Keiji Tanaka | Page 6 | Golden Skate

Keiji Tanaka

rRainbow

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2018
Country
Japan
Keiji found a way to control his nerves.
https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2019/02/11/kiji/20190211s00079000142000c.html

. . . In this competition where he successfully executed two 4S he learned something important; he found a new way to lift his mood at competition. He was last to skate in both the short and long programs and it is often said that it is tough to be the last one.

“I considered the best way to switch gears so that I would not be focused too much. I was waiting for my turn updating the number of skaters before me. I found it important not to be tensely focused for too long. I raised my concentration level little by little.”

In the past he had been anxiously waiting for competition since the early days and his restlessness led to his mistakes. This time he came away with a bright outlook for the Worlds in March.
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Keiji's practice report by Jackie Wong says
"Tanaka: 3Lo, 1A, 1A, 2S, runthru (2S, 2Lz, 3A), 3Lz3T, 3A, 4S, 4S, 3F3T, 3T, 4T1T, 3A"
I hope he can compete calm and do well! Good luck, Keiji!
 

rRainbow

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2018
Country
Japan
Translations of articles about Keiji after LP at the Worlds.
Sports Hochi titled "Keiji Tanaka marked 159.64 points in the free. Next season “My programs will be stronger with 4T added.
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20190323-00000175-sph-spo

... Looking back at his third World Championships, he said “At this event I struggled so much to control the 4S. Next season I want to make my programs more competitive by adding 4T.”

The current men’s figure skating field is led by Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno and the younger skaters such as Kazuki Tomono, Sota Yamamoto and Koshiro Shimada are rapidly getting stronger. Tanaka calmly acknowledges his position. “I’m in danger. I want to believe in myself that there are still a lot of things I can do and hope to improve myself by competing with others above and below me,” he said.

Sponichi Annex titled "Keiji Tanaka was unable to earn a higher score. Next season “My position is in danger
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20190323-00000243-spnannex-spo

In men’s free Keiji Tanaka (Kurashiki Art & Science Graduate School) scored 159.64 points totaling 258.40 which is well below his personal best score of 251.54.

He landed the opening 4S-2T but failed the next 4S. He made another mistake with the combination jumps. “I feel I could have skated better. I could have turned the cheers into my power,” he reflected.

This season he struggled with the unstable 4S. Next season he plans to add 4T in his programs. “I want my next programs to be stronger,” he said. At age 24 he is feeling the strength of Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno as well as the rise of younger skaters. “My position is in danger. I need to bring about my individuality,” he said with the sense of urgency.
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Well, 14th yet again, has Keiji created a curse for himself last year? :p Nvm, he was fighting and delivered a solid performance despite some mistakes, and that's satisfying to see. His interactions with Yuzuru were also fun to watch, and the 3 Japanese boys keeping close to each other at the gala. Onwards to World Team Trophy now!

Now, what would I like to see from him next season? If his 4S isn't stable yet, then 4T is not on my list. But kudos to him for pushing forward with his tech. It's not undoable. But. Not at the cost of the performance please. No crazy-fast paced music for the free next season please. If he's going for new elements then let him concentrate on them without exhausting him on rhythms he obviously doesn't feel, and pace he cannot keep up with. That much was obvious to me from the 1st time I saw his FP. My #1 wish: enough of Scali. He's a good match for some other skaters, but not for Keiji. Get some slower music; and for heaven's sake, no European classics. Keiji has many loveable qualities, but interpreting classical music isn't among them. He'd actually do much better with something like Vasiljevs' current LP. Hoping to see a day Keiji himself realizes this too, and stops trying to hop around in frills.
 

lariko

Medalist
Joined
Jan 31, 2019
Country
Canada
What was his exhibition skate? I can’t find Gala program for the life of me on the isu site, I am such a noob :)
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Phew, OP update finally done. A lot of videos were lost and although I have found new links for some, there are still a number missing. If you come across any Keiji competition video that is not linked in the OP tables, please let me know and I'll edit it in.

In the meantime, can speakers of Jpanese help me out on this cute vid? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C01om-kfzU Is that by chance a regional 2008 competition featuring little Keiji? Aww ^ ^

------
EDIT
some unknown comp from 2012 - regional comp in Japan?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIT0qMP8rZs
 

rRainbow

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2018
Country
Japan
The first video.
This is the exhibition event on March 31, 2008 at Kurashiki FSC (Figure Skating Club), where Keiji trained. Kurashiki Ice Rink was to be closed due to financial difficulties. Kurashiki FSC organized a campaign to save the rink and the ice show was a part of their activities to appeal to the public how important the ice rink is to the skaters. In May, 2008 JSF held a news conference to launch a “Save The Rinks” campaign.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports...going-all-out-to-try-and-keep-ice-rinks-open/
A few months later it was decided that Kurashiki Rink would continue operation.
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Thanks, Rainbow!
If anyone is going to any spring shows featuring Keiji, I'd be interested to hear reports. He should appear in quite a number, but I haven't done any research online yet to find out which they are.
And, naturally, I hope to see some nice smooth programs from Keiji next season. :]
 

Tsurara

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 3, 2018
------
EDIT
some unknown comp from 2012 - regional comp in Japan?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIT0qMP8rZs

It says "Kurashiki Citizen's Sports Festival", it's a show, not a competition. He also announced he passed the college exam and would be going to a university in Kurashiki in the following year. (He's a graduate student there now.)

