A certain swordsman said in his declining years the following:
In one's life, there are levels in the pursuit of study. In the lowest level, a person studies but nothing comes of it, and he feels that both he and others are unskillful. At this point he is worthless. In the middle level he is still useless but is aware of his own insufficiencies and can also see the insufficiencies of others. In a higher level he has pride concerning his own ability, rejoices in praise from others, and laments the lack of ability in his fellows. This man has worth. In the highest level a man has the look of knowing nothing.
These are the levels in general. But there is one transcending level, and this is the most excellent of all. This person is aware of the endlessness of entering deeply into a certain Way and never thinks of himself as having finished. He truly knows his own insufficiencies and never in his whole life thinks that he has succeeded. He has no thoughts of pride but with self-abasement knows the Way to the end. It is said that Master Yagyu once remarked, "I do not know the way to defeat others, but the way to defeat myself."
Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never ending.
This entry describes the road to my dreams. Never quite finished, but always traveling. Always working harder, always training, taking things one step at a time. Learning my weaknesses and how I can overcome them. I think it is important to realize this.
Halfstep
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Nov/Dec Updates
Yes its been all quiet on the eastern front....or so you thought. I've been so busy as of late I haven't really had time or motivation to stop and blog about anything. Well, there is this samurai verse I'm gonna blog about, but not this time. These past few months have been really good to me.
Still dancing a lot, hopefully I'll never stop. Even my coffin will be bumpin' ;) Not training every day anymore though. Been pretty busy with other things, so I'm back to training 4-5 days a week. I know I'm slacking, lol. Trying to let some injuries heal up. For the past month my left wrist has been bothering me. I hurt it trying to dive over Russel. I cleared him, but I think I landed to hard. I also busted my head open last month. I was practicing a routine where I would dive over someone, and was using a chair to judge space. Since it was in a small space I was trying to jump straight up and just barely clear. Well I barely DIDN'T clear haha. I got up and looked in the mirrors and blood was pouring down my face haha. It was pretty funny. I had a nice cut on my hairline for a week or two to remind me not do try anything stupid. And then last weekend I injured my knee, but I stayed off it for the weekend and it feels like its back to normal. Gotta stay healthy.....
I had some good times dancing too. Been in a few battles with the crew, had a lot of fun. But I think the biggest accomplishment recently was beating a friend of mine in a battle. He's been dancing for like a decade and is really good, so I was really pleased about that. I'm still training for my big battle, which has been postponed for a few months. I've been coming up with a lot of new stuff recently. I started writing down things in a set book too, so I can keep track of all of my ideas. I been kind of slacking off on the for a few weeks, trying to fine tune my new stuff before I try to think of other stuff.
The crew is going well too. We just recently had a meeting. We threw a jam at the end of November. It was really really successful. We doubled our numbers since the last one and had 200 people. And thats still with a bunch of people not showing up. We will be trying to throw another one soon, but are currently looking for a bigger venue so we can accommodate more people. Been training together with the circles squad twice a week, but gotta start training more on team stuff. We are definitely getting tighter as a squad. I'm really excited to be battling with Russel in a competition. But I gotta make sure all my stuff is on point!
Work is going really well too. I finally got on a new exciting project. We are developing a flash portal using this technology called open laszlo. Its opensource and kind of underground. Its a little frustrating, but its nice to be doing something new.
I'm also seeing this girl, but if you want details about that you gots to hit me up :P
Ya
So expect to see a new blog soon
And Peace and Happy Holidays.
I will be in Galesburg for xmas
Oh Joy!
~Halfstep
Still dancing a lot, hopefully I'll never stop. Even my coffin will be bumpin' ;) Not training every day anymore though. Been pretty busy with other things, so I'm back to training 4-5 days a week. I know I'm slacking, lol. Trying to let some injuries heal up. For the past month my left wrist has been bothering me. I hurt it trying to dive over Russel. I cleared him, but I think I landed to hard. I also busted my head open last month. I was practicing a routine where I would dive over someone, and was using a chair to judge space. Since it was in a small space I was trying to jump straight up and just barely clear. Well I barely DIDN'T clear haha. I got up and looked in the mirrors and blood was pouring down my face haha. It was pretty funny. I had a nice cut on my hairline for a week or two to remind me not do try anything stupid. And then last weekend I injured my knee, but I stayed off it for the weekend and it feels like its back to normal. Gotta stay healthy.....
I had some good times dancing too. Been in a few battles with the crew, had a lot of fun. But I think the biggest accomplishment recently was beating a friend of mine in a battle. He's been dancing for like a decade and is really good, so I was really pleased about that. I'm still training for my big battle, which has been postponed for a few months. I've been coming up with a lot of new stuff recently. I started writing down things in a set book too, so I can keep track of all of my ideas. I been kind of slacking off on the for a few weeks, trying to fine tune my new stuff before I try to think of other stuff.
The crew is going well too. We just recently had a meeting. We threw a jam at the end of November. It was really really successful. We doubled our numbers since the last one and had 200 people. And thats still with a bunch of people not showing up. We will be trying to throw another one soon, but are currently looking for a bigger venue so we can accommodate more people. Been training together with the circles squad twice a week, but gotta start training more on team stuff. We are definitely getting tighter as a squad. I'm really excited to be battling with Russel in a competition. But I gotta make sure all my stuff is on point!
Work is going really well too. I finally got on a new exciting project. We are developing a flash portal using this technology called open laszlo. Its opensource and kind of underground. Its a little frustrating, but its nice to be doing something new.
I'm also seeing this girl, but if you want details about that you gots to hit me up :P
Ya
So expect to see a new blog soon
And Peace and Happy Holidays.
I will be in Galesburg for xmas
Oh Joy!
~Halfstep
Monday, October 15, 2007
I put the break in breakdance
Although I don't really condone the term breakdance (we call it breaking or bboying/bgirling)....thats exactly what I did. Last Thursday I danced so hard, I snapped a metal pipe in half. The problem? That pipe was part of my leg! Now I am really halfstep haha. I don't know how I broke it, I guess I just dance too hard. I got an old foot on, so its all good; even though its an inch or 2 short. So now I walk with a strut so I don't look like a gimp haha. Hopefully they fix it soon for me :D I have decided that I am a prosthetisist's worst nightmare!
Djing is going well. I had a really good lesson on thursday from Russel, so this weekend I was at home practicing some stuff. Better watch out, cause this Thursday I'm gonna rock modern's socks off haha. I only have 13 cds of stuff to mix, which seems like a lot, and it is a lot to memorize, but in the moment sometimes you forget all the stuff you have. I'm really excited to be spinning underground hiphop though. Hopefully I can reach some new people and remind them what hip hop music is really about! No more crunk, big bad booty hoes, or platinum chains!!!
For anyone interested CAB Crew is throwing a jam on friday night. Its at DC dance collective, and its called Correction Facility. Be there early, and be ready to dance your legs off! (in my case quite literally!) I will be emceeing the event with Alem, and its my first time emceeing anything in a long time, so it should be a nice little challenge for the turtle to come out of his shell haha. There are going to be 1on1's, so if you plan on battling, come early. We're going to try to get through all the battles quickly so everyone has plenty of time to cypher. I'll post the flier on the end of the blog for yall.
Hmmm not much more to say. After this weekend, things will be slowing down for me, which is a good thing. I've been pretty busy this last month with getting ready for CAB performances, Urban Artistry performances, and a bunch of other stuff. Now I can take some time and work on solo stuff again. But still there are some battles coming up that I want to get my crew ready for! Things are all starting to come together nicely. Just gotta keep the nose on the grindstone and not let anyone slack off hehe.
Peace
Half
Djing is going well. I had a really good lesson on thursday from Russel, so this weekend I was at home practicing some stuff. Better watch out, cause this Thursday I'm gonna rock modern's socks off haha. I only have 13 cds of stuff to mix, which seems like a lot, and it is a lot to memorize, but in the moment sometimes you forget all the stuff you have. I'm really excited to be spinning underground hiphop though. Hopefully I can reach some new people and remind them what hip hop music is really about! No more crunk, big bad booty hoes, or platinum chains!!!
For anyone interested CAB Crew is throwing a jam on friday night. Its at DC dance collective, and its called Correction Facility. Be there early, and be ready to dance your legs off! (in my case quite literally!) I will be emceeing the event with Alem, and its my first time emceeing anything in a long time, so it should be a nice little challenge for the turtle to come out of his shell haha. There are going to be 1on1's, so if you plan on battling, come early. We're going to try to get through all the battles quickly so everyone has plenty of time to cypher. I'll post the flier on the end of the blog for yall.
Hmmm not much more to say. After this weekend, things will be slowing down for me, which is a good thing. I've been pretty busy this last month with getting ready for CAB performances, Urban Artistry performances, and a bunch of other stuff. Now I can take some time and work on solo stuff again. But still there are some battles coming up that I want to get my crew ready for! Things are all starting to come together nicely. Just gotta keep the nose on the grindstone and not let anyone slack off hehe.
Peace
Half
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Great Weekend
So my weekend is over. It was great, its Sunday night, I'm crab red, sleepy as hell, but I feel really good. As you can tell by my profile pic I got to hang out with all my peoples on Friday night. We took the official CAB Crew and Assassins family photo. Not everyone could make it, but we were like 11 deep. I was kind of nervous about getting ready for the Sunday show but things went well. The routine I taught Kotey, we got it quick, and everything fell into place. And even though one of our members was missing, we got through everything really good.
I skipped Thursday, but it was a semi good night. Modern was pretty good. Russ was out of town, so I was djing for two hours. I was pseudo prepared. The first hour went really well. Too bad no one was there to hear it lol. After I started to run out of the stuff that was dope, I was experimenting with a lot of my new stuff. Around 10:30 I started having problems with the sound levels and it was driving me nuts and wrecking my nerves!! It didn't help that one of my friends kept messing with me and turning all the knobs while I was trying to spin. Then when the regular DJ came to take over, he came in and started cursing cause he left some vital equipment at home. So I had to cover an extra 30 minutes.... By this time I was out of ideas. I decided to switch to mixing breaks, which I'm really inexperienced at, and kinda sucked it up haha. At least I played good songs, but the mixing was horrendous. I was sooo happy when the regular dj got back to save me haha. It was tough, and I learned a lot. I still need a lot of dj practice, but spinning for a long time was a really good lesson. It was fun too, even though I was getting stressed out screwing up in front of hundreds of ppl hehe. Oh well at least all my friends were there supporting me.
