Shoma Uno

[rabidline]

There's a new interview with Demi-san! It's Part 1 of 4 parts, it sounds that he'll talk about Shoma among other topics.



Machine translation by Deep L:

How Figure Trainer Shinichi Demizu "Thinks with You, Not Pushes You"｜The People Who Color Figure Skating (Vol. 46)

A kiss and a cry for the strength of the relationship
The "kiss-and-cry," a space where the competitors wait for their scores to come in after their performances. Sitting there, athletes and coaches sometimes smile and sometimes cry out of joy, sometimes out of frustration. It is a familiar scene in figure skating.

At major competitions, the athletes and coaches usually sit there. Sometimes there are two players and two coaches, or even a player with two coaches.

But in the case of Shoma Uno, it is different. For example, at the World Championships held at Saitama Super Arena in March 2023. Uno in the middle, his coach Stéphane Lambiel on Uno's left. And sitting on his right was not his coach.

"I think this is probably the first time."

So says trainer Shinichi Demizu. As Demizu says, there has probably never been a case of a trainer sitting in the kiss-and-cry space, at least at major competitions.

But Demizu's presence next to Uno has been a familiar sight since the first kiss-and-cry at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. It is indicative of what Demizu's presence means to Uno.

It is, of course, not uncommon for athletes and trainers to develop a relationship of trust. Even assuming this, the strength of the relationship is evident in the kiss-and-cry.

They don't just push you around, they think about it with you.
This is symbolized by one comment Uno made about Demizu in an interview about a year after signing a contract with the company.

"I am glad I met you."

There were a number of reasons that made Uno feel this way.

One of them was Demizu's stance. Uno said, "Demizu made me feel good about myself.

He listens to what I'm feeling and then gives me advice. He doesn't just force his ideas on me, but thinks about them together with me. I liked that about him."

Uno had a trainer before meeting Demizu. However, he did not stick with it. That, too, suggests that he and Demizu are a good match.

People who are in a position to support others, not only trainers, but also those who have specialized knowledge, give advice based on that knowledge, and then take some practical action. This is natural.

However, Demizu says, "Most people probably don't have the time or the inclination to take the time to do the right thing.

Most people probably start with the word 'instruct' first," he said. If you know that this is the correct answer, you want the players to do the right thing, no matter what they do.

Demizu says he avoids this.

In my case, I offer them a choice. I say, "I think this is a good idea because of this situation, or there are other options. What do you do?" If the player says, "I won't do it," I won't do it, rather than saying that the correct answer is this. I think we should support them in their choice not to do it."

One of the reasons for this is that "independence is a way of thinking".

"The first year, I follow the players, the second year, I share information with them, and the third year, they gradually become independent and can do things on their own. Some of the players become professionals, while others go out into the world. They have their own choices and make firm decisions as they move forward. However, we believe that having someone accompany them all the time may cause them to become complacent, so we want them to become independent. Of course, if there is an offer, we will extend the contract."

He goes on to explain why.

"When you have medical knowledge, stereotypes definitely come into play. But I myself don't have that many stereotypes to begin with. The reason is that even if the current medical science says this is absolutely true, it changes. For example, in baseball, there was a time when pitchers were told not to cool their shoulders, but before long it was decided that it was better to cool them. Things change after all. I think that sometimes it is disrespectful to athletes to say, "This is the way to do it, based only on your own knowledge. Athletes devote their lives to their sport, and the points they have reached through their sport are something that they and the people around them have connected to. I don't want to cut that off easily."

I think that if the athlete is satisfied with the results, he or she will definitely do their best. I also believe that unless the player is convinced, forcing him to do something will not be very effective.

Knowing the "core" of the athlete
With such a stance, Demizu places great importance on one thing. It is to know the "core" of the athlete.

"Shoma has a clear idea of what he wants to do, and he has his own style. After I started to support him, I was able to understand where his 'core' was through listening to him," he said.

The "core," in other words, is the foundation of the player.

