Countdown to the dream - Rika Kihira interview with Quadruple Axel
Q: Last season was your senior debut. You achieved a wonderful success. Personally, if you could give yourself a score how many points would you give?
R: I experienced a lot of good and bad things, I think it was a season where I developed my confidence, so about 70 points.
Q: What kind of aspect was not enough for the remaining 30 points?
R: At Japanese Nationals and Worlds I was unable to adjust my boots properly, so I could not perform the programs like I wanted to. But recently I managed to adjust my boots by myself.
Q: That is a big accomplishment. How are you able to grasp something like the feeling of sensitivity?
R: I have been told many times about “sensitivity”, but for me it’s more like this kind of feeling “If I can’t jump then I can only switch them” *laughs* On the contrary “I’m not concerned about it”, it’s something that can’t be understood.
Q: So do you experience the same condition while wearing normal shoes?
R: Not at all. When it comes to normal shoes any kind of it would be fine *laughs*
Q: At Worlds, it must have been considerably hard to adjust your boots, right?
R: Yes, I ended up wearing different boots in SP and FP. I used new boots in the SP but they were ill-fitting for me; in the FP I skated using the old ones I usually wore up to that time.
Q: Looks like it would be better if it was a bit improved. This off-season, are there any kind of other activities you are spending your time on?
R: I performed at Stars on Ice, went to Colorado for choreography, I sort of trained every day without resting for even one day. Even though it was called “off-season” the way I am spending the time doesn’t change from when I am in the middle of the season. Or more precisely, now I am training much longer than in the middle of the season.
Q: Right now what kind of training are you focusing on?
R: I am setting up the jumps properly for my SP and FP. And then training for 4S and 3A.
Q: And what’s your feeling about the 4S?
R: I think it it’s quite improved. In a sense, even if there was underrotation, I am able to jump it several times in a day. Even when I feel, physically, that in the jump “the rotations right now are off”, the times that I was told that “that one now is a clean jump” gradually increased.
Q: Do you plan to put in the 4S during the season?
R: That’s the plan. Right now I am practicing in runthrough by jumping 3S but onwards, I want to successfully put the 4S in.
Q: Looking forward to it. This season’s SP, Breakfast in Baghdad is really a great song to dance to.
R: Shae-Lynn presented several programs to me. I wondered if I could express something I have never tried before, and I chose it. The choreo was done efficiently, it is an upbeat and intense program, physically it is pretty exhausting *laughs*. But I think after skating it repeatedly I developed the energy along with it. From now on I want to train with the thought that I strive to do well no matter what song they gave me.
Q: Looks like there is no time to even take a breather.
R: In previous programs, after I finished a spin there was a moment to take a breather like “huff”, but in this SP after the spin ends transitions are inserted so it is a busy program *laughs*
Q: Is it difficult to get the jumps’ timing too?
R: It was really hard at the beginning, it took me about two months to get the timing successfully.
R: This is something I realized recently, but, regarding 3A, the percentage of landing it is higher with uptempo songs. At the beginning, I thought “I can’t do it, it’s too pressing”, but on the contrary in the FP with a slow tempo song, more or less I experienced more difficulties. Before I jump, the longer I hold the set up, I lose control and it’s hard to maintain the axis. Maybe my timing is a bit fast, that’s why I think faster tempo suits me more.
Q: It’s the first time you collaborate with Shae-Lynn, what are you thoughts on the actual choreo process?
R: The choreo process took time, about 5 days, but it was hard unlike anything I have experienced before. I tried different patterns countless times and because it has many difficult movements I had muscle pain everywhere *laughs*. But she guided me intensely through the detailed parts, I really learned a lot.
Q: What is the reason you requested Shae-Lynn’s choreo for this season?
R: I watched Wakaba-chan’s (Higuchi) 007 Skyfall and Rika-chan’s (Hongo) Kill Bill and thought “Ah, these choreographies are nice”. From the middle of the previous season I was thinking “I want to try it once”, “What happens now?”. As a result it became a new challenge for me, I think it’s good that I made that decision. I felt that in those 5 days I got a lesson that changed my own skating.
Q: Since she is a teacher coming from Ice Dance, there are a lot of things that should be learned from her, aren’t there.
R: Really fascinating skills, she is a teacher who has high ideal skating standards. She showed me how to actually use my entire body to perform. I understand it well, it means that “I want to let out that kind of intensity”, it was really manageable.
Q: On the other hand, the FP ‘International Angel of Peace’ is choreographed by Tom Dickson, what kind of program is it?
R: The songs of several faiths from around the world are used. I am expressing an angel who unifies them, and the theme of the program is 'To Hope for World Peace’. I really like this, even though there are some difficulties, such as the fact that each scenery requires me to portray different movements and expressions.
