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Daisuke Takahashi - Cutting Edge 2005

Congratulations to Kana and Daisuke for an amazing performance at Worlds! I'm so glad they finally managed to skate a program that they're happy with, in front of the home crowd.

When I first heard that Phantom of the Opera would be Kanadai's FD this season, I was skeptical. But it made for an amazing story. I still remember 2007 Worlds so vividly -- I tuned in to the live audio stream of British Eurosport at 4am (there was no video stream back then!) and cried with happiness when Daisuke won the silver medal. I never imagined that another lifetime later, he'd be skating to Phantom at Worlds again, this time as an ice dancer.

The legacy that Daisuke has left on the sport is undeniable. Mark Hanretty said during the ISU broadcast that so many of the 180 competitors at Worlds cited Daisuke as an inspiration. It's pretty incredible that even after becoming a two-time World Champion, Shoma stated that he still wants to be able to give a performance like Daisuke.

The first interview I ever read from Daisuke was from Cutting Edge 2005, where he said that he hopes that his skating will remain in people's hearts in the future. It's so heartwarming to know that has come true.

I translated this interview and posted it on FSUniverse in 2006. The site I used to host the original translation is gone now, but sometimes I still see parts of the interview quoted in various places. Here's the full interview and scans of from the original book.

Daisuke Takahashi Surging Brilliance and Passion (Translated from Cutting Edge 2005)

At the age of 16, he obtained the honor of becoming Japan's first men's Junior World Champion. The boy who was expected to become the ace of the next generation turns 20 this season. He has fluid skating, splendid footwork, and a natural spark that captures the hearts of spectators. If he conquers his competitive weakness, he has the ability to become the World Champion. Not a former Junior World Champion, but a true World Champion someday. A firm goal can be seen before his passionate gaze.

Those effortless jumps in exhibitions, those intense steps. If only he showed that energy in shows in competition... Daisuke Takahashi, who always makes people nervous, was even more lackluster than usual in the first half of the 2004-2005 season. In the Grand Prix Series' Trophee Eric Bompard, he was in third place after the short program, but fell four times in the free and ended up eleventh. At the important Japanese Nationals, he finished a nightmarish sixth. What happened to him in the critical pre-Olympics season?

Where did the passion for skating go?

"Last year... I hated skating. I didn't want to do it. I had an injury, but it wasn't very serious, so that wasn't the reason. Why... I don't know, but I hated being on the ice. In practice, I'd think, 'I've already skated for 30 minutes,' but not even 10 minutes had passed... When I skated, time somehow felt longer. My feelings weren't into it at all.

When I got injured in September and took a break for a while, I thought, I've done nothing but skating up until now. All through high school, I had gone from school to the rink. I'd go to school and practice in Okayama, and then go to Osaka on the weekends to practice. ...With that kind of lifestyle, I never had any fun. I didn't know how to have fun.

Then in April I started college and moved to Osaka. My environment changed, and I became more independent. When you can take care of your everyday life and school matters on your own, your perspective changes, right? So then I thought... 'Is it okay for me to only focus on skating?' But even though I thought I'd do other things, in the end I didn't do anything. I still felt that I had to skate. But when I went to the rink, I didn't want to skate at all. I neither skated well, nor had any fun doing other things. If I couldn't participate in the special training camp... I definitely would've quit skating. The reason I didn't quit was because I was at the level where I couldn't quit by my own will. That's all. But anyway, my feelings of hatred towards skating were really strong last year..."

Due to his major environment change, he began to question his life of solely skating. In the 2004-2005 season, Daisuke Takahashi wholly felt the difficulty of the sport of figure skating, where mental doubts show up in one's skating itself. But he did not end his career like this, for he is the man who went as far as becoming the Junior World Champion.

"But those feelings finally subsided when I finished sixth at Nationals in December. I thought, ah, the season is over now. Strangely, when I thought that, the turmoil disappeared. Then after Nationals was the Medalists on Ice show. I was called to participate even though I was sixth, and at first I didn't want to go. 'I'm not a medalist, so I won't go!' I said. But my coach Nagamitsu-sensei told me, 'Go anyway,' so I went reluctantly. But it turned out to be really fun! I skated to Secret Garden's 'Nocturne,' a song I chose myself. The program was a very simple one that I also choreographed myself. Since the shows were right after Nationals, I was tired after the first of the three. But as I skated, they became more and more fun. I skated happily for an audience with a program I chose and created myself! From then on, I was gradually able to think once again that skating really is fun."

Along with his recovered feelings, his skating visibly regained its spark. In Medalists on Ice, he showed unbelievable jumps and skating that made spectators think, "This is the sixth place finisher?" At the beginning of the new year, he placed first at the Universiade, and finished on an international podium again with a third place at the Four Continents Championships. Unable to maintain his good results, he finished fifteenth at the World Championships, but even so, his revitalized expression after the season's end was like a different person's.

