Yuzuru Hanyu BR: YUZU DAYS - Interview on P&G website

P&G Interview: Path of growth [part 2: senior]

—- Hanyu’s senior debut was in the 2nd year of junior level, the autumn of 2010. Normally, many skaters stay in junior level until 1st year of university. Entering senior competition in 1st year of high school is unusually early. In addition, in his first Grand Prix competition, the NHK Trophy, he landed his first quad. With a striking start to his senior stage, what was that period like? ——-
About my early advancement into senior level, at that time I won all the competitions in the Junior Grand Prix and I wanted to compete on the big senior stage as soon as possible. Of course, my coach, my parents and other people encouraged me, but I myself wanted to take on the challenge early. The performance at senior level is longer and includes quads; the difficulty level in terms of stamina and technique is higher. Putting myself in a more demanding environment and undergoing many trials, I will definitely grow; this thought sealed my decision.

At the 1st NHK Trophy, landing a successful quad gave me the confidence to move forward at senior level. Because at that time, the success rate of my quads during practice was only about 1 in 50. But rather than confidence, it was actually over-confidence. In the Cup of Russia that followed and after that, I could not land it at all….. I was painfully aware of myself still having the disposition of a junior. From then, I struggled with it and practised repeatedly. That is why, when I finally landed it at the 4 Continents Championship and I came in 2nd place, I was so happy.
—-11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake. Hanyu, who had just finished his senior debut season in February, was practising in the rink near home when the disaster hit. He escaped and went to an evacuation centre. When he resumed skating, he did charity ice shows for earthquake recovery efforts and moved around the country. The experience that is beyond description, how did Hanyu take it?-——

After the earthquake, the Higashi-Kanagawa rink helped me (allowed me to practise there) and I participated in ice shows held for charity towards the disaster. My father had to work in Sendai, my sister had to go to school there, they could not leave Sendai. So mother and I moved from place to place around the country for the ice shows, living in hotels day to day. From that time on, mother and I relied on each other and worked together to devote ourselves to skating.

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P&G interview: Path of growth [part 3: A new world, Canada ~ current period]

–In 2012, Hanyu left Sendai for Toronto, Canada to train under new coach Brian Orser in a renowned skating club there. Polishing his skills daily in a new land with skaters from around the world, what kind of changes did he have?–
I went to Canada and the huge change in environment was very stimulating. Choosing Canada was to a large extent due to the presence of Javier Fernandez who is very good at quad jumps. For me, I can perform better when there is tension. There were many times that I successfully landed jumps for the first time at official practices before competitions, because there were other rivals skating around right in front of me. There is that same kind of tension here. Javier is jumping right in front of me. I will think “that’s really good”, “I can’t lose to that”. Practising everyday with that kind of tension is a big advantage for me.

The club in Canada has a rink that’s specially for figure skating, and so my practice time on the ice has increased. The contents of practice, from basic skating skills, were reviewed; the contents of physical fitness training and the quality were changed. Also, the coach taught methods of concentration and control of emotions for competitions, which led me to be confident towards the Olympics.
–Running around the world with Canada as a base, during off season there are also ice shows and such in Japan. How does he spend precious holiday time? In 2013, he enrolled in Waseda University; Hanyu also has the role of a student. How does he spend time with his family?–
Even though it’s called off season, there are ice shows, interviews and such, there is hardly any real off period. Even during the on-season, considering the control of the physical condition, it is important to have a balance between practice and rest, and so there are days that I don’t go on the ice. At those times , I will mainly be studying. Now I am majoring in information science (or computer science) and it is pretty tough. I take lessons on the internet, I have to write reports and sometimes there are tests. Assignments are given every week, and to do them altogether at the end like summer holiday homework is not possible. (laughs)