Hey! I'm wanting to get into break dancing, and I wondered what people could tell me about it ? For example... - What parts of the body need to be kept best fit ? - In what proportions should the torso/legs be to each other ? (i notice many good breakdancers have short legs!) - Where can i learn about moves and techniques ? Thanks
It's one of those things that you learn off your mates / people you meet. I don't think you can get any break-a-size DVDs just yet
Just google - there are DVDs you can buy online. You have to be in very good shape to breakdance, especially your shoulders - they take a BEATING. Also, learn to do headstands and handstands. You need strong abdominal muscles as well.
Just my weird sense of humor, but are you going to cut your legs short if they are too long? I mean, you're kind of stuck with what you have aren't you?
Personally, even though i do not do breakdancing, i would say one of the best thing you can do to help youself prepare yourself for it, is to make sure that you have: Good Flexibility (sp?) It's better to have good flexibility than strength, when first starting out. Why? To prevent yourself getting injured all too easily, *especially* when you're doing the harder bits! ((I do a lot of swimming, and flexibility is (ususally) one of the best things to start of with. Swimming fast is tough....)) With regards to lengths of body sizes, use them to your advantages!
I'll agree with what's being said about flexibility. As somebody who used to fail miserably at trying to breakdance with his friends at lunch, I'll attest to flexibility being one of the most important things. Another thing of great importance would be having enough strength that you could hold up your whole body in various positions. Back when my friends were first learning, they found a website with a large-ish community that sold instructional videos and pooled their money to buy a couple different ones. Following the instructional videos and the many specific guides from the website they practiced almost every day at lunch. In the last year of highschool they won first place in the talent show! Where was I in all of this? Well, I was never very good. I could only do the "helicopter" and according to them I was good at the "skyscraper." So one day, we were at my friend's house breaking, and of course I was practicing my helicopter move. I guess I just brought my foot up too much, or maybe not enough and then hit my leg... anyways, I landed on with the weight of my body on one foot pointed downwards. Let me tell you, I crack my knuckles alot. Both hands, and I'll crack my wrist, my left elbow, my neck, my back, and on occassion my knees. But never, never had I heard such an awful cracking as when I landed on my toes like that. The front of my foot was pretty badly bruised. Riding my bike home afterwards wasn't the most fun I'd ever had. And after that when it swelled (yes, of course I put ice on it) it sucked trying to put my shoes on or walk on it. I was honestly running around the house on my right leg and my hands. I'll admit, this part was actually cool. It's just so much faster! Anywho, I don't mean to scare you from breakdancing. None of my friends have had any problems like this, it was just my own fault. I never found break dancing battles (competitions) to be very interesting (if anybody has seen "Break 360," it is IMO one of the dumbest shows to see), but when my friends were breaking in the talent show it was the coolest thing ever! Good luck! -Nick EDIT: crap, forgot about the website! This was actually about 3 years ago when I went to it, but from what I can remember, it was "breakdance.com" (heh), except that it looks completely different now.
I guess I should also point out that height probably won't be a problem. A friend of mine is really tall, and it doesn't seem to hinder him any.
Im a (pretty great ) swimmer too! But not particularly flexible! But not all unflexible! Thanks for all the tips
why? maybe for capoeira...but not breakdancing, unless you just said that as some random activity to build strength and flexibility
my uni has a 'breakdancing club' i'd have really liked to give it a go (not that i'd be any good) but the problem with joining these clubs is that when you're the n00b (and i doubt they get many new members) you're gonna outright suck, and having a group of strangers laugh at me isn't really a whole lot of fun. let us know how it goes with the dvds, i might see if i can find something too. if anyone has space to host a 7meg movie clip let me know, the guy in the clip is just incredible. you can tell that the other people in the competition are just looking at him like "wtf how am i gonna top that!?". really impressive stuff