Demizu's words, including his focus on knowing the "core," suggest that he takes a stance that goes beyond physical support and care.

What is Demizu's unique approach, how has he cultivated it, and what makes him trustworthy? Then, I would like to trace the "core" of Shoma Uno as seen by Demizu.

 

[rabidline]

Also, there is a recent interview with Shoma printed on Yamaguchi Shinbun. No official translation yet, but it seems that he talked about his difficulty to maintain his mentality in the second half (after Nationals) of last season, the injury at Worlds, his skating goals, 2026 Olympics, and trying to win Worlds for 3 times in a row next season.

Maybe someone kind can help in translating?

 

[Arriba627]

Love the way he throws himself into "Come Together". Nice looooong cantilever. Too bad no sound.

 

[4everchan]

and trying winning Worlds for 3 times in a row next season.

corrected your post... I paid lots of money to see Shoma skate at worlds... I don't need him to win to be happy. I only need him to skate.

But you know, I love many world champions who won it 3 times in a row... so that would suit me just fine

 

[rabidline]

But you know, I love many world champions who won it 3 times in a row... so that would suit me just fine

It will indeed suit you just fine Honestly I'm someone who can't even imagine or expect as high as three consecutive world titles. As long as Shoma is healthy and happy with his skating, it would be fine for me too. Ah, I miss his skating so much....

 

[Arriba627]

Advertisement for The Ice..looks like a great cast!

 

[rabidline]

Some throwback to Prince Ice World Saga with Nobu

 

[rabidline]

Super soft Instagram update

 

[Figskater23]

Super soft Instagram update

The texture of the ice cream reminds me of Italian gelato. Good choice on vanilla.

 

[rabidline]

Part 2 and 3 of Demi-san's interview. These parts talk more about skaters he has worked with in the past, which are Takahiko Kozuka and Satoko Miyahara, but I thought I'll put it here since it's great to learn more about Demi-san's past and background. To me it helped me understand why Shoma trusted him and they worked together so well.

Part 2:



Deep L Translation:

What a Sports Trainer Learned from Takahiko Kozuka: "I Have to Study and Devise More"｜The People Behind Figure Skating (Vol. 47)

A Life Helped by Sports
It was during his high school years that Shinichi Demizu decided to become a sports trainer.

At the time, Demizu was working hard at soccer. He wanted to become a professional. But he had a lot of injuries.

"So that's when I gave up."

While he was often injured, he gained some knowledge.

"I was not going to say if I got injured because I would be out of the regular lineup if I got injured. I forced myself to do it, and it got worse. When you get injured, there is naturally a rehabilitation period, but there is a lot of training to strengthen the injured area. I felt it didn't feel right, so I researched to see if there was a way to make my body more powerful and better than it was before the injury, and I found out that there was a job called "trainer.

Another thing about my past is that my life has been helped by sports. I used to be a naughty person and even joined the soccer club in junior high school but stopped going because I didn't make the regular team right away. But in the third semester of my second year, my advisor said to me, 'It's time for you to get serious about soccer. I started playing soccer one more time, and thanks to soccer, I was able to go on to high school, and somehow sports saved my life.

I chose to become a sports trainer."

Meeting Takahiko Kozuka
He studied at a vocational school and cultivated his knowledge and skills by learning from trainers with whom he had a relationship.

After working at a fitness club, he entered Kyushu Medical Sports College at the age of 30 and qualified as a judo therapist at the age of 33.

"Compared to other students, I was late (laughs)."

There was a reason why he entered the school at that age and pursued certification.

"I had a friend who had attended the same vocational school since I was 18 and was a good friend of mine," he said. "We also worked together at the fitness club where I first started working, but when I was 22, he was watching the moment Softbank (then Daiei Hawks) won the championship on TV, and he thought, 'This place is different,' so he quit. At that time, we talked about working together again in 10 years, and I contacted him just after the 10th year. He said, 'You have to do what you really want to do in the future. I thought it would be better to have a qualification to be out in the world,' so I decided to study."