Saturday was a pretty relaxing day for me. I was going through all my music trying to prepare for spinning. It took so long. I was taking all my cds that I recorded for mixing and making labels for them. It took like 20 minutes per CD cause I was manually tapping out the beats. Then later on all my crew showed up cause everyone was staying over at my place. It was funny as hell. We had 7 people at my little studio apartment. I don't know how everyone fit. It was a lot of fun, but we didn't get to sleep till like 6am, and I had to be up by 9 to get ready for the show.... My crew is crazy...
Sunday was the big show. For anyone that doesn't know, CAB Crew performed at a charity event called Kicking for Kids Who Can't. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness and money for children who cannot afford prosthetics. It was a great show and a great charity. It was very inspirational. Our show had a few hitches, but it went really well. We had a member who couldn't make it last minute due to auto troubles. So we had to replan things at the last minute, and the floor wasn't really as smooth as I expected so I had to take out the headslide, or go bald haha. Also it was hot outside and my leg really really was trying to fall off. It actually did at the end of the routine. I was doing hand hops and it came off and kicked me in the butt. And then I kept going and eventually lost balance and fell. The great thing though, I fell and landed on the last beat of the song....so it looked like it was planned ;)
Haha I saw a lot of great things at the event. I was really worried my crew would be kind of weirded out or not completely interested in the event, but I think they were really moved. I'm really glad, I hope I inspired a lot of people. I know the children inspired me.
I skipped Thursday, but it was a semi good night. Modern was pretty good. Russ was out of town, so I was djing for two hours. I was pseudo prepared. The first hour went really well. Too bad no one was there to hear it lol. After I started to run out of the stuff that was dope, I was experimenting with a lot of my new stuff. Around 10:30 I started having problems with the sound levels and it was driving me nuts and wrecking my nerves!! It didn't help that one of my friends kept messing with me and turning all the knobs while I was trying to spin. Then when the regular DJ came to take over, he came in and started cursing cause he left some vital equipment at home. So I had to cover an extra 30 minutes.... By this time I was out of ideas. I decided to switch to mixing breaks, which I'm really inexperienced at, and kinda sucked it up haha. At least I played good songs, but the mixing was horrendous. I was sooo happy when the regular dj got back to save me haha. It was tough, and I learned a lot. I still need a lot of dj practice, but spinning for a long time was a really good lesson. It was fun too, even though I was getting stressed out screwing up in front of hundreds of ppl hehe. Oh well at least all my friends were there supporting me.
Saturday was a pretty relaxing day for me. I was going through all my music trying to prepare for spinning. It took so long. I was taking all my cds that I recorded for mixing and making labels for them. It took like 20 minutes per CD cause I was manually tapping out the beats. Then later on all my crew showed up cause everyone was staying over at my place. It was funny as hell. We had 7 people at my little studio apartment. I don't know how everyone fit. It was a lot of fun, but we didn't get to sleep till like 6am, and I had to be up by 9 to get ready for the show.... My crew is crazy...
Sunday was the big show. For anyone that doesn't know, CAB Crew performed at a charity event called Kicking for Kids Who Can't. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness and money for children who cannot afford prosthetics. It was a great show and a great charity. It was very inspirational. Our show had a few hitches, but it went really well. We had a member who couldn't make it last minute due to auto troubles. So we had to replan things at the last minute, and the floor wasn't really as smooth as I expected so I had to take out the headslide, or go bald haha. Also it was hot outside and my leg really really was trying to fall off. It actually did at the end of the routine. I was doing hand hops and it came off and kicked me in the butt. And then I kept going and eventually lost balance and fell. The great thing though, I fell and landed on the last beat of the song....so it looked like it was planned ;)
Haha I saw a lot of great things at the event. I was really worried my crew would be kind of weirded out or not completely interested in the event, but I think they were really moved. I'm really glad, I hope I inspired a lot of people. I know the children inspired me.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Samurai Lessons 1: Giving Advice
I read a lot about old edo and love the way of the samurai. I'm going to start posting interesting entries I find every once in a while. So the following is from Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai.
"To give a person one's opinion and correct his faults is an important thing. It is compassionate and comes first in matters of service. But the way of doing so is extremely difficult. To discover the good and bad points of a person is an easy thing, and to give an opinion concerning them is easy, too. For the most part, people think that they are being kind by saying the things that others find distasteful or difficult to say. But if it is not received well, they think that there is nothing more to be done. This is completely worthless. It is the same as bringing shame to a person by slandering him. It is nothing more than getting it off one's chest.
To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not. One must become close with him and make sure that he continually trusts one's word. Approaching subjects that are dear to him, seek the best way to speak and to be well understood. Judge the occasion, and determine whether it is better by letter or t the time of leave-taking. Praise his good points and use every device to encourage him, perhaps by talking about one's own faults without touching on his, but so that they will occur to him. Have him receive this in the way that a man would drink water when his throat is dry, and it will be an opinion that will correct faults.
This is extremely difficult. If a person's fault is a habit of some years prior, by and large it won't be remedied. I have had this experience myself. To be intimate with all one's comrades, correcting each other's faults, and being of one mind to be of use to the master is the great compassion of a retainer. by bringing shame to a person, how could one expect to make him a better person"
I read this the day after I was criticized at work on something I had done. It was done in a way which made me angry and not want to correct my behavior. This entry really struck home and made me think. It makes sense and I will try to use it in the future.
"To give a person one's opinion and correct his faults is an important thing. It is compassionate and comes first in matters of service. But the way of doing so is extremely difficult. To discover the good and bad points of a person is an easy thing, and to give an opinion concerning them is easy, too. For the most part, people think that they are being kind by saying the things that others find distasteful or difficult to say. But if it is not received well, they think that there is nothing more to be done. This is completely worthless. It is the same as bringing shame to a person by slandering him. It is nothing more than getting it off one's chest.
To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not. One must become close with him and make sure that he continually trusts one's word. Approaching subjects that are dear to him, seek the best way to speak and to be well understood. Judge the occasion, and determine whether it is better by letter or t the time of leave-taking. Praise his good points and use every device to encourage him, perhaps by talking about one's own faults without touching on his, but so that they will occur to him. Have him receive this in the way that a man would drink water when his throat is dry, and it will be an opinion that will correct faults.
This is extremely difficult. If a person's fault is a habit of some years prior, by and large it won't be remedied. I have had this experience myself. To be intimate with all one's comrades, correcting each other's faults, and being of one mind to be of use to the master is the great compassion of a retainer. by bringing shame to a person, how could one expect to make him a better person"
I read this the day after I was criticized at work on something I had done. It was done in a way which made me angry and not want to correct my behavior. This entry really struck home and made me think. It makes sense and I will try to use it in the future.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Battling the Ironman
How often is it one gets to battle their mentor? Last night I battled mine. I've had the appointment in my books for a week and was training hard. I really wanted to show Russ up. I came up with several new moves over that week. I think in my mind I let myself get to hype but it only pushed me harder.
On to the battle. For some time I've been messing with Russ and Geo that I have a lot of stamina, so any time we battle each other I suggest 10 rounds. They always make fun of me that I don't even have 10 rounds of stuff. Well Russ and I battled for 15 rounds. He decided we would go till I stopped. After 15 rounds....20 minutes.... of battling, I collapsed after crashing my final round. I couldn't get up. Russ told me after he was conserving energy the whole battle cause he knew I would tire out. Well, I'm not switching strategies! I'm just going to have to get more stamina and be able to go 100 rounds!!!!
I think I could have done better. After seeing the footage, I was really impressed on how my tops were coming along. Even after a week of training, I've fixed my arms up nicely. But I think the thing I need to work on the most is my footwork. I pulled out a lot of stuff I never did before, and it looked really cool in the footage, but I think I need to fix my overall posture in my footwork. I always look a little slumped forward. So since I've been training power and tops a lot lately, I need to shift a little more energy towards my footwork so I can clean that up.
Watching the footage shows me how much I need to get ready for Bboy Ho Down in December. I'm really excited to be entering the 2 on 2s with Geo. Since this is going to be one of my first prepared appearances at a big jam, I really want to show off. I only have a little less than three months to prepare. In that time I really want to get windmills. I also have to clean up my footwork. I noticed all my actions aren't crisp. I have a decent flow, but I need to cut my actions so everyone can see what I'm doing clearly. I think I'm on the right track though.
Just gotta keep my nose to the grindstone and keep training my ass off.
Oh ya, and don't sleep on Halfstep! He'll be coming for you soon!!!
On to the battle. For some time I've been messing with Russ and Geo that I have a lot of stamina, so any time we battle each other I suggest 10 rounds. They always make fun of me that I don't even have 10 rounds of stuff. Well Russ and I battled for 15 rounds. He decided we would go till I stopped. After 15 rounds....20 minutes.... of battling, I collapsed after crashing my final round. I couldn't get up. Russ told me after he was conserving energy the whole battle cause he knew I would tire out. Well, I'm not switching strategies! I'm just going to have to get more stamina and be able to go 100 rounds!!!!
I think I could have done better. After seeing the footage, I was really impressed on how my tops were coming along. Even after a week of training, I've fixed my arms up nicely. But I think the thing I need to work on the most is my footwork. I pulled out a lot of stuff I never did before, and it looked really cool in the footage, but I think I need to fix my overall posture in my footwork. I always look a little slumped forward. So since I've been training power and tops a lot lately, I need to shift a little more energy towards my footwork so I can clean that up.
Watching the footage shows me how much I need to get ready for Bboy Ho Down in December. I'm really excited to be entering the 2 on 2s with Geo. Since this is going to be one of my first prepared appearances at a big jam, I really want to show off. I only have a little less than three months to prepare. In that time I really want to get windmills. I also have to clean up my footwork. I noticed all my actions aren't crisp. I have a decent flow, but I need to cut my actions so everyone can see what I'm doing clearly. I think I'm on the right track though.
