[2018.11.01] Team Brian: A New Journey

yuzurujenn · January 22

Excerpts from Book 3

Info: https://www.amazon.co.jp/チーム・ブライアン-新たな旅-ブライアン・オーサー/dp/4065123666/

https://ebookjapan.yahoo.co.jp/books/497167/

"I want to experience that overwhelming emotion again and again, the kind that makes my whole body tremble."

After Sochi, Brian Orser, the renowned coach, speaks about Yuzuru Hanyu’s journey up until PyeongChang, including the untold struggles and the path that led to Hanyu’s historic back-to-back victories in men’s singles at the PyeongChang Olympics. This new edition of the book, Team Brian: The 300-Point Legend, has been extensively revised to include these new developments. The author, who knows Hanyu’s journey best, delves into these moments and shares insights on how Evgenia Medvedeva and Jason Brown came to join the team, the new season for Yuzuru Hanyu and the rest of "Team Brian," and the dreams they all shared moving forward.

Table of Content:

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Up to Chapter 3, "Third Time Surpassing 300 Points," this book is a significantly revised and re-edited version of the book "Team Brian: The 300-point Legend" published in January 2017. Starting from the section "The Four Continents Championship to Feel the Venue of the Pyeongchang Olympics," the content is based on an interview with Coach Brian Orser conducted in July 2018 at the "Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club." The interviewer was Mie Noguchi.

Although there were major rule changes starting in the 2018-2019 season, the rules and scores in this book are explained based on the regulations at the time.

yuzurujenn · January 22

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

Source: https://ebookjapan.yahoo.co.jp/books/497167/

Introduction

In life, there are both farewells and encounters. The year leading up to the Pyeongchang Olympics was a time when I lost my dearest person, but it was also a time when I confirmed the bonds with my greatest companions.

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Since Yuzuru (Hanyu Yuzuru) achieved the world's first 300-point performance in 2015, Team Brian has become adventurers, sailing on an uncharted course, seeking new horizons. Following Yuzuru, his teammate Javier Fernandez (from Spain) also surpassed 300 points, and at that time, these two were the only skaters in the world who had experienced the 300-point world—an otherworldly realm. Led by them, I was journeying toward a new world beyond the horizon, spending my days as if engraving a legend.

With less than a year to go until the Pyeongchang Olympics, the calendar had entered March. The World Championships in the year before the Olympics are a prelude to the medal race. The athletes were full of high spirits as they approached this competition, and the training base at the "Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club" was filled with strong energy.

I too raised my voice to encourage the athletes. "Come on, push the speed! That jump had good flow! Make sure you count eight spins!" But inside my heart, there was a large empty space. My beloved father had passed away.

My father had suffered from Alzheimer's for a long time, and the days spent watching over his battle were incredibly painful. Every Saturday, I would drive up to the northern part of Toronto to visit him. I spent as much time as I could by his side and after spending the weekend together, I would return to coaching the athletes with full energy early the following Monday.

I had believed that the days of creating memories would last forever. But on March 3, 2017, my hero was gone. I was left with deep sorrow and many feelings I hadn't yet processed. There was no one to visit on weekends anymore. No more smiles. No more jokes... The weekends without my father became not a time to recharge, but a time to reflect on my grief.

However, by mid-March, the World Junior Championships were coming up, and at the end of the month, the World Championships were just around the corner. I couldn’t let my personal matters lower the athletes' spirits or make them worry. By the start of the new week, I put on a smile and stood on the rink as if nothing had changed. Of course, as adults, everyone lives this way, so I had no intention of complaining to anyone. I was sure I wasn’t causing anyone concern.

Yuzuru seemed to notice the change in me. It was very rare for him to do so. Yuzuru is usually very focused on himself during practice. He sharpens his awareness of his physical condition and technique, and he doesn’t chat with other athletes or take breaks during practice. Yet, Yuzuru began to observe my expression and try to empathize with me. Perhaps because he had experienced the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, Yuzuru was particularly sensitive to death. Regardless, on days when my spirits were low, Yuzuru would feel the same and quietly watch me from afar, as I secretly grieve and sigh.

At first, I thought that Yuzuru’s sensitivity might be a figment of my imagination. I was feeling so down myself that everything seemed different from usual. Moreover, with the World Championships approaching—the most important competition of the pre-Olympic season for both Yuzuru and Javier—I was focused on discussing this event with the two of them.

For Yuzuru, it was crucial to win the World Championships and claim the title of "World Champion before the Olympics." And Yuzuru achieved it splendidly. I was truly proud of him. There couldn’t have been a better situation for the Olympics. Javier placed fourth, but this was also part of the plan. Javier had won back-to-back World Championships in 2015 and 2016. If he had won again, it would have been three consecutive titles, increasing the pressure toward the Olympics. Considering Javier’s personality, who can easily be overwhelmed by pressure, not winning the title in the year before the Olympics was actually a better outcome for him. Fourth place was just the right result.

Both of them were selected for the "Exhibition," which features the top skaters. Normally, I would return home early and not watch the exhibitions, but on this occasion, I stayed by the rink to watch their performances.

