Learning breakdancing is no easy feat. Like any other acrobatic sports, you need to build its most basic foundation – yourself. Breakdancing is a kind of sport where you need to perform air motions, flips, or somersaults. The movement should be synchronized in a timely and orderly fashion. You have to prepare yourself to be able to execute such complicated moves.
Before the arduous training of breakdancing, you need to have discipline first. The discipline you have will walk you throughout your breakdancing journey. From this, you can build your strength, flexibility, power, coordination, and endurance. These ensure your success in this acrobatic sport.
Once you have these in you, you can now familiarize yourself with the basics of breakdancing. Meaning, you have to learn its most fundamental moves and work hard to understand them.
Breakdancing is founded by its core movements like toprock, footwork, freezes, and powermoves. Learning these B-boying moves may be complex and challenging. But with proper knowledge and the right attitude you can learn breakdancing easily.
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Is it hard to learn breakdancing?
Learning breakdancing is not easy. But if you put yourself to the process, B-boying would not be hard to learn. It is crucial to building strength, flexibility, and power before engaging in breakdancing.
To make breakdancing easier to learn, it is vital to have the following:
- Flexibility
- Stamina and muscular endurance
- Strength
- Body composition
- Self-expression and creativity
- Balance and coordination
Flexibility is essential in any acrobatic sport. It allows you to perform a range of motions and increase your ability to make power moves. In breakdancing, hip and shoulder flexibility is one of the most important. They are the ones you are using for leaps, splits, spins, and other movements. Moreover, with flexibility, you will be able to prevent injuries associated with breakdancing. You have the freedom to execute an unlimited range of motions. Complicated moves are also possible with the right level of flexibility.
Your breakdancing flexibility can be improved through slow stretches done regularly. Some stretches could work on major muscle groups and improve flexibility.
Muscular endurance means your muscle can execute force repeatedly. It is a vital component of breakdancing. With the proper endurance, your body can withstand complicated poses without wearing out. It enhances your stamina and reduces muscle fatigue. Stamina and endurance can best be used when a breaker does his regular floor routine. You can build endurance through regular pushups, pullups, leg lifts, among others.
Like muscular endurance, strength allows you to hold breakdancing poses without exhaustion. It is a crucial component of breakdancing to make complex moves. With enough strength, your upper and lower body can support the movement you are making. To help improve your strength, you can do exercises like crunches, chair exercises, etc.
Once you build your strength, you are now ready to make complicated, difficult moves. You can execute the movement with precision and accuracy, as well.
You can not engage in breakdancing without the proper body composition. Your fat, muscle, and bone in the body must be in the right balance. There is a good fat percentage for males and a different percentage for women. You have to keep these in range so that they cannot hamper flexibility and stamina.
Breakdancing is both a sport and a dance form. Meaning, you have to express yourself and be creative when dancing. The steps and routine will not be as exciting and exciting without creativity. You have to combine movements and ensure that they are dynamic and fluid. Breakdancing has a range of motions you can combine to come up with a unique and powerful routine. The music use is also just as important as the movements. If you pick the right sound, you can be more creative and self-express freely.
Holding a position in freezes will not be possible without balance and coordination. Breakdancing has complicated routines requiring you to build balance and body coordination. It will not help you execute the movements but allows you to hold the position steadily. To enhance these components, you can start with simple exercises. You can begin by standing on one leg while performing arm curls. Also, you have to option to use equipment like a stability ball. Other exercises that can help are pushups, squares, jumps, and crunches.
What are the easiest steps to breakdance?
Breakdancing is founded based on its core elements. These are top rock, footwork, freezes, and power moves. They have a corresponding primary step to learn initially and start with breakdancing. These are the baby freeze, 3-step, and 6-step. They are the most important and most straightforward steps to learn in breakdancing.
- Learn the basic moves
- Practice the basic three steps
- Learn baby freeze
- Perform the 6-step
- Repeat and practice
Before moving to complicated moves, you have to master top rocks, footwork, and freezes. Top rocks engage your upper body while using arms, hands, elbows, and chest. The routine usually starts with top rocks. Footwork, on the other side, involves your lower body. You can use feet, legs, and hips when doing the movement. Lastly, freeze finishes the routine. With freezes, you temporarily stop the movement before going on to the next step.
