It was during the break me and the 7 Deez were jamming and I got into a conversation with “KASH” who is also from 7$. We started talking about how things have changed since we started dancing……How we interpret the music differently and how our approach has evolved. We also spoke about how fucked up our bodies have become lol…..Knee operations, Shoulder problems, fucked up back…all that shit.

The whole time we were talking a circle was poppin off and we were bobbin just feeling the vibes…..Then suddenly Kash turns his head and says to me:

“Yo man!!! Bboying is like Fine Wine……It gets better with age!!!”

(It sounded really cool with that fresh swiss accent of his LOL)

Right at that moment I felt like my understanding took a shift to the left. For so long I had been looking at age differently……”Im getting old…not as fit as i was” etc…Dudes who been doing this 10+ years yall know the deal….we get that old fart mentality!

I had been looking at things wrong!!!….well not wrong. Just WACK LOL

I remember when I was around 16 and I would hear “Just Begun”……I would go crazy!!!! Now its very different……I hear that song and I come out alot more relaxed, naturally focused, free with alot more feeling.

As time goes by your understanding matures and you find quieter ways to scream!!! If that makes sense.

Love for the Music…..Love for the Moves.

When I was younger, the latter WAS far more significant……As i grow and mature…The Love for the Music grows too….Day by day…..stronger and stronger. This shit just keeps getting better.

I LOVE BBOYING!!!!

PEACE

Not many people know this but the clip below was filmed by me on one of my trips to the states and edited by none other than the man himself ‘Mason Rose’….it was the weekend of the Bboy Summit BOSS jam, I stayed at Caspers crib which was filled with alot of Bboying, Blazing, Movies, Shit talking and late night corner store missions to eat some wack microwaved Hotdogs!!!

A few people have asked me the story behind some of the footage. Most of it was shot at ‘Hollywood & Highland’ which is known for a spot where Concrete Allstars have rinsed many a times. Some of the footage is Cas roasting some by standers who wanted to jump in their street show, thought it was cool like that…..NOPE LOL

The end scene started after Cas who was on the mic made a remark about the guy on the floor looking like Megas…..It was during a qualifier for the footwork battles. Anyway the brother wasnt happy wid that call so he stood up and well……just peep the clip!

This next clip is the trailer for ‘Seven Shadows 4′ one of my favourite bboy trailers.

My favourite part has to be the end where ‘Mousa’(Fresh Sox/MZK) accidentally kicks the stereo which was at a street jam for ‘SHADOW WARS‘ a few years back……He’s then like “You cant fuck with me man no stereo!!” hahaha It was a classic moment in cipher history! I felt bad for the dude who owned the Boom Box though! Check it out!!!

Check out ‘SHADOW WARS 6‘ which is goind down in Sydney in December…..Without a doubt the Rawest jam in Australia!!!

PEACE

Article from the NEW YORK TIMES

IT has developed just below the surface of popular culture in the United States, in the streets, prisons and boxing rings. It’s gone by a few names: Stato, Jailhouse Rock, the 52 Hand Blocks, 52 Blocks and, for short, the 52.

For a long time it has been a kind of martial arts Loch Ness monster: an American fighting form with supposedly sinister origins that many have heard of but few have seen or experienced. No one, it seemed, had any concrete proof that it existed, or at least none they were willing to share.

Until recently.

Click on link for full article: 52 BLOCKS

Its that time of the year again!!!!

When all the bboys come out of hiding, out of training, out of meditation from up Mount Fuji or whatever they gotta do to prepare themselves for the ILLEST WEEKEND IN AUSTRALIAN BBOY/BGIRL HISTORY!!!!

–

DECEMBER 3RD

*OFFICIAL SHADOW WARS WARM UP PARTY*

“BOOGIE DOWN UNDER”

Dope music and dope vibes!!!!!

VENUE: ‘The Candle Factory’ – 21 May Street, ST PETERS/SYDNEY

WHEN: Friday 3rd December

SPECIAL GUEST DJ’S: Floskel(Germany), Sage One(ACC/7$) & Jumps(Cat Empire/Fresh Sox)

DOOR COVER: $20

FB PAGE: BOOGIE DOWN UNDER

–

DECEMBER 4TH

“AUSTRALIAN BBOY CHAMPS”

Click link for full write up: BREAK CLUB

–

DECEMBER 5TH

In association with RedBull, 7 Shadows & Live4Style…..

