, Jaca is quite high above sea level, and it would make sense for that to take its toll during the FS in particular. In any case, Javi was clearly fighting for breath, and by the time he got to his step sequence he looked close to keeling over. I've never seen him so exhausted in the K&C. He was really struggling to pull himself together, whenever he wasn't asked to smile for the official photographers anyway. (I have a really funny series of shots of him looking dead, then cracking a smile for the cameras with Brian, and then looking dead again.
) Luckily Gangneung is close to sea level, so if the altitude was indeed an issue now, that shouldn't be a factor at the Olympics for example.I was really hoping for a good FS for Javi after everything that's been going on this season. Not a perfect one of course, but something that would be an undeniable step upward. That clearly didn't happen. Still, after the dust had settled I felt it was a bit less of a downer compared to Grenoble. Seeing the state he was in, 2nd half mistakes were bound to happen. But he also hit some nice things, like the 3Lo with the glorious entry and exit, and his 3Lz continues to be rock solid. But I hope he never does that silly thing again, aborting his Lo-S combo after the 3F and tagging it on the 3Lz instead. He was lucky the panel here was obviously forgiving and didn't count that aborted attempt as a 1Lo and then invalidate the back end of his actual combination. I do find his 1st 3A slightly worrying though. That comes quite early in the program so can't be explained by any stamina issue, and he has now made his first mistake on it a couple of times which then led to more mistakes. I hope that doesn't become a trend. But to focus on the positives as well, Javi really is on an incredible roll with his SP for a good year now. Excluding the stomach bug inflicted COC disaster, he has basically been doing good to absolutely marvelous SPs since last year's nationals. If he can keep that going, it can be a major advantage for Javi against a lot of the top guys.
And finally, getting Danny Boy during the gala was a special treat too, this time in full light instead of the usual darkened arena. It was really interesting to see because while it didn't have the intimacy which darkness naturally provides, it actually put on perfect display how incredibly smooth and light his skating and how gentle his movement is.
Segments of Javi's meet and greet which took place in Barcelona last Friday just before nationals has shown up on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izMxNR2uXgM
I think I'm getting maybe a third of what's being said, but it's difficult, for me at least, with the uneven and echoing audio. Could a Spanish speaker come to the rescue and be so wonderful to summarize what Javi says?
I think I'm getting maybe a third of what's being said, but it's difficult, for me at least, with the uneven and echoing audio. Could a Spanish speaker come to the rescue and be so wonderful to summarize what Javi says?
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2017
I feel summoned
Of course!
Until 2:15 she explains that she's brought a skate and a book to be signed, like many of the people there. They're just excited and wondering where is he going to come from.
Then someone introduces Javi.
"How are you?"
(General answer) "fine!!"
"Yeah? Have you been waiting for a long time for us?"
"A little bit. But we forgive you, don't worry!"
(He laughs)
[[[To do this translation I've added the captions under the video, that are not formules exactly like questions...sorry about it.]]]
/There's a cut here
Question/topic: About his experience, in general
Javier: "...Then I realized you have to make sacrifices —and then it wasn't a hobby anymore. It was more of a profession: something that of course you have to do. Thus there are many other things you have to renounce to in order to progress. To keep getting better, and be focused... You can't keep on going out with your friends, you can't... You always have to set aside many things to continue with something such as a high performance sport. Of course, it hasn't been easy. To be away from home, without your family, without friends, in the end you have to learn how to live on your own —I have lived nine years away from Spain, and of those nine years... (Pause) pfff, I think no year has been an easy one. No year."
Question/topic: Preparation during a competition.
Javier: "I go to the ice rink approximately one hour and a half before I have to do the six-minute warm-up. And I do my warm up for around forty five minutes before putting my skates on. So we do those forty five minutes, we get into the ice and we have already warmed up, so it's easier to do the elements when you're warm, and in five minutes you're usually done. But you don't have any room for error. If you make any mistakes in the warm up, it is such a small amount of time (due to the TV) that... You can end up with too little time. It has happened to me before in competition: I haven't been able to do all the elements because I've made a mistake in a few jumps and you're left with things you haven't been able to try.
Then when we finish those seconds of warm up we go inside, to the changing rooms or that kind of spaces. And if we're the last ones to skate we have to remain all that time, that can be up to fifty minutes, still warmed up. So it isn't just four minutes of the program, it's almost three hours. Because you need to keep yourself warm; first the general warm-up, then on the ice...and then you need to keep yourself that way while waiting. It's crazy, it's crazy. And you're always thinking about going out to compete, of course."
Question/topic: The ice can turn against you.
