Power Moves

A Power Move is any type of move in Bboying which requires spinning and/or rotating in a way that can be done so in multiple rounds. All Power Moves (or series of a type of Power Move) can be connected in combos to form a “Power Combo”.

Airtwist,…etc and was the first Breakdancer to bring this style together with speed control and was considered the first king of combinations in 1984. Now Breakdancers all around the world has advance this Power Moves theory into a level beyond imagination. Breakdancers that use mostly (Power combos) in there sets are commonly known as “Power Heads”. Example: Flare-Air Flare-Elbow Air Flare-Air Flare-1990…etc Or-Air Flare 1.5-Babymill-Windmill-Swipe-Windmill-Halo-Headspin…etc The possible number of combinations are endless and only limited by stamina, strength and imagination. On American reality series America’s Best Dance Crew, Ronnie from Super Cr3w & Full Force, performed a combination, with these moves in this order: Elbow Air Flare-Munchmill-Gorillas. Shane Sparks recalled hearing, there are only four people in the world that can do that combination. In 2002 The Guinness Book of World Records began tracking number of power move rotations for their world record standings. At that time Canadian Gregory Burbidge broke records for Air Flare, Headspins, and Elbow Airflares. American Lauren Jacob held the record for Chair Flares. American Laura Derrick held the record for Tappingmills. Nicole Jones (nationality unknown) held the record for Munch Airflares. In 2004 Guinness removed these titles from their records. At the time Gregory Burbidge was the only one who still held records from the original group.

