*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709120000402.html

2017.09.12

At age 4, Yuzuru had no fear of the ice and quickly learned to do a single Axel.

<Hanyu History (1)>

Photo caption: Yuzuru Hanyu, who placed 3rd at the Northern Japan Championships, with coach Mami Yamada (photo provided by Mami Yamada).

The men’s figure skating gold medalist at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Yuzuru Hanyu (22, ANA), is aiming to win back-to-back Olympic titles at next year’s PyeongChang Olympics. He is regarded as the greatest skater of the modern era. In “Hanyu History,” we trace his growth from early childhood to becoming one of the world’s leading skaters. (Honorifics omitted.)

Spring 1999, when he was four years old. Hanyu first set foot on the ice at Izumi DOSC Ice Arena (now Ice Rink Sendai), just a short walk from his home in Izumi Ward, Sendai. Wearing a helmet over his bowl-cut hair, with elbow and knee pads on his slender body, he took a long run-up from the rinkside and charged onto the ice.

Before former local coach Mami Yamada (43) could even say, “Wait a minute!”, he was already on the ice. After running just a few steps, he took a spectacular fall, headfirst. To prevent children from developing a fear of the ice when they start figure skating, they are initially made to crawl onto the rink on all fours and slowly get up. Even so, it's normal for them to feel scared after falling. Coach Yamada recalls, "Yuzuru didn't have that feeling from the beginning." After falling headfirst, Hanyu immediately got up and, as if nothing had happened, continued to toddle around for about 10 minutes.

It all started when his older sister, four years his senior, began competing, and his mother brought him to the rink. Unable to just sit and watch, he would run around the rinkside, knocking over flowerpots and bothering other children. At first, he was just skating for fun, but he soon showed extraordinary talent. One day, after being taught how to do a single Axel (one-and-a-half rotation), he immediately demonstrated it right there. He already had the mind and body to understand and reproduce techniques instantly.

He first competed at the Miyagi Prefecture Championships at age five. When he began skating to his one-minute program, “Camptown Races,” he kept bobbing his head up and down like a rock musician, completely immersed in his own world. He completely forgot the choreography, including the spins, but nailed the final pose. He had also naturally developed an awareness of how to “put on a show” for an audience.

At age eight, he began receiving instruction from Shoichiro Tsuzuki (79), a renowned coach who had trained Minoru Sano, the first Japanese man to win a World Championships medal. This came as Coach Mami Yamada, who had returned to her hometown in Hokkaido, left. The door to the world was beginning to open for Hanyu.

<Birth to Elementary School>

December 7, 1994 — Born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture

1999 — Began figure skating; trained under coach Mami Yamada

2001 — Entered Nanakita Elementary School

2002 — Began training under coach Shoichiro Tsuzuki

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709130000160.html

2017.09.14

He learned the joy of winning, the frustration of losing, and the value of practice.

<Hanyu History (2)>

When Yuzuru Hanyu was in the lower grades of elementary school, he disliked practice. At the rink he attended, Orange One (now Ice Rink Sendai), he skated alongside Shizuka Arakawa, who would later win Olympic gold, and Akiko Suzuki, who placed eighth at both the Vancouver and Sochi Olympics. Renowned coach Shoichiro Tsuzuki, who had trained Minoru Sano, the first Japanese man to win a World Championships medal, repeatedly told him, “You’re going to become number one at the World Championships,” while drilling him in the fundamentals of skating and jumping. Yet despite being blessed with both talent and a good environment, he could not concentrate on practice for even five minutes. He would quickly run outside and play with a ball. He also wanted to become a baseball player.

What gave him the motivation to take skating seriously came in 2004. That winter, he won his first international competition in Finland, as well as the All-Japan Novice Championships B division (ages 9 to 11), the national championship for novice skaters. He learned the joy of winning. However, around the same time, the rink near his home closed down due to financial difficulties, and he had to start traveling to a new rink about 30 minutes away by car. With limited opportunities to train sufficiently, he finished second at the same championships in 2005 and third in 2006, falling behind fellow skaters of his generation, including Keiji Tanaka.

After Shizuka Arakawa, who was from Sendai, won the gold medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics, Miyagi Prefecture and the city of Sendai took action, and in March 2007, the rink he had grown accustomed to reopened after two and a half years. He was once again able to train sufficiently.

That year, as a first-year student at Nanakita Junior High School, Hanyu contributed the following piece to the school anthology as the sole member of the skating club:

“I’ve been taking skating lessons since I was four, but there were several times when I forgot to be grateful. When practice was tough, I would run away and spend all my time playing, or get sulky because I didn’t want my parents to scold me for it. But after becoming club president, I gradually came to realize that I’m being allowed to do something I love.” (sic)

Having learned the joy of victory, the frustration of defeat, and how fortunate he was to be able to practice, Hanyu gradually immersed himself in skating.

▼ 2004

October — Won the All-Japan Novice Championships B division

December — Won the Novice A division at the Tampere Santa Claus Competition (Finland)

December — Konami Sports Club Izumi Ice Rink (now Ice Rink Sendai) closed

▼ 2005

October — Placed 2nd at the All-Japan Novice Championships B division

▼ 2006

February — Shizuka Arakawa won the women’s singles gold medal at the Turin Olympics

October — Placed 3rd at the All-Japan Novice Championships A division

▼ 2007

March — His home rink reopened as Ice Rink Sendai

April — Entered Nanakita Junior High School

November — Placed 3rd at the All-Japan Junior Championships

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709140000139.html

2017.09.15

He imitated Mao Asada’s jumping technique to land a triple Axel: “You don’t need strength.”

