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tamashiinosenritsu2017-09-28 08:45 pm
melodyofmysoul) wrote in tamashiinosenritsu2017-09-28 08:45 pm
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[Figure Skating] Kevin Reynolds - Figure Skating Life Vol. 9 (March 2017)
This was my first ever article translation, and it was requested by a friend who bought the magazine. I've liked Kevin Reynolds prior to this translation, and the article made me appreciate him a lot more. It just makes me sad that this season will be his last in the competitive circuit, but I'm hoping he goes professional and will perform in ice shows in the future.
The article is mostly written in Kevin’s words, although phrases in parentheses are added by the article writer. Those with T/N indicate my own notes. Please read the longer translator’s notes at the end of the article as well.
***
Kevin was born in Canada on July 7th, 1990. He placed 5th in the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships (Worlds), and was the gold medalist in the 2013 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. He loves anime and Japanese games, and is currently studying the Japanese language.
This article will focus on Kevin’s comeback after a one-year hiatus. Kevin, who placed second in the Canadian Championships and was chosen as one of Canada’s representatives for Worlds, talks about studying the Japanese language and working with Misha Ge on new choreography.
After Skate Canada, I had more confidence in the artistic aspect of my skating so I put a little more power in my presentation. Since my result in the Canadian Championships would have decided my assignment to the next competition, I felt more pressured than usual. I flubbed my quadruple salchow in the short program, but other than that it was a good performance. It was also the first time I had two quad-salchows in my free program and landed both successfully, so it was a good result overall. To be returning to Team Canada (after taking a break due to operation on his injury) makes me really happy.
In the 1 1/2 years since I returned to the sport, the skill of male figure skaters has leveled up extremely. But rather than focusing on that, I want to skate a clean program in this competition. Of course, I’m aiming for the 2018 Winter Olympics, so I’d like to put my best effort in the World Championships as it is important for us to secure the three spots for the Olympics.
This is an era where skaters focus on landing so many quadruple jumps. Every day I practice my free program which has four quad-jumps, so it’s been tough both mentally and physically. But truthfully, I slowly got used to it. I think all of my experiences this season will have an effect in the next one.
For my short program at Worlds, I’d like people to pay attention to the change in the speed and rhythm of the step sequence. As for the free skate, it starts off with a gentle, calm feel, slowly turning into an air of mystery, and finally giving off a certain kind of insanity. It’s that kind of character I want to show to the audience.
Last December, I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N2 level and passed. I was really happy! Every week, I attend 90-minute individual lessons in a Japanese school in my hometown. Other than that, I can’t seem to find more time to self-study the language for even 30 minutes to an hour. Honestly, I want to have more time for studying but I have skating as well as university classes. Because of that, I haven’t been able to watch “Yuri!!! on ICE” yet. When February came, I had a little more free time so I was deliberating whether to relax for a while (and watch “Yuri!!! on ICE!”), or write a manuscript for the speech contest that was to be held in my hometown. I chose the latter. (After that, the 29th Annual British Columbia Japanese Speech Contest was held on March 5th and Kevin won 3rd place in the University-Advanced category. His speech was entitled “Liquid Fear: The Essence of Trump’s Political Success.”)
Isn’t it great that there are expressions in Japanese that cannot be truly conveyed in English or using other words? For example, the saying “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu” is really interesting. It can’t be translated in an excellent manner using other words. There are many such greetings in Japanese and I think that’s really wonderful.
Kanji are very beautiful, too. My favorite character is 氷. (T/N: This is the character for “ice.”) It’s not because I’m a figure skater! I am simply fascinated by how beautiful the character 氷 itself is. Compared to other kanji, it has very few strokes and it looks simple. But when I try writing it I think it’s a really lovely character.
Speaking of kanji, we wrote our first calligraphy of the year in the Japanese school. I was really nervous while writing. As I paid attention to the “stops” and “sweeping strokes,” trying to write as instructed was tough. The calligraphers wrote theirs a lot more beautifully, and I can feel the great respect they have for the writing process. For my calligraphy, I chose to write 前向き which means “forward-looking.” This is so I don’t forget that in the past as well as the present, I always have a positive attitude, continuing to face and move forward in spite of the challenges I encounter. Until now I have worried and thought too much about some things, but the past cannot be changed. Having a positive outlook makes me feel that I will be able to overcome the various challenges I will be facing.
After that, I also tried plate-spinning for the first time. All the teachers can pull this off but I couldn’t do it so I was a little irritated at first. After trying for around 5-10 minutes, I was finally able to do it so I’m really satisfied.
