This blog post is directed to the whole Breakin community but especially in the UK as this is my scene. I have lots of views on how the scene is within my country and I want to speak more on how I feel about things. I have travelled the world and been dancing on the UK scene for 13 years and I want to see it improve. The first topic I want to talk about today is qualification rounds at Breakin events. I feel that how they are run has become ridiculous and is not good for the scene. I can understand qualification rounds for certain circumstances but in the UK this has become the norm.

I want to use Red Bull as an example but before I start I want to state I have nothing against Red Bull. In fact I watch this event every year and think it’s great (most of the time) on that note congratulations to Spin. This was my first year at a Red Bull Cypher and I was really disappointed. The qualification rounds were one of the worst I have seen at any jam and I feel this could have been avoided. Out of 80 bboys/bgirls only 8 were picked with one throw down to decide. That’s a 10% qualification rate, if you’re going to run qualifications at least whittle the numbers down to 40 before picking your top 8. Even then that’s still too many. I feel everyone should have battled down to the top 20 and then 8 dancers should have been selected. That means a clearer choice for the judges and higher chance of selecting the best breakers.

Qualification rounds are unavoidable at some events where time is a restriction so this is understandable. However if that’s the case don’t let everyone and their mother enter. Set a cap on the amount able to enter qualifications. For example if you’re only going to allow 8 to qualify and time is of the essence don’t let more than 32 breakers enter. And if you want to make 32 people go through qualification rounds, actually make the battles count. If you lose you don’t qualify as simple as that, FAKE battles are pointless it counts for nothing. It’s just covering up the fact that you’re actually doing a showcase round like a commercial street dancer. Not that I have anything against that either but for all the talk about Breakin being raw, real and sticking to its roots this feels like the opposite. All this back stage deciding feeds Breakin politics and doesn’t hold judges accountable for their choices. This is Hip-Hop not Houses of Parliament. Once you reach the top 16, then decide on a top 8. By that stage there would be a 50% qualification rate much easier to manage and clearer for the audience, bboys/bgirls and for the judges to see what’s going on.

The above is a fact not an opinion. What’s easier? If you give me 80 different meals to eat and I have to pick my favourite 8 dishes or give me 16 different meals to eat and I have to pick my favourite 8 dishes. This is directed at all events planning on having qualification rounds. If you’re going to do it, do it right. Also a time saver tip, don’t “Cram Your Jam” with every type of battle under the sun. Stick to one or two battle types if time is short. The best way for change is to speak about issues that can be improved, ignoring things won’t make any changes happen. I will express my thoughts, if you don’t like what’s written or have a different opinion that’s okay. If you agree that’s great and let’s make the scene better. Me and my crew train like BEAST’S and so do many of our rivals so let’s make it count and strive for better battles.