Canada's Patrick Chan works out Thursday in preparation for Skate Canada in Kingston, Ont.
Paul Chiasson/THE CANADIAN PRESS
KINGSTON, ONT.
Patrick Chan has had his quad jump epiphany.
Become a convert, a true believer and, not coincidentally, rather proficient in the four-rotation element.
Before, to paraphrase The Lovin’ Spoonful, it was like trying to tell the gingerly-skating kid about rock ’n’ roll. He didn’t know what he was missing.
“I’m on that other side of the wall now,’’ the Toronto teenager revealed on Thursday, as he prepared for Skate Canada, second stop on the Grand Prix circuit.
“No, I haven’t gone over to the dark side,’’ Chan laughed, defending the validity of his earlier no-big-whoop stance. “I just have a different perspective now. I have the perspective of someone who’d done it for so long without a quad in the program, and someone who’s going to be starting to do it in both programs. It’s a cool position to be in because I can understand both sides better.’’
Right, both sides now — or another way of saying Chan didn’t know what he was talking about last winter when steadfastly advocating in favour of a clean, nuanced routine over the explosive athleticism of a quad, a trick that has historically separated the men from the boys in elite competition. At least until the boys suddenly got tight-sphinctered about it, after Jeffrey Buttle copped a world championship two years ago without benefit of the Q.
Evgeni Plushenko was all you pussies when denied repeat gold at the Vancouver Games, despite quads of impressive amplitude, short and long program, Olympic laurels rewarded instead to American Evan Lysacek, who never even made the attempt.
“I understand where he’s coming from now,’’ continues Chan, with the certitude of the newly evangelized. “After doing it, I’m like, if someone doesn’t do a quad in their short, for me — someone who’s been doing it in practice so much — it’s kind of weird to see them take the conservative way out.
“Whereas before I used to be, oh, all these people not talking about putting it in and blah-blah-blah. I kind of took the side that if you do a clean program without a quad, you can be comfortable and win. But to be honest, it’s a whole different level to be doing quads and to be doing them with confidence.’’
When veteran Takahashi Daisuke of Japan omitted the quad at the season-opening NHK Trophy last week, Chan was “shocked.’’
“He’s been doing quads longer than I’ve been doing triple Axels!’’ the 19-year-old three-time Canadian zinged.
And he, as recent intitiate in the Q-cult, is gaga for it.
“Oh my gosh, it’s like you’re in a vortex. It’s really fast, a lot more compact than a normal triple. For high level skaters, a triple begins to feel like a double. A quad toe … you exert a lot more strength, through your legs, through your glutes, and then your arms are really close in.
“It’s like a whirlwind almost.’’
Which would also describe how breathtakingly rapid was Chan’s learning curve when finally applying himself this past summer. It began in May with former Martha Graham dancer Kathy Johnson, occasional adviser at the Colorado Springs rink where Chan now trains, slipping him videos of Mikhail Baryshnikov jete-ing the boards.
Johnson urged: Watch how he uses his core. Watch his pirouettes. Watch how he does his turns.
“I watched it a lot to get an idea of what she was talking about. It’s very obvious once you realize it.’’
And skaters, unlike ballet dancers, have the advantage of the entry glide on ice — upward thrust momentum.
Practically overnight, Chan had nailed the quad and loved the thrill of it, where last season he trained the move only sporadically, using a harness, and without enthusiasm.
“There’s just something that clicked with me with the quad toe.’’
Indeed, Chan prefers it and feels more comfortable executing it, than the elusive triple Axel.
“With the Axel, I have to be thoughtful through the whole process, through the whole jump. The quad, as long as I do my preparation, my set-up properly, I know where I am, I know where my free leg has to be, and usually it goes off without a hitch.
“Triple Axel is a different story. I could be set up really comfortably and end up not being successful. It’s a jump where I have to think from the beginning to the end.’’
So assured has Chan become in his quad — landing four out of five in practice sessions — that he’s taken the risky route of inserting that jump into his new “Take Five’’ short program, debuting at Skate Canada.
“I decided this was the best year to do it, after the Olympics. If you miss it, you miss it, not a big deal.’’
Yet it is a big deal and Chan knows it.
“You elevate your program to that level of excitement of everyone else who’s done them. Plushenko and Elvis (Stojko) had that excitement, and Kurt (Browning).
“That’s thanks to the quad. You get that little extra oomph in your program from it.’’
Spoken like a true-Q apostle.