After graduating and starting work, he had a chance to make a connection. It was figure skater Takahiko Kozuka. At the time, Kozuka was suffering from hip problems and was seeking treatment and care.

"My boss at the time said, 'This is just what you need,'" he said. ' And it just went from there."

In 2013, Kozuka's support began. But figure skating was "completely, truly new to me," he said.

"I played ice hockey for fun in elementary school, so I knew what it felt like to skate, but I had no idea what it was like to jump."

Once at the rink, Demizu tried his hand at jumping.

"I watched videos and tried various things, like how to jump. I will definitely try it when I compete in some kind of competition. I couldn't jump, though."

He says that his encounter with Kozuka was very significant.

"He taught me a lot of things," he said, "My hip joint was a key point, so I started from how to practice and avoid pain. He taught me a lot of things. He took into account that I was new to figure skating, and told me, 'This is what happens when you do this. I was able to learn the origin of figure skating, including the mental aspect of figure skating. His coaches were Mr. Nobuo Sato and Ms. Kumiko Sato, so they told me about comparisons and the basics of figure skating, and I was able to try skating on my own and build on them, 'This is how you use your body' and 'This is how you move'."

While working with Kozuka, he learned figure skating.

"If only I had met him a little earlier."
Kozuka's condition gradually improved, and at the All-Japan Championships, he placed 3rd, his best performance of the season.

He was happy, but also frustrated.

"Considering his condition up to that point, it was great to come in third at the All-Japan Championships," he said. "But he couldn't make the Sochi Olympics team. I couldn't realize his dream of going to the Olympics again. I wished I had met him a little earlier, but at the same time, I felt that there were many things I could have done better. I felt that I had to study harder and be more creative. Especially mental support. There were many areas where I was still searching for answers."

This would later be put to good use.

For example.

"Before and at the end of the performance, the coach would definitely say something to the athletes, so I would have a conversation with the athletes, imagining what the coach would say. I write a lot in my notebook in advance, saying, 'If I say this, they will respond in this way, and I will get this image and feeling from them. I try to connect them to create a verbal message. I owe that to him. When things didn't go well for him, I sometimes regretted what I should have said."

He says that he now carefully simulates what the coach says when he sends off a player and thinks about what he should say to the player, and puts it into practice.

This was also an expression of Demizu's attitude that it is important as a trainer to focus on the mental aspect of the athlete as well.

He worked with Kozuka as a trainer until he retired, and in his final season, another athlete joined his team. This was Satoko Miyahara in the 2015-2016 season.

I have nothing but respect for her.

Looking back, the time he spent with Miyahara left him with mixed feelings.

Part 3:



Deep L Translation:

Satoko Miyahara's former trainer talks about the true face of the "hard-working genius."｜The People Behind Figure Skating (Vol. 48)

Where is Miyahara's "core"?
I think about it by simulating what she says to her athletes. As you can see from the above, Shinichi Demizu, a sports trainer, has been supporting his athletes by paying full attention to their mental aspects or focusing on them.

Therefore, at the beginning of his support, Demizu tries to know the "core" of the athlete.

In the case of figure skating, it is about what the athlete is doing figure skating for. I try to change our communication depending on what the core is.

In supporting Satoko Miyahara from the 2015-2016 season, I tried to find out where Miyahara's "core" lies.

"I want everyone to see me, and I want everyone to really smile and be happy. That's why I skate."

That was Miyahara's "core.

I decided to focus on that. At that time, her voice was small, so I talked with her about that, "If you want to make everyone happy, but you are small, isn't that a little different from your purpose? I also talked with her about it. I wanted to create some kind of opportunity to help Satoko, who wanted to show us her work and show us what she wanted us to see.

It was really hard, really painful.
"While I was supporting her, I also realized something.

I noticed that she is the type of person who does what she is told without fail. However, I also felt that if I made her think too much, she would probably get lost. But I wanted to create a choice to think as much as possible. I didn't tell her to do anything at all, but I did ask her, 'I think it would be better this way, but what do you think? I tried to say it in a way that was more definitive than, for example, with Shoma (Uno)."