<Hanyu History (3)>

In the summer of 2008, Hanyu Yuzuru had a breakthrough at a national training camp in Nobeyama, Nagano, (Correction: it should be at Chukyo University Ice Arena) where promising junior skaters had gathered. During his novice years, Hanyu had learned one triple jump after another, but the one thing he still could not do was the triple Axel (three-and-a-half rotations). It was at that camp that he met 17-year-old Mao Asada for the first time. Watching her jumps, which floated effortlessly into the air without forcing them, he realized, “You don’t need strength.” He tried imitating Asada’s jumping technique and gave it a light attempt. He landed it on his first try. He rolled around on the ice in delight.

In March 2010, he won the World Junior Championships, becoming only the fourth Japanese man to achieve the feat. After returning home to Sendai and paying a courtesy visit to the Miyagi Prefectural Government, he declared, “To raise the level of skating, we have to jump the quadruple, not just the triple Axel.” He had yet to land a quad successfully in competition, but he was already envisioning the evolution of men’s skating.

In April 2010, Hanyu became a first-year student in the sports course at Tohoku High School, which had produced athletes such as Yu Darvish, Ai Miyazato, and Shizuka Arakawa. With his senior debut approaching, he told Satoshi Wagatsuma (35), who taught him social studies at the time and is now the school’s baseball coach, “Sensei, I’m going to beat Daisuke Takahashi!” and surprised him. In October, he competed in his first Grand Prix Series event, the NHK Trophy. He landed his first successful quad in the free skate and finished fourth. At the Four Continents Championships the following February, he placed second behind Takahashi, who won the event. In his first senior season, he rapidly closed the gap with the top skaters.

He began attracting attention as a “star of the Sochi Olympics,” but once he stepped off the ice, he was simply an unassuming young boy. After morning practice at the rink, he would proactively go to the skate-rental area, asking, “Can I help?” and hand out skates to children attending skating lessons. Although he often missed school because of competitions, he made time to study and consistently remained at the top of his grade on tests. Wataru Utsumi (22), who was on the baseball team at the time and would always sit with Hanyu at lunch, recalls, “We talked about our training and the girls we liked.”

However, in March 2011, just as Hanyu was continuing to make steady progress in Sendai ahead of his second senior season, he was struck by an unprecedented disaster.

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709150000199.html

2017.09.15

“Because Hanyu was there” — His home rink, closed after the earthquake, reopened in just four months

<Hanyu History (4)>

“I still think there has never been anything sadder than that. Nothing more painful, nothing sadder, nothing more inconvenient.” In August of this year, Hanyu reflected on the Great East Japan Earthquake this way. Even six years later, the memories of that time still weighed heavily on his heart.

At 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, Hanyu was practicing at his home rink, Ice Rink Sendai. Suddenly, the ice beneath his feet began shaking violently. The wall beside the rink came crashing down with a loud noise. He crawled off the ice on all fours and rushed outside into the falling snow, still wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

For the next four days, he stayed at an evacuation shelter with his family. Four people shared a single tatami mat and one blanket. “We were barely managing to get through everyday life, so why skate...? Maybe I should quit,” he even thought. But ten days after the disaster, he resumed training. He had received an invitation to perform at a charity ice show in Kobe scheduled for April 9. His passion for skating came rushing back. Moving between rinks across Japan, including one in Higashi-Kanagawa where former coach Shoichiro Tsuzuki was based and a rink in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, he gradually regained his form.

At the Kobe show, he poured his feelings into “White Legend,” his short program from the previous season. “I just wanted to skate. I wanted to put all these feelings into it,” he said. That summer, he performed in as many as 60 ice shows. For Hanyu, who had lost his training rink, they became a valuable opportunity to practice.

Meanwhile, restoration work on the rink was underway in Sendai. Immediately after the earthquake, the company managing the facility was flooded with letters of support and inquiries about Hanyu. Miyagi Prefecture also quickly pledged its cooperation with the restoration. Teruo Arai (53), the rink manager at the time, recalls, “If it had just been an ordinary recreational facility, it wouldn’t have been brought back so quickly. It was because Hanyu-kun was there.”

Although the building had been damaged, fortunately the refrigeration system, the heart of the facility, remained intact. The ice was laid from scratch, and the rink reopened on July 24, four months after the disaster.

Hanyu returned shortly before then as well. The rink was smaller than its standard size, measuring 26 by 56 meters, four meters shorter in both length and width. As if savoring the familiar surroundings and making sure the place was still there, he spent some time slowly skating around without even attempting a jump. The time to leave this beloved place was drawing near.

<2011>

March 11 — Great East Japan Earthquake

April — Performed at a disaster relief charity ice show in Kobe

July — Home rink, Ice Rink Sendai, reopened

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709160000195.html

2017.09.16

Yuzuru Hanyu, Reluctantly Leaving His Home Rink for a New Base in Toronto

<Hanyu History (5)>

Having overcome the Great East Japan Earthquake and entered his second senior season in 2011, Yuzuru Hanyu grew stronger. He incorporated the quadruple toe loop he had learned to land the previous season not only into his free skate, but also into his short program. After skating in as many as 60 ice shows over the summer, he was confident, saying, “I have more stamina than I did last year.”

At the Grand Prix Series Cup of China, he finished fourth, followed by his first Grand Prix victory at the Rostelecom Cup in Russia. He advanced to the Grand Prix Final for the first time. In a field of six of the world’s top skaters, including Daisuke Takahashi and Patrick Chan, he set a new personal best in the free skate and put up a strong performance to finish fourth. Two weeks later, he placed third at the All-Japan Championships, earning his first ticket to the World Championships.

