Alright, to all you new Bboys and Bgirls who really want to do certain powermoves or even be a powerhead, you better read on if you want to head anywhere.
Alright, first thing is first. Power is NOT gonna win you a battle against a good stylehead, no matter how hard your powermoves and combos are. You WILL get respect, but chances are you won't win.
Powerheads actually do have style, they mix in something unique in their powermoves or combos, and if you only plan to rely on power without having any style or even being able to toprock, you better join a gymnastics team and stay there, otherwise you're gonna have your ass spanked in a Bboy battle and called a boring gymnast or another Mike Garcia.
First Part: Learn the BASIC shit of Bboying.
TOPROCK
Learn how to toprock. If you're gonna walk in a circle cruising like a pimp, chances are you're gonna be bitchslapped like a hoe. Learn those basic toprocks. Observe videos and other bboys/bgirls JUST before they do a powermove. They often slow down a lot, tend to minimize a lot of their arm and leg movements, sometimes tend to kind of hop around, and sometimes tend to pull up their pants as if they were gonna fall off (I do this).
THAT is practically the most basic a toprock can get while being a toprock. You should start off with that instead of biting off someone else's toprock completely, as they're probably gonna drive-by shoot you if you do and give you a bad name in the Bboying world.
Once you can do something THAT simple (trust me, it's NOT one bit hard, even a poser could do it), start to move with the beat and other components of the music. Change your feet and leg positions, hand and arm positions, even make gestures if you feel COMFORTABLE with it.
Note that if you ever try to bite someone's style, you're probably not gonna feel comfortable with it as it's something that probably won't come naturally to you. Now just make sure that you have fun when you toprock, you don't feel like you're gonna trip over yourself, and you think it looks fine in your own opinion (don't give a fuck what others say about your style).
After this, move on to the next part.
FOOTWORK
Alright, this you NEED. Not only because it is a HUGE fundamental of bboying, but for one other part. FINDING OUT WHAT DIRECTION/SIDE TO DO YOUR MOVES IN.
Learn 6-step first, and find out what direction you can do it the best in. If you do it better clockwise, then you're a clockwise person. If you do it better counterclockwise, then you're counterclockwise person, etc. If you're clockwise, you should stab with your right hand. And vice versa for counterclockwise. It's very useful.
Now learn other basic footwork moves such as pompo/sideshuffles, coffee grinders/helicopter, knee spins, and other stuff. Now learn to mix up moves together, and once you're good with them, try to do your footwork with the beat/music, like in your toprock. Start off with slower songs and them move your way up to faster ones.
Once you can do this, try learning your footwork the other way, and then even make your own variations of footwork, etc.
Now let's move on:
WHAT YOU NEED
Alright, if you plan to ever do power, you should learn these, and I'll also tell you why.
BE AS FIT AS POSSIBLE
Alright, most powermoves don't require shitloads of strength, and some, barely any strength at all, but you should be healthy, and have certain muscles and areas of your body built. Do pushups, sit-ups, and handstand pushups (against a wall or free).
Abs are probably the muscles that will be needed the most in a lot of moves. Having them strong can help you control your movement, balance, and just do the moves easier. Arm strength is an extra benefit. Just try to get in as best as shape as possible.
If you're a little overweight, don't worry too much, you're gain strength and endurance while practicing.
HANDGLIDE
Aight. The handglide position is a very commonly used move. It is used in between powermoves, freezes, and even footwork. Now, one major benefit for the handglide is wrist strength and endurance.
You really need to build up your wrists, as a lot of moves will put A LOT of strain on your wrists, and you need to be well conditioned for this kind of activity. Also, it helps build up balance to a certain degree. And memorizing the handglide will help you switch in between certain moves easily.
HANDSTAND
This is VERY useful for moves that require you to be in such a position. Helps very much on balance, endurance, and strength to a certain degree.
ONE-HANDED HANDSTAND
Some moves will rely on you being in such a position, and it will help you as said above for HANDSTAND.
