Windmills

So Windmills are not the move you do first. These are advanced moves that are difficult to master and that will definitely leave you black-n-blue as you are getting schooled by them. But if you get on top of these moves you are on your way.

Let’s get to it.

The Basic Windmill

This is your vanilla Windmill. Learn it, homes. Then add your own flava’.

Here’s how:

• Starting Position—Turtle Position: When you first learning this move, you should start in the Turtle Position. (Later you can learn how to drop into it.) Turtle Position in case you got konked ‘n the noggin and got amnesia, is: your hand stabbed beneath you, balance arm out, and legs extended. If you haven’t learned this yet go back and learn it: Floats.
• Step One—Start Spin: Spread your legs and with your balance/guide hand push into your spin, dropping on to your plant arm.
• Step Two—Kickin’ It: As you begin your spin start kickin’ your leg making sure to stay on your shoulder and not your hip and KEEPIN’ YOUR LEGS OPEN!
• Step Three—Poppin’ Trans: To transition from one Windmill into another without stopping’ you need to pop to reload. When you come around and are ready to get back into the Turtle Startin’ position, kick both legs out and push off to hop back into the Step One.

Make sure, as you do your windmills to stay on your shoulders and not on your hips. (This also helps you to ‘pop’ back into your Turtle when you’re comin’ out of the Windmill.)

Check out this clown:

What a clown!

Halos (aka “Trax”)

Halos can be thought of as a variation on a Head Spin, though it is perhaps best to think of them as somewhere between Head Spins and classic Windmills.

• Starting Position—The Elevated Hand Glide: Start ith your forehead to the ground and hands under you as if you are half way up to a hand stand. Your legs should be flared up approximately at a 45° angle.
• Step One—Kickin’ Into Your Spin:: To get your momentum going, do one windmill and then go into your Halos by continuing to spin on the side of your head, making sure to use your arms to keep you spinning and for support.

Tip: Spin on the sides of your head not on the crown.

Before you begin practicing Halos you should already have mastered Hand Gliding and Head Spins as both of these are prerequisites for succeeding at Halos.

To start learning how to do this relatively easy Windmill, start by doing small spins, taking them one at time as you go.

Check out this tutorial, homes:

Windmills With No Hands

Windmills with no hands, or Barrel Mills as they are also known, are a must if you want to master the more advanced and stylish Windmills like Mummies.

Here’s how you do them:

• Starting Position: The Sweep : Here we will start in a different position. You sweep down into your Starting position, placing you hand on the ground and extending sideways as if you were about to go into a Six Step.
• Step One—Kick Out: Sweep your left leg under your right and kick it out an up into to begin the cork screw motion that is at the heart of Windmills with no hands.
• Step Two—Shoulder Drop: You drop onto your shoulder, bending your plant arm and pushing off with your balance/guide arm.
• Step Three—Kickin It: It’s all about the shoulders, your head motion, and kickin’ hard. Without your hands to help, your legs have to pick up the slack and kick hard to keep you going. Your shoulders and legs help a bit, but if you’re really want to look mummy like, they won’t help as much.

Tip: Keep your shoulders rounded in a barrel position, so that you do not slow down your momentum. Big Mo is your best friend when it comes to Windmills.

Tip 2: Your leg motion should be a corkscrew motion to really get keep you goin’.

Let this b-boy school ya on Windmills with no hands:

---

---

Windmill Variations

Once you get the basics of the Windmills down, there are a number of variations on this that mostly just have to do with body positioning. Here are some:

---

Hand-Positioning Windmills

Yo! A bunch of Mills need you to hold your hands in one position to create their effect. The trick to doing these kinds of Windmills is to really use your legs and to work your shoulders. Be sure to keep your chin down to your chest as much as possible so you don’t bang your head.

Confusions

Confusions are just Windmills where your reach and put your hands up to your Face as you are doing them. In order to nail them you need to have your Barrel Rolls down.