"So last season was the season where I grew to hate skating once, but then became able to love it again. Because that happened last year, my feelings this year are different. Of course, practices are still tiresome, but I'll never slog through them reluctantly like last year. I practice decisively now with refreshed feelings. So every day, when I'm done practicing, I feel good. I don't know how that'll turn out in competition, though. (laughs)

But the biggest difference from last year is that I don't just 'wish' in competitions now. My thoughts last year like, 'I wonder if I can land this jump, it'll be nice if I can,' were merely 'wishes.' But this year, I don't wish; I have strong feelings of, 'I'll land it' or 'I won't fail.' I've practiced to have that kind of confidence this year!"

Those new feelings have already appeared on the ice. At the Japan International Challenge in October, he defeated foreign skaters and placed second! The voices of, "I want to see Daisuke in Torino!" continue to build.

Daisuke Takahashi's Craftsmanship

He captivates spectators with his beautiful skating, and excites them with his triple axels and quadruple jumps. When he sends his strong gaze to the audience, his steps have even more force. When he's on, Daisuke Takahashi is almost unrivaled. Many fans had been waiting anxiously for him, thinking, "I wanted to see this kind of male skater!" Just how was this kind of skater born?

"When I was little... I was weak, and I hated going to school. (laughs) My parents were worried about me, so they made me try many different sports. I have three older brothers, and all of them did Shaolin Kung Fu. But Shaolin is painful, isn't it? I hate pain. It's scary! At first I thought about doing hockey, which is also skating, but I couldn't do it because I was scared of getting hit in the chin. I really am a coward. (laughs)

Other than martial arts and hockey though, I originally thought gymnastics might be good. But the gymnastics place was far away in inner Okayama, so it would've been difficult for my mother to drop me off and pick me up there. So I tried skating thanks to a friend's suggestion, and it was really fun!

What about skating was fun... I can't remember anymore. I don't remember what about it was fun at all, but anyway, it was fun. I didn't take skating lessons with the intention of becoming a serious athlete, or because I admired anyone. I just started it normally, without thinking about anything. When I was little, I used to joke around saying, 'I'm going to skate in the Olympics!' but it really was just a joke. I skated really contentedly just thinking of it as a hobby.

But... when I won Junior Worlds in my first year of high school, I thought, 'I have to do this as a serious athlete' for the first time. That I can't just do this as a hobby. I felt that I had to become a responsible athlete. To think that... shouldn't have been so difficult. But after Junior Worlds, I was completely awful in seniors, right? I might've tried too hard to become serious after skating as a hobby for so long... No, I didn't try hard enough to be able say that (laughs), but these past few years, I tried too hard with only my feelings. With those feelings accumulating for so long... last year, I just thought, 'I don't want to skate anymore.'

But even though I say that, it's not that grandiose of a story! When I talk about it like this, it sounds exaggerated. (laughs)"

Skating fixations, style fixations

The boy who attracted great expectations due to his talent and potential forgot his feelings of "Skating is fun" and "I love skating" somewhere down the line. But now that he has remembered that important something, he is able to laugh away all the hardships he has had. One can also see his relaxed attitude towards skating.

"Truthfully, there aren't really any skaters that I aim to be like. Of course, I like certain parts about skaters; for example, I want Nobunari-kun's flexibility. But this year I've been working on my flexibility, so I've become a little more flexible! Also, I want Jeffrey Buttle's transitions. His transitions between elements and connection to the music are really amazing. There are various skaters whom I want to steal things from like that, but none of whom I think, 'Everything about him is great!' Because Takahashi's ideals are high. (laughs)

But there's the actor Joe Odagiri, right? I love him! I love his atmosphere. He has this mysterious air about him that other people don't have, right?

I admire that mysterious charm, so although I'm not trying to imitate Odagiri-san, I'd like to show that kind of charm that attracts both men and women in my skating. Do I think I'm handsome? I've never been conscious about that kind of thing! No, I don't, I don't. (laughs) I'm trying to become handsome, though! Because out of the four brothers in my family, I'm the plainest. I don't look like my three older brothers at all. Ah, I think the second eldest has gotten a little chubby lately, and has become a little dirty looking?

My brothers never talk about skating. Their attitude is, 'Why don't you just do what you want?' Though they do cooperate with me... Generally, my brothers don't watch my skating. (laughs) But it's easier that way. Isn't it easier to go home and not talk about skating? We talk about completely unrelated things, like they ask me, 'Have you gotten any presents from girls?'

Since I have those brothers, I'm not popular at all. (laughs) I'm bad with girls. Actually, I think girls are scary. (laughs) My skating friends are fine, but... I'm bad with girls I like. I can't talk to them at all. But I look okay with long hair, right? Didn't I look better when I had long hair? My choreographer in America, Nikolai, cut my current hair! Though, I had planned for a better hairstyle...