From then on, Miyahara was doing well, but then she had a major accident.

In January 2017, she announced that she would miss the Four Continents Championships and other events due to a hip fatigue fracture. She waited for her recovery, but it was too late, and she was forced to miss the World Championships. The road to recovery was not easy, and she was often plagued by breakdowns.

He said, "It wasn't an external factor, but rather a hormonal one. She was not getting enough nutrients for the amount of practice she was doing. When fatigue built up due to the effects of this, fatigue fractures occurred. It wasn't a matter of pushing myself too hard, so she had to improve from a nutritional standpoint. She also had a combination of physical problems unique to women."

The doctor pointed out her nutritional problems and gave her advice, and she worked to improve it with the help of a nutritionist.

The time when she could not practice on the ice was not short.

"I made a menu for her training with the hope that her performance would be better when she came back," he said. He said, "It was really tough and really painful.

She would start training in the morning, have lunch and a short break, and then train until late in the evening. She would start training in the morning, have lunch and a short break, and then train until the evening. He wondered if it was really safe for him to do such a thing. All of her training was done with her own body weight (using her own body weight as a load), but she did more than 500 sit-ups alone. But she would do it exactly right. I thought it was amazing, so I have nothing but respect for her. Among athletes, she is the one who is the genius of hard work, and she does it without fail."

The first performance that made me cry
Back on the ice, she resumed jumping practice in the summer, but a bone bruise in her right hip forced her to leave the rink again, and she was unable to make a full-fledged comeback to the ice. It was in October 2017 that coach Mie Hamada, who had been working with her, said, "Let's aim for the Olympics in four years."

I thought that by daring to say that, she was trying to inspire her, and that he was sure she would respond to her words.

How did Miyahara himself take those words?

Satoko said, "The teacher told me to give up, but I don't want to give up."

How did Izumi respond to that?

I said, "To be honest, Satoko, I think it will be difficult for you after four years, but if you want to go, you should talk about it." By difficult, I mean winning in the world. Russian athletes were coming out one after another, and there were junior kids who jumped triple axels and quadruple jumps. Satoko seemed to be able to do triple axel if she tried hard, but I thought quadruple jumps would be difficult.

Miyahara kept her determination to go to the Olympics, won the All-Japan Championships, and qualified for the Pyeongchang Olympics.

"I had no image that she would not go to the Olympics, and I was sure she would win and go there. When my performance was over, I cried for the first time at Satoko's performance. I cried so hard. I thought, "I knew that the result of all that hard work and effort would come out."

At the Pyeongchang Olympics, Miyahara showed a performance to her heart's content, finishing in 4th place. Demizu, who also accompanied Miyahara to the Games, has been supporting another athlete since this season. Shoma Uno. Uno also competed in Pyeongchang and won a silver medal. In other words, he was the trainer for both of them at the Olympics.

"I really gave a lot of thought to my initial approach to Shoma," Demizu recalls.

"Basically, I would write, 'I'm going to do something,' and leave it at that. I had heard that people often ask people to write down their goals on TV, but I knew he didn't like that kind of thing/ I thought it would be different to suddenly ask, 'What are your goals?" So we talked about various things. I told him, "You've been working hard at figure skating for a long time, haven't you?"

As they continued their conversation, Demizu sensed Uno's "core".

He said, "I don't want to lose to myself more than others." He has a strong will not to lose to himself. He never wants to lose to himself. That's why he practices, and he wants to show what he has practiced in the games. I felt that this was his "core," and I decided to move forward in that direction. Moreover, I could see that he had a clear idea of what he wanted to do, and that he had his own style.

Demizu has supported Uno through the years, sharing in his joys, sorrows, and pleasures.

