Breaking words · Beginner

The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.

B · Beginner · 17 words · Step 1 of 2

General terms

B-boy

A male breaking competitor; a female competitor is a B-girl. The rules run the B-boy and B-girl competitions separately and call any competing athlete a breaker.

Also called: b-girl, breaker

Battle

A face-off between two breakers (1vs1), or two crews, over a fixed number of rounds. One side performs a set and the other answers, and the judges vote each round. There is no physical contact.

Round

One set from each of the two breakers in a battle, so two sets in all. A single set has a maximum of 60 seconds. A battle has one or more rounds, and the judges vote after each one.

Cypher

An informal circle where dancers take turns in the middle. The rules do not use the word, but they describe a circle opening around a dancer on a crowded floor.

DJ

The person who plays the music. The DJ chooses the break tracks (without explicit lyrics), starts the battle by starting the music, plays the same track from the beginning for both breakers in a round, and must not try to favour either breaker.

Break

The music breakers perform to, taken from the percussive part of a funk or rock tune.

Red side and blue side

The two sides of the floor, given to the breakers by computer draw. The breaker on the blue side may start within 10 seconds of the music starting, and if they do not, the red side starts.

Core movement categories

Toprock

All the moves done standing up, usually the start of a set, as the breaker prepares to go to the floor. Common steps are the Indian or Outlaw two-step and the crossover step.

Downrock

Floor moves where the breaker touches the floor with the hands, including positions on the back or stomach. The manual splits it into drops, footwork, spins, power moves, blow ups, air moves and transitions.

Also called: footwork
See also: B-boy, Footwork, Transitions

Power move

A move in which centrifugal force adds to the play with gravity. All power moves spin, and in a pure power set the feet seldom touch the floor. The common ones come from air flares, windmills and floats.

Freeze

A pose where the dancer stops moving completely in the middle of a set, often needing balance, strength or flexibility. Only a total stop makes it a freeze. Chair freeze and hollowback freeze are examples.

Flow

How smoothly moves connect. The rules describe transitions, the moves between moves, as the links that create the dynamic flow of a set.

Judging criteria

Musicality

One of the six judging domains, worth 13.333 per cent. Judges compare how closely the dancer moves with the pulse of the music (coherence), the way the movement reflects the instruments (texture) and the rhythms shown.

Vocabulary

A value inside the Variety domain: the range of moves, with repeated moves penalised. Its pair is variation, which rewards a wide variety of vocabulary.

Execution

A value that affects both Technique and Performance: finishing the whole intended movement with purpose and clarity. A judge can press a button to adjust it up or down as the breaker performs.

Judges' panel

An uneven number of judges, each with one vote per round. The panel is at least 5 at the lowest event level, 7 at international series and 9 at World and Continental Championships and Games, from as many different countries. The head judge does not vote and the chair supervises the event.

Competition format

Best of three

A battle in which the first breaker to win two rounds wins.