Yuzuru’s exhibition number was "Notte Stellata," originally composed by Saint-Saëns, with the vocal version "Starry Night" accompanying it. The program was choreographed by David Wilson, the choreographer of Team Brian, and included a single delayed Axel and a triple Axel. It was a program that showcased Yuzuru's beautiful skating in a mesmerizing way.

This program depicts a dying swan taking flight once again, and till then, Yuzuru had been skating with the image of the recovery of the disaster area in mind. On that day, Yuzuru portrayed the white swan more gracefully and beautifully than ever before.

Then something surprising happened. After finishing his performance, Yuzuru came back to the rinkside and said to me, "I skated while thinking of your father."

Yuzuru had skated a memorial performance to my late father. It was a shock that Yuzuru, usually so reserved, explicitly expressed his tribute to my father. With this program, Yuzuru had given me a message of "cheer up." At that moment, I felt something change deeply inside my heart.

In the sixth year of our partnership, I had always thought that we had built the strongest team and understood each other well. But it was the first time I truly felt that Yuzuru was by my side, supporting me.

With only 10 months left until the second Olympic Games I would experience with Yuzuru, I engraved in my heart the determination to move forward together with him, no matter what difficulties lay ahead.

Of course, I had no idea that such an intense Olympic season was yet to come. But I swore to myself that, not only as a coach, but as a friend and as a human being, I would support Yuzuru.

JP text:

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チーム・ブライアン新たな

ブライアン・オーサー
樋口豊監修
野口美惠構成·翻訳

はじめに

人生には、別れがあり、出会いがあります。平昌オリンピッまでの1年間は、私にとって最愛の人を失い、一方で最高の仲間との絆を確認する時間となりました。

2015年にユヅル（羽生結弦）が世界初の300点超えを果たして以来、私たちチーム・ブライアンは、新天地を求めて海図なき航路を旅する冒険者となりました。ユヅルに続いてチームメイトのハビエル・フェルナンデス（スベイン）も300点超えを果たし、この地球上において300点という雲の上の世界を知るのは、このときたった2人。その2人に先導されながら、旅私は地平線の向こう側にある新天地へと、航路を進めていました。まるで伝説を刻んでいくような日々を送っていたのです。

平昌オリンピックまであと1年を切り、暦は3月へと突入していました。オリンピック前年の世界選手権はメダル争いを占う前哨戦です。選手たちは高い意欲を持ってこの試合に挑んでおり、練習拠点である「トロント・クリケット・スケーティング&カーリングクラブ」には、力強いエネルギーが満ちあふれていました。

私も声を張り上げて、選手を激励します。「ほら、もっとスピードを出して！」「いまのジャンプは流れがあっていいぞ」「ちゃんとスピンは8回転数えて！」。しかし、私の心にはぽっかりと大きな穴が空いていました。最愛の父が旅立ったのです。

私の父は長いことアルツハイマーを患っていて、その闘病を見守る日々はとてもつらいものでした。毎週土曜になると、父の住んでいるトロント北部の街まで車を走らせ、会いに行きます。なるべく父の側にいる時間を増やし、週末を一緒に過ごしてから、週明けの早朝にはまたフルパワーで選手の指導にあたる。そんなことを続けていました。

思い出を刻む日々が永遠に続くと信じていた2017年3月3日私のヒーローは還らぬ人となりました。私は深い哀しみと、まだ消化しきれないたくさんの思いを抱えていました。もう週末に会いに行く人はいません。笑顔も見られません。そして冗談を聞くことも………。父のいない週末は私にとってパワーを得られるものでなくなり、自由になった時間は哀しみを噛みしめることに費やされていました。

しかし3月中旬には世界ジュ二ア選手権があり、3月末には世界選手権が控えていました。私の個人的なことで、選手の意欲を下げたり、心配させたりしてはいけません。私は週明けにはもう笑顔を作り、なにくわぬ顔でリンクに立ちました。当然ですが、社会人は誰もがそうやって生きているのですから、誰かに弱音を吐くつもりはありませんでした。誰にも心配をかけていないつもりでした。

ュッルは、そんな私の変化に気づいているようでした。とても珍しいことでした。ユジルは普段の練習のときから、とても自分に集中しています。練習の内容と自分の体調や技術に神経を研ぎ澄ましているので、他の選手とお喋りしたり、練習中に休憩したりすることもありません。なのにユヅルは、私の表情をうかがい、共感してくれようとしていました。ユッルは東日本大震災を経験していますし、人の死というものについてとても敏感なのかもしれません。いずれにしても私の気持ちが下がっている日にはユヅルも一緒に気持ちが下がり、こっそりため息をつく私をユジルが遠くから見つめている、そんな日々が続きました。

最初のうちは、そんなユツルの敏感な反応は気のせいかもしれないと思っていました。私自身がすごく落ち込んでいて、いつもと世界が違って見えていたからです。また、何よりユッルとハビエルにとっては、オリンピック前シーズンで最も重要な世界選手権が迫っていましたから、2人とはこの試合のことばかり話し合っていました。

