Daisuke's interview on Japanese Magazine 'Number'

http://www.bunshun.co.jp/mag/number/index.htm


◆独占インタビュー（2）◆ monopoly interview
文◎田村明子

高橋大輔
「自分はまだまだ甘い」


I really want to read this!
There is interview about two quad attempts at 2008 world and comment about quad discussion between Buttle and Joubert and etc.
I heard it from some japanese blog

na1129 wrote:

I really want to read this!

So do I!

I mean, maybe someone will translate it for us, non-Japanese fans?

hsuhs wrote:

na1129 wrote:

I really want to read this!

I mean, maybe someone will translate it for us, non-Japanese fans?

Actually I can read Japanese, BUT I can't have magazine
Because I don't live in Japan.....

However, I heard some story about this in Japanese blog,
and they said Daisuke's picture are very good and interview content is exellent!

Hi, welcome to DTFF, na1129!
I'm glad that you joined us!
Yeah, I bought this magazine "Nummber"!!

I was very impressed his words at this interview after worlds' exhibition, "I have no regrets about 2 quads that I've done at Worlds 2008." Daisuke added" If I did only one quad, I think I couldn't jump it. For me, Worlds was more special competition than 4CC and Japan Nats. That's why I wanted to try to jump 2 quads at worlds even though I was in bad condition."

Now, what he said made me clear my mind after the Worlds 2008. Thank you, Daisuke!!

Hi na1129! Welcome to DTFF!
Thank you for translation, Leode!
...yes... after 4CC's performance Daisuke had to try 2 quads at Worlds...

Hi all!

Thank you for the translation, Leode! That is exactly what was impressive about Daisuke in Sweden, his attitude!

In my opinion he went out there to win, he didn't underestimate his competition and respected them enough to know he had to show everything to reach his goal!
When that didn't work out he was graceful and classy and just accepted the consequences of his mistakes.We saw after that competition that such behaviour isn't always the norm...
He showed everybody that he is a great sportsman in Gotheburg!

Greetings,
Katharina

Thanks for the translation Leode. It's good that Dai wanted to give it all he had even if he wasn't in the best condition to do so. I'm glad that he is able to put things into perspective and move on so quickly from the disappointment. I admire that about him.

katha wrote:

When that didn't work out he was graceful and classy and just accepted the consequences of his mistakes.We saw after that competition that such behaviour isn't always the norm...

Not trying to start a huge debate but...
Unfortunately, not everyone is like Dai. The world would be so much better if they were but that's the way it is. I think that some fans forget that these skaters are human. They have feelings and opinions. Like any other person, skaters sometimes express things at the wrong time and in the wrong way. In this situation, Brian was coming from a place of anger when he made those comments and he later said that he was not attacking Jeff even though it sounded that way. I agree that he should have had some restraint and maybe worded things differently but there are times where people are so filled with emotion that they don't think.

While Brian is still upset about the result, he admitted that Jeff had the perfect competition. He sees where he lost points (his spins as well as his lip) and he's looking to address those areas. I wish people would give Brian a break on this. Not making excuses for him but his season was all but ruined by his illness. I can understand that he felt that he was not adequately rewarded for putting out his best performance of the season hence the comments on how the quad should be worth more.

Sorry for the long post but I just had to say this...

Oh and hi na1129! I would say welcome but you've been here longer than me so I will just say that it's nice to see you posting!

Hi Swandie!

I should probably give it a rest, but here goes:
First of all, I shouldn't have made such a passive-agressive remark against Joubert while criticizing him for gracelessness...very hypocritical of me. So mea culpa

But while I understand his frustration and, having recently read an article about his health condition was very impressed (and slightly scared) that he skated this season at all I just think that the situation he was angered about was of his own making.
He miscalculated and didn't take enough risks. I don't know, perhaps he wasn't in the physical state to do so. But the fact remains that Buttle had the more technically demanding program even without a quad.
He made those comments publicly so of course people are going to dissect
them. Especially with the endless possibilities of the Internet, besides it's off-season, so there's not much else to talk about

And I personally was just bothered by how disrespectful towards Buttle he came across at the Worlds press conference...

And now I've offended everyone

Greetings
Katharina

katha wrote:

He made those comments publicly so of course people are going to dissect

I think, it depends on people.

katha wrote:

And I personally was just bothered by how disrespectful towards Buttle he came across at the Worlds press conference...