Javier: "Ice is slippery. It can have holes, or a line. And if you get into that line then you lose, because it can get you somewhere you don't want to. So you have to be ready for everything, and if there's something that affects you... That's the sport" (laughs) "Even if it's not your fault. There's nothing you can do."
Question: "About the mental preparation, that's the most important thing for you, right? What happens in your head in those moments? Are there any techniques you use for focusing, before training? If you make a mistake, for example in the warm up, do you have any means to... Because that kind of thing can hurt... Even if it's before the performance, if you didn't do that great or... At the mental level, I'd be really interested to know what do you do"
Answer: " the most important thing, specially in a competition —and even in your sport trajectory, but that's more difficult since it's much more time— is to keep yourself... Hmm, how to put this into words... It's not exactly happy, it's confident in yourself. Even if something happened. Even if you fell, even if something didn't go your way, or if practice that morning wasn't good. Our brains are really important and you really need to keep that kind of thinking. What does it have to do with now what I did this morning? Why should a jump have a say in the jump that comes next?"
Question: "do you have those kind of days where you get up and you're like "I really don't want to go to train today"? How do you motivate yourself those days?"
Answer: "Of course. You could have taken that for granted. There's even days where if I really don't feel good, if my body is really protesting against it... I have a really good relationship with my coach, and I push myself. Whenever I go to training I give my all to practice. And he knows it. So if I wake up and I'm like "not today. Today I really, really, can't train. I'm not going to train" I phone him or write him a text and I tell him "I'm getting the weekend ahead of time"... And then on Saturday or Sunday I'll go to train. Why? Because if I'm not on it, if I'm moody, or I don't feel great or I'm tired, then I can go to practice and fall and injure myself. It's not going to be as productive as it should be. So sometimes I do push myself and convince myself "No, come on, you do have to go", because maybe we have a competition coming up in a week, and I can't be pushing around practice times, but other times I do talk to my coach and ask him."
Question: "What kind of routine do you follow? Both daily and weekly. And... Does Brian still need to push you a lot, or is he there mostly for support, now?"
Answer: "Routine... Well, I usually train two or three daily trainings, for an hour. For those not linked to the skating world —trainings are usually that short and then we have a break and another hour, so we don't get cold and we can keep a good productivity —we need to be warm to be able to do that. Nowadays we're training usually in the mornings, around 12 am. This days have been 8am-8,30am... And then around 3pm or 4pm we're done, and I've got the rest of the day free."
question (same girl): But that's only the ice time, or...? Do you have any external activities?"
answer: "No, I was counting everything there. Usually three days a week I will do also off ice training —I go to the gym once a week to do weights, and also torso exercises... I had an injury a while ago and I need to be careful, take care of myself. I also do cardio: bike, running. The other days I do cardio on ice, doing laps around the rink and controlling my heart rate and stuff. That's all outside of the usual training, it's pretty simple. That's all. Then I go home and do little else. It's Canada, I don't have that many people. And even less in Winter, of course. What was the other question...?"
"If Brian still needed to push you around... ? I mean, is it only when you fall or ...? I don't know how those things work"
"There's sometimes that he needs to. Usually I'm totally on it, and it's myself the one who is prepared and decided to do all I need to, but there are moments where of course, he needs to. That's why we have a coach. He needs to show his hand and push you when you're feeling a bit more lazy or you don't have that much want to train that day"
"But is he the one that chooses what to do or is it you?."
"It's him, it's him. It's him who says I need to do this or that like it or not. It can be something you end up doing good or not, but even then. The trainings are in the end planned by the coach"
Question/topic: What does he miss about Spain
Javier: "The things I miss the most... It's everything. The Sun, the weather, the food, the terraces... It's a silly thing, you'll say, they are terraces. But well, in Canada there are no terraces" (laughs)
Around 13:29 someone asks "where does the impulse come from" (in a flip) and he does a small practical explanation —from the bend of the knees, he says, more or less.
Question: " how does your coach deal with training both you and Yuzuru?"
Answer: "Well... He does good, he runs it quite well."
Question (interrupting) "But, like, with the choreographies and stuff..."
Answer: "Picture Messi and Ronaldo sharing a coach, but, like, in different teams. It's weird, it's a bit weird. It's good. It creates a interesting training, that reaches really high levels of difficulty. It serves us and also the people around us."
Question/topic: is it dangerous to leave your skates unattended.
Javier: "The skates are the tool we use. And if something happens to them we can't do anything about it. We can't use anyone else's skates, we can't use any new ones —you need to break them beforehand. If something happens to your skates... You'll probably be unable to compete. You could try, such as some people have tried, but it never turns out good. Because everyone of us has a different way of walking, of stepping, a different shape of the foot... what happens if... It's been a long time since this happened, but if someone dislikes you and you leave your skates unattended in the changing room, and no one knows who's going to be...they don't want to lose could damage the edges, and if you get into the ice... It's been a long time since something like this happened, but it could.
