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More positive in my mind.
When you see the end, you seem to feel that you only have limited time left.
There is so much to do. You can go ahead without swaying.
I would say, I don't feel unnecessary stress.
That may be why, I really don't know but now each of my day is more fulfilling and alive.
I feel young these days in my mind.
Your real age is young too.
My real age is young, excuse me.
Right, I am 25, compared to you here.
Sorry. Sorry, I .. am still .. ..immature, a spring chicken.
As a competing skater,
As a competing skater I am an older one.
What's your typical day like? For the practice these days.
These days I practice..,
I work from the morning till the evening, The practice on ice is until a little past noon.
After that do the other training, some days ballet, the other days field training,
go home in the evening, do some laundry, prepare my dinner,
have a dinner, take a bath do stretching and go to bed.
You have that routine from Monday to Saturday.
You just keep training everyday like that, don't you get stressed out?
I don't. I often get invited to go out for dinner.
I'm like "well not today, thanks"
Why? Before, you always went out when you get invited.
I did. But now, I'm like, 'I got the practice tomorrow, I would feel tired',
'and I want to do stretching'.
Well it's probably like, now I take good care of my body,
do stretching more than before that keeps my body in a good condition.
If I neglect it I get tired easily.
my body is more sensitive to tiredness I don't know if it's good or bad.
Now I feel good deep inside in my body. I feel it as I'm doing this way.
Also my body is naturally stiff.
I took all the pain to get it flexible bit by bit. I don't want to take a break to get it stiff again.
I try not to waste what I've done.
It's only for three years that I have the chance to do this much.
It's more fun training than playing.
It's fun to play, sometimes I do enjoy that too.
Some athletes are constant everyday workers from an early age,
There are types of athletes,
some are extra vigorous workers when they work but do nothing when they don't.
Many of those with sharp on/off contrast actually get pretty good results.
You were more like that type.
Right. Far from diligent.
If those athletes who run hot and cold also have diligence.. Japanese Gold medalists are most often that type.
Really?
Most of them, more like a genius, instinctive type, but also diligent workers as well.
Now you also got diligence.
Finally, as I get twenty five. It took me a long time.
You play the same music in everyday's practice, how do you prevent being stuck in a rut.
Or you don't feel that way? I don't feel that I'm doing the same old routine.
Now I feel that doing an each little thing can improve me bit by bit.
I don't feel that I do the same thing everyday. I discover new things in my daily practice.
Especially now on iPad, I bought one recently, I see my own practice recorded for me.
I see what I need to improve clearly. It's more convincing than just being advised by others.
Before you didn't see your video or yourself in the mirror.
I hated my videos. And I didn't like seeing myself skating in the mirror.
Why?
I would be disgusted with my ugly performance.
I didn't want to see it to be disgusted with my skating so ugly.
But from this season on, I check other skaters' videos.
Before I checked just my own but didn't see any others.
Now I check many others' and find how they do things
I learn a lot doing it.
I'm having fun. I am like a skate maniac.
After all those years though, at last I'm like this.
You really didn't see other's performances before.
Right.
Jumping a quad is something 'cause it's tough but on the other hand,
I am pretty sure people here want to know why you have such superb expressiveness.
How did you learn expressiveness?
Excuse me a second. Sorry.
I'm Sorry.
I haven't learned it. I wish someone can teach me how to learn.
Excuse me.
You know, you often confuse us reporters with your strange remarks such as,
"Just being pretty and getting it through to you are different." or
"Today I could communicate with audience." or
"Because today's audience steered me to another way I couldn't express rogue, strayed feel"
or other mysterious things.
What do you mean with them?
What shall I say?
There are things just pretty.
But there are also something not pretty but somewhat attractive.
It's hard to make that come out.
You get attracted pretty things 'cause they are pretty, but it's another matter if it grabs you.
Some ARE pretty and also win your heart.
But there are things that make you wonder "what's this feel of grabbed-my-heart??"
It's hard to get that done.
Even you think you do the same thing same way, you may, or you may not be able to do it.
Sometimes I click a perfect connection with the audience.
What is it like?
That, I really don't know how to put it. It's like, "ah, it has come today."
Many different things such as,
just in having an eye contact with one of the audience
I may feel "wow, I got it at this very point." I get like, "I'm feeling good vibes."
