[2015.10.20] Yuzuru Hanyu's Elementary and Junior High School Days, as Remembered by His Peers

[yuzurujenn]

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

Source: https://sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detail/201510200001-spnavi?p=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20180201221659/https://sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detail/201510200001-spnavi?p=1

 

Yuzuru Hanyu's Elementary and Junior High School Days, as Remembered by His Peers – His Relentless Practice and Expressions Beyond the Ice

 

I saw Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA) all over Sendai, at the pharmacy, in the bookstore, on posters, on magazine covers in restaurants.

“Well, he’s our local hero after all,” a shop owner said with a smile.

 

Hanyu was born and raised here. He started skating here in Sendai. This is the place where the journey began, the starting point for someone who has now risen to become one of the world’s top figure skaters.

 

Spoiler

One of the people who knew Yuzuru Hanyu during his elementary and junior high school days is Takasuke Yoshida, who is two years below Hanyu in school.

 

“When I was in kindergarten, I participated in a skating event as a kind of trial experience, and that’s how I became interested. I started seriously around the second or third grade of elementary school.”

 

That’s how he describes his encounter with figure skating.

By sixth grade, he had joined the Nobeyama training camp, and in junior high school, he competed in national tournaments.

He first came to know Hanyu by seeing him at competitions.

 

“When I joined Miyagi FSC, Hanyu-kun was still with the Katsuyama club. We were in different clubs, but I had chances to see him at competitions and such, and I remember thinking, ‘He’s really good.’”

 

Hanyu's failure leaves an impression on his teammates

 

After that, Hanyu transferred to Miyagi FSC. Watching him skate on the same rink, I thought once again: “Anyway, he was exceptionally good.”

 

What was surprising was the way he practiced.

 

“His focus during practice was just incredible. He was also really good at switching between on and off. Before practice started, if there was some free time, everyone would be playing around together, but as practice time approached, the atmosphere around him would shift. He’d start preparing himself. And once practice began, you could clearly see how focused he was.”

 

At the same time, something else left a lasting impression.

 

“Of course, it’s practice, so he failed sometimes. But when he failed, he would try again and again. He kept challenging himself repeatedly. He never gave up, no matter how many times it took.”

 

The image of Hanyu in practice didn’t just stay with Yoshida. Sakurako Hanashiro, who is three years below Hanyu in school, remembers it too.

 

Hanashiro joined the Katsuyama club when she was in fourth grade, and transferred to Miyagi FSC when she moved up to fifth grade. By then, Hanyu was already there.

 

“He worked really hard on flexibility and stretching with his father, trying to do things like the Ina Bauer and Biellmann spin. Boys usually have stiffer bodies than girls, right? But he still challenged himself, and I thought that was amazing. In addition to regular club practice, Yuzu-kun also worked hard on self-practice. He came with his older sister, and she was giving him strict instructions on his expressions and steps, saying things like, ‘Try doing it this way.’”

 

Hanashiro had already seen him skating at competitions before they were in the same club and thought he was amazing. But seeing him in practice left her with a different impression.

 

“At competitions, he was really good. But in practice, he failed a lot at jumps. He fell and fell, to the point where I wondered when he ever landed them.”

 

At the same time, another thing left a deep impression on her:

 

“Even when he couldn’t do something, he didn’t give up. He kept going all the way. Even when he failed, he never stopped.”

 

Watching his dedication to practice, as a child I couldn’t help but think, “He’s amazing.” But off the ice, he showed a different side.

Yoshida looks back and says:

 

“Personality-wise, he was cheerful. He had a bright side, but also a serious side, and he was proactive in communicating with those around him. He talked with the coaches not just about practice but about everyday things, and he would casually chat with the parents as well.”

 

He also warmed up to others quickly.

 

“There were only four or five boys in the club, and we were only two years apart in age, so we got along like brothers. We trained together for athletics, did stretches together on away trips, and after practice, we played games like volleyball.”

 

Hanashiro also remembers some events. Hanyu and Hanashiro were senior and junior at Nanakita Junior High School. Hanashiro entered the school just as Hanyu graduated.

 

"I became the skating club captain in the year after Yuzu-kun. At that time, he told me, 'The captain has to write an article for the school magazine, so you should write a story like this, and this is how to write it.’ Yes, yes, there was something like that in junior high school too. Some of the teachers who had taught Yuzu-kun were still there, and they said things like, ‘You skate too, right? Yuzuru-kun’s way of raising his hand in class was beautiful.’ I thought, he’s really a skater even in daily life.”

 

I also remember these words:

 

“I don’t remember exactly when it was. Probably, for the national junior championships, there are three selection tournaments for the one prefectural representative spot, and I think it was between those selection meets. What he said casually was, 'The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, but if it sticks out too far, someone will pull it out, so do your best.' That encouragement stayed in my heart.”

 

Yoshida, who saw him both during practice and outside of it, thought this at the time:

 

"He was so amazing in so many ways that I didn't set him as a goal. I just thought he was amazing."

 

A Christmas Card from Hanyu to Hanashiro

 

Yoshida ended up stepping away from figure skating as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011.

 

“The rink couldn’t be used for practice anymore, and I had entrance exams coming up, so after a lot of thinking, I decided to quit.”

 

Even now, after quitting, Yoshida still watches figure skating broadcasts when they’re on. He also watched the Sochi Olympics on TV.

 

“Ever since we were little, I always thought, ‘He’s probably going to win a gold medal at the Olympics someday.’ I was cheering while watching, and I felt like, ‘He finally did it.’”

 

When talking about it, he looked truly happy.

 

After the Great East Japan Earthquake, Hanashiro moved to Okinawa. She shared the following story. It was last December. Hanyu sent her a Christmas card.

 

“During the six-minute warm-up at the (Grand Prix Series) China event, it happened to be during our practice time at the rink. But there was a TV at the rink, and it was showing the broadcast. When the accident happened (when he collided with another skater), the kids who were skating and the audience were all watching the TV, and everyone was like, ‘Oh no, oh no,’ and got really worried. Seeing that, my mom emailed Yuzu-kun’s mom, saying, ‘Everyone in Okinawa is worried too.’ We received a card from him as thanks. When we displayed the card at the rink, everyone was so happy.”**

 

She also said:

 

“Right now, I’m in the middle of studying for entrance exams. I’m told, ‘The effort you’re putting in now won’t show results until three months or six months later.’ At that time, I thought, Yuzu-kun is now showing the results of the hard work he put in ever since he was little. And even now, he’s still practicing and building up more. That’s why he’s able to keep performing at the top level. It’s because he never neglected his effort. I use him as a role model.”

 

From the time he was a child, he trained more seriously than anyone else and kept at it without ever giving up. At the same time, he also had the kindness to care for his juniors.

 

The two people who knew that side of him still hold a clear memory of Yuzuru Hanyu as he was back then. And that memory is a treasure.

 

 

**The handwritten card from Hanyu: https://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/articles/-/47258