ユッルにとっては、この世界選手権で優勝し「ォリンピック前年の王者」というタイトルを獲ることが重要でした。そしてユヅルは見事に優勝しました。本当に誇らしいことでした。オリンピックに向けて、これ以上のシチュエーションはありません。ハビエルは4位でした。これも計画の範囲内でした。ハビエルは2015年、2016年と世界選手権を連覇しています。さらに勝ったら3連覇となり、オリンピックに向けて重圧が高まります。重圧に押しつぶされやすいハビエルの性格を考えると、オリンピック前年はタイトルを獲らないほうがよく、むしろ4位はちょうどいい結果だったのです。

2人は上位選手が選ばれる「エキシビション」に出ることになりました。普段は先に帰ってエキシビションを見ない私も、このときはリンクサイドで2人の演技を見ていました。

ユヅルのエキシビションナンバーは、サン・サーンスの「白鳥」を原曲にしたボーカル曲「星降る夜」でした。チーム・ブライアンの振付師であるデイヴィッド・ウィルソンが振り付けたプログラムで、ジャンプは1回転半のアクセルと、トリプルアクセルだけ。ユヅルの美しい滑りを存分に見せる、うっとりするようなプログラムです。

このナンバーは瀕死の白鳥が再び羽ばたいていく様子を描いており、ユジルは被災地の人たちが再び元気になっていくというイメージでこれまで滑っていました。この日、ユッルはいつも以上にしっとりと、美しく白鳥の舞を見せました。

すると、驚くことがありました。演技を終えてリンクサイドに戻って来たユジルが、私に向かってこう言ったのです。「ブライアンのお父さんのことを思いながら滑った」と。

ユツルは私の父のために、哀悼の演技を捧げてくれたのです。普段は無口なユジルが、はっきりと父への追悼を口にしたことが驚きでした。このプログラムで、私に「元気を出して」というメッセージをくれたのです。父の死を受け止めきれずにいた私は、この瞬間、何かが心の中で大きく変化したのを感じました。

ユツルが私ユツルと師弟としてチームを組んで6年目。お互いを理解し合い、最強のタッグを組んでいることは自負していましたが、ユヅルが私に寄り添って支えてくれているような感覚を得たのは初めてのことでした。

ユヅルと共に迎える2度目のオリンピックは、もう10ヵ月後に迫っていました。これから迎えるオリンピックに向けて、どんな困難があってもユッルと共に前進しようと、そう心に刻み込みました。

もちろん、まさかこのあとあれほど壮絶なオリンピックシーズンがやってくるとは想像もしていませんでした。ただ私は、コーチとしてだけではなく、ひとりの友人として、そして人間として、ユジルを支えようと自らの心に誓っていたのです。

yuzurujenn · January 22

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

Source: https://ebookjapan.yahoo.co.jp/books/497167/

Chapter 1: The Road to Pyeongchang - 2014-2015 Season

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There’s Plenty of Time to Evolve

To speak of that miracle Yuzuru (Hanyu) achieved at the Pyeongchang Olympics, we must return to the Sochi Olympics. Yuzuru won the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics, and his life changed. He became a hero in Japan, and many fans and media began to follow him. On the other hand, Javier (Fernandez) narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth. While he had won two consecutive European Championships, the result left him with a mix of frustration and a sense of achievement, as he had come so close to an Olympic medal. The 2013-2014 season was a remarkable season, but it was also a season of burnout. However, as soon as the 2014 World Championships ended in March, I said to Yuzuru and Javier:

"Now, we start preparing for the next Olympics. It’s only four years away."

At that time, the two of them had just finished the season, and they looked at me with expressions that seemed to say, "It’s still far away." However, in reality, the two years before the Olympics are already the "pre-Olympic season," the year to start preparations, and since anything can happen during the Olympic year, we cannot leave things unfinished. So, I said:

"If we just drift along, before we know it, it will be ‘the Olympics today!’"

As an athlete, after winning the silver medal at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics, I immediately aimed for the 1988 Calgary Olympics. The four years of fierce competition with my rival Brian Boitano, where we constantly fought for first and second place in the World Championships, flew by, and there was never a season to relax. On the other hand, I added:

"Time passes quickly, but there’s plenty of time to evolve."

As a coach, with eight years of experience aiming for the Vancouver and Sochi Olympics, I know what to do and when to do it within a four-year cycle. With four years, injuries, illnesses, and slumps can be considered experiences, and we can use them to our advantage in the Olympic season.

I already had a plan for the next steps with these two. For them, the most important preparation over the four years between Sochi and Pyeongchang would not be about programs or jumps. It was about "developing athletes who can take responsibility for preparing for the Olympics on their own." In other words, it was about mental training and psychological growth.

Thinking "let’s treat the Olympics like any other competition" is an amateur’s approach. The athletes must properly understand the Olympic Games and learn how to control the pressure over four years.

The Free Skate Was Yuzuru’s Choice, but the Short Program Was Planned

Yuzuru was about to spend four years as an Olympic champion. Under normal circumstances, that would come with a lot of pressure, and there would be questions about how to maintain motivation. However, after observing Yuzuru, I realized that such worries were unnecessary for him. When we first met in the spring of 2012, he still had the same sparkle in his eyes and told me, "I want to grow even more under Brian’s guidance." That made me happy.

At that point, Yuzuru had only spent two years with me, and I knew that the "true results" of Team Brian would emerge after about four to five years. Rather than thinking of "four years as an Olympic champion," I understood that I should support him through "four years to evolve further," and that helped me settle into my role.

