Much progress

I've loosened up at practices, started talking more and having fun. All is going well and my whole crew is building momentum quickly. I feel more motivated then ever lately and it really is a great feeling. Starting to get a hang of babymills now, still working on my flares but doing everything more consistently. I think working out like I do may help too.

Onward! Nothing to lose, only gain is what I see in my future. I'd like to ideally combine and transition between power and freezes often. Of course i already feel secure about my floor and footwork.

A Possible Key

Sometimes, when you don't break for a good 4 days or even more.. you really miss breaking, but also I've noticed it makes me more creative when I finally do break again.

I've read many articles and have started to see a trend that a lot of bboys simply DONT PRACTICE. Now being that im from Iowa and in the midwest, its not like there are jams popping left and right of me constantly like more famous bboys who would be competing all the time.

So with that in mind perhaps I might change my practices up a little bit, Bboy 2x per week but really... really... hard and perhaps workout on other days to build strength where no creativity is necessary. :D

Good sounds like a plan i just thought of it tonight.

Plateau

I've felt like I've hit a flat now for bboying. Maybe not though as i am always learning something new but still... I feel like there is something lacking. My shit is just not advanced enough. I'm generally happy with my footwork and tops now but its my moves and move combinations that are lacking firepower.

Probably doesn't help that I session alone frequently due to my other members being busy or out of commission due to injury. Hope Josh comes back soon as soon as he recovers I need my partner back for real.

Gotta be strong and keep pushing though no matter how hard it is! But I gotta say it frustrates me that all around the midwest things are getting fairly complex but Iowa is SO FAR BEHIND technically. What are we lacking? being surrounded by greatness? More bboys? What makes those scenes so much more advanced? More competition perhaps but even with just competition there has to be other elements for bboying to grow more.


I OUGHTA WRECK AMAZING!!! SATURDAY OCT 3RD!!!

UI Breakers @ the pedmall

So yeah check it out! video made by me and most of the footage was recorded by me but not all cause I had to get in the action too sometimes!

Join People String!

The Upcoming

Woah so haven't posted in pretty much a month! well exactly a month!

So obviously a biggie is that there is gonna be another Jam in Iowa this October 3rd!

Got me some fresh @$$ shoes recently!

And... I'm pretty sure that I'm really happy with my footwork, toprock, and flow right now and I have a decent amount of blowups too. Now I REALLY REALLY need to catch up in the power game. I sessioned tonight doing flares for 2 hrs and swipes and mills for 1 hr. I think this was my first session that I literally did ONLY POWER.

Another note you should definitely join Peoplestring and do the mailbox program!

Stronger

So I'm definitely getting stronger as I have been consistently working out AFTER bboying @ session.

I finally landed my first 3 flares in a row the other night and I hope to make that more consistent! I've been working on that Hollowback everday and my shoulders are A LOT more flexible now than they used to be for sure! I've been using the wall to practice it and occasionally without the wall. Sometimes I'm able to do a bent leg hollowback without the wall but certainly not a double leg yet. I figure if I keep practicing it almost everyday I should have it down within a few months or less.

I've also been working on fixing up some previous mistakes such as my handhops/forearm hops as I noticed I was doing them wrong. I was bending my legs at the knee back and forth instead of bring my legs and knee to my whole body. Sigh... wish I would have caught that earlier as it is a pain to fix.

My headspins are coming along now that I've been fixing my wild left leg and im able to lock it in place now. Stretching sure helps these days for all power moves!

Back in full power... almost

So my right wrist is definitely recovered now and I can once again do air power! wooohoo. The only reason im not back in full power yet is because of my thumb from my left hand is still a little sprained but its getting better few more weeks and it should be recovered fully.

I've really been working on getting my flares back down and among other power moves. Also been working on a hollowback nearly everyday!

Heres some good footage the music is pretty hott too!

Video Editing Time!

Heres a short blip of my crew for 30 seconds. I'm learning Adobe After Effects and this is just one of my beginner projects.

On another note my thumb still isn't recovered so it hurts but I may get it checked out just in case. However since I tend to keep injuring myself it is forcing me to learn different things. Right now it hurts like all hell to stab because of my thumb. But my right wrist is pretty much recovered so right now I am working on HOLLOWBACK. It's hard and ive been stretching like all hell for it lately and finally I can stick my chest out properly :D Thank you camcorder for letting me know!