 

[rabidline]

And Part 4 and final of Demi-san's interview, which focused on Shoma



Deep L Translation:

A "New Form" of Figure Skating: Shoma Uno's Aim with Trainer Shinichi Demizu｜The People Behind Figure Skating (Vol. 49)

Because he loves Shoma's performance.
Shinichi Demizu became responsible for supporting Shoma Uno in addition to Satoko Miyahara during the 2017-2018 season. The following season, he became Uno's only support, and continues to support Uno to this day. In that time, he has faced numerous situations and has watched Uno from time to time.

In the 2018-2019 season, before the World Championships, Uno said that he wanted to seek results. It was a different flavor from his previous stance. Demizu explains the background behind this.

"It was at the 2019 Four Continents Championships. At that time, his shoes didn't fit and he had a sprain, so he wasn't in good shape, and he finished 5th in the short program."

Many athletes fade away after winning medals at the Olympics. But I like Shoma's performance, so I want to see more of it, and I hope he continues to do so. I hope he wins a gold medal at the world championships someday. Such thoughts went through my mind.

After the short program, while taking care of him, I said to him, "Why don't you just keep going with your style and win a gold medal someday?" Shoma felt that others would be happy if he won a gold medal, so he worked very hard and won at the Four Continents Championships. That's why he said, 'I'm going to win it,' at the World Championships.

He said it out of a single-minded desire to please those around him.

"This is going to be tough."
The following season, the 2018-2019 season, Uno's competitive environment changed dramatically.

"I really have no other feelings than that it was very tough for me, too," Izumi recalls.

That's all I can think of. Uno graduated from the skating club where she had been a member for many years. This also meant leaving the coach who had guided him for many years. He started the new season without a new coach.

"I thought, 'This is going to be tough,' because I was completely on my own when I watched practice. I had no idea how to follow up with him," he said.

At the Grand Prix Series in France, he finished eighth. There was even a scene where he shed tears during the kiss-and-cry session, sitting alone.

Stéphane Lambiel saved the day. He was officially chosen to be Uno's coach at the next round in Russia, where he was placed in the kiss-and-cry competition. Since then, he has recovered and made further progress.

"I am really grateful to Stéphane. Stéphane respects the athletes, and he is very good with them. Stéphane is the type of person who respects the players and is always there for them."

Olympic dream come true
The 2021-2022 season was also memorable. Demizu sat in the kiss-and-cry team competition at the Beijing Olympics. It all started when Stéphane Lambiel's arrival in Beijing was delayed.

"It wasn't Corona," he said, "but the Swiss standards were so strict that I was stuck there and couldn't make it to the team competition. By that time, I was rink-side during the period when Stéphane was away, and I was taking videos and talking to him more and more, so it was decided that it would be better to have someone who knew him."

When it came time to sit down, he revealed his feelings.

"I never thought I would be sitting there for the Olympics. I was honestly happy. I thought, 'Oh, this is what the view is like, this is what it feels like. I will never forget that view."

Japan won its first medal in the team competition (although the colors are still undecided), followed by a bronze medal in the individual competition and a bronze medal in the team competition. Uno performed well, winning bronze in the individual competition. Suddenly, Izumi said, "I was going to be a trainer when I graduated from high school."

"When I graduated from high school and went to a vocational school to become a trainer, I told my teacher about my dream. I told my teacher that I wanted to be the trainer who stands beside the athletes when they win medals at the Olympics."

Uno's silver medal in Pyeongchang and her kiss-and-cry in the team competition in Beijing were the fulfillment of that dream. It was a dream come true. After that, it became a common sight to see Demizu sitting in the kiss-and-cry.

Injury during practice for the World Championships
The 2022-2023 season was another year that showed Uno's true nature.

"Uno's ankle is always loose, so it's always easy to sprain it," she said.

Uno has often dealt with injuries, as Demizu says, "He has a loose ankle, so he is always prone to sprains." The World Championships was one of them. He fell and injured himself during the official practice session.

"I always take videos, and I always take close-ups, so you can see it better than the naked eye," he said. I thought, 'Oh no. I gave the camera straight to Stefan and went right away. He had cartilage damage in the talus and some ligament damage in the back."

