

Six-Step Windmills
Turtles Walks
Headspins Hand-glides Air-tracks
1990's
Flares Halos
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animation created by Aquarius
Breakin 101 Instructional
Video (On Sale Now)
Breakin 101 Instructional Video (On Sale Now)

animation created by Aquarius
Windmill Glossary
Genies -- windmills with your arms crossed over your chest.
Nutcrackers -- windmills with your hands covering your nuts (or whatever else you might have down there).
Airplanes -- windmills with your arms straight spread out to the sides as high as you can get them.
Barrels -- windmills with your arms rounded in front of you (like you're carrying a barrel).
Sumo -- windmills grabbing your knees.
Superman -- windmills on your chest and arms
reaching out to the front/sides.
Eggbeaters -- windmills with your hands high on your hips.
Confusions -- windmills with your hands over your ears and elbows
straight out to the sides. This one causes death.
Body glides -- same as superman.
Baby windmills /coffins -- windmills with legs curled up and crossed at the ankles. No hands used. Coffins is the same but without crossing your ankles.
Tombstones -- windmills with legs closed and body in "L" position. No hands used. Invented by Babak the Flying Monkey.
Cannonballs -- windmills done in cannonball position with arms wrapped around knees. Like jumping into a pool.
Eggbeater babies -- baby windmills with hands high on hips. Invented by Inferno.
Double windmill -- while doing windmills without hands, skip your back once and a do full rotation on your head (NOT a halo). Example -- E-Z-Roc.
Body flairs -- hopping superman/body glides.
Kujo ...
What's up, new breaker!? I'm an "old breaker", 29 and still cranking out some moves. I'm
going to explain, as There are several starting positions, but the best to learn with, in my
experience is the following: Sit down on the floor with your torso and your RIGHT leg at a 90 degree angle
with your LEFT leg bent at the knee so your left knee points straight up and
your left foot is flat on the floor. Now place your right palm on the floor to
the right of you and slightly behind you and lean and twist your upper body to
the right, going towards the floor (bending your right arm altogether) to where
your right shoulder and right/front of your face are almost touching the ground.
Your right leg should still be straight, and your left leg bent. Now, a CRUCIAL
move, you are going to "stab" your LEFT elbow into your stomach,
between your navel and your left hip-bone, closer to your hip-bone. This is SO
important, because your left arm is going to support all your weight. Now,
twisting and leaning, stabbing your elbow, put your LEFT palm flat on the floor
with your fingers pointing to your left. At this point you can visualize how
your left arm will support your weight. Next, the one, two, three kick. At this point you should be leaning to your
right, with the frontal part of your upper body ALMOST facing the floor, and
very close to the floor, with your left arm ready to catch all your weight. (
Elbow in belly!) O.K. Your LEFT leg, which is still bent, is going to be kick
ONE, your RIGHT leg kick TWO and your LEFT leg kick THREE. During this sequence,
your body weight goes to your left arm. Now kind of finish turning your lower
body over to where you are practically horizontal to the floor while KICKING
your LEFT (bent) leg up into the sky (about 4 feet or so if you're average size)
while pushing off HARD with your RIGHT foot (your STRAIGHT leg) (LEFT elbow in
belly) Kick two-Kick your RIGHT leg (outstretched) HARD to your RIGHT (your legs
will be OPENING) At this point( in full motion!) you should be facing the floor
with your legs open and your bodyweight on your LEFT arm (elbow in belly!). Kick THREE-this is where you develop your first bruises!-During kick three, a
lot of things happen at the same time. KICK your LEFT leg HARD to your RIGHT,
going UNDER your right leg. Your legs should still be open, with your right leg
"circling" (imagine your legs are a drawing compass and your pelvis
the pivot) AT THE SAME TIME of this kick, your entire body needs to roll onto
your LEFT side, BUT your left upper body only should touch the floor (not your
hips or legs!) This means, on kick three, your LEFT shoulder should touch (Hit?)
the ground right about where your LEFT fingers are (I crushed mine several
times) Now you should be rolling onto your back, of course your left arm no
longer supporting your weight. At this point, I STRONGLY urge you to pull your
legs in and do a BACKSPIN. Many veteran will tell you the same. The reason being
you should be able to do what I've already described with relative ease before
moving on. But when you're ready... O.K. Once you've got the previous down, do the following: After kick THREE, you roll onto your UPPER back and quickly roll over your
RIGHT shoulder to where you are going to face the floor again. At the same time,
though, your RIGHT leg will be KICKING "Backwards and to your right".