The plan for "Year One on the Road to Pyeongchang" was simple: "Skate freely and do good skating." Yuzuru is a very competitive athlete, and as the Olympics drew nearer, he became more focused and immersed in his own world. I wanted him to have some time to simply enjoy skating and feel like he loved it.

In English, there is the expression "let the dust settle," meaning to wait for things to calm down. I wanted to give him some breathing room in his skating life. As an Olympic gold medalist, Yuzuru needed time to be free from tension and to reflect on himself.

JP text:

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第1章平昌への始動
2014-2015年シーズン

進化する時間はたっぷりある

ユッルのあの平昌オリンピックでの奇跡を語るには、時をソチオリンピックまで戻さなければならないでしょう。ユッルはソチオリンピックで金メダルを獲得し、人生が変わりました。一躍、日本のヒーローになり、たくさんのファンとメディアが彼を追いかけるようになりました。一方のハビエルは惜しくも4位。欧州選手権は2連覇を果たしていましたが、やはりオリンピックのメダルにあと一歩とは悔しさと達成感の入り混じる結果でした。2013ー2014年シーズンは、こうして素晴らしいシーズンであり、同時に燃え尽きたシーズンでもありました。でも2014年3月の世界選手権が終わるやいなや、私はユヅルとハビエルに言いました。

「さあ、次のオリンピックに向かって準備するぞ、あと4年だぞ」
2人はまだシーズンを終えたばかりですから「まだまだ先だ」といった表情を浮かべました。しかし実際には、オリンピックの2年後は“プレオリンピックシーズン”で、もう準備を始める年ですし、オリンピックシーズンは何があるかわかりませんから課題を残しておくわけにはいきません。ですから私は言いました。

「ぼんやりしていたら、気づいたら今日はオリンピックだ！みたいになるぞ」と。

私は選手として、1984年のサラエボオリンピックで銀メダルを獲ったあと、すぐに1988年のカルガリーオリンピックを目指しました。ライバルのブライアン・ボイタノと切琢磨しながら世界選手権の1位と2位を奪い合った4年間はあっという間で、気を抜けるシーズンなどありませんでした。一方で私は、こんなふうに付け加えました。

「時間が経つのは早いけれど、進化する時間はたっぷりあるぞ」と。
コーチとして、バンクーバーとソチの2大会を目指した8年の経験がありますから、4年間で何をどの段階でやれば大丈夫か、計画が立てられます。4年あれば、怪我、病気、スランプも経験だととらえて、オリンピック本番に生かすことも可能です。

私がこの2人に対して次に打つ手は、すでに考えてありました。2人の場合、ソチから平昌までの4年間で最も必要な準備は、プログラムやジャンプに関するものではありません。それは、「自分自身でオリンピックへの準備をする責任を持てる選手に育てる」ことです。つまり、メンタルトレーニングや精神的成長に関するものです。

「オリンピックも他の大会と変わらない気持ちでやろう」などと考えるのは、シロウトのやり方です。オリンピックをちゃんと受け止め、その重圧をどうコントロールするかを4年かけて身に付けていかなければなりません。

フリーはユヅルの選択で、ショートは計画的に

ユッルは、オリンピックチャンピオンとしての4年間を過ごすことになりました。普通であれば大きなプレッシャーがかかりますし、モチベーションをどう維持するかという問題もあります。しかしュジルを観察してみると、彼の場合そんな不安はまったく必要ないことがわかりました。2年前の2012年春に出逢ったときと同じ目の輝きで、「ブライアンのもとで、もっともっと成長したい」と言ってくれました。嬉しいことでした。

ユジルとはソチオリンピックの時点でまだ2年しか過ごしておらず、チーム・ブライアンの”真なる成果”が出るのは4～5年目だと思っていました。「オリンピックチャンピオンとしての4年」という考え方ではなく、「さらに進化するための4年」をサポートすればいいとわかり、私自身も腰を据えることができました。
「平昌への1年目」の計画は、まずは「のびのびと良いスケートをすること」でした。ユヅルはかなり闘争心のある選手ですから、オリンピックが近づくほど集中して、自分に没頭していきます。のびのびと「スケートを好きだ」と思う時間を、すこしでも持ってほしいと思っていました。

英語には、「let the dust settle（騒ぎが収まるのを待つ）」という表現があります。スケート人生のなかでの余白を彼に与えたかったのです。金メダリストであるユヅルには、緊張感から解放され、自分を見つめる時間が必要でした。

yuzurujenn · January 22

Source & credits: https://tinylorando.tumblr.com/post/181945171967/translation-of-team-brian-iii

Chapter 4.9: Yuzuru appearing with crutches

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How serious Yuzuru’s injury was, no one knew the truth. After being injured in NHK Cup, Yuzuru went to the hospital in Japan to do MRI, but then he immediately returned to Toronto. The entire treatment was received in Toronto.

After realizing the injury was quite serious, the first thing Yuzuru did was changing his plan. “Recover first”, “listen to doctors’ advice and patiently receive treatment”. He put these two things in the first place of priority, temporarily removing the stuff like training and competition from his mind.