Question: "have you ever had a long-term injury? Because I've been four months out of the ice and I don't even know how to deal with it"
Answer: "No, I've been lucky. I've had a week, maybe two weeks ... And I'm also the type of person to skate even when something is hurting. Even if I have a problem I prefer to continue instead of stopping completely. I don't know why. I've been scolded for doing that, actually. But...like, I know how to skate. It hurts, but I can skate. But even then I'm usually careful with my body —if I'm tired.... When I'm tired, why should I do... If I've already done the long program, with I don't even know how many jumps, and then in training the coach asks me for another jump, then I'm like "no, look, my legs are dead..." And maybe I could do it —but I could have a bad fall and injure myself.
Question: So... I do know the news, and even if I'm sad about it I have to ask —you're going to retire and then what? More events type Revolution on Ice? Are you going to create a school, like Plushenko did?"
Answer: "About retirement... I want to finish this season and see what happens. It depends on how I'm feeling. Of what I want... That's something I have to decide."
Question: "but like... Tell us a little something that would you happy?"
Answer: "yes, yes, of course. I like exhibitions. And we have created in Madrid last Christmas a show that we want to conserve, maybe bring to other places like Barcelona as well. It's a very beautiful project that we really like. I, as you said, would also like to do like Plushenko in the future and create a school. Where? We don't know yet. I can't take that kind of project until I'm ready. I can't create a school with kids if I'm going every month to do exhibits to Japon. Like what would I have with the kids? It's something you need to... Build. And where, well. Maybe here in Barcelona, maybe in Madrid, in Granada...in Italy, I don't know. I'd like to do it here, but who knows. And, what else. Exhibitions, I want to them for a while. We also have an association about events, in general, also summer camps, for maybe a weeks of intensive training —i'd like to be able to help other people achieve a lot of things. We have a lot of ideas in mind, we'll see what comes out of it."
Question/topic: "Skating isn't a sport or it is for girls"
Javier: "It also happened to me when I was a kid, with the other boys or the hockey kids, or in school. But in the end it's what you like to do. And also we'll see that society is also changing. It's also still a sport —if someone wants to do sport,... well, they'll do it. And I've done a lot of sports and skating is really hard on the body. And look how in birthdays everyone goes to skate! That kind of mentality it's something that we want to change"
Question: "what's the thing in the sport that you really like and you could repeat again and again"
Answer: "My favorite things are choreographies. And I can be at home and I'm just running around my program, and then I find a mirror and I'm like "oh, let's see what can I do here" [mimics, the people laugh]. For real. We're lucky as well that the rink I train at has mirrors. So you're skating and watching yourself, and that's good. When I don't know what to do I look at the choreographies and I try to improve the expression. Because we sometimes don't know what we are doing. Then we watch ourselves and are like: "what?" And that's something I can improve, and it helps me. But yeah, at home I'm just doing my thing sometimes and running my program" [laughs]
Then they do to the photo booth and stuff. They tell him they're going to Worlds, etc. I don't think there's anything else left to translate? I hope this helps!
(Edited for formatting. I know it's kinda weird, mostly because there are cuts in the interviews on parts where they omit the question, and it's only in the description. I've put those under "question/topic" to differentiate them from when I've actually translated the question).
Of course!
Until 2:15 she explains that she's brought a skate and a book to be signed, like many of the people there. They're just excited and wondering where is he going to come from.
Then someone introduces Javi.
"How are you?"
(General answer) "fine!!"
"Yeah? Have you been waiting for a long time for us?"
"A little bit. But we forgive you, don't worry!"
(He laughs)
[[[To do this translation I've added the captions under the video, that are not formules exactly like questions...sorry about it.]]]
/There's a cut here
Question/topic: About his experience, in general
Javier: "...Then I realized you have to make sacrifices —and then it wasn't a hobby anymore. It was more of a profession: something that of course you have to do. Thus there are many other things you have to renounce to in order to progress. To keep getting better, and be focused... You can't keep on going out with your friends, you can't... You always have to set aside many things to continue with something such as a high performance sport. Of course, it hasn't been easy. To be away from home, without your family, without friends, in the end you have to learn how to live on your own —I have lived nine years away from Spain, and of those nine years... (Pause) pfff, I think no year has been an easy one. No year."
Question/topic: Preparation during a competition.