Q: Turns out it is a program with a heavy theme, in what way was the choreo introduced to you?
R: I was told the tale numerous times, it was conveyed to me that I should view the theme of the program as an important one. The movements to express the anger against war are filled with the thoughts of a peaceful world. There is a meaning in each part of the choreo. I want to express it respectfully.
Like in the beginning of Yuzuru Hanyu’s Seimei, there is also the presence of Japan in the choreography, matching the arm movements to the sound of Shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute).
Q: So the expression also changes according to each song.
R: The means of expression (t/n: on and off ice) are respectively different. Even if you can move your hands and shoulders well on land, you must grasp the balance while doing it on the ice, I think it is really difficult. I want to fill up my training until I can do such moments in the season.
Q: Your programs match the music wonderfully. How do you feel about your own musicality?
R: There are a lot of people who are better than me *laughs*. As for me, like singing the song inside of my head, I think of the movements I want to do on some melody. Since I was young I am conscious of matching my movement with the music. If I was told “this movement for this melody” while getting the choreography, I want to be able to match that melody. Even if I am not told so, I think of “let’s match this melody”.
Q: You really have good sensibility to music too. About the costumes, have you decided on both the SP and FP ones?
R: To match the up tempo movements in the SP I think bright colours would be good, so I prepared a red and a blue version. I think the design will give off a mature vibe.
Q: Is it a pants-style costume?
R: No, it’s a skirt. What I was wearing at FaOI was the EX Costume for “The Greatest”. The SP costume is not finished yet, so I wore the black pants.
Q: Is that so. What kind of image does the FP costume have?
R: The designer just told me the imagery, the colour is light green with sparkles, it is tailored to match every scenery on that program.
Q: You performed at FaOI with Yuzuru Hanyu. Did you receive any influence from him?
R: There is the collaboration with ToshI. While ToshI was adjusting the music Hanyu-san was standing in the rink and doing some image-building. I can’t perform on the actual day without checking practice numerous times. But Hanyu-san can build the image of the program inside his head; I want to learn that aspect gradually. I also want to learn from his ability to focus.
Q: Well then, you also have the ability to focus.
R: My problem lies with my sleep. If I don’t get enough sleep I lack the power to concentrate. It’s like, by lacking sleep even the content of my program changes. I’m influenced by the quality of my sleep. The more I think of “I can’t fail” “I definitely want to jump it”, I can’t sleep well. I must do something for it. I think it would be nice if I can overcome this somehow.
Q: It has been decided that your GP assignments are Skate Canada and NHK Trophy this season. What kind of competition do you want to do?
R: During last season’s GP Final in Canada I was able to get a good result and it left a good impression on me; at NHK Trophy there will be no time difference so I think it’s nice and it’s easy to adjust to.
Q: What is your goal this season?
R: In any kind of competition, I want to get high scores in both SP and FP, I want this to be the season where I would be able to increase my personal best score. If I can compete at Worlds, I think it would be nice if I can stand on the podium.
Q: Kihira the athlete is aiming for the gold medal at Beijing Olympics. In this moment, do you have any concept, while imagining the things you are going to do?
R: No injuries until the Olympics. I think I want to challenge the Olympics while having a “leeway” in my mind. Taking the completed form (t/n: sort of like her final form) with me during these remaining two years. During the last season (before the Olympics), I think it would be nice if the state of my mind can be more like “a little bit, maybe I can water down the elements of the program” “competitions are fun”. For the sake of that, I think “from now on of how much training I could do, how much experience can I accumulate”.
I don’t want to have such days where I feel relaxed like “maybe today I should take it slowly”, I think I want to go through this by staying completely focused.
Q: Are you going to stay on your guard?
R: Losing focus for a little bit leads to injuries. As long as I am skating, by staying focused I can spend my days by thinking of things like “I wonder how I should go through to perform the best program at a competition” I think I must compete with my own self.
Q: About wanting to get into your “completed form” in the remaining two seasons, Are you going for the challenge of inserting 4T in next season?
R: I won’t have any leeway in my mind if I could not jump two type of quads. The elements of the program will be more flexible and there will be more range of choices, like jumping one type of quad 2 times. I want to complete 4T too, but really I’m not too good at Toeloop, so looks like it would take some time. First I’d like to attempt it while re-evaluating my 3T.
Q: What’s the difficulty of the 4T?
R: I can do the rotations, but the axis is off. I think if the axis is straight it can be executed well. There is no other way but to maintain the axis and training to get a higher rate of success.
Q: Thank you. Lastly, please give your message to the fans.
R: Thank you very much for always giving me a lot of support. This season I’m going to challenge the 4S. Both in SP and FP I will also face a challenge I’ve never experienced before. I will do my best to have better results than in the previous seasons, and try to improve gradually for the Olympics.