Yuzuru reanalyzed current condition, thinking about what he could do to control the situation at hand. In other words, instead of “the problem occurred, and what should I do”, it was an image like “I meet some difficulties that need to overcome, and I face some challenges that need to exert my abilities”. I’m the same about this point. When dealing with something, I’d like to use the word “challenge” rather than “problem” because it makes you feel positive and be able to do one thing in a bullish mood.

Normally, I always say to everyone, “Team Brian’s friends don’t have PROBLEM”. What we have is CHALLENGE. Yuzuru’s challenge is recovery, paying all effort to cure his feet. Because he understood this subject, rather than remaining in Japan and taking a rest, he returned to Toronto first, thinking of doing as much as possible for the Olympics.

According to Yuzuru’s report, the situation was “It will take about six weeks to return to practice. Only the ankle is partially injured, and there is no problem with the knee. To not increase further burden on my feet, now I’m using a STICK while walking”. For this reason, first I decided to discuss the schedule with Yuzuru again, so I visited the apartment where he lived. In my office, there were lots of mail items sent from Yuzuru’s fans. The fans who worried about his injuries sent many letters and gifts to him. The floor of my office was full of them, so I visited him as a way to give him these items.

When I was waiting for him at apartment’s lobby, Yuzuru appeared by turning from the corner of the elevator. I was extremely shocked at that time. I never thought what he used was CRUTCH. Because what he wrote in the e-mail was “stick”, so I thought it was only a degree of needing some necessary support. At that time, Yuzuru’s ankle was fixed, and he could not walk on his own strength, so he came with being on the crutches.

Seeing his appearance, I couldn’t help saying “OMG, what’s going on! Isn’t it a serious injury?” Yuzuru sat in the chair in the lobby and looked calmer than I expected, then talking about the next thing. He talked about how bad his ankle condition is, until what time he was not able to practice on the ice. He also said he would try his best to do some preparation like image training and muscle exercise.

However, I noticed this Yuzuru wasn’t same as the Yuzuru who had always been strong. It seemed like he was being afraid of something or felt uneasy. Carrying the mission of winning at the Olympics, at the same time he had to change all his plans due to the injury. Even for people like Yuzuru, it was commonplace to become more sensitive/neurotic than usual.

Therefore, I said the following to him.

“You practiced a lot this summer and did open practice on media day in August. At that time, Yuzuru was already prepared for the Olympics, wasn’t it? You had been accumulating practices from July to early August, and you were ready by only using six weeks, right? Because you completed your preparation so early, we were all a little worried about it. In other words, with only six weeks, Yuzuru can complete all the preparations. Performing with music and accomplishing all quads, you just need six weeks to reach this state.”

Actually, during the open practice in August, I saw the situation and took some notes in my mind. "It’s quite early to reach this condition. Yuzuru is able to arouse the state to this level in just six weeks. Conversely, because of the ability to reach the peak in only six weeks, if you did high-intensity practice for two months before the Olympics, there would be a possibility of missing your peak state in official competitions. Therefore, facing the Olympics, starting the final adjustment in January will be enough.”

Hence, I continued saying to Yuzuru:

“Participate in the show during spring, take a break, then rework programs, and move forward at full speed in the next six weeks. It was your original plan, right? In that open practice (media day), your performance was terrific. So, it’s still in November now, and there’re three months away from the Olympics. Even if step on the ice in January, there’re still six weeks left. Judging from Yuzuru’s physical condition, after returning to the rink and training on the ice, it will take about five to six weeks or perhaps five weeks at most to complete the preparation. So you will be in time for the Olympics.”

Yuzuru listened to me quietly. It seemed the word "six weeks” was engraved on his mind. So I continued.

“It’s really nice you have done lots of hard training this summer because those practices are all deposited in the bank now. You have already completed all necessary training and immediately packaged and deposited them into the bank.”

At that time, I felt Yuzuru seemed to smile a little. So I asked Yuzuru again, "What is your goal?” Then he responded immediately, “Win at the Olympics”. I said: “Got it. If it’s your dream, the possibility of achieving it is very high.” I added: “I don’t know if you will break the record, and I don’t know if it will become the highest score in the world, but you can win.”

Yuzuru looked at me with serious eyes. I also seriously looked at him and said those words.

“So let’s focus only on winning and find out what we have to do in order to win. If so, we may not need 4Lutz. No, there will be no 4Lutz. Depending on the recovery of your feet, perhaps you are able to jump it, but you can win even if no 4Lutz included. You have skating technique accumulated over the past six years, as well as outstanding jumps and choreography. So you can win. Don’t need 4Lutz if your pride permitted. In this way, you can aim at your goal.”

Then Yuzuru said, “I successfully jumped once.” So I said, “Aw, indeed you made it once. You have succeeded. OK. Checkmark. Let’s delete 4Lutz from your To Do List!”

Yuzuru looked relatively relieved a lot. I’m not sure whether this feeling came from the confidence of “Perhaps I can win”, or the sense of relief from “It’s still possible to win”. I guess his actual mood should be very complicated, but I told him the two keywords “six weeks to be in time” and “No 4Lutz”. That was all I could do at that time, or it was enough for me to do these two things.

Chapter 4.10: Visualize images of jumps and spins in mind

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Two weeks after the conversation, I visited Yuzuru’s apartment with Tracy. To our surprise, Yuzuru has already begun to do as much as possible toward the Olympic Games. He also became back to that confident and motivated Yuzuru as usual.

