Commercial Break: I Missed Evolution This Year

I live a life of no regrets and I try to keep minimal secrets. While shooting Season's Beatings this year and playing fighting games with some of the best people on the planet, the thought had entered my mind as to what else I was missing this weekend. Evolution is one of the bboy community's biggest events. There are other battles and competitions that rival it, but Evolution is a little bit more special. Much like Season's Beatings, Evolution still has a homegrown appeal to it, that I've been looking for in a larger type of jam/competition to travel to. Maybe next year right?

Season's Beatings Redemption: The Aftermath

Momochi & ChocoBlanka Say, "Hai" From Season's Beatings Redemption.

Before I give my take and list the results I have to get the thank you's in. I don't know how EVO or SBO works, but I have been to every Season's Beatings here in Columbus, Ohio and seeing the hardwork that Fugee and Ghaleon [Godlike Entertainment] put in beyond impressive. Huge thanks to Team Spooky for keeping up a quality stream. I thought I saw him grow six extra arms. Seeing the man edit and switch angles on the fly all while responding to the chat on the stream was dizzying. Props to the sponsors, MadCatz and Hori. The commentators: Skisonic, NerdJosh, James Chen and Chris Hu with a special rotating guest list.

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Season's Beatings Redemption: Photos

Season's Beatings 2010: Team USA vs. The World

The event just ended. Literally minutes ago and I've been hard at work uploading photos. Expect a more formal wrap up tomorrow of the event [sorry, I'm incredibly exhausted]. What you should know is that Team USA beat Team 'The World' in an incredibly close match 13 to 12. Yipes beat Chris Schmidt in a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 exhibition as well as the official Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament. Daigo was eliminated earlier than expected in the Super Street Fighter IV by Andre. Gamerbee ended up winning in the grand finals against Momochi, so the Super Street Fighter IV character tier is kinda wide open. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Super Street Fighter II, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, Blaz Blue: TS and more -- were all played, I'll try to gather as many results as possible.

In the mean time. Be sure to check out the photos here! Season's Beatings Photos!

Commercial Break: The New Age Of Headspins

 For the people who know me in real life and think I 'do the spinny thing'. No, I don't, I use to. In this clip you'll see Aicha [Japan], Lazer [Korea] and my personal favorite Boom [Korea]. Three people [barring the legendary Storm] who are responsible for evolving one of the oldest powermoves in the bboy community. Enjoy.

Commercial Break: Elephants, They Be Painting

Glorious. Magnificent. And possibly a result of some good ole fashioned animal torture in order to produce an anomaly in the world of animal sociology. Geez, that wasn't called for at all was it? This is kind of my double-edged sword for posting this. 

Its easy to be a pessimist isn't it? Even something as odd and kinda cool as an elephant touching up a painting [one can only assume] he/she had been working on, could be the result of something negative. At the same time, its also double-delusional to think this creative little pachyderm dropped out of the womb with a the itch to get his Bob Ross on.

I'd prefer to think positive in spite of my cynical brain's negative leanings.

Gaming Sensitive

Games as a means of exploiting the sensitive topics of pop culture and current events has never been the medium’s strongest suit. If Thrill Kill and RapeLay are the best we can do, then we are a far cry away from “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Six Days In Fallujah could have been one of few first-person shooters that ignited a discussion on the war in Iraq between gamers and the general public. This growing schism of what gamers want versus what gamers actually play seems to go hand in hand with how the culture has matured. Do we want our games to comment on our environment? Is the quality of a game a factor when the plot is meant to be the focal point? Where is the line between addressing matters in our culture that are topical and when do we cross that line into insensitivity?

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Season's Beatings: Redemption, Oct. 15th - 18th

Its that time of year again. I’m sure anyone reading this is well prepared for the Midwest’s premiere fighting game tournament, but in case you are a new comer I would suggest venturing over to the Shoryuken boards and introducing yourself to some of the best and brightest minds when it comes to this amazing tournament. Now because of last year’s incredible turnout there I would suggest getting your money and skills in order. There will be a $30 dollar flat rate to enter the venue, so why not save up a couple extra shillings and enter a tournament or two.

As per the usual, I will be there with my camera documenting the event -- heck, I may even try my hand at a tourney or two. Rest assured, this is a tournament you do not want to miss. Daigo, Gamerbee, Choco and Momochi have already confirmed to be in attendance and if that doesn’t get you hype, then you may want to reconsider calling yourself a fighting game fan.

Stay tuned for further updates on SBV: Redemption.

After the jump are the details and official press release about the event thus far.

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Bboy Discussion: Ken Swift On Breaking And Rockin'

HHTF Humanities Series: Ken Swift (Pt 2) 

I want to give props to my homie Tyquan for posting this and a number of other videos Rockin' related on his blog. Since I've dusted off my dancing shoes and started practicing with people younger than myself, I'm always fielding questions on Rocking and Breaking [funny considering I've only been dancing 9 years]. These are questions that I think Ken Swift answers with way more eloquence than I ever could. 

I implore anyone who is interested in dance and sub-cultures to watch this video. I have so many questions after seeing this. One in particular is when Ken is talking about respect for the elders and how there needs to be a consensus on how this dance operates. The professor acknowledges that in his research he found that when someone like Leggs or Swift says, "Hey, what you're doing is great, but its not dancing...and you need to learn footwork." Dancers then would learn footwork. I think there needs to be a point raised about when dancers hear that and decide not too. Furthermore, when is it okay for a dancer to say, "Okay, I'm gonna branch off and do my own thing."

Enjoy and Keep Dancing,

I 

Bboy Battle: 2008 Circle Prinz Poland Final -- Azizi Fellas vs. Funky Masons

For a while I'd be kinda in a rut as far as my personal life. Then things started looking up [on all fronts]. For the past couple years I found that I was depressed on the matters of my dancing because I hadn't been dancing like I use to. And anyone who knows me in 'the meatspace' knows that it was a huge part of my life. I took a look at this battle from 2008 and remember when I first saw it -- I only knew one bboy in the clip. Surprisingly it wasn't Kleju [who's fairly well known now], but it was Chu Chu Rocket. For obvious reasons [gaming related] I glommed to that name/bboy because its not always easy to find someone interested in gaming AND dancing -- let alone someone who's name is one of your favorite games.

In this video you see four youthful guys dancing, hungry for a win. The funny thing is whenever I bring this battle up to my dancing buddies no one knows of this battle. Turns out a battle at this very jam overshadowed the final.

After the break, the battle that overshadowed the finals

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Commercial 'Break': If Its Terrible And You Know It Clap Your Hands!

Its hard enough trying to explain to people what a bboy or bgirl does or what they're relevance is in the spectrum in hiphop, but when I see things like this...it hurts my feelings. Teaching people dance moves in which they can exercise, being healthy, and feeling good about themselves is a cool accomplishment few people can do well.

I know few bboys/bgirls check out my site and this is for you guys. If you see this 'Mario The Trainer' please feel free to show him how he's doing it wrong. The take his class of middle-aged moms out for ice cream.