In Japan
Shizuka Arakawa of Japan is famous for her flexible take on the Ina Bauer, during which she bends her back backwards until her head is upside down. This move was highlighted in Arakawa's winning free skating program at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where she performed an outside edge Ina Bauer, then performed a three jump combination (triple salchow-double toe-double loop). Because of this publicity, the term "ina bauer" has been transliterated phonetically into the Japanese word イナバウアー and has taken on a new meaning. It is a "vogue" word that has come to mean anything having to do with bending over backwards, due to the fact that the term was repeated so often that many people mistakenly thought that "ina bauer" referred to the back position, not the skating involved (the back position is more exactly called the layback position, making the move combined with Arakawa's back position a "layback Ina Bauer"). In Japan, it is also known as the "Arakawa way" or the "Arakawa type" (荒川のように), after Shizuka Arakawa.
The term has become so popular in Japan that Asahi Breweries has attempted to trade mark it. However, that attempt was blocked because it is a proper name and Bauer refused to give the rights.
Read more about this topic: Ina Bauer (element)
Famous quotes containing the word japan:
“I do not know that the United States can save civilization but at least by our example we can make people think and give them the opportunity of saving themselves. The trouble is that the people of Germany, Italy and Japan are not given the privilege of thinking.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)