Just gotta keep my nose to the grindstone and keep training my ass off.
Oh ya, and don't sleep on Halfstep! He'll be coming for you soon!!!
Monday, August 06, 2007
eXtremity Games 2
So now that its been a few weeks since the x2 games in Orlando, my procrastination will finally allow me to write about it. So for anyone that didn't know, two weeks ago I performed at the awards ceremony of the 2nd eXtremity games. For everyone who doesn't know what that is, basically its an extreme sports competition for physically challenged individuals, especially amputees.
I was really excited about this performance as it would be my first solo performance ever. When I learned that it was going to be a solo performance, I was freaking out. Who in their right mind can dance their hardest for 5 minutes straight?! When I told my friends/mentors about this they were surprised too. 5 minutes seems like such a short time, but dancing is more exhausting than people think. House suggested that I break the performance up into sections, so I did. Instead of just being a bboy, and performing for 5 minutes and dieing, I decided to showcase all urban dance styles, bboying, popping, locking, and house.
While bboying is my specialty, and I'm pretty good, the other styles I'm not so good at. Thankfully my friends helped me out. Big Big thanks to Russ, House, JC, Rashaad, and Gwo for helping me get ready for the other styles. Theres no way I could have done it without them. I think my biggest fear was by far popping. I trained with Rashaad a few times and took his class for a month, and after some special training I felt I was ready.
The next preparation was the mix. Music is so important, and for this endeavor, Russ was the man....well at the last minute anyway haha. I guess its part my fault for just asking for 5 minutes of music and not really giving him songs. We ended up making the mix at 3 in the morning the day before I left....and I left at 5:30am....so ya, it was really last minute.
So Friday morning I arrive in Orlando and get to the hotel without any major incidents. That night was the first event I went to which was the pool party. I was being a little shy since I didn't really know anyone, and it felt a bit awkward. I get really nervous around big groups of strangers for some reason. So after a bit I left the pool party and went to chill in my room for a while. I decided it would be good to practice before my show so I tried to find if they had any space for me to rehearse, when they said they didn't, I just took it back to the oldschool and brought my boombox to the parking lot. Ya, thats how I do! After I got all dirty from the concrete I decided to go for a late night swim and there were a few people just chillin around the pool. So I did get to meet some people. I'm pretty sure small groups are more my style.
The next day I went to the actual competitions. I was just checking some of them out, I didn't make it to the early competitions cause it was really really early, and you know how early I get up on weekends lol. I did get to see the skating competition which was really awesome. One of my old skating heroes Jon Comers was there as the Judge, and the skaters were really good. Better than I ever used to be. It kind of made me wish that I had brought my bored so I could fall and hurt myself lol. After that I went and watched some wakeboarding. That looked really fun, and I really want to get a swimming leg now so I can try out some water sports. We'll see how that goes...
Fast forward to that night, the night of the competition. I was starting to get nervous. They let me into the room where I would be performing so I could test out the floor. I threw some power for about 10 minutes to warm up. The floor was really good. Then I went to chill for a while until the ceremony started. The food was ok, but I was too nervous to be that hungry. I asked them to give me a 10-15 minute notice to when I would perform so I could warm up a little bit. Apparently they forgot, so it was straight to the stage for me. Once the music started I was starting to get too hype. The first track was my power song, I did pretty good on it, did my 90, swipes and was decently clean. Next track was locking....I kinda messed up, I didn't hear the tracks switch, so my mind didn't let me switch characters. I was locking like I was a bboy, those styles really dont mix at all haha. But I eventually found my grove. Now the third track was popping, the one I was worried about. Once the track dropped somehow everything clicked. For the first time ever I really felt like I was popping. I had my cool face on, getting my groove on. Then housing was ok, I did everything I expected.
Now the final track was the bboy finale. It was going to be all the rest of my style/tricks. This is at about minute 4, I was really starting to get exhausted. My heart was going like 800 beats per second. It was really hard to think, so I just gave in and let my body do whatever. I think there's a lot more tricks I could have done, but I did mostly tops and footwork. At the end everyone really liked it, hopefully no on noticed my mess-ups. I can't wait till I get to see the video so I can see what I need to work on. To me this show was completely awesome and the first of many stepping stones.
After the show a bunch of us went to chill at the pool again and decided that the next day we were going to the warped tour cause all the skater kids were going to get to skate there. That trip was so funny. So we had 2 full cars full of amputees. We were going to park and no one had any handicapped sticker. But we pulled up to the parking attendants and were like everyone in these cars is handicapped, and showed them, and they looked at us funny and let us park.
It was pretty fun walking around the tour 10 deep in amputees. Its kind of hard for people to stare at 10 people all at once, so for the first time I felt that unity in numbers haha. We didn't stay too long at the warped tour, but it was fun. We spent the rest of the time just chillin, and thats about it.
I'm trying to convince them to have an actual dance competition next year. I gotta rally all the disabled bboys up first. That would be dope....and I'm taking home the #1 haahahahahahahaha!!!
Thanks to everyone that helped me!!! There's no way I could get this far alone.
Peace
Halfstep
I was really excited about this performance as it would be my first solo performance ever. When I learned that it was going to be a solo performance, I was freaking out. Who in their right mind can dance their hardest for 5 minutes straight?! When I told my friends/mentors about this they were surprised too. 5 minutes seems like such a short time, but dancing is more exhausting than people think. House suggested that I break the performance up into sections, so I did. Instead of just being a bboy, and performing for 5 minutes and dieing, I decided to showcase all urban dance styles, bboying, popping, locking, and house.
While bboying is my specialty, and I'm pretty good, the other styles I'm not so good at. Thankfully my friends helped me out. Big Big thanks to Russ, House, JC, Rashaad, and Gwo for helping me get ready for the other styles. Theres no way I could have done it without them. I think my biggest fear was by far popping. I trained with Rashaad a few times and took his class for a month, and after some special training I felt I was ready.
The next preparation was the mix. Music is so important, and for this endeavor, Russ was the man....well at the last minute anyway haha. I guess its part my fault for just asking for 5 minutes of music and not really giving him songs. We ended up making the mix at 3 in the morning the day before I left....and I left at 5:30am....so ya, it was really last minute.
So Friday morning I arrive in Orlando and get to the hotel without any major incidents. That night was the first event I went to which was the pool party. I was being a little shy since I didn't really know anyone, and it felt a bit awkward. I get really nervous around big groups of strangers for some reason. So after a bit I left the pool party and went to chill in my room for a while. I decided it would be good to practice before my show so I tried to find if they had any space for me to rehearse, when they said they didn't, I just took it back to the oldschool and brought my boombox to the parking lot. Ya, thats how I do! After I got all dirty from the concrete I decided to go for a late night swim and there were a few people just chillin around the pool. So I did get to meet some people. I'm pretty sure small groups are more my style.
The next day I went to the actual competitions. I was just checking some of them out, I didn't make it to the early competitions cause it was really really early, and you know how early I get up on weekends lol. I did get to see the skating competition which was really awesome. One of my old skating heroes Jon Comers was there as the Judge, and the skaters were really good. Better than I ever used to be. It kind of made me wish that I had brought my bored so I could fall and hurt myself lol. After that I went and watched some wakeboarding. That looked really fun, and I really want to get a swimming leg now so I can try out some water sports. We'll see how that goes...
Fast forward to that night, the night of the competition. I was starting to get nervous. They let me into the room where I would be performing so I could test out the floor. I threw some power for about 10 minutes to warm up. The floor was really good. Then I went to chill for a while until the ceremony started. The food was ok, but I was too nervous to be that hungry. I asked them to give me a 10-15 minute notice to when I would perform so I could warm up a little bit. Apparently they forgot, so it was straight to the stage for me. Once the music started I was starting to get too hype. The first track was my power song, I did pretty good on it, did my 90, swipes and was decently clean. Next track was locking....I kinda messed up, I didn't hear the tracks switch, so my mind didn't let me switch characters. I was locking like I was a bboy, those styles really dont mix at all haha. But I eventually found my grove. Now the third track was popping, the one I was worried about. Once the track dropped somehow everything clicked. For the first time ever I really felt like I was popping. I had my cool face on, getting my groove on. Then housing was ok, I did everything I expected.
Now the final track was the bboy finale. It was going to be all the rest of my style/tricks. This is at about minute 4, I was really starting to get exhausted. My heart was going like 800 beats per second. It was really hard to think, so I just gave in and let my body do whatever. I think there's a lot more tricks I could have done, but I did mostly tops and footwork. At the end everyone really liked it, hopefully no on noticed my mess-ups. I can't wait till I get to see the video so I can see what I need to work on. To me this show was completely awesome and the first of many stepping stones.
After the show a bunch of us went to chill at the pool again and decided that the next day we were going to the warped tour cause all the skater kids were going to get to skate there. That trip was so funny. So we had 2 full cars full of amputees. We were going to park and no one had any handicapped sticker. But we pulled up to the parking attendants and were like everyone in these cars is handicapped, and showed them, and they looked at us funny and let us park.
It was pretty fun walking around the tour 10 deep in amputees. Its kind of hard for people to stare at 10 people all at once, so for the first time I felt that unity in numbers haha. We didn't stay too long at the warped tour, but it was fun. We spent the rest of the time just chillin, and thats about it.
I'm trying to convince them to have an actual dance competition next year. I gotta rally all the disabled bboys up first. That would be dope....and I'm taking home the #1 haahahahahahahaha!!!
Thanks to everyone that helped me!!! There's no way I could get this far alone.
Peace
Halfstep
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Determination
As I practice I look at myself in the mirror. I see in my mind all those things I want my body to do. I can see all those pictures like its a movie in the back of my head. When I hear the beats, when I hear the melodies, they inspire me. Sometimes these images are simple movements, a play on the words, or just a new combination of steps. Other times these motions are moves I don't even have yet. But my mind knows what it wants my body to do. This body of mine does not cooperate. I see myself in the mirror, I focus, and I attempt to mimic those pictures that are in my mind. What I see often isn't even close. Thus begins the frustration.
