WTF is Breaking? - A guide to the game's latest sport

The sport of breaking, aka competitive breakdancing, will make its Olympic debut in Paris. Yes, breaking has come a long way from an early-‘80s pop-culture fad tied in with Hip-hop culture. But you can be forgiving for having to idea what's going on while watching, so here’s Radio Hauraki\ breakdown of just wtf is going on.

First off, don’t call it breakdancing. Breakers, more commonly called B-boys or B-girls, don’t appreciate the term breakdancing. “If you call it breakdancing, you’re not a breaker,” says Sunny Choi, aka B-girl Sunny, who will compete for the U.S. Breaking got it’s name from the Bronx in the 1970s. Dancers would hit the floor during the instrumental interludes, or the break, on records, giving breaking, one of the core pillars of hip-hop, its name.

Now we’ve established that, wtf is going on and how is it scored?

Unlike many Olympic sports—equestrian, modern pentathlon, gymnastics with its impossible to follow point system, Breaking is a bit easier to follow. On both the men’s side, 16 breakers from all over the world face off in a one-day tournament. The competitors are broken up into groups/pools, and each breaker battles the other dancers in their pool. The two best breakers in each pool head through to the quarterfinals. Once we arrive at the quarterfinals, the knockout phase begins. Competitors face each other head-to-head, in a best-of-three rounds format. Each breaker alternates spinning, flipping, and shuffling their feet for around 30 to 50 seconds in a round. A panel of nine judges (an odd number to break any ties) judge who wins each round, basing their decisions on a combination of five factors.

1. Technique
2. Vocabulary (Or variety of their moves)
3. Execution
4. Musicality (stay in time, feel the rhythms)
5. Originality (spontaneity, personality, and innovation)

Whoever dances better, in the eyes of the majority of the judges, wins the round. The best-of-three-round battles continue through the gold-medal match.

And another fun fact - They don’t choose the music! They have DJs pick the music for a round.

Sadly, no kiwis are entered this time round but don’t let that stop you get amongst. Breaking kicks of on the 10th of August at 2am NZ time.