Breaking rules, for watching
Start with how a match works. Then the rules you see every few minutes, then the ones that change results.
Settling an argument? Search all 15 rules
- What is a battle in breaking, and how is one won?
- How long does a breaker dance for, and who goes first?
- Do breakers choose their own music?
- How big is the floor in a breaking battle, and who is allowed on it?
- How does a breaking competition get from a hundred breakers to one winner?
- How does the breaking competition work at the Olympic Games?
- Is there an age limit in breaking, and what is expected of the breakers?
- How do the judges decide who wins a breaking battle?
- What are breaking judges looking for?
- What happens when a breaker falls or messes up a move?
- Can a breaker use the same move twice, or copy someone else's?
- What can get a breaker disqualified?
- How are breakers ranked, and what happens when a battle is level?
- What happens if a breaker is injured, late or cannot finish a battle?
- Who runs a breaking competition?
Where these rules come from
| Tag | Document |
|---|---|
| BRRM plus section number | World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), Breaking Rules and Regulations Manual, version 4, January 2023. Read for this set: section 2.2 (the elements), section 3 (athletes, officials except the detailed duties of the Chair, formats, the battle procedure), section 4 (the Trivium judging system, the buttons, the six domains, overlapping values, the fallback), section 5.1 (the rules of each phase and the final result), the field of play paragraph of section 7.1, the glossary (section 8) and Appendix I (contingency plan) |
| R | "Why the rule exists", or a point reasoned from the rule, not stated in it |
| C | Common usage or general knowledge, not a rule |
All checked on 14 October 2026.
Not covered: crew battles (section 5.2 is marked "TBD" in this version); the detailed duties of the Chair (3.2.1.1 onwards); advertising and production (sections 6 and 7 beyond the floor); Appendices II to XI (paper judging, stage drawings, name policy, codes of conduct including complaints about judges, ranking points); the Olympic Games' own competition regulations.
Not covered: crew battles (section 5.2 is marked "TBD" in this version); the detailed duties of the Chair (3.2.1.1 onwards); advertising and production (sections 6 and 7 beyond the floor); Appendices II to XI (paper judging, stage drawings, name policy, codes of conduct including complaints about judges, ranking points); the Olympic Games' own competition regulations.