There's that much of a difference between my normal self and my skating self?

No, there's no difference. I'm always like this. But when I'm on the ice... I like people watching me. I want everyone to watch me. Starting from practice, I want people to watch me, not other skaters. I might really want to stand out! So when I come to Nobeyama, I skate while conscious of people around me. Anyway, I want to become really famous!

I want to become a skater that everyone in Japan knows. So I think of Miki Ando as my rival. (laughs) Though we haven't really become rivals at all. Huh, this interview is going to become a book? The picture you just took will be the cover? Seriously? I'll buy it when it comes out! You'll send me one? Yay!"

To Torino, with Nikolai Morozov's programs!

He says there's no difference between his off-ice and on-ice persona. But when this friendly young man stands on the ice, he turns into the ultimate entertainer who draws all eyes to him. Mysteriously, he shows us a completely different Daisuke Takahashi. But that's probably the Daisuke Takahashi who mischievously thinks, "I want to stand out, I want to attract people's attention." This year, a new choreographer who helps to bring out his entertainer quality even more joined Takahashi's team.

"My choreographer this year is Nikolai Morozov. At first, I thought about asking Lori Nichol. But when Nagamitsu-sensei suggested, 'How about Morozov?' I thought, 'Ah, that might be good...' Right when I heard Morozov's name, I thought, 'That might be good.' Just based on my feelings, I thought Nikolai might be better than Lori. I'd never had choreography done by either of them before. When I was with Tatiana [Tarasova] last year and the year before, Nikolai had already split from her. So that's how I went to Morovoz's place in America for the first time this year... There was no need to give him my opinions at all. I'm plenty satisfied with what he created! Since Nikolai's ideas just came flowing out one after the other, rather than telling him, 'I want to do this,' at first I had trouble trying to see how well I could do what he asked of me.

After Nikolai made my programs in America, he also looked after my practices... Nikolai used to be an ice dancer, so there are a lot of dancers around him like Ukraine's Grushina/Goncharov and Russia's Kulikova/Markov... Besides getting choreography, I learned a lot of things by watching Nikolai's practices with them. In Japan, the rink I used to skate at closed down, and the rink I skate at now is hard to commute to. But I was able to practice in a good environment this year thanks to my connection to Nikolai. Since I was able to practice well in the off-season, I don't want to lose to Nikolai's choreography! My free program this year is Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto, so I don't want to lose to Rachmaninov's music either! I want to show my own interpretation of it."

The Morozov programs he chose by intuition fit him perfectly. They are dramatic and sensational. In 2005-2006, the Olympic season arrives, as if it had been waiting for his mental growth and new choreographer. If he makes it, it will be his first Olympics. What kind of skating does he intend to show us?

"I haven't had many performances that I've truly been satisfied with. The only ones I can say were really good are this year's free program from the Universiade and the short program from the World Championships in Germany. And, well, the performances that I won Junior Worlds with. That's about it. Those are the only ones I think were 'complete' performance-wise, regardless of the jumps.

In competitions, I'm always overwhelmed. When I skate, I don't think about anything. When I receive applause during the steps I'm happy that the audience is cheering me on, but I can only feel like that for a split second during the performance. This is different in shows and exhibitions. Because I can be at ease with feelings like, 'It'd be nice if both the audience and I have fun.' That's why Dreams on Ice wasn't bad.

But this year, I want to have more satisfying performances in competition! My goal is to go to the Olympics, and I'm aiming for... the podium! I want to have a goal that's at least that high. (laughs) Everyone is serious this year aiming for the Olympics, which only one person can go to. Of course, I'm aware of the others. Even if we practice together, I don't dislike anyone. So if someone else goes instead of me, I want to cheer him on. I want to fight everyone without any bad feelings. But of course, other people have nothing to do with my own skating. So even above that, I want to have my own goals. I'll continue working on my flexibility, becoming more flexible little by little over the next four years, towards my final goal of Vancouver. I'm thinking of Torino as a stepping stone... but without abandoning my feelings of wanting to medal. If I'm lucky, that is. (laughs)

In Vancouver... it'd be nice if I could become the Olympic Champion. I want not only the people who watch at that time, but also young skaters way in the future, when I become an old man, to see my skating. My goal is to become good enough so that people will watch videos of me and say, 'Daisuke Takahashi was really good.' So that my skating will remain in the hearts of people who watched the Olympics. So that it will resonate in their hearts, no matter how many years pass. In order to make my skating have that kind of worth... Takahashi skates today!"

This was the interview he gave during the training camp. After we finished talking, he headed straight to the rink. His extremely serious appearance while skating, and his bright appearance while joking with friends... Hiding his tough heart with a smile, to Torino, to Vancouver. His journey continues. And someday, everyone in the world, not just Japan, will surely know of Daisuke Takahashi.

#daisuke takahashi #kana muramoto #kanadai #worlds 2023 #figure skating

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