Just remember the pivot and the compass thing. As you are turning to face the
floor, quickly STAB your LEFT elbow into your belly, just as before, because
your left hand will have to support you. ( You know the routine). You are now at
the most difficult phase of this deal. Linking them, when you stab your elbow
put all your weight into it. As your legs come around, you will most likely hit
your LEFT foot on the floor and get pissed because you can't get past there.
Never to fear! Learn by "PAUSING" your windmills. When your left foot
hits, just use it (LEFT FOOT) to push upward and OH!, you're back to KICK ONE
with that push upward! Proceed to kick two and three and so forth, and when you
come around again and your left foot hits the floor, well...do it again! And
keep doing it that way. Trust me, one day you'll shock yourself and put three
together without hitting your left foot on the floor! Once you get this style
down, you can move on to STOP stabbing your elbow. It might take a while, but
you'll get there. I know this is a long post, but I tried to be as detailed as
possible so you guys can learn. To those that can do windmills already, this
might seem like a stupid explanation, but I know all beginners will appreciate
the detail. If this helps anyone learn, let me know. George
best I can, the easiest way to learn "windmills".
(Very important! These are counter-clockwise!)
How to Windmill 110
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Scan 1 da Survivor.....
The easiest way to understand the physics of the Windmill is by doing a
little experiment. Take a necklace with one charm on it. Try swinging it on your
finger. Once you get it moving you should be able to continue the spin and
increase the speed by the slightest movement of your finger. Windmills work
exactly this way. You should be able to apply a touch more speed each rotation
with your hands and/or shoulders until you are soaring. Also the initial kick
can help greatly. I hope this helps, keep it up, you will get it moving faster.
Aquarius....
Aquarius...
I don't know how much you know about physics, but that rotation of your legs around the horizontal plane is a type of gyroscopic motion. When the gyroscopic motion becomes great enough it actually levitates your body VERTICALLY (even though your legs are moving horizontally). I said all this to say that your legs are more important than ever when trying to do Superman. If you get your legs going fast enough, you should not bust your hip on the ground. One more thing....When you're on your stomach, lift your legs (and hips) up behind you a lot higher than you would during a windmill or you'll whack BOTH hip bones on the ground. For a great example of good form during Superman check the Run-DMC video. There's a bald Asian guy (maybe Kujo could help with his name) that does them perfectly. He does a Flare to Windmill, and in the middle, he modifies a couple of his Windmills into Superman (watch his hips and legs). Damn this is long, but I hope it helps. I think I'm going to go post this on the Development Board. Good luck. Peace to all.
-Scan1 da Survivor...
Try to remain in the fetus position. As your rolling on your back, kick your legs outwards, and at the same time shrug your shoulders under in the momentum your in, to get you to to roll over and onto your back once again. Repeat this process and remember to flow with the momentum. also it helps to stay up high on your shoulders and rolling on your forehead.

animation created by Aquarius
Turtle- A turtle is a walk/float NOT a spin (I think this is where most of the confusion is coming from). Facing downwards, elbows are bent and tucked under the body at the hips. Legs are bent and back is straight. Only the hands touch the ground. Initiate spin by rocking to one side, transferring all weight to one hand. Move the other hand in a counter-clockwise arc about 45 degrees, place it on the ground, and then shift weight to that hand. Move the other hand and then shift your weight to it. Continue movement of hands and shifting of body weight to keep spinning. (The same sequence of hand placement and weight shifting applies to all the other floats/walks).