Though I am human, I must strive for perfection. Those moves in my mind, I want to make them a reality. The look on my face changes. My expression becomes hard, the time for focus is at hand. When I train, I take all those emotions I've been storing and focus them. I become angry with my body, as it is a lump of iron on the anvil in the forge. Its misshapen, ineloquent, but it has potential. The more anger I throw at it, the more the hammer falls to shape the iron. The intensity in my eyes is like the fire heating the forge. I beat the metal until the fire cools, until my arms can no longer lift the hammer.
To have these dreams and determination is both a gift and a curse. Never have I felt more fulfilled, but at the same time, there is an emptiness I constantly have for more training. The things I can do today are never good enough. I constantly feel the need to be better. I'm surrounded by talented dancers, people who have been practicing the arts for several years longer than I. It is easy for me to get impatient, maybe even jealous. I'm not getting any younger and time is not on my side. I want to be the best.
Why do I strive so? What is so important. Some people may feel its just a dance, or some sideshow talent. To me its so much more. It is my release, my chance to be free. Its my struggle, I dream about it. You wouldn't understand unless you've felt it. I feel in life if you aren't struggling for something, you're not getting any better.
To chase our dreams is the ultimate goal. No matter how foolish others see it, no one can take away your dreams. This is the ultimate pursuit, the guiding force behind our lives. When you see me in the studio training. I look angry, determined, and focused. I am all those things. I'm not there to play or have fun, I'm there to get better, to realize my dreams. Though I am a dancer, I am a warrior. I train for battle. I will succeed and I will attain that which it is I struggle for.
Though I am human, I must strive for perfection. Those moves in my mind, I want to make them a reality. The look on my face changes. My expression becomes hard, the time for focus is at hand. When I train, I take all those emotions I've been storing and focus them. I become angry with my body, as it is a lump of iron on the anvil in the forge. Its misshapen, ineloquent, but it has potential. The more anger I throw at it, the more the hammer falls to shape the iron. The intensity in my eyes is like the fire heating the forge. I beat the metal until the fire cools, until my arms can no longer lift the hammer.
To have these dreams and determination is both a gift and a curse. Never have I felt more fulfilled, but at the same time, there is an emptiness I constantly have for more training. The things I can do today are never good enough. I constantly feel the need to be better. I'm surrounded by talented dancers, people who have been practicing the arts for several years longer than I. It is easy for me to get impatient, maybe even jealous. I'm not getting any younger and time is not on my side. I want to be the best.
Why do I strive so? What is so important. Some people may feel its just a dance, or some sideshow talent. To me its so much more. It is my release, my chance to be free. Its my struggle, I dream about it. You wouldn't understand unless you've felt it. I feel in life if you aren't struggling for something, you're not getting any better.
To chase our dreams is the ultimate goal. No matter how foolish others see it, no one can take away your dreams. This is the ultimate pursuit, the guiding force behind our lives. When you see me in the studio training. I look angry, determined, and focused. I am all those things. I'm not there to play or have fun, I'm there to get better, to realize my dreams. Though I am a dancer, I am a warrior. I train for battle. I will succeed and I will attain that which it is I struggle for.
Monday, June 11, 2007
What freestyle dance is to me
I don't know what dance means to everyone else, but for me its such a powerful feeling. To me, freestyle dance is what the name implies, "freedom". When I started my journey as a bboy 3 years ago, I had no clue what dancing was all about. I've always had trouble expressing myself, letting go. Even as a musician I found it difficult to perform unless I was around my band or closest friends, and even then I know I was holding back. When I first started bboying, I didn't really know what it was, to me I just enjoyed the community, the challenge, and the workout. I couldn't dance, I had no rhythm. All I could do was a handstand. But I always felt welcome with the dancers, and they were always eager to try to teach me, to share their culture with me.
So how did shy Halfstep ever get the courage to perform in front of thousands of people? I have no idea, honestly. But I give the credit to the dance culture and community. To those people who cyphered with me when I could barely even do a 6-step. To those who looked past the fact that I couldn't dance and didn't seem to have much potential. To those who looked inside me and saw my heart and drive. To my crew CAB, the Assassins, the Waseda Breakers, and all the other dancers, thanks. Now that I know something about this dance and about the culture (although I'm far from an expert), I'll share with you what I think about freestyle.
Many dancers are afraid of cyphers, afraid of being in the spotlight in front of their peers. They think about their skill level, their moves, and what everyone will think..ect. Everyone has these trepidations, it is to be human. When they get nervous they lose confidence and can't feel the music, can't express themselves. But we are artists, we are dancers, we express ourselves through music and dance. When I hear a song, it triggers something inside me. The music gives me energy, gives me ideas, it makes me all those things I think in life that I'm not. When I'm angry, it releases those feelings, when I'm happy it enhances the moment, when I'm confident, it makes me feel bigger, and when I'm sad it gives me an outlet to vent my frustrations. To me I am just Harley shy, not so confident, but when I'm in that circle, I am Halfstep, my eyes have a fire in them and my whole persona changes. The more I dance, the more the lines between Harley and Halfstep become. I start to become all those things that I was not. All from allowing myself to be expressive.
For 90% of instances, I can overcome the fear of going out. I'm not worried about screwing up or that people will laugh at me. Thats not what this culture is about. We are all students and all will make mistakes. But we all share one common thread, and that is dance. If you don't love dance, why are you wasting your time? If music doesn't move you, why do you practice, why do you watch it? When I cypher with my crew I feel invincible, when they aren't there I know they are behind me. If you are just going to sit on the side and watch, and not share yourself as everyone else, you are only taking from the community. My crew calls these people "No souls." Those who sit on the sidelines and don't throw down till the jam is over to make it look like they had been dancing.
For me its frustrating to see talented dancers sitting out of the circles. They have so much to offer, but because of insecurities I don't get to see their art, their passion, their interpretation. And I remember what it was like to be there. To stare at everyone else having a good time, and not being able to let loose. I still feel that way at clubs sometimes, but when its time to cypher, when they call out the bboys, I charge the circle, ready for battle. I guess my inspiration for this post are those people. Never think you aren't good enough to freestyle. I got props when all I could do was a handstand, but when people see you are willing to be a contributing part of the community, you will get respect, you will get mentors, you will get piece of mind, and your piece of freedom.
Peace
Haflstep
So how did shy Halfstep ever get the courage to perform in front of thousands of people? I have no idea, honestly. But I give the credit to the dance culture and community. To those people who cyphered with me when I could barely even do a 6-step. To those who looked past the fact that I couldn't dance and didn't seem to have much potential. To those who looked inside me and saw my heart and drive. To my crew CAB, the Assassins, the Waseda Breakers, and all the other dancers, thanks. Now that I know something about this dance and about the culture (although I'm far from an expert), I'll share with you what I think about freestyle.
Many dancers are afraid of cyphers, afraid of being in the spotlight in front of their peers. They think about their skill level, their moves, and what everyone will think..ect. Everyone has these trepidations, it is to be human. When they get nervous they lose confidence and can't feel the music, can't express themselves. But we are artists, we are dancers, we express ourselves through music and dance. When I hear a song, it triggers something inside me. The music gives me energy, gives me ideas, it makes me all those things I think in life that I'm not. When I'm angry, it releases those feelings, when I'm happy it enhances the moment, when I'm confident, it makes me feel bigger, and when I'm sad it gives me an outlet to vent my frustrations. To me I am just Harley shy, not so confident, but when I'm in that circle, I am Halfstep, my eyes have a fire in them and my whole persona changes. The more I dance, the more the lines between Harley and Halfstep become. I start to become all those things that I was not. All from allowing myself to be expressive.
For 90% of instances, I can overcome the fear of going out. I'm not worried about screwing up or that people will laugh at me. Thats not what this culture is about. We are all students and all will make mistakes. But we all share one common thread, and that is dance. If you don't love dance, why are you wasting your time? If music doesn't move you, why do you practice, why do you watch it? When I cypher with my crew I feel invincible, when they aren't there I know they are behind me. If you are just going to sit on the side and watch, and not share yourself as everyone else, you are only taking from the community. My crew calls these people "No souls." Those who sit on the sidelines and don't throw down till the jam is over to make it look like they had been dancing.
For me its frustrating to see talented dancers sitting out of the circles. They have so much to offer, but because of insecurities I don't get to see their art, their passion, their interpretation. And I remember what it was like to be there. To stare at everyone else having a good time, and not being able to let loose. I still feel that way at clubs sometimes, but when its time to cypher, when they call out the bboys, I charge the circle, ready for battle. I guess my inspiration for this post are those people. Never think you aren't good enough to freestyle. I got props when all I could do was a handstand, but when people see you are willing to be a contributing part of the community, you will get respect, you will get mentors, you will get piece of mind, and your piece of freedom.
Peace
Haflstep
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Worst mugging attempt ever
So last night I went to U street to listen to some live Jazz music with some friends. After the nights festivities, I decided to walk home. Being absent minded, I took the shortest route, which is 15th Street. Not really a busy street, and it was like 1am. I was being cautious however. All the sudden I heard some footsteps behind me. First normal....then walking fast. Then as they got closer, they started to match my speed more. I didn't want to turn around or do anything, so I decided to just cross the street. So bozo starts following me. At this point, my adrenaline is full speed, I was ready to give someone a taste of carbon fiber if needed. So I decided to slow down and see if he would just pass me. As I get to the sidewalk, he comes up besides me. A shady, drugged out looking white guy in late 20's or something. I was like wtf! But I kept walking and he bumped into my side. I said excuse me, trying to be polite, and he grabbed my arm. At that point I turned and was like HEY, and gave him the Halfstep look of death. He backed off and scurried around the next street corner....
DC is full of weirdo's......
So to all you without the protection of a fake leg, be careful! hehe
DC is full of weirdo's......
