[Transcendence]

Okay, I see the term biting used so much, like people asking if JabbaWockeez are biting off of Expression Crew (or something like that). But, my question is, what is biting, exactly? Is it simply doing something, even if it's one thing, that somebody else has already done? If so, why is that so bad? I mean, wouldn't all bboys and bgirls (or at least most of us) be biters, in the sense that we use moves that were once unique to one bboy or bgirl (like Poe One inventing the air-chair, Crazy Legs- the windmill, Hong10- the Hong10 freeze)?

I guess what I'm really asking is- what is biting, and where is the line drawn between biting and being inspired?

[BboyAxell]

biting is using the same move as a move created individually by another b-boy and using it in your battle sets and showcases and not giving credit where credit is due

being inspired is differrent you can still learn the move but your gonna have to either not use it in battles or add your own variation. but always give credit to people on how you did that specific move

now im not sure about the whole expression and jabba drama but i've heard from others that jabba didn't bite off

[Env0]

biting is taking something directly from someone. the jabba's were inspired by Expression crew, but they bite a lot of their style and techniques. and claiming or showing/producing it as their own. most people know bout crazy legs and the windmill, but there are tons of variations. and its just, an individual move, that is part of a set, not a whole set or way of doing it

[MrSander7x]

biting is the bboy equivalent of plagiarism. It's taking someone else's move, style, etc. and using them as if they were your own. Think of it in terms of language. In bboying we have basic foundations such as toprock, footwork, freezes, etc. These can be equivalent to words and phrases in general. Then you have certain basic steps, such as 6-step, shuffles, baby freeze, flares... these are most words in the dictionary. When someone uses basic phrases, they are not considered plagiarism because they come without much though and effort (i.e. "I went to the post office"). These can be though of as basic transitions. I think you can see where I'm going at this point and how the two relate.

When you bite someone, you are taking an idea from someone, whether it be a difficult transition, or an incredible move, and basically using it like it was your own. You disregard all the time an effort someone put in to create something new simply to use it yourself. Bboying is largely about originality and personal style, and when you bite, you are essentially hurting yourself and others in the process by "stealing" an idea. That's why it's so frowned upon in the bboy community.

Like plagiarism, there is no definite line between what is acceptable and not. It's up to the knowledge and judgment people around that person. Unfortunately, it's hard not to be inspired (not to say that inspiration is bad) and even harder to be creative rather than straight up copy... but many people unintentional bite, thinking it's inspiration. The community seems to be cracking down more lately on both, almost to an unreasonable amount, but you do what you do to protect what you create.

[buituyenjr]

wow... so many definitions... but i take mr sander's the most precise one

[flying_steps]

u can use other peoples shit but make sure u dont call it ur own...imagine if i did a hong 10 freeze when he first did it in an underground event and i saw it and learnt it and called it the take-2 freeze, that would be retarded.
if any1 asked or commented it id give credit straight to hong 10. not necessarily because hes hong 10 and owns all but because HE made it and eventually he would find out ur takin his shit and own you. mainly u dont claim other shit as ur own cos its disrespectful. sandy summed it up pretty well but yeh. if it aint yours then dont claim it. if u think you were first and didnt see if from sum1 else then thats different. coincidence happens. not shit in this case.

[bboychamploo]

to me biting means meeting someone directly in battle and using a move that they can do just so he can see it isn't that great

[flying_steps]

lol thats also called a burn, but liek a biting burn.
u can do that if u make his move look shit by doing sumthin harder than it
i.e he does a chair freeze with his hand over his face, you do an airchair with ur hand over your face...shit i just got an idea for a move...DONT BITE IT!!!!!! oh w8 i cant airchair...lulz

[niehc]

I see biting as doing a move, or a routine or whatever without adding your own style to it.

[MaDD]

I've agreed with the general explanation Sanders gave for a while. The basic idea is that if you are going to use an idea you should flip it or mock it (depending on your situation). I had given an art based example (since even though literature can be thought of as arts people generally have an easier time accepting art through more physical means such as paintings, dance, ect.)



The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous and recognizable paintings of all time. You see it you know its the Mona Lisa.



Here is an example where Botero took the concept of the Mona Lisa but completely changed it for the purpose of mocking what was considered at the time to be classical art... at first glance you might not recognize its origins, but with some time you should be able to recognize its similarities clearly. This though is still recognizable as inspired by someone else so I'd call it only a lower level usage.



Here we have a work by Peter Max. If I didn't tell you that photo was the Mona Lisa, or you didn't have 2 images to base the opinion off of, you'd probably never even realize that it was part of the work... this is an example of taking someones idea and flipping it so far that its completely different, this is what you should strive to accomplish in breaking terms... take their idea, and make it so much your own that its unrecognizable.

What does it all mean? Be inspired by others, but don't steal their work, take the idea and put yourself into it, expand it, and make it your idea.

Hope that example makes it a bit easier to follow.

[Mr. Flapps]

So what if you did a move set that u didnt know that someone else did it before you

[MaDD]

If you are 100% sure its your idea and you didn't take it from someone else then keep doing it. EVERYONE who keeps breaking will eventually get called a biter for something they didn't bite... its part of being in a dance where everyone is so defensive of their creativity. If you're SURE you came up with it then keep at it and don't let some hate bring you down.

Or in cases where its extremely problematic (such as if you're practicing with someone all the time who is flipping at you cuz they do something too similar) just change the move a little.

[BbOyJeOpArDy]

Originally Posted by flying_steps

u can use other peoples shit but make sure u dont call it ur own...

uh...

so youre saying i can go to a jam, battle with one of hong-10's sets, and afterwards grab the mic and say:

"oh and, uh, that was hong-10's set"

[BboyCirque]

bitin is slightly overated.
I could think of something do it.
someone else sees it does it but because they hsve more"fame" its known as theirs
though it was mine. So now I'm a biter cause it isn't possible to prove its mine plus its a waste of time.

[DanceWithTheDevil]

Originally Posted by BbOyJeOpArDy

uh...

so youre saying i can go to a jam, battle with one of hong-10's sets, and afterwards grab the mic and say:

"oh and, uh, that was hong-10's set"

I am so gonna do that! Ima put my mic in my mic crevice and dedicate every move I do to the people who inspired it. Now I get to use the 720 sprinkler!