Javier: "I go to the ice rink approximately one hour and a half before I have to do the six-minute warm-up. And I do my warm up for around forty five minutes before putting my skates on. So we do those forty five minutes, we get into the ice and we have already warmed up, so it's easier to do the elements when you're warm, and in five minutes you're usually done. But you don't have any room for error. If you make any mistakes in the warm up, it is such a small amount of time (due to the TV) that... You can end up with too little time. It has happened to me before in competition: I haven't been able to do all the elements because I've made a mistake in a few jumps and you're left with things you haven't been able to try.
Then when we finish those seconds of warm up we go inside, to the changing rooms or that kind of spaces. And if we're the last ones to skate we have to remain all that time, that can be up to fifty minutes, still warmed up. So it isn't just four minutes of the program, it's almost three hours. Because you need to keep yourself warm; first the general warm-up, then on the ice...and then you need to keep yourself that way while waiting. It's crazy, it's crazy. And you're always thinking about going out to compete, of course."
Question/topic: The ice can turn against you.
Javier: "Ice is slippery. It can have holes, or a line. And if you get into that line then you lose, because it can get you somewhere you don't want to. So you have to be ready for everything, and if there's something that affects you... That's the sport" (laughs) "Even if it's not your fault. There's nothing you can do."
Question: "About the mental preparation, that's the most important thing for you, right? What happens in your head in those moments? Are there any techniques you use for focusing, before training? If you make a mistake, for example in the warm up, do you have any means to... Because that kind of thing can hurt... Even if it's before the performance, if you didn't do that great or... At the mental level, I'd be really interested to know what do you do"
Answer: " the most important thing, specially in a competition —and even in your sport trajectory, but that's more difficult since it's much more time— is to keep yourself... Hmm, how to put this into words... It's not exactly happy, it's confident in yourself. Even if something happened. Even if you fell, even if something didn't go your way, or if practice that morning wasn't good. Our brains are really important and you really need to keep that kind of thinking. What does it have to do with now what I did this morning? Why should a jump have a say in the jump that comes next?"
Question: "do you have those kind of days where you get up and you're like "I really don't want to go to train today"? How do you motivate yourself those days?"
Answer: "Of course. You could have taken that for granted. There's even days where if I really don't feel good, if my body is really protesting against it... I have a really good relationship with my coach, and I push myself. Whenever I go to training I give my all to practice. And he knows it. So if I wake up and I'm like "not today. Today I really, really, can't train. I'm not going to train" I phone him or write him a text and I tell him "I'm getting the weekend ahead of time"... And then on Saturday or Sunday I'll go to train. Why? Because if I'm not on it, if I'm moody, or I don't feel great or I'm tired, then I can go to practice and fall and injure myself. It's not going to be as productive as it should be. So sometimes I do push myself and convince myself "No, come on, you do have to go", because maybe we have a competition coming up in a week, and I can't be pushing around practice times, but other times I do talk to my coach and ask him."
Question: "What kind of routine do you follow? Both daily and weekly. And... Does Brian still need to push you a lot, or is he there mostly for support, now?"
Answer: "Routine... Well, I usually train two or three daily trainings, for an hour. For those not linked to the skating world —trainings are usually that short and then we have a break and another hour, so we don't get cold and we can keep a good productivity —we need to be warm to be able to do that. Nowadays we're training usually in the mornings, around 12 am. This days have been 8am-8,30am... And then around 3pm or 4pm we're done, and I've got the rest of the day free."
question (same girl): But that's only the ice time, or...? Do you have any external activities?"
answer: "No, I was counting everything there. Usually three days a week I will do also off ice training —I go to the gym once a week to do weights, and also torso exercises... I had an injury a while ago and I need to be careful, take care of myself. I also do cardio: bike, running. The other days I do cardio on ice, doing laps around the rink and controlling my heart rate and stuff. That's all outside of the usual training, it's pretty simple. That's all. Then I go home and do little else. It's Canada, I don't have that many people. And even less in Winter, of course. What was the other question...?"
"If Brian still needed to push you around... ? I mean, is it only when you fall or ...? I don't know how those things work"
"There's sometimes that he needs to. Usually I'm totally on it, and it's myself the one who is prepared and decided to do all I need to, but there are moments where of course, he needs to. That's why we have a coach. He needs to show his hand and push you when you're feeling a bit more lazy or you don't have that much want to train that day"
"But is he the one that chooses what to do or is it you?."
"It's him, it's him. It's him who says I need to do this or that like it or not. It can be something you end up doing good or not, but even then. The trainings are in the end planned by the coach"
Question/topic: What does he miss about Spain
Javier: "The things I miss the most... It's everything. The Sun, the weather, the food, the terraces... It's a silly thing, you'll say, they are terraces. But well, in Canada there are no terraces" (laughs)
Around 13:29 someone asks "where does the impulse come from" (in a flip) and he does a small practical explanation —from the bend of the knees, he says, more or less.
