BATTLES

“Crew versus crew battles are common in breaking. Battles are dance competitions between two individuals or two groups of dancers who try to out-dance each other. They can be either formal or informal but both types of battles are head to head confrontations. They can take the form of a cypher battle or an organized battle. A crew is a group of b-boys/b-girls who dance together.”

“Informally b-boying began with the cypher, the name given to a circle of breakers and casual onlookers who take turns dancing in the center. There are no judges, concrete rules, or restrictions in the cypher, only unspoken traditions. Although participants usually freestyle (improvise) within a cypher, battling does take place. This was the origin of b-boy battles and it is often more confrontational and personal. Cypher dancing is more prevalent in communities with an emphasis on what is regarded as authentic and traditional hip-hop culture. Battling "in the cypher" is also a method of settling differences between individual dancers or crews.”

In a cypher battle the dancer would try to out dance the other by performing more stylish moves. The dancer moves would be more sophisticated and more creative then his or her opponent. Their opponents moves has to either be as good or even better.

“Organized battles set a format for competition such as a time limit or a cap on the number of participants. Organized battles also have judges who are usually chosen based on their years of experience, level of cultural knowledge, contribution to the scene, and ability to judge in an unbiased manner. On occasion organizers invite judges from outside the breaking community and these events (jams) are sometimes met with disapproval from b-boys/b-girls. Organized battles are publicized to a much greater extent than informal events. They include famous international level championships such as Battle of the Year, UK B-Boy Championships, Red Bull BC One, Freestyle Session, and R16 Korea. However, the trend in recent years to place excessive emphasis on organized battles may detract from the spontaneous aspect of the culture that is emphasized in cypher dancing.”

Music & Gender Inequality

The musical selection for breaking is not restricted to hip-hop music as long as the tempo and beat pattern conditions are met. Breaking can be readily adapted to different music genres with the aid of remixing. The original songs that popularized the dance form borrow significantly from progressive genres of jazz, soul, funk, electro, and disco. The most common feature of b-boy music exists in musical breaks, or compilations formed from samples taken from different songs which are then looped and chained together by the DJ. The tempo generally ranges between 110 and 135 beats per minute with shuffled sixteenth and quarter beats in the percussive pattern. History credits DJ Kool Herc for the invention of this concept later termed the break beat.

A breakdance website states "Like the other aspects of hip-hop culture, graffiti writing, MCing, and DJing, males are generally the predominant gender within breaking. However, this is being challenged by the rapidly increasing number of b-girls. Critics argue that it is unfair to make a sweeping generalization about these inequalities because women have begun to play a larger role in the breaking scene.
Despite the increasing number of female breakers, another possible barrier is lack of promotion. As Firefly, a full-time b-girl says "It's getting more popular. There are a lot more girls involved. The problem is that promoters are not putting on enough female-only battles” More people are seeking to change the traditional image of females in hip-hop culture (and by extension, b-boy culture) to a more positive, empowered role in the modern hip-hop scene. The lower exposure of female dancers is probably caused not by any conscious discrimination, but simply by there being fewer female breakers. Since there are no female divisions in breaking as there are in "official" sports, they have to compete with men on equal terms. In any "b-boy" battle, if it is a one-on-one competition or crew vs. crew, b-girls attend the event as equals to the b-boys. They compete solo against other b-boys and as members of a crew alongside b-boys. All female b-girl crews battle against other breaking crews with no negative discrimination. When referencing women, the term "b-girling" is as acceptable as the term b-boying although not as widely used. Aside from the terminology, both males and females practice this art together."

Powermoves & Freezes

Power Moves was a term they adopted in the early 80's. In power moves, the breakdancer relies more on upper body strength to dance, using his or her hands to do moves. There are many Power moves and they are all hard to perform. It takes time and practices to achieve them. Some of the more famous power moves that are use to perform are windmill: is a move in which the dancer spins from his upper back to his chest while twirling his legs around his body in a V-shape. There are many variations to this move such as nutcrackers and handcuffs. Many dancers will spend anywhere from two to six months learning how to do a basic windmill, since the motion is quite unorthodox. Flare: is an incredibly difficult move borrowed from gymnastics and resembles the use of a Pommel Horse, but is performed without one. The breaker supports his body with his arms, swings his legs around his stationary torso in continuous circles, and never allows his legs to touch the ground. Headspins: the dancer spins on his head, often while wearing a stocking cap or handkerchief. When the dancer uses his hands to aid in speeding up the spin, it is called 'tapping.' A dancer may tap for a few rotations and then 'glide' for as many as 15 rotations. Jackhammer: is a move performed on the ground having the dancer balancing on one hand and laying his body on the elbow of the same arm. He then bounces up and down with his hand as he spins around. There are also many other power moves such as airtrack, halo, 90s, 2000s, crickets, and many more. Freezes: the parts of the body that touch the ground, holding the rest of the Body in position. In other words, the supports of your freeze. Examples of platforms are: Hand, Elbow, Head, shoulder, back, belly, side, sometimes knee. A freeze could have multiple platforms: The platform of a Tri-pod Headstand would be 2 hands and a head. The platform of a Baby Freeze is also 2 hands and a head, but the body is horizontal rather than vertical as in a Headstand. Freezes are perform after doing a power move or footwork.