“SHADOW WARS 6″

VENUE: Street University, Liverpool NSW

WHEN: Sunday 5th December

TIME: TBA

SPECIAL GUEST DJ’S: Floskel(Official Circle Prinz Germany DJ), Sage One(ACC/7$) & Mathmatics(Robotek/ZULU NATION)

SPECIAL GUEST JUDGES: TBA

FB PAGE: SHADOW WARS 6

*BATTLE FORMAT*

–’1 ON 1 BBOY/BGIRL BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY!!!’–

This year for the 1 on 1′s we’re collaborating with the infamous ‘Circle Kingz’ where the first part of the battles will run according to the Classic Cipher eliminations.

For those who aren’t aware of how it works….Basically we let the DJ spin some ill beats for a certain amount of time whilst the Bboys/Bgirls get down and represent in the Ciphers.

Secret judges(Approximately 10) will observe the battles picking the top Bboys/Bgirls who repped the hardest in their opinion. Not only will the secret judges be picking people but it is also up to them to test people on the floor if theyre unsure not to mention just getting down!!! So you’ll have no clue who all the judges are apart from the ‘Special Guest International Judges’.

This means you’ll have to be on point non stop!!!

The chosen dancers will then go on to the battles!!!

MORE FORMAT INFO COMING SOON.

–’CREW BATTLES!!!’–

Prelims will be Timed exhibition battles where we will pick the top 8 crews to advance on to round 2…….So you MUST go hard in the prelims to make it.

To register for the crew battles please holla at me on here or email me at rushwepiha@gmail.com

‘SHADOW WARS CREW LIST’

1. JUSE CREW(SYD) *DEFENDING CHAMPS*

2. SKB(SYD)

3. FIST OF THE NORTH STAR(MELB)

4. FLOOR PIRATES(ACT)

5. FEEL SOUL GOOD(TAS)

6. KINGS ONLY(MELB)

7. ZEALOUS(SYD)

8. PERTH CITY KINGS(PERTH)

9. DELINKWENTZ(MELB)

10. CYPHER NASTY(SYD)

11. MIGHTY ZULU KINGZ(WORLD WIDE)

12. FLOORCHESTRA(SYD)

13. SKILL @ WILL(QLD)

14. HMK(QLD)

15. 143 LIVERPOOL STREET FAMILIA(SYD)

16. NOKTURNAL(SA)

17. TRICKATRONS(SYD)

18. FLESH MAZE(AKL/NZ)

19. SWIFT ELEMENTS(MELB)

20. COMMON GROUND (CHCH/NZ)

21. TIVOLIANS (MELB)

OFFICIAL FLYER WILL BE OUT SOON!!!

FaceBook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000100737179&v=wall&story_fbid=148170161889623#!/event.php?eid=106663792728532&ref=ts

PEACE

Break a supposed complex issue down to something more simpler so everybody can understand.

The thing i wanna talk about is the Round for Round judging system. A ton of guys have touched on this subject, however i feel not many are yet to have hit the nail on the head. I first judged a battle around 2000. So ive been judging for approximately 9-10 years now. For 8 of those years I judged using the round for round system, so I’ve tried the system for a decent amount of time. Long enough to be able to understand the system and give some honest constructive criticism.

Let me list in no particular order, the issues I’ve come across with using the round for round system.

1. The Team who goes out first will always start each round in the battle. This is already biased, as the last team to go out has an advantage of having had the least amount of time between the end of their run and the judges decision to score the round….It is also Biased that one team alwasy starts the round whilst the other always answers. Everything should be on as equal terms as possible. Also in a round for round system……The first Team that goes out, NEVER gets the opportunity to be judged on how they ANSWERED THE ROUND BEFORE THEIRS, because keep in mind, they are always beginning the round. The way they answer the round before them has no validity. This is a massive flaw in the system! For it to be Unbiased it should be Start the battle then Answer-Answer-Answer etc….not Begin the run-Answer-Begin-Answer etc Not letting a team answer isnt in context with battling. In a circle battle it is a continual answer of what was before you. This is one of the reasons why in battles some teams dont wanna go first!!! Its even spread on to exhibition battles….its silly! Now dudes dont even know why they doing it LOL

I also wanna say that going first can also have its advantage….crews who are experienced at manipulating the system to win, know that going first can give you the opportunity to controll the direction of the battle. A system that you can manipulate and use to help you win is FLAWED.

