#realive

Update: added more pics!

Yuzuru Hanyu @ REALIVE 2026 💙

Q: After several months of break, how did you spend that time?

Yuzu: Because I wasn’t able to get on the ice for quite a long period, I mainly used that time to study how to use the body and topics like body structure, and I also practiced dance. In addition, I tried to expose myself to as many different kinds of things as possible, such as videos, paintings, writing, language, and so on. In short, I significantly increased the time I spent engaging with all of these things.

Q: After going through that period, did you notice any changes in yourself?

Yuzu: Through studying body structure and movement science, I became very aware of how much I had been relying on “talent” and “feeling” in the past. Of course, many movements were consistent with physical principles, but there were also things I had been doing in completely unreasonable and very inefficient ways.

In principle, figure skating is a sport that depends heavily on balance. But surprisingly, my balance on land is actually not very strong.

Also, some qualities that a top-level athlete should naturally have, or at least should have trained to a certain level, were things I had not fully developed. During this time, it became very clear which aspects were my “strengths” that I could use almost without thinking, and which were my “weaknesses” where I realized I was actually quite unskilled.

From there, I decided to continue strengthening my strengths as strengths. If I can do them just by instinct, then if I bring them under conscious control, they can become even better. At the same time, when my condition is not good, I may not be able to use those abilities unconsciously, so I am also working on making those “feel-based” abilities controllable and refining them further.

On the other hand, my weaknesses are truly weaknesses, so I need to correct them thoroughly. That is the mindset I am training with.

Q: So what exactly are those strengths and weaknesses?

Yuzu: My strengths are mainly in my back. Specifically, the connection starting from the thoracic spine above the waist is very strong. This kind of connection is very helpful for rotational movements, so I think my jumps have always been powered by this.

As for weaknesses, first of all, the stability of my hip joints is very low. In addition, because I have repeatedly sprained my ankles, their stability is also poor. Another thing is that my ability to independently control my toes is unexpectedly underdeveloped. And I really don’t want to get injured again, so I’m currently working desperately to strengthen all of these areas.

Figure skates are very rigid, so the toes can hardly move independently, and over time from repeated impact, my joints have also become stiff. So right now I am doing two things at the same time: making them more flexible while also strengthening them.

Q: These are very specific discoveries!

Yuzu: I’m also starting to understand more and more why things that can be done on land cannot be done on ice. For example, on land, movements like releasing tension from the waist or curling the body can be done quite cleanly and precisely. But on the ice, in order not to fall forward or backward, you have to maintain balance using the hip joints, so the waist is constantly tense and engaged. Because of that, it becomes extremely difficult to curl up the body.

When I encounter situations like that, I try to think, “Maybe if I use that method, I can make it work,” and keep exploring through trial and error.

Honestly, I actually wanted another six years of break period, but of course that’s not realistic (laughs).

Q: Six years might be too long to wait (laughs). With the knowledge and understanding you’ve gained through your studies, are you able to apply them to your own body in practice now?

Yuzu: Yes, I am able to apply them. On the other hand, the things I cannot yet apply are actually areas where I had not been using my “room for growth” in the past, so I am now searching for those while continuing to practice.

Sometimes, the theoretical knowledge I learn does not fully apply to figure skating movements, because most of these theories are based on “human movement on land” rather than being designed for figure skating. So my job is to connect the two.

Figure skating is actually a very “non-human” kind of movement. For example, spinning or moving backwards… just the act of moving backward itself is already quite unnatural. But in the end, it is still driven by a human body, so every day I am constantly adjusting and “aligning” things, trying to understand how to make those theories actually work in practice.

By connecting knowledge and practice in this way, and continuously having a dialogue with my own body, I am able to keep growing. As for where it will ultimately lead, even I don’t know.

Q: Even during your competitive years, you were also studying these things, right?

Yuzu: Yes, I was studying them, but looking back now, I feel that what I was doing at that time is completely insufficient compared to where I am now. There are so many moments I now think, “I could have done so much more,” so I want to properly make up for that now.

I am approaching this with the same strict discipline as in competition, because I feel it is still not enough. I truly feel that the era of “just skating by feeling alone” has ended for me. If I don’t go beyond feeling, honestly, it just becomes boring (laughs).

Q: During the break period, did you stay in contact with MIKIKO?

Yuzu: Yes. She gives me lessons, and I work on the assignments she gives me. For example, body usage in dance, jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary dance techniques.