The 3-step is the easiest movement to learn in footwork. It is also used to transition from one movement to another. The basic 3-step is essential as it will help you transition into more complex moves.
When doing the 3-step, you can start in a crab walk position. Place your arms at the back, and put your legs at the front. Your legs should be bent using your knees while lifting your body off the ground.
Then, move one foot at a forward position while the other side is holding the position and supporting the body. You can take the left leg and kick it out on the closest side. Then, you can switch the position and kick your left on one side. Afterwhich, you can turn to a pushup position to end the three-step. You can repeat it four times in a faster and precise manner.
Another basic step that you should learn is the baby freeze. It is the most important freeze move in breakdancing. When you master baby freeze, you can use it in your regular breakdancing routine.
To do so, start by pressing your right elbow against the right hip. You can bend your arm at 90 degrees while reaching the left hand outside. After, you can lean forward and kick both of your legs up, ensuring that the weight is transferred to the hands. You can hold the position in seconds.
Baby freeze looks easy, but it will take a while for you to master it. Without muscular upper body strength, you would not execute it. Then, it is vital to find the right balance so that you can hold the move steadily.
The 6-step is a more complicated variation of the 3-step. It is vital to master the latter first before progressing to the 6-step.
You can start the movement by getting into a crouching position. Just take a step forward with your right foot, and let your other leg stationary. Then, you can step the left foot behind the right foot so that it overlaps or crosses the other leg. After, you can now step out the right foot and ensure that both your feet are apart. Then, do it with the left foot, as well. Cross the left side to the right foot, and step the latter back while keeping the left stationery. Then do the same, step the left foot back so that your feet are shoulder-width far from each other.
After learning the basic steps, the next best thing to do is repeat the steps and master them. Ensure that with each repetition, you will be able to make the moves faster. Practice until you are able to get the right balance, precision, and coordination. It will take time to perfect the moves, but you are ready to take on more difficult B-boying moves once you have it.
How can you learn breakdancing?
The best breakdancers you know do not just learn B-boying in one night. They underwent training and learned the basic moves one by one. As a beginner, you can learn breakdancing by watching videos or taking lessons. Some are being mentored by experts in the sport, as well.
If you want to learn breakdancing, here are the things you should follow:
- Learn the steps one by one
- Watching tutorial videos
- Expand your community
- Take lessons
The initial step to do when learning breakdancing knows each step wholeheartedly. You can read some instructions online about how to do a toprock, footwork, and freezes. You can imitate these moves and learn them on your own. Then, upon memorizing the steps, you can watch videos to know how to perform them correctly.
There are several tutorial videos available online today. You can subscribe to a good breakdancing channel to learn a variety of moves. Most great breakdancers today have Youtube and Instagram accounts which you can follow. Find one that would suit your needs and the easiest to understand for you. Videos posted online are usually fast to learn and graphical. You can also learn some techniques from these videos, as well.
The fast and easiest way to learn breakdancing is a one-on-one tutorial from the experts. Chances are, you get interested in breakdancing because a friend of yours is doing it. You can learn with your friend and eventually join a community of breakdancers. In this way, you can improve your moves and get ideas on how to better your techniques. Being in a community allows you to share ideas and learn from the experts in the field.
If you want to master your craft and learn it gradually, you can take breakdancing lessons. There are some studios within your community offering lessons in B-boying. You can consider enrolling in a breakdancing course and be taught by professionals. In this way, you can perfect your movement and progress over time. It is a great way to measure your development with a professional instructor guiding you.
Breakdancing seems so complicated. Given the difficulty and speed of each movement, some may find it hard to keep up. However, if you are aware of the best things to do before engaging in breakdancing, you can learn the sport, too. It is vital to prepare your body first. It means you must have the strength, stamina, flexibility, and coordination required.
Then, learn the most basic steps and elements in B-boying. In this manner, you will be able to build up the foundational steps and master them. It is crucial to master the steps first to come up with a simple breakdancing routine. Once you have the routine, you can now progress into complicated ones. Eventually, you will realize that breakdancing is not that complicated. You only need the proper knowledge and right attitude to become a breakdancer.