LAME

So I ended up not going to Unfinished Steps 2 because my partner tore his achilles tendon. Not kool and the other guy who was going didn't have enough funds for the trip. Perhaps I will go to a different jam this summer.

Kinda hurt my thumb on my left hand but I should get over that soon as it has been almost a week and it feels better. On a positive note though my wrist keeps getting better and im able to at least go into handstand position without any pains on that right wrist.

More progress to come for sure!

Recovery

I just got sick last week with a flu and am recovering from that. I feel pretty close to 100% minus the coughs that I still have. Aside from that my right wrist is definitely on its way to recovery as I can apply pressure without it hurting, however it still needs more time to rest to ensure full recovery. I would say that it should be fully usable within a months period from now. With that in mind I'm getting excited to work on power moves that require both hands.

In less than 2 weeks from now I will be going to another competition called Unfinished Steps 2.

My most influential bboy

The bboy who has influenced me the most thus far is...

Toyz (Lions of Zion)



Those of you who may know me may see the influence he has played on my footwork. I first saw this guy at Falling With Style 4 and my footwork exploded for two months after the event. Besides that, this guy is just a beast and has quite the arsenal of moves. His flow is amazing in my opinion.

More Progression on Forearm Headspins!

wooo! gonna keep going at them till i get lots more :D

Homead

If you have any wrist bands/braces around such as ones like these pictured then its your lucky day if you want to turn it into a spin glove!




Materials needed: Scissors, Wrist Band

So what do you do?

1. Turn the wrist band inside out

2. On the back you will see a line that is clearly sewn, take your scissors and gently cut through the sewn part all the way around (NOTICE not the whole glove just the sewn line, so don’t cut all the way through the whole band itself) At the end the wrist band should expand its size after you unwrap it.

3. Flip it back over to the correct side (so not inside out). Place it on your hand so that the band covers the lower portion of your hand entirely (the part where you spin on)

4. Mark a point with your finger where your thumb wants to come out, cut a little hole for your thumb.

5. Bam you now have a homemade spin glove baby!

Should look like this and it is easily reversible for either hand!

Working on Mills

I have neglected mills for too long, yes everyone tends to learn them but they in my opinion are essential for the world of power and will help with other power moves.

I currently have stabbed, or palmed(unstabbed mills) and now am going for barrel mills which are the prerequisite for baby mills. Here is my first night working on them. Obviously they could use some work after reviewing them and seeing what I need to do. More momentum is needed and perhaps a little less height.

Keys to succesful clean, fast, smooth, and effortless footwork

I get a lot of questions from bboys around here about how they should clean their footwork up, or looking for critiques and such so I thought I would take a shot at making a small insight article. There are plenty of guides on how to do moves, but not on how to make them clean.


One of the big misconceptions on footwork is that you need to drill it. This is wrong, however you should still practice it thoroughly. If you have poor form or are not yet strong enough it will not do you any good to drill that bad form in to your muscle memory.


First off, don't ever think of footwork in terms of speed, as you become more comfortable speed will begin to happen subconsciously. Think of your footwork in terms of how clean and smooth it is.


A big fundamental part of footwork that people miss it that your arms are the key to success not your legs. To throw your legs around you smoothly you need to have almost all your body weight suspended on your arms. You should focus on your arms holding you up and your legs being able to just lightly move around you.


Staying on your fingertips or inner knuckles isn't just to make you higher off the ground, it allows you to move faster, same goes for being on your toes instead of being flat footed. It requires a larger and longer motion to move all of your flat foot or whole hand that it does to just move off your toes or finger tips. Being on your finger tips and toes will definitely cause you to move with a greater fluidity.


Stylistically speaking, to make your footwork better you can try to throw your feet out more and move around a bit. If you are standing in one spot and just doing your footwork its not too intimidating, but if you are explosive and moving around aggressively you will effectively be battling your opponent with that raw style.


Don't just focus on footwork, maybe take a week off and practice freezes on both arms, or practice your power. The stronger your arms are the more weight you can hold up on your arms and the less on your feet allowing you to move easier.


