Archive

I want to welcome our new prospect member Saki-1. Saki’s been really close to the crew for ages and it’s now time to take it to the next level.

Congrats, welcome brother Saki-1!

It’s about time again for IBE and this year’s footwork battle! We’re working together to make it dope, hence the name Focus on Footwork battle.

The idea is not to create a million people with only footwork and nothing else, that would lead anywhere. The idea is to bring back more attention on real footwork skills, small ideas with creativity, finesse and mastering your foundation. After the short worldwide “foundation trend”, seems like the main attraction again for breakers is to blow it up and go crazy with power. Nothing wrong with that. But when people learn their airflare before backspin and airchair before babyfreeze, something is getting really twisted. Build your foundation from ground up and your future as a bboy will be stronger.

More information about the IBE Focus on Footwork Battle at the IBE website, sign up on time since already 50 spots is taken:

http://www.thenotoriousibe.com/program-focusonfootworkbattle.htm

We’re organizing UK B-Boy Championships Scandinavian qualifiers this year and are happy and honored to have the legendary bboy Swift Rock as a special guest and judge.

Reading the Bruce Lee’s book, Tao of Jeet Kune Do for the second time now and it inspired me to rethink bboy training. Asian culture has more of a 360 view on training (for example in kung fu) while western culture emphasizes the physical and leaves else often on the side. A lot of people think about bboying as learning the moves instead of living a lifestyle. To get to a grand master level, a wider view is needed. So to open the idea I wrote something called Mind, Body and Soul approach in bboying. If one of the pieces in the puzzle is missing, your training is could still be completed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m learning everyday myself and always looking for a higher understanding in bboying and life in general. Check it out:

BODY

Starting with the most obvious, training the body.

-Training the dance, learning new ways of movement and putting it all in one through freestyle.

-Conditioning training for strength. Bodyweight workout or working on weights with set goals and understanding (for being able to do this without injuries)

-Conditioning training for endurance. Running, swimming, cyphering. Strength and endurance are separate factors and are gained in different ways of training.

-Proper nutrition, good diet and enough water. For body to work property and in good health, proper fuel is needed.

MIND

-Studying the history of hip hop dance and hip hop culture. Learning where the dance came from will help to understand where it could go.

-Presence of hip hop elements. If your life is surrounded by hip hop culture, the hip hop feel will automatically find your dance as well. Embrace dj’ing, mc’ing, graffiti, hip hop dance, beatbox, hip hop fashion, custom gear, jam organization, flyer design etc…

-Meditation, relaxation, rest. Helps to empty the mind, gain more presence and thoughtless, natural freestyle. Empty mind improves reaction, relaxed mind makes a relaxed, explosive body.

-Work. Wether it’s your nine to five or school studies, work gives balance in life and meaning for your training.

SOUL

- Studying music. Music enhances feelings leading to a richer life. We’re lucky to have music in such an essential part of our culture. Different genres of music affect your life in different ways. What I’ve gained from some genres:

Funk: rhythm and expression

Hip Hop: feeling, groove, presence

Gangsta rap: swagger, confidence, motivation

Soul/RnB: joy, love

Rock: energy and motivation in stressed situations

- Creativity. Don’t be afraid to push things forward. Own ideas build your enthusiasm and makes the dance YOUR dance.

- Presence of good people, family, crew and friends. Presence of nature. Improves your life force for being able to overcome greater challenges.

Often life kicks you in the face but all you can do is get back on your feet and get your ass back on the grind. Here’s a few tracks that motivate me on a regular basis.

Big up to Amjad for throwing yet another ill underground BBOY jam! Keep up the good work homie. It’s the grass root jams like this that give the soul to our culture. Organizing is the fifth element of hip hop.

http://vimeo.com/25156056

To all my Finnish readers, I wrote an article that was published in a Finnish dance webmagazine Liikekieli.com. The article is about streetdance culture and it’s international possibilities etc.

When it comes to art field of dance, Liikekieli.com is one of the biggest publishers for contemporary dancers, the most followed dance media in Finland. It’s good to get some of our perspective there as well.

You can read the article here:

http://www.liikekieli.com/kolumnitesseet/1133-katutanssia-treeneistae-maailmalle.html

Back from Eurocultured Finland in the city of Turku. It was really great to have such high level battles in Finland with dope guests. Also great to catch with good people like Amjad, Timber and Tuff Tim Twist. Special mention to bboy Pluto for always improving and coming up with clean original stuff. Keep up the good work fella.

Next weekend Saiffa 1 year celebration streetdance day. Three events on one day, can’t wait

Got this from Wicket’s facebook:

Original Bboy Wartecs Flow Mo Crew Comic T shirt Design from 2010:

One of many Z Roy’s bboy comic designs from 2011:

Who is Z Roy and why does he do this? Also why is he getting love for doing this?
Giving credit to the icons of this bboy game is always dope BUT why not please use some imagination while doing so.