Yesterday, a beginner popper guy told me "breakdancers are lame" cuz I wouldn't break in public. He wanted me to dance and make a circle at the crowded (and sticky) Masquerade dancefloor like some sort of tool. No thanks! Maybe if I had only been dancing a few years, and was still in high school... but I had just come from the jam, I don't wanna break, I wanna chill. He was the lame one to me. I saw him bothering the girls too, even pushing one out of the way to try to make me dance... smh... He tried to get on the girls but failed. I don't think dancers like that are good for the community at large.
On the positive side, DJ Roonie G was spinning some cool stuff, he looked like a 90s Asian Raver turned DJ. He even sang and rocked the crowd. Good for him.
Anyway, they had a jam yesterday in New Orleans, an All-Styles/Popping tournament (group of us went to Masquerade/Harrah's after the jam). People from Houston, Mississippi, Alabama, Baton Rouge came through. I judged All-Styles and did a showcase. Here it is:
11+ years in the game and I still feel like I held back.
Wish we could done more rounds, I got new ish...
Overall, the vibes were good at the jam. Modest turnout. Great dance talent, it was cool to see a popping jam... not a lot of bboys came through, just a handful. I had fun though. Big ups to Baylor aka the TalkBox, for throwing the jam. Enjoy the clip.
Windmills are pretty easy, you just have to put in a little time and work to learn it.
Shuffling is super easy. I used to hate on that style, but there's no sense in hating now. I'll still battle any shuffler though.
The more difficult part (see above links, under "GOOD footage"), which I think goes under-appreciated, is the freestyling aspect, and the intricate, creative, musical, and expressive stuff. That aspect of dancing is way cooler to me, compared to a flare>windmill>nutcracker. Basic combo.
I prefer to just dance to my heart's content.
That's what I learned to prefer over my 11 years of doing this.
Closing Points
My videos that catch on more popularly are poor representations of my dance... basic power, nothing unexpected... shuffling...simple, easy... Is that the price of mass appeal? I prefer the real shit, but the "real shit" doesn't catch as much attention.
Unless it's live. Then it's really crazy and nasty. Especially powerful styles. Dancing is best when it's live and in action, not on video or GIF or text. Not even on a performance stage.
If you're in "the scene," stay there. The world needs you.
If you're not in the scene, come to a jam! Cop some merchandise. Support local artists!
I was like: "Viral? What viral?" Cuz I was SICK at the time too so yeah, I definitely WAS viral or bacterial or had something unbalanced in my system. The video was shared, mostly by strangers, and liked up to about 570ish, by about 400 people that I don't even know.
Only about 130 of those 570 "likes" were my network of wonderful friends, truly amazing people, most of them. Haha. And I love the hell out of them. I'm blessed for the people I know in my life. They're probably amongst the ones reading this. Thank you for being in my life!
For the other 440, I guess a dancing professional is amusing to people. Refreshing to see. Engaging to students (I hope).
When I made the video, I didn't think much of it. Just responding to my friends tagging me in the Strife.tv video. It only took like 5 minutes, I figure I'd put the quote in at the end, to make it be about Knowledge ultimately. Knowledge reigns supreme.
Anyways, that was a pretty funny experience,
and that's not even my best dancing! Most bboys wouldn't like it, cuz it's not new or dope, it's just better than that older guys', but he deserves props too for getting down in the classroom and nurturing minds daily!!
In fact, truth be told, it's not even a great representation of real bboying, just a simple power combo.
To a non-breaking person, it looks hard. But to be honest, even to a 2-3yr bboy, that's a basic combo.
But the idea is POWER.
You thought it was hard?
What if I told you it's actually easy?
You can harness it, and it becomes easier once you have the Knowledge.
Everything is easier once you Know how to do it.
Knowledge makes things easier.
Knowledge is Power.
And having knowledge of your power makes doing powermoves easier.
Anyone can learn it.
