Preparing for the Battle Section 2: Point of Focus

Now it has been a long time since I last take an excerpt from the book titled "The Art of Battle" by Alien Ness of the Mighty Zulu Kings. I really don't know why I just decided to stop doing so even after I look back at all the previous posts I made in between this one and the last one that centered its content on it. But in any case, since I figured that out, now I must fix it!

As the title suggests, today's topic is the point of focus. What is it and what does it have to do with bboying? Well, it has everything to do with bboying. Another way to say point of focus is directionality. As many of you know, a bboy battle often features two sides (can be more than two): your crew and your opponent. Because the nature of the battle is aggressive, everything you do is in attempt to "burn" or "out do" your opponent. In other words, EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL AND SHOULD BE DIRECTED TOWARD YOUR OPPONENT. However, how can one say that a gesture is done toward your opponent if you are not even facing him or her? Let's take a good look at this image below:

What do you think? That freeze, if held, would be sick IF he (I think?) does it in a manner that would allow him to look at his opponent at the same time. Many up and coming bboys are, surprisingly, not aware of this small yet vital detail and often times just simply go ridiculously crazy with his throwdowns without giving it much thoughts. Yes, it would be ill if you can pull out of your throwdowns with a clean-cut freeze. But it could be even BETTER if you can be precious about it and face your opponent while doing the freeze. By doing so, it not only shows solid foundation and knowledge about the culture, but also demonstrate mastery over one's own body flow and motion.

However, one thing to keep in mind while doing the aforementioned point is the positioning of the judges.

This pictures pretty much says it all. Due to the poor quality of the picture, I will say the caption here myself. The picture says, "Address the ball? I can't even see the ball!"

Really, enough said. Even if you do all the crazy witty foot techs and what not, if the judges can't see it, it doesn't count for anything. Therefore, while you should maintain eye contact and pinpoint everything you do toward your opponent (and focus your moves in that direction), you should also keep in mind that whatever you do, the judges have to see it as well.

So what if you are in a sticky situation where you have to sacrifice one for the other? Well, to be honest, I really don't think there's a clear difference on which one would be the better of the two. If I really have to choose, I would probably choose to sacrifice the viewing of the judges. Even if they can't see it, if the freeze/or whatever you do is going to make the crowd go wild, then the judges will realize the crowds reaction and act accordingly. However, if you just do it in a way that only the judges can see it but you misplaced your focus somewhere else, then the judges might misinterpret it and blame you for the lack of focus and, consequently, may cost you the battle.

How would one train for the point of focus? It is simple, really. Just keep practicing what you do, but make choose a direction and make sure whatever you do, you end up facing that direction. Sometimes, a move's flexibility on direction may be limited by various reasons. When that happens, know your capacity and accommodate accordingly. If my icy ice to chair can only spin for 270 degrees (3/4 of a full circle) instead of a full circle, then I must adjust where I must face right before I initiate my icy ice, etc.

Hope you guys take some information from this post. Happy learning and keep practicing!

Cheers,

N-dure