Dyzee神的日記 2016年5月13日
我很久沒有寫神的日記了，這日記原本應該是我用來記錄生活中所發生的神的事蹟，其中有很多重要的事蹟很讓人懷念，其中一個事蹟特別有趣所以我決定把它寫下來。
如同大家所知，我在2012年正式從Battle賽事中退休，因為神要我為嘻哈以及B-Boy文化盡一份心力，我對神發誓在最後一次Battle賽事結束後放下這一切並追隨祂。我很渴望能夠繼續Battle因為這是我身為B-Boy的根源，但有時候我們必須奉獻自己為這文化盡一份心力，有時候我希望是由別人來做，但既然我已對神發誓，我就必須放棄BATTLE直到再度得到祂的首肯。
以下分享我如何從退休再次參加Freestyle Session世界決賽的經過，以及一個36歲且體態不復以往的B-Boy如何與當今世界頂尖B-Boy抗衡的戰略。
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在2015年10月的第三週，Hongten與Differ問我能不能跟他們參加Freestyle Session，因為Wing和Skim的檔期無法配合，然後Ronnie太忙了，他們最近贏了Silverback Open賽事並取得以7 Commandoz 的身分參加Freestyle Session的資格。當時我的體態完全不在最佳狀態而且因為工作和休假已經超過一個月沒有練習了，再說我已經對神發誓不再Battle了(除非神同意或是至少有某種評審系統作為理由)，所以我基於以下理由拒絕他們：
1. 我太久沒有參加賽事了
2. 距離賽事只剩兩個星期，而我已經超過一個月沒有練習或訓練了
3. 我不想成為他們輸的理由
我告訴他們去找圈內其他更年輕、更有衝勁的人選，他們透露些許失望但仍然尊重我的決定，之後我的心裡很失落，我向神祈禱”祢知道我有多渴望Battle，但我已經向你承諾不再比賽了，如果你願意再讓我Battle，請給我一個指示。
隔天，我的好友Daniel Zhu找我聊天，小聊一會兒，他開始說服我跟7 Commandoz一起參加Freestyle Session，我提到Hongten與Differ已經找過我，而且我已經拒絕了，並叫他們去找其他人，之後他說了一些讓我動搖的話，他說Hongten與Differ決定兩個人參賽而不另找第三人…
我不經意地想，哇!他們寧願以不利的條件參加比賽也不願意再找其他厲害的人幫他們，所以Daniel說服我幫助他們，但是首先我必須要得到神的答應，也同時代表我必須要徵得至少三個人同意
#1 我老婆
#2 我的搭檔Puzzles
#3 我的老闆Johnjay
就我所指，我的太太一定不會答應，因為她知道我的身材已經走樣而且我也不會想要因為再度復出這件事破壞自己的名聲。接著，Puzzles也會問：「所以你願意跟他們組隊卻不願意跟我組隊?」此外，我的假期也已經休完了，我的老闆不可能答應放人!
我的太太：
讓我改變心意的一段話
當天我回到家之後，用不在乎的語氣跟我太太說Hongten與Differ希望我在兩週後跟他們一起參賽，但我已經拒絕了因為我已經老了。結果我太太立刻說”你應該去的!”我想說都已經很久沒練習了，而且我也不想被別人當成怪咖，我太太說”不要囉嗦了，你最好馬上開始練習!
Bboy Puzzles:
接著我懷著內疚告訴我長期的夥伴Bboy Puzzles說7 Commandoz很希望我能跟她們一起參加Freestyle Session但是我拒絕了。Bboy Puzzles是我退休前最後一位一起進行訓練及參加比賽的戰友，他知道我已經沒有在BATTLE了，所以我預期他會阻止我，但是他說”你應該參加!” 你有Hongten與Differ比賽時所需要的BBOY原創風格，你如果重新開始BATTLE一定會很棒!
