The importance of chilling out- train hard AND train clever

The importance of chilling out

Many bboys and bgirls think that the best way to develop themselves as dancers is to to go all out in their training. Some, the most dedicated, over-train. This isn't always good for them.

For the initiated bboys out there-- Have you ever gone training/clubbing and not seen a bboy/bgirl for a while, met them and they'd said that they hadn't been training in weeks. They then go on to show you how much they've improved and you think 'how the hell has s/he improved so much!?'. A common response is you step up your training. The insecure(most bboys) think that they person they saw had either lied or is more naturally talented than yourself and you think 'well, i gotta step up or I'll never improve!'.

For the bboys out there that react in that way, they tend to get frantic in their training, trying to pack as much moves in, trying to do everything as quick as possible, as hard as possible, anything to get better. They realise they are training harder, which must be good,.. but they ache more (but show off about it), they are cut more, might sleep less etc but they'll surely improve? Maybe, or maybe not.

I know about this way of training/thinking as it used to me. I used to think that training hard meant rushing everything, trying to repeat moves, no time to stop, no time to pause; just train, train, train.

Wrong. You'll learn best when you chill out. Drilling moves, doing over and over again can only work if you improve your techniques, and for that its best to find a good mentor, listen carefully and repeat in a calm manner (possibly filming yourself for referral later on). Training hard is important, but its much better to train clever. In fact, the way to get good is to train hard and train clever.

Power moves are a good example. For lots of power its important to put in all the effort you can to perform the move well. However, this is not the case for all power moves. Take spins. 90s and headpins are good examples. There are two main types of spin, glides/floats and drills. Floats are done in a relaxed manner, floating round,as if taken by the wind. Drills start wide and slowly close in. Both require the breaker to have near perfect form for maximum rotations and style.

If you put all your energy into trying to get the first rotation of a 90, unless you have near perfect form, chances are your determination to perform the move will probably manifest itself in incorrect form- banana legs- a surefire way to flopping the move. Ironically if you train with people that are better than yourself this frustration can be amplified as you see them improve (they may be chilled out in their training?), so you are more anxious to improve and chill out less. Just keep telling yourself, you will get X move but it will take time. Follow the guidelines in my futher/previous articles if it helps..

To round up this brief article, it's better to relax. The reason bboys and bgirls often improve rapidly after a break (even if its as long as 2 weeks off) is they have allowed their body (and mind) figure out moves, given their body and mind time to rest and recover and allowed themselves to feel relaxed, with little expectations. They tend to think, 'I'll be shit as I haven't trained in ages' that's normally the time they produce some sick move out the bag.

So if you have read and understood the article, you'll know why. Chill out, rest, train hard, rest hard and your clever training will pay off.

Peace...