2. Lets say we use the round for round system and TEAM 1 comes out and does a decent run. TEAM 2 comes out and KILLS it so we give the first round to TEAM 2. TEAM 1 comes out to start the second round and does a good run, then TEAM 2 comes out and does a decent round also but TEAM 1′s round was just a bit better so we give round 2 to TEAM 1. Now lets stop it here and look at the score. TEAM 2= 1 point TEAM 1= 1 point This would be considered a tie. But remember, team 2 KILLED it in their round whilst team 1 JUST edged it barely. The Biasness in this is the fact that winning a round barely, or unaninomously,is not taken into account.

IMO there is a big difference between killing it and just edging it.

3. Team 1 comes out and does their thing. Team 2 comes out and does their thing also. Lets say you’re indecissive and it takes you a while to mark that round. Now for that period of time when you are deciding who to give the point too, you are actually detached from whats happening at the time. You miss out on the next guys entrance which is very important in a battle. When you look down to mark that point, you are taking your eyes off of the battle and Believe me, I have seen some judges heads down for like 10 seconds as they mark their point or whatever they are doing. Thats 10 seconds of a guys run(Some of these guys were veeery respected Judges…so this shit happens to everyone).

Even if you miss 2 seconds! Thats a guys burner right there. Notice you will always be marking points after the second team and as the first team starts the round again, therefore the first team will consistently have the beginning of their rounds unseen(Even for a second) or not 100% focused on by the judges whether it be due to marking down a point or sitting their day dreaming on who to give the round too. Plus you will be stop start stop start in regards to staying focused on everything.

You dont believe me?

Try judging a battle round for round and then try just sitting through the next battle with your eyes glued to the guy in the circle……you dont miss a thing! If you just sit back, keep your eyes glued on the battle and soak in all the energy….you see alot more! You really gotta be on point tho to be able to use this technique(If you even wanna call it a ‘technique’), its not for everyone.

It requires a guy with some experience! Like i said before, i’ve judged battles for almost 10 years with 8 of those years using the round for round system. It wasnt until i sat back and looked at footage of some of the battles i’d judged, that i said to myself ‘Hey im not too sure about that decision now’. But i know some battles on footage dont do justice in regards to the vibe and energy of the battle, still watching some battles being judged by others round for round and consistently having decisions i couldnt understand, made me think…..and even the judges saying after they didnt understand why they went for that team.

Its alot of factors ie. Time restraints in deciding which team takes a round, so you call it a tie for example because you were indecissive and had to get back to watching the battle. I found myself doing that too. Another sad thing is how the round for round system has moulded the way guys battle now…..teams have based their battling style around the judging system, as opposed to A JUDGING SYSTEM BASED AROUND THE DANCERS.

We need a sysem that best nurtures the dance without dictating the direction, allowing dancers to be less restricted. Battles are becoming more and more generic now! Id actually be interested in knowing how battles were judged in the 90′s!!!

All in all, the round for round system is biased. Straight up! The reason why it is used is because it has proven to be EFFICIENT and has the ability to JUSTIFY A DECISION when looking back at the score sheets. Ive heard some judges when justifying a decision to a bboy say “Yo that run you did was dope but you were actually starting the round not answering, if it were the other way round you would have took that”…THAT RIGHT THERE IS A SIGN….like i said before, if we have to adjust ourselves around the system then im not feeling it.

Having a criteria is another thing tho ie. being tight, musicality, creativity etc thats all good!!!! The criteria and the system are two different things. Also for me, a good system should not require you to take your eyes off of the battle at any time and a system that does not give you the chance to answer the round before you is also flawed.

Your feedback is much appreciated!

Peace

RuSh

Fresh Sox/7$/MZK