隔天當我離開辦公室之後，說真的我沒想到會走到需要徵詢老闆意見的這一步，我已經在多倫多跟阿根廷把三個星期的假期給休完了，所以我鼓起勇氣向Johnjay說明我的情況，他問我兩件事：
1. 誰支付機票錢? 我回答Silverback，但我必須跟Hongten與Differ一起參加BATTLE
2. 你開始練習了嗎? 我回答”還沒”。
他說：「去吧!」
這就是我像神請祈求的三個確證，我原本認為會阻止我參賽的三位親友，都鼓勵我參加比賽。
所以我馬上通知Hongten與Differ說我願意跟他們一起比賽，他們很開心，現在我們剩兩個星期可以準備…我的大腦立刻轉換到之前的比賽模式，開始想像持續一整天的Battle、比賽戰略以及所有可能的比賽情況，但問題是我的身材已經走樣而且只有兩個星期可以調整身體狀況了，我有全職的工作(十點到七點)，然後我的練習場地只有一、三、五有開，現實上的困難對我的打擊很大，我的大腦告訴我，我將會表現得很糟糕，你會被嘲笑，你的聲望將毀於一旦。
我不知該如何是好，所以我做了唯一件能做的事：拼命地祈禱並等待神的指示，我所祈禱的事情非常實際：神，我不需要贏，我只要能夠自由的跳舞並留下一場讓人津津樂道的Battle就行了。最後，我感覺到”聖靈”給了我一個的奇妙的揭示，我需要在第一個星期做”思考和運動”，然後在第二個星期做”練習和準備”。
我因此豁然開朗，”那就這樣做吧”，在白天我開始記下每個我可能可以成功做出來的動作，所有我的Powermoves跟Powertricks都被捨棄掉了，那些是不可能及時練的回來的，下班後，在TIP學院我開始學習一些新的排舞，剩餘的時間我坐著並將身體蜷作一團，進行冥想並思考下一步該怎麼做，即便是Hongten也會過來問我發生了甚麼事，我告訴他我只是在思考，這是我準備BATTLE的方式，哈哈哈，我嘗試一個又一個的動作，有些被列入”不能做”，有些則被列入”有機會再練起來”，我把這些全部紀錄下來，如同雜貨店的購買清單一樣。
我把記載的招式清單用Excel檔案列印出來，我試著挑出十組招式來準備，在沒有練習場地的日子，我在家附近跑步，在公園鍛鍊，說實在的我很討厭這樣做，我很不喜歡除了Breaking以外的任何鍛鍊，我的身體很痠痛，全身無力，而且在週末我有很多可能練得起來的招式要練習，但是卻可能沒有體力在Battle當下做出來。
在隔週也就是最後一週，我還有兩個練習要做，在星期一的第一個練習，我試著在Freestyle的時候把每一個招式做出來，我希望在每一個Throwdown之中至少做到兩招，但結果有20%在清單裡的招式做不到，哈哈，在第二個也就是最後一個星期三的練習，我嘗試做整套的Throwdown，緊接著我們的排舞，儘管我能做完全部的排舞，但我表現得很糟糕，喘不過氣，也因此非常擔心。
再一次地，我在深夜裡向神禱告說：「神，我不需要贏，我只是不想要在比賽中淪為笑柄。」然而在這個時刻，我受到極大的壓力並且與我太太有了爭執。
到了隔天，星期四，我們飛往洛杉磯，不只是我自己的內心經歷了很多，Differ也遭遇了很多意外狀況，被阻擋與抽查三次，我們到洛杉磯的轉機航班在舊金山拖延了八個小時，當我們最後到了洛杉磯，我們的旅館房間因為一些差錯而被其他人入住了，幾小時後，我們住到了另一間旅館，那個房間我們三人必須共擠一張床，哈哈。在剩餘的幾小時內，我們”走”了一下我們的小組然後就寢。
隔天早上，我們趕到了Freestyle Session第一天的賽事，我看到了很多厲害的人以及來自世界各地的B-Boy，包含波蘭、俄羅斯、台灣及日本。如果你沒來過Freestyle Session真的非常可惜，在現場有一種無法解釋的氛圍，但你可以確切的感受到它，猶如聖靈一般的存在，說實在的，我期待到處都有人跟我打招呼，但還是會擔心會有不認同我的OUR系統理念的B-Boy在看到我的時候有不友善的態度。
我同時也試著保密我是來參加Battle的這件事，一來是可以製造驚喜，再來是B-Boy們就不會特地去研究我的影片來做賽前的準備。此外任何真正的Cypher Battle都會讓我在隔天相當的疲累，因為所有評審的目光都注視著我回歸後的表現，在我的腦海中，我可以聽到人們說：「這個人發明了評審系統?來瞧瞧他有甚麼本事。」但現在的情況與我預想的相反，當有些B-Boy問我是來做評審還是觀眾的時候，在那個當下，我只能誠實的說我是來參加Battle的。
“真的嗎? 不可能吧?”