So I had to wrap up at the end of the video: It's easy once you have the Knowledge, so the key is the Knowledge. That unlocks your abilities to do amazing things.
Just got back from a jam at CSUF: Clash of the Titans.
I. Intro
At first, I didn't want to go because it's a school jam... and because there was no prize money/tournament to win. 3 exhibition battles though. Sounded interesting.
My initial reluctance to go was defeated by the promising line-up of Foundation FunKollective DJs, the $3 entry, and because it's a SCHOOL JAM!
^seems like a contradiction since "school jam" was a reason I didn't want to go, but I really just changed my perspective. Plus, if I preach open-mindedness without keeping my own mind open, it would be wack.
School jams are dope, cuz it's dancing students. They get their chance to shine, in a way that they wouldn't in bigger jams like FreestyleSession. So they go hard! You got engineers, scientists, dudes in pre-med, designers, grad students, Internationals, etc.. Basically, a diverse group of cool ass people...who share a love for dance/music/hip hop culture. School jams are tight! Especially LMU jams....tf was I thinking.
On an aside: Hip hop is arguably the greatest culture of our time. As a historically new, yet fundamentally ancient, set of traditions, it is continuing to grow in a "glocalized" way. Glocalized meaning it is global (borderless), but also local (regional distinct). It is owned by no one, yet shared by everyone. Hip hop is both mainstream and underground. It's a culture of contradiction, which is a topic to be discussed in a later post.
II. Back to the jam though...
It got pretty hyped considering most students are in midterms/finals mode.
Especially the last two exhibition battles! TINacious (CSUF) vs Archer (UCLA) and JC (UCR) vs Bangkok Dangerous (CSUF) - Go UCLA! Music was on-point. Tasteful DJs are so critical to a jam; DJ Abel, DJ Mel, and DJ Dwenz kept the dancers sweatin'—At least I was. Haha. I'm wack as fuck coming back from injury, and I still managed to get down the whole night. It's that Boogie music.
III. Competition Is On The Rise
The cyphers were fun too, but either I'm losing my touch, or these young whippersnappers are just getting fucking good. I've seen cats who started breaking after I did, get better than me! They definitely got some moves that I don't got. I mean, a lot of them still aren't better than me YET, but a good amount are on their way if they stay hungry.
I'm still training and doing my thing though, so if you're coming to get me, do it already. Quit talkin' shit. And don't call me out right after I just battle a cat, you weak ass fuck! You know who you are AHAHAHA.
IV. In Conclusion
Anyway, I'm happy to see more bboys in higher education. I don't think it was like this when I started. I creditz the Internet, TV, and Movies for the exposure. I also credit the dope ass bboys, promoters, movie producers, etc. who inspired a new generation of bboys, as well as the new generation itself that prioritizes dancing AND academics.
What are the implications of having so many bboys/bgirls/dancers in college? I don't know, but it definitely points to a changing landscape for hip hop. And a healthier, cooler generation of adults.
One day, there will be a Bboying Grandpa's tournament. Can't stop the rock.
Continuing that aside: Hip hop can be seen as a social evolution.
"Gangs put down their weapons upon the mutual awareness of their common enemy, and their common struggles. Born out of the urban ghettos of a stagflated economy, the practices of hip hop are sustainable, recession-proof... We session through recession." ^To be continued in a later post.
Last final note: I was extra glad to see people at this jam because I fly out to New Orleans at the end of the month. Damn, dope seeing you all. Community shit.
From my experience, the above statement has also applied to sales/business, teaching, and relationships.
It's interesting... the 14-year old me started dancing back in 2002-2003, because I didn't feel like a good TALKER, or at least I felt like verbal communication had its limits. And I thought it would help me get girls (it didn't). But in terms of being tested and challenged, dancing can certainly help build strong character, and abs (and that gets girls better, I think...Idunno haha ;P).
