[sparkmage_A99]

Hey bboys and bgirls! Me and my friend always wondered where Breakin originated. Well we knew that it got popular in the 1980s and started in America on the West Coast and quikly spread to the Easties. Well we looked into it and found that most of it didn't even start on this contient! It originated in Africa and South America as a type of dance which was cerimoniel, and mostly to please the gods! How it first got to America is a mystery...

[theb]

hahahahahahahahaah
damn
one tip: it started in the bronx...

[sjv]

all i no is it was made to replace gang fights. popping was never a part of breakdance it was another type of dance that got mixed up with bboying.

[Bboy airborn]

it started everywhere!!!!, from asia to bronx to brazil, breakdancing is a form of everything, u got kung fu if u wana addit, capoeira, and of course bronx style of dancin, cuz ur dancin to hiphop, so there ya go, breakdancin is style of dancin wit forms of many arts and shiat

[poppincracka]

ive got my essay all about the history of bboying, if you want to read it and find out go for it, uprocking started to replace gangfights, but the good foot was also a lot of early bboynig at kool dj hercs parties, let me know and ill get you the essay

[BREAKEASY79]

Before BBoying there was a dance called the "Rock", approx 1968, this was a full contact slam dance from gang members it wasn't until two members "Apache and Rubberband" Actual Gang members whom changed the dance to become a non contact and incorporate Latin, Hustle, Lindy Hop Floorkwork and Jerks to it. In addition Burns were invented in order to humiliate your opponent. It used Downrock patterns ( which gave birth to the Bboy ). The Rock Orginated in Bushwick Brooklyn. The Bronx saw the lower end of downrocking and made it their fundamental footwork this is when Bboying first evolved in the Bronx in Approx 1976-7 the early stages was all footwork then spins came in to play by 78. Most of the initial footwork was derived by Kung Fu movies they used to give in the Late 70's and then spins and leg sweeps, continuous backspins aka Windmills, Headspins and and many more danceable BBoy moves.
This was a brief intro...
I hope this answer a bit of your question.
Peace.

[bboyarfen]

finally...someone who doesn't get into all this martial art shit

bboyin didn't have shit to do with martial arts. People in the bronx didn't have exposure to things like capoeira...and yes people can invent/reinvent the SAME thing without knowing of the other/original inventor...but I'm not sayin that capoeira didn't have an influence later on...

[HumblePai]

history is interesting, and it's never a bad thing to know some history, but what's happening right now is far more important.

[RapmastaF-fresh]

Any this Rapmasta says will only be greatly shadowed by BREAKEASY79, your wealth of knowledge overwhelms me

-Your Freindly Neighborhood Rapmasta

[STIFF_UK]

Just to echo/highlight what Break Easy said...

The origin is in Bushwick Brooklyn with Rocking.
When rocking got to the Bronx, they expanded the downrock part of the dance and THAT gave birth to bboying.

Martial arts played an important part.
"Every Saturday at 3 o'clock the streets were empty, cos every kid was inside watching kung-fu movies...
They saw the drunken master's style and that became a type of toprock."
- Break Easy

Capoeira DID have an influence, but only about 10 years after the dance first came about.
As much as things like baby freeze LOOK like something from capoeira, they too actually come from Rocking.

Peace.

[bboy parti boi]

capoeira has a lot to do with breakdancing not the moves but the way, capoeira has a thing called roda where people make a circle and play music while two people fight but they don't actually contact each other they do different moves. Capoeira is a martial art but is disguised as dancing, gangmembers knew many martial arts such as Capoeira and they influenced his making breakdancing

[STIFF_UK]

Parti...
Capoeira did NOT give the battling, the circle, or an original influence to bboying.

Capoeira only had an influence much further down the line.
The root is in ROCKING - which comes from Bushwick.

If it really was the case that capoeira had been an origin of bboying. Normal practice would be for 2 bboys to go down at the same time.
That's simply not the case.