“嗯，我的夥伴需要第三個參賽者，所以我來支援他們”
“你和誰一起參加Battle?”
“嗯…Hongten跟Differ”
“太扯了拉!!”
看到B-Boy們對於我要參賽這件事感到很興奮讓我非常訝異，消息傳得很快，很多B-Boy都過來對我表示很開心看到我參加比賽，而且迫不及待想看到我的演出。我說不要抱太大的期望，可能會讓你們非常失望，他們鼓勵我說夠看到我這個世代回歸到舞台，展現90年代晚期的風格讓他們覺得非常振奮，這時，我只祈禱”神阿，我不求勝利，只求不要淪為笑柄!
第二天是很重要的一天，我並沒有像預先想的那麼緊張，內心充滿平和與興奮，在過去的Battle，我總是充滿攻擊性，但這一次，我很享受在表演當中，我們都想要與厲害的人一決高下，然而這次的Battle對我來說只是為了留下一次歷史的見證。
第一場Battle通常是最緊張然後表現最差的，常常是匆促的結束並且容易被自己給絆倒，我本來是做這樣的心理準備的，但是當我得知我們即將與我的好友Soul Disorderz隊伍的Airsick對上的時候，我完全鬆了一口氣，不是因為我覺得勝券在握，而是因為退休後的過去四年來，我都只跟我的朋友們Cypher，所以很習慣了。
我的戰鬥模式已經很久沒有啟動了，現在似乎只有在自我防衛的時候才有機會展現出來，我已經無法像以前那樣隨意的控制它了。
Airsick是我的朋友，我訓練他的戰鬥模式，所以他看起來很兇惡，然而我知道對親近的人是很難啟動戰鬥模式的，所以這場比賽可能對我比較有利，如果我被壓制而且表現得很糟糕的話，我寧願輸給自己的朋友，尤其是我所教過的人。
如同我所預期的，在這場Battle之中，我的腿因為緊張而變得沉重，我這一輪的表演非常的短，然而我專注做我所會的招式，以簡單但具有原創性的Freezes Route應戰，但無論我表現的好或不好，Hongten都表現得非常興奮，在我們的第二輪，我們對上Knuckleheadz Cali，我覺得這是我表現最差的一輪，但是對上Flexum的時候表現得還可以，我很享受過程所以對於輸贏不會太在意。
在第三輪我們對上了由一群狠角色組成的隊伍，Fellow SNC成員 Morris、傳說中的 Machine和超級巨星Tata，我知道他們在Battle的時候很兇猛所以我的策略是對Morris做SNC的手勢，這樣他就不會太為難我，但我真正擔心的是Machine的風格以及音樂性，我了解Machine是那種需要被激將才能發揮實力的人，所以在最後一輪當他對上我的時候，我點了點頭並對他露齒微笑，”耶!酷喔!耶!”他看著我竊笑，在那時候我就知道他完蛋了，他忘了接下來要幹嘛了(笑)，這一輪我只要做一次所以我盡全力把它做出來，也就是做我自己。
我們的最終戰是對上日本的超級三人組合Found Carnival!!! 我會這麼看重他們是因為Wingzero跟 Kazukiroc的風格與原創性在當今是很有名的，雖然我比他們年長很多，但我們在BREAKIN的觀念上是非常契合的。
ISSEI!!!!我在R16就見識過這小孩的厲害了，我是他的粉絲，而且我常常在想如果在BATTLE對上他我該如何是好???而現在我就在舞台上跟他正面交鋒了。
我平時跟Supernaturalz一起Battle的時候，常常取決於誰先出招以及出了甚麼招，才會決定接下來該怎麼做，但這次比賽前我只有兩個星期的準備時間，我只能先用來調整體態，然後Hongten跟Differ才能擬定策略以及安排出場順序，所以當Issei第一個出場的時候，我心裡想：完了，希望我不要嚇到尿出來(笑)。當他開始出招的時候，我內心有個聲音告訴我，他會做那些厲害的招又怎樣，你有你的舞步，你每一輪都可以有新的東西，我不確定我是否在Issei的那一輪擊敗了他，但我確定我做出新的東西而且替給Kazuki跟Wingzero設立的一個很高的門檻。
我的第二輪緊接在Issei結束之後，我對待Battle的情況比較像是在Cypher的情況，我喜歡把新的、厲害的變化放在後頭，但是最好的戰術之一是把”原創”的概念放在結尾的時候展現，因為這時候所有的招都出完了，當有新的東西一出現的時候，不僅會讓人耳目一新，也會讓人覺得你的對手好像只會一成不變地做同樣的東西，所以我做了一個很經典的"Shirt thread set"，然後感謝主，我最後的Freeze很精準地做在拍子上。
我的最後一輪是最重要的一輪，這時的Battle雙方情勢非常接近，或許日本還略勝一籌，Issei再一次轟動全場而我被迫要緊接著他之後上場，他輕鬆地走出舞台外，讓我無法專心，但是取而代之我內心的聲音開始對我說話，而我則經由嘴巴把那些話對Issei說了出來：「你知道我多大了嗎，孩子?我36歲了，混蛋!!!然後我拉起我的衣服露出肚子說：『對，我有一點胖，但是你瞧瞧這個!』我做了一個我超過十年沒做的招式 “Hog Tie”Combo，這個招式是我們比賽的最後關鍵，但不論是贏或輸都是一個很棒的經驗，我不敢相信我還能成功做出這個招式。
你知道我多大了嗎，孩子? 我36歲了，混蛋!
最後，我最大的啟發”Crazylegs”即將要把衛冕者的手給舉起來了，在2002年，我的第一次大型Battle是在紐約的一對一Rock Steady Anniversary Battle，那就是BC ONE的前身，Crazylegs在那裡的決賽把我的手舉了起來，我的B-Boy生涯也開始有了急遽的發展。來到比賽倒數十秒，我記得我的心跳非常的快，心裡想：不會吧，不可能…。結果當Crazylegs再次把我的手舉起來的時候，我可能表現得太過激動了，但那可能是我B-Boy生涯最開心開心一天。
一場難忘的旅程
猶如我從2006開始在日記上所說的，我向神承諾如果之後贏得任何的BATTLE，我都將把所有榮耀奉獻給他，我常常會要求在台上說一些話，但這一次沒有時間跟機會讓我發言，所以我才會把它寫下來，作為神帶領我從退休生活重新取得Freestyle Session衛冕者頭銜的見證