Hand-glide- Same body position as a turtle except only one elbow is in your stomach. The other hand is used to push yourself so that you start spinning. You can spin faster by pulling your legs in toward your body.
Crickets- Same as Hand-glide, but you're hopping (the hand that supports your weight actually comes off the ground).
Jackhammers- One handed Crickets (the free hand is no longer used to push). These are a lot harder because you're supporting/balancing your body weight, spinning, and jumping all on one hand.
Side-glide- Same as Hand-glide, but instead of elbow in stomach, body facing the ground, your elbow is in your side, and your body is sideways.
Elbow-glide- Same as Hand-glide except your HAND is in your stomach, and your ELBOW is on the ground.
Fist-glide- Same as Hand-glide except you're spinning on your fist instead of your palm.
Head-glide (another one people had confusion with)- Same as Hand-glide, except your body is no longer horizontal. Your head touches the ground, and grinds around on the floor as you spin. To achieve this position, move your balance point (your hand) a little closer to your head.
Donut- Same as Head-glide (not Hand-glide), except your body is almost vertical (your hand is REALLY close to your head).
I think that's all. I know this is all types of long, but I thought it would help. By the way, all of the glides require you to spin using your free hand (unless stated otherwise). Any questions?? Peace to all.
-Scan1 da Survivor
Walks
Here I'm going to describe most of the walks done by breakers in general. I'll leave out turtles because Scan1 the Survivor already explained them. All of these moves are done with the same motion as turtles are, which is walking in a circle while positioning your hands in about 45 degree increments. Here goes:
Air Turtles -- arms straight, hands placed shoulder width apart, legs bent and curled behind you.
UFO's/ Buddha's /knee-walks -- arms straight, hands shoulder width apart, legs bent with knees between forearms.
Sidewalks -- arms straight, hands shoulder width, legs straight and to the side of your body. Your body can be straight or bent in an "L" position.
Butt-walks -- arms straight, hands shoulder width, body bent in an "L" position with legs in front of you. Looks like floating butt-spins.
Merry-Go-Rounds -- like air turtles, but body is straight and legs are straight and split. It helps to keep your toes pointed. It's harder to walk with your legs straight, so for merry-go-rounds, carousels, dead-man, and hangman's, let your legs give you a really strong initial whip that will give you momentum. But it's up to your hands to sustain that momentum.
Carousels -- like merry-go-rounds, but you pull your butt up as high as it can go and let your legs hang. Your legs are still split and straight. Point your toes.
Dead-man -- like dead-man only your legs are closed. Body and legs are still straight. Point your toes.
Hangman's -- like dead-man only you raise your butt as high as it will go (like carousels) and let your legs hang. Legs are still straight and closed. Do NOT point your toes, because they'll drag on the ground.
Straddles/V-walks -- arms straight, hands shoulder width, legs straight and split, and your hands are placed between your legs. Your legs should rest against your forearms. You can also do this with one arm inside and the other arm outside of your legs.
There are many variations that can be done with each of these moves. You can also do hybrids of two or more of these moves. Be creative and do your own walks. Have fun with it. Peace.
Krayz E Kujo....

HEAD-SPINS
A
rule of thumb for learning any move is to be comfortable in the position before you actually attempt movement in that position. This is especially true in head-spinning.Before any "spinning" on your head can occur, you must locate your balance point. This is called an Equilibrium.
The first step in locating your balance point is to perform a head-stand. In a correct head-stand your knees are locked and your legs are in-line with your torso. Your body should be perfectly in-line from your head to your toes.
Now, if you can sustain this position infinitely, then you can move to step two;
Practice moving your legs in different positions while keeping your knees locked. This will help build strength in your neck and back.
Step 3 is the beginning of the movement. Perform a head-stand and move your legs to a position that looks similar to a shaft and helicopter blades. Ideally, your torso, and your legs should be in a 90 degree angle. DO NOT SPIN YET. Next, SLOWLY attempt to WALK your body in a circular motion while retaining your form. Be sure to keep your legs spread. Practice this motion until you can successfully sustain momentum in a circular motion. If you have done this correctly you have located your "spinning " balance point for your taps. You should be able to "walk" around rather quickly. If so, move to Step 4.
