[SoNiC Bboy]

Ok, here's my dilemma. My friend doesn't want to learn how to toprock because he feels really gay doing it, and I can't convince him to do it, even though I've explained how important it is on many occasions. We're both just learning to bboy. His basic idea is to just walk on and start doing freezes and powermoves and shit, I don't even think he's too keen on footwork.

I was Just wondering what you guys think.

[STIFF_UK]

Oh man - you for real?

A bboy with no toprock is like a watch with no hands.
It looks good from a distance, but in reality it's fucking useless.


"If you don't toprock before you go down and do footwork, you're not really bboying."
-Popmaster Fabel


It's totally understandable for a beginner to want to move straight to powermoves, but in reality if you do that, after 6 months all you will have is a few messy powermoves, and no style at all.
You'd get into a circle do your stuff and walk out to deathly scilence. Maybe even getting laughed at.

If you work on tops drops and footwork for 6 months though. You'll have at least enough stuff top get into ANY circle at ANY level, throw down once, cleanly and get mad props for it.

Toprock is the very heart and soul of bboying.

[GraffitiMachina]

hum, I think toprock is alot of fun, he prolly just feels gay because hes doing something that he cant say fits in and looks good right away, since its something that is all style. In other words he prolly just feel embarressed doing it. Hell, even powerheads have some kind of toprock. How is he going to keep the circle wide enough and controlled without toprock? People really arnt going to know when he starts either, that would get real confusing if there were a battle or something like that.

Meh, I dunno, try using those kinds of things when reasoning with him. In the end its his choice though, part of his style if he doesnt toprock. He better have some kick ass footwork and combos too.

yea toprock is realy fun...just at first it fells wered. you just have to stick with the beat and get in to it.

[grafcartst]

i believe in like a fully rounded bboy as i am(mostly anyway), but after a while in my developement, i didn't even stand any more. i just stayed in stance. really, the very best thing about standing in bboying is the use of gravity for quick powermove conversions and transing into handstands,90's,kicks,flips, whatever.

now its like i got so much complicated tops, but i just use a little unless i get real fired up.

once i get real warm i don wanna stand anymore cause i'm so much more creative when i'm nearer the floor. whatever tho, i say let yer buddy do what he wants. theres so many crazy messed up dancing styles now, maybe he'll be one of those guys that has mediocre footwork then connects like 10 different freezes in infinite combinations, and even on beat.

the whole science/art of the dance is insanity anyway, who really understands it completely.

[bboyplayer]

Man, for the sake of ur friend, make, force, and even thread him with a gun in his head to learn to TopRock (well, maybie not that much.... ), he GOTTA know it, he gotta DO it, I mean, I was like him when I started, I remember that I just copied one move, the common one, the basic toprock, and the I went on with footwork, I was stupid dude, then I started to see how cool the toprock is, in my toprock, I usually combine different tipes of moves, I usually do a move that caracterize me, it's one that appears done by a gui in the basic moves vid from this sitie, then I modified the 2 toprocks from mike garcia vids and made 'em look cooler, and as I don't have a lotta powermoves really done, I usually get 2 or 3 different moves of poppin' & lockin' and it makes my toprock cooler, I don't know how does my idea of my poppin' in my toprock looks for yo'all, but my friends say it looks cool, well, gtg, and, push him until he does it....

Peace

dont worry about forcing him, show him videos and battles and in time he will get to like and want to learn toprock.....i was the same, when i first started all i wanted to learn was power and blow ups but now that im a lazy bastard i can only find the energy to practice toprock, footwork and ground freezes.

[PhillyBBoy88]

I saw a group of older kids breaking on a corner of Broad. Toprocking was sick..... well i always likeed toprocking because I use to dance even before i started "Breaking" (B-Boying, your preference). I could improvise alot more stuff when i didn't have my hands on the ground, maybe thats just me. Of course footwork is cool too but i like to start with a good 20-30 seconds of toprocking first unless the crowd ain't feelin it too much which is normal from non dancer crowds mostly school dances and stuff seem to close the circle if i do toprock too long =/ So i can only do about 10-15 seconds which is disappointing for me but long enough i guess.

When you first start its awkward, your mentality is that you can't dance. Everyone can dance with their own style you just have to improvish a little off the basics and let go of your fears. Just remind him half the stuff he does, doesn't look half as bad as he thinks it is.

[STIFF_UK]

It has to be said - you can understand why he doesn't like it.
When you're learning toprock you are 100% gauranteed to feel like a complete spoon.
It's such an awkward movement at first that people will usually look and feel utterly crap.

But the thing is, you'll never have good tops, if you don't learn to toprock well.

To start out just get him keeping it super simple with some up-tempo music.
If you can show him a clip of a bboy doing some really simple tops, really well (if you can get hold of Beat Street - the toprock in that is ULTRA simple - but looks HYPE when it's done to tracks like "breakers Revenge") then he should see where he can go with simple stuff.

You don't need complex tops to have dope tops.

Even Ken Swift's toprocks aren't all that complecated - he's just got unbelivably good execution.

[AgileAntics]

you can do as many tricks as you want..but if you can't dance you got nothin

[SoNiC Bboy]

Thanks guys, you've all been real helpful, I'll try a lot of what you told me. Thanks again,
Later

[theb]

toprock's the first move u learn and the last one to finish, is like your presentation card when ure goin inside of the circle...definitly the part i enjoy the most

[tinyD]

dont let your buddy look like a moron for not doing a toprpck. for real, that's the best part, that's what shows your style. i love my toprpck, and yes it was akward at first, but then u learn to move to the music, and it rocks! and it only gets better, add some uprocks and some random kicks and behold the madness.

[Bboy_Shindo]

C'mon now, toprock is an essential, integral, key element to bboyin. Of course everyone loves to see powermoves and freezes but if you can't dance then why even bboy? Just explain to your friend, if he's serious about bboyin then he better learn some toprock cause that's what'll help draw in your circles and more importantly, in my opinion, it brings respect and style to the floor, others will respect you for being unique.

[bboyarfen]

tell him its fun......because it is