He entered his first major international competition with the disaster-stricken areas in his heart. Before the competition, he wrote replies to all 500 fan letters he had received. “The only thing I can give is my results. I want to show that Japan is doing its best, as a representative of the disaster-affected areas.” There was another reason he felt he had to deliver results. This would be his final competition with coach Nanami Abe, his longtime partner in training. With the 2014 Sochi Olympics in mind, he had decided to move his training base overseas from the following season.

In March, at the competition in Nice, France, Hanyu got off to a slow start, placing 7th after the short program. In the free skate, he stumbled during his step sequence. He had sprained his right ankle shortly beforehand. Nevertheless, he got back up with a look of sheer determination and poured his overflowing emotions into his performance. Before the choreographic sequence, a highlight of the second half, he let out a roar. After finishing his skate, he was breathing heavily as he raised his right fist. Tears streamed down his face. He placed 2nd in the free skate and 3rd overall. With a performance of breathtaking intensity, he won the bronze medal.

After returning from France, he bravely said goodbye to his rink mates and others involved, telling them, “I’m off.” However, when he went to the skate shop near the rink where he always had his skates sharpened, he broke down in tears. “The truth is, I don’t want to go…” Even though he had to leave behind the people and places he loved, he had to keep moving forward. With a heavy heart, he departed for his new home in Toronto, Canada.

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709190000200.html

2017.09.19

“He had the same aura as Yuna” — Hanyu’s summer at 17

<Hanyu History (6)>

At 17, Yuzuru Hanyu left his hometown of Sendai in May 2012 and moved to Toronto, Canada, to train under coach Brian Orser, who had coached 2010 Vancouver Olympic gold medalist Yuna Kim. However, life in a foreign country, where he had moved with only his mother, was not easy.

Having suffered from asthma since childhood, wearing a mask to protect his respiratory system was essential. In Canada, he was sometimes met with strange looks because of it. The taste of food, especially meat and vegetables, was different from what he was used to in Japan, which caused him stress. He also struggled to communicate effectively in English. Aside from commuting between his apartment and the training rink by subway, he rarely went out.

Even amid this suffocating daily life, he was able to immerse himself in training at the Cricket Club, his training base. With a history spanning about 190 years, it was one of Canada’s prestigious private sports clubs. He was able to learn from specialists in areas such as spins, steps, and skating. Two walls of the practice rink had large mirrors, allowing him to check his own movements while skating. There, he went back to the basics of skating. Being able to train alongside his rapidly improving rival, Javier Fernandez of Spain, was also a major source of motivation.

That summer, Hanyu's former coach, Mami Yamada, visited the club with her student and was surprised. "He had the same aura as Kim Yuna, whom I had seen there before. I thought this boy would really win a gold medal." After the NHK Trophy in November, Hanyu said, "I feel very fulfilled right now. I think moving (to Toronto) wasn't a waste." He had begun to embrace the changes in his environment positively.

At the All-Japan Championships at the end of the year, Hanyu held off veterans such as Daisuke Takahashi and Nobunari Oda to become Japanese champion for the first time. At the World Championships in March 2013, where Olympic berths for the 2014 Sochi Olympics were at stake, he fought his way back from 9th place after the short program despite injuries to his left knee and right ankle, finishing 4th. He secured all three Olympic spots for Japanese men. In December of the same year, he won the Grand Prix Final. His first Olympics, where he would represent Japan as a gold medal contender, had arrived.

◆ 2012

May — Moved to Toronto, Canada. Began training under Brian Orser as his new coach.

October — Placed 2nd at the Grand Prix Skate America

November — Won the Grand Prix NHK Trophy

December — Placed 2nd at the Grand Prix Final

December — Won the All-Japan Championships for the first time

◆ 2013

February — Placed 2nd at the Four Continents Championships

April — Placed 4th at the World Championships

April — Entered Waseda University

July — Signed an affiliation agreement with ANA

October — Placed 2nd at the Grand Prix Skate Canada

November — Placed 2nd at the Grand Prix Trophee Eric Bompard

December — Won the Grand Prix Final

December — Won the All-Japan Championships for the second consecutive year

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709200000187.html

2017.09.20

Yuzuru Hanyu: "I'm first? Oh my god!" (Excited reaction)

<Hanyu History (7)>

On February 3, 2014, 19-year-old Yuzuru Hanyu arrived at the airport in Sochi, where he was surrounded by about 100 members of the press. Two months earlier, he had won the Grand Prix Final for the first time. Ranked No. 1 in the world, he had arrived in Sochi as a leading gold medal contender.

In the team event short program held before the individual competition, he took the top spot, giving him confidence heading into the individual short program on the 13th. At the starting position, he took a light breath and looked straight ahead, his face brimming with confidence. The music was “Parisienne Walkways.” His opening quadruple toe loop was flawless from takeoff to landing. He flowed through his spins, jumps, and steps with tremendous energy, then finished with his right fist raised. "My legs were shaking," he said. But there was no sign of that nervousness in his perfect performance. In the Kiss & Cry, as he waited for his score, he saw 101.45 points, the first score in history to surpass 100. “Yes!” He took the lead, bringing the gold medal within much closer reach.

