Breakin' Progress (Blog 2)

Hey I'm Improving!

Wow I progressed a lot through this week! I mean, I faced some serious setbacks, but i'll get into that later on. First let me show you just a couple of the moves I've learned. While they may look amateur (They really are), they serve as fundamental moves that I will need to advance later on.

Indian Step/ Kick and Twist 

There are essentially five categories to Breakdancing: Top Rocks or standing moves, Go Downs or transitions, Footwork, Freezes, and the dopest one of all... power moves.

The Indian Step/ Kick and Twist is one of the starting Top Rocks to learn. While there are a few simpler Top Rocks, this one combined simplicity and the cool factor. I intend to practice this move enough so that I can speed it up as much as possible.

Coffee Grinder

The Coffee Grinder was my first introduction into footwork. It is a really quick move that involves getting your leg around your whole body in a 360 motion. While it is a quick move, you end up in the same position that you start. This allows you to repeat this move over and over for a cool look. This move involves a little more flexibility than I previously thought which really made me understand the importance of stretching. Unfortunately, did not realize this before it was too late and I am SO sore now.

My Legs Feel Like Crap

I DEFINITELY OVER TRAINED THIS WEEK. I tried to manage my daily running life and my breakdancing life and it just did not work out. First things first, I run about 7 miles every day to make sure I stay in shape for spring track. Usually I stretch for a few minutes after and rest. NOT THIS TIME. Now I would run and about an hour later start breakdancing. Before breakdancing, instructors say it is essential to stretch. Well, I thought that took too long, and went straight to breakin'. BAD IDEA. Now my quads and knees are actually killing me and I am really sore. However, I still feel like breakin' it down, so I will cut back on the running for now. 

Finding A Program 

 I came across this site called Udemy while gaining information on the history of breakdance. It was perfect. It had a 4 week schedule showing my potential progress, a highly talented instructor who could teach well, and showed all the moves I could ever want to know. One problem though... I needed to pay. Well not much, just $20, but it would still take some persuasion to get my mother on board. I did end up getting her on my side though by showing how much of a bargain it really was. Now I have a pretty much perfect schedule to insure that I become a master at my craft. 

Some Cool History

Not only did I learn about breakdancing in terms of its certain styles and moves, but also a lot about its history. Breakdancing started in South Bronx, NYC back in the 1970's. What really interested me was that gangs used to have battles over turf not with violence, BUT BREAKDANCING! They would get their best members to have a breakdance battle and whoever did the sickest moves would win. If only gangs were like that now. 

Little Ahmed Lost in Breakdance Land (Blog 1)

Wassuh my homedawgs,

OK I am truly sorry for that. I am not hip...yet.

To be honest, I even surprised myself when I chose break-dancing as the skill to delve into for the next six weeks. It was hasty decision, but I don't regret it one bit. My brainstorming process went a little something like this:

Parkour sounds like a really cool idea.
Parkour is also really dangerous and scary.
Break-dancing is like parkour but less dangerous and scary.
Break-dancing it is!

    OR   

As I took a closer look into my decision however, I realized that it really had a greater value than the project alone. It was a topic that I had a passion for. It was a topic that I would definitely pursue even after the six weeks of practice. But what really motivated me?

As a child I used to be a diligent student of karate. I got all my belts all the way up to the black belt. Yeah, I was tough 12 year old. However, I really wasn't so fascinated with fighting other people. I COULD easily fight and win, but my real interest was in the complicated moves that looked impossible to perform. I remember learning the Tornado Kick after receiving my black belt, and never using it to fight. Instead, I spent all my time trying to make it look as impressive as possible. I realized that for me, karate's real appeal was in the crazy flips and tricks you could do, not the whole beating each other up part. The experience gave me my first glimpse into these jaw-dropping techniques that would become part of break-dancing.

                                               

My second wave of motivation came a few years ago during a vacation to London and Paris. It was on the streets of these cities where I saw some of the best street performers break-dance in front of huge crowds. The way the performers were able to excite the whole crowd, including me, with their windmills and head-spins filled me with a desire to learn myself and even compete with them.

Understandably, it is not likely that I will be at the level of these street performers in the duration of 6 weeks, but I do have my own goals. My main plan is to be able to perform a two minute break-dance routine using acquired skills. Two minutes is actually a considerable amount of time for a dancing style that drains energy and relies on fast movements. Ultimately, my progress and achievements will be measured in two factors; impression and duration. By doing this, I can measure if learning a certain move is worth it based on how long it is taking to learn, and how good of an impression it leaves.

This is an exciting journey, and I am looking forward to every moment, except not really the TedTalk.