Posts tagged daisuke takahashi

- If you’re to summarize this season?
Things were out of sync this season.
Sure, I was happy that I won GPF, but that doesn’t mean I was satisfied.
- What do you think about your age?
I try not to think about it.
I think I can still be on my way up at 27, but I do feel that the rate of going upward is slowing down.
- What about the younger generations coming up and catching up?
I’m excited! Sure, as a competitor, it’s a lot of pressure. But as a skater, especially as a Japanese male skater, I’m excited that this is getting our fans excited and turning more people interested in men’s figure skating.
But honestly, it’s hard! (Laughs) I wish there were 5 spots for us!
- ( A message from his nutritionist: He is a good eater. Not picky. But he does get a bit picky about the soup stocks and how the vegetables are diced. His favorite foods are typical little kids’ foods, like Salisbury steak and cream stew.)
-(From Shizuka: He appears all grown up and responsible but he can’t get up in the morning at all. He’s gotten in trouble with his staff for not getting up in the morning. Yet, he doesn’t seem to think he’s responsible.)
Well, I’m not good at apologizing.
- About Sochi
Regardless of whether I make it to Sochi or not, I’m having the time of my life training for Sochi.
Maybe I’m looking at Sochi as the beginning of my next phase, and I’m preparing now to begin my new life phase.
I feel these training days up to Sochi are so important and so precious to me.

- (How would you like to be remembered in the figure skating history?) Hmm… I haven’t thought about it. (pause) I guess want people to think “That oyaji (= ~uncle) used to be pretty cool and good-looking.” A few dozen years from now, I hope kids see my old performances and think they’re still great.

- (Beauty is important to you?) Yeah, I guess I want to stay looking good.

- (By the way, do you dream at night?) Yes. Mostly nightmares when it comes to skating-related dreams. Since arriving here in London, I dreamt about having to skate two programs back-to-back, but I hadn’t choreographed them, so in the dream, I was skating while desparately trying to choreograph as I skated (laughs). I guess I was mentally stressed out.

- (Probably London didn’t have a good karma for Japanese athletes. Sochi will be just fine! You got your GPF title there.) Yeah let’s keep that thought.

- (So you’ll regroup now and get ready for next season in a bit?) Yes, I am not quite ready right now to start. I’m still feeling a bit down.

(The end)

- (Anything else you want to say about this Worlds?) All I can remember is how hard and frustrating it was. I wasn’t happy with my mental preparation.

- (That’s what coaches are for, isn’t it?) Well, but in the end, it is all up to me. I wasn’t able to fully trust myself, especially my yonkaiten. My axel was slipping away as well. So I ended up worrying about stuff I shouldn’t have been worrying about.

- (Have you thought about taking a break from skating, like Asada-senshu did last season? Maybe difficult to do so close to the Olympic season?) Well, Asada-senshu had been focused on skating all these years. On the other hand, I’ve taken many breaks, and come back from the breaks. Those were good experiences, you know, they weren’t necessarioly like running away or anything. But yeah, I guess I just need to stay optimistic this time.

- (About the team event at Sochi, could it be too much of a burden for the skaters?) Yes, It’d be hard, but there are skaters who wouldn’t be able to make it to the Olympics even if they want to badly, so I will compete in the team event if they ask me to. I wouldn’t to volunteer for it, though (laughs). It’s the first time, and an interesting opportunity, but it would be difficult to prepare for, for sure. The Olympic games is a competition between the nations, not just between individuals, so… I really shouldn’t be thinking about it too much, though.

- (Your 3rd Olympics - how will you mentally prepare?) I was clueless and just so happy in Turin. In vancouver, I tried to enjoy each moment while thinking it was my last time. It was great. If I get to go to Sochi, I’ll definitely aim for the gold, but also I want to take it all in and enjoy it.

- (Thought about post-Sochi?) Not much. But if I’m selected, I might go to Words. It’ll be in Tokyo, so I might not want to miss it. I shouldn’t take it too lightly, though since it’s important for the Worlds spots for the next season.

(To be contonued)

- (Asked about what NM said to him after Worlds.) I guess he said something like it is what it is. It’s not like we didn’t train hard for this, so… I expect he’ll come up with a plan to get me back on track.

- I think, right now, I feel as volnerable as I felt when I injured myself a year before Vancouver. Not only about winning a medal but about whether I could go to Sochi at all… In a way, I had a convenient excuse last time. I could blame the injury if I didn’t do well. But this time, I have no excuse. I’ve been training hard with no interruption, so I have no excuse. I feel a bit of a pressure because of that. The age isn’t an excuse, though, as I shouldn’t be physically peaking at 27.

- (Asked about whether continuing to work with NM.) I can’t say for sure, but likely, I’ll continue to work with him. (Will he choreograph?) No, I have’t thought about that either way. Actually, I am too scared to think about the next season’s choreography!

- (You’ve said before you’d love to skate to Bolero?) Nah, I’m too scared. (Saw Kostner’s?) No I haven’t but I’d imagine she must have made it her own. I like her as a skater. I watched her SP on TV. Great skating. Yuna, too.

(To be continued)

Reading Daisuke Takahashi’s interview that took place right after Worlds, thanks fo Ms. Embrich.

Just a few exerpts:

- I felt that things were’t going well before/during Worlds. I was mentally aggrevated. NM told me to stop thinking too much.

- The whole season was a bit out of sync, actually. The programs didn’t get completed til really late. Adjusting the training schedule for that was difficult. (Asked bout whether traveling/training with NM negatively impacted - ) I don’t think that was a problem. It was different, but not a problem. Mentally, I was focused and motivated, but physically, I was out of sync.

- Training with other top skaters (e.g., amodio, voronov) doesn’t seem to affect me either positively or negatively. I just focus on my own training.

- I felt great about my FS at Nats. (Asked whether he “peaked” at Nats -) I don’t believe I peaked then, but I definitely learned something.

(TO BE CONTONUED)