In Yuzuru’s words, it was “visualization”. In other words, he did a lot of practice like doing image training while watching the videos. Watch past videos many times and put those images in the body. Yuzuru has done lots of this training for a long time, and it was a very effective practice that in order not to forget the feeling of jumps. While receiving treatment, he also developed some land training plans for the part outside the injury and completed them.

One thing I must tell everyone here is that the treatment, rehabilitation, and strategic plans for the Olympics were all made by Yuzuru himself rather than us. Yuzuru developed these plans independently based on the advice of doctors and physiotherapists. He was able to overcome the difficulties and walked through that extremely hard road to the Olympics. It was not our credit. After the injury, Yuzuru tried his best to set foot on the Olympics stage. He independently made various plans and actually implemented them. By constant conversations with himself, Yuzuru became stronger both mentally and physically.

Looking at Yuzuru being strong again, we also became optimistic and discussed plans for the Olympics. Yuzuru said that no matter how fast, the day of returning to practice on the ice should be in December. Until then, he would not appear in the cricket club and wanted to concentrate on the care and training that was decided by himself. Because the treatment had been left to doctors and physiotherapists, certainly I said “OK” for Yuzuru’s plan.

When asked about the injury degree, he said it was all concentrated on the right ankle area. It was the salvation that at least there was no pain in his knee. If knees were injured, he could not make it in time for the Olympics.

November and December passed without Yuzuru appearing in the club. However, he kept in touch with me during that period. What’s the condition of the foot injury, what kind of training is he doing, and what did doctors say. Without the time for his favorite games, without having a leisure time for daze and relaxing, he truly did the 24-hour image training. From bystander’s view, it seemed he was only standing or sitting there, but Yuzuru was constantly visualizing images of jumps and spins in his mind. He had been doing image training to make his body not forget those feelings.

Yuzuru spent the two months in a very intelligent way. I felt very reliable to see his growing and becoming a mature young man. Every time I opened the email sent from Yuzuru, I felt like seeing the light of hope for the Olympics.

yuzurujenn · January 22

Source & credits:

https://x.com/hanyuslegacy/status/1066747674123280384

https://x.com/hanyuslegacy/status/1067213217364086785

https://x.com/hanyuslegacy/status/1067436216562343936

Interview with Brian Orser set at the beginning of the Olympic season about Yuzuru's decision with music and jumping the 4LZ:

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Firstly is Yuzuru's music selection. In the previous season I already decided that I'd let Yuzuru choose the music himself. When we were discussing the Olympics, he said this: "Brian not only doesn't object to my decisions, he also trusts me a lot. He'd never doubt what I decide. Because I want to think for myself and decide how to face the upcoming battle."

In the 6 years we've worked together, music, costumes, and jumps have pretty much all been decided by Yuzuru. I've always been fine with it, because it's Yuzuru's style. He's not the type to work hard only if someone points their finger and tells him to, he wants to work towards something he decided to have. Just like when parents say "go do your homework", the kids will want to do it less, Yuzuru also doesn't need me to tell him what to do. For him, the most valuable training is when he's going in the wrong direction you give him subtle guidance and suggestions, and make arrangements so that people can recognize his efforts, these kinds of quiet support. If I can mentally support Yuzuru who is practicing wholeheartedly, that is enough.

Yuzuru is someone who can passionately focus on one single thing. Even if he skates to the same program for multiple seasons, he won't get tired of it, and can use an unlimited number of ways to evolve. Even though the short and free are both a previous season's music, he never gets bored in practice. Yuzuru is very aware of what he is doing and how people around view him. He considers it all when making decisions, so I think him choosing these 2 programs was a very strategic decision.
In the 6 years I've worked with Yuzuru, I also learned when to bring up suggestions, and when to keep quiet. I realized that letting him make his own decisions is what will allow his abilities to erupt.

If Yuzuru is anxious I can't also be anxious I have one concern, and it's the 4Lz. Last season, the period before he was able to successfully jump the 4Lo was difficult beyond what words can describe. Around him he saw all the younger skaters jumping quads, so Yuzuru became adamant on wanting the 4Lo. But 4Lo was a difficult jump that no one in the world had landed in competition. Even though Yuzuru could do it, successfully completely a 4T, 4S and 4Lo in one program is very very challenging. Because he kept making mistakes in practice, it made him very restless on the ice. He couldn't complete the performance he wanted, and the pained and frustrated expressions he had in practice were so apparent that no one wanted to approach him. If he starts training for the 4Lz, it's not difficult to imagine that he'll fall back into the same state.

Therefore, my worry for the 4Lz is that Yuzuru will sink back into an anxious and fearful state. We have to practice other quads, steps, and choreography. But if he starts practicing 4Lz it's likely that in Yuzuru's world there will be nothing but the 4Lz. Yuzuru's single-minded focus does worry me. He really loves winning. When he sees Nathan and Shoma jump 4F and 4Lz, he also really wants them. He is adamant in his goals, which by itself isn't something bad, athletes being competitive is a great thing. But from an objective view by a coach, to be an Olympic or world champion, using the 4T and 4S alone is the rational choice after looking at the rules. From the lens of jump success rate, quality, and the completeness of the performance, 2 quads is the way to go. So when we had to enter the Olympic season with the presence of the quad lutz, I started to become oversensitive.