I’ve been juggling different activities – skating, attending university, and my Japanese language classes. There have been times when I reduced my sleeping hours to prepare for the JLPT, and I want to dedicate more time to studying the language. But for example, if there’s a time when I want to skate but can’t, I will switch to getting in the mood to studying for my university classes. The reverse is also true. That sort of thing is fine with me.
In late January, Misha Ge choreographed an exhibition program for me. This season, he also choreographed programs for Alexandor Petrov and Anna Pogorilaya. I thought “This guy’s younger than I and is still an active skater, yet he’s also a choreographer!”, but having him do my choreography never crossed my mind. So after the gala in Skate Canada, he talked to me and said “If you’re interested, feel free to approach me and I can choreograph an exhibition routine for you.” I was surprised, but at the same time I felt really happy. In Canada, particularly in British Columbia where I live, we don’t hold ice shows often and there wasn’t enough time to think about a new exhibition routine after my surgery. It’s been quite a while since the last time I created an exhibition routine, you see? But so far, I’ve liked the programs with Misha’s choreography. So Joanne (McLeod, Kevin’s coach) and I talked, and Misha came to Vancouver for us to run through the choreography. He was a wonderful teacher, and always exerted 110% of his effort into demonstrating it. In the middle, he showed off the choreography splendidly but when I tried to follow him, I was expressionless and I was all over the place. Even then, as someone who seems to have an inborn talent for dancing, Misha conscientiously taught me the steps and I was finally able to do it properly. Anyhow, it was a good experience for us and we had a lot of fun.
When I was a kid, I loved seeing Plushenko’s fighting spirit, as well as his state whenever he is slowly able to accomplish difficult techniques. In addition, I found his rivalry with Yagudin [1] interesting. Also, even if I was not able to see her in the flesh, I liked how Midori Ito [2] always set the high bar at competitions. As for Mao Asada, it’s not just her technique but one can sense that she wants to show an elevated level of artistry. That’s why her skating conveys a sense of pureness to each person, and everyone can’t help but cheer her on.
Watching those athletes as I was growing up, it made me want to do difficult elements that no one has done before. I also wanted to be a skater who possessed a unique skating style. These are still the two things that continue to drive me as a skater. Thus, my current state is the culmination of executing different types of quadruple jumps and trying various choreography.
********
Translator's notes
[1] Alexei Yagudin is a former Russian figure skater who was active in competition from 1993 to 2002. His rivalry with Plushenko was very famous back in the day, which started when they trained together under Alexei Mishin.
[2] Midori Ito is a former Japanese figure skater, and the first female to land a triple axel in international competition during the 1988 NHK Trophy. She was also the first Asian to win Worlds, achieving that feat in 1989.
The article is mostly written in Kevin’s words, although phrases in parentheses are added by the article writer. Those with T/N indicate my own notes. Please read the longer translator’s notes at the end of the article as well.
***
One on the Ice vol. 3
Kevin’s Daily Skating Routine
Kevin was born in Canada on July 7th, 1990. He placed 5th in the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships (Worlds), and was the gold medalist in the 2013 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. He loves anime and Japanese games, and is currently studying the Japanese language.
Switching from time off the ice to being back in competition
This article will focus on Kevin’s comeback after a one-year hiatus. Kevin, who placed second in the Canadian Championships and was chosen as one of Canada’s representatives for Worlds, talks about studying the Japanese language and working with Misha Ge on new choreography.
Qualifying for the Canadian Team
After Skate Canada, I had more confidence in the artistic aspect of my skating so I put a little more power in my presentation. Since my result in the Canadian Championships would have decided my assignment to the next competition, I felt more pressured than usual. I flubbed my quadruple salchow in the short program, but other than that it was a good performance. It was also the first time I had two quad-salchows in my free program and landed both successfully, so it was a good result overall. To be returning to Team Canada (after taking a break due to operation on his injury) makes me really happy.
In the 1 1/2 years since I returned to the sport, the skill of male figure skaters has leveled up extremely. But rather than focusing on that, I want to skate a clean program in this competition. Of course, I’m aiming for the 2018 Winter Olympics, so I’d like to put my best effort in the World Championships as it is important for us to secure the three spots for the Olympics.
This is an era where skaters focus on landing so many quadruple jumps. Every day I practice my free program which has four quad-jumps, so it’s been tough both mentally and physically. But truthfully, I slowly got used to it. I think all of my experiences this season will have an effect in the next one.
For my short program at Worlds, I’d like people to pay attention to the change in the speed and rhythm of the step sequence. As for the free skate, it starts off with a gentle, calm feel, slowly turning into an air of mystery, and finally giving off a certain kind of insanity. It’s that kind of character I want to show to the audience.