And I wasn't. B/c I don't think he did.

All in all, of the three medalists long programs I liked Brian's the most, and I'm usually not a huge fan of his skating.

Oh no, you didn't offend me. I didn't mean to upset you, Katharina. While I do wish people would give Brian a break, I can understand where they're coming from. The public eye does come with a lot of scrutiny but lately I have been trying to keep in mind that the skaters are human. I feel more inclined to give Brian a break because he did compliment Jeff and he understands where he lost out. I wouldn't be giving him a break if he had said that Jeff didn't deserve to win. My post may have actually come out of something else now that I think of it. If you've read my blog lately, you'll know what I'm talking about.

I guess more people would be more willing to give him a break if he would have simply said something like, "I'm upset with my scores. The quad should be worth more." If it were Dai, I'm sure he would have totally blamed himself (even if there was a chance that he was underscored). When things don't turn out as the way he wants, Dai looks to himself. The Grand Prix Final for example. He was very sad he didn't win. He could have told the media, "Oh, I can't believe I lost to someone who had a hand down and other mistakes while I was relatively clean." But he didn't. Instead he looked for things he thought he could do better. And he came back fighting hard...at the exhibition practice no less! Dai is more mature than most 22 year olds and perhaps is more mature than some of his older competitors. I admire his maturity and his reflective quality and I wish I could be more like him. But I'm not. And neither is Brian. It might take him a bit longer to accept the result completely but when he does, he will do everything he can to make sure that he doesn't make the same mistakes again.

So sorry for going off topic...just wanted to make my thoughts more clear.

Hi all!

Basically just sorry for having brought it up at all! I was bored and in the mood to make a flippant remark, and now I've just turned the whole thread off topic...again!

I think I'll just go now and practice some of the humility I demand of other people!

Greetings,
Katharina

katha wrote:

Hi all!

Basically just sorry for having brought it up at all! I was bored and in the mood to make a flippant remark, and now I've just turned the whole thread off topic...again!

katha, I can't speak for everyone else, but personally I don't think it was that much of OT. You just expressed your opinion, nothing's wrong with that, right?

Welcome to DTFF, na1129! Thank you for the information!

I bought the magazine and the article was very good.

Regarding Brian ( ), I don't have any bad impression on him after I heard his statement.
I think he is a very pure person and has a very strong passion for quad jumps so he just couldn't stop saying it at that time. I believe he didn't intend to blame Jeff but the new scoring system.
And anway, if all of the people had the same character, the world would be boring!

Dai-chan mentioned it in Number's article.

When I asked about this (Brain's dissatisfaction with CoP) , Takahashi answered selecting his words carefully.
"The pressure of both of mental and physical aspect is really different according to whether you do a quad or not. So I have a little feeling that I want Jeff to challenge it." And he went on. "But it is the issue of individual strategy. For myself, I will do what I can do. I wish I can do 100% what I can do. "


Here are some of his coments from the article.

"I don't know why I began to fail all of the quads in the practice. The condition wasn't bad. But it was like that my body and feeling didn't fit well each other."
"This time I pretty well-knew my weakness. Before skating, I really got nervous. I realized how weak I was, especially in my heart."

"I have kept telling myself that I didn't want to use 'pressure' as an excuse. But I should not have pretend to be tough by lying to myself. I should have accept it, shouldn't I?"

He doesn't intend to ask support from sport psychologists as foreign skaters often do. "Ultimately it's me. We have to find the way to win by ourselves. I think the thing required at the last moment in competition is mental strength. There are skaters who can succeed in the real performance even though they aren't in good shape. I suppose that I'm self-indulgent still."

swandie wrote:

When things don't turn out as the way he wants, Dai looks to himself. The Grand Prix Final for example.

If I had been him, I would have done a lot of miserable bad behaviors, I promise....

Many thanks for the translation, miyu!!

Daisuke wrote:

"But it is the issue of individual strategy. For myself, I will do what I can do. I wish I can do 100% what I can do."

Wow, Daisuke is THE MAN!!

katha wrote:

I think I'll just go now and practice some of the humility I demand of other people!

No, you don't have to. As hsuhs wrote, it's nothing wrong with expressing your opinion.

