Wakaba Higuchi: “Before, it was really about the results. Now I approach competitions thinking about my current level, what kind of impression I want to leave.”
Translation of Wakaba Higuchi’s comments about return to competitions.
original source: number.bunshun.jp dd. 15th November 2023 by Akiko Tamura
Here’s a translation of Wakaba Higuchi’s comments made in an interview with Japanese media and posted on Sports Graphic Number Web.
Talking about taking a break for almost a year, Wakaba mentioned that not only injury (stress fracture) affected her decision but also mental fatigue. “The main reason was the injury, and even though I was happy to be invited to many ice shows during the off-season, it wasn’t good to enter the next season without being able to switch, so I thought it might be mental fatigue.
Until around October or November of last year, there was a period where I couldn’t think about many things. It wasn’t that I decided to take a break myself, but people around me advised me to take a break and try to rest in a state where I could rediscover my love for skating. There was a feeling that if I continued like this, I might quit skating, so… It felt wasteful because I had been skating for so long, and I felt sorry for the people around me. Rather than letting it all go and finishing it off vaguely, I thought it would be more fulfilling to take a break and skate in a way that I was satisfied with.”
After taking a year-break her attitude towards skating has also changed, Wakaba said, “Before, it was really about the results… of course, results are important, but I approach competitions thinking about my current level, what kind of impression I want to leave, and what I should do to achieve that. Even if I make a mistake, I accept my current self. It has become a process of how to accept it all and has made me less concerned about small things, I think.”
Related topics: Wakaba Higuchi
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