Practice-based coaching, online support, and case studies from Japan.
About Me
Chiaki
Founder and Head Trainer, Studio WeBA
Trainer for Junior Competitive Athletes
I have operated an aerial arts studio since 2016 and began providing personal training in 2018, primarily for junior competitive athletes. Most of the athletes I work with are figure skaters, and more than 80 competitive athletes have received ongoing personal training with me to date.
I provide support through both in-person and online coaching.
Areas of Focus
I analyze sport-specific challenges from a physical perspective and design individualized training programs by identifying the factors that may be limiting each athlete’s performance.
My main areas of focus include:
- Off-ice training for figure skaters
- Training design adapted to the physical development of growing athletes
- Development of strength, power, body control, and flexibility
- Home-training program design and support for long-term adherence
- Physical training for athletes in cheerleading, track and field, swimming, and other sports
From Consulting to Coaching
Before becoming self-employed, I worked in corporate roles for 12 years. For approximately six of those years, I worked as a financial consultant on projects involving infrastructure and financial institutions.
The working methods I developed as a consultant continue to form the foundation of my coaching approach.
When supporting athletes who aim to improve their competitive performance, I examine the underlying causes of a problem from multiple perspectives, form hypotheses, and design training interventions accordingly. I then observe both the training process and the athlete’s progress, repeatedly reassessing and refining those hypotheses.
With careful consideration of injury risk, I continue to evaluate and adjust each program so that athletes can perform at a high level within an appropriate and sustainable training framework.
A Practical Approach
I introduce a wide range of training methods according to each athlete’s needs, and whenever possible, I also perform the exercises myself.
I recognize that my own physical characteristics and sporting experience differ from those of the athletes I coach. My personal practice is therefore not used as proof that a training method will be effective for another athlete. Instead, it provides additional practical information when considering how a training exercise may relate to sport performance, including its physical demands, level of difficulty, and potential effects on fatigue.
Physical abilities observed off the ice do not necessarily transfer directly to movement on the ice. For this reason, continuing to skate myself also helps me examine hypotheses about the relationship between off-ice training and on-ice performance.
Online Coaching
My training services were initially provided only in person. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, I was contacted by the parent of an athlete who was no longer able to attend the studio. That request led me to begin providing online support.
Compared with in-person coaching, online sessions make it more difficult to observe movement and communicate instructions accurately. By conducting sessions frequently over a relatively short period, I gradually refined how I assessed movement through a screen, selected verbal cues, and recorded training tasks and progress.
I now support athletes both within Japan and overseas, including Japanese athletes living in North America. I communicate regularly with parents, clarify the role of the athlete’s primary skating coach, and confirm the athlete’s current needs. I also review competition schedules and on-ice training conditions, adjusting the support provided while considering the athlete’s overall workload throughout the season.
Why I Publish Case Studies
I have shared a range of personal training cases through my website and through articles published on the external platform note.
In Japan, relatively little information about figure skating off-ice training is publicly available. Because figure skating has highly specific technical and physical demands, athletes and parents often have to explore possible solutions while dealing with considerable uncertainty.
In off-ice training, the process behind the final competitive result is also difficult to see from the outside. This includes how a problem was assessed, what factors were considered, and what the intended purpose of each intervention was.
A single case cannot be used to draw general conclusions. However, by documenting the decision-making process, role boundaries, outcomes, and limitations of each case, I hope to provide useful reference points for athletes, parents, coaches, and trainers who are considering different forms of support.
The purpose of publishing these case studies is to share practice-based knowledge developed in the Japanese training environment with a wider international audience.
Chiaki, CSCS
Founder and Head Trainer, Studio WeBA
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist®
National Strength and Conditioning Association
Japan
Based in Japan. Online coaching sessions are primarily conducted in Japanese, with communication support available when needed.
・Case Study
・Selected Article on note