But the Olympics had a “monster” lurking after all. As victory came into sight, he had unconsciously placed pressure on himself. He went into the free skate with his heart slightly unsettled. He immediately fell on his opening quadruple Salchow. He landed the subsequent quadruple toe loop, but lost his balance on the triple flip and put both hands on the ice. He skated the rest of the program without mistakes, but a sad smile appeared on his face. He resigned himself to the thought, “The gold medal is gone.” But immediately afterward, Chan, who had been second in the short program, made a series of mistakes. Hanyu edged him by just 0.54 points in the free skate as well, and the gold medal fell into his hands. “I’m first? Oh my God!” he exclaimed.

“I couldn’t perform to my full potential. I lost to myself. I feel both happy and frustrated.” Yet, when he saw the Japanese flag atop the podium, joy naturally welled up inside him. “I was able to stand here carrying the hopes of thousands, even tens of thousands, of people who supported me in Japan and around the world. I’m so happy. I feel like I was able to give something back.”

He became the second teenage Olympic champion in 66 years, the first since Dick Button at the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics. The future should have been bright, but many trials awaited him in the years that followed.

◆ 2014

February — Won the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics, becoming the second youngest person in history to do so (19 years, 65 days).

March — Won the World Championships for the first time, becoming only the second Japanese man to do so after Daisuke Takahashi in 2010.

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709210000183.html

2017.09.21

Yuzuru Hanyu Turned the 2014 Cup of China Collision Accident into Fuel for His Breakthrough

<Hanyu History (8)>

Yuzuru Hanyu became the second-youngest Olympic champion in history at age 19 at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Without taking a break, he turned his attention to his next goal. “I’ll work hard so that people see my gold medal not as a fluke, but as the result of my ability. I’ll turn the pressure into strength.” In August that year, he announced that his new free skate would feature three quadruple jumps for the first time. A new challenge had begun as he set his sights on winning back-to-back Olympic titles at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

But numerous difficulties lay ahead. He suffered an unexpected accident at the Cup of China, the first event of the Grand Prix Series. He entered the six-minute warm-up just before the free skate in second place after the short program. While both he and China’s Han Yan were skating at speed, they collided head-on as they turned around. Hanyu crouched on the ice for some time, bleeding from the head. He briefly left the rink, but about 15 minutes later, he returned with a bandage wrapped around his head and forced himself to compete. Despite skating unsteadily, he made it through the program and held on to second place.

A detailed medical examination found five injuries in total, including a laceration to the head and a contusion to his left thigh, and doctors estimated that he would need two to three weeks to recover. Nevertheless, he decided to compete at the NHK Trophy two weeks later. Some people criticized his decision to continue skating at the Cup of China, but he stood by his own decision. “I understand that some people may criticize my coach and the federation for allowing me to do something reckless, but I’m grateful that they respected my wishes,” he said, asking for their understanding. Still not fully recovered, he finished fourth at the NHK Trophy. He then won the Grand Prix Final, having secured his spot as the sixth qualifier.

His body was still crying out in pain. After the All-Japan Championships, he complained of abdominal pain and was diagnosed with a urachal remnant. He underwent emergency surgery and was hospitalized at a hospital in Tokyo. He spent New Year’s and even his coming-of-age ceremony in bed, battling postoperative pain. In January, he sprained his right ankle. Amid these injuries, he arrived at the World Championships, the final competition of the season.

The venue was the same Shanghai rink where he had experienced the collision at the Cup of China. Mistakes in the free skate meant he finished second, missing out on a consecutive title, but he was proud to have skated through to the very end. “This season had its ups and downs. It was a constant cycle of good and bad, but I feel that what I went through will be valuable not only in my skating career, but in my life as a whole.” This difficult season became the driving force behind his great leap forward.

◆ 2014

April — Victory parade in his hometown of Sendai, attended by 92,000 people.

November — Collided with Han Yan just before the free skate at the Cup of China, but continued skating and finished 2nd.

November — Finished 4th at the Grand Prix NHK Trophy.

December — Won the Grand Prix Final for the second consecutive year.

December — Won the All-Japan Championships for the third consecutive year.

December — Underwent surgery for a urachal remnant.

◆ 2015

March — Finished 2nd at the World Championships.

April — Finished 3rd at the World Team Trophy.

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709220000153.html

2017.09.22

Yuzuru Hanyu Reaches Even Greater Heights with “SEIMEI”

<Hanyu History (9)>

In spring 2015, Yuzuru Hanyu encountered the free skate that would become a defining program of his career. Wanting to “expand my range,” he searched for music and eventually found Onmyoji, a film adaptation of a fantasy novel about Abe no Seimei. He arranged music from the film and named the program “SEIMEI” himself. It was his first Japanese-style performance, incorporating movements from traditional arts such as Noh and Kyogen. He also incorporated the three-quadruple-jump layout he had abandoned the previous season because of injury. For the short program, he continued with last season’s “Ballade No. 1.”

These two programs would go down in history. In November, at the NHK Trophy in Nagano, the third event of the Grand Prix season, he successfully attempted a two-quadruple-jump layout in the short program for the first time. In the free skate, he delivered a flawless performance with three quads. He set new world records in the short program, free skate, and total score. “I was really surprised,” he said, faced with numbers so astonishing that even he could hardly take them in.

What pushed his scores higher was his strong desire to keep evolving. A month before the NHK Trophy, immediately after finishing second at Skate Canada, he personally asked coach Orser to increase the number of quads in his short program from one to two. He was certainly frustrated by the loss, but he was already looking ahead. “Two quads are going to be necessary by the PyeongChang Olympics. If I want to win back-to-back Olympic titles, I have to become overwhelmingly stronger.”

