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Basic Two-Handed Hops (“Rabbits”)

The baby crib outa which all hops grow are “Rabbits” (Two-Handed Hops). In order to be able to do any other kind of hops you will first have to master these. (And before you can master these, you have to get comfortable in a Handstand.)

It is not difficult to understand what you have to do in order to execute a Rabbit. The hard part is gettin’ to the point where you can balance yourself well enough to pull off hops and make them look cool.

The idea is simple enough: First you get in a handstand. Then you hop by flexing your shoulders.

• Startin’ Position—Handstands: Get into a handstand.
• Step One—Hop: Flex you shoulders and synchronize your kicking to get into hops.

Not even worth the move-to-move breakdown, but I gave to ya’ anyway.

The move is so basic that most B-Boy’s spice it up with Scissors at least.

How do you learn to do Two-Handed Hops? First you work on your hand stands. Many B-Boys start off by using the wall as a guide to help them prop themselves upside down. Pretty soon however you should move to doing handstands unaided.

The key to Hops is to keep your legs balanced over you and not let them bend too far back. The more centered you keep your legs the more control you will have when Hoppin’.

You should also remember that you are only getting very little air with your hands when hopping. The hopping motion is actually produced not in your hands or forearms but through shoulder flexes. What really creates the illusion of bigger hops is synchronizing your legs with your hopping so that your legs straighten up (at least partially) at just the right time so that it looks like you are hopping far higher than you actually are.

Scissors

One step up from Rabbits is Scissors. Once you cut it with Scissors, a whole bunch of other moves open up for you too.

Let’s get right into it:

• Startin’ Position—Hand Stand: Start in a hand stand.
• Step One—Hop and Kick: Just as in Rabbits, you flex your shoulder to get the hopping motion and kick your legs back and forth as you’re hoppin’. The key is to time your kicks with your hops both for effect and to make balancin’ easier.

Here is a helpful Tut for this:

One-handed Hops (“One-Handed Rabbits”)

It’s always cooler with only one-hand than two. Basically they work on the same principle but are, of course, much harder. You need arm strength, endurance and wicked balance!

The steps are basically the same as in other hops:

• Startin’ Position—One Handed Handstand: Get into a one handed handstand and hold it. (If you are not comfortable in a one-handed handstand, you can’t handle this move—so practice, practice, practice.)
• Step One—Hoppin’: Keepin’ your arm straight, flex your shoulder and kick your legs.

As always, the key to any of these moves is to sync your body so it all works together.

Of course, the beginning point for doing One-Handed Hops is mastering One-Handed Handstands. This basically requires you to go from a Two-Handed Hand Stand and then shift your weight onto one hand. Use your free hand as a counter balance keeping it extended outwards.

Once you have mastered the one-handed move start learning how to kick your legs and begin to get a bit of air while staying in balance. (This move is less about technique then ability to balance and strength but you can improve both of these. For strength, lift weights; for balance–practice, practice, practice.)

However, you should remember that the hopping motion is created by flexing the shoulder not the hand or forearm and that you can take a good deal of the pressure off your wrist by continuing the motion with your leg once you have landed each hop. This allows less of your weight to come down on your arm at once.

Check out this vid:

Hop Variations

Once you have the basic hops down, it is pretty easy to create variations on them, such as The Switch Hop (where you switch from one hand to another) or Split Legz.

In this video you can see Switch Hops at the 2:14 mark and some Split Legs at 2:19:

Lotus Hops

Lotus hops have a much higher degree of difficulty because you can’t really use your legs for emphasis.

Here’s the steps:

• Startin’ Position-Lotus Tuck: Start by gettin’ into the traditional yoga lotus position.
• Step One-Rise into Handstand: Lean forward and get into a handstand.
• Step Two-Hop: Now hop using your arm and kickin your legs as much as possible from this tuck position.

Elbow Hops

And if you can get “One-Handed Rabbits,” you can also do any number of elbow hops as well. The key for elbow hops is to learn how to use your arm to get the hop motion (instead of the shoulder that you normally use in handstand hops):

Basically, any move you can do upside down, can also be done from the elbow position as well. If you can think it up, you can do it.

Think you can’t keep up Hand Hops for very long? Check out this B-Boy out doin’ everything from Clap Hops to Rabbits:

Apparently, he has never actually touched the ground with his feet. Took his first Hops at 11 months!

So Suicides are killer moves that B-Boys used to use to end it all—that is, as a grand-finale to a routine. These dayz, B-Boy’s pull it out in the middle of a routine, and then like Lazarus, just go right on to the next part. No whoop! Just a little resurrection mixed in with some Mills and Top Rocks.