  • Air Flare An advance powermove starting from a 1990 or windmill or halo or headspin position. The bboy goes into a handstand with his body diagnal to the ground and legs spread out into a V-shape. The legs are swung, like windmills/halos, in a circular motion. Using the momentum, the bboy switches from arm to arm as the body rotates in the air. The most difficult part of this move is the switching of the arms (while in the air) while the back of the bboy is facing the ground (the circular leg swing is most important in a hand transfer). It is recommended that this move is tried on mats with a supervisor.
    • Piked Airflare/Bongo Thunder: Airflare with the legs straight together, instead of V-shape.
    • Munch Airflare: Airflare with the legs tucking in and kicking out, creating a “munch” motion.
    • Lotus Airflare: Airflare done with the legs crossed over one another, in the lotus yoga position.
    • One Legged Airflare: Airflare with one the legs sticking out while the other leg is bent in, looking like an L-shape. Sometimes it is done with the bent leg tucked into the shirt of the bboy.
    • One Hand Airflare: Airflare using one arm.
    • Elbow Airflare: Airflare with elbows.
    • Forearm Airflare: Airflare with forearms.
    • One Arm Elbow Airflare: Airflare using one arm but on the elbow.
    • One Arm Forearm Airflare: Airflare using one arm but on the forearm.
    • Airflare 1.5: instead of landing on your hands after doing one rotation of an Airflare/Airtrack, you keep your body rotating one half extra turn and land onto your back without the use of your hands. This is considered one of the most difficult and most dangerous of the Airflare/Airtrack moves.
    • Elbow Airflare/Airtrack 1.5: instead of landing on your hands after doing one rotation of an Elbow Airflare/Airtrack, you keep your body rotating one half extra turn and land onto your back without the use of your forearms.
    • Shoulder Airflare/Caveman: Airflare with shoulders.
  • Flare: A widely recognized power move that involves swinging the legs around in a circular motion while balancing on the hands.
    • King Flares/Hopping Flare: A flare that is done while hopping from hand to hand.
    • Virgin Flare/Double Leg Circles: A flare that is done with closed legs.
    • Twin-legged Flare: A Flare with the legs straight out together.
    • Crossed-legged Flare: Much like twin-legged flare, but the legs are crossed.
    • Chair Flare:A Flare starting and ending with an airchair position, much like king flares but with bent arms.
    • Double Chair Flare:A flare with both arms stabbed in the back creating a rotating double airchair.
    • Sandwich Flare: A Flare with both legs in a piked position.
    • Lotus Flare: A Flare with both legs crossed over each other in lotus/yoga position.
    • Thread Flare: A flare that is done with by threading the legs with the free arm.
    • One-legged Flare: A Flare done with one leg over the breaker’s head. Bboy Rubberlegz is famous for this move.
  • Floats: Is one of the first breakdance power move in the 80’s that is an advanced version of the turtle that involves positioning both elbows in the pockets of the side of the abs. And both hands and walking in a circular motion and balancing body straight and with control. And speed and neat body stays stationary at all times.
  • Cricket: A breakdance move that involves hopping around in a circular motion while in the handglide position but hopping. Hands pump off the floor one after the other.
    • Hydro: Crickets pushing with both hands at the same time.
    • Jackhammer: Crickets on one hand pumping off the floor balancing the body with one elbow on the side of the abdominal section.(Hard for control to be a float but can be done).
      • Lotus jackhammer: A Jackhammer done with the legs in a lotus/yoga position.
      • Super Jackhammer: Jumping really high while doing a jackhammer.(Bboy Pop is really famous for this move).
    • Darkhammer: A breakdance move where you hop from one side to the other with elbows on the side abdominal section hand to hand with balance.
    • Hopping Turtles/Scratching Turtles: A Breakdance move variation of darkhammers that involves putting your elbow on the pocket of the abdominal side and hop on one hand at a time while the other reaches out in front of you.
  • Swipe/Stigg Swipe: A power move where the breakdancer starts with his hands and feet on the ground and rotates his upper body to build the momentum to rotate his lower body. (Stigg swipe invented by jueogo Stiggletts)
  • Windmill/Mill: a debatable move (considered basic move or power move) in which the breaker can use the momentum from a previous move or start from stabbing your elbow in your stomach and feet supported on the ground, where you kick the opposite leg from the direction you are spinning to gain the momentium to rotate your self around onto your back and back onto your front. A variation of baby freeze and backspin and sometimes called a ‘Continuous Backspin’ by the Old Skool.
    • Superman: Windmills using the hands so that the body does not touch the ground.
    • Bellymills: windmills where the arms are stretched out while the torso rotates on the chest/stomach.
    • Criticals:The first full 360 degree rotation movement is done from a turtle or crab position. It requires a pushing motion and whipping both legs similar to a windmill but fully rotating in the air landing back into a turtle or crab position. This move was created by a group call “Critical Mass Rockers”bka L.A.B.
    • Critical 2’s:A variant of criticals that is from the swipe position landing nonstop into footwork or windmills or freezes.
    • Forearm: Windmills performed by landing back on forearms when continuing the next spin.
    • Windmill Critical: A variant where in freeze position during a windmill like Airflare 1.5 you push yourself off the ground and spin in the air back into a windmill.
    • Airplane/Highrisers/Highrises: A windmill but your arms high as possible and spread
    • Babymills/Cork screws/Munchmills: Windmills performed with tucked legs.
    • Germanmills/Tappingmills:Windmills performed with one leg tucked on top of the other leg, the lower leg taps the ground while the upper torso rolls over similar to munchmills/babymills. the tap leg should be the opposite of the direction the windmill is rotating, i.e. if rotating CW, the right leg taps, if rotating CCW, the left leg taps. (Similar to doing a one-legged-swipe)
    • Tombstone mills/Frankensteins: Windmills performed with piked legs.
    • HandCuffs: Windmills performed with your hands behind your back imitating being handcuffed. Must be performed high up on ones back to avoid injury.
    • Mummies: You do a windmill, but cross your arms over your chest.
    • Nutcracker: A windmill with your hands on your groin area.
    • Eggbeater: A windmill with hands to your thighs.
    • Barrel: A windmill where your arms make a circle as if you are hugging a barrel.
    • Confusions: A windmill with your hands on your ears or the side of your head.
    • Lotus mills: Windmills done with the legs crossed over one another, in the lotus yoga position.
    • Frankenstein mills: Windmills with your hands in the air almost touching your toes like Frankenstein.
    • Threading mills: Threading while doing windmills.
  • Back Spin: One of the first spinning and famous power moves ever made. A move which has the breaker balled up and spinning on his or her back.
  • Side Spin: Sometimes done after a windmill, the side spin is balled up like the back spin except the breaker is rotating on his or her side.
  • Shoulder Spin: Sometimes done after a windmill, but going higher to reach the shoulder then spinning.
  • Halos: Similar to windmills, the only difference is the back roll on the ground but supported by arms while rotating, thus causing this move to also spin on the side of head, like a halo. Sometimes called a ‘Neck Move’ by Old Skoolers.
    • One Handed Halo: Halos done on one hand.
    • Double Halo: Doing two consecutive halos without touching your hands on the floor after one full rotation.
    • Shoulder Halo: Halos done with the shoulders.
    • Threading Halo: Threading while doing Halos.
    • Multiple Halo: Doing more than two spins while doing Halos.
    • Toe Touch Halo: Doing Halos while touching your feet before landing a spin.
  • Headspins: A continuous spin done while balancing only on the head, the legs can vary indefinitely.
  • HeadSplide/Gromeks: A combination of a headspin and a headslide where the dancer rotates around using a headspin/halo technique whilst sliding forward upon his forehead. Usually achieving between .5 and 1.5 rotations and catching it in another head move.
  • Headslide:* Pushing off with your feet while your head on the ground and sliding forward.
  • Running Headslide:* Gaining momentum by sprinting and leaning your head towards the floor with your hands by your head. When your head touches the floor, kick your legs up and lift your arms so that you are only sliding on your head. To avoid injury, make sure your hands hit the floor before your head when sprinting and also wear a beanie.
  • 1990/90: A spinning one-handed handstand.
  • Deadman 90’s: Similar to the 1990, the Deadman 1990 is done without alternating between hands before the spin. The bboy spins on the same hand he initially places onto the ground, making the deadman 90 easier to balance but harder to create momentum.
  • 2000/00s/Thousands: A 1990 with the spare hand on the wrist of your supporting hand.
  • Knee Spin: Spinning on a knee or both knees, in any direction.
  • Airbaby Spin: Spinning while in an airbaby.
  • Airchair Spin: Spinning while in an airchair.
  • Forearm Spin: A spin on the forearm.
  • Head Glide/Donut/Icy Ice: A spin performed after windmill where your hand is planted in your side and head drags on the ground and spins around your hand.
  • Slush/Elbow Spin: A spin performed on the tip of the elbow.
  • Reverse-Slush/Counterclockwise Elbow spin A spin performed on forearm or elbow. This move rotates counterclockwise if you are right-handed. BBoy Pop from the Gamblers Crew is famous for this move.
  • Gattling Gun: A powermove where you are in a handstand, swinging your legs around you in a circular motion kicking about. Bboy Physicx is famous for this move.
  • Spinning Flag A variation of 1990. A bboy rotates on his hand, but his body is doing a flag freeze. One of the hardest powermove. Bboy Physicx is famous for this move.