Last season the 4Lo was pursued because Yuzuru has a strong 3Lo, so learning the technique went a bit more smoothly. The same thing can't be said about the lutz. The days that he couldn't complete it persisted, and seeing Yuzuru's frustrated expressions made me unable to sit still.

My honest thoughts were that I didn't want Yuzuru to keep being restless in practice, if I can I'd want to calm his intensity, help him solve this issue. As a coach and friend, I wanted to see him skate happily.

So the days where we were both irritable persisted, but I realized if I kept being like this I would be the same as last season. Not wanting to see him anxious was my problem, to Yuzuru no matter how difficult things are he is fine. I learned this after being with Yuzuru for 6 years.

Yuzuru is someone who fights against oncoming adversity to move forward. Passionately solving problems, being critical of himself, being disappointed in himself, and looking at what his opponents are doing, and then using overwhelming intensity to practice is his process. Everyday he thinks "why can't I complete this", and every day he persists with the self-doubt and fear.

Even when frustrated he won't back down from the ice. He jumps, and jumps, and then jumps again. The reason why Yuzuru can grow limitlessly is because he can continue to repeat this practice. He didn't get to where he is now by smiling happily. So if a challenge keeps pressing at him, if these challenging times persist he's ok with it.

To Yuzuru, the 4Lz is a motivation to move forward, it drives him to keep practicing. Yuzuru is so different from other skaters. I've put a lot of effort into trying to understand him. As a coach, when a skater seems to take the wrong fork in the road it's really hard to not interfere, but I have to remember that it's Yuzuru's battle, and hold myself back. He can only move towards happiness if he solves his own problems.

I think what I learned most in these 6 years is how to face Yuzuru when he's in his intense state. When he's anxious I definitely can't be anxious. Anxiety, frustration, critical thinking, and solving, he needs to go through this process himself. This is how he does things. When Yuzuru is in a lot of pain, as a coach it's the hardest to stand at the side and do nothing, and remember that this is how Yuzuru will get stronger and stronger. I myself was similar to Yuzuru when I was a skater. My mind was only filled with the 3A, when my condition was poor and I wanted to stop, fear would come, and I'd keep immersing myself in practicing the 3A. This process gave me confidence, and landing it in competition felt like a great victory. But in the off season I'd take it easy, go out to drink with my friends. In this way Yuzuru is even more focused on just skating. I can understand his feelings, and quietly monitor them. Towards his over focus towards the 4Lz I have a lot of mixed feelings. In my heart I really am worried.

Chapter 4.11 - Return to Practice:

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The day we saw Yuzuru's presence at Cricket Club again was mid December. (After he did examinations in Japan he returned to Toronto to be treated and heal). He stepped onto the ice, slowly started skating, but the pain was still there. For the next 2 weeks, he wasn't there all in practice. There was no way he hasn't anxious himself, but still respected the advice of the doctor and trainer and didn't keep practicing. In the first week of January, Yuzuru came back to the rink. He first did warm up, and then the stsq, and his regular spins. After that he'd quietly slip in single jumps, and then double jumps, and progressed slowly this way. During jumps, he was especially careful. All jumps land on the right leg, if there's a slight misplacement it will get hurt again. Under the time pressure we were under, getting injured again was not an option to make the Olympics. In order to not set off the bomb that was his right leg, he had to very shakily land his jumps. It was not the time to jump triples and quads.

In the slow process to recovery, one by one Yuzuru confirmed the movement of each of the muscles in his body. His muscle strength decreased a lot during recovery. How much can he still do, what moves will cause pain to his right leg. He confirmed hundreds upon thousands of moves, and recorded them one by one as he continued to practice.

Even though previously I ambitiously said that 6 weeks is enough to make it, in the first 2 weeks he couldn't even jump, I stared trembling thinking about how he'd overcome the next 6 weeks. I remember saying to Tracy:

"Ah, how on earth is Yuzuru going to forge forward on such a difficult and painful path."

When watching Yuzuru practice like this, I had no consideration about things like winning or losing. Either way there was only one way: to move forward. His determination to get to the Olympics was strongly felt. I never thought about whether or not he would be able to reach a level where he could compete with other skaters, because the process wasn't one where it was an option to consider these things. In this kind of practice process where all these considerations weren't even fathomable, whether Yuzuru can transcend this without losing confidence was a long battle of true determination. To Yuzuru, the training environment must've also been discouraging. Javier was practicing successfully, his condition was at the top going into Europeans, and got to accumulate practice experience day by day. Of course, every day he was doing quad after quad. To Yuzuru, seeing this, the frustration would have kept piling on. Yuzuru must have wanted to jump quads every day like Javier, to practice at his maximum capacity.

As a coach I had a difficult position. I had to train Javier according to plan, support and praise him, keep him at his top form, as a coach this is my job. On the other end, I needed to thoroughly observe Yuzuru's condition. He was recovering, and also crafted his own plan in his mind. But when he saw Javier he must've felt the pressure, and wanted to jump and practice more than what he planned. But he needed to respect his limits. In order to prevent Yuzuru from attempting a quad as soon as I stop paying attention, I had to always watch him, and praise him for accomplishing his stages of success. This was very important.

