Daisuke Takahashi Nikkei Seminar Interview

[missysays]

These may have been posted before but in case you missed it...

After watching Dai at Worlds and this past week at WTT, I went on a hunt for some interviews of him but of course the substantive ones are all in Japanese with very little translation.

However, I found this great one from something called a Nikkei Seminar (posted in Jan, 2012) that is in 6 parts on youtube. If you press the "cc" button an English language sub-title appears on the screen.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaATK...eO6ayowSP92UY=

(You can follow the related links to find the rest.)

It's great so far-- one fun tidbit-- he started skating because he had 3 older brothers who were always competing in sports and bringing home prizes and certificates that made him want to find a sport of his own to compete in. And boy has he... He's just a delight and such a mature and thoughtful person.

[Sylvia]

Thanks for posting! Here are direct links to parts 2-6:
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

[missysays]

Thanks for posting the other links, Sylvia.

This a really great interview and well worth the hour of time investment. Dai was incredibly open about his thoughts and experiences.

Some more interesting tidbits:
- when he and his coach lived in Russia for several months and couldn't find a coin laundromat so had to wash their clothes by hand
- how uncertain he was about committing to Sochi but also how the 5th place finish at Worlds in 2011 really crystallized for him how much he would miss the attention that skating gave him and caused him to focus on Sochi as a primary goal
- how he feels when it's a perfect skating experience- he likens it to an exchange of energy with the audience
- how he was known as the back country boy in Japan when he first started to skate

Plus a lot more... The interviewer was really good- asking him the right questions that would lead to these revelations.

I wish she would interview more skaters.