Well, this episode starts out with a dose of reality. Victor said to Katsuki, “you haven't slept have you?” Ah yeah...I know that feeling. I don't know why it happens. I had a competition at 10am, but I had to get on the ice at 8:45am to warm up. That means, I had to wake up around 6am to do my usual morning routine in addition to applying on make up and leave on time to catch the train. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep after midnight...with eyes staring at the ceiling, but I did make it pretty early for the rink's 8:45am freestyle session to do my warm up.
There was a time where being fatigue seriously affected my skating. It was the day of the 2015 Annual Winter Wonderland Show. The performance was at night, however, I woke up early to catch a morning showing of a movie. By the time I had to be on the ice, I was awake for more than 12 hours. I do remember feeling tired. During our run through, I fell forward, completely flat out on the ice. I went through with the performance that night, and didn't fall again. The next day, I felt pain in my chest and pressing a soap dispenser was painful! I went to the doctor and found out that I had an internally bruised rib. I couldn't see the bruising on my skin, but when pressure was applied, I felt pain in my rib. Thank god it wasn't broken!
Even with that fall, I still continued skating and developing into my own skating person. In the episode, Guang-Hong Ji of China played an assassin for his long program. His attire wasn't exactly assassin looking, but being able to play a character reminds me of Theatre On Ice. I might pull a cosplay move in my program. Should I perform it as a solo National Showcase or a Ladies Singles program? Maybe both depending on the music? We'll see.
While developing my own style, competitions will always come with some sort of pressure, the need to be perfect in execution so that one can get on the podium. Even though Katsuki did well in performing an eros theme in the short program, he felt the pressure of delivering a perfect piece in the long program. He turns off the televisions backstage and Victor tried to protect him by covering his ears during the applause for Phichit. You know what I do? I don't watch, I hide until right before I go on. It doesn't matter if they are competing against me or not, I can't have their performance be a distraction to mine.
Funny thing is, pressure isn't only from competitors doing well, but sometimes comes from knowing who your coach is. Victor tried an emotional tactic on Katsuki prior to his turn. Unfortunately, it ended with Katsuki bursting into tears and saying something that strangely enough is reflective of me. He said, “I'm worried about my mistakes reflecting on you.” Even though I'm not remotely at Katsuki's level, I am my coach's only Adult Skater. It's a new territory for the both of us. If I do poorly during a competition, it can used by others to judge my coach's teacher ability. So I have to do well, to make both of us look good.
Come back the next day for episode 8!
© 2017 Linda Thai
Photography by Linda Thai
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