Interview with Stanislav Zhuk

Stanislav Zhuk: I don’t need someone else’s fame
On May 18, after several years of break in practical work, the famous STANISLAV ZHUK was re-enlisted in the staff of the Russian Figure Skating Federation as the senior coach of the national team. About what he will have to do from now on, a unique specialist, whose world-famous students - from Irina Rodnina and Lyudmila Pakhomova to Sergei Chetverukhin and Elena Vodorezova - have won a total of 140 medals at the European, World and Olympic Games (70 of them are gold) , told Kommersant correspondent VALERIYA-MIRONOVA.

— A year ago, to my question about why interest in figure skating in Russia had fallen, you answered simply: “There are no bright personalities.” So, doesn’t this explain why you, a unique personality without exaggeration, a coach who trained the brightest stars of our time in all four types of figure skating, were again invited to work with candidates for the main team of the country?
— As a coach, I never set out to beat all my colleagues. But that's how it happened. My ex-wife Nina and I started skating too late - at the age of 15. In the late 50s, we became prize-winners of the European Championships, training only on natural ice. That’s why I was interested in absolutely all the nuances of our species, listening to every word of my coach Pyotr Orlov. But at that time everyone and everyone was laughing at his “theory of advance”. But years later, when I began to train myself, I completely and completely put all his developments into practice, proving that they were the only correct ones.
And my current appointment took place very routinely. Once again, I came to the federation and was working on my table of difficulty coefficients when the president of the figure skating federation, Valentin Piseev, came up to me and said that the issue of my appointment as a senior coach had just been discussed with the president of the ROC Vitaly Smirnov and had already been decided.
— Tell us more about the essence of your new work and what the “lead theory” and the table of complexity coefficients are.
— I will do practical work, namely holding training camps and seminars in cities where figure skating is still glimmering. By the way, these cities can be listed on one hand - St. Petersburg, Perm, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Moscow. It’s scary when dozens of skating rinks are closed and parking lots are built in their place, as is happening now, for example, in Chelyabinsk. Is it really necessary to take away the skating rink in order to build a parking lot?
So, if now our skaters occupy leading positions in the world, then we need to think first of all about how we can maintain these positions when they finish competing in a year or two. We don’t have a lot of money; centralized collections, as before, can no longer be carried out. And if so, I thought, then a week-long mini-camp with the participation of all the strongest should be held after all the Russian competitions to which they come. There I will analyze past competitions and outline future plans. Frankly, we are already in many ways already losing our previous positions.
- What do you have in mind?
- This is about the issue of getting ahead. Let me explain. Both Orlov and I, according to the “anticipation theory,” at one time carried out work that no one had ever done abroad. We learned completely new elements, developed new directions. And that is why one day we suddenly emerged on the world stage. Ten years ago, my students Marina Cherkasova and Sergei Shakhrai did a four-turn twist, but no one does it now. But they, according to the “lead theory,” trained a twist of five revolutions. Plus they did support for Nina and I, when a partner, spinning at speed on one leg, holds his partner on one arm. The most that modern couples do is support on one hand.
- Why?
- Yes, because it’s difficult! Even Shakhrai, who knew how to do it, once after the European Championship plaintively asked: “Stanislav Alekseevich, can I not do it anymore? It’s scary.” Why is it scary? Yes, because he was the only one in the whole world who did it! And no one else knew the secret of that support. Later, I taught two such lifts to Sergei Grinkov and Katya Gordeeva, but they left me just that year after the summer training camp and for many years they were not able to transfer them to the ice. But it is precisely due to new elements that you can get into the category of the strongest. However, our current champions do not do these elements either. And ten years have passed.
— It turns out that you, in our country, and in the world too, remain the only bearer of these secrets?
- In general, yes. All my students did super complex elements. But they don’t always know how to introduce another athlete to them. Therefore, it is no coincidence that they say that not every champion can later become a coach and apply his knowledge to his own student.
