[2020.10] Waseda Uni magazine - CAMPUS NOW No.237 2020/10

[yuzurujenn]

*Machine-translation. Inaccuracies exist*

 

 

2020.10

 

Source: https://www.waseda.jp/top/news/70776

https://waseda.app.box.com/s/hw183cf7iuls9bgqo2kg3yj9b9a40mwb

 

 

Yuzuru Hanyu: My driving force is the desire to not waste what has been learned.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu, a two-time Olympic champion in figure skating, has achieved many other feats and continues to lead the world. He graduated from the Waseda University School of Human Sciences correspondence course this September.

 

 

Spoiler

"My desire to look at not only figure skating but also human beings, from the rapidly evolving field of information, led me to major in Human Information Science."

 

Hanyu has always loved working with computer programs. He built a program that automatically calculates the highest score he can get by entering the elements of a figure skating performance.

 

"I’ve been moving forward in the world of figure skating, but I wanted to see myself represented through numbers and data. Numbers are confirmation of the senses, so they're useful in competitions too. Every time the scoring method is updated, I update my program and still use it today."

 

For his graduation research, Hanyu explored "the use of motion capture technology (a method that captures the movement of people and objects and reflects it in 3D data) in figure skating and its future prospects." His unique approach involved attaching 3D motion capture equipment to his body, performing jumps, and turning the movements into digital data.

 

"I wanted to break new ground not only in competition but also in research. To prove that there are new research possibilities, I chose a theme that only I could pursue. In the future, I hope this will contribute to the development of figure skating, such as improving athletes' techniques and enabling automatic scoring through AI."

 

Amid his busy career as an athlete, it was no easy task for Hanyu to find time for his studies while achieving remarkable accomplishments. During his time at university, Hanyu focused solely on studying when it was time to study. He would take all his classes on demand on his off days, write reports while traveling on planes during his competitions, and submit them as soon as he arrived at the airport.

 

"Studying at the e-School became an opportunity for me to learn how to manage my time and switch my mindset. I realized that creating a learning environment depends on me. If I have the determination to learn, it becomes a place that influences my values and knowledge. I definitely didn't want to waste my learning. That feeling was very strong."

 

Reflecting on his time at university, Hanyu said, "It was tough, but I learned a lot."

 

"The days spent doing research gave me the ability to look at everything from multiple perspectives and to analyze and verify things. I believe this skill will be useful not only in figure skating, but also as I move forward in life."