HandGlide

  • Hand Glide Spin/Handspin: A breakdance move that involves spinning around in a circular motion, using one hand to push and propel you while the other hand is positioned in the side pocket of the abdominal section supporting your weight balancing your body from not touching the floor.
    • Side/Hand Glide: A breakdance move that involves spinning around in a circular motion, using one hand positioning the elbow in your side pocket of abdominal section like a (Head Glide) without touching the floor with the head; your elbow and wrist support your weight. This is also known as a sidechair spin or airchair spin.
    • Straight leg/Hand Glide: A breakdance move that involves spinning around with the legs closed like a planche but supporting one’s weight by positioning your elbow in the side pocket of abdominal section supporting one’s weight with elbow and wrist strength.
  • Turtle: A breakdance move that involves positioning both elbows in the kidney pockets on the side of the body and both hands walk in a circular motion balanced. Each hand distributes the weight of the person in an alternating action. The more advanced the more control this comes with strength.

Float

  • Float: is one of the first breakdance power moves in the 80’s that is an advanced version of the turtle that involves positioning both elbows in the pockets of side of abdominal. And both hands and walking in a circular motion and balancing body straight and with control. And speed and neat body stays stationary at all times.
  • Cricket: A breakdance move that involves hopping around in a circular motion while in the handglide position but hopping. Hands pump off of the floor one after the other.
    • Hydro: Crickets pushing with both hands at the same time.
    • Jackhammer: Crickets on one hand pumping off the floor balancing body with one elbow in the side of abdominal section hard for control to be a float but can be done.
    • Darkhammer: A breakdance move where you hop from one side to the other with elbows in side of abdominal section hand to hand with balance.
    • Hopping Turtles/Scratching Turtles: A breakdance move Variation of Darkhammers that involves putting you elbow in the pocket of the abdominal side and hop on one hand at a time while the other reaches out in front of you. Tapping you opponent on his foot was the first version..

PowerMove/Float

  • UFO A power move and (airmove) combined the 1st version is an unsupported float but with the legs drawn in to pick up speed and the momentum spinning around on your hands with the illusion of a space ship.
  • Boomerangs: A (airmove)and power move combined spinning around with upper body strength. Done with your legs spread open:
    • Inside Boomerangs: hands down in front of you supporting you and propelling you in a circle.
    • Outside Boomerangs: hands down behind of you supporting you and propelling you in a circle.
  • Gorillas: A power move that involves spinning around in a circular motion, using your body position in a tucked planche and you spin with your hands. it’s a bit similar to the U.F.O. but instead of your legs going around, your whole body goes around.
  • Buddhas:A power move Walking/spinning around while arms are the holding the body up from behind and legs are in the tucked planche position.
  • Gremlin Spins: A power move where you spin on only one hand down on the floor carrying body in a position with the knees bent. Can be done between and after flares.

