The "let me crash at your place" guy...

[Rox-it]

I'd say the numero uno thing that seperates our community from any other dance community is the fact that if you go to a jam and you ABSOLUTELY need a place to stay for the night,

the host or SOMEBODY will let you crash on their floor.

along w/ that,

I can leave my stuff lying around at a Jam and NOBODY will touch or go through my stuff.

why is it that the most aggressive dance style out there has the nicest and most respectable members!?!?

That's soooo dope!

I have no problems letting a bboy/ bgirl (especially bgirl....) crash at my place as long as they let me know before hand.

Just wanting to know what you all originally thought of this whole thing. And what you think of it now.

The ability to sleep on a complete stranger's couch/floor.
The ability to have a complete stranger do the same to you w/ full confidence that your shit will NOT be jacked when you wake up the next morning.
The ability to leave your possessions alone in some corner and have everything still there when you return.

Rox-it
beatisckmisfits
Bloomington, IN

[coda]

Dec 23, 2009 23:27:29 GMT -5 Rox-it said:

The ability to sleep on a complete stranger's couch/floor.
The ability to have a complete stranger do the same to you w/ full confidence that your shit will NOT be jacked when you wake up the next morning.
The ability to leave your possessions alone in some corner and have everything still there when you return.

Because that's the essence of Hiphop. A culture that crosses all boundaries of religion, race, idealogies, social status, financial differences, and much more. It gives us all a common ground to be able to build with each other in a respected manner. That's what makes Hiphop so powerful. It brings peace, love, unity and respect. Its just not a physical element of the Culture. It's Hiphop in its spiritual form. In actuality Hiphop's most powerful form.

This is the difference between a true Hiphopper and one that just enjoys it as a "hobby". One that is a pure Hiphopper takes the essence, feeling, vibe, positive energy, respect, love, unity, peace and applies it to one's daily life outside of a Hiphop jam, event, battle, etc. A Hiphopper is one that manifests that energy on a daily basis to make the world a better place. Its a way of life, its more than just goin to a jam and havin fun.

Example:
I was breakin for almost 10yrs when I finally made it on a National battle level. I went to events all over the Nation before, but this was different. I was part of Motion Disorderz at the time and we won the Midwest Out For Fame. Therefore, we got flown out to LA to compete in the Out For Fame 2002 Finals. There were only 8 crews in the entire Nation that made it and each crew chose their Top 5 bboys. I was won of Motion Disorderz Top5. Therefore the Top40 bboys in the Nation were about to battle it out under one roof. For the first time, I felt I had finally "made it" as a bboy. I was standing in front of cats that I use to be influenced by and looked at as if they were on a different level then I was, yet I was about to battle them alongside my brothers Dizzy, Mijo, Alex, and Titi. For years I was brought up on the DJing of Topspeed. I was refreshed to know that in LA I would be able to get a new taste of breaks instead of the same ol same ol I always heard from Topspeed. The first battle was announced and it was my crew(Motion D) vs. Ground Zero. Cros1 started off by saying, "DJ Topspeed set it off!". I turned my head and looked at him. He smiled with a devilish grin and at that moment I was pissed yet happy at the sametime. For what is the chances of us not even knowing either would be there, let alone not even noticing each other until then? I wanted to hear some brand new fresh breaks that I didn't hear on a daily basis, but for whatever reason the Universe wanted me to dance to Indiana's own. Now you're probably thinking what does this have anything to do with Hiphop and the spiritual side of things... keep reading.... In between battles there were tonz of open cyphers. Headz from all over the US was there, but there was also a large attendance of International headz there as well. While in a circle me and this Japanese bboy started to exchange rounds between each other. It wasn't a battle per say, but we could understand each other on a respect level. He would vibe and then I would return that energy back to him on a stronger level. Of course he would exchange it back to me and we began to build the energy where the entire circle was feelin it. We probably went at it 5-8 rounds... After it was over I went up to give him due respect. And to my suprise he was unable to speak any English whatsoever. I was suprised because it seemed that we knew exactly what we were saying to each other on the dance floor, yet when communicating verbally it was damn near impossible. His boy was with him and said, "He doesn't speak English whatsoever. He's from Japan." I nodded and said, "Tell him I said, he's dope and I give him respect." His boy translated and then the bboy began to speak in Japanese in return to his boy. His boy then said, "He said he can understand you better on the floor then in English and that's the beauty of this dance." We both smiled and nodded at each other, then gave each other a hug of respect. About 15 minutes later, Mijo came up to me and was like, "Yo, did that Japanese kid come all the way from Fort Wayne to support you?" I was like, "Huh? WTF you talkin about? He's from Japan." Mijo responded, "Then why does his shirt say Shawnee Middle School Fort Wayne, Indiana on it?" I turned and looked and was completely shook! It sure enough did... So I ran up to the translator again and had him ask him where he got the shirt, the bboy stated from a store in Japan. Somethin like a thrift store in the United States according to the translator. I walked away stunned... couldn't believe that I had not even noticed that while exchanging so many rounds with him. How did I miss this? The reasoning is because I never saw him as being Japanese, I never saw him for what he was wearing, I never saw him as a different religion, or upbringin, or social status, I saw him as a human being. I was completely blinded by everything else, even the shirt he was wearing that was from the same city as I even though he lived thousands of miles from it. What was the chance of that?

Four years later(2006), I opened the dance studio: Fort Wayne Hip-Hop Dance. And met a kid named Brandon that was a natural. His mom signed him up for classes stating that he was interested in it for quite some time but had nobody to teach him. His speed of learning was so fast that he reminded me of one of the people I first started breakin with who's name was also Brandon. The Brandon that I started breakin with could of been the greatest Bboy of all time. I never seen anybody pick up faster than him, ever. Yet, he stopped breakin after only 2yrs and moved on with life I guess you can say.... Well, in honor of him I named this new student of mine after him. The original Brandon use to go by Vane. Therefore I gave Brandon his name Vane(which is the one you know now). So there's a little story about that. But this is where it all ties into.... I began to ask my students what school they all go to. Vane was the ONLY and still is the ONLY that was going to Shawnee Middle School at the time. I immediately thought about the kid from Japan. I then sat back after the studio closed that night and thought about how this is all connected, all of us... everything.. its the power of Hiphop. Its the power of the pure essence of this entire Culture. For me to be in LA alongside Topspeed exchanging energy with a Japanese bboy that is wearing a Shawnee Middle School shirt and returning home to eventually open up a dance studio to give back to the kids something that I never had when I started and finding only ONE student out of the hundred's that I had goes to Shawnee Middle School. Later on we changed the name of our Zulu Chapter from Indiana Zulus to Tomahawk Zulus paying homage to the Native Americans of Indiana(Land of the Indians) who this land rightfully belongs to and to the two biggest tribes of Indiana the Miami and Shawnee.

From Shawnee to Indiana to Vane to Coda to Topspeed to LA to Japan to Vane to Shawnee. We're all one! So the next time you feel that tingle in you while you're breakin or you feel that power of being in the zone... think about how much power you truely have inside of you at that moment and take it with you after the jam is over... utilize it and make the world a better place. That's Hiphop!

PEACE!
Coda
Weaponz of Rhythm
Universal Zulu Nation

[vizion]

*jaw on the floor*

[elgato]

gotta love codas stories.
i learn so much

['jCHAN']

true stuff...

if ever in the indy area, my house is open...

[amen]

Damn.......

[zypher]

I feel like Coda needs a weekly story time.

All the midwest bboys gather around a big fireplace with blankets and hot coco and we listen to Coda tells tales from his life as a bboy.

My dorm is always open to people who don't mind the floor!