These are some commonly asked questions for all the bgirls just starting out. If you have any more questions, post here and they’ll be added to the guide and/or answered here.
ARE BGIRLS ANY DIFFERENT FROM BBOYS ON THE FLOOR?
electron: “Zulu Gremlin says that we dance more and are less inclined to sacrifice style for power I think that we're naturally more graceful, which may or may not work in our favor, and we tend to do more legwork because our upper bodies aren't as naturally large.”
Bgirl BaLi- “HELL NO, girls can be just as good if not better than guys, just remember that.”
TinyD: “They have more power, but we're all on the same level as beginners, it just depends on the effort you put in.”
Aura: “That’s like asking if boys are different then girls period. We have different body types and different mentalities. In the end, its all about style and dedication. I know bboys that are better then bgirls, I know bgirls that are better then bboys. EVERYBODY is different. The fact that there’s MORE bboys reppin then bgirls is the kicker. If we had an even ratio to compare to, then maybe we could assume a definite answer, but even then I think it’s all about individual style.”
Murasaki: "No, girls might have less downstairs, but that's the case off the floor as well."
(An opinion from a bboy)
Stiff UK: “When it comes down to it, I look at a bgirl dancing the same way I look at a bboy. If I'm seeing dope bboying foundation from a girl, I'll give the exact same props I'd give to a bboy. For all we know a bboy could have wack tops, minimal footwork, and then some crazy power combo. And maybe the girl came out and rocked the beat, had dope style, and a clean transition into the move you described. In that case, you got burned. When it comes to easy props...No one's getting them out of me. Simple as that.”
DO GIRLS HAVE MORE STYLE THEN STRENGTH?
electron: “More flexibility than strength, not necessarily style and this isn't cut and dry.”
Bgirl BaLi- “Everything is based on how you work it. If you train you can have all the strength, style and power you want, but naturally we have more style and less strength in our arms. OUR LEGS on the other hand are a lot stronger than guys.”
tinyD: “Yeah, we have lots of style and strength, just not the same amount of power.”
Aura: "Like I said, everybody’s different."
Murasaki: "I'm sure some do, I guess it depends on what you like."
WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO PRACTICE?
electron: “Clothes and shoes... oh, more specific? Training pants, puma shoes with a little grip on the soles. Sometimes kneepads, elbow pads or a hat depending on what I’m practicing. A wife beater tank top and I’ve always got a hoodie handy for the moves that require more protection.
Bgirl BaLi: “A hoodie, bandana, comfy jeans, sweatpants, running pants, anything comfy. Wife beater, tank top, and tennis shoes with good grip.”
tinyD: “Jogging pants or stretch jeans and a t-shirt with a headband or bandana or beenie, lightweight trainers for shoes,
and my new found favorite toy, kneepads. I was always into kneespins, but now that i have these puppies, i'm insane kneespin crazy girl. I highly reccomend Nike super thins, they rock and you can wear them on top of jeans and they still look cool and they dont cut off circulation.”
Aura: “Tshirts with tight tank tops underneath so if my shirt flies up there’s no sneak peek. And if I get hot, I can just rock the tank top. Drawstring or cloth pants, windbreakers and sweats. I try not to wear jeans. Flexible running shoes. Saucony's are awesome to dance in. Elbow wraps, bandanas and winter hats. Extra hair ties are always a necessity. Eventually I’ll get some elbow/knee pads.”
Murasaki: "What ever's comfy. No special equipment for. Somtimes wrist bands"
HOW MUCH DO YOU PRACTICE?
electron: “3-7 times a week, for between an hour and 4 hours each time.”
Bgirl BaLi: “3-4 times a week.”
Aura: “One four hour session a week. I work forty plus hours, so its hard to get the time.”
Murasaki: "Whenever I have freetime, which sadly, is not often anymore."
WHERE DO YOU PRACTICE?
electron: “In my studio, in friends' studios.”
tinyD: “University dance studio and home.”
Aura: “Random freezes and toprock all the time at home, but for serious practice I usually go to clubs.”
Murasaki: "Anywhere and everywhere. Even in the walmart pharmacy."
DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE GIVING UP?
electron: “Only when I feel daunted, and less now when i first came back to SF and got fully schooled in how much I lacked foundation. It was pretty depressing, but as I practiced more, through that low point, I got skills and now I feel like I have the arsenal from which I can attack any move.”
Bgirl BaLi: “Yeah, but you just push through it and don’t look at other people and compare yourself. Breaking is about YOU. Do it because you love it not because you want to be better than some one else.”
tinyD- “Nope because that would mean I’m weak and I’m not.”
Aura: “No. Nothing frees me like dancing.”
Murasaki: "Yup. Im the only one holdin the hip hop scene here down. Being the only one out here that even knows what true hip hop is...is really tough. But if the love and dedication to the
culture is there you'll never take that feeling seriously *if anyone needs some help in this area, I'll do what i can*"
DO BBOYS GIVE YOU ATTITUDE IN THE CIRCLE?
electron: “As much as girls do.”
tinyD: “Not if you try as hard as they do.”
Bgirl BaLi: “Yes, but I don’t pay em any mind. Most bboys know how hard it is to be a bgirl an as a result go easy and even stand up for me and my girl V in the circle."
Aura: “I’ve seen a lot of different attitudes from bboys and bgirls alike. They’re there for the same reason I am…. to dance. Some I talk to and some I just share the floor with. If I run into any cocky dancers, I don’t give them the satisfaction. I just keep dancing.”
Murasaki: "I dunno. Never met a bboy."
HOW DO I OVERCOME SHYNESS IN THE CIRCLE?
electron: “Get used to going in, there is no easy way.”
Bgirl BaLi- Basically just think about it this way, when your in the circle, it’s just you and the beat. DANCE with it, let your mind go, and let your body take control. Just let it go…everything. All your inhibitions and all your fears. Just DANCE.”
tinyD: Have a shot of tequila...jokes! You will get over it in time, no worries in time with increases in skill comes increase in confidence.
Aura: "I don’t really care if I’m IN the circle per say. I’ll dance anywhere I feel like. Just being a part of the whole atmosphere is what feeds me. If there's a lot of heads practicing, I'll usually stray from the circle, but if there's only a few I'm more confident."
Murasaki: "Be punk. Just go out there do your thing. Just dont care. If u make a 'full' of yourself, tell em it's your original move
and give it a goofy name like "the retro cowboy underpants freeze." "
DO YOUR BOOBS GET IN THE WAY?
electron: “Hell, I’ve had boobs now for 5 years and they aren’t so big. No they don't, but I won't mash them anyhow in turtle, I smash them together instead they DO get in the way when I have pms and they are sore and swollen... at that point in time, bouncing is out of the question.”
tinyD: "Tape those puppies up or wear two sports bras, and if your boobs are still too big, sorry dude, don’t know what else to suggest."
Aura: "Well, mine haven’t caused me sufficient enough of a problem to comment. I just work around them. All I can suggest is wear tight shirts and sports bras underneath tshirts and suck it up until it becomes comfortable."
Murasaki: "Yup. But only for turtles, but I probably do them wrong."
WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE BGIRL(s)?
electron: “Beta, Jana, Loki, Asia”
BaLi: “Jessefeks and Honey Rockwell
tinyD: “Neophyte and Lady Noise"
Aura: "Asia One and Trinity"
Murasaki: "Me. j/k. I suck. I dunno. I'm sheltered."
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BREAKING?
electron: “Two years”
Bgirl BaLi: “About three years”
tinyD: "One year exactly
Aura: "Off and on for three years."
Murasaki: "A year and a half probably."
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START?
electron: “I saw it and finally got on to the floor.”
Bgirl BaLi: "I saw my little brother breaking and asked him to teach me."
tinyD: "Hip-hop dancing no longer offered any challenges, I needed something hardcore."
Aura: "I started going to clubs when I was seventeen and watching the circles. I was mesmerized. I started watching videos and observing the circles more and more. Took a ton of pictures and read up on the history. Met some bboys. I’d go to a six-hour party and wouldn’t budge from the circle because I was so intrigued. Then I started learning toprock and hanging out with bboys. I’ve been in love with the culture ever since."