Step 4 if continuous movement. Get in the head-stand position
as stated above. Now, with your legs spread, knees locked, and body in-line;
attempt to whip your legs in a circle and catch and then whip again and catch.
Start slowly, your not Orko yet. You will most likely fall down quite a few
times before you can successfully tap continuously. If you can do this, move to
step 5.
Step 5: If you can perform the above step, whip your legs harder. Whip them
to a point where you do not have to tap every rotation. You should be able to
'tap' every other rotation. Remember to keep your form. Legs spread, knees
locked, toes pointed. I f you feel comfortable move to Step 6.
Step 6. If you can tap continuously, it's time to let go. 'Tap' until you feel you have attained sufficient momentum and let go!, you may only "glide" 1-2 times if you are lucky. Keep practicing this and you should be able to "glide" considerably well. Your glides may not have correct form but that comes a lot later.
Keeping your arms out might help you with your balance.
Remember, everyone is different. It took 2 1/2 months of practice at at least 3
hours a day for me to get respectable taps. It takes time, don't get frustrated.
Before you attempt each step, visualize as Kujo said. You cannot perform
physically what your mind cannot visualize mentally.
Break-Fast
How To Hand Glide 101!!!!
Yo, what's up! Have you ever seen someone spin on one hand and wonder "how do you That???" Well here is the answer! (This description is to go Counter clock wise. Reverse the LEFT & RIGHT to go clock wise) In order to hand glide you nee d to know how to balance on two hands first! 1) Place both your elbows right next to your belly button. 2)Then have your legs bent like frogs legs are 3)Apply all your weight on your two arms and try balancing. Practice balancing in this turtle position with two hands until you think you can balance on it for a long time! 4) After that, get a piece of cloth, rag, beanie or cotton glove under your LEFT hand then tuck that LEFT elbow next to your belly button. 5) now use the Right hand which is doing nothing at the moment and start paddling with it so you are spinning on your LEFT hand! (CAUTION) Do it slow at first or you may fall and pain will inflict you! 6) After you got spinning on your hand really good, add style in to it! While you are paddling gain as much speed as you can then place your RIGHT hand on your back or head. So all you will be doing is spinning with no paddling and will be spinning with the momentum!
Cy-ko...
Another thing: there is an infinite number of ways to do this move. I'm going to tell you my way and several others. You can use any of these tactics, or come up with your own way that might be easier for you. And I strongly suggest that you practice this move on the softest surface possible, such as a mat or your front lawn. These instructions are for someone going counter-clockwise. If your moves go clockwise, just reverse the instructions.
Start as if you're going to do windmills (standing or kneeling), and make sure your body's angle stays between horizontal and about 45 degrees. Don't ever let your body get vertical (you'll land on your head). Put your right hand down first, then your left hand, while your legs do a windmill motion. Your left leg is going to kick up behind you first, then your right leg, and then your left leg is going to kick around and over your right leg in a circular motion. Your legs are split at all times. Just as your left leg swings over the right, you let go of the ground with your right hand, while your left hand stays put for a few micro seconds more. It's important to look over your right shoulder because you have to be able to see the ground after you let go and before you land.
During these microseconds, kick your right leg under your left leg (remember, your left leg kicked over your right leg first) and wait on your left hand until your body spins as far as it possibly can, then let go of the ground with your left hand. If that seemed too complicated, then simply visualize the motions of a windmill, only your body is about two feet above the ground, and remember to let go of the ground one hand at a time, first with the right and then with the left. You are now airborne, but only for another few microseconds. After you let go with your left hand and are in the air, try to "catch" the ground with your right hand first and then your left hand in rapid succession, and try to keep your legs moving in a windmill motion (and make sure you can see the ground).