Here’s how you do them:

• Starting Position—The Barrel Roll: Start by going into a basic Windmill, the Barrel Roll.
• Step One—Leg Kick: The kick for the Confussion all other hand positioning Windmills, must be extra strong in order to pull you through this step.
• Step Two—Grab Your Head: Once you’ve established your motion, reach to your head.
• Step Three—Elbow Roll: You can roll off your elbows for this move, or off your shoulders if you want to really started pimpin’ out the move.

As always with Windmills, make sure your hips don’t hit the ground.

Check this out:

Mummies

Mummies are just Barrel Mills with your hand crossed over your chest as if you were King-Tut. Thus the name.

Here’s a brief demo:

Coffins

Coffins are just Mummies with hands lower down on the chest, like a corpse in a coffin, obviously. These are also sometimes called Genies, as in I Dream of Genie. Check it out on Nick at Nite and you’ll see that sexy genie crossing here arms and nodding to cast her spells.

---

Eggbeaters and Nutcrackers

Eggbeaters just involve keeping your hands on your hips as you spin; for Nutcrackers you grab your pee-nuts. This change, however, makes spinning a lot more difficult. In order to pull this off, you will need to use your legs a lot more.

Here’s how you do them:

• Starting Position—The Sweep Drop: Drop into your Windmill with the Sweep move, as you learned in the No Handed Windmill above. Plant you hand on the ground and extend your body sideways as if you were about to go into a Six Step.
• Step One—Roll: Go into your roll as you normally would with any Windmill
• Step Two—Hand Positioning: Place your hands immediately at your side or on your hips right from the beginning.
• Step Three—Strong Kick: Make sure that you kick your leg extra strong as you will not have the aide of your arms and shoulders as much on these moves.

Some breakers use their heads for this move, but I wouldn’t recommend over doing it since you are likely to hurt your neck.

Check it:

Handcuff Windmills

If you can do Nutcrackers you can probably do Handcuffs. Just play some grab ass with your own buns as you spinning.

---

Timing Mills

Many Windmills also require the Breaker to change positions as they do their Windmills. Bellymills are the most common version of this. The key to killing these is keeping your legs in the air, popping up onto your back and rolling on your should when on your back.

Bellymills

For Belly Mills you extend your arms out from your body to keep yourself moving and balance yourself. This makes the spinning motion even more difficult, but it can be fairly impressive when done well.

• Starting Position—Basic Windmills: You start these Windmills off like you would any other—usually with a swipe drop.
• Step One—Spin and Kick: Quickly establish you movement by kicking your legs and using your hands.
• Step Two—Timing: Begin extending your hands at each spin. It’s all about timing and keeping your hips off the ground.

Here is a B-Boy that practices his Belly Mills while getting ready to go out:

Now that’s multi-taskin’.

Superman Windmills

Superman Windmills involve extending the hand straight over your head as if you were the Man of Steel flying.

Look! Down on the on the screen! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!

---

Baby Mills

There’s nothin’ baby-ish ‘bout Baby Mills (aka Munchmills). What makes Baby Mills a killer is that you have to position your legs along with your arms, so the entire motion is thrown off from the regular Windmills.

Here’s the how-to:

• Starting Position—The Basic Windmill: Start by going into your basic Windmill.
• Step One—Baby Position: Go into the “Baby Position” with legs bent and crossed at the ankles and arms as well.
• Step Two—Spinning: Use your head as a pivot point and pump your shoulder/arm motion to keep your mo’ going. Kick your legs out to help the momentum as well.

These are fairly difficult to maintain but pretty impressive if you do manage to do it.

Lotus Windmills

How about keeping your legs crossed while your mill:

Frankenstein Mills

Frankenstein Mills are a special variation on Windmills in which you drop into a stiff Windmill with your legs together and your arms forward (as the Monster were trying to do this stiffly). For obvious reasons theses are difficult to sustain.

If you can do Baby Mills, then Frankensteins are just a little more difficult.

Scary good, huh?