-Dyzee
翻譯：陳志豪
最後，就讓我們來看看精彩的決賽影片！
DYZEE GOD DIARY·2016年5月13日
Wow I haven’t wrote in this God diary for so long. It was supposed to be where i recorded all my crazy testimonies about God in my life. I missed quite a few important ones. I guess this one is relatively fresh in my brain so I’ll write it down now.
As many people in the Bboy community know, since 2012, I officially retired from competitive battling. The reason why is because I knew that God has called me to be a servant of the hip hop / bboy culture, as i’ve already had my time as an active battler. I made a vow that after one last battle (Circle Industry) I would put it down and follow him. Yes I have a huge desire to battle because that is how I was created, to be a Bboy, but someone has to sacrifice in order to help take this culture to its destiny. Sometimes I wish it wasn’t me. But as i made a vow to God, I won’t battle compete again unless he tells me himself.
Here is my account of how I ended up coming out of retirement for one last time, what I was going through, how I prepared for Freestyle Sessions World Finals and the strategies I used as a 36 year old over the hill pot belly Bboy against the top world contending Bboys of today.
On the 3rd week of October 2015, Hongten and Differ hit me up asking me if I could enter Freestyle Sessions with them since Wing and Skim had a scheduling conflict and Ronnie was busy. They’re recent win at Silverback Open earned 7 Commandoz a spot at Freestyle Session world finals. At that point, I was completely out of shape, and I hadn’t practiced in over a month because of work and vacation back to Toronto. Plus i made a vow to God that I wouldn’t battle (unless he told me its ok, or if there was at least some sort of “judging system”). So i told them no because:
1. I haven’t entered a competition in a LONG TIME
2. Its only TWO WEEKS AWAY and I haven’t been practicing or training for over a month (out of shape)
3. I don’t want to be the reason why they lose (getting in their way to victory)
I told them that it’s better if they get someone younger and more active in the scene.
They showed some disappointment but was very respectful to me and my decision (They are such great guys really). But after all that, something in my heart was saddened. I prayed to God, “You know the desires of my heart. I’m sure you put them there. But i promised to you that wouldn’t compete. If you wan’t me to battle, your gonna have to show me a sign.”