During Echoes of Life, the training was mainly based on hip-hop rhythm. Now, rhythm is starting to enter my body more and more. It is still far from enough, but I am refining it while also practicing contemporary and jazz movements that can be directly applied to figure skating.

In this way, my back has gradually started to move more, but when I try to bring it into skating, I still cannot do it at all, and I find myself struggling.

Q: When your body and sensations have changed, what does it feel like to skate your older programs again?

Yuzu: It feels completely different. And precisely because it is so different, my own roughness becomes even more obvious. It’s like, “I want to do it this way, but my current body still can’t do it.” When I watch old footage, because I am already used to it, I think, “It makes sense I couldn’t do it back then, that was my level.”

But now I have developed an ideal image of “I want to do it like this, or like that,” so even when I feel a program went well, when I watch the video afterward I realize I didn’t actually achieve it at all, and that makes me extremely frustrated.

Q: You have been working with MIKIKO for three to four years. What kind of influence has she had on you?

Yuzu: First of all, her movements are extremely elegant. When I actually receive her choreography, there are many things I simply cannot do, and honestly, I still feel frustrated about that.

But at the same time, there are more and more movements I am now able to perform, and those changes also expand into other areas. Sometimes I suddenly realize, “Ah, I was actually trying to do this kind of movement, which is why it turned out like that.” Then when I return to MIKIKO’s choreography, I think, “Ah, so it can be done like this,” and everything gradually connects.

Because I had always been in the system of competitive figure skating and never formally studied dance, only imitating choreographers’ movements to perform, this is a world I knew nothing about. Through working with her, I feel that my body usage has fundamentally changed.

Also… my works are generally quite “dark” (laughs). More like heavy, I guess?

Q: Heavy?

Yuzu: Yes, heavy (laughs). My language is also quite heavy. But through her, I was shown that there are completely different worlds and ways of presenting things.

For example, “this program can be expressed with this kind of color,” or “it can be depicted in this way.” When I actually step into those expressions myself, I feel like my entire world suddenly expands.

Q: So your works are given forms of expression that you yourself had never imagined?

Yuzu: Yes. When I write things myself, I tend to drift toward darker tones like blue, deep blue, navy, or pure white. But she really gave me all kinds of colors. Now, even the world I see feels like it has gained so much more color.

Q: What are your thoughts on this production team?

Yuzu: I really love the uncompromising attitude of everyone on the team, to the point where not even a single strand of hair is wasted. I had never encountered people who are willing to pour so much into creating a work, almost as if they are burning through their lives in the process.

I have always thought of myself as someone who gives everything I have. Even during my competitive years, every performance felt like burning away all the energy I had at that moment. But I had never met people who share that same level of intensity.

So meeting them felt like a miracle. And because I am creating work together with people like this, every time there is a sense of accomplishment, every time I feel, “I’m really glad I did this.” At the same time, I am also able to see a completely unknown world unfolding, and that feeling is incredibly exciting. I honestly find it really enjoyable.

Q: When do you feel fun while skating now?

Yuzu: When I am not yet objectively analyzing myself and just skating casually to music, I suddenly think, “Ah, skating is really fun!”

But the moment I watch the video afterward, I end up thinking, “Well… I really don’t have much talent,” and I get quite discouraged…

Q: Are there moments when you watch it and think, “Wow, that was good”?

Yuzu: There are, there are. But the problem is, I can’t always reproduce that state in an actual performance. I can’t consistently enter that relaxed condition every time.

For example, in the “Poem” segment of Echoes of Life, each time I performed it, I tried to express it from that moment’s version of myself. But sometimes I would think, “Ah, I’m just repeating the same thing again,” or “My body usage is really not good.”

There are times when I feel frustrated by the limitations of skating, but at the same time, I also think that without skating, I would never be able to create these kinds of movements and expressions. In those moments, I still feel, “I’m really glad I kept skating.”

Q: Is there anything in particular you are paying attention to in skating right now?

Yuzu: Almost everything needs attention, to be honest (laughs). Especially how I use my body, I am constantly rethinking it. It is still far from being refined.

Recently, I especially feel that my use of the back is very poor. The choreography given by the choreographer can be done in front of a mirror on land, but the moment I get on the ice, I can’t do it at all…

That feeling of frustration is honestly unbearable… but I think that is something only Yuzuru Hanyu as a figure skater could truly understand.

So at this point, I can only rely on myself to think through it, both from a movement perspective and a structural, physical perspective, about how I should actually drive my body. These questions are constantly on my mind. It is tough, but at the same time, it can also be part of the joy.

me and my child fr fr 💗