His free program “SEIMEI,” which combined his enigmatic charm as Abe no Seimei with his high-level technical skill, took him to even greater heights. In the figure skating world, dominated by Europe and North America, a Japanese-style performance carried the risk of dividing the judges’ opinions. Yet at the NHK Trophy, he scored 97.20 out of 100 in the program components, a score approaching perfection. It was the moment a masterpiece that would change the history of the sport was born.

Just two weeks later, at the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, Spain, he once again broke his own world records in the short program, free skate, and total score. After the competition, he hinted that he might attempt the quadruple loop, a jump no one had yet successfully landed in competition, saying it was “up for discussion.” Two years after the Sochi Olympics, figure skating had already entered an era in which top skaters could no longer win without landing multiple quads. Hanyu’s constant drive to raise both his technical level and his scores helped accelerate the arrival of the “quadruple-jump era.”

◆ 2015

November — Finished 2nd at Grand Prix Skate Canada.

November — Won the NHK Trophy with world-record scores of 106.33 in the short program, 216.07 in the free skate, and 322.40 overall.

December — Won the Grand Prix Final for the third consecutive year, setting new world records with 110.95 in the short program, 219.48 in the free skate, and 330.43 overall.

December — Won the All-Japan Championships for the fourth consecutive year, the first skater to do so in 29 years.

◆ 2016

March — Finished 2nd at the World Championships.

April — Announced that he had suffered a Lisfranc ligament injury in his left foot and would require two months to recover.

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709230000162.html

2017.09.23

Yuzuru Hanyu became the first in the world to successfully land a quadruple loop.

<Hanyu History (10)>

In the 2016–17 season, the pre-Olympic season, Yuzuru Hanyu finally introduced a new weapon to his arsenal: the quadruple loop. It was a jump he had been developing since around the time of the Sochi Olympics. He attempted it at his very first competition of the season, the Autumn Classic, and became the first person in the world to successfully land it.

Due to treatment for an injury to his left foot sustained in April 2016, his training started later than usual, and he wasn't able to seriously practice jumps until August. With six quadruple jumps planned, two in the short program and four in the free skate, his training naturally became heavily focused on jumps. This created friction with coach Orser. After his second competition, Skate Canada, where he made repeated jump errors, the two finally confronted each other over their differing views.

Coach Orser emphasizes the importance of the “total package” of a performance, while Hanyu believes that “if the jumps aren’t landed, it’s not a total package.” In their fourth year as coach and student, they finally had a heart-to-heart talk and discovered that they were aiming for the same goal. Hanyu said, “I had been frustrated because I couldn’t speak my mind before. A lot of the barriers between us have come down.” This deeper communication also had a positive impact on his performances.

At the March 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Hanyu got off to a slow start, sitting fifth after the short program, 10.66 points behind the leader. Then he staged a stunning comeback in the free skate, reclaiming the world title for the first time in three seasons. It was a miraculous performance that Hanyu himself described as feeling “like I had plunged right into a river.” He earned more than two points in positive Grade of Execution on all four quadruple jumps, showing an extraordinary level of perfection. “With each jump I landed, I gradually felt like I was blending into nature.” He broke his own all-time record for the highest free skate score, which he had set at the Grand Prix Final the previous season. Chen, whom Hanyu had lost to at the Four Continents Championships a month earlier, and Uno were attempting more difficult jumps. Even so, Hanyu proved that if he skated perfectly, he could win.

With the Olympic season approaching, Hanyu began speaking with coach Orser for about 10 minutes after each practice. Together, he and the renowned coach, who had supported skaters including Yuna Kim at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, worked meticulously on his preparations. On the walls of the rink at the Cricket Club, his training base, are engraved the names of past World and Olympic champions. As he aimed to become the first man in 66 years to win back-to-back Olympic titles, he envisioned seeing his own name engraved there as well.

<The End>

◆ 2016

October — Successfully landed the first quadruple loop in history at the Autumn Classic, his first competition of the season.

November — Finished 2nd at Grand Prix Skate Canada.

November — Won the Grand Prix NHK Trophy.

December — Won the Grand Prix Final for the fourth consecutive year.

December — Withdrew from the All-Japan Championships after coming down with influenza.

◆ 2017

February — Finished 2nd at the Four Continents Championships.

March — Won the World Championships, setting a new world record in the free skate.

April — Won the World Team Trophy. Became the first in history to successfully land three quadruple jumps in the second half of the free skate.

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709260000111.html

2017.09.26

Yuzuru Hanyu, Jin Boyang, and others: The evolved era of quadruple jumps / Takahiko Kozuka

Takahiko Kozuka Discusses Jumps (1)

Takahiko Kozuka (28), who won the silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, provides figure skating commentary for Nikkan Sports. Kozuka, who also competed at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, discusses the jumps attracting attention in men’s singles. With the sport entering an era in which skaters incorporate five quadruple jumps of three to five different types into their free skates, he predicts that at the PyeongChang Olympics, the skaters who execute all their elements, including quadruple jumps, without mistakes will come out on top. He also discusses the differences between the six types of jumps.

The situation surrounding quadruple jumps has changed rapidly. Over the past two years, Shoma Uno has successfully landed the flip, while Yuzuru Hanyu has landed the loop. Nathan Chen of the United States and Boyang Jin of China can perform the Lutz. With five of the six types now being performed, excluding the quadruple Axel, Kozuka describes the current situation as “getting very close to the limits of what humans can do.”

Kozuka: First, Hanyu came along as a skater who could land quadruple toe loops and Salchows one after another with ease. How could we beat him? Simply doing the same thing would just be an imitation, and it wouldn’t be enough to beat Hanyu. I think everyone started thinking about trying new jumps. As a result, the technical scores increased, and the program component scores also rose. Looking at this trend, you can think of it as a shortcut under the current scoring system to first raise your technical score through jumps and then score points in the latter half of the program.