Right here is where it gets dangerous. If you don't whip your legs hard enough, or you don't catch the g round quick enough, or both, you are going to land on your shoulder, hip, head, or all three. If you don't catch the ground at all, you'll land on your chest and maybe your face. If you over spin, you'll land flat on your back, knocking the wind out of you, or worse, you'll land on your hip and cause long term damage. However, if you do everything right and you keep a continuous motion with your legs, and if you catch the ground immediately after you let go, then you should spin right into windmills (your foot or feet may hit the floor though, which is why you should spin at an angle instead of horizontally).
It's perfectly alright to land on your hands and feet at first, but the goal is to go into windmills out of it. Just pretend you're going to start a windmill from standing up, but you do a windmill in the air on the way down to the floor. Here's another (much easier) way: instead of launching off one hand at a time, push off with both hands and land on both hands, while using the same lower body technique. Or you can do a drilled air track: push off with both hands, and instead of swinging your legs like a windmill, close them and spin as fast as you can. With this technique, it's possible to do more than one spin (1.5-2).
One more way: using momentum, swing into a cricket/hand-glide position and use the same lower body technique described above. I suggest you try these techniques before going on to the technique I described in the preceding paragraph, as they're all much easier, and don't require as much practice. You just push and spin (and pray). Remember, always visualize! Before you even try air tracks, imagine what it looks like based on these instructions, and imagine yourself doing each little part of the move, when and how to swing your legs, when to let go and when to catch. Imagine how every part of the move feels, how it feels to be airborne for an instant, and imagine yourself seeing the ground just before you catch. Your body can't do it if your mind can't do it first.
Krayz E Kujo...

Orko...

THE FLARE...
. This entire article will be written from the perspective of a clockwise Flare (if viewed from above). If you are performing your Flare in a counter-clockwise direction simply reverse right and left in all descriptions.
The Origin of the Flare
The first Flare was done by Canadian gymnast Phillip Delassal in the mid-1970's. It was seen and bit by American Kurt Thomas and competed at the World Gymnastics Championships. The skill is often referred to as a Thomas, or a Thomas Flare because he was the first to use the skill at the World Championships, but props need to be given where they are due and Delassal was the innovator of this now common trick.
The Flare is a modification of the most basic element on Pommel Horse, the Double Leg Circle. Often Breakers will refer to the D.L.C. as a legs together flare, but this is a mistake since the Circle has existed for well over a century! The Flare is a straddled Double Leg Circle.
The Flare was first done on the Pommel Horse, then taken to the Floor
Exercise by gymnasts and then to the dance floor by Bboys. No Bboy should ever
be ashamed of the origin of any of our moves. We have borrowed moves from many
styles of human movement and other forms of dance. A perfect example is
"the Swipe" which is borrowed from an African tribal dance. Bboys have
done things with these moves that never occurred to those at the source, and
this originality is the heart of Bboying.
Terminology
1. The Double Leg Circle (D.L.C.): The Double Leg Circle is the basic
gymnastics element performed on Pommel Horse and it this movement on which the
Flare is based. The legs are together and straight as they perform an elevated
circle in the horizontal plane. During the entire performance of the skill the
body is suspended on the hands.
2. The Delassal or Thomas Flare: A D.L.C. performed in the straddle position.
3. Front Support: Front Support is the start of a push up position. Imagine
prone position with the arms straight and the body tight.
4. Rear Support: The opposite of Front Support. Imagine sitting down in a
Pike position with your hands on the floor beside you. Now lift your bottom off
the floor so that the body is held tight and straight. Your fingers should be
pointing either towards the toes or out to the side. All that is touching the
floor is your hands and your heels.
5. Side Support: With your body out to one side hold yourself in Support.
Only one hand and the outside of one foot should be touching the floor. The body
should be held straight and tight.
6. Flanking Forwards: When you are moving from Front Support through Side
Support to Rear Support.
7. Flanking Backwards: When you are moving from Rear Support through Side
Support to Rear Support.
8. Planche: The word Planche is french for board. It is a strength hold move
where you hold your body parallel to the floor. Imagine front support with your
feet off the floor or a handstand with the body parallel to the floor. It can be
done tucked, Straddled or for the most advanced, with the legs together.
