Do you know how high Yuzuru Hanyu jump?
That seems pretty high
But what does 75cm really mean?
It means he can jump over an Ikea work desk!
Is it easy to jump over an Ikea table?
Let's take a look at how "easy" it is?
How normal people jump over the table..
Now let's compare the 3A jumping height among the top figure skaters
0.7 meters. That's the number that's impressive. I think that's pretty high
What's Hanyu's secret for jumping so high?
One person found an interesting coincidence between two data, Prof Sakurai from the Toin University, Yokohama
He calculated the elevating angle of the jumps using the i-Scope data
His average jumping distance is 3.2m and his average jumping height is 64cm
It means he elevated himself with about 22-23 degree angle at take-off
The astonishing part is that, this is the take off angle for the long jump world record as well
It means his take-off angle could make him compete among the best in long jumps
On Aug 30, 1991
In the men's long jump final at the Tokyo World Championships
The world witnessed the greatest duel in the track and field history
Powell soared into the history book with a world record of 8.95 meters
This jump was the single greatest long jump of all time
This leap from Mike Powell was simply unreal
His speed, his timing, his height and his landing were all almost perfectly executed
This jump shocked the entire stadium
The world record is set
And to this day, nobody has ever challenged this unbelievable leap
Mike Powell leaped 180.8cm over 895cm, that means he elevated himself around 22-23 degree in the air
And this is what Hanyu did as well when he jumped 3A
So the data matched. He is on the right track to develop further
In order to land 4A, he needs to achieve around 80cm height
10+ cm more, I think maybe I can do it
Yes I think to land 4A, I need to jump around 0.8m height over 4m long distance
So he is not that far off from the ideal height and distance to land 4A now
Human cannot break through this wall
About Hanyu's 4A challenge, the king of Gymnastics, Kohei Uchimura, has something to say
He is the 2-time Olympic All-around champion and a legend in Gymnastics
Hanyu hates to lose. Recently I realize he hates to lose more than I do
The competitive nature of Hanyu is reflected in his pursuit of 4A
It has never been landed in any competition
Adding a new skill is one way to improve yourself
In my case that's the Breitschneider
This is the video of the skill, it's the highest rated skill in Gymnastic
Uchimura Kohei successfully executed this skill in his Tokyo Olympic trial 2021
Uchimura-san is so cool!
He obtained the highest rated skill in Gymnastics (H-rated, at age 31)
Even though he's selected only for horizontal bar in his 3rd Olympics but it's impressive
I'm still young to do more as compared to him
What do you think about Hanyu's pursuit for 4A?
I understand
It's not a battle against others but against yourself
As a gymnast, when I see this move (4.5 rotations), I got very intrigued
I would be looking at it back and forth and try to understand it from the viewpoint of a gymnast
My first thought was -- This is not a skill human can do!
For a quad jump, skaters spent less than 0.7 seconds in the air
They have to jump at least 50cm to be at the optimum height to land a quadruple jump
For a quintuple, more rotational energy is needed at take off to increase angular momentum
They also need to jump higher and most importantly, spin faster, averaging near a 400 RPM
What does 400 RPM really mean?
400 RPM is about 151 kmh or 94 mph
Imagine driving a car at this speed? 151 kmh or 94 mph, that's their rotational speed
Which raises an interesting question, are we at the limit of how much human can turn and flip through the air?
Scientifically I was told a quintuple jump (5 rotations in the air) is still possible for human
But there is no score yet for quintuple jumps in the ISU judging system
Meaning they can't do it else it's automatic "0" point
In order to help me visualize the 4.5 rotations jump, I practiced quintuple jumps for awhile
Why is Hanyu so obsessed with 4A?
My dream when I was starting to skate, I wanted to practice to 4A
It's a childhood dream
What's your dream?
Of course to win the gold medal in the Olympics!
Gold?
Yes! Gold Medal!
Winning the Olympic gold medal was my dream throughout my skating career
When this goal was achieved, I felt burnt out and I had to look for reason to skate again
Also, I wanted to land 4A or quintuple jumps
I have always wanted to make the young Yuzuru's dreams come true
I hope if I land 4A and my childhood dreams come true,
Everyone will be inspired and make their dreams come true as well
Because I have this mission of landing 4A, my life is meaningful everyday
This is the last dream I have as a competitive figure skater
This is like a wall created for humanity, to rotate 4.5 in the air
I'd like to challenge this wall
I don't know much about figure skating so I don't know if it'd be rude for me to say this
He twisted his body quickly before reaching the highest point here
We have similar skill for quick twisting in gymnastics as well
In gymnastics, the upper body start the twisting, the lower body will follow naturally
But in figure skating, their arms and legs are perfectly synchronized
So I think if his upper body twists faster, his lower body might also twist fast enough to help him land that jump
Takahito Mura, a retired figure skater who had also practiced 4A, knew how hard it was to do that
You feel like your body needs to hang in the air for much longer
It's so much harder than other Quadruple jumps and Triple Axel!
First of all, you need really high physical strength to withstand the super fast rotational speed in your upper body
However, Mura noticed Hanyu's improvement since 1 year ago at the Japan Nationals 2020
The way he prepared for his jumps changed a lot! He skated slowly and steadily approaching the jumps
His take off feel so smooth and his jumps look so easy now!
He had changed his training method a lot to further develop his body strength I felt
When I noticed that, my first thought was "Amazing"
It must be because he was seriously training for 4A. I think..
To complete the rotation, he needs more height and longer distance to stay in the air more
Hanyu said it's hard to manage both in the air
Yes I fully understand. I never tried myself but I can imagine how tough it must be
Human cannot break through this wall..
But Hanyu can, only he can breakthrough
About the 4A TV Special, we heard you watched it..
Yes I did!
What do you think about Kohei's comment about you?
Honestly about his last comment "No one can do it but Hanyu.."
Seriously my first thought was "Don't say things like that"
I've done a lot of research about Axel jump and practiced a lot myself
So no one can tell me to give up now
I think that's why Uchimura would say that
And that's why I have to be the one who fulfil their expectations and chase the dreams
Oh and.. I will twist my body more ^^
If he twists his upper body more, his lower body will follow. Like the tornado!
Yes I will try to do that!
Hanyu's 4A conquering journey
I would like to do 4A or quintuple jumps in the future..
You crawl around
Searching for higher ground
Can't see in front of me, my enemies
I've tried every possibility-bility
To know if I can be..
If that's what you wanted
You won't get it tonight
Cause I can fly
I can fly
I don't think there is any balance needed between technical ability and artistry
I believe artistry lies in the solid foundation of technical abilities
If Yuzuru Hanyu decides to do 4A, it will be integrated well into my program
If I can I want to do all quads with the music
like 4A, 4F, 4Lz, 4Lo, 4S, 4T.. I don't know, it's my dream
The first ever 4Lo performed in competition!
The first jump I did after surviving the earthquake was 3A
After doing 3A, I felt like there's a new beginning in my life
So for me, 3A is a very special jump
What really helped me when I needed was 3A
And I remember what my former coach, Tsuzuki told me
"Axel is the king of all jumps"
It takes a lot to attempt 4A and I've been injured because of that
It's probably not good for my body either
But I think I've finally figured out how to land this jump after so many years
If I don't achieve this goal, I don't know the purpose of my skating for now
Because this wall is so steep and high, I feel like I'm climbing to the summit of the sport now
This is like the highest mountain for us
And I'd like to see the view when there is no more wall in front
And this is the only reason why I'm working so hard to skate now
I want to land 4A and be the best I can be
I've put everything into achieving this
Let's climb over that wall!
Go, Yuzuru Hanyu!