The Suicide is basically any fallin’ motion in a routine where it looks like the B-Boy is goin’ to biff it. In traditional Suicides, the B-Boy usually finished on his back. Generally speaking, the more a Suicide looks as if it actually might kill the B-Boy attempting it, the more likely it is to kill in a performance. The cypher will go nutz if do one they haven’t seen before!

That said, you really can get yourself seriously injured attemptin’ these, so be completely sure that you’re up for it—and if at all in doubt, do not attempt this. You will hurt yourself.

Here’s a little cautionary tale for ya’ (this ain’t even the worst):

Windmill Suicide

The classic Suicide is out of Mills. This one is also one of the safer Suicides, so you can follow the instructions here without major risk.

Here’s how:

• Startin’ Position—Milling: So this move starts out of Mills. (If you don’t know how to Mill, check out our page.)
• Step One–Suicide Set-up: You go into the Suicide the same way you would go into the next spin of your Windmill, stabbing your arm into the ground and then pushing off and flipping over as if just to continue onto your shoulder.
• Step Two—Kickin’ Out: When you are on your shoulder you want to kick out like you would for a Munchmill.
• Step Three—Playin’ Dead: Then when you flip, you straighten yourself out, stretching yourself so that you are like someone done filled you full lead wit ‘is gat.

Kip-Up Suicide

So this is a pretty basic Suicide. If you can do a Kip Up (see Kip Up move with Freezes section) , this is just one step up from that.

Here’s how:

• Startin’ Position—Crouched Tight: Start in the position where you end a Kip-Up— crouched on the balls of your feet so that you are ready to fall right back.
• Step One—Droppin’ Back: Fall back with your hands up by your head as if you are goin’ into a hand stand (which you can also do from this motion).
• Step Two—Catchin’ Yourself: Fall onto your hands first and then back onto your back bringin’ your knees up over you or onto your chest. (Some B-Boy’s freeze at this point.)
• Step Three—Kip Back Up: Now you just push off with your hand and Kip Up.

Pretty simple, really.

Check out this Ginger doin’ it. Pretty good Tut, G.

Front Head Flip

Okay, so you can seriously hurt your neck on this one if you don’t follow the instructions. You need to build up to this move rather than try to get it at all in one sittin’. That’s the key.

So before you ever try to get it, learn head springs. First try to flip over with both hands. Then try to flip with just one hand. And only when you are sure you are ready to go, for the no-hands front flip.

• Starting Position—Standing: Start in prototypical up position, just standin’ with your hands loose. (Always warm up first boyz and girlz.)
• Step One—Droppin’: The key to this move is bendin’ down at the hips quickly without actually smackin’ your head on the ground. (Always practice on a soft surface and consider using headwear on other occasions.) So you bend down and bring your head to rest on the ground.</li.
• Step Two—Headstand Mount: Now you kick your legs up and back exactly like you do to get into a headstand (or handstand) from this position.
• Step Three—Flip It: Instead of stoppin’ in the headstand position you keep kickin’ through the motion so that you bring your body over. Your momentum should take you over and you want to continue the motion with your upper body lettin’ yourself flip over.
• Step Four—Stick It: Once you come around you want to land the flip by gettin’ both your feet down under you—just like Kerri Strug at the Olympics homez.

Hip Hop Tip: Just remember: This move is all about Big Mo—NOT ABOUT NECK STRENGTH! You should not be expectin’ your spine to take the impact. If you are, you will regret it sooner when hurt yourself, or later when you have life-long neck problems.

Back Head Flip

Just in case you ain’t a master of the obvious–this move is fairly dangerous. Any move where you end up landin’ on your noggin’ is one where you might be makin’ a trip to the hospital afterwards ( or the morgue). So be careful.

Before you even start, you have to learn how to do the following:

Back Handspring

Back One-Handed Elbow Spring

If you can’t do those, don’t even bother readin’ these instructions.

Here’s the tutorial:

• Startin’ Position—Crouch: Start from a crouchin’ position with both your arms by your chest.
• Step One—Back Dive: This is the most important part of this move, since this is where you can really injure yourself. So as you push off and back you want to arch your back and make contact with the ground right as your feet are leavin’ the ground. (You will see B-Boy’s who leave the ground before they make head contact but this is a recipe for disaster—especially while you tryin’ to get this move down.)
• Step Two—Big Mo Takes Over: Once you have contact with the ground your momentum should be enough to take over—as with the Front Head Flip it is all about momentum takin’ you over the top. Make sure that you keep moving over. Don’t try to stop midway or you’re going to eat some hardwood.
• Step Three—Land It: Then it I all about landin’ it like a gymnast.

As with the all of these moves, it is important to build up to it.