Kozuka also focuses on 19-year-old Boyang Jin alongside Hanyu.

Kozuka: His contribution has also been significant. I saw Jin, who was 16 at the time, at the Junior Grand Prix event in Aichi in September 2014. He was doing quadruple toe loops and Salchows, and later mastered the Lutz as well. If juniors were doing that many quadruple jumps, seniors couldn’t afford to fall behind. We had no choice but to do it too. Those feelings must also have been behind the progress of the quadruple jump.

The current quadruple-jump era revolves around four skaters: Hanyu, Uno, Chen, and Jin. While Hanyu has three types, Chen became the first in history to compete with five types, while Uno and Jin have put four types into competition. Two seasons ago, Hanyu had such a large lead in jump composition, or base value, that he could win even with one fall. But the situation has changed.

Kozuka: Now that the other skaters have mastered the flip and Lutz, a single mistake could be fatal. I thought that whoever could skate without mistakes on the day of the competition would suddenly move to the top. Until then, there had been differences in the technical aspects of the jumps. Now the others have caught up and are trying to overtake him, and the level of ability has become much more evenly matched.

Hanyu has announced that he will include five quadruple jumps of three different types in his free skate this season. In the second half, he has prepared a quadruple toe loop as part of a combination. On top of that, he is also preparing to add the Lutz, which has a high base value, to his program. The quadruple-jump era evolved by Hanyu, Boyang Jin, and others has begun a lively and grueling Olympic season in PyeongChang.

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709270000168.html

2017.09.27

Hanyu's quadruple jumps are sharp and fluid; Four Skaters, Four Different Quads

<Takahiko Kozuka Discusses Jumps (2)

Takahiko Kozuka (28), who won the silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, discussed the characteristics of the jumps of Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, Nathan Chen of the United States, and Boyang Jin of China, the four skaters known for their multiple quadruple jumps. In addition to the base value of a jump, the positive points awarded for Grade of Execution (GOE) have also become important.

Kozuka: For a long time, people have said that “jumps with flow are beautiful.” Hanyu’s jumps have a narrow axis of rotation and a sharpness to them. The image is of him spinning “tightly.” There is flow from the entry into the jump all the way through the landing. He draws a beautiful parabola, but if anything, he has more width, or distance. Because there is flow, he is more likely to receive positive GOE.

Uno, in addition to the flip, loop, and toe loop, successfully landed a Salchow for the first time at the Lombardia Trophy on the 16th.

Kozuka: Uno gives me an image of being very consistent and making few mistakes. When he is rotating, there is a powerful “whoosh” to him. As a jump, I think he is more of a power type.

Chen became the first skater in history to successfully land five types of quadruple jumps. Boyang Jin currently uses four types in competition, including the quadruple Lutz, the most difficult quadruple jump at present.

Kozuka: Chen and Boyang Jin are quite similar. Both give a strong impression of jumping high vertically. When it comes to GOE, people who jump with more width, or horizontal distance, tend to have a harder time getting high scores. But at present, there is an aspect of the scoring where successfully landing highly difficult jumps makes it easier to earn points.

Boyang Jin raises his chin while rotating. Among top skaters, this is an unusual type.

Kozuka: I used to raise my chin too. When they are little, many children raise their chins because their heads are heavy relative to their bodies. It may simply be a habit from that time. Jumps are different for everyone, and Boyang Jin is able to establish his rotational axis in that position, so I think it falls within the range of individual style.

The International Skating Union (ISU) is considering rule changes after the PyeongChang Olympics. With technical scores for quadruple jumps rising sharply, the trend is said to be toward restoring a balance with the program component scores. Depending on the rule changes, the value of quadruple jumps could decrease.

Kozuka: It depends on the rules, but I don't think the trend we've seen so far will suddenly change all at once. In the past, the rules for the right-foot sit spin changed, and points became higher if you leaned from the outside edge to the inside. We had been taught that “people who aren't good at it spin on the inside,” so nobody did it. Even though we knew it would earn more points, we didn't do it. There was a period like that. Because it looked uncool. Even if the rules are revised, the scoring system itself isn't going to change, so I don't think there will be that big a change.

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709280000184.html

2017.09.29

The thrill of not knowing whether you'll succeed or fail is what makes quadruple jumps so appealing

Takahiko Kozuka Discusses Jumps (3)

Although quadruple jumps have advanced rapidly, there was once a time when they were considered the norm. Takahiko Kozuka (28), who won the silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, discusses their appeal and evolution.

Kozuka: The appeal of the quadruple jump lies in the power and spectacle of the time spent in the air. There is about 0.7 seconds when you are completely off the ice. There is also the fact that you attempt it at the beginning of the program, or later in the second half, when you are physically exhausted and the going gets tough. You may also be doing difficult things in the spins and steps, but the suspense of whether the jump will succeed or fail is what makes it so appealing.

Strictly speaking, this is the second golden age of the quadruple jump. At the 1998 Nagano Olympics, Ilya Kulik of Russia became the first Olympic champion to land a quadruple jump. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, champion Alexei Yagudin of Russia included two quadruple toe loops.

Kozuka: Around 2000, it became an era in which almost everyone, including Evgeni Plushenko, Alexei Yagudin, and Takeshi Honda, included a quadruple jump in their programs. I once heard that at the Chinese Championships back then, you couldn't advance to the free skate on the second day unless you landed a quadruple jump.

