[riddleyo]

Okay, I am new to bboying, I got 6 step, 3 step, coffee grinders, one legged swipes, a little bit of turtle, a little bit of windmills. Then it struck me I don't have a toprock yet.

I am sick and tired of "Do what you feel". That doesn't help newbies at all learn toprock. I mean at all, it's a pointless statement parralell to "Be yourself" when you meet your girlfriend's parents. Everybody says it, but it helps nada.

After searching through a bunch of "Feel the music" and "Do what you feel" crap, I found some cool things...
quoting electron in a past post...

other standard rocks are " glides' which in this case mean a kick side , jump on that leg and cross theother leg behind you ( jump left, jump right cross left back , then repeat other side ) , indian step , which is a kick step cross step that is hard for me to show without taking pictures or a video of it and i don't have cameras with me right now , another easy rock is step side cross back and repeat other side

Ok, I read this over and over, downloaded indian and replacement steps video. (I don't like the basic toprock, it looks gay) I can shuffle around, but I am trying to pick up the "jerks", "crossovers", and "glides". I can do the moonwalk, and I am trying to put a circle glide, kind of the moonwalk into my toprock.

What I want to know, what are some additional toprock moves I can use, I already am trying to incorporate a lot of electron's stuff, jerks, slides, little side kicks, crouching like in uprock. But I need to see videos of it all put together, or someone describe a few more moves that are used in toprock. Please don't reply with "overall, do what you feel", or "fuck you man, all you are doing is biting". I want to learn, and biting doesn't matter to me at this point. If it did, learning how to six step would be biting.

Thanks,
-riddleyo

[Da Noize]

Good post, wel written
I can't help you that much, I'm a newb at toprock myself, but I advice you to watch lots of video's...

[electron]

watch a lot of videos
and get the basic moves dvd from the site
the best stuff for tops i learned from grems ( zulu gremlin ) he breaks it down well

yes, there are basic ways of doing toprock
and the standard toprock makes you look like an idiot for a lot LONGER than some of the other tops do - but that has to do with the way in which you do it, not the step itself
you've got to get in to kind of a fighting feeling for it to look right - punchy , kind of
i suggest watching boxers move for a while and trying to imitate that
or taking a couple boxing classes to get the feeling of skipping around while getting ready to throw a couple of punches
i got the feeling mainly from practicing moving horses in kung fu ( horse stance... not the animals )

it just takes a lot of practice
so, like everybody else says - watch clips and practice it tons

good luck

[AlphaTrion]

If you think the original basic toprock looks gay...you might need to go back and read some of those "useless" do what you feel posts.

We're all doing the same toprock, we just add our own style to it by doing "what we feel." You just have to keep practicing with the basics until you feel comfortable with it and can start adding your own style. So just keep doing it, no matter how "gay" it looks.

And glides, moonwalks, etc. have nothing to do with toprock. They're popping moves and generally won't mix well with your toprock unless you're REALLY good at both popping and b-boy toprock.

And like a electron said...watch a lot of videos.

[dancing_pidgeon]

Man, you can learn the toprock steps, but if you bind yourself to them you will be bound. You have to, hate to say it, let the music move you, and do what you feel .

Putting it together, as you said, is about your style. How you want it to flow. You don't have to use all the moves in one set. Some don't even fit certain types of music as well as others might.

you've got to get in to kind of a fighting feeling for it to look right - punchy , kind of

Umm...not necessarily. I think that just has to do with what style you prefer. Some like to do it more aggresivly, other like it smoother.

And like Alphatron said, for popping to work with toprock you have to be pretty good. Do a search through the video's for DoKnock. There is a vid of his toprock on here that is very nice, and he has a popping style going.

Also check this site. It has a good toprock video. You have to register for bboyworld.com first though.

http://www.bboyworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13411

[riddleyo]

If you think the original basic toprock looks gay...you might need to go back and read some of those "useless" do what you feel posts.

Yes it does look gay. And those "useless" do what you feel posts don't pertain to newbies who want to learn the basics instead of trying to match the beat or feeling the music. For all I know, "do what you feel" could be doing the macarina. I also did see lots of subtle glides in the toprock. Not exactly a full fledged moon walk or circle glide, but it gave the impression to the audience that they were dancing on ice or something.

Thanks for all the help though people. I went to a HUGE break dancing battle last night, stayed for like 6 hours, and had the opportunity to see toprock in action. Hardly anybody uses that basic toprock, but I learned it anyway. Most of their toprock consisted of making deep angles with their body, and always staying on one leg, or heel of one leg, toe of the other. They were always replacing their steps, kinda hard to explain. Then, when they did their drop to downrock or into some sort of powermove, they kinda skipped around in a big circle to get everyone to back up. If you stand to close you get hit especialy on the air tracks and windmills. It was awesome, it was like having 6 hours of toprock video footage in ultra realistic resolution

I was just impressed at the amount of skill there, I saw tons and tons of 1990's, people virtually doing pushups only on one arm, legs straight up in the air.

For all the other noobies like me, I suggest you immedietly call around your area and visit hip-hop oriented dance clubs, it is much easier to learn therethan from a website. Video clips are nice, but in person its just so much easier

[Goose]

RiddleYo said, "Hardly anybody uses that basic toprock, but I learned it anyway. Most of their toprock consisted of making deep angles with their body, and always staying on one leg, or heel of one leg, toe of the other. They were always replacing their steps, kinda hard to explain. Then, when they did their drop to downrock or into some sort of powermove, they kinda skipped around in a big circle to get everyone to back up."

By Jolley, I think one's got it!

Hardly anyone uses the basic toprock, that is true, but it is extremely important that you have learned it anyways, because you need a foundation on which to base your new moves off of.

Learn the basic toprock (it's not that hard! It should take complete newbies like, 10-30 minutes just to get the basic 3 steps down), THEN "do what you feel." The "do what you feel" isn't easy, but if you want to learn anything at all, don't complain that it is too hard. You are not a marionnette, only you could teach yourself how to dance.

[ExZeLiuR]

The reason for the toprock is to get you prepared to use the floor at your fullest advantage. You don't just pull off leg criss-crosses and drops and side-steps because that's "what you're supposed to do when you begin". You do it to get yourself pumped.

Some people's toprocks are really ugly, but their power moves are extensive. So they just tend to do a few hops here and there to use the whole floor, and then get on with their power set.

But toprock is ALL about going TO THE BEAT.

I can't stress that enough. Toprocking without the beat is just not a toprock. Not only do you hit the beat everytime you move to the music, but you begin to feel the music, and therefore it gets you pumped up even more.

You may not like the "basic" toprock for its "gayness", but it's "basic". Everything you do in life, not just b-boying, requires a prerequisite of a certain skill. And you must practice that prerequisite in order to understand what it is you're actually dealing with in the later stages.

So, in relevance of b-boying, learning the "basic" toprock allows you to become adept to the beat, making you feel the music as you perform the "basic" 3 step toprock. And therefore, when you understand the feel of the "basic" toprock, you will also understand the importance of variety, and that's when you begin to expand your index of creativity for the toprock.

If you want a good video for footwork and toprocks, watch Dyzee.

He incorporates very basic toprock in his sets, along with a few other steps. But he's ALWAYS on beat.

But, like other peeps have said, watch videos. The more you watch them, the more you will understand them, and therefore your creativity will expand.