shinjistar's fs blog

“I’m nervous.” (laughs)

“Frankly, I think the risks right now are greater than my desires to compete. Rather than my own feelings of wanting to participate, of wanting to compete and perform in front of everyone, I think the first thing is to not become a source of spreading infection. And also that I myself do not contract it. Right now, in various regions, the medical (system/staff) is experiencing great hardship, and of course economically as well; I am aware because of seeing it in the news, so right now I think it is most important for me to do what I can to not further burden medical workers who are doing their best on the frontlines. So, since I have made this decision, I will take my own responsibility and must perform properly.”

—On his new programs

“Well, I think the music will be probably announced before you see it, but I think I want to have people look forward to seeing [the new programs]. If I compare it to Seimei and Ballade No. 1, of course, they are not yet at the point where I can have as much confidence in them, however, I hope perhaps it will become a source of inspiring or lighting up someone’s heart with some sort of emotion or feeling.”

“For quite a long while now, I’ve been practicing without a coach, and of course at first it was difficult.”

—On the 4A

“With the exception of configuring the placement and overall flow of the jumps and spins, it’s not an understatement if I say virtually everything else in the new programs was decided on by me, so when thinking about the quad axel, I did picture being able to jump it, and it’s left to whether or not my body can follow through. Well, this time I won’t be doing it, but if I’m honest, of course I did have the feeling of wanting to jump the (quad) axel, so of course I also had the thought of practicing it more, however, by practicing recently by myself, I’ve realized again that it’s not only as simple as that. Like with regards to a program, would I be able to stabilize it if I put in the 4A? If it becomes kind of shaky, what kind of feeling would I end up having towards the program? I think I’ve become able to weigh and consider a lot of these various things. I wonder if it’s that I’ve become a little more “adult.” I’ve become able to consider these kinds of things. I think maybe the kind of performance that I need to be doing now is to (focus on) put out a free and short program of a certain caliber.”*

While winning two consecutive Olympics in figure skating and achieving various successes to remain at the top of the (figure skating) world, Hanyu Yuzuru-senshu graduated from Waseda University’s Human Sciences department (e-school) this September.

“I want to study what it is to be human, not only in terms of figure skating, but from (the perspective) of a discipline that is constantly evolving. Those thoughts led me to major in human informatics science.”

From the start, Hanyu-senshu is said to have liked interacting with computer programs. He developed a (computer) program himself that upon inputting figure skating performance elements, would automatically calculate the resulting maximum score achievable.

“I’m coming from the world of figure skating but I wanted to see myself expressed through data and calculations. The numbers are the backbone supporting (what you can feel) with the senses, so it’s useful for competitive sports as well. Every time the scoring system changes, I’m updating my programs, and even now I’m still using it*.” [t/n: referring to the calculator program]

For his graduation thesis research, Hanyu-senshu pursued the topic of “Motion Capture Technology Applied to Figure Skating and Its Prospects on Scoring” [*technology that can capture the movement of people/objects and translate it into 3D data]. By using 3D motion capture on his own body as he jumped, Hanyu-senshu’s unique approach lies in his method of digitizing the data of his movements.

“I wanted to break new ground not just in terms of sports, but in the area of research overall as well. In order to prove that there are new possibilities in research, I chose a theme that no one except myself would be able to do. In terms of the future, I hope it will come in useful for the development of figure skating, such as in furthering athletes’ technical progress or AI-run automated scoring.”

Making time for academics while maintaining the very busy life of a brilliantly accomplished athlete is not an easy task. During his time as a student, when studying, Hanyu-senshu wanted to concentrate solely on that, and so there were many days where he would listen to lectures on his own on his days off, and would write his reports while flying on long flights, and after landing at the airport, would submit his assignments.

“E-school became an opportunity for me to learn how to manage my time and change my thinking. It’s up to you yourself to create the environment for your learning. If you have the drive to truly learn, it can be a chance to influence your sense of values and overall knowledge*. So I very strongly felt that I didn’t want my studies thus far to go to waste.” [t/n: he seems to be implying the knowledge goes beyond simply schoolwork]

Hanyu-senshu looks back on his university life as “difficult, but I learned a lot of things.”

Yuzuru: “The relationship between COVID19 and asthma is still not clear, and as there is not sufficient information either, it's a difficult position to make judgments from, but, because there are reports that those affected with respiratory illnesses are more susceptible to get seriously ill if they contract COVID19, I want to act with the utmost caution. Also, regardless of my asthma specifically, I think it's important to consider my actions carefully from the perspective/experiences of other athletes, who upon contracting COVID19, had their athletic activities put in a difficult situation due to after-effects of the virus.

“It is also expected that it would be difficult for my coach (Brian) Orser, currently living in Canada, to come over to Japan for the sake of accompanying me in competitions held in Japan. Alternatively, if I were to participate in Canadian competitions from (being based in) Japan, I would be required to undergo a two week period of self-isolation upon entering Canada. Since skating-related activities and practice aren't possible during that period, as an athlete, I could not hope to go to competition in ideal condition.

“In the midst of this COVID19 crisis, due to my movements*, there is also the possibility of many people travelling and gathering, which as a result would increase the risk of virus transmission. As the rate of virus infection has yet to slow down around the world, we should not become a vector for spreading further infection, and so [in this instance] if my restraint** can act as a means of preventing virus contraction, I think it may contribute as an overall action helping to curb the spread of the virus.

“Although it is with my sincere regrets, because of the aforementioned reasons, I have made the decision to withdraw from this season’s ISU Grand Prix series. I hope for the end of the COVID19 crisis as soon as possible.”

translation notes: 

*referring to competitive schedule and people going to competitions