So to all you without the protection of a fake leg, be careful! hehe
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Honor
To me the three most important virtues in life are love, truth, and honor. To me these all go hand in hand. Right now I want to talk about honor and what it means to me.
To a lot of people it would seem, especially in this generation, I feel honor is overlooked. I can only speak about America as this is where I have experience, so please understand I'm not rationalizing the whole world. This is just my view. To me the concept of honor is essential. It's one of my great interests. I like stories of old times of Knighthood or Samurai honor and often read about these philosophies.
I think a lot of people live their lives day to day and everyone has morals, but sometimes I think that they let them go at times due to personal feelings and selfishness. I live my life by a code. This to me is honor, a set of rules set out for yourself that you follow, even if its not exactly what you want. To follow your code and carry yourself with dignity to me is the epitaph of honor.
So what is my code? I don't really want to turn this into some 3 year long post, so I'll keep things short and around the topic which inspired me to write this blog, which is honor within friendship.
To me a friendship is one of the most sacred bonds. The people whom you associate yourself with says a lot about you as a person. These people are involved in many of your actions, they add to your character, they stand behind you and they share your burdens. To be a friend, you must also do these things.
So what to me is honor within friendship? It is the way you treat your friends and the way you allow others to treat your friends. First rule of friendship is loyalty. If someone is your friend, then you must stick behind them. If they are doing something foolish, they are your friend, and it is your job to show them their folly. If they do not listen to you, or they waste your advice and friendship, they are not a true friend and do not value or deserve your time and opinion. I have stood behind friends when I knew they were wrong, sometimes people need to learn for themselves, and it is our job as friends to show them they were wrong and help them become stronger people.
But what if your friend already knows they are doing the wrong thing, and even after you give them advice, they still ignore it. Is this person a good friend to have? Somehow I think not. Everyone is capable of mistakes, but if a person knowingly is putting himself in the wrong, it is dishonorable to stand behind them and be part of it. In these situations, I let my stance be known and step back.
The tricky part of the situation is that those whom you associate with add or negate your honor, so it is important to make sure your friends follow the same or similar codes as yourself.
My next code of conduct regarding friendship is considering relationships. Out of respect for my friends, I will not even think of dating someone that they have. It is possible that I'm missing out on some love, but to me friendship is more important. If something happens between yourself and a friends lover, even if your friend says its ok, it could create rifts in either your friendship or your relationship. It is a lose lose situation.
My next rule involves how you let others talk of your friends. I will not listen to someone talk trash about my friends in my presence. This can become tricky when both sides are friends, but the honorable solution is simple. You have one of two choices. You can tell the person that because of your friendship you do not wish to be involved in the quarrel. The second would be to listen to both sides of the story and try to mediate the problem, because most likely it is a misunderstanding. But one should never play both sides of the fence. You should not repeat things back and forth because it will only make the problem worse. In the end, you could lose both friends because they know you are not trustworthy. Another lesson on top of this is that you should not put your friends in the middle of your quarrels if you know that you would be pressing them to choose sides. It's okay to vent frustrations, but let it be known in advance.
Okay, this is all I'm going to write for now, but I want to touch up on these topics sometime later. I think if everyone followed a code and treated each other by that code, that the world would be a better place. Of course like my father always says, "Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one."
Peace
Halfstep
To a lot of people it would seem, especially in this generation, I feel honor is overlooked. I can only speak about America as this is where I have experience, so please understand I'm not rationalizing the whole world. This is just my view. To me the concept of honor is essential. It's one of my great interests. I like stories of old times of Knighthood or Samurai honor and often read about these philosophies.
I think a lot of people live their lives day to day and everyone has morals, but sometimes I think that they let them go at times due to personal feelings and selfishness. I live my life by a code. This to me is honor, a set of rules set out for yourself that you follow, even if its not exactly what you want. To follow your code and carry yourself with dignity to me is the epitaph of honor.
So what is my code? I don't really want to turn this into some 3 year long post, so I'll keep things short and around the topic which inspired me to write this blog, which is honor within friendship.
To me a friendship is one of the most sacred bonds. The people whom you associate yourself with says a lot about you as a person. These people are involved in many of your actions, they add to your character, they stand behind you and they share your burdens. To be a friend, you must also do these things.
So what to me is honor within friendship? It is the way you treat your friends and the way you allow others to treat your friends. First rule of friendship is loyalty. If someone is your friend, then you must stick behind them. If they are doing something foolish, they are your friend, and it is your job to show them their folly. If they do not listen to you, or they waste your advice and friendship, they are not a true friend and do not value or deserve your time and opinion. I have stood behind friends when I knew they were wrong, sometimes people need to learn for themselves, and it is our job as friends to show them they were wrong and help them become stronger people.
But what if your friend already knows they are doing the wrong thing, and even after you give them advice, they still ignore it. Is this person a good friend to have? Somehow I think not. Everyone is capable of mistakes, but if a person knowingly is putting himself in the wrong, it is dishonorable to stand behind them and be part of it. In these situations, I let my stance be known and step back.
The tricky part of the situation is that those whom you associate with add or negate your honor, so it is important to make sure your friends follow the same or similar codes as yourself.
My next code of conduct regarding friendship is considering relationships. Out of respect for my friends, I will not even think of dating someone that they have. It is possible that I'm missing out on some love, but to me friendship is more important. If something happens between yourself and a friends lover, even if your friend says its ok, it could create rifts in either your friendship or your relationship. It is a lose lose situation.
My next rule involves how you let others talk of your friends. I will not listen to someone talk trash about my friends in my presence. This can become tricky when both sides are friends, but the honorable solution is simple. You have one of two choices. You can tell the person that because of your friendship you do not wish to be involved in the quarrel. The second would be to listen to both sides of the story and try to mediate the problem, because most likely it is a misunderstanding. But one should never play both sides of the fence. You should not repeat things back and forth because it will only make the problem worse. In the end, you could lose both friends because they know you are not trustworthy. Another lesson on top of this is that you should not put your friends in the middle of your quarrels if you know that you would be pressing them to choose sides. It's okay to vent frustrations, but let it be known in advance.
Okay, this is all I'm going to write for now, but I want to touch up on these topics sometime later. I think if everyone followed a code and treated each other by that code, that the world would be a better place. Of course like my father always says, "Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one."
Peace
Halfstep
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
JMU Circles 07
To think how fast time goes by. I remember this time last year was my first big competition. I entered circles last year with a few friends, and I really sucked it up haha. I've been having a lot of thoughts about how little I've progressed lately, but when I think back one year ago, and how I performed last weekend at the same jam, the progress is pretty nuts. CAB crew rep'd that jam hard. We did end up entering the 4on4's, but we didn't make it to the top 8. We didn't prepare much as a unit, so I wasn't so surprised. There were a lot of good crews there. We held down the cyphers though. I was battling everyone. I was calling out people a lot better than me. I probably got smoked a lot, but w/e. You've gotta try the impossible if you ever expect to get better. My most memorable battle was vs Lancealot from Repstyles. We just happened to go out in the circle at the same time and he copped me some attitude, so I battled with him. It was pretty fun. All out of respect tho, no beefs!
I got to meet some cool people too. Over the weekend I got to meet a lot of Hidden Characters crew and they were really cool. I also got to meet one of the OG's, Poe One, who is amazingly cool. I also got to see machine, who is a complete beast. And I was honored that he had heard of Ironman haha.
The ride to JMU was so funny. Vince and Russ are too crazy. We were listening to whatever crappy music Alem was playing and just making fun of it. They were playing some system of a down and we started singing deathmetal songs about russ's lunchables.
All in all it was a really tiring weekend, but it was a really good time. I think it was good for me to get out of DC for a weekend and just chill with my crew. I had a great time and can't wait till next year's. Hopefully I can make CAB train hard as a unit so we can show those fools what's up. And as for me its time to get back to training.
Oh ya, contrats to Beatwhacks for taking the 4on4's.
Peace
Halstep
I got to meet some cool people too. Over the weekend I got to meet a lot of Hidden Characters crew and they were really cool. I also got to meet one of the OG's, Poe One, who is amazingly cool. I also got to see machine, who is a complete beast. And I was honored that he had heard of Ironman haha.
The ride to JMU was so funny. Vince and Russ are too crazy. We were listening to whatever crappy music Alem was playing and just making fun of it. They were playing some system of a down and we started singing deathmetal songs about russ's lunchables.
All in all it was a really tiring weekend, but it was a really good time. I think it was good for me to get out of DC for a weekend and just chill with my crew. I had a great time and can't wait till next year's. Hopefully I can make CAB train hard as a unit so we can show those fools what's up. And as for me its time to get back to training.
Oh ya, contrats to Beatwhacks for taking the 4on4's.
Peace
Halstep
Monday, March 26, 2007
What is anger?
And when is it ok to let anger control you? Lately I've been feeling more and more negative energy in my life, from drama with other people, to frustrations driving, to just being in a sour mood sometimes. Where does this all come from?
I think anger is a very important emotion, it can be an empowerment to people. But when your anger effects those around you in a negative way, then anger becomes a problem. Then what if your anger spreads to those around you, and they spread it, and numerous problems have been created for many people. This is a difficult thing to understand, especially when you are in the throws of anger. When something is bothering you, it's all you can think about. What if this anger creates other things in your life, more sources of anger. It seems like you've entered a downward spiral in your life. Its difficult to control. Am I falling down the spiral? I don't know, but I feel a lot of anger in my life recently.
How do you control it, when the mere presence of a person can anger you and ruin your vibe? Even if this person is deserving of anger, why do I let it get to me so much? Why do I continue the spread of negative energy? How can I let it go? I've already decided to train harder with that anger, but that so far hasn't abated it. It would be one thing if I could just battle this person and get it over with, but I truly don't feel I'm ready or even close to that level, and if I'm called out, I won't back down, but I don't have the confidence to make the first move. Sure that can be an underlying goal, but to dwell on something like this cannot be healthy.
What is it to hate someone? No one is perfect. Everyone has their flaws, everyone makes mistakes. Most people who do bad do not realize their folly. They are so caught up in themselves, they don't consider the ramifications to others. I also can be like this, but I do not want to be. Just because the negative energy has been directed at me can I be angry? On the other hand when someone attacks you just because they are stronger, and they need an out, and you are there, wouldn't you have the right to be upset?