Sometimes I send an eye contact to one but that one looks away,
It just happens, it's not that the person wasn't watching.
It could be like one of us blinked at a wrong moment.
When that happens I feel it isn't working.
I feel we aren't in tune.
It's mystifying that you change your performance communicating with your audience.
But I think it is quite important. To me, it is.
If I do something and don't get much response I think it doesn't get through to them,
Or rather, I'm not letting the energy fly at them right.
It's just a feeling.
When you perform like that, excuse my saying this, you aren't like "hey, am I looking cool?"
I get to be told I must be a narcissist. I don't think I am not much of it.
I wonder, I don't know,
because I'm full of inferiority complexes.
About what, for example?
Well, I like clothes. I put them on because I'm not confident in me.
I do look at a mirror. I do it to check if anything is wrong.
I don't do it thinking I look cool.
I go like, "is this lock of hair OK?"
"Does its hanging this way make me look weird?"
So I don't feel that I am narcissistic. I don't sink in self-absorption when I skate.
You don't approach toward the audience "look at me, don't I look great?"
No, great responses from the audience, that's what makes me happy. I think I skate for that.
You don't soak in what you do.
I don't. I think you shouldn't.
So instead, what's on your mind when you skate?
I probably try to see how the audience reacts.
How was the audience in Vancouver?
I was over-excited in Vancouver.
What does it mean?
I was in the air, I couldn't see it well.
Really? When you got 5th place at Worlds in Moscow..,
In that I was skating like this.
I see it but I don't see it. I couldn't see around myself.
How is it this year? What about Japan Nationals?
It wasn't good in Nationals. I sensed some distance.
But in NHK cup or Grand Prix Final when I did it good performances,
I sensed our communication going on in between. Or maybe I just imagined on my side alone.
How do you choose your music?
I don't bring my own choice to the choreographer.
I don't want to limit my range.
As I understand, you didn't find instant hit in this season's Blues or 'Romeo and Juliet'
but you went like, 'Oh well, let me try.'
Blues? And also 'Romeo and Juliet'.
I didn't like Romeo and Juliet very much. I liked the one by Prokofiev better.
The one you skated to was Tchaikovsky's.
But I didn't hate it, I was like 'if you bring it to me, I am OK to try.'
This time with the Blues, since I was like how I was,
I thought I would leave it all to him and let him choose what I wouldn't
so that I can do something different.
You don't skate to the music you like. You may like it what you skate to,
but you are never like 'I want to skate to this music I love.'
My most favorite pieces are usually a bit too gloomy.
Like what?
well..
People probably find it hard to accept the one I once skated to. It's "Bachelorette" by Bjork
with the insane, wild tone.
And..'Strings'.., 'Serenade for Strings'? No, it's not.
'Adagio for Strings'? Well it' s a very dark tone piece.
I like mostly gloomy, dark music. I would go that direction.
I can't make it work well with music like 'Don Quixote'.
Cheerful of buoyant kind.
So, I leave it to the choreographer.
Most of people here must have seen your live skating, But many haven't got the chance yet.
When a first timer comes to a live skating, in what way do you want them to see it.
Tell us how to find the points to enjoy.
Enjoy whatever way you like to.
For one, it's maybe the air you feel
Anyway a live performance is great in anything.
You don't get to see things 'glide' in everyday's life.
also you may like to hear sound of ice, or see the combination of music, gliding motion or jumping.
What about the rules? One can see that a skater did something wrong if he falls in a jump
But even he lands it and still doesn't get points beginners wonder why, at first.
Isn't it just fine? Is it?
I think it's just fine. First you start with what you like or not.
Later you get to know more, then you can see differently.
But to us, if someone who doesn't know much says our performance is good, that makes us feel confident.
It's the best compliment if someone without knowing much tells me, "It grabbed my heart." or "It stayed in my memory"
Once you get more knowledge, you get to see so many things
you may find it difficult to grasp the whole impression.
As reporters, you have done this for four years you have quite some knowledge.
New reporters from another field such as fighting sports or baseball
many have no clue, especially if it's a man.
I think men find it hard to get into it.
But when those people find it good, they usually make a good point.
Right. I can see how.
Those new ones who grumble having no idea, you are popular among them.
Thank you.
I shouldn't be the only one to talk to him so let's find some questions from you here.