My biggest footwork improvements occurred after taking small breaks to work freezes or power. When I started doing sets again my foots were much more explosive and powerful.


Another common question is on how do you develop style, well there is the obvious answer of time, but also before you can develop style you need to have a very strong foundation. You can't force yourself to develop style, it happens completely naturally. If you consciously try to have a style it will just appear as though as your trying too hard.


This guy here really knows how to flow, I present Bboy Blanka (Floorgangz Crew)

Ground Control Battles from 2005!

Physicx vs Omar (physicx back then kicked so much @$$ for real... i mean what the hell is he on? So advanced and fairly clean!)



Bruce vs Lilou (don't know who the bruce guy is but he got some fancy flavor going on!)



Rudolphe vs Physicx (sickest flag ever at 4:43 from physicx)



Lilou vs Physicx (Physicx won the event)

Ummm awesome battle

Break Disciples Trailer

All these guys are sick and ive seen them in person too :D

Break Disciples 2009 from RoxRite on Vimeo.

Trying new combos

First attempt results in EPIC FAIL but ill get it sooner or later!



wooo always nice to try new combos even if you crash, that is what practice is for. Trying to work on more blowups and that is why I have also been working out separately to compliment my bboying!


Airflare Device I Created using two Tae Kwon Do Belts, I made this device for free and its portable :D

Work Out

I've been working out lately to supplement my bboying. Sometimes ill even do it on the same day that I bboy

So what does that consist of?

Some weight training and some natural training

Focusing primarily on the triceps but also my whole upper body in general. Triceps extension, curls, bench press, pec flys, fist pushups (since my wrist cannot handle flat palm pressure), various ab exercises. Then I run for 20 mins for cardio each time.


Whats my Goal?

To develop explosive strength/power and to look good doing it :p Some bboy blowups certainly require substantial strength, but i'd say 75% of it is technique and balance related and the ther 25% is strength.

Sometimes I think bboys neglect strength training, yeah you can get quite a workout by just bboying alone, but you can certainly get stronger faster by having a separate time to work out specific muscles.

You know... that extra muscle endurance could help you out in a long battle!

Gamblerz vs TIP Korea is always ripping it

KOREA| Gamblerz vs T.I.P. (Cyon Bboy Qualifiers - Semifinals) from Daniel Zhu on Vimeo.

Rollback One Hand Progress

Here was my first night of trying it



I posted on youtube and bboy.org for help and advice on it.

The upcoming

So I have a lot of battles to look forward too AND train for. Definitely two in June and perhaps one in the later part of May.

Last night I worked on Roll back one arm all the way up! It seems like I had success with the concept as I can roll back all the way up, I just need to learn how to stick it now.

The injury to my right wrist has surprisingly been a blessing. I've learned so many new things because of the injury, it forced me to expand and I am happy for it. The only drawback is that I wish I could continue to work on flares, Ufos, and Buddhas. Oh well soon enough it will recover and I will have all the new things I have learned and then I can continue to work on the things I once was working on!

Thought this was a hype battle full of unique ideas.

I.O.W.A. Results

Placed top 4 with our makeshift crew and mixed crew of Gravity Benders, Intermix Crew, and Midwest Monstas Kru :D

Motion Disorders took the whole event. Props to them.

I see I came out more vicious this time, but I find it a common error for me is that my sets are sometimes too short! I will fix this next time for my upcoming battle in Missouri June 13th!

I.O.W.A. is HERE

I Oughta Wreck Amazing is coming up this week!

Gonna be a smaller but dope jam, I have a good feeling about it. An international crew or two may come to it as well :D

BTL6 Results

Heres the battle that I battled in.

LTC vs Intermix Crew



Aha clearly LTC took that battle but we didn't give up :D

I don't think this video captures the energy LTC really had which was super super hype! It was impressive how much energy they came out with.

Now I really know what I need to work on. All I can think in my head right now is how to beat these guys, I can't stop thinking about it. I have that drive now! I know how to win now its just a matter of putting it to practice.

Post more videos later :D

Breakin The Law Floor Phy6ix Coming!

