Bboy World Com | Bboy BGirl Source - View Single Post - the difference in battles now compared to bak in da 90s and early 2000s

Same · 05-17-2009, 05:11 PM

I started bboying in '01 but I've seen footage from the 80's (maybe even the late 70's) until now and of course bboying has changed; that's how things work, things always change and that stays constant, if things don't change, things will get worn out unless it is something indescribable.

As for how things have changed, of course breakdancing is a little bit more mainstream nowadays as more people generally know what it is and some might think that that's a bad thing because as more people know about it, the more likely there is potential to have more bad things involved in general, however that also means that it is growing and developing which can of course be considered a good thing.

I work in Table Tennis and so I know some of its history. Basically after it boomed in the early 1900s, about 1901-1902, 30 years had passed and it was able to become an official sport in the late 20s. By the late 80s it became an official Olympic sport.

The reason I brought that up was because in the late 20s I'm sure a lot of people probably thought it changed a lot and missed the good old days when it was more pure and the like, but also with its development, the level of competition was raised and the standardization of it was also created in order for the competitions to be fair. The thing is, even though it's been standardized, there has still been innovation in it, even 80-90 years after it started as well as today of course, over a hundred years later.

People can argue that breaking is as ancient as pre-historic times on which I wouldn't disagree, however speaking about our current history, breaking is only about 30 or so years old. It is still pretty young, though considering it has been about that much time, it is probably a good time for it to be standardized.

I actually had a chance to meet and speak with the American president of international relations for the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and I had the opportunity to ask him what are the criteria for a sport to be accepted into the Olympics. I also asked him what makes an activity considered a sport. The latter question appeared to be a more difficult one as even the contest of hot-dog eating is registered as an official sport in the United States with its own association. Most people also know that figure skating is more than just an official sport, and some may not know that even ballroom dancing is also an official Olympic sport.

As for the first question, the criteria for an activity to be considered an Olympic sport are:

1. People know of it widely and are doing it around the world
2. It has at least 70 registered Associations (representing an area/region or country) around the world
3. It has registered an official International Organization for the activity
4. No drugs are used in the activity.

So although people might say things are getting watered down, from one perspective this may be true, however I think the fact is that simply many more people are doing it which means that the percentage of truly talented bboys in the scene becomes smaller and smaller. However this also means it is more able to form associations, be recognized publicly as a legitimate practice, allowing for more support from government bodies as well as it being standardized, thus raising; the level of challenge, people's ability to understand it and judges' ability to judge it.

I think that if it could be standardized without compromising its artistic integrity, it could be done properly. If this becomes a reality, though there may still be dispute as to who is better than who, who should have won and who deserves to be more famous, maybe it will also allow for an environment for people to be able to further improve themselves rather than be too concerned over what other people think or how they are different than others since everything would be set officially.

Thus I think although there are excellent elements of breaking from when it started until today that may not be the same generally, it has also allowed for its development and its ability to form into something substantial that has potential to be a legitimate profession, standardized form of competition, a completely established and ever-improving system in society as well as a mainstay form of art.

Those are just my thoughts for the moment, anyone is of course free to make any comments in response or in general.

Thank you.

- Sharif

05-17-2009, 05:11 PM	#56 (permalink)
Same Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and Tokyo, Japan Posts: 19	I started bboying in '01 but I've seen footage from the 80's (maybe even the late 70's) until now and of course bboying has changed; that's how things work, things always change and that stays constant, if things don't change, things will get worn out unless it is something indescribable. As for how things have changed, of course breakdancing is a little bit more mainstream nowadays as more people generally know what it is and some might think that that's a bad thing because as more people know about it, the more likely there is potential to have more bad things involved in general, however that also means that it is growing and developing which can of course be considered a good thing. I work in Table Tennis and so I know some of its history. Basically after it boomed in the early 1900s, about 1901-1902, 30 years had passed and it was able to become an official sport in the late 20s. By the late 80s it became an official Olympic sport. The reason I brought that up was because in the late 20s I'm sure a lot of people probably thought it changed a lot and missed the good old days when it was more pure and the like, but also with its development, the level of competition was raised and the standardization of it was also created in order for the competitions to be fair. The thing is, even though it's been standardized, there has still been innovation in it, even 80-90 years after it started as well as today of course, over a hundred years later. People can argue that breaking is as ancient as pre-historic times on which I wouldn't disagree, however speaking about our current history, breaking is only about 30 or so years old. It is still pretty young, though considering it has been about that much time, it is probably a good time for it to be standardized. I actually had a chance to meet and speak with the American president of international relations for the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and I had the opportunity to ask him what are the criteria for a sport to be accepted into the Olympics. I also asked him what makes an activity considered a sport. The latter question appeared to be a more difficult one as even the contest of hot-dog eating is registered as an official sport in the United States with its own association. Most people also know that figure skating is more than just an official sport, and some may not know that even ballroom dancing is also an official Olympic sport. As for the first question, the criteria for an activity to be considered an Olympic sport are: 1. People know of it widely and are doing it around the world 2. It has at least 70 registered Associations (representing an area/region or country) around the world 3. It has registered an official International Organization for the activity 4. No drugs are used in the activity. So although people might say things are getting watered down, from one perspective this may be true, however I think the fact is that simply many more people are doing it which means that the percentage of truly talented bboys in the scene becomes smaller and smaller. However this also means it is more able to form associations, be recognized publicly as a legitimate practice, allowing for more support from government bodies as well as it being standardized, thus raising; the level of challenge, people's ability to understand it and judges' ability to judge it. I think that if it could be standardized without compromising its artistic integrity, it could be done properly. If this becomes a reality, though there may still be dispute as to who is better than who, who should have won and who deserves to be more famous, maybe it will also allow for an environment for people to be able to further improve themselves rather than be too concerned over what other people think or how they are different than others since everything would be set officially. Thus I think although there are excellent elements of breaking from when it started until today that may not be the same generally, it has also allowed for its development and its ability to form into something substantial that has potential to be a legitimate profession, standardized form of competition, a completely established and ever-improving system in society as well as a mainstay form of art. Those are just my thoughts for the moment, anyone is of course free to make any comments in response or in general. Thank you. - Sharif __________________ Peace from all the same same.