Yuzuru only skated one session per day, his body couldn't take on anything more. Instead of time practicing, he spent time fully envisioning what he needs to accomplish through the one session that day, and focus all of his energy one that one session. It was a day to practice the 3A, or a day to practice a part of the program, he was somehow able to fully digest the topic for the day, in his heart there was a very reliable plan.

Being unable to truly feel the pain that Yuzuru felt during this time was very difficult. Every day, whether or not Yuzuru can finish practice without feeling pain, I had no idea. He'll say he's ok, but only he knew how ok that was. Around what he will practice, it was decided between him, his trainer, and his doctor. How many jumps, how many run throughs, I couldn't decide his practice intensity for fear of aggravating his injury.

I really felt useless, I had to step back, and let Yuzuru decide what he thought was necessary. Of course, voicing these frustrations would not help anyone. Yuzuru advanced along the path he set, and I gave help where I could. We will forever be beside Yuzuru Hanyu.

Chapter 4.23 - Yuzuru wholeheartedly preparing for the ice show:

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After the Olympics, Yuzuru went between press conferences, TV shows, performances, and other activities for 10 days before he returned to Toronto, and brought his gold medal to Cricket Club. One by one, he hung the gold medal on Tracy, Ghislain and my necks, we finally felt the closure that the battle had ended.

Yuzuru received examinations again on his right leg, and the results were that he needed to rest more, since he pushed through the Olympics in that condition. I received his decision to withdraw from the World Championships in March, and thought it was a smart call. Yuzuru must consider the long life ahead of him, must carefully protect his right leg, and maintain his long term health. Yuzuru said that in April he would be in a very important ice show called "Continues With Wings", an ice show that puts him as the centres. In order to not disappoint the fans that bought tickets in anticipation of seeing him, halfway through March, he started jump, skate and step practice.

Seeing his form was so wonderful. Yuzuru started practicing programs from his novice and junior years. I was shocked to find that he remembered all the moves of his past programs. If it was me, once I was done with a program I'd forget it all. For my novice and junior years, I don't even remember my beginning and ending poses. But Yuzuru remembered them clearly from beginning to end, once the music played he skated each one by one. "Zigeunerweisen", "Mission Impossible 2", "Sing Sing Sing", "Beethoven Symphony No 3", "Romeo and Juliet", even songs that I've never seen him skate, 23 year old Yuzuru who skated to these programs was very charismatic. I kept looking forward to watching his ice show practices. Even though I wasn't clear on how it would go in Japan, I knew it would be very successful, because Yuzuru's performance is engaging. In other words, I saw the first performance of this show as a fan.

Yuzuru's special characteristic is that even if it's ice show preparation he'll do it with all his heart, and won't ever think things like "mistakes are ok as long as it's enjoyable". He puts more time and energy into ice show preparations that anyone. Because Yuzuru worked so hard to prepare, fans who could go watch in person must feel very content.

(Weibo translator skipped this part)

Yuzuru has met a crossroads in his life. He defended his Olympic title, at this point retiring or changing paths because he wants to be stimulated by something new is normal. I had also mentally prepared myself to part with him. If he considered his path ahead and made this decision, I was ready to send him off with a smile.
Yuzuru was very busy with ice show preparation after the Olympics, and didn't have time to consider his life. We weren't able to talk about his future. The days passed as if we were going to happily welcome the next season together. But I thought that we couldn't keep going without addressing this topic. In June, in order to meet with Yuzuru I went to Japan. Right before Faoi in Kobe, I went with David Wilson.

No matter as a coach or business person, moving forward recklessly without listening to the other person is wrong. So I thought that I had to hear directly from Yuzuru what his plans for the next season are. He's an adult, and his English is good enough to have a conversation. I wanted to talk with Yuzuru alone face to face, and understand his true thoughts.

Yuzuru said to me "Of course, after this I also want to keep being together with team Brian."

Hearing these words come out of Yuzuru's mouth, it felt like we took another step towards a new journey together. Then I asked him "Then what's my role? What role does Yuzuru want me to play?"

As a coach it's probably strange to ask this question. Towards other skaters my role is clearly to guide their daily practices, and support them to get the best scores in competitions. But towards Yuzuru there is a strong need to ask this question.

He's gotten 2 Olympic titles, and even so he decided to keep skating with me. But what more could I give that he would need? This is a very difficult question, so Yuzuru didn't immediately reply. It's not something he needed to reply to immediately, I wanted him to think about it carefully. In order for us to move forward, how can we help each other? I told him "I hope you can slowly consider the answer to this question."

If Yuzuru wants to keep skating, he can't just have a vague goal. What does he want to achieve after this, we need to both be able to understand. It's not something simple like getting the next Olympic gold medal. What is the goal with Yuzuru's skating life, what does he want to become in the next four years, what kind of life does he want to live. In order to reach those goals, what kind of help can we give him. These are all questions that Yuzuru needs to consider, and convey to us. Yuzuru isn't an athlete that needs anyone's instruction anymore, he is someone who holds the control over his own direction now.

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[2018.11.01] Team Brian: A New Journey

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