What is forgiveness? Can you forgive someone when they are not sorry, or feel they've done nothing wrong? I'm not a very forgiving person. I feel people can change, but I don't think change is instant, and especially if someone doesn't try to make amends, how can I give forgiveness?
What is this post for? I dunno, trying to sort out my thoughts. I'm really tired of being angry, and that's not who I really am. I want to find a way to let it go in a positive way. I'm going to continue to work out my aggressions through dance, maybe some other options will make themselves be known. Although I really enjoy some things in the big city, some things really get to me, and don't help my situation. Maybe I need a vacation, I dunno. Things will get better tho.
I think anger is a very important emotion, it can be an empowerment to people. But when your anger effects those around you in a negative way, then anger becomes a problem. Then what if your anger spreads to those around you, and they spread it, and numerous problems have been created for many people. This is a difficult thing to understand, especially when you are in the throws of anger. When something is bothering you, it's all you can think about. What if this anger creates other things in your life, more sources of anger. It seems like you've entered a downward spiral in your life. Its difficult to control. Am I falling down the spiral? I don't know, but I feel a lot of anger in my life recently.
How do you control it, when the mere presence of a person can anger you and ruin your vibe? Even if this person is deserving of anger, why do I let it get to me so much? Why do I continue the spread of negative energy? How can I let it go? I've already decided to train harder with that anger, but that so far hasn't abated it. It would be one thing if I could just battle this person and get it over with, but I truly don't feel I'm ready or even close to that level, and if I'm called out, I won't back down, but I don't have the confidence to make the first move. Sure that can be an underlying goal, but to dwell on something like this cannot be healthy.
What is it to hate someone? No one is perfect. Everyone has their flaws, everyone makes mistakes. Most people who do bad do not realize their folly. They are so caught up in themselves, they don't consider the ramifications to others. I also can be like this, but I do not want to be. Just because the negative energy has been directed at me can I be angry? On the other hand when someone attacks you just because they are stronger, and they need an out, and you are there, wouldn't you have the right to be upset?
What is forgiveness? Can you forgive someone when they are not sorry, or feel they've done nothing wrong? I'm not a very forgiving person. I feel people can change, but I don't think change is instant, and especially if someone doesn't try to make amends, how can I give forgiveness?
What is this post for? I dunno, trying to sort out my thoughts. I'm really tired of being angry, and that's not who I really am. I want to find a way to let it go in a positive way. I'm going to continue to work out my aggressions through dance, maybe some other options will make themselves be known. Although I really enjoy some things in the big city, some things really get to me, and don't help my situation. Maybe I need a vacation, I dunno. Things will get better tho.
Monday, March 19, 2007
When the shit hits the fan....
You find out who your true friends are. So this past few weeks a lot of drama has been going on. The issue has been "squashed," so I'm not going to go in any specific details about who or what happened, but from everything in your life its important to take a lesson from all bad and good experiences. This last week I learned who my real friends are in this area. I learned a few people whom I cannot trust, and am better off for it.
I'm really glad to have people like Russ and house in my life and on the dance scene here. Its few occasions in my life I trust someone completely. When they stood up for me, without knowing 100% of the details of everything, it was very heartwarming to know that they trusted me as well and have my back.
To be honest the whole situation had me more angry than I've been in a really long time. And at times I was beginning to question myself, but through the support of my friends I kept it all together. Especially during the battle it was hard to stay in control. But my respect and faith in Russ allowed me to keep my cool.
I also got to see another good friend over the weekend. My boy Akshat from college came to DC for a conference so I got to spend a few days with him. We also had some interesting times. More drama actually. But the way we handled it was in true accordance with our ways, "Love, Truth, Honor." Basically our other friend was hanging out with us. We were looking for a pub to just go and chill, not a club, somewhere where we could talk. Our 3rd friend had brought one of his colleagues along who was already pretty drunk and obnoxious. We couldn't find a bar in Dupont so we went into Andolus because it wasn't crowded at all. This "unknown" person decided it was ok to steal drinks from people, and got caught. I was pretty mad that a grown man would be doing stupid things like that. Worse, he wouldn't even own up to it and buy the guy a drink. I apologized to the guy for this unknown person and bought them drinks and grabbed my friends and we left before more crap happened. After about 5 more minutes of this guy being an asshole, Aki and I decided to ditch him because we were looking bad by association, and honestly I don't want to even deal with people who act like that.
Ok, I'm done witchyall
Half
I'm really glad to have people like Russ and house in my life and on the dance scene here. Its few occasions in my life I trust someone completely. When they stood up for me, without knowing 100% of the details of everything, it was very heartwarming to know that they trusted me as well and have my back.
To be honest the whole situation had me more angry than I've been in a really long time. And at times I was beginning to question myself, but through the support of my friends I kept it all together. Especially during the battle it was hard to stay in control. But my respect and faith in Russ allowed me to keep my cool.
I also got to see another good friend over the weekend. My boy Akshat from college came to DC for a conference so I got to spend a few days with him. We also had some interesting times. More drama actually. But the way we handled it was in true accordance with our ways, "Love, Truth, Honor." Basically our other friend was hanging out with us. We were looking for a pub to just go and chill, not a club, somewhere where we could talk. Our 3rd friend had brought one of his colleagues along who was already pretty drunk and obnoxious. We couldn't find a bar in Dupont so we went into Andolus because it wasn't crowded at all. This "unknown" person decided it was ok to steal drinks from people, and got caught. I was pretty mad that a grown man would be doing stupid things like that. Worse, he wouldn't even own up to it and buy the guy a drink. I apologized to the guy for this unknown person and bought them drinks and grabbed my friends and we left before more crap happened. After about 5 more minutes of this guy being an asshole, Aki and I decided to ditch him because we were looking bad by association, and honestly I don't want to even deal with people who act like that.
Ok, I'm done witchyall
Half
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Updates 2 and 2nd wizards game
Things have been going pretty good for me I guess. Been having trouble trying to get my crew organized. It seems like everyone is kind of doing their own thing, which is good in a way, but I would like for us to train more as a team. I was trying to get everyone organized so we could at least train together once a week, but no one seems to have their heart in it. For this reason I decided to step my individual game up twice as much. I will not be battling in any real crew battles with CAB until we get a squad training together. Halfstep comes to win! I have been able to hang out more with some crew members I don't see quite often and that has been a blessing however.
Speaking of stepping my game up. In the height of my frustration I decided to go underground. This lasted about a week, but I did do a lot of training alone at the gym and it seems to help a lot. I'm going to try to do it at least twice a week. It helps me focus on creating new things rather than just cleaning what I know. But now that Russ dug me up, I can't stay underground. I'm still going to try to play a little low key.
Last night I had my 2nd wizards game, and it was really fun. I finally hit my set near flawless, and the crowd seemed to like it. I think the most fun part of the wizards game is practicing/cyphering in the corner during the game. We get to meet some of the other performers for the team and they are really cool. We went out twice in the game. The first time we had planned on what we were going to do, but the 2nd time we decided everyone should just go all out. Going all out for 3 minutes is a TOUGH thing to do. By the end i was dieing haha. I think next time we should plan both sections so we look cleaner.
Last week I danced at a party in cafe asia. When I first heard of it I wasn't so excited, but goof asked me to do it, and doing events with goof is always a good time. Performing at the battle I had to battle LoZ(lionz of zion) and goof. I didn't have my crew with me, it was just me Aaron the impaler and a few cats from VA. It was kinda whack cause we got destroyed, but that didn't stop me from going out 1000%. I discovered when I'm in a battle I cannot win, I get really angry and go out 10 times as hard. The party itself was really fun. I met a lot of new people, which I think was something I've needed for a while now. Hopefully I can do some more new parties soon. The gogo dancers they had at the party were really cool!
Been trying to get back into discovering new music lately. Since I discovered Nujabes(if you haven't heard of him CHECK HIM OUT), I've been looking for new sounds. For years I've been so tired of music. Its difficult to find something good. The recording industries seem to want you to listen to the same 5 songs 800 times per day. These songs have no musicality, and all they talk about is sex, violence, being a thug, and how cool it is to waste your money on bling and gold teeth. That's why it took me so long to even discover hip hop. Its sad these clowns are making bank while REAL artists are struggling. So I've been looking for new hip hop artists with more jazz influences. Someone who puts more thought into their beats, and especially their lyrics.
Been slacking off a bit in my nerd training, gotta step that up soon. If only there was more time in the day... I'll get back to it soon though.
ummmmm ya, so thats whats up
Peace
Halfstep
Speaking of stepping my game up. In the height of my frustration I decided to go underground. This lasted about a week, but I did do a lot of training alone at the gym and it seems to help a lot. I'm going to try to do it at least twice a week. It helps me focus on creating new things rather than just cleaning what I know. But now that Russ dug me up, I can't stay underground. I'm still going to try to play a little low key.
Last night I had my 2nd wizards game, and it was really fun. I finally hit my set near flawless, and the crowd seemed to like it. I think the most fun part of the wizards game is practicing/cyphering in the corner during the game. We get to meet some of the other performers for the team and they are really cool. We went out twice in the game. The first time we had planned on what we were going to do, but the 2nd time we decided everyone should just go all out. Going all out for 3 minutes is a TOUGH thing to do. By the end i was dieing haha. I think next time we should plan both sections so we look cleaner.
Last week I danced at a party in cafe asia. When I first heard of it I wasn't so excited, but goof asked me to do it, and doing events with goof is always a good time. Performing at the battle I had to battle LoZ(lionz of zion) and goof. I didn't have my crew with me, it was just me Aaron the impaler and a few cats from VA. It was kinda whack cause we got destroyed, but that didn't stop me from going out 1000%. I discovered when I'm in a battle I cannot win, I get really angry and go out 10 times as hard. The party itself was really fun. I met a lot of new people, which I think was something I've needed for a while now. Hopefully I can do some more new parties soon. The gogo dancers they had at the party were really cool!