Hand hops/Elbow hops/Other hops

Commonly known as Hand Hops or Rabbits, a “Hand Hop” is done in a two-handed or one-handed handstand. Legs will kick causing the hand or hands on the floor to hop. This is also done on elbows and other body parts using the same motion of kicking to “hop” you off the ground.

Two-handed

  • Basic 2 Handed Hand Hops/Rabbits: Hopping on two hands, pumping your legs up together.
  • 2 Handed Scissors: Hopping while kicking your legs back and forth.
  • Switch Hops: Hopping while switching from right to left hands.
  • Invert Hops: Hopping while in an invert.
  • 2 Handed Bicycle Hops: Rapidly kicking (or Bicycling) your legs multiple times in between hops.
  • 2 Handed Lotus Handhops: Hopping on two hands while legs are in the Lotus position.

One-handed

  • Basic Hand Hops/One Handed Rabbits: Hopping on one hand, pumping your legs up together.
  • Scissor Hops: Hopping while kicking your legs back and forth.
  • Threading Handhops: Threading while hopping.
  • Lotus Handhops/Yoga Hops: Hopping while Legs are in the Lotus position.
  • Handhop Pikes/Pike Hops: Hand Hopping while piked.
  • Split Hops/Open Hops: Hopping while spreading open and closing your legs.
  • Bicycle Hops: Rapidly kicking (or Bicycling) your legs multiple times in between hops.
  • Super Hops: Hopping and bending your elbow up while in the air to hop as high as possible.
  • Pretzel Hops: Hopping with one leg behind your head.
  • Clap Hops: Hopping and clapping your hand while in mid air.

-Elbow Hops-

  • Basic Elbow Hops: Hopping on one elbow, pumping your legs up together.
  • Elbow Switch Hops: Hopping while switching from right to left Elbows.
  • Elbow Scissor Hops: Hopping while kicking your legs.
  • Note: Most One handed hand hops can be done on the elbow.

-Other Hops-

  • Chair Hops: The Bboy/Bgirl is in an air chair freeze position and kicks up continuously, thus hopping on one hand.
  • Head Hops: Hopping on your head.
  • Shoulder Hops: the Bboy/Bgirl is in a shoulder freeze position and kicks up, thus hopping on the shoulder.

Blowups/Rollbacks

  • Rollback Handstand: A bboy starts off on his back or sitting down and rolls back to a handstand. This move is common to start a 1990 or a 2000.
  • Rollback Pike/Nike: Similar to a rollback handstand but usually done with one arm into a pike or a nike.
  • Rollback Airchair: A bboy starts off on his back or sitting down and rolls back to an airchair.
  • Elbow Rollback: A bboy starts off on his back or sitting down and rolls back on to his forearm freezing him in the air.
  • Rollback 2000 A bboy starts off on his back, rolls, than goes into hanstand position. Sudden twist of the body creates momentum and allows the bboy to perform 2000.

Drops

  • Drop Airchair: Usually starting from a handstand move and dropping into an airchair.
  • Drop Elbow/Forearm: Usually starting from a handstand move and dropping onto the elbow or forearm.
  • Head Drop: Dropping onto the head from another move.
  • Shoulder Drop: Dropping onto the shoulder from another move.

Suicides

  • ‘ The term suicide is most frequently used as a suicide from a babymill/munchmill movement onto the back laying flat on the ground.
  • Front/back Headflip: A headspring done without the use of the hands.
  • Hard Dive: An aerial dive landing on the shoulder or upper forearm
  • Pencil Spin:A headspin done with legs together and hand at the sides.
  • Suicide Rubberband: A backwards dive landing in the kip-up position with hands behind head.
  • Airtrack 1.5: Done after the completion of an airflare, after one hand is placed down instead of hopping onto other hand momentum is used to complete one or two whole aerial spins, usually landed in a munchmill or windmill to avoid injury.
  • Suicide Corkscrew: A Corkscrew or B-twist is done but landed on back or upper shoulders.
  • Coin Drop Drops down on one arm and goes into a windmill somewhat gliding on your back, then pushing your self back up. *You can try with no hands*
  • The Winder: Dropping onto the back from a handstand. The Bboy/Bgirl removes their supporting arms whilst in a handstand and lands prostate on their back. The Winder can also be executed whilst moving forwards or backwards. The more painful The Winder appears the better. Pioneered by UK Breaker Major League Chubb D.