^breaking changed my life
I think EVERYONE, especially people of color, has had some form of SOCIAL ANXIETY... issues with self-esteem, introverted traits, shyness, timidity (due to media portrayal maybe?), and I've learned that dancing can bring great relief to that anxiety.
It brings HAPPINESS! And it's HEALTHY! So dance... even if you suck!
My wise friend Brian once eloquently said:
"Dancing is a natural way to express positive vibes in a social environment."
As anyone who has ever danced would know, it feels really good to just move.
Forget anything else, just enjoy the music and the moment. It's a gift.
Talk is cheap. And skills pay bills. There's people talking shit within the dance community; that's a fact, and that is WACK. Most of it is just bboys hating on bboys that they don't know very well... Competition is cool, but talking shit on people you don't know is some weak shit. Skills speak louder than words.
So in dancing, it's not about how well you can speak, it's about how well you can LISTEN...and REACT.
~~~
In contrast, the 17-year old me picked up WRITING RHYMES as a serious habit because of the limitations I then perceived in communicating with no words. Although communicating without words is amazing, because it transcends borders and can be felt as a spiritual practice, words that are carefully chosen, and emotionally charged, can have TREMENDOUS value. That's why I write AND dance... 2 swords are better than 1.
Sincere apologies for my absence. I see views coming in of people visiting the page for updates. :(
Sorry guys!
Here's the update:
After about 2 weeks of studying for the Praxis II Math test, and getting familiar with the duties of a new job, I have not been blogging as often as I've wanted. (Especially because I'm on another Google account most of the time now.)
But there's no stopping. Only breaking.
Here's a special treat, some RECENT FOOTAGE of me dancing without using much of my right hand:
But since I'm still injured, I will still keep writing, making rhymes, meeting people, and teaching classes/workshops.
Fun things to do while I'm not dancing all the time. Catch me at a local spot.
On a very positive note, I passed the Praxis II Math test, and I am now VERY LIKELY to be teaching Math in New Orleans!!!!!!
I was gonna write something sad and overly-political about America's problems, then quote some underground hip hop lyrics, but decided to spare the trouble. Maybe another time.
Instead, I think posts that are self-reflective and honest resonate better...
...As opposed to being outwardly critical, and completely fallacious.
So... lemme talk about my fuckups as a bboy. They're kinda funny.
Always a lesson learned.
And not just THESE fuckups:
My face almost blew up right here, that woulda been fuckin up.
So not just fuckups like crashing... during important battles. That's definitely a fuckup.
But also, not going to jams and practices, and being as involved as I once was.
See.... Back in high school, I danced every day during lunch and afterschool (see video above).
On Friday's we'd practice in the garage til dinner. It was the greatest time to break,
High school dances were the funnest shit ever.
And that's sorta when I was at my peak.
I couldn't dance a lick, but I was at my physical peak. At least a local maxima.
I'd say I'm a better dancer now, with more moves, more understanding,
But there are SO MANY people doing it, I'm still far from the best, even locally.
And lately I've been injured. Why? Cuz of FUCKIN UP! (see video below)
So I've had to turn my energies away from dancing.
That's partly why I've been blogging and writing and rhyming more. Grinding more.
At the base of a tree, not the top, so I'm climbing more.
On the topic of climbing and elevating,
Just got the news that I got accepted to go teach Math in New Orleans!
Speedway to teaching math! That's a dream!
From one Saint City (Santa Ana) to another!
~~~~~
For those who aren't bboys themselves, you might know me as 'the dancing guy,'
and if you know me as that, you've probably seen me dance, and you MIGHT think I'm good.
But let me assure you, although I've picked up some stuff in the 10years I've been doing it, I've still got a long way to go in the dance game. And there are people who practice a lot harder, and take it much more seriously than I do. The ones who practice harder are better than me.
That's why I didn't win this jam:
Although, up to this point, I was practicing regularly:
But right around 4:00 minutes in.... I started fuckin up! It was all downhill from there.