Been trying to get back into discovering new music lately. Since I discovered Nujabes(if you haven't heard of him CHECK HIM OUT), I've been looking for new sounds. For years I've been so tired of music. Its difficult to find something good. The recording industries seem to want you to listen to the same 5 songs 800 times per day. These songs have no musicality, and all they talk about is sex, violence, being a thug, and how cool it is to waste your money on bling and gold teeth. That's why it took me so long to even discover hip hop. Its sad these clowns are making bank while REAL artists are struggling. So I've been looking for new hip hop artists with more jazz influences. Someone who puts more thought into their beats, and especially their lyrics.
Been slacking off a bit in my nerd training, gotta step that up soon. If only there was more time in the day... I'll get back to it soon though.
ummmmm ya, so thats whats up
Peace
Halfstep
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
updates
Yo wazup. Lot of stuff going on these days. Dunno if I wrote about it yet, but I'm being asked to perform at the Extremity Games this year in July. For those of you uncool enough to not know what that is :P, its like the X games but for "disabled" people. It sounds like fun. They're asking me to perform at the closing ceremony in something like a dance off between me, lazy legs and briana walker. You know halfstep will smoke em haha, just kidding. Other than that I'm still doing the Wizard's games, this Sunday will be my 2nd game. Funny thing happened, I almost feel famous. I was at a club dancing last wednesday and some random guy came up to me and asked me if i was one of the wizards breakers and that he recognized me from the game a few weeks ago!!! Ask for autographs while you still got the chance hahahha
Been practicing really hard. Really enjoying the new Culture Shock bboy classes on mondays. Rapid is teaching and its pretty intense. I lost the callice(well it ripped off) on my hand, so there’s a big pink spot! No pain no gain! I'm trying to get swipes back, need to add a bit more power to my dance. Been talking a lot with Ryan about the direction of the bboy team for csdc next year. Going to make it a lot better, and I think I might not do the choreo team next year cause its taking up a lot of time. I'll still keep up with the classes though so I can get better at choreo.
Other than that I had a really good meeting (about damn time!) with my crew. Hanging out with CAB is awesome. Since I came to DC those guys have become like my family. We decided to get more organized as a crew and do a lot more things together. We gotta start getting ready for circles in March. I'm really excited for that jam.
Hmm other than that been a bit lonely over the past few weeks...ya winter sucks haha. I'll get over it soon tho.
Got a lot of projects to keep me busy I suppose. I'm redesigning cultureshocks webpage and doing work to FYPdc's webpage as well. Learning ruby on rails to help me do all that. I'm also starting to work a lot more with AJAX at work so I've been challenged a lot. Its fun!
Hmm guess I just gotta keep practicing hard and getting ready for all the upcoming events. Hope everyone is doing well and staying out of trouble.
Peace
Halfstep
Been practicing really hard. Really enjoying the new Culture Shock bboy classes on mondays. Rapid is teaching and its pretty intense. I lost the callice(well it ripped off) on my hand, so there’s a big pink spot! No pain no gain! I'm trying to get swipes back, need to add a bit more power to my dance. Been talking a lot with Ryan about the direction of the bboy team for csdc next year. Going to make it a lot better, and I think I might not do the choreo team next year cause its taking up a lot of time. I'll still keep up with the classes though so I can get better at choreo.
Other than that I had a really good meeting (about damn time!) with my crew. Hanging out with CAB is awesome. Since I came to DC those guys have become like my family. We decided to get more organized as a crew and do a lot more things together. We gotta start getting ready for circles in March. I'm really excited for that jam.
Hmm other than that been a bit lonely over the past few weeks...ya winter sucks haha. I'll get over it soon tho.
Got a lot of projects to keep me busy I suppose. I'm redesigning cultureshocks webpage and doing work to FYPdc's webpage as well. Learning ruby on rails to help me do all that. I'm also starting to work a lot more with AJAX at work so I've been challenged a lot. Its fun!
Hmm guess I just gotta keep practicing hard and getting ready for all the upcoming events. Hope everyone is doing well and staying out of trouble.
Peace
Halfstep
Friday, January 12, 2007
Great way to start the new year
It seems to me my dreams are just starting to come into view. I just got invited to a great opportunity. My good friend goofball asked me if I would perform with him at some Washington Wizards games. This is totally awesome. This will be my first time in the spotlight in front of thousands of people. I'm really excited and humbled that I was invited to do this performance. I hope that I can show everyone what I'm made of and start to make my name.
Well for the past 6 months I've been working really hard on my dancing and top rock. I'm finally getting happy with the way I feel when I do tops. I like the way I look and am starting to feel my flavor. Last month I decided next was time to get sick footwork. Well things have been going ok with that, but since I got this new show, I'm going to have to start focusing more on power and blowups. Which isn't such a bad thing because I've been neglecting them for a while. I'll still work on some footwork, but I guess it will take more time.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I'm kind of inbetween on feelings for this. As a bboy my number one concern is to the art of dance. But will this kind of show really be about bboying? Sure I'm going to show my moves to thousands of people. But I'm a performer, I have to give them what they want to see. If I start doing just tops or footwork, then my entertainment factor won't be so high. So would I be comprimising myself? My dance? I don't think so. I know who I am as a dancer. I know what's important in bboying and I'm going to keep training those things. I definately will not let this go to my head. As far as I'm concerned this is just a small step and I still have a long way to progress in my dance career. But as a performer this is a great opportunity to learn to perform under pressure.
This is even a great step to my personal goals of helping others and spreading inspiration too. I plan to focus a lot on my disability. Which is probably only like 5-10% of my style. But I think that is what will have the most impact. Imagine when I'm at the club and only a few people notice, but maybe it touches them in a special way. Imagine when thousands of people see what is possible. I really hope I can be an inspiration and help others to succeed and keep their spirits high.
And also this kind of exposure will help me to gain more contacts and a bigger name, so maybe later I can do bigger things. I really hope russ does this too. It would be really great to have part of my crew their. I always dance a bit harder and a bit free-er when he's around.
Even though I won't be totally bboying at these shows, Imma try to spread REAL hip hop culture. I'm going to have a lot of fun and live life to the fullest through my dance. Here is a list of all the games I'm scheduled to dance at.
Tuesday Jan. 23 (Pheonix suns)
Sunday Feb. 11 (Portland Trail Blaizers)
Wednesday Feb. 28 (Miami Heat)
Saturday Mar. 10 (muh bday)(New York Knicks)
Friday Mar. 30 (Toronto Raptors)
Friday Apr. 6 (Cleavland Cavaliers)
Sunday Apr. 15 (Chicago Bulls)
Hope everyone else is doing well
Wish me to break a leg :P
Halfstep
Well for the past 6 months I've been working really hard on my dancing and top rock. I'm finally getting happy with the way I feel when I do tops. I like the way I look and am starting to feel my flavor. Last month I decided next was time to get sick footwork. Well things have been going ok with that, but since I got this new show, I'm going to have to start focusing more on power and blowups. Which isn't such a bad thing because I've been neglecting them for a while. I'll still work on some footwork, but I guess it will take more time.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I'm kind of inbetween on feelings for this. As a bboy my number one concern is to the art of dance. But will this kind of show really be about bboying? Sure I'm going to show my moves to thousands of people. But I'm a performer, I have to give them what they want to see. If I start doing just tops or footwork, then my entertainment factor won't be so high. So would I be comprimising myself? My dance? I don't think so. I know who I am as a dancer. I know what's important in bboying and I'm going to keep training those things. I definately will not let this go to my head. As far as I'm concerned this is just a small step and I still have a long way to progress in my dance career. But as a performer this is a great opportunity to learn to perform under pressure.
This is even a great step to my personal goals of helping others and spreading inspiration too. I plan to focus a lot on my disability. Which is probably only like 5-10% of my style. But I think that is what will have the most impact. Imagine when I'm at the club and only a few people notice, but maybe it touches them in a special way. Imagine when thousands of people see what is possible. I really hope I can be an inspiration and help others to succeed and keep their spirits high.
And also this kind of exposure will help me to gain more contacts and a bigger name, so maybe later I can do bigger things. I really hope russ does this too. It would be really great to have part of my crew their. I always dance a bit harder and a bit free-er when he's around.
Even though I won't be totally bboying at these shows, Imma try to spread REAL hip hop culture. I'm going to have a lot of fun and live life to the fullest through my dance. Here is a list of all the games I'm scheduled to dance at.
Tuesday Jan. 23 (Pheonix suns)
Sunday Feb. 11 (Portland Trail Blaizers)
Wednesday Feb. 28 (Miami Heat)
Saturday Mar. 10 (muh bday)(New York Knicks)
Friday Mar. 30 (Toronto Raptors)
Friday Apr. 6 (Cleavland Cavaliers)
Sunday Apr. 15 (Chicago Bulls)
Hope everyone else is doing well
Wish me to break a leg :P
Halfstep
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Halfstep in 2006
2006 is gone FOREVER. It was a good year and a lot of things happened in my life. A lot of positive changes and personal growth. Lets bulletin it out!
- Won my first battle:
It was only a club battle, but I was really happy and proud of myself. I got some cash, some stories, probably inspired a few people when my leg flew off haha. I wish I could see footage and see people's reactions!
- Joined CAB crew!
Ya, a few months back russ and the crew invited me to be a member. I've been waiting for it for a while now and am really happy and excited to start battling with those fools!
- Joined a professional dance company:
I joined culture shock dc last january, it was a really bumpy ride and I'm still not a choreo guru, but I'm getting better. When I first started I was so nervous all the time and self concious. But this leads to the next bulletin!
- My first performance with culture shock!
Ya after months and months of hard work and being shy and bashful, I finally got my chance to perform with cultureshock dc. I was only in one small piece, but It made me feel more part of the group and see how far I've come along this past year in choreography. I'm really hoping that I can do better in the next year.
- My first big jam!
Yup, so some of the fellas from cab, me JC and ironman, went to Bboy ho down in texas. It was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I went. I've got a bagillion new stories and fun times.