Air Track 1.5 Shoulder Drop Suicide

This sounds complicated but it’s not. It is basically just a drop out of a Hand Spin. No big deal.

Here’s the how to:

• Startin’ Position–Hand Stand: Comin’ off of any series of tracks you go into a handstand or equivalent position.
• Step One—Drop and Twist: You might remember that when you catch on fire you are supposed to drop and roll? Well this is similar. You drop and twist so that you land on your shoulder.
• Step Two—Spin Out: You want to keep twisting however and go into to Mill or just a regular suicide so that you don’t let your should take the full impact.

That’s it. It is pretty much just a Coin Drop
.

Now there are a bunch of Suicides that you can work into your routine once you get these basics down. Just check out some of them here. And remember—always protect yourself. Make sure you plan how to roll out of your fall.

Pretty amazin’, huh?

My names Edwin Morales and I’m 17 years old.
Email: edwingamorales7@gmail.com

Drops are all about getting down onto the ground in a cool way. They are a transitional move, not really a move in themselves, but doing your time learning them will improve the flow of your Breakin’.

Let’s drop right into it:

Knee Drop

It doesn’t get any easier than the Knee Drop.

Here’s how to do it:

• Startin’ Position–Standing: Standin’. Feet together.
• Step One—Knee Kick: Fold your knee up, placing your foot up against the side of your other knee.
• Step Two—The Drop: Bend you knee so that your drop to ground. Your raised foot should land flat next to your knee, ready for the next move. (Going into a Helicopter or a Six Step are popular options out of the Knee Drop.)

And that’s it. E-Z as an E-Z Bake Oven.

Coin Drop

The Coin Drop is the Bread-n-Butter of all drops. It is a spinning drop onto the floor. B-Boys use the Coin Drop to get into Windmills and then return to an upright position.

Here’s how:

• Startin’ Position—Standin’: Start with legs apart, bent slightly forward and hands ready for action.
• Step One—The Set-Up: Put your plant hand on the ground (usually your right). While kickin’ your opposite leg up.
• Step Two—Shoulder Drop: As you start to kick up your second leg, drop onto your shoulder instead of planting your second hand. (Usually your left.)
• Step Three—Windmill: Go into a Windmill by kicking your legs in a spinning motion, while twisting at the hips. (See the Windmills Tutorial to improve this part.)

That is pretty much it. Once you are on the ground you can transition like you would from any Mill. Some B-Boys like to pop right back to the Standin’ position. Others just move on to bigger and better things.

To develop your Coin Drop you should start from a standing position and practice twisting down to the ground touching your hand to the ground. You have to get this motion down first before you can kill this move.

Now practice beginning the spin with one hand planted and falling into a spin on your other shoulder. You should be able to easily go into a Windmill from this movement.

Now when you decide to do a Coin Drop with no hands, the key is to just go straight to your shoulder and use the momentum of your legs to continue until you spin yourself back up onto your feet. (The momentum is just like the momentum for a Windmill.)

If done correctly, this move should not hurt.

Airchair Drop

You can drop from a lot of positions into other positions. Doing a series of drops in a row can be really amazing. Here is one of the more common drops that you can using as a launching pad to other more impressive drops: Elbow Freeze to Airchair (lots of B-Boys actually find this the easiest way of doing the Airchair).

• Startin’ Position—Standing: Start from a standing position, ready for action.
• Step One—the Elbow Freeze: Drop to an Elbow Freeze: fall onto your elbow (using your plant elbow hand for support) while kicking your legs up and extending your other hand up into the air.
• Step Two—The Push-Off: From the Elbow Freeze move your free arm back as you kick your legs to get upward momentum
• Step Three—Stick It: Quickly lift your plant hand (simultaneously with the kick above) and stab it into your ribs.
• Step Four—the Drop: Drop into your Airchair.

If you can nail this you can probably do the reverse motion as well (going from an Airchair into an Elbow Freeze). Practice, practice, practice, homez.

Flying Coindrop

The Flying Coindrop is just a Coindrop done on the run. You know, just in case you need to bust a move while being chased by the Heat. B-Boy’s like it as an entrance move.

Here’s the steps:

• Startin’ Position—Runnin’: Get yourself in motion.
• Step One—Kickin’ It: Kick your lead leg across and under your body to start the drop.
• Step Two—The Drop: Be sure to get your hand down by the ground so that when you drop, you roll up your arm to your shoulder and don’t just shoulder plant right into the ground. (That’s how B-Boy’s get knocked out of commission.)

Once you are on the ground you can do anything you can do off a regular Coindrop: Mill, flip back up, go into a Freeze, etc.

Here’s the Tut:

And when you have those down, you can start to work them into your routines like these B-Boys:

Man…I can’t even nail these moves in my dreamz!