Breaking The Law on April 17-18th

I plan to compete in popping and bboying.
I'm down with two of my Intermix homies Rock and Josh and then two brazilian cats Ananias and Tina to form a crew :D

Heres the trailer for BTL 5



Am I ready to have fun? Yeah, not gonna be too serious about this jam. It's for free, nothing on the line. I'm gonna do my best though without my right hand :D

ggggrawr?

Heres a semi old video of me doing some walking turtles.



Anyways

tonight at session I seemed to injury my right wrist again. I know I will recover quickly though as I believe I will. I already am recovering. But hey... aha for now I will stay off my right hand which eliminates half of my arsenal... BUT it will force me to be more creative so maybe this is a good thing? But no more working on flares for now :( maybe more ground power instead :P

Bboying can be frustrating with injuries indeed... but it won't stop me wahahhaha!

A Hype Battle

Thought it was a pretty sweet energy level from both sides.

I wanna go to these jams but I don't know if i will have enough people

And also Breakin The Law 6 on the 17-18th of April and Unfinished Steps 2 on the 27th of June

Midwest Best Dance Crew

This was our performance at MBDC We placed 1st at the event and won moola and a large plaque :D



Heres the jam I recorded all of the 7 to smokes at



Nice ehhh!?

Got two flares now. I'm going for three next cause I made a deal with a fellow bboy friend that if I get 3 he has to buy me a $5 footolong at subway or if he gets 8 handhops in a row then I have to buy him it. I'm gonna win, VISUALIZATION HELPS!!!

MARCH 28th coming up!

We're doing a show this Saturday for Midwest Best Dance Crew. We've been rehearsing all week so far and will continue to do so everyday.

Anyways heres a clip for you all to enjoy that I think is definitely worth watching.

All Area (Japan) vs Rhythm Attack (Hong Kong)



Why is Katsu so nasty yo!?


Updates on my progress!

My flares are coming along as I almost have two and the back doesn't drag anymore. It appears I need to kick harderd on the 2nd around as I almost complete a 2nd rotation. Inconsistent but this is my first month really working on these! :D

MDC Fundraiser

Heres a fundraiser event we attended for a local dance company called MOvMNT Dance Company. We kinda just did whatever... enjoy I think I went out 10 times plus more later thats not on footage.





aha my sets are pretty short in performances I noticed and I'm the guy wearing gray sweat pants.

Keep Your Head Up

Sometimes its hard to manage work and bboying at the same time. I can testify to this but I keep my head up still, money really does give you the power to live your life to the fullest. However, money isn't everything of course but it sure can help you out!

As a bboy, I'm always wanting to dance and train, hell I don't want to work but I know I have to and thats what I will do. Also dance isn't everything either, you got family, friends, and I have a girlfriend whom I love to death. All of these need to be balanced out for me to have a successful happy life.

Having the right balance will also make you a better bboy in my opinion. I've seen seen and heard bboys out there that train all the time and don't progress much over time. I'll admit i've been like that before! But now I'm cooking.

I wonder, what my life will be like after I finish college. My money income isn't the greatest right now for sure and I know I need to work more than I am right now. I still want to bboy, see my girlfriend and everything. But do I have to give dance up temporarily? or will I find time in my random free time alone?

All I know is, I'm gonna come out happy no matter what! :D

Less than a month

Less than a month till my next jam, and a few days over a month till another jam. It's time to get really serious.

IBE 2008 Korea/Japan vs USA

I believe in myself that I will do well. I've been working on a lot of power lately. Especially flares and a forearm headspin. I've been doing a ton of handstand pushups lately as well as some random pushup variations. Really trying to develop that explosive strength so I can do blowups better. My footwork is getting faster, I just can't wear new shoes :p

A Generation Before Me

Today I ran into a generation of bboys that came before me in my home city. A guy contacted me on myspace as he noticed my profile picture (a dance picture of me). Goes by the name of IMPERFEKT. Local music artist and was a bboy back in the days but now is working on getting back into it. I haven't given up on my homecity, theres still hope to establish a firm community :D

Most people at practice today though in my home city!

Heres some good footage that you may enjoy, not of me though.

I'm gonna be rocking hard this season, got a show coming up on march 28th! and upcoming competitions in April!

7 to Smoke Part 4

Part 4! Winner is...

Keebz (Mind180, Masters of Mayhem)!