The situation changed after the scoring system was revised following the 2002 Olympics. The old “6.0 system” was replaced by a system in which points were awarded for individual elements such as jumps, steps, and spins, with those points added together to form the technical score, while the program component score reflected aspects such as expressiveness. The total of the two determined the result.

Kozuka: For a long time, the thinking was that there was more to do than just quadruple jumps. Then, at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the issue became controversial.

At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Evan Lysacek of the United States won the gold medal without attempting a quadruple jump. Evgeni Plushenko, who won silver after attempting a quad, harshly criticized the result, saying, “If the Olympic champion doesn't know how to do a quadruple jump, men's singles should be renamed ice dance.”

Kozuka: From there, little by little, people began to recognize again that quadruple jumps were part of the appeal of men's figure skating, and they started to make a comeback. It then progressed to two types of quadruples, the toe loop and Salchow, leading to the current era.

In the past, the image of a quadruple jump was essentially synonymous with the toe loop. Today, every type except the quadruple Axel is being performed.

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709290000191.html

2017.09.29

The Men’s Quadruple Toe Loop, A Difficult Jump, Is Now a Must-Do For Men

Takahiko Kozuka Discusses Jumps (4)

There are six types of jumps in figure skating, and all of them are landed on the right foot. Except for the Axel, which is taken off facing forward, all jumps are taken off backward. They differ in whether the takeoff is from the right or left foot, as well as which part of the blade is used for the jump. The base value is set according to the difficulty. In order from highest-scoring, or most difficult, to lowest, they are: (1) Axel, (2) Lutz, (3) flip, (4) loop, (5) Salchow, and (6) toe loop.

Takahiko Kozuka (28), who won the silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, explains the characteristics of each jump. This time, it is the toe loop, the jump performed by the largest number of skaters. Immediately before the jump, the skater places the toe pick of the left foot on the ice and takes off from the right foot. Its base value of 10.3 points is the lowest among the quadruple jumps. In 1988, Kurt Browning of Canada became the first skater to successfully land it in an International Skating Union-sanctioned competition.

Kozuka: When children first start learning figure skating, they begin with the three jump (a half-rotation jump, taking off forward and rotating half a turn). With the toe loop, you can sometimes even break your foot when you plant the toe pick. In general, jumps are almost completely determined at the moment of takeoff. If the timing is off at takeoff, it can turn into just a single rotation.

The quadruple toe loop has become an essential jump in men’s singles. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, a quadruple toe loop–triple toe loop combination was also considered a major technical element.

These days, more skaters are attempting the toe loop not at the beginning of the program, but in the second half, when the base value is multiplied by 1.1. There are also cases where it is incorporated into a three-jump combination, such as Hanyu’s quadruple toe loop–single loop–triple Salchow.

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201709300000199.html

2017.10.02

Quadruple Salchow: Two skaters successfully landed it in Sochi, now it's a basic technique

Takahiko Kozuka Discusses Jumps (5)

Takahiko Kozuka (28), the 2011 World Championships silver medalist, explains the characteristics of the jumps. This time, it is the Salchow. The Salchow is taken off from the back outside edge of the left skate, while the right leg is drawn toward the body as the skater rotates. Timothy Goebel of the United States was the first to successfully land a quadruple Salchow in an International Skating Union-sanctioned competition, in 1998.

Among the six quadruple jumps, its base value of 10.5 points is the fifth highest. Along with the toe loop, which ranks sixth, it has become such a common jump that it can be considered a basic element of the current quadruple-jump era.

The Salchow is generally described as a jump performed with the feet forming a V shape, but Kozuka says there are two ways of executing it.

Kozuka: One type is performed with the feet in a V shape, bringing the right foot toward the left foot before taking off. Takeshi Honda was a representative example. I also used this type.

Honda came close to reaching the podium at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, finishing fourth. In the free skate at the 2003 Four Continents Championships, he successfully landed two quadruple toe loops and a quadruple Salchow. In fact, 14 years ago, he had already landed three quads of two different types and went on to win that championship.

Kozuka: The other type is performed while skating with the feet almost parallel, then twisting the body to take off. Hanyu uses this type. Mura and Uno do as well. Recently, the type where the right foot is placed forward for the takeoff may have become the mainstream.

At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, only two skaters, Javier Fernandez of Spain and Michal Březina of the Czech Republic, successfully landed a clean quadruple Salchow. However, the quadruple Salchow has now become something top skaters can no longer avoid if they want to compete at the highest level.

Kozuka: The quadruple toe loop and Salchow have become the foundation for everything. Once you take those two types out of the equation, the other quadruple jumps have become each skater’s weapons.

◆Timothy Goebel was born on September 10, 1980, in Illinois, USA. He started competing at the age of four and became the first person in the world to successfully land a quadruple Salchow at the 1998 Junior Grand Prix Final. He was called the "Quadruple King." He won a bronze medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201710030000218.html

2017.10.04

The quadruple loop, with its high base score, is the key to Hanyu's consecutive victories

Takahiko Kozuka Discusses Jumps (6)

Takahiko Kozuka, the 2011 World Championships silver medalist, explains the characteristics of the jumps. This time, it is the loop. The loop is taken off by putting weight on the back outside edge of the right skate. The rotational axis, considered the most important aspect of a jump, remains on the right side of the body, or the right axis, throughout the takeoff, aerial movement, and landing.

Yuzuru Hanyu became the first skater in the world to successfully land a quadruple loop in an International Skating Union-sanctioned competition, at the Autumn Classic in October last year. Its base value of 12.0 points ranks fourth among the six quadruple jumps, 1.5 points higher than the Salchow, which ranks fifth.