PLANCHE
For some of those moves that require A LOT of endurance and some considerable strength, this will be of great benefit. You'll gain strength and tons of endurance for moves such as UFOs, where your body weight is placed on only a few muscles and balance is dependant on how well your muscles can hold in that position.
HEADSTAND
Helps for balance, neck strength, builds up forearm strength a little bit, and is very useful for moves that require you to use the headstand position.
FREEZES
Helps with balance, can be used in combination with powermoves, every Bboy/Bgirls needs at least some freezes.
KIP-UPS AND RUBBER BANDS
Helps build up quick reflexes, and also helps with some ab strength. Very useful to use in between moves and whatever.
And now we move onto the POWERMOVES
Hopefully, you've worked on what I've mentioned earlier on, and you're ready to take on these whipping bitches.
NOTE: Powermoves aren't something you're gonna learn in a day. They require a lot of practice, patience, and for some, COURAGE. UNDERSTAND HOW THE MOVE WORKS before you try to get VERY into it.
Get to know how the motions and positions work, and try out the moves slowly. And don't give up. Also, for you Bgirls who want to learn powermoves, I don't mean to lower your self esteem or anything, but it WILL be harder for girls. Girls have heavier lower bodies, and less strength than guys (although if you PRACTICE, this won't be anything of a problem). But girls can achieve what we guys do, so just practice and you'll get it.
The Easy Powermoves
WINDMILL
Ah, yes, the famous windmill. This move is a very popular move, isn't that hard compared to some others, and also helps you learn how to control momentum. I'd recommend this to newbies who want to learn powermoves which can have A LOT of power in them. Windmills can be slow, or VERY fast, depending on how much power you put into it. You should have the handglide position down before you move onto this move.
RISKS: This move really isn't THAT dangerous. But every powermove has its potential dangers. In most cases, bruising of the hips, shoulders, ass, breast pain (for girls), wrist pain, scraped/bruised knee, sore ankle and sore elbow/forearm will be the only things you will encounter.
Some people might get sore hips. In severe cases, fracturing of the knee, and even dislocating part of your arm could happen. Some people might even smash their face against the floor. These ones are less likely to happen, though.
TURTLE
Turtles, often thought as VERY hard and in need of great arm strength, but really, not as bad as thought. It's all about technique, not strength. Practice a lot with the turtle position, and hanglide position with both hands. Really, this move is all about practice and getting the technique down.
RISKS: Sore wrists, sore knees, could fall on face. Really, you won't hurt your self much or anything at all when trying this. But in extreme cases, you could break your wrists, and in VERY rare cases, dislocated or break an arm.
SWIPES
Easy, simple, and fun to do. Start by learning them 2-legged, then 1-legged, then superman-style (your arms open as if you were flying like superman in the air). Then learn them from standing position, also known as airswipes.
Baby swipes are a more closed in variation, used with footwork. Elbow swipes are also nice to do. All swipe variations look impressive if done smoothly, legs wide, fast, and especially if in a tight circle.
RISKS: I dunno, somehow falling on your ass and laughing at yourself? This move is EXTREMELY low risk. You must be a real idiot to dislocate your arm or something while trying swipes. These are swipes, not a game of Twister.
BACKSPINS
You should be able to learn how to generate momentum, windmills can be helpful for this, as can flares (later on in this) and other moves that generate a lot of speed in a spinning motion.
Backspins are really easy to pull off, that is, if you can generate momentum. If you know no damn clue about how to generate momentum, then don't try out backspins, you're gonna look like a poser when you only get about 2 spins at the most. But I'd still suggest learning them, as they can look nice once you're good with controlling and generating momentum.
RISKS: Bruising your shoulders, sore arms and back, especially along the spine. More of a learn to cope with some pains in the process of learning than worrying about potential injuries.
The Advanced Powermoves
CRICKETS AND JACKHAMMER
Another impressive yet relatively simple powermove. You should master the handglide position first, then learn how spin in the hanglide, then learn crickets. Once you've mastered crickets, as in being able to do them in practically whatever direction you want, and not losing balance, move onto jackhammers.