Question: " how does your coach deal with training both you and Yuzuru?"
Answer: "Well... He does good, he runs it quite well."
Question (interrupting) "But, like, with the choreographies and stuff..."
Answer: "Picture Messi and Ronaldo sharing a coach, but, like, in different teams. It's weird, it's a bit weird. It's good. It creates a interesting training, that reaches really high levels of difficulty. It serves us and also the people around us."
Question/topic: is it dangerous to leave your skates unattended.
Javier: "The skates are the tool we use. And if something happens to them we can't do anything about it. We can't use anyone else's skates, we can't use any new ones —you need to break them beforehand. If something happens to your skates... You'll probably be unable to compete. You could try, such as some people have tried, but it never turns out good. Because everyone of us has a different way of walking, of stepping, a different shape of the foot... what happens if... It's been a long time since this happened, but if someone dislikes you and you leave your skates unattended in the changing room, and no one knows who's going to be...they don't want to lose could damage the edges, and if you get into the ice... It's been a long time since something like this happened, but it could.
Question: "have you ever had a long-term injury? Because I've been four months out of the ice and I don't even know how to deal with it"
Answer: "No, I've been lucky. I've had a week, maybe two weeks ... And I'm also the type of person to skate even when something is hurting. Even if I have a problem I prefer to continue instead of stopping completely. I don't know why. I've been scolded for doing that, actually. But...like, I know how to skate. It hurts, but I can skate. But even then I'm usually careful with my body —if I'm tired.... When I'm tired, why should I do... If I've already done the long program, with I don't even know how many jumps, and then in training the coach asks me for another jump, then I'm like "no, look, my legs are dead..." And maybe I could do it —but I could have a bad fall and injure myself.
Question: So... I do know the news, and even if I'm sad about it I have to ask —you're going to retire and then what? More events type Revolution on Ice? Are you going to create a school, like Plushenko did?"
Answer: "About retirement... I want to finish this season and see what happens. It depends on how I'm feeling. Of what I want... That's something I have to decide."
Question: "but like... Tell us a little something that would you happy?"
Answer: "yes, yes, of course. I like exhibitions. And we have created in Madrid last Christmas a show that we want to conserve, maybe bring to other places like Barcelona as well. It's a very beautiful project that we really like. I, as you said, would also like to do like Plushenko in the future and create a school. Where? We don't know yet. I can't take that kind of project until I'm ready. I can't create a school with kids if I'm going every month to do exhibits to Japon. Like what would I have with the kids? It's something you need to... Build. And where, well. Maybe here in Barcelona, maybe in Madrid, in Granada...in Italy, I don't know. I'd like to do it here, but who knows. And, what else. Exhibitions, I want to them for a while. We also have an association about events, in general, also summer camps, for maybe a weeks of intensive training —i'd like to be able to help other people achieve a lot of things. We have a lot of ideas in mind, we'll see what comes out of it."
Question/topic: "Skating isn't a sport or it is for girls"
Javier: "It also happened to me when I was a kid, with the other boys or the hockey kids, or in school. But in the end it's what you like to do. And also we'll see that society is also changing. It's also still a sport —if someone wants to do sport,... well, they'll do it. And I've done a lot of sports and skating is really hard on the body. And look how in birthdays everyone goes to skate! That kind of mentality it's something that we want to change"
Question: "what's the thing in the sport that you really like and you could repeat again and again"
Answer: "My favorite things are choreographies. And I can be at home and I'm just running around my program, and then I find a mirror and I'm like "oh, let's see what can I do here" [mimics, the people laugh]. For real. We're lucky as well that the rink I train at has mirrors. So you're skating and watching yourself, and that's good. When I don't know what to do I look at the choreographies and I try to improve the expression. Because we sometimes don't know what we are doing. Then we watch ourselves and are like: "what?" And that's something I can improve, and it helps me. But yeah, at home I'm just doing my thing sometimes and running my program" [laughs]
Then they do to the photo booth and stuff. They tell him they're going to Worlds, etc. I don't think there's anything else left to translate? I hope this helps!
(Edited for formatting. I know it's kinda weird, mostly because there are cuts in the interviews on parts where they omit the question, and it's only in the description. I've put those under "question/topic" to differentiate them from when I've actually translated the question).
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2016
Here is a link to an article just published by Hielo Español, after a Javi's press conference at Consejo Superior de Deportes.
