I tried breaking, the only new sport at the Paris Olympics 2024… I was an utter hopeless disaster in my lesson
IT MAY seem ridiculous but breakdancing – well, officially breaking – is now an Olympic sport.
And trust me, from personal experience after my very own lesson, it certainly requires levels of talent, co-ordination, fitness, creativity, strength and rhythm I am sorely lacking.
Any question marks I may have had over breaking being added to the Games for Paris 2024 have been well and truly broken down.
Breaking deserves its spot in the Olympics – we are in for a treat.
The questions are obvious: what is breaking? And how does it work at the Olympics?
Born out of the American hip-hop culture in the 1970s, breaking is an urban dance style – with the media coining the name ‘breakdancing’ once it soared in popularity.
But now that has transitioned into a competitive sport, where breakers go up against each other in epic one-v-one battles, taking it in turns to dance to music they have not heard before.
Every routine requires an eye-catching blend of planned combinations of moves and creative spontaneous improvisation.
In Paris, 32 athletes – 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls – will be going for gold.
Split into four round-robin groups of four, they will face off for two one-minute rounds with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stages.
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Nine judges score breaking battles on three categories: body, mind and soul.
Body is the physical aspect, how well they execute their and the flow of the dance.
Mind is the artistic aspect, how creative their combinations and moves are.
Soul is the interpretation aspect, taking into consideration the music, the competition, the interaction with their opponent and the room, displaying character.
Team GB hopefuls Karam Singh, Sunni Brummitt and Sam ‘Sheku’ Phillips all fell short of booking their spot at the Olympics.
But although there may not be any Brits involved, fans watching breaking make its Olympics debut will no doubt be utterly amazed by what the stars can do.
And I can testify, it’s pretty darn hard!
SunSport watched Kid Karam show off his skills at Tower Bridge ahead of the Games – before the Derby ace gave me a lesson in front of far too many members of the public.
The former British champion and European silver medalist ran me through the basics before challenging me with some of the more technical, difficult parts which needless to say I made a complete pig’s ear of.
I just about got the hang of a bit of Top Rock, the stand-up dancing – although that soon came tumbling down when Karam wanted me to add jumps and hops into my out-of-time steps.
My Salsa Step left my mind – and legs – totally discombobulated and it was downhill from there, starting with my clunky Go Downs.
In my defence, I thought my Footwork wasn’t actually too bad, possibly helped by my years of competitive crab football during PE lessons back in the day.
But any ounce of credit I had earned evaporated immediately afterwards with my humiliating and sheer pathetic attempt at a backspin… in which I was missing that key “spin” ingredient.
What are the key moves of breaking and how is it judged?
THERE are five key fundamentals to look out for from the breakers at the Paris 2024 Olympics:
TOP ROCK
This is stand-up dancing, routines always start with this and feature cross-step and Salsa step.
FOOTWORK
When breakers are down on all fours from a low squat position, doing footwork patterns and steps including hooks and kicks.
GO DOWNS
This is the transition from Top Rock to Footwork, including the Knee Switch and Rock Drop.
FREEZES
Where breakers hold a position or pose during a routine, acting as a pause or ‘comma’ before going again – from the simple to the extraordinary.
POWER MOVES
These are the big wow moves, the ultimate crowd-pleasers, the impressive show-stoppers: flicks, tricks, headspins, air flares, munchmills or windmills.
B-Boys and B-Girls are judged on three categories…
- Body – this is the physical aspect and incorporates the execution and the flow of the dance by the breakers
- Soul – this is the interpretation aspect, how the breakers interpret the music, the competition, the specific battle, the room and how they display their character and bounce off the energy
- Mind – this is the artistic aspect, taking into consideration the creativity of the breakers
My distinct absence of upper-body strength, balance and elegance ensured my freezes left plenty to be desired – and left me sprawled across the floor with gangling legs, which was a common occurrence throughout the lesson.
Windmills and flares were a complete write-off, leaving both Karam and me in tears – his of laughter, mine of embarrassment.
So then it was time for my own solo routine where it started badly, got progressively worse, I forgot the next steps so had to freestyle/make a fool of myself some more and then it all culminated in one big, not-so-grand finale.
Watch my lesson and see my (attempt at a) solo performance in full in the video above – you might want to grab your popcorn beforehand – meanwhile, I’ll go and hide behind a sofa.
Safe to say, it is for the benefit and health of the British public if I leave breaking to the pros and stick to my dad dancing from now on…