Well, the second thing that really slows down figure skating is simply ugly judging. When one person gives one rating and another gives a completely different one, it is not the judges who are to blame, but the system. The rules of figure skating spell out in detail why athletes should be given a lower score, but why they should be given a raise - not a word about that!
- So this is a paradox?
— One is barely jumping from a place, and the other is at maximum speed: his ears are whistling, his eyes are watering. The difference in performance is colossal, but there is no difference in assessments. The judge simply ticked the box - the element was done. How is it made? If it’s bad, the score is reduced, and if it’s good, it’s not increased. Here we come close to the essence of the table of complexity coefficients, which I puzzled over for 30 years, and in 1993 I patented it. For twenty years, it is according to this table that we have been holding youth tournaments “Crystal Horse”, and within their framework - separate competitions in elements.
— Why is your table still not used in elite sports?
— Because it gives objectivity, which many simply do not need. First, we need to eradicate amateur judging and adopt the practice of gymnasts, where competitions in certain types are judged by professionals - champions of all ranks in these particular types. And look who judges the skaters? Often diplomats, owners of large stores, in short, those for whom refereeing is a hobby.
- What to do?
“I have been struggling with this state of affairs for a long time to the best of my ability. At all seminars I explain that this should not happen. And already this year, at several stages leading up to the Russian Championship, we will introduce, in addition to the short and free programs, competitions in individual elements. Whoever is stronger in terms of elements will remain in the strongest group during the draw. There is also a very blatantly unfair clause in the rules: the one who starts with the first number a priori does not have the right to receive the highest mark. What if someone skates better? Can you imagine how idiotic this is? My table simply destroys this injustice in the bud. It turns out that some are first in jumps, some in spins, some in difficulty, and some in artistry. And there are moments when my table inspires an athlete. Let’s say a young man takes 16th place overall, but suddenly it turns out that he has surpassed the Olympic champion in jumps or spins. I am sure that the time will come when my table will be used in refereeing in the international arena. After all, it turns out that the first computer was invented by our man, and patented by an American.
— What have you been doing in recent years?
— I left the national team in 1991, when I finished my military service as a lieutenant colonel. Then several times I recruited a group of promising young people, worked with them for a year or two, and suddenly, due to finances, everything burst and the group scattered. The last thing I created was my Russian figure skating club in 1993, and with the club’s money I was able to take Irina Slutskaya and her coach Zhanna Gromova to all the training camps where I took my team. He helped, of course. So she went further, finally becoming our first European champion. This was very important because women's single skating was the last event in which we did not have European champions. Now I dream that our girls will one day take all the steps of the podium at the European and World Championships and the Olympics. Therefore, I see my main task as helping coaches and athletes. To everyone who asks. This is a mandatory condition, by the way.
I no longer want to find myself in situations that I regularly found myself in when I was a consultant to the national team. Then I just sat and watched the training process, and if the coach didn’t ask me to help, I had no right to interfere. It got to the point of being funny: sometimes I saw a coach struggling with the same element for five or six years. I couldn’t stand it, he came up and asked, “Do you want me to roll up my sleeves and install this element in two weeks - and for the rest of my life?” After all, I myself have been collecting this element bit by bit for decades. And he warned me that I don’t need any glory and I don’t intend to beat off the student under any circumstances. And what did I hear in response? “Thank you, Stanislav Alekseevich, no need. Everything is fine with us.” And the athlete disappeared... I recently saw an amazing program about how the great Mstislav Rostropovich gave an open lesson in mastery to seasoned musicians, and in the presence of their no less honored teachers. The master, sitting on stage in a crowded hall, could interrupt the performer at any moment and give advice. And when he succeeded as the Master wanted, the hall exploded with applause. And no one was jealous. In the environment where Rostropovich works, there is more culture than ours. So, I repeat, I am happy to help everyone. But on condition that they ask me about it.

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 96 dated May 30, 1998, p. 15

Authors:

Valeria Mironova