We asked top athletes about "the one jump that changed their lives." Because of that one jump... We trace the story of that one jump and the thoughts that went into it.
Takeda Ryu - Achieved an unprecedented six consecutive victories at the All Japan Ski Technical Championships. What was the jump that changed the life of this undisputed champion who continues to stand alone at the top of the world of basic skiing?
~The run of a lifetime~
A slalom run at the Far East Cup that finally earned him the right to compete in the World Cup
The Beginnings of Takeda Ryu
Born in Otaru, Hokkaido in 1984, Takeda has been skiing since he was a child. His home mountain is Tenguyama Ski Resort, a mecca for alpine skiing that has produced world-class skiers such as Tetsuya Okabe and Akira Sasaki. His father is a former national team member and a renowned coach in the local area. From an early age, his son was naturally tasked with a mission: to compete in the FIS World Cup (W-CUP) and the Olympics. His father's hope became his son's dream. This is where Takeda Ryu's skiing career began
Against fate
"Ever since I was a child, I was always on a rail to the top, but I didn't like that. My dad and the manufacturer would say, 'If you stick to this path, we'll do the rest,' so at the time I really wanted to rebel against that. I went through a pretty strong rebellious phase, and to be honest, I was a delinquent (laughs). I had a mean look in my eyes, and I was suspended many times in high school. At that age in middle and high school, I wanted to act tough, and I found it more fun to hang out with my hometown friends, so I gave in to all kinds of temptations and didn't pursue the goals and path I had set for myself."
If you still skate, you'll get results
"That's why I ended up skiing. I'm a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. I've been an elite skier since my teens and have had good results. So I didn't really put in any effort. I could ski fast enough, so I thought, 'Well, that's good enough.'
But my dad has always said that you have to pursue everything to the end, keep pursuing everything, and pursue and pursue. That was always in my head, but to be honest, it felt restrictive to me
But Akira (Sasaki) rose to the world level in one fell swoop, Kentaro (Minagawa) also rose to the top, and from the same generation, Yuasa (Naoki) suddenly went on to become a world champion, so it was like, "Wow, he's been beaten to it!"
I definitely felt like I wanted to pursue it, but I didn't want to put in the effort, it was too tedious. I didn't want to practice at the time, and I thought land training was tough. I didn't have the mentality to go overseas to ski. I admired it, but I didn't want to go that far. I guess I was rebelling as much as I could against having to follow the path laid out for me by adults. Maybe I hated it because it was something that was predetermined for me."
Because I had friends
There were many times when I started to dislike skiing or thought I was done with skiing, as I changed my career path, such as in my third year of junior high school, third year of high school, and during university. Each time, I went off the rails, and then I would go back again, and I would repeat this cycle of my own volition
If Takeda Ryu had really wanted to leave, he could have done so, so why didn't he leave skiing?
"I think it was because I had friends. I just enjoyed being with friends. When I was in the fourth grade of elementary school, we would all imitate the skiing of the strong W-Cup skiers, go to the park to jump off kickers during our lunch breaks, and when the lifts stopped running in the evening, we would go sledding on the slopes. We just enjoyed being on the snowy mountain. I think I skied because I enjoyed that kind of thing. It wasn't about competing to win or lose."
Did you go into the park and fly and spin around?
"I could do that sort of thing. I was not afraid of anything. I just watched and imitated without being taught. The seniors were doing 360s and backflips on short, thick ski boards, and I was wearing long alpine skis, so I thought I'd give it a try and did a backflip on the first try. I was pretty scared, but I did it! It was like that (laughs). I also did a lot of rail riding
Otaru is a hilly town, and my parents' house was halfway up the hill. It was close enough that you could come back from Tenguyama Ski Resort with your skis on. At the time, Sasaki Akira, who was three years older than me, was a high school student in Otaru Hokusho and was living with us. We built a kicker in a vacant lot on our street, and Akira and another Hokusho mogul skier were there. Endo Junpei, who was from Hakodate
Akira and Junpei started playing with kickers all over the neighborhood. Incidentally, Kusunoki Taisuke was also a classmate at Hokuto. Four or five of them and I would all make kickers in the snow on the loose ground. We'd paddle out like crazy, take off with a bang, and do tricks that were so cool, and we'd say, "He's got that kind of courage." Junpei was especially amazing. I thought he was nuts (laughs)."
Our main focus was alpine skiing, but we really enjoyed playing around like that. That was during our middle and high school days. We were really naughty boys (laughs). Every day we were all thinking about how we could do something naughty. Like how we could drink alcohol in secret (laughs)
After all, skiing buddies were the most fun, and when I skied with them, I felt like, "Skiing is the best after all." Even now, for the past 30 years, it's my ski buddies who have remained with me for the longest time. I think it was because of my buddies that I didn't give up skiing."