It's in spanish, I'll try to Post a translation as soon as I can.
HIELO ESPAÑOL - Javier Fernández - Noone put more pressure on me than myself but I'm ready to fight
It's in spanish, I'll try to Post a translation as soon as I can.
HIELO ESPAÑOL - Javier Fernández - Noone put more pressure on me than myself but I'm ready to fight
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2016
Translation courtesy of Google Translate
Javier Fernández “Noone put more pressure on me than myself, but I’m ready to fight”
Fifty days before the opening of the games, the Spaniard reviews the season and his options in Pyeongchang
Madrid, December 20, 2017- After conquering his eighth national title (the seventh in a row) last Sunday in Jaca, Javier Fernández is in Madrid these days to spend the Christmas holidays with his family before facing the three big dates of the season: the European Championship (in January), the Olympic Games (February) and the World Championship (March).
Exactly fifty days left until the opening of the winter games, the five-time European Figure Skating Champion has appeared this morning at a press conference in order to assess the latest competitions and, above all, his chances ahead of Pyeongchang. In this event, held at the Higher Sports Council, the Madrid native was accompanied by the president of the Spanish Federation of Ice Sports, Frank González and by the head of the CSD, José Ramón Lete.
Season with ups and downs but good
In his usual self-critical tone, Javier Fernández acknowledged that the season, for the moment, has had "ups and downs but is still good". "At the beginning I did a couple of good competitions (Autumn Classic and Japan Open), then I was not so fine (especially in the Chinese Cup where he accused stomach problems) and now we are going back up as shown with the short programs of the International Trophy of France and the Spanish Nationals, where I skated at a good level. This situation is normal because it is very difficult to be on the top tournament after tournament ".
On his non-qualification for the Grand Prix final, he made a surprising announcement. "Even if I had qualified, I would not have competed because my coaches (Brian Orser and Tracy Willson) had decided in advance, although I did not know, not to take part so that I could rest and train for the Olympic games that are the great goal". Before we will see him in the European Championship (Moscow) that faces in preparation for Pyeongchang, but also wanting to win his sixth consecutive gold medal to "try to continue making history in skating."
His strategy: polish the details
In front of a pleiad of younger rivals, many of which will include quadruples in greater quantity and difficulty, Javier Fernández will look for the Olympic medal with the same strategy of the last years. He will show exercises with a controlled difficulty, the one that can be performed entirety and, above all, he will polish all the details. "The key is to skate clean and present two programs with choreography and charisma, which tell a story from beginning to end."
Rivals there are many, says the Spanish. "We can highlight Shoma Uno, Yuzuru Hanyu (currently injured), Nathan Chen, Mikhail Kolyada, Sergei Voronov ... But we still have not faced each other this season, so you can not know who is stronger. I am older than many of them, which is both positive and negative. Good because you know how to deal with these stressful situations and bad because you are not so young and the expectations about you are very high. There is a lot of pressure, but the one that pressures me the most is myself, although I am ready to fight for everything in the games, the European and the World Cup. "
Many of my opponents, he points out, are going to risk a lot and that selfishly suits me because, the more they do it, the more they can fail although the opposite can also happen and their strategy may succeed. "That ambition means that this year we are seeing many falls and injuries," he adds.
His future projects
At the moment he does not speak of retirement, what is certain is that for next year the "Revolution on Ice" tour will return with three cities already signed. Bilbao, in November and, for December, Madrid and Barcelona. The format will be the same as the one seen last year at the Palacio de Vistalegre. A fusion of national and international artists with the best skaters in the world.
Frank González: "Skating is the only Olympic sport without a high performance center"
For his part, the President of the Spanish Federation of Ice Sports, Frank González stressed that "in skating there is a before and after the figure of Javier Fernandez whose successes have given glory to our country and media dimension to this discipline, but to continue growing, more rinks are needed. Skating is the only Olympic sport without a high performance center. "
To this affirmation, the top person in charge of the Superior Council of Sports, José Ramón Lete responded that until it does not count on an own ice rink in which Fernandez can teach to the new generations and in which the national team can train, it will be necessary to manage agreements with existing facilities in Madrid. Lete took the opportunity to congratulate Javier Fernández for his record and to thank him "for pursuing his dreams" that can lead him to conquer the third Spanish Olympic medal in the history of winter sports.
I feel summoned
Of course!
OMG!
You are incredible!!! Thank you so much! 
Really interesting stuff too! What he says about mental prep for example and how he handles mistakes and such. I'm also endlessly fascinated to hear about Javi's working dynamic with Brian. And you gotta love how he talks about practicing his choreography in front of the mirror.
Thank you for sharing this!! This piece of information is rather interesting and surprising.