Pls check Brian's recent interview after the worlds 2008 on icenetwork.
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080407&content_id=47004&vkey=ice_news

I totally agree with you, miyu. I don't have any bad feeling with Brian's remarks about quads. Because I know that he obsessed with quads and I like his style and Daisuke's. They always are challenging more harder technical elements, jumps, spins and etc. That's the way it is!

miyu wrote:

Dai-chan mentioned it in Number's article.

When I asked about this (Brain's dissatisfaction with CoP) , Takahashi answered selecting his words carefully.
"The pressure of both of mental and physical aspect is really different according to whether you do a quad or not. So I have a little feeling that I want Jeff to challenge it." And he went on. "But it is the issue of individual strategy. For myself, I will do what I can do. I wish I can do 100% what I can do. "

Here are some of his coments from the article.

"I don't know why I began to fail all of the quads in the practice. The condition wasn't bad. But it was like that my body and feeling didn't fit well each other."
"This time I pretty well-knew my weakness. Before skating, I really got nervous. I realized how weak I was, especially in my heart."

"I have kept telling myself that I didn't want to use 'pressure' as an excuse. But I should not have pretend to be tough by lying to myself. I should have accept it, shouldn't I?"

He doesn't intend to ask support from sport psychologists as foreign skaters often do. "Ultimately it's me. We have to find the way to win by ourselves. I think the thing required at the last moment in competition is mental strength. There are skaters who can succeed in the real performance even though they aren't in good shape. I suppose that I'm self-indulgent still."

Thank you so much for the translation, miyu!

I think, Daisuke has made a very interesting point regarding sport psychology and mental strength.

I personally am aware of only 2 figure skaters who have openly admitted to using help of a sport psychologist. The first one is a US ladies figure skater Alissa Czisny (a year ago she said in an interview she was meeting some kind of 'performance enhancer' to work on her problems). And the second one is Alexei Yagudin.

I'm not sure if the said 'performance enhancer' has helped to resolve Alissa's issues with jumps yet, but I (and all we) know what sport psychology has done to Alexei.

In a recent article on GS I read that Daisuke "is also studying sports history and sports psychology at the university" (c).

http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2007/033008.shtml

I was pleasantly surprised to read that. I think that athletes often hesitate to seek help from outside, because they think that this can be interpreted as a sign of weakness. And athletes are supposed to be strong and fearless. It's also possible that coach's ambitions stand in the way of seeking help.

I guess the reason Alexei had hired a sport psychologist is that he really-really-really wanted to perform at his best in the 2002 Olympics. He already had had an excellent team, but something was missing.

You can see Alexei's sport psychologist in the beginning of this video
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tu3s9aR079k

Unfortunately, the sport psychologist later wrote a book about his work with Alexei revealing all the personal details which was completely uncalled for, unprofessional and crossed the line, in my opinion. But aside from that, he has helped Alexei to achieve his dream.

Thanks for the translation, miyu. It's interesting how important mental strength is in skating. You can have the greatest jump arsenal, the best spins, spirals for the ladies, and footwork but if you can't get your head right, it all means nothing.

After last year, I honestly thought his nerves were under control. He handled the pressure of competing at home very well. However, all eyes were on Brian so there wasn't as much pressure on Dai. This year, everyone was looking at Dai. He had never experienced that type of pressure before and while he was fine at the beginning of the week, as the competition got closer, the pressure and the reality of being the favorite started to set in.
He overthought it and we all know what happened. In his ESPN interview after 4CC (where he was the favorite as well), Peter Carruthers asked him what he thinks about when he does two quads. Dai responded, "I don't think, I just do it." At 4CC, he was so relaxed and happy. At worlds, he was really nervous. I think the biggest thing that Dai can take from this season is that he should relax and not think but just do it.

It's easier when no one is looking at you as the favorite. Not downing Jeff but in some ways, it was easier for him because there were no expectations. I think Dai needed this experience. He needed to experience the pressure of being the overwhelming favorite. Now that he has, I think he will be better able to handle it in the pre-Olympic and Olympic years.

Thank you very much for translation, miyu!

miyu wrote:

"This time I pretty well-knew my weakness. Before skating, I really got nervous. I realized how weak I was, especially in my heart."

swandie wrote:

I think Dai needed this experience. He needed to experience the pressure of being the overwhelming favorite. Now that he has, I think he will be better able to handle it in the pre-Olympic and Olympic years.

As someone wrote, Daisuke is always concentrated on himself, on his work and his performance. This gives him the possibility to better know his points of strength but also his weakness. This is a really good thing for him! I'm sure Daisuke has learnt so much from this experience and he will show this next seasons...