A day later, a good friend of mine from Stance, Daniel Zhu, hit me up on chat. After some small talk, he started trying to convince me to enter freestyle sessions with 7 Commandoz. I proceeded to explain to him that Hongten and Differ already asked me and I said no, and to enter with someone else younger and more active. Then he told me something that resonated with me.
He said that both Hongten and Differ decided to enter with just two people and refused to enter with a
Automatically, this made me think, WOW! They would choose to enter at a handicap than to bring in someone dope who could help them win??? So Daniel convinced me to consider backing up my boys. But first, I needed confirmation from God, which means, at least 3 confirmations from 3 people who I think would say no...
#1 My wife
#2 My partner Puzzles
#3 My boss at Cartel Creative
In my mind, my wife would definitely say no, cuz she knows im out of shape and that I don’t want to ruin my reputation by coming back and being wack! Also Puzzles has every right to be like, “so you enter with them but you won’t enter with me?” And of course, i’ve used up all my vacation days, no way my boss is gonna let me go!
My Wife:
The convincing conversation that converted me
I got home that night and very nonchalantly told my wife how Hongten and Differ asked me to battle in two weeks and I said no cuz I’m old and a fat ass.
Right off the bat she said “YOU SHOULD DO IT!” I was like “Naw, i haven’t been training and I don’t want to come back and be wack”. She was like “Don’t be a little bitch and you better start training!”
Bboy Puzzles:
I later hit up my long time partner in crime, Bboy Puzzles on Kakao chat and told him how 7 Commandoz asked me to battle at Freestyle Sessions but I said no. My bro Puzzles was the last Bboy i trained and entered a competition with and since then, he knows that I no longer battle. So I was expecting him to totally be against me battling again, but instead he said “YOOO YOU SHOULD DO IT!! You have that original bboy formula which Hongten and Differ will need in order to win! DO it, it will be dope to see you battling again!!!”
My Boss:
The next day I went to the office, and to be honest, I didn’t think I’d make it this far and actually have to ask him. I already used up all my vacation days and was away in Toronto and Argentina for 3 weeks! So I mustered up the strength, went up to Johnjay and gave him my pitch. Johnjay asked two things:
1. “Who’s paying for the flight?” I told him Silverback but I need to battle with Hongten and Differ.
2. “LOL, Have you actually been training?” I said “not really”.
“F*** it, go do it”
AND BOOM, that was the 3 confirmations that I asked God to give me. 3 peeps who i was pretty sure would tell me not to do it, actually told me to go ahead and do it.
So i quickly called Hongten and Differ, and told them that if they aren’t going to put in a 3rd member, then I will battle with them. They were happy, and now we had exactly 2 weeks to prepare.... (dun dun dunnnnn)
Immediately my brain went back into that old competitive mode. I began thinking of battling all day, thinking about strategies, and mentally putting myself in every situation and scenario possible. But the problem was, I was out of shape and had literally two weeks left to get into shape. I have a full time job (10-7) and my practice spot is only open Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This was impossible. This reality hit me really hard and I went into a huge dark moment where my brain was telling me “Oh your gonna do horrible. People are gonna laugh at you. You are going to ruin your reputation”
I had no clue what to do, so I did the only thing I did know what to do, I prayed... hardddd and waited for God to tell me what to do. As i began to pray, i prayed for what’s realistic.
God, I don’t need to win. I just want to dance freely and for a battle which will be remembered
Finally I felt “the Spirit” show me a rather ridiculous revelation. I needed to to spend the first week “Thinking” and “Exercising” and the last week “Practicing and Preparing”.
So I figured, “Hey, why not”, and during the day, I began the week writing down every single move that I might be able to actually pull off. All my powermoves and powertricks were completely thrown out the door. Noway that was coming back in time! After work, at TIP academy I spent some time learning a few routines, and the rest of the time, I just sat down, curled up into a ball, meditated and stressed out over what I was going to do. Even Hongten would come up to me and ask me “What is wrong”. I’d tell him, I’m just thinking, and this is how I practice for battles. hahahaha. One by one i would go over a classic move and it would either go into the “Cannot do” pile, or the “Might be able to get this back in time” pile. I wrote everything down like a huge grocery shopping list.