Murasaki: "Boredom and I wanted to add some 'break dancing' to my jump rope routines. Then i was like" this is cool" and I fell in looooooove."
HOW OLD IS TOO OLD TOO START?
electron: “When you look at the kids in baggy clothes, listening to beats and dancing on the corner and think, ‘what kind of parent lets their child do something like that!’ if you never think that, you are never too old.”
Bgirl BaLi: “It’s never to late because it’s a great exercise. As long as you have a leg and the beat in ya bones, you’re good to go.”
tiny D: "Um 40 maybe."
Aura: “You’re never too old to dance. Just take care of yourself. I’m only twenty years young and I have a LONG way to go. I plan on dancing until my dying day. I’ll be toprocking with a walker, I’ll be the hippest grandma on the block, I’ll bring my cardboard outside and tell all the little hoodlums to put on a show for me while I blast beats from the 80s and 90s and spin around in my wheelchair in all my bglory.”
Murasaki: "One must ask themself..can i walk?" If the answer is "no" you're too old. But that's not to discourage anyone who can not walk from breaking."
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST MOVES?
electron: “I have some pretty dope freezes- nice forearm freezes, but my best moves are my jumping spinning things and landings.”
BaLi: “Head poses, freezes and headspins.”
tinyD: "Pikes, I got some rockin’ forearm freezes and forearm spins, handsprings, and some kick ass footwork."
Aura: "Toprock. Seriously, I LOVE toprock. I do it at home, at work, in the club, everywhere. I can’t get enough of it. Some forearm/head poses. Still working on strengthening my foundation. The power will come in time."
Murasaki: "Someone said 'falling' once. I'm best at freezing and doing crazy stuff."
WHAT’S A GOOD EATING REGIMEN TO FOLLOW WHILE TRAINING?
electron: “Eat vegetables and protein, supplemented by regular doses of pizza and chocolate.”
Bgirl BaLi: “If you’re serious, you want to eat meat as main meals, protein to help build muscle, but right before practice you would want to eat some pasta or carbohydrates to give you energy.”
tinyD: “Carbs for energy and juice for sugar. But not too close to the practice session.”
Aura: “My Friday night meal before practice is spaghetti, salad, bread and water. During practice I drink lots of water and Gatorade. During the week I eat a lot of small meals through out the day. I eat every two or three hours instead of huge meals. Power bars and granola bars are awesome to bring to practice as well, in case you need a healthy burst of energy."
Murasaki: "I eat what i want, but I jump it off. Idont drink soda, or eat much stuff that's pure sugar and I get a lot of calcium."
WARMUP ROUTINE TO FOLLOW BEFORE PRACTICE?
electron: “I do yoga 2 hours a day, sometimes 3, that keeps me
warm enough to break whenever.”
BaLi: “Stretch a lot.”
tinyD: “Intense stretching, and I also find that a good 10 minutes of toprockin helps too.”
Aura: “Toprocking, stretching and if possible a short jog to get the blood flowing. Random running around acting like a fool helps sometimes too. Like before a party I’ll blast some music and just get real hyped up to go out by jumping around, stretching and toprocking. Just don’t over do it.”
Murasaki: "Stretch, straddles and butterflies then I jump rope or run around."
DO YOU WORK OUT IN ADDITION TO BGIRLIN?
electron: “I do yoga.”
Bgirl BaLi: “I take karate and practice that between 5-10 hours a week in addition to dancing.”
tinyD: "I used to go to the gym at first to get strength, but now breakin does it all."
Aura: “Yes. Because I don’t have much time or space to practice, I bought the total gym for my apartment and I work out at least fifteen minutes to a half-hour a day. A different muscle group each day. Abs on one day, arms the next, legs the next etc.”
Murasaki: "Yeah, jump rope and taekwon do. Jump rope is great cardio and tkd gets me flexible. We do push ups and crunches a lot, especially if we dont say "yes ma'am."
WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT POST PRACTICE SORENESS?
electron: "I recommend yoga for making it feel better the next day. My friend Odie and I are teaching a yoga/bboy workshop on Sunday nights and I swear, we all leave that studio around 11 pm feeling like a million bucks. Nothing like a good breaking session followed by relentless yoga."