Jackhammers will be almost instantly gained in your arsenal if you've mastered crickets as I've mentioned. Really impressive move to the ladies, as it gives the impression of super strength.
RISKS: Sore wrists, bruising of the knees, sore hips from stabbing, sore elbows if you fall on them, and in EXTREME cases, you could break your wrist or dislocate your arm. Not a very dangerous move in general.
COINDROP
Very good way to generate momentum and drop into moves such as windmills and backspins. Part of learning the coindrop is technique, another part is confidence and courage, as you'll probably get a feeling that you might hurt yourself somehow.
RISKS: Bruising of legs, arms, shoulders, back, ankle, pretty much whatever lands wrong and hits the ground, even your hand if you REALLY fuck up. Best to wear something thick such as a thick sweater or something when practicing this.
Also good to practicing falling down on something soft, such as grass or carpet, as that will help prevent injury. In extreme cases, you'll probably land VERY wrong and fracture something.
FOREARM AND SUPERMAN WINDMILL
Really not much different from windmills except you'll find that you can go faster rolling on your forearms or stomach than the stabbing method. Must have nice, fast and smooth mills to move onto these ones, though.
RISKS: See WINDMILL.
HEADSPIN
Yet another famous move, for this one you need to be able to hold headstands for a long time (at least 2 minutes if you plan to do long headspins) without wobbling or falling over. This also ensures that your neck muscles are conditioned enough for this move.
Headspins are all about technique, not strength. All you have to know is how to generate some momentum for headspins, the technique for tapping whenever you need to, and holding the balance. Good move to learn.
RISKS: Neck a little sore, bruising of arms, side, legs, or wherever you fall on. A lot of people have this paranoia that you'll break your neck if you do headspins, but your neck is much stronger than that.
Pretty much the only way you could break your neck is if you fall on your head while it's slanted at a 45 degree angle or something, which is VERY unlikely to happen. Not as dangerous of a move as believed.
NOTE: These can ONLY be done on a nice smooth surface.
MASTER SWIPES
Ok, incase you were wondering, I didn't put these with swipes is because these ones need A LOT more technique and more power than those other swipe variations. You need to have airswipes, 1-legged and 2-legged and superman-style swipes down before you even think of these.
Master swipes combine those parts all into one pretty much, and are higher and wider than other swipes, and can even resemble airflares to a certain extent. A good move to learn if you're dedicated enough.
RISKS: Falling down and bruising wherever you land on is pretty much the only big risk in this, since you'll be falling from a high position while momentum is moving you. Still not very dangerous or anything
FLIPS (gainers, backflips, frontflips, handsprings, etc)
These really aren't as hard as thought to be, it's all about TECHNIQUE and CONFIDENCE. If you have these two down, then they shouldn't be too hard to learn.
RISKS: Falling down and brusing yourself. In extreme cases, falling down really hard and severely injuring wherever you fall on. Safer to practice these on something soft, like grass or a gym mat.
1990s AND 2000s
These require a mix of balance and use of momentum very much like in headspins. Not very hard to learn, though. I might even go as far as recommending 1990s to fairly new bboys/bgirls. Should have handstands and one-handed handstands down, though.
RISKS: falling down and hurting yourself, injuring wrists. Not too much of a chance of hurting yourself badly, usually at the most, bruising yourself. In very unusual cases, one could lose balance and fall on his/her face, or somehow do something VERY wrong and slam oneself hard against the ground.
The Hard Powermoves
HALOS
These require a mix of balance, some strength, and a lot of technique. Having headspins and windmills down will help a lot in halos, as this move has very similar physics to both moves, especially windmills. Takes a while to learn.
RISKS: Sore elbows, wrists, falling on face, falling on legs, and other windmill-like injuries. Also in extreme cases, chance of fracturing neck. Dangerous move if not careful with and if technique is very sloppy.