My Arsenal written out and printed on an Excel sheet. On the bottom left i tried to make 10 sets. I failed
On the days where there was no practice spots, I began running around in my neighborhood, working out in parks... and to be honest, I suck at it. I hate it... I pretty much loath working out with anything besides breakin. My body was hurting and aching, I had no strength left, and at the end of the week, I had a pretty pathetic list of things that I might be able to do, but might not have the energy to actually pull them off in a battle.
On the next and final week, I had 2 practices left. On the first practice on Monday, i tried to see if I can do each move from a freestyle. I tried to do at least two moves per throwdown. This made me lose another 20% of my arsenal! haha
The second and final Wednesday practice, I tried throwing down full throwdowns including our routines back to back! Although I was able to make it through the whole list of routines, however I was terrible, out of breath, and deeply concerned!
Once again I stayed up late nights praying, saying “God, I don’t need to win lord, I just don’t want to look like an ass”. However, at this moment, I was going through a lot of stress at home, getting into an argument with my wife.
The next day, on Thursday, our plane took off for LA. Not only was I internally going through a lot, but for some reason, Differ was going through a string of bad luck, getting stopped and searched 3 times, our transfer plane to LA getting delayed 8hrs in San francisco, when we finally arrived in LA, our hotel was mistakenly taken by someone else! After many hours, we ended up getting another hotel room with one bed that all 3 of us had to share! haha. With what little hours we had left, we “walked through” our
Next morning, we all went down to day 1 of Freestyle Sessions and I was blown away by all the talent I saw and how many Bboys from all around the world was there from as far as Poland, Russia, Taiwan and Japan. If you have never been to a Freestyle Sessions, your truly missing out. There’s a vibe in the air that can’t be explained but you know it’s real and can only be experienced... much like the holy Spirit. To tell the truth, I was a bit worried coming, and what I was expecting, was to be called out left and right. I was under the impression that all the Bboys who don’t agree with my methods of uniting the different perspectives and approaches to Bboyin through the OUR system would be waiting for me and not with hugs and kisses.
I was also trying to keep it a secret that I was battling so that I had an element of surprise and that Bboys wouldn’t be going to their hotels and watching my latest videos in order to mentally prepare for a response to my arsenal. Plus, any real cypher battles would get me really tired for the next day, when it really counts because all judging eyes will be watching my return to the battle floor. In my mind, I could hear people already saying “So this guy launched a judging system eh?? lets see what this guy can do.”
Now interestingly, I found it to be the opposite. When some Bboys asked why I was there (if i was judging or just watching), when cornered, I couldn’t lie so I told them I was battling.
“REALLY??? NOWAY!!”
“Yeahhhh... had to back up my boys who needed a third”
“WHO ARE YOU BATTLING WITH??”
“Ummm, Hongten and Differ”
“GET THE F**** OUT OF HERE!!”
I was shocked to see that Bboys were excited that I was battling. Somehow, news spread around fast and many Bboys came up to me to say they were so happy I’m battling and can’t wait to see me represent. I was like, “ummmmm, please don’t expect too much! I might be a big dissapointment!!” They encouraged me by explaining to me that it will be refreshing to see someone like me, from my generation, with the old 90’s approach, representing again. At this point I was praying like “God! I don’t need to win, but please don’t let me be wack!!”
Day 2 came a long, the big day. That original feeling of nervousness that never fails to hit me, didn’t really come around this time. Instead, I was filled with peace and excitement. In all my past previous battles, I was out for blood. This time, I was out to have a good time by putting up a good fight. We wanted to go up against squadron and skill brat methods. For me, this battle was just about making a historic battle that everyone will talk about and remember.
The first battle is always the worst. It’s the battle where you have to shake off your nerves. It’s the round where you usually end up rushing through and tripping over your own feet. I probably should of tried to shake off some nerves in the cypher, but I didn’t end up getting around to doing it. When i found out that we will be going up against my good friend Airsick in “Soul Disorderz” (Soul Mechanics + Motion Disorderz) I was completely relieved!! Not because I thought it was an automatic win, but because:
For the past 4 years since competitive retirement, I’ve only been cyphering with friends so i’m used to just having fun and joking around
My battle mode mentality of “seek, kill & destroy” has been long gone and seems to only come out in self defense and I can’t get into the zone on command like i used to.