I'm not really sure how he managed to win. Some people say he is sick beyond words. Maybe im blind aha cause I don't see whats so sick about him. His footwork and flow is awesome but besides that? maybe im missing something.

Here is the final draft of the flyers for the upcoming jam. They cut off a bit on this blog but you get the point!

Right now, we're getting ready for some jams,and a show right now. It's gonna be some intense training but im up for it as always.

We did this show for fun recently. I'm the asian guy on the right in jeans, with a light blue shirt and a black short sleeved casual dress shirt on and long hair.

7 to Smoke Part 3

Part 3 (shorter)



and of course Part 4 is coming up next which is around 7 mins long.

On a side note, ive been training a lot! Every other day ive at least been doing 60 handstand pushups, and then lots of other ground pushups to develop more strength. I'm feeling it helping my flare and blowups now. This is a good thing. Maybe I can get a planche out of this? as I already can do a tucked planche and have been for a long while.

7 To Smoke Part 2

7 To Smoke Part 2






Part 3 coming next!

Everybody's roasting each other :D

Heres some flyers I've made for a Jam in Iowa coming up on Friday May 1st!

7 To Smoke Part 1

I recorded this footage at a Jam I went to in MN. Technically footage of the event like this shouldn't be up but hey! thats why I didn't tag it with Falling With Style in the title or in the tags.


Anyways this 7tosmoke features, Los boogie, Kevo, Keebz, Toyz, Ja Lee, lil ivan)?, Timchips, Kid Rellos,



I'll upload the rest later. In total 4 parts.


This was one of my first jams, pretty dope though and I had a lot of fun cyphering and observing. The twin cities have some upcoming bboys for sure. Although certainly not all the bboys were around from the twin cities.

The result of this jam was my footwork was taken to a whole different level. Awesome :D Possibly influenced by Keebz and Toyz the most for those who know me.

Turn it Loose

Watch this trailer for Turn it Loose a upcoming documentary on some bboys





Some bboys may think Redbullbcone is pretty wack, there may be some truth to that but theres much more to it than just the competition. It's whats behind the bboy's lives. Every bboy has a story, some more dramatic than others obviously.

My story on the other hand is not that dramatic. I have my own struggles in life but im not on the verge of poverty, I'm a student, looking to establish a bboy community within my own city.

Bboy Jams

Over the past amount of time that I've taught here in the heart state of America, I've realized that its really important to take new practitioners of the game to a jam if they haven't been to one. It really opens their eyes, well at least here in the Midwest. Here in Iowa, there are not many bboys, and the bboys you do see aren't as established as you may see elsewhere.

In MY eyes, when I first went to a bboy jam called Breaking The Law and competed, it blew my mind. I had no idea what it felt like to be surrounded by all sorts of bboys. After that day, I had a spark, a spark to really become serious with bboying. In Iowa we bboys here can only help each other to a certain extent. We don't have the resources of great bboys and instructors of populated bboy states.

I took one of my students to a jam last September. I know it blew his mind away after going to Falling with Style 4. It included a lot of top bboys in the U.S. ( The Squadron) which included bboys like Roxrite, Kid David, Kevo, Keebz, and among others. The Seven to smokes was pretty dope as well as the final battle.

Aside we went to the Mall of America and ran into some fellow bboys.

Ground Zero

I've been bboying now for a little over 3 years. I have developed my own style and identity and have worked primarily on foundations of bboying. In other words I focused on footwork and flow mostly. Regardless if I have developed the sense of what a bboy is, I know I'm not complete without the moves that are in the game today.

I find myself in a catch up game. Take a look at this video interview Poe 1 on judging. He talks of bboys who have the essence and those who just have the moves and what happens to bboys who just have the moves when things "click".




To date I have these moves DOWN SOLID

Various forearm and elbow freezes
Standard Windmills
Floats ( Handglide, crickets, Jackhammers, turtles, darkhammers, variations )
Various One arm freezes (Nike, Pike, etc...)
Handhops
Baby freeze and variations
Airbaby
Backspin
Shoulderspin
Coindrops
Deadman 90's

What I'm working on is Headspins, Hurricanes, flares, and standard 90's the most right now. Also Hollowbacks :D

It's only the beginning... for real