9. Center of Gravity (C.O.G.): The Center of Gravity is the point around
which the body rotates. It is also the balance point of the body. Every object
has a Center of gravity for humans it is located close to the belly button.
Think of a handspin and you can get the concept of the C.O.G. being both the
Balance Point and the Center of Rotation.
10. Base of Support (B.O.S.): The name is self explanatory. Any object
resting on another has a B.O.S. A object (or person) is stable if the C.O.G. is
over the B.O.S. If the C.O.G. is located outside the B.O.S. the object will
fall. The wider the base of support the easier it is for the C.O.G. to be within
the base and therefore the more stable the object.
11. Torque: Torque is a force applied at a point away from an objects C.O.G.
This off centr rforce causes rotation. The same example from #9 of a handspin is
a good example of torque. When you push off the floor with your free hand in
order to initiate rotation in a handspin that is Torque.
Understand the Flare
The Flare is a variation of the D.L.C. on Pommel Horse. Mechanically it represents a combination of pendulum and circumpendulum actions. Wide spread of legs during rotation of C.O.G. along an elliptical trajectory allow the performer to reach maximum amplitude with relatively small efforts.
Every one got that? Here comes the regular English version...
1. While flanking forward the left leg must drive towards the left ear. The driving of this leg elevates the hips and causes a reaction which effectively pulls the right leg under the left towards rear support.
2. While in side support flanking forward the shoulders must lean to the right in order to keep the C.O.G. over the B.O.S. This theme of leaning your shoulders in order to remain stable occurs in every phase of your Flare. While doing a Flare you must always lean your shoulders in the direction opposite from your extended swinging leg.
3. While in rear support the body should be as stretched as possible. A common mistake is to pike the body in the front of the Flare. Do not pike! Stretch as big as possible, imagine trying to paint as large a circle as possible with your Flare. A common misconception is that the Flare should be high in the front, but going too high in the front will cause you to go too low in the back. A well done Flare appears to be high in front because of extended hips and the wide spread of the legs.
4. While flanking backwards it is extremely important that you drive your right leg to your right ear. The driving of this leg elevates the hips and causes a reaction which effectively pulls the left leg under the right leg towards front support (If this sound similar to #1 it should, the two sides of the Flare are essentially mirror images of each other).
5. While in the side support flanking backwards you should use active flexibility to try and hold your right leg up a little moment longer (Active flexibility is using your muscular strength to hold a stretching position). This extra effort will help to decelerate your Flare and allow the performer arrive in the back of the Flare (front support) with both a high back and wide spread of legs.
6. You should arrive in front support (the back of your flare) in a Planche
or high Planche position with the legs wide spread. From this position you are
ready to drive your left leg up again to begin another Flare (See step #1).
The Start Position
A Flare is generally started from a front support position. Even if you are starting standing up as soon as you place a hand on the floor in front of you, you are starting in a modified front support. Flares can be done from rear support, but it is best learnt from front support. Also most combinations into Flares are started in some modified form of front support.
Most gymnasts start in a typical front support. They then modify the front support by stepping their right leg off to their right hand side. They then use this off center position and their hands on the floor in order to Torque and begin their Flare. With both hands on the floor you can cause Torque by trying to turn the floor as though it was a giant steering wheel.
Most Bboys start in a modified front support. From a stand they step their right leg off to their right hand side and probably slightly to their rear. The left leg bends in order to lower the C.O.G. to a more appropriate level. The right hand is then placed on the floor in front of the performer and the straight right leg then swings low to the floor in a clockwise direction until it virtually knocks the left leg out from underneath.
In either case the directions from above in "Understand the Flare"
are accurate.
Tips to Learn a Flare
1. Improving your flexibility will assist the learning process greatly. Work your splits in all three directions (middle, left leg forward, and right leg forward). Hold every stretch for 30 seconds or more to achieve maximum benefit.
2. Improve your strength. developing general upper body strength through a conditioning program will help, but specific conditioning will be helpful also. One example of a specific conditioning element you can do is to develop your Planche strength (see "Terminology").