▼A photo from a previous Ishii Sports event. If you look closely, you'll see the impressive lineup, including Okabe Tetsuya, Sasaki Akira, Kodama Tsuyoshi, Yamaki Masahiro, and Yamada Takuya
A film that made my dream come true
Takeda Ryu became a designated junior athlete for the Japanese national team when he was in his third year of junior high school. He competed on the All-Japan national team while at Hokusho High School, but when he became a university student, he went through a period of not getting good results, so he was dropped from the All-Japan team and dropped out of Kinki University. However, he joined a corporate team and continued competing, and once again made it back to the All-Japan team. As a result, he continued competing in alpine skiing for nine years.
"I just wanted to compete in the World Cup at least once."
Why did Takeda Ryu continue to pursue the World Cup for so long?
"You really do aspire to reach the pinnacle of success, like the Olympics or the World Cup. When I saw Akira, who I used to hang out with in my teens, reach the podium at the age of 19 or 20, I admired him and felt a strong desire to aim for that level. In alpine skiing, what you do has a direct effect on your time, so it's a constant struggle to improve your time. You're never satisfied. I keep on pushing and thinking about how I can get faster."
Before I knew it, I was obsessed with the "pursuit" my father always talked about
However, at the age of 26, he was dropped from the All Japan National Team
"I even thought about quitting skiing. Even when I was competing in the elite category, there were many times when I was overtaken by my rivals, and I felt frustrated and worried, but that was my dream. It was the World Cup
I couldn't give up. So I decided to go overseas again. I decided to definitely compete in the World Cup in about three years, and then quit racing."
He traveled to the United States with Kentaro Minagawa, who was also not designated for the national team, and from there they traveled to Europe, competing in races and gradually accumulating FIS points before competing in the final qualifying round to compete for a spot in the 2014 World Cup
"I won there. It was the Far East Cup in Italy, the match that finally secured me the right to play in the World Cup, and I think that match changed my life
I wanted to go all the way to the Olympics, and even though I only competed in the World Cup once, I achieved my dream. At the Bormio World Cup, I simply enjoyed skiing and was satisfied with the end of my alpine skiing career. I felt like the first chapter had come to an end."
Although Takeda Ryu fought against his fate, he never gave up on his dream until the very end
"But I think I could have gotten there a little earlier if I hadn't gone off course. I kept making detours (laughs). If I had stayed on the path that was laid out for me, I might have even been able to compete in the Olympics. But if I had, I might not be here now."
I wanted to make Alpine shine
The following year, in 2015, armed with the knowledge that he had competed in the FIS World Cup, Takeda Ryu entered the world of basics and technical competition
First of all, what did Takeda Ryu come to the world of basics for?
"I wanted to make Alpine shine
I wasn't able to make a name for myself in alpine skiing, but I'll say it without fear of being misunderstood: I moved down from the world level to Japan and down to the basics. But in the basics world, there are a lot of people who don't know anything about alpine skiing. They don't understand the true essence or value of alpine skiing at all. So I felt like I could move from alpine skiing to the basics and make alpine skiing more popular from there
By achieving results and winning technical competitions, I can learn about my past, so I want people to see my background and see what alpine skiing is like. I wanted to make alpine skiing a glorious world. My feelings from back then haven't changed to this day."
Takeda Ryu was thinking about this
"In Japan, on-piste skiing is the most common. Of all the on-piste skiing styles, alpine skiing is the best. I believe that unless alpine skiing shines, Japanese skiing will not be able to improve its overall performance
It's good for today's juniors to work on the basics, but I believe they won't become stronger unless they do alpine skiing. So whenever I tell them to work hard in that area, I feel like I have to back them up too. I hope that athletes who have done alpine skiing to the point where they are satisfied with their goal of becoming the best have a second career opportunity, and that I can support them in that endeavor."
Chapter 2: Confusion and Determination
When Takeda Ryu came from alpine skiing to the technical selections, what was the crucial difference between his own skating and that of the technical selections?
"Ever since I was a child, I was taught to use my ankles inside my boots, that the ankles are the most important joint. But in my first year in the technical competition, I was told not to use my ankles. Stop and ski. Why? I had never skied like that, and I wondered how I could ski without using my ankles, so when I tried it, I couldn't do it well at all. In alpine skiing, you can't let the skis slip, which would waste time, so you have to cut through them. If you don't keep your ankles in, the skis will slip, and the moment they slip your body reacts negatively. I was extremely confused and conflicted
I came to the Basics with the strengths of Alpine skiing, so I wanted to impress the Technical Selections with my own unique style of skating
In the past, the technical selections were contests where skiers would shift their skis from the top and compete in a way that even average skiers could do. But if you can show skiing of a different dimension live in the technical selections, you can make people realize the incredible possibilities and fun of skiing, and you can also learn the depth of skiing from the various variations of skiing. When teaching the general public as a coach, you can teach them by lowering the field
I wondered if there was any point in competing in a competition where the skating was similar to that of ordinary people, so I decided that if I was going to compete to be the best in Japan, I should skate in a way that no one else could imitate. I decided to show that in the events I was good at, without being obsessed with winning or losing. I made up my mind. So from my second year onwards, I started to skate more and more in my own style
My style? Sharpness, I guess."