Airsick is a good friend of mine. I trained him in battlemode, that’s why he’s so fierce. However, I know how hard it is to go into battlemode one someone your close to. So this might work out in my favor.
If i do end up choking and doing horrible, I’d rather lose to a friend of mine, especially one that I taught.
So just as I predicted, in this battle, my nerves made my legs feel heavy. I think my round was really short, however, I just stuck to what I knew, went with the easy but original freezes route. But even if I did terrible or not, Hongten went freakin bananas!
In our 2nd round, we went up against Knuckleheadz Cali. I think this was my worst round. But i’ve been cool with Flexum for some time so i felt comfortable and didn’t care win or lose.
Now our 3rd round we went up against a seriously stacked all star squad. Fellow SNC member Morris, the legend Machine, and superstar Tata!!! I know these guys are fierce in the battle so my game plan was to give Morris the SNC hand sign so that he wont go to hard on me. But who i was really worried about was Machine because of his flavor and musicality! I know how he is, he’s the type of Bboy that needs to get pissed and then he kills it. So the last round, while he was going at me, I was nodding my head in agreeance while smiling at him with my big ass teeth “yeah! nice! yeah!” I saw him look at me and chuckle, at that moment I knew it was over for him. I think he lost track of what he was gonna do. lol. This round i just had one round so I did what I do best, be myself.
Our final battle was against a super Japan all-star trio! FOUND CARNIVAL!!! Why this team was such a big deal for me was because:
Wingzero and Kazukiroc are now famous for their styles and originality. Although I’m much older than they, we match up pretty well in terms of our approach to breakin.
ISSEI!!!! Through R16, i’ve seen this kid really come up and begin conquering the world. I’m a big Issei fan, and I’ve always been like, what the heck would I do against this kid if I ever battled him??? Now here I am standing across from him on the battle floor.
Now usually when I battle with Supernaturalz, it depends on who comes out and what is done which will determine who and what will go after. But due to my 2 week preparation time, i only had time to try to whip back into shape so Hongten and Differ set the strategy and preassigned who will go first till the end.
So when Issei came out first, I was like DAMN hope i don’t poop my pants!!!! (lol) but when he threw down, the inner voice came out and said to me “So what he can do all that crazy stuff?? Your moves are YOUR MOVES! Your bringing something new every round!” Something just took over and i’m not sure if I beat Issei’s round or not, but I sure brought something different and set a high standard for Kazuki and Wingzero.
My 2nd round I came out once again after Issei killing it. The way I approach battles is much like a cypher, i try to bring out newer and better variations later. But one of the best strategies is to save the more “original” concepts towards the end because by then, everything has already been done, and bringing out something new is not only a breath of fresh air, but can make your opponents look or feel as if they are doing the same thing over and over. So I brought out a REALLY OLD CLASSIC shirt thread set and by the
My last and final round was the most important round. At this time, the battle was close, and could possibly be in Japan’s favor. Once again, Issei The Killer... kills it again and I’m forced to go after his round. He take his time getting out of the circle, breakin my concentration, but instead the voice speaks to me and out of my mouth I say to Issei, “You know how old I am kid? I’M THIRTY SIX B*****!!!!” Then i lift up my shirt to show my stomach and say “YES I’m a bit fat but CHECK THIS!” and I throw down a sleeve threading “Hog Tie” combo which I haven’t done in battle for over ten years! The best part is that this combo lead our final Commando of DEATHHHHH. Win or lose, what an amazing experience. Can’t believe I was able to have this one more.
You know how old i am kid? I’m thirty six b****!
In the end, my biggest style inspiration “Crazylegs” was about to lift the hand of the champion. In 2002, my first big battle was the 1 on 1 Rocksteady Anniversary Battle in New York City. This jam was the BC One of the past! Crazylegs lifted my hand there in the final and it was when my Bboy career exploded.
Counting down from 10, I remember my heart beating so fast, thinking, this can’t be. There’s no way.... When legz lifted up my hand once again, perhaps i reacted a bit to surprised and crazy but it was possibly one of the happiest days in my Bboy career.
What a journey!
Now as I stated in my previous journals, since 2006, I made a promise to God that if i ever win another battle, I will give it up to him, all the glory. I usually ask to say a few words on the mic but this time there wasn’t time and i didn’t get the chance to... thus, this is the reason why I have written this note as a testimony of how God brought me back out of retirement to win Freestyle Sessions.
- Dyzee
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