Aura: "Sleep heals. Hot bathes with juniper or epsom salts to help circulate blood flow. Icy hot(and any other over the counter muscle relief creams) for immediate relief. Stretching after you're session is helps the muscles unwind. Also, there are flavored drinks out there thet help repair muscle tears. Like Ensure and Boost. They taste like chocolate or strawberry or vanilla milk. Protein bars are good to help build muscle and
always drink alot of water. Good for blood flow and keeping your system clean therefore aiding your immune system in the healing process. Take daily vitamins (not even necessary take them daily, but one or two a week is really good for you)."
Murasaki: "Ttake it like a man with less whining. Being sore is part of the game."
WHAT'S A BGIRL TO YOU?
electron: “I break and I’m female. Sometimes I call myself a bboy because I don't like to use feminist language all the time (fireperson, firewoman, her story, etc ) but that confuses people.”
Bgirl BaLi: “A bgirl is a female who breakdances.”
tinyd: “A girl bboy, a breaker no different than the boys.”
Aura: “To me, being a bgirl is about more then the dance. It’s an attitude, a lifestyle, an entire culture. A true bgirl will do all she can to contribute to the hip hop community and her people. She'll stop at nothing to accomplish what she set out to. That's heart.”
Murasaki: "Knowing a bit of tha dance, respecting all elements of hip hop. A true bgirl loves the culture, and would never turn on it. A bgirl must educate also"
[
Originally posted by electron
Links for Toprocks and Basic Downrocks
(this should give you some basics and some style along with it, if you're just starting out)
Basic Toprock Guide
http://www.bboy.org/t47060/s.html
Indian Step Guide
http://www.bboy.org/t50036/s.html
Replacement Toprock Guide (key to dope style, or at least, one of the keys to it )
http://www.bboy.org/t50037/s.html
Footwork (downrocks)
4 step
http://www.bboy.org/t49924/s.html
12 step
http://www.bboy.org/t49921/s.html
Moochy's 6 step video
http://www.bboy.org/t38839/s.html
electron's 6 step guide with pictures
http://www.bboy.org/t31362/s.html
These should start you off well - for all moves, go to the moves section of the forum and look for what you want to learn, there are threads for EVERYTHING there, and it's just up to you to find them.
cheers, keep practicing
electron]
HOT BGIRL LINKS:
breakgirl.com
shebangcrew
bgirlstyle
femaleartistics
Las Vegas Bgirls
bgyrl.com
True Essencia
breakngrounds
TRACKS TO ROCK TO:
Electron's:
7 notas 7 colores- Dejandanos Caer
Swollen Members - Remember The Name
Beatnuts- Buying Out The Bar
Wyclef Jean - We Be Tryin To Stay Alive
Erikb and Rakim - Got Soul
Black Eyed Peas- Request line
Swollen Members- Fuel Injected
Jay-Z - Give it to me (I think it's called that... it's the " I’m a hustler baby song)
Some spanish group - N.V.A.P
Blackalicious- Rock The Spot
Aura's:
KRS-One- Step Into The World
Mos Def & Mad Skills- Bboy Document
Beatnuts- No Escapin' This
Hieroglyphics- Classic
Binary Star- Slang Blade
Outkast- The Way You Move
Ming and FS f. Bboy Speedy- World Wide
Rockin’ It- Brand Nubians
Apex- Bangin’
All Star Breakers- Break To The Bass
Simply Jeff- Come and Feel My Energy
Shy FX- Shake Your Body
Murasaki's
What ever i have. . even mozart. . if nesecary
usually, i'll come up with a beat. . and dance with the music in my head.
_________________________________________________
If anybody else thinks of anything they want to add or want changed, just respond here and I'll edit. Let’s keep this updated.
Bgirling Guide (rough draft)
Bgirling Guide (rough draft) -
03-06-2004, 12:16 AM
04-03-2004, 11:57 PM
hi everyone im brand new here. ive never even breakdanced before... i just want to learn how. 
so im gonna keep trying.
coolness -
05-06-2004, 09:23 PM
Linear Mode