NO-HANDED WINDMILLS (nutcrackers, confusions, eggbeaters/barrelmills, etc)
For these, you MUST have masted the windmill, otherwise you're going to have a VERY VERY hard time trying to get these down. They're very fast, require very good control of momentum, and technique would make a HUGE impact in how well these moves are performed. Takes some time to get down.
RISKS: All of windmills and more. You could REALLY slam a part of your body hard against the surface you're on, as you'll be moving very very fast. And bruised/sore shoulders will probably be often encountered in learning these, as you hop from shoulder to shoulder while rotating.
And especially confusions are dangerous, because if your hand presses hard against the side of your head and the ground, you could even break your neck. Practice with caution and take it one step at a time.
UFOs
If you've mastered turtles and got planchez down, too, then you're ready to move onto this one. This move takes a lot of technique and a lot of endurance. They are one of the most impressive looking moves, though, especially if your legs are extended fully, the effect is even better that way. Takes a lot of practice and patience.
RISKS: Pretty much what turtles can do, but actually, this move really isn't that capable of causing much damange/injury.
FLARES
Amazing move taken from gymnastics, this move is a total bitch to learn and even more of a bitch to master completely. It really doesn't need much strength, just enough to hold yourself up on your hands with your legs forward for about a second or two.
But it needs a lot of practice, very good control of momentum and motion, good form, and a lot of effort to do (mostly for multiple flares, though). Having windmills down could help in learning flares, as they both have similar motions.
Not a good choice for beginners, also many people encounter MANY problems with flares, and they can take a while to correct. Can take anywhere from 4 months to up to a YEAR to learn, depending on the person.
RISKS: Sore wrists, spraining wrists, slamming your leg(s) hard against the floor, falling on your ass (usually not much of a problem, though), bruising whatever part of your body that falls on the floor if momentum is strong enough.
If you lose total control of your momentum, you could even fall hard on your stomach or face. In extreme cases, you could fracture a part of your leg or foot or whatever slams onto the floor REALLY hard. Best to practice on grass, carpet, or a gym mat.
VIRGIN FLARES/CIRCLES
A variation of flares that's easier for some, harder for others. They're harder to gain momentum in due to the fact that your legs are closed together instead of open wide, and often the number of circles done continuously is considerably less than regular flares. Having flares down helps, and it's always best to know how to generate a lot of momentum.
RISKS: not nearly as dangerous as regular flares, the worst you could probably do to yourself is make your wrist really sore and bruise your leg a little.
AIRFLARES/AIRTRACKS
These don't use too much balance, but having some balance down does help a little bit. But airflares are all about having almost perfect form, and very good control of momentum. These are also another of those moves that are mostly technique-based and not constant effort in doing the move, as are flares.
Elbow airflares are an easier variation of airflares. These can take less time to learn than flares, sometimes more, but hitting multiple airflares often the hardest part by far. Not a very good move for newbies to learn.
RISKS: Falling down and slamming oneself against the floor, sore wrists, spraining wrists, in VERY EXTREME cases you could fall on your head or neck and even cripple oneself. Best to learn on Grass or a gym mat.
BABYMILLS/MUNCHMILLS
These are very hard, you must've mastered windmills before you move onto these ones, as these require VERY well performed technique. They're often tricky to start up, and also tricky to continue, as you must have very good form to continue going. Having nohanded windmills help, as they have similar physics. These will take long while to learn, and will take horrendously long if you don't have regular windmills down well.
RISKS: hitting your face hard against the floor, hitting your head hard against the floor, brusing your sides, shoulders and back, hitting your leg hard against the floor, bruising forearms. Safest to do with a beanie/winter cap on.
TOMBSTONE MILLS
One of the hardest, if not the hardest, powermoves that exist. You MUST have babymills down, be very very good with momentum, can do your powermoves very fast and smooth, and have perfect form. Your legs are closed up together like in virgin flares and you're hopping around like in babymills, this move requires perfect technique to be done.
RISKS: same as BABYMILLS/MUNCHMILLS.