Kozuka: The loop jump is a fundamental jump in figure skating. Because you take off from the right foot and land on the right foot, everything is on the right axis. The axis never shifts from left to right, nor does it pass through the center. When your jump axis becomes misaligned or bent, you do a loop to check whether your axis is staying in place.

Except for the forward-takeoff Axel, the Salchow, flip, and Lutz all take off from the left foot, so their rotational axis shifts from the left to the right side of the body during the jump. Because the loop keeps the axis fixed on the right side, it serves as a foundation for creating the body’s axis in the air. It is generally performed by creating a loading position, as if sitting in a chair, immediately before takeoff, then taking off from the right foot.

Kozuka: We say that you jump from the right foot, but in reality, everyone has both feet on the ice to some extent. The position of the right foot behind and the left foot in front, however, remains the same.

Just because it's a fundamental jump doesn't mean it's easy. Aside from the forward-takeoff Axel, it was the last of the quadruple jumps to be successfully landed by a human. Because there is no toe-pick action, the skater needs to deeply lean the blade onto its edge and use that to initiate the jump. Nathan Chen of the United States landed his last remaining quad, the loop, at the U.S. International Classic in September, becoming the first skater in history to land five different types of quadruple jumps in international competition.

Among the Japanese skaters, Hanyu and Uno have both incorporated the quadruple loop into competition. Both use it as a solo jump in the first half of their programs. For Hanyu, who is aiming to win back-to-back Olympic titles, it is currently the quadruple jump with the highest base value.

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201710040000228.html

2017.10.04

Uno’s ratified quadruple flip; Lutz, the highest difficulty

Takahiko Kozuka Discusses Jumps (7)

Takahiko Kozuka, the 2011 World Championships silver medalist, explains the characteristics of the jumps. This time, it is the flip and Lutz. Shoma Uno successfully landed a quadruple flip at the team competition between the three continents in April last year, and the International Skating Union recognized it as the first in history. Its base value of 12.3 points ranks third among the six quadruple jumps. The skater plants the right toe pick and takes off from the back inside edge of the left skate.

Kozuka: There is a step called a three-turn. While tracing a large circle in a leftward rotation, you draw a small “3” in the same rotational direction. The flip is like jumping and rotating in the air at that small “3” section.

Brandon Mroz of the United States became the first skater to successfully land a quadruple Lutz in 2011. The skater plants the right toe pick and takes off from the back outside edge of the left skate. Its base value of 13.6 points ranks second among the six quadruple jumps. Since no one has successfully landed a quadruple Axel, it can be considered the most difficult jump at present. Chen and Boyang Jin are particularly good at it, and their quadruple Lutz–triple toe loop combinations can sometimes score more than 20 points, including GOE.

Kozuka: The Lutz is called a counter jump. In the steps, there is something called a counter turn, where you rotate to the right and then switch to a leftward rotation. You can think of it as switching directions, then taking the part where you rotate in the opposite direction into the air.

These two jumps are the same in that the skater plants the right toe pick and takes off from the left foot. The key difference is the way the blade of the left foot is tilted at takeoff. The flip uses the inside edge, while the Lutz uses the outside edge. If the left ankle tilts inward toward the body, it is an inside edge; if it tilts outward, it is an outside edge. If these positions are reversed, it is considered a takeoff violation (Wrong Edge), marked with an “e” and subject to a deduction. Only 70% of the base value is awarded. Even when it is not a violation but the edge is unclear, an “!” (attention) mark is given.

Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/column/figurekoi/news/201710050000186.html

2017.10.07

The Quadruple Axel Needs a Little More Time”

Takahiko Kozuka Discusses Jumps (8)

Takahiko Kozuka, the 2011 World Championships silver medalist, explains the characteristics of the jumps. In this final installment, it is the Axel. It is the only one of the six jumps that takes off facing forward. Since all jumps are landed facing backward, the Axel requires an additional 180 degrees, or half rotation. The Axel, performed by swinging the right leg up and taking off from the left foot, was invented by Axel Paulsen of Norway in the late 19th century.

The quad (quadruple) Axel has the highest base value at 15.0 points, but no one has successfully landed it. The first man to successfully land a triple Axel (three-and-a-half rotations) was Vern Taylor of Canada at the 1978 World Championships. The first person to land one at the Olympics was Brian Orser of Canada, who won silver at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics and is now Hanyu’s coach. If someone successfully lands a quadruple-and-a-half Axel in an International Skating Union-sanctioned competition, they would etch their name into history.

Kozuka: There are skaters who are practicing it. It is physically possible to do up to a quintuple jump, but biomechanically, it is considered questionable. The human brain might not be able to handle it. It’s not enough simply to do a quadruple Axel. You have to incorporate it into the program.

In today’s men’s figure skating, it is common to include three types of quadruple jumps, four in total, or four types, five in total, in the free program. If you want to contend for a top spot in competition, even the quadruple Axel, which has the highest base value, is not enough as a single jump.

Kozuka: Quadruple jump, quadruple jump, quadruple jump, quadruple Axel... Isn’t this getting dangerous for the human body? If someone landed a quadruple Axel just for the sake of a Guinness World Record, while the rest of their performance fell apart, then I suppose that would be one thing... Or if there were an ISU-sanctioned jump competition where landing a jump meant it would be officially recognized. If it were a jump competition where you only had to perform one solo jump, then I wouldn’t rule out the quadruple Axel.

It has been 39 years since Taylor first successfully landed the triple-and-a-half. It looks like it will take a little more time before someone successfully lands the quadruple-and-a-half.

<The End>