You can begin to learn a tucked Planche with relative ease by starting in a squat position with your hands on the floor in front of you. Keeping your elbows straight and knees together and tucked close to your chest, lean your shoulders forward until all of your weight comes off of your feet and you are actually able to lift your feet off the ground. Build up to being able to hold this position for 10 seconds.
Once this position has been mastered practice opening your tucked Planche to a 90 degree opening in the hips. Build up to being able to hold this position for 10 seconds.
Once this position has been mastered practice opening into a straddle Planche with your hips open. The wider you are able to straddle your legs the easier it is to hold. This position looks virtually identical to the back of a Flare.
3. Put your belly button over your hands. Remember from the "Terminology" section that your C.O.G. is very close to your belly button. If you can always shift your weight so that your belly button is over your support hand (or in the middle of your two hands when they are both on the floor) you will remain stable in your Flare. A training partner can watch you for this error.
4. Don't try to go high in the front. Stretch in the front and work on getting high in the back by driving your leg to your ear and trying to hold it there for a moment as you pass around to front support. Too high in the front means too low in the back.
5. Have fast hands. Having slow hands, especially a slow hand while flanking backwards to front support is a common problem. Focus on hand speed and do not allow yourself to Czech. A Czech is when your Flare turns in the direction opposite of a Spindle (see below). Your Flare is doing a Czech if you begin a Clockwise Flare facing the wall in front of you and begin to turn to face the wall to your right hand side.
6. If you work and work and work and still can't learn a Flare, join your
local men gymnastics club and practice on their "mushroom". If you are
a handy B-boy, you could build one yourself. A mushroom is a elevated platform
approximately three feet around that looks like, well, like a giant mushroom! It
is usually padded on top and can be at any number of heights (in fact most are
adjustable). A Mushroom allows you to perform multiple Flares and to get the
feel of the action even if your feet dip below floor level.
Tips to Improve your Flare
1. Hand speed is of extreme importance. An excellent drill for hand speed is to practice a Spindle. A Spindle is a where your body is turning in the direction opposite your Circle. For example if your Flare is a Clockwise Flare (viewed from above) then your body rotates in a Counter-Clockwise direction.
This sounds very confusing so here is a simple way to practice a Spindle. Put two strips of masking tape on the floor crossing each other in the middle to form a big plus sign (+). Call the top left hand corner "1", the top right hand corner "2", the bottom left hand corner "3", and the bottom right hand corner "4".
Begin performing Flares with your hands in three and four. Then while
flanking backwards turn your right shoulder forwards with extra speed to try and
arrive in front support with your left hand still in three, but now your right
hand in one. As your Flare continues by flanking forwards pull your left
shoulder back with extra speed to try to arrive in rear support with your right
hand still in one, but now your left hand in two. Now continue to Flare. You
will have just performed a half spindle.
Flare to Handstand
The prerequisites for performing a Flare to Handstand are, of course, good
consecutive Flares and a good handstand pirouette. Make certain that your
handstand pirouette and your Flare are in the same direction ( ie.. If viewed
from above they must either both be clockwise, or both counter-clockwise). Here
are some drills to help you learn a Flare Handstand.
1. Practice a press to handstand with your legs flanked off to one side. Your legs should be off to the side that will be your flanking backwards phase of the Flare.
2. From the same position as drill #1 bend your top leg (the one that would be driving to your ear) and put your foot flat on the floor. Use the bent leg to push off the floor and jump towards handstand. Your other leg, which should remain straight, may drag slightly along the floor on your way to handstand.
3. In drill #2 and in the actual performance of a Flare to Handstand it is imperative to backwards pirouette. To understand the backwards pirouette I will use the masking tape example from the Spindle description in "How to Improve your Flare". Imagine starting your Clockwise Flare with your left hand in one and your right hand in two. As you flank backwards your right hand must reach under your body so that you arrive in handstand with your left hand still in one, but your right hand now in three. This encourages the correct lean of the shoulders necessary to arrive in handstand and develops a smooth turn in handstand for combinations like Flare to 1990.