- Went to san diego with CSDC
This trip was really hard for me cause I was the only person going not performing. It was a tough trip to get through, but it made me a stronger person.
- New job at booz allen!
After paying my dues for two years working my ass off for peanuts, I finally joined a really good company. I'm doing really interesting things and finally loving work! I'm really glad to be at this company!
- Opened up a lot more.
I think this year I met a lot more people. Maybe getting into my crew and kind of finding out where I fit in a little more has made me a little more comfortable in my own skin. I find it a "little" easier to talk to new people. Hopefully I can improve this more in the future.
-Opened up to new dance styles
In 2005 I was just a bboy, that was it. Since I joined culture shock, I opened up the doors and allowed myself to learn hip hop dance, locking, popping, housing, and others. Its going to improve me as a dancer as I learn more styles. I'm still primarily a bboy, but these other styles are just going to add to my flavor.
I'm sure there are things that I've forgotten, but off the top of my head those are my accomplishments of 2006. I'm not really big on resolutions or whatever, but I believe in goals. Since 2006 was such a big year of growth and accomplishments for me, I think I have to set some new goals so I can stay on track to my life goals. Keeping with the bulletins thing, here are my goals for 2007
- Win my first crew battle with CAB crew
This is going to be kind of tough since we haven't practiced all as a crew yet since I've joined. But we have a lot of talent and one of my goals is to get everyone together on the same page and start to work as a crew so we can show everyone who's city this is!
- Make culture shock core team
With tryouts in just a month, I don't think I'll get this right away, but I've been busting my ass for almost a year now. I'm getting better at choreo, and I'm going to continue to work even harder. I may not get this in feb, but I will get promoted sometime during the year to the core team.
- Develop a new website.
Whether this be the start of my future business, or just something small to keep me occupied an increase my design skills, this is a good goal. I have a few things in mind, one having to do with my next goal. Maybe just a new personal site.
- Help develop the dance scene in DC.
Right now in DC things are kind of tough. I would like to make one place people can go to for dance info. Right now it just spreads from word of mouth or myspace bulletins. It works ok, but I want to be able to help make the scene more healthy. My idea is to start making a monthly or bi weekly news letter to send out to anyone and everyone. This would be something small, maybe have a few articles on the history of the DC scene. And then a list of events/practice spots/crew of the month. Something that would edjucate people. I think setting up a simple google-group would be nice start. I need to start building up more contacts.
- Get a promotion at work
Right now I'm just a consultant level 1 and booz allen. My goal for 07 would be to make the next jump to level two which would be senior consultant. I just gotta keep working hard and learning more stuff. I really like my team and the things I do, I've just got to be sure to keep myself focused and this goal will be possible.
- Start doing more work towards helping people.
One of my goals in life is to help those with disabilities. Right now in my life, what I'm doing is building my base to say "I've done it, here's how." Being shy its really hard to help others. I know just from dancing and wearing shorts and letting people see that I have a disability creates a lot of inspiration for many. That's great, but it's not enough for me. In 06 I did a little but not quite in the ways I want. I don't know if I want to do it this year or not, but eventually I want to throw a jam at a shriners or some other childrens hospital. I want to have some kind of disability battle. I've made a few contacts among bboys with disabilities, but I've got to keep making more. I've got to find the way of helping as many as possible that works best for me. I know part of that has to be about me becoming less shy, but we'll work on that.
- Improve my dancing skills
I guess its kind of obvious, but whatever. I've got to keep practicing hard, I've got to work on all styles. But mostly bboying. I think in 06 I improved my toprock a lot. I think my biggest goal for 07 will be to get more footwork. And maybe a few new power moves.
- Choreograph my first dance piece.
I had a lot of ideas in 06 of pieces I wanted to do, but I could never sit down and work through them and actually make a piece. Joni and I started a piece, but it never got finished. I think in 07 one of my goals will be to make a piece for culture shock dc!
- Give love a chance
Haha, I know it sounds really stupid. But I think I'm finally healed up from my relationship from college and its time to give this love thing another chance. Although I've been glad to be single and have a lot of time to work on myself, I think its important that I learn to live with someone else and still do those things. I guess this would be a hard goal to work at since I have no control over meeting the right person. But we'll see what happens in 07
- Travel to more out of town jams
I had so much fun in Texas and met so many cool people, than I want to go to more jams out of the DC area. Hopefully I can get myself to Evolution in March, and maybe a cali jam sometime. And I still owe kate a battle in AZ, so we'll see.
Well I guess that's it. I hope everyone else had a wonderful 2006, if not I hope you have the courage and drive to change things in 2007. Best of my wishes, and take care.
Peace
Halfstep
- Won my first battle:
It was only a club battle, but I was really happy and proud of myself. I got some cash, some stories, probably inspired a few people when my leg flew off haha. I wish I could see footage and see people's reactions!
- Joined CAB crew!
Ya, a few months back russ and the crew invited me to be a member. I've been waiting for it for a while now and am really happy and excited to start battling with those fools!
- Joined a professional dance company:
I joined culture shock dc last january, it was a really bumpy ride and I'm still not a choreo guru, but I'm getting better. When I first started I was so nervous all the time and self concious. But this leads to the next bulletin!
- My first performance with culture shock!
Ya after months and months of hard work and being shy and bashful, I finally got my chance to perform with cultureshock dc. I was only in one small piece, but It made me feel more part of the group and see how far I've come along this past year in choreography. I'm really hoping that I can do better in the next year.
- My first big jam!
Yup, so some of the fellas from cab, me JC and ironman, went to Bboy ho down in texas. It was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I went. I've got a bagillion new stories and fun times.
- Went to san diego with CSDC
This trip was really hard for me cause I was the only person going not performing. It was a tough trip to get through, but it made me a stronger person.
- New job at booz allen!
After paying my dues for two years working my ass off for peanuts, I finally joined a really good company. I'm doing really interesting things and finally loving work! I'm really glad to be at this company!
- Opened up a lot more.
I think this year I met a lot more people. Maybe getting into my crew and kind of finding out where I fit in a little more has made me a little more comfortable in my own skin. I find it a "little" easier to talk to new people. Hopefully I can improve this more in the future.
-Opened up to new dance styles
In 2005 I was just a bboy, that was it. Since I joined culture shock, I opened up the doors and allowed myself to learn hip hop dance, locking, popping, housing, and others. Its going to improve me as a dancer as I learn more styles. I'm still primarily a bboy, but these other styles are just going to add to my flavor.
I'm sure there are things that I've forgotten, but off the top of my head those are my accomplishments of 2006. I'm not really big on resolutions or whatever, but I believe in goals. Since 2006 was such a big year of growth and accomplishments for me, I think I have to set some new goals so I can stay on track to my life goals. Keeping with the bulletins thing, here are my goals for 2007
- Win my first crew battle with CAB crew
This is going to be kind of tough since we haven't practiced all as a crew yet since I've joined. But we have a lot of talent and one of my goals is to get everyone together on the same page and start to work as a crew so we can show everyone who's city this is!
- Make culture shock core team
With tryouts in just a month, I don't think I'll get this right away, but I've been busting my ass for almost a year now. I'm getting better at choreo, and I'm going to continue to work even harder. I may not get this in feb, but I will get promoted sometime during the year to the core team.
- Develop a new website.
Whether this be the start of my future business, or just something small to keep me occupied an increase my design skills, this is a good goal. I have a few things in mind, one having to do with my next goal. Maybe just a new personal site.
- Help develop the dance scene in DC.
Right now in DC things are kind of tough. I would like to make one place people can go to for dance info. Right now it just spreads from word of mouth or myspace bulletins. It works ok, but I want to be able to help make the scene more healthy. My idea is to start making a monthly or bi weekly news letter to send out to anyone and everyone. This would be something small, maybe have a few articles on the history of the DC scene. And then a list of events/practice spots/crew of the month. Something that would edjucate people. I think setting up a simple google-group would be nice start. I need to start building up more contacts.
- Get a promotion at work
Right now I'm just a consultant level 1 and booz allen. My goal for 07 would be to make the next jump to level two which would be senior consultant. I just gotta keep working hard and learning more stuff. I really like my team and the things I do, I've just got to be sure to keep myself focused and this goal will be possible.
- Start doing more work towards helping people.
One of my goals in life is to help those with disabilities. Right now in my life, what I'm doing is building my base to say "I've done it, here's how." Being shy its really hard to help others. I know just from dancing and wearing shorts and letting people see that I have a disability creates a lot of inspiration for many. That's great, but it's not enough for me. In 06 I did a little but not quite in the ways I want. I don't know if I want to do it this year or not, but eventually I want to throw a jam at a shriners or some other childrens hospital. I want to have some kind of disability battle. I've made a few contacts among bboys with disabilities, but I've got to keep making more. I've got to find the way of helping as many as possible that works best for me. I know part of that has to be about me becoming less shy, but we'll work on that.
- Improve my dancing skills
I guess its kind of obvious, but whatever. I've got to keep practicing hard, I've got to work on all styles. But mostly bboying. I think in 06 I improved my toprock a lot. I think my biggest goal for 07 will be to get more footwork. And maybe a few new power moves.
- Choreograph my first dance piece.
I had a lot of ideas in 06 of pieces I wanted to do, but I could never sit down and work through them and actually make a piece. Joni and I started a piece, but it never got finished. I think in 07 one of my goals will be to make a piece for culture shock dc!
- Give love a chance
Haha, I know it sounds really stupid. But I think I'm finally healed up from my relationship from college and its time to give this love thing another chance. Although I've been glad to be single and have a lot of time to work on myself, I think its important that I learn to live with someone else and still do those things. I guess this would be a hard goal to work at since I have no control over meeting the right person. But we'll see what happens in 07
- Travel to more out of town jams
I had so much fun in Texas and met so many cool people, than I want to go to more jams out of the DC area. Hopefully I can get myself to Evolution in March, and maybe a cali jam sometime. And I still owe kate a battle in AZ, so we'll see.
Well I guess that's it. I hope everyone else had a wonderful 2006, if not I hope you have the courage and drive to change things in 2007. Best of my wishes, and take care.
Peace
Halfstep
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