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2017
Maybe they meant after the end results —when he ended up second reserve. It would have been too little time for preparation to have any kind of good result.
I don't think they had it planned from COC or France. I could be wrong, though, I guess.
I haven't found a link with the full interview with the CSD but here's a extract (x) (it includes a bit on how to "peak" at the right time) and some snippets of translations can be found here.
By the way, we got new eye-candy! Look how pretty and well edited this video is! He also uploaded this photo in his Instagram, with the caption "I want to dedicate my 8° Campeonato de España to my family, friends, fans and sponsors who help me day by day to keep fighting
"
Kinda surprised he didn't add Brian or the TCC but I guess that's kind of obvious
Btw, another thing that I didn't get to add about the National Competition is that it's amazing the improvement of the sport in such few years. Like, I know that for the seasoned fan the level wasn't amazing there —but still!!
And there are way more novice kids than juniors, not only because they drop the sport before reaching juniors (even if that can be a reason as well) but also because more children are joining skating schools, following Javier's example. I don't think it's a coincidence that his first club, la Nevera was the undoubtedly winner of the competition —they got 14 medals!
I know this in Russia wouldn't be such a big thing, but 36 female novice advance competitors? In Spain? That's absolutely amazing here. And with triples! (I actually quite enjoyed that performance, Sofía Val is such a expressive skater, I look forward to see how she will develop)
And much of this has been thanks to Javier. Promo work, summer camps, and overall bringing figure skating to the spotlight (even if it's just once a year, under the weather section of the newspaper, lol). Every year a bit more. All young skaters say he's their inspiration, and that's BIG!
It's kind of insane and I love it. I just wanted to share my two cents
I don't think they had it planned from COC or France. I could be wrong, though, I guess.
I haven't found a link with the full interview with the CSD but here's a extract (x) (it includes a bit on how to "peak" at the right time) and some snippets of translations can be found here.
By the way, we got new eye-candy! Look how pretty and well edited this video is! He also uploaded this photo in his Instagram, with the caption "I want to dedicate my 8° Campeonato de España to my family, friends, fans and sponsors who help me day by day to keep fighting
" Kinda surprised he didn't add Brian or the TCC but I guess that's kind of obvious
Btw, another thing that I didn't get to add about the National Competition is that it's amazing the improvement of the sport in such few years. Like, I know that for the seasoned fan the level wasn't amazing there —but still!!
And there are way more novice kids than juniors, not only because they drop the sport before reaching juniors (even if that can be a reason as well) but also because more children are joining skating schools, following Javier's example. I don't think it's a coincidence that his first club, la Nevera was the undoubtedly winner of the competition —they got 14 medals!
I know this in Russia wouldn't be such a big thing, but 36 female novice advance competitors? In Spain? That's absolutely amazing here. And with triples! (I actually quite enjoyed that performance, Sofía Val is such a expressive skater, I look forward to see how she will develop)
And much of this has been thanks to Javier. Promo work, summer camps, and overall bringing figure skating to the spotlight (even if it's just once a year, under the weather section of the newspaper, lol). Every year a bit more. All young skaters say he's their inspiration, and that's BIG!
It's kind of insane and I love it. I just wanted to share my two cents
Segments of Javi's meet and greet which took place in Barcelona last Friday just before nationals has shown up on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izMxNR2uXgM
I think I'm getting maybe a third of what's being said, but it's difficult, for me at least, with the uneven and echoing audio. Could a Spanish speaker come to the rescue and be so wonderful to summarize what Javi says?
I am so grateful for this thread because fellow Javi fans post articles & videos that I probably would not see otherwise. Wow, I am so envious of those very fortunate fans who were able to do a Q&A meet & greet with Javi in such an intimate setting. How many fans were in that room? It couldn't have been more than 20-25. Well, if I couldn't attend myself, at least one of the fans recorded the session and posted it in YouTube. Great video!!
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2006
Thanks for the translations - text is easy, but these listening excercises fill me with dread ;-) !
The turnout at the press conference seemed to be very good based on the photos, it was written up by many of the big medias (the main things came out in the article posted by Olibritt) and he spent some time giving also phone interviews, eg, Radiomarca.
The GPF statement about not going even if qualified is a bit baffling, especially if it was the plan to start with - why bother doing the GP series assignments, then? He would have needed a medical reason to refuse even a substitute assignment for the final (I guess they have a doctor on call for such a thing?!??)...