I don't know much about sport psychologists...
...but I think Alexei gave to his psychologist the consent for write about their work... There's professional secrecy, I think.

Leode, I love your new avatar!

Hi all!

Thank you for the translation, miyu! I'll just let this whole Joubert business rest, "agree to disagree" is the saying, I think.

From my point of view Daisuke has grown a lot stronger mentally in the last two seasons. And I agree with swandie that being under so much scrutiny was just a whole new level of pressure! After 4CC basically everyone declared him the favourite and said that the title was his to lose!I can't imagine having to deal with that, it must have been really scary. And ultimately there is only so much the coaches can do, he was as well prepared as he could be but in the end he had to go out there and skate on his own...
And considering the circumstances he did very well anyway, the LP performance was impressive because he skated his heart out even after the mistakes, even though he had to know that it wouldn't be enough this time...

But I believe that he will learn and become stronger because of that experience!

Greetings,
Katharina

miyu wrote:

Dai-chan mentioned it in Number's article.

When I asked about this (Brain's dissatisfaction with CoP) , Takahashi answered selecting his words carefully.
"The pressure of both of mental and physical aspect is really different according to whether you do a quad or not. So I have a little feeling that I want Jeff to challenge it." And he went on. "But it is the issue of individual strategy. For myself, I will do what I can do. I wish I can do 100% what I can do. "

I like him because he is like this
WOW.....His interview is always amazing.


I think he can handle his mental problem some day.
You know, among top male single skaters he is the lastborn!
He is young, but he always said and behaved maturely.
Actually he is a young person with an old man’s mind.


It is not long since he became the favorite as a male skater.
I suppose his lack of experience is the reason why he is weak at big competition.
(indeed I don't think he is weak...before 2008 world he has been ALWAYS 1st or 2nd for two years!)
This competition at Gothenburg will help him get over the problem.


It seems many people forget his young age......
He will able to handle his mental. I believe him!

glorydave wrote:

I don't know much about sport psychologists...
...but I think Alexei gave to his psychologist the consent for write about their work... There's professional secrecy, I think.

Well, Tarasova says in an interview that the contract allowed the psychologist to publish the diaries he kept during the Olys, not earlier than 5 years past the Olys. That would mean what, 2007? But the psychologist did ignore the contract.

Besides, even with the permission of his client, he had no right to reveal certain confidential information, to public. Psychologists have their professional codes of ethics, and those codes are pretty strict.

Wow, what a very interesting thread.

First off, thank you so much na1129, Leode, and miyu for the information and translations which I enjoyed reading very much!! I'm also glad to know that he does not regret having tried to do two quads at Worlds (this is very mature).

Quote :

Basically just sorry for having brought it up at all!

Katha, nobody attacked or bullied any one at all when discussing this, so this kind of discussion here should be no problem at all. And please see na1129's recent post about Brian's nice comment about Daisuke in French. This may improve your impression of him.

Alexei is actually one of my favorite skaters so I remember clearly the news about how using a sports psychologist allowed him to achieve huge breakthroughs in 2002 (including winning the Olympics) after some tough losses in 2001 to Plushenko. I think that the use of sports psychologists could be quite helpful in any sport in general since the mental aspects in sports sadly often hinder the very best physical athletes from achieving their highest potential.

Quote :

In a recent article on GS I read that Daisuke "is also studying sports history and sports psychology at the university" (c).

I'm sure that this has the potential to help Daisuke become an even tougher competitor.

Quote :

I think Dai needed this experience. He needed to experience the pressure of being the overwhelming favorite. Now that he has, I think he will be better able to handle it in the pre-Olympic and Olympic years.

Yes, this was indeed a huge learning opportunity/experience for him and I'm glad that this happened now instead of at the Olympics where the stakes are the highest.

Quote :

The pressure of both of mental and physical aspect is really different according to whether you do a quad or not. So I have a little feeling that I want Jeff to challenge it.

Interestingly, I heard that Jeff is actually planning to train a quad for next year. It might be good for many of the top men to start adding a quad to their repertoire/strategy as it seems that Plushenko is planning his comeback (according to some reports). Even though Plushenko's been out of competition for two years, I still don't want to underestimate him because he has always been one of the fiercest competitors (perhaps in the history of the sport) out there. I really hope to see him at the Japan Open- if he will be there that is.