4. Perform a Flare that is very stretched in the front. While flanking
backwards really drive your leg towards your ear and try to hold it there for a
moment. These two things will help decelerate your Flare and allow you to lift
your back in front support. Make certain that you do the backwards pirouette
described in #3. If done correctly the Flare to Handstand can be done without
the feet dragging on the floor and into a very fast turning handstand.
Great Combo's I've Seen...
A 1988 Olympian from the Soviet Union named Gogoladse was the first person to perform a Flare to Handstand Pirouette back into Flares. This Combo is called a "Gogoladse".
Chris from the Canadian Floor Masters was the first person I ever saw do a Flare to Head-spin in the Mid 80's.
A former gymnast I used to coach named Ben Potvin became Canadian Floor Champion in 1997 with the following Flare Combo after one of his tumbling lines...Full Spindle to Handstand Pirouette back to Flares into a Gogoladse into another Gogoladse into a Full Spindle into a Windmill. Ben is now a performing artist with Cirque du Soleil in Los Vegas.
Trevor from the Canadian Floor Masters was the first person I ever saw do Flare to Turtle to Flare in the Mid 80's
All the common ones like; Flare to Swipes
Swipes to Flare
Flare to Windmill
Windmill to Flare
Flare to 1990
And Variations on the Above... ie. Flare to Halo instead
of Windmill
The best way to start halos is of course out of a windmill, being that halos are basically windmills without your back. It's a little more difficult to learn Halos without the windmill, because you won't have any momentum. These instructions are for spinning counterclockwise.
1) Do a single windmill and catch yourself on your hands like you normally would do to set up for the next windmill, with your left hand tucked into your left hip and your right hand to the side, and rest the left side of your head on the floor.
2) Push your body up with both hands so that you are in sort of a diagonal headstand, and at the same time push with your right hand like you would for a Hand-Glide. This maneuver is called a head-glide or an Icey Ice. Your legs should be automatically wound up to whip your body around, without you actually thinking about it.
Tip -- it's a good thing to practice a head-glide, without the spin, out of a single windmill before going on to halos. Just windmill, catch, push sideways (but not up), and attempt to spin on one hand while the side of your head glides on the floor. Wear a beanie or grow an afro.
3) At the same time as #2, unwind your legs by throwing your right leg up first, then immediately throw your left leg up and around your right leg in a circular motion. #s 2 and 3 will be done all at once, very quickly. Remember, this is basically a windmill motion on your head, so think of it that way while you're doing it. Make sure you keep your legs split, as they have a tendency to come together, causing your body to drill.
4. You are going to let go of the floor with your hands when you start the head-glide, one hand at a time. First the right hand lets go, but not until after you've initiated the glide and begun to turn over on your head, then the left, but the left hand should stay on the ground until you have spun around to the point where the left hand is forced to leave the ground. This should be automatic also. You then need to whip your shoulders around in a head-spin-type motion after letting go and while your legs are swinging around as mentioned in #3, then you need to catch the floor first with your right hand before you complete the full 360 degree spin, then with the left hand, and your left hip should come to rest right back on your left elbow. From here you should be able to set up for another spin, by winding up your legs all over again.
Keep in mind that you must have a strong neck for Halos, and your Windmills should be pretty advanced. It's also good to warm up and stretch out your shoulders before practicing Halos, because the rotator cuff is very sensitive and can be injured very easily from being twisted in directions that it's not supposed to go. The wrists, fingers, elbows, neck, and cranium are also at risk from doing this move. Head-spins are NOT a requirement for halos, as is somewhat commonly believed, but being able to head-spin doesn't hurt, because the more moves you have down pat, the more coordinated your body will be, and power moves are ALL about total body coordination.
Once you have good control of your Halos, you'll be ready for double halos, and eventually triple Halos. Lil Cesar and Orko could even pull quadruple and quintuple halos with a drilled technique back in the days.
Krayz E Kujo...