[News Terms] 'Breaking' Becomes Official Sport for the First Time at Hangzhou Asian Games

Among the sports officially adopted for the first time at the '2022 Hangzhou Asian Games' starting on the 23rd is 'Breaking.' The skills of South Korea's breaking representatives are already considered world-class, setting the stage for a showdown with athletes from Japan, China, and Kazakhstan.

Breaking originated in the early 1970s at clubs in New York, USA, as a type of hip-hop dance. During the part of the hip-hop beat where only the beat plays without rap, male dancers (B-boys) and female dancers (B-girls) showcase techniques and moves that match the music, which are then evaluated by judges. One-on-one battles are the standard, and on an 8m by 8m square stage, dancers alternate for about 60 seconds to the randomly selected music, determining rankings based on their breaking skills.

On the morning of June 7th, at the French Ambassador's Residence in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Kim Hyun-woo, a national breaking representative, is performing a breaking demonstration at the unveiling ceremony of the 'Paris 2024 Olympic' commemorative coin. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The competition consists of three rounds, and the dancer who is chosen by the judges in at least two rounds wins. The nine judges evaluate based on ▲the completeness of techniques and precise control over the body (technical skill) ▲the range of stage use and variety of techniques (expressiveness) ▲the dancer's individual creative movements (originality) ▲smooth transitions between techniques and absence of mistakes (execution).

At this Asian Games, athletes first go through preliminaries to qualify for the round of 16. Then, the round of 16 is divided into four groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the quarterfinals to begin the main tournament matches.

South Korea selected its team by holding the 'Breaking K Series' in 2021. B-boys Kim Heon-woo (Wing) and Kim Hong-yeol (Hong10), and B-girls Jeon Ji-ye (Freshbella) and Kwon Seong-hee (Starry) will represent the country wearing the Taeguk mark at the Asian Games.

In Asia, Japan, China, and Kazakhstan have demonstrated outstanding skills in breaking. Japan is considered a strong rival in the B-boy category. On the 30th of last month, Japan's superstar Shigeru Nakarai (Shigekix), who won the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) World Series, boasts a global reputation. Also, Amir Zakirov (Amir) from Kazakhstan won the WDSF World Series held in February and is aiming for a medal in this competition. In the B-girl category, Japan's top-ranked Ami Yuasa (Ami), who shares the world No.1 ranking, and Liu Qingyu (671) from China, who is causing a teenage sensation, are considered close contenders for the championship.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.