Also, at SOI Sapporo and Kanazawa, he performed "Pump it" by the Black Eyed Peas as his new ex program, according to fans' tweets. Unfortunately he didn't participate in SOI Osaka, so no video available.
 

surimi

Onward and forward, Sota!
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Thanks for the info!
I wish Keiji did something fun and cool as his competitive program, he's good at modern music.
Btw re. the video of young Keiji from 2008, I recognized his music as Lorelei - was that music particularly popular in the 2010-14 Olympic quad? I don't recall hearing it after 2015.
 

rRainbow

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2018
Country
Japan
This blog article talks about Keiji’s interview on May 17, 2017.
https://ameblo.jp/kuranari11/entry-12275841847.html
Although this is an old interview done two years ago, it’s an interesting read.
Par 1 of 2
https://sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detail/201705150006-spnavi
Translation of interview part:

He became keenly aware of the difference between him and top skaters at the Worlds.
-- 16-17 season was the one he made a great progress.

It was the season that I had to train hard, and until the Olympics we had only two seasons left including this season. So I made a plan based on how long until the Olympics and was thinking like “I want to compete at this particular event. I want to achieve results here.” I think I was somehow able to participate in the competitions I wanted.
-- Please tell us about this season in terms of what was good and what was bad.
The good part was that I was somehow satisfied that I was able to do my skate at NHK Trophy, Japan Nationals, and Universiade (won 2nd). But I felt frustrated that I couldn’t do so well in the first half of the season and at the 4CC and the Worlds in the second half of the season as well.
-- What is the reason why you could not skate well at the 4CC and the Worlds?
About 4CC it was shortly after Universiade and my condition was a little bit not what I had expected. Although I was motivated I could not get back into top form and I went through one of the toughest times. But I am glad that I experienced such a back to back competition. About the Worlds the reason why I made mistakes in the short was I was too tense. Until I got on ice at the competition I was feeling fine. But the moment the music started I became more nervous than I had anticipated….. But in the FS although I failed in some jumps I was able to skate the rest of the program remaining calm. So, I experienced the good and the bad in many ways.
-- Having gone through the Grand Prix Series and the Worlds in what area did you feel most keely the difference between you and the world top skaters?
I noticed each skater had his own color. Figure skating competition is focusing more on jumps, but I could clearly see each skater’s strength, and I was fortunate to have seen many performances that moved the audience with some messages. I want to be able to do that myself from now on.
-- Whose performance left the strongest impression on you?
Jason Brown senshu (USA). Also Misha Ge senshu (Uzbekistan) inspired me to grow into a skater like him. I heard the news that he was going to retire, and I watched his performance thinking that it would be his last. He gave it all he got and finished, and I deeply felt it would be great if I could become a skater like him who could touch people’s heart so much by his expressive performance.

Aiming for the performance which tops “La traviata”
-- Rather than the skaters whose strengths are quad jumps, your ideal type of skaters are expressive performers such as Jason Brown and Misha Ge?
Of course I would like to be competitive in both. I want to join athletic jump battle, and in terms of expressive presentation, because figure skating has an artistic side I want to fascinate the audience.
-- Are you particular about your expression styles?
No, I am not very picky. When I listen to the program music for the first time I feel like “This is okay for now.” and go from there. I’ve never had any music that gave me a great first impression. But I often start to find the program interesting as it is coming together. I think I enjoy the process of how it is shaping up little by little.
-- Have you ever chosen the music yourself?
No. There were times when I picked exhibition music. But because the music for competition is the piece I have to skate to throughout the year and I also tend to use the same program for two seasons in a row, it is hard to find the music that I don’t get tired of. I suppose that if I skate to my favorite music I may grow tired of it mid-season [laughs]. The harder the music given to me, the more I spend time to think about it, and the more I enjoy the choreography process. Because I want to skate to the music which has potential for growth, I think it’s better to let my choreography sensei choose the music.
-- Was there a program that you found so-so, but you ended up loving it at the end?
After a change in my team Massimo Scali sensei choreographed my program for the first time and he gave me “La traviata.” (FS 14-15, 15-16) I started working on the program based on the overall impression of the music. However as I was using it for two consecutive seasons, it started to get more appreciated, and I felt its character and presence coming out. As a result I received high marks thanks to “La traviata” many times. Now I am aiming for a better performance than that.
-- Your SP “Spring in Buenos Aires” is in its second season. You have a new FS program this season, but how about next season?
I am planning to continue to use it next season. SP will be choreographed in June and we have not decided on the music yet. I leave it up to my sensei. Whatever is thrown at me, I’ll say “yes.” [laughs].
 
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