Uno did not choose to sit out the race, but Demizu was concerned.

"I thought if he came down halfway and sprained it again, he would be out of the competition," he said. I just hoped that he would not come down with an under-rotation."

He had no intention to stop Uno from competing.

"He is basically of the opinion that if he cannot walk, he will consider abstaining, but if he can walk, he will go. Of course, from a medical point of view, if he gets injured again, he would consider ...... and it would be better for him to rest. No, from a physical point of view, it is definitely better to abstain. But based on his character and other factors, if the injury is permanent, I would definitely stop, otherwise I would GO. It means that I fully respect Shoma's will, and I will back him up."

As a result, Uno won the championship.

Uno won the competition, "I could see his emotion for the first time in a long time, because he couldn't jump the way he had built up because of his sprain. He is really good with pain, and he has sprained it many times, so he is used to it to some extent. He had a lot of adrenaline flowing, so it was a relief that he didn't feel the pain as much. After the match, he said, 'It hurts here, too,' but those who are watching know that it probably hurts here, too. But if he didn't notice, I didn't want to tell him until it was over."

More than "evolution," a new form
Now he is preparing for a new season.

"What he is trying to achieve now is, although he has to do jumps, the essence of figure skating, acting, connecting, expressing, skating. He said he wants to redo those aspects again, so I hope it will be a journey to complete his figure skating in his mind. I think it is a new form of figure skating rather than evolution. I am looking forward to seeing him create his future as a figure skater Shoma Uno. I think his good side is that he can show different expression from others. I like his skating and skating, and I hope I can continue to support him."

 

[Arriba627]

Sleeping Beauty is back! Looks like he's getting measured for a costume! Please tell, tell! Is it for the One Piece costume or a new program costume?!




********
Love the Demi-san interviews. They confirm what I think most of us have thought all along -- he is really the perfect trainer for Sho! I think he is SO good for him. I'm so thankful for his good relationship with Stephane too.

 

[yesterday]

^^
Exactely!

And I love how deepl translates Izumi as Demizu sometimes, sounds like a nickname

 

[rabidline]

********
Love the Demi-san interviews. They confirm what I think most of us have thought all along -- he is really the perfect trainer for Sho! I think he is SO good for him. I'm so thankful for his good relationship with Stephane too.

I agree! Also you can really see how Demi-san is very thoughtful in how to approach skaters based on who they are and their personality, as shown with the difference between how he approached Satoko and Shoma. I noticed that Demi-san played a big part in skaters during Olympic qualification- he was Kozuka's trainer in Japanese Nationals 2013 (Kozuka podiumed but didn't get selected for 2014 Olympics), Satoko and Shoma both qualified for 2018 Olympics and of course Demi-san himself finally sat down at the Olympic K&C in 2022 for Shoma. What a journey.

Exactly this:

 

[Arriba627]

When I heard that Demi-san cried after Sho's Worlds FS, it made me feel that this is not just a job for him. He really cares about Shoma and respects his hard work and tenacity. He is such an important part of the team and such a good influence on Shoma!

 

[Arriba627]

Lots of Shoma and Emma today in the Unowan video. Emma looks SO content! One of these days, Sho may even throw us a crumb and give us some skating! I'm starting to get a little depressed / deprived with no skating. If you're reading this Sho, let us see some skating!

 

[rabidline]

He's... golfing this was unexpected.

 

[Arriba627]

Wow, so we've seen him in many "sports". Darts, billiards, batting cages, saw his bowling scores, volleyball, ping pong, roller skating, now golf. What's next?!




*******
Here's little Sho golfing. Love his determined look!

 

[yesterday]

What's next?!

Bungee jumping? Blobbing?

But I'd love to see him doing Sports Climbing, Boulder. Japan has crazy good athletes and a lot of them!

 

[rabidline]

Shoma will be on the cover of 2023 Quadruple Axel - Season Summary edition, and there will also be an interview between him and Nobu, likely about One Piece and future skating plans.