On his love for the Japanese language
Last December, I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N2 level and passed. I was really happy! Every week, I attend 90-minute individual lessons in a Japanese school in my hometown. Other than that, I can’t seem to find more time to self-study the language for even 30 minutes to an hour. Honestly, I want to have more time for studying but I have skating as well as university classes. Because of that, I haven’t been able to watch “Yuri!!! on ICE” yet. When February came, I had a little more free time so I was deliberating whether to relax for a while (and watch “Yuri!!! on ICE!”), or write a manuscript for the speech contest that was to be held in my hometown. I chose the latter. (After that, the 29th Annual British Columbia Japanese Speech Contest was held on March 5th and Kevin won 3rd place in the University-Advanced category. His speech was entitled “Liquid Fear: The Essence of Trump’s Political Success.”)
Isn’t it great that there are expressions in Japanese that cannot be truly conveyed in English or using other words? For example, the saying “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu” is really interesting. It can’t be translated in an excellent manner using other words. There are many such greetings in Japanese and I think that’s really wonderful.
Kanji are very beautiful, too. My favorite character is 氷. (T/N: This is the character for “ice.”) It’s not because I’m a figure skater! I am simply fascinated by how beautiful the character 氷 itself is. Compared to other kanji, it has very few strokes and it looks simple. But when I try writing it I think it’s a really lovely character.
Speaking of kanji, we wrote our first calligraphy of the year in the Japanese school. I was really nervous while writing. As I paid attention to the “stops” and “sweeping strokes,” trying to write as instructed was tough. The calligraphers wrote theirs a lot more beautifully, and I can feel the great respect they have for the writing process. For my calligraphy, I chose to write 前向き which means “forward-looking.” This is so I don’t forget that in the past as well as the present, I always have a positive attitude, continuing to face and move forward in spite of the challenges I encounter. Until now I have worried and thought too much about some things, but the past cannot be changed. Having a positive outlook makes me feel that I will be able to overcome the various challenges I will be facing.
After that, I also tried plate-spinning for the first time. All the teachers can pull this off but I couldn’t do it so I was a little irritated at first. After trying for around 5-10 minutes, I was finally able to do it so I’m really satisfied.
I’ve been juggling different activities – skating, attending university, and my Japanese language classes. There have been times when I reduced my sleeping hours to prepare for the JLPT, and I want to dedicate more time to studying the language. But for example, if there’s a time when I want to skate but can’t, I will switch to getting in the mood to studying for my university classes. The reverse is also true. That sort of thing is fine with me.
Working with Misha on Choreography
In late January, Misha Ge choreographed an exhibition program for me. This season, he also choreographed programs for Alexandor Petrov and Anna Pogorilaya. I thought “This guy’s younger than I and is still an active skater, yet he’s also a choreographer!”, but having him do my choreography never crossed my mind. So after the gala in Skate Canada, he talked to me and said “If you’re interested, feel free to approach me and I can choreograph an exhibition routine for you.” I was surprised, but at the same time I felt really happy. In Canada, particularly in British Columbia where I live, we don’t hold ice shows often and there wasn’t enough time to think about a new exhibition routine after my surgery. It’s been quite a while since the last time I created an exhibition routine, you see? But so far, I’ve liked the programs with Misha’s choreography. So Joanne (McLeod, Kevin’s coach) and I talked, and Misha came to Vancouver for us to run through the choreography. He was a wonderful teacher, and always exerted 110% of his effort into demonstrating it. In the middle, he showed off the choreography splendidly but when I tried to follow him, I was expressionless and I was all over the place. Even then, as someone who seems to have an inborn talent for dancing, Misha conscientiously taught me the steps and I was finally able to do it properly. Anyhow, it was a good experience for us and we had a lot of fun.
When I was a kid, I loved seeing Plushenko’s fighting spirit, as well as his state whenever he is slowly able to accomplish difficult techniques. In addition, I found his rivalry with Yagudin [1] interesting. Also, even if I was not able to see her in the flesh, I liked how Midori Ito [2] always set the high bar at competitions. As for Mao Asada, it’s not just her technique but one can sense that she wants to show an elevated level of artistry. That’s why her skating conveys a sense of pureness to each person, and everyone can’t help but cheer her on.
Watching those athletes as I was growing up, it made me want to do difficult elements that no one has done before. I also wanted to be a skater who possessed a unique skating style. These are still the two things that continue to drive me as a skater. Thus, my current state is the culmination of executing different types of quadruple jumps and trying various choreography.
********
Translator's notes
[1] Alexei Yagudin is a former Russian figure skater who was active in competition from 1993 to 2002. His rivalry with Plushenko was very famous back in the day, which started when they trained together under Alexei Mishin.
[2] Midori Ito is a former Japanese figure skater, and the first female to land a triple axel in international competition during the 1988 NHK Trophy. She was also the first Asian to win Worlds, achieving that feat in 1989.