Deep edging that creates an astonishingly large inward angle, sharp turns that carve into the snow surface, unparalleled stability that coexists with speed...the high level and quality of Takeda Ryu's skiing cannot be fully described with just the word "sharpness."
Here is a digest video of his fifth consecutive victory at the 61st Technical Selection
Takeda Ryu and Powder
After hearing that Takeda used to play on kickers and rails with Akira Sasaki and Junpei Endo during his student days, the editorial team naturally wanted to ask him this: Does Takeda Ryu ever ski in powder?
"Hardly. The only times I've done it are when it snows a meter or so during filming and we have no choice but to have a scene like that (laughs). I don't even own fat skis for powder. After a competition, I get invited to go up the mountains in the spring and ski on the remaining snow, or to go powder skiing in the peak season, but I'm like, "Oh, no problem" (laughs). Nowadays, skiing is my job, and I'm so busy during the season that, to be honest, I don't have time to ski purely for my own enjoyment."
Our editorial team discovered this "coincidental situation" on Takeda Ryu's Instagram!
It was posted in December 2018. The comments are interesting.。
Changing the times
Photo: ROSSIGNOL
There was a year in 2018 when a new event called "Small Turns and Rhythm Changes" was introduced. At the time, all skiers simply shifted their skis to change rhythm, and competitions praised this style. Takeda Ryu took advantage of this
"I asked the judges at the competition, 'Well, what if I did a sharp, deep turn here?' They were like, 'Go ahead and try it if you can,' so I said, 'I can totally do that,' and showed them, and I ended up taking first place in that event
From then on, I thought that if I continued doing things this way, I would be able to attract more attention to the technical selections. This feeling of success was becoming more and more convincing. I realized that if I continued to change the times little by little like this, the foundations of alpine skiing and basic skiing would eventually become one
The techniques for basic and alpine skiing are completely different. If someone who has done alpine skiing comes here, they have to do something completely different to get a high ranking in the technical competition. What do you think about that? Isn't it strange?
I thought that the younger generation, the juniors, would all be confused. So I've always believed that it's best to have the same foundation, and that's how I've come this far. As a result, I think that's how it is now. That was one of my goals, that I would change things by continuing to do what I do."
Takeda Ryu has done just that.
Since 2020, he has won the Technical Championships an unprecedented six times in a row. For six years, no one has been able to surpass Takeda Ryu's skating. This is not simply the result of winning or losing. It is a victory that proves that he has changed the "evaluation axis itself" with his own skating.
"I wanted to change it. Sharp turns, position, speed... Skiing that is rooted in the spirit of alpine skiing is now valued, and I can personally feel that things have definitely changed. As a result, young people who have pursued alpine skiing are now steadily learning the basics
The Technical Selections are also changing. The criteria for evaluation and the way they are viewed are changing, as are the stance and mindset of the athletes. If athletes show that they are serious about competing as athletes, they will be supported by those around them. I think it is absolutely necessary to aim for the top with the Technical Selections as one of your goals, and that depending on your results, the world will expand, and that further development is essential. If that happens, I think the Technical Selections will become an even better tournament."
Standing at the front in a different world
What does Takeda Ryu want to do in the future?
"I don't think skiing is yet that popular. If the technical selection remains just a championship, I don't think anything will change. So while I'm at the top, I want to do my best to build connections with golf, soccer, other sports, the media, and all sorts of other people, so that more attention will be paid to skiing and the technical selection
To achieve this, I want to act as a moving advertisement for "Japan's No. 1 Basic Skier," stepping out into different worlds and standing on the front lines. I want people to think, 'Wow, there are people like that. I wonder what skiing is like. I want to take a look.'"
▼ Also featured in "LEON"
Takeda Ryu's life story was one in which he made his dream come true
This not only changed the technical competition, but also led to the future of skiing.
Takeda Ryu - His skiing will surely continue to open up new meanings.
Born in 1984 in Otaru, Hokkaido.
In alpine skiing, he won the All Japan Championships Slalom in 2011, the Giant Slalom in 2013, and the FIS Far East Cup SL in the same year, qualifying for the World Cup. He then switched to basic skiing, placing fourth from 2016 to 2018, before winning his first title at the 58th tournament in 2019. Since then, he has achieved an unprecedented six consecutive victories from 2021 to 2025.
In recent years, he has been involved in developing young skiers as an external coach and national demonstrator for the Kitami Institute of Technology Ski Academy, while also running the official YouTube channel "Dragon TV Takeda Ryu."
Special thanks: GROUPE ROSSIGNOL Co., Ltd. and DESCENTE Co., Ltd