I agree with Mussique about the Spanish nationals in general, the quantity was amazing considering the short traditions even if great quality was not yet quite there in all disciplines. Some very promising youngsters there. There were many other nationals going on during the weekend and many of the junior and senior categories would have fared well in general European comparison. I checked the Spanish results against the Finnish ones and have to say that Finns (after all, a traditional winter sports nation!) lost in every front except in ladies. Spain has 3 spots for the Olympics in skating, Finland has none...
E
The turnout at the press conference seemed to be very good based on the photos, it was written up by many of the big medias (the main things came out in the article posted by Olibritt) and he spent some time giving also phone interviews, eg, Radiomarca.
The GPF statement about not going even if qualified is a bit baffling, especially if it was the plan to start with - why bother doing the GP series assignments, then? He would have needed a medical reason to refuse even a substitute assignment for the final (I guess they have a doctor on call for such a thing?!??)...
I agree with Mussique about the Spanish nationals in general, the quantity was amazing considering the short traditions even if great quality was not yet quite there in all disciplines. Some very promising youngsters there. There were many other nationals going on during the weekend and many of the junior and senior categories would have fared well in general European comparison. I checked the Spanish results against the Finnish ones and have to say that Finns (after all, a traditional winter sports nation!) lost in every front except in ladies. Spain has 3 spots for the Olympics in skating, Finland has none...
E
I found that Javi is going to take part of "Inocente, Inocente", a charity gala (organized by the "Inocente, Inocente" foundation). This year, is in favour of child cancer. For the ones who doesn't know, each year the famous invited to the gala are pranked, and the prank to Javi will consist in facing his most difficult spin (I believe in a figurative way, but who knows? ) and proving his innocence before the robbery of a art piece.
The gala will be aired the 28th December in La 1, hour to be determined yet, and will be streamed live online in La 1 web too.
Tbh is going to be my first time watching the gala (even when it has been done year after year since 1995) so I don't what to expect, but I will search in YouTube some jokes of another years.
Here the news if someone wants more info (and also knows spanish).
) and proving his innocence before the robbery of a art piece.The gala will be aired the 28th December in La 1, hour to be determined yet, and will be streamed live online in La 1 web too.
Tbh is going to be my first time watching the gala (even when it has been done year after year since 1995) so I don't what to expect, but I will search in YouTube some jokes of another years.
Here the news if someone wants more info (and also knows spanish).
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2014
I found that Javi is going to take part of "Inocente, Inocente", a charity gala (organized by the "Inocente, Inocente" foundation). This year, is in favour of child cancer. For the ones who doesn't know, each year the famous invited to the gala are pranked, and the prank to Javi will consist in facing his most difficult spin (I believe in a figurative way, but who knows?
The gala will be aired the 28th December in La 1, hour to be determined yet, and will be streamed live online in La 1 web too.
Tbh is going to be my first time watching the gala (even when it has been done year after year since 1995) so I don't what to expect, but I will search in YouTube some jokes of another years.
Here the news if someone wants more info (and also knows spanish).
Good news! Even if I miss the broadcasting time, I can find clips later on YouTube. I'm not a fan of gala shows in general, but well, this show will be different as Javi's possibly last year as a competitive skater.
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2017
eppen, wow, what you said about Finland sure is unexpected!
I think that quality will come in time —and frankly, not that much time! The quantity creates more competence, and thus the level goes up up up. Of course quality coaching is important as well —now that will take time. Most seniors train outside Spain.
Thanks for the Inocente Inocente info! I'm kind of dreading it/kind of excited about it. I get second hand embarrassment very easily so I hope they don't resort to that...
For those that don't know it, 28th of December in Spain is kind of like our April Fool's Day. The origin of the tradition's kind of morbid, TBH: it's called "day of the Innocents" in honor of the children supposedly killed in Bethlehem by Herod.
But most kids don't know that, it's just a day to pull pranks, get candy and have fun. When you pull a prank you say "Inocente, inocente", and that's where the name of the program comes from. Pranks on this day are called "inocentadas"
We'll see how this turns out!
I think that quality will come in time —and frankly, not that much time! The quantity creates more competence, and thus the level goes up up up. Of course quality coaching is important as well —now that will take time. Most seniors train outside Spain.
Thanks for the Inocente Inocente info! I'm kind of dreading it/kind of excited about it. I get second hand embarrassment very easily so I hope they don't resort to that...
For those that don't know it, 28th of December in Spain is kind of like our April Fool's Day. The origin of the tradition's kind of morbid, TBH: it's called "day of the Innocents" in honor of the children supposedly killed in Bethlehem by Herod.
But most kids don't know that, it's just a day to pull pranks, get candy and have fun. When you pull a prank you say "Inocente, inocente", and that's where the name of the program comes from. Pranks on this day are called "inocentadas"
We'll see how this turns out!
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