So there’s a battle coming up that you REALLY want to enter. You’ve done everything you can to prepare for it right? No? Well fret not! For in this article are some tips that may help you do well in your next jam.

Using separate jars of peanut butter and jelly is better than that combined stuff

Before continuing, I’ll leave the disclaimer that there are many ways that dancers prepare. Some people never really practice and have a knack for battles while others have a knack for cyphers. Unfortunately for me when I first started, I had a knack for neither so if you find yourself in a similar situation, hopefully these tips can be of assistance! Having been through my share of battles, below are some basic steps I go through before suiting up for action.

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Practice, Practice, Practice!

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My mentor Ceech used to say “Don’t practice until you get something right, practice until you can’t get it wrong.” There is a truth to these words. When it comes to you being in a situation where your next move can decide victory or defeat, you want to make sure that every single movement looks and feels right to you. You’re going to want your movements to come out without even thinking. Start by going over all your basic movements to slow music. This can help you build patience and control. Also remember to breathe! It sounds like such a basic thing to do, but when the adrenaline is rushing through you and a million moves are going through your head, relaxing is often the last thing on one’s mind. And once you manage to feel comfortable doing those movements, then start dancing to varying speeds of music. Make sure that you not only practice to music that you love, but also songs that you aren’t very fond of. In order to excel at a battle, you’re going to want to be able to adapt to any possible situation.

ANY SITUATION

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Get Some Real Life Application

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Don’t just stand there in front of a mirror staring at yourself all day. I’m sure you have a wonderful buttocks, but when you’re in a battle, you’re not getting down in an empty room or studio. You’ll be getting down in room full of people, and for the inexperienced, this can be very intimidating. “So how do I practice dancing in front of people?” you might ask. The answer, my young padawan, is in the question you just asked! GO DANCE IN FRONT OF PEOPLE. Though I loved dancing, I was initially terrified of dancing in front of even one person; let alone a crowd of strangers. To overcome this, I was taught to get down anywhere at anytime.

Like Old Man Cooter’s place at 3 in the morning

Find out where the clubs and practice spots are in your area. If you can’t do that, go dance in front of your friends. You don’t have any friends nearby? Then go dance on the street; whatever it takes to get you dancing in front of people! Eventually, all your anxiety will be replaced with a collective calm that will help you stay focused in the most dire situations.

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Be Healthy in Mind, Body, and Soul

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I believe that to go into a jam with the best chances of having a good experience, a person needs to be healthy mind, body, and soul.

 

Think of them as a dancer’s triforce

Before you even begin your training for battle, ask yourself “What do I want from this?” Do you want to win? Do you want to make it past the top 16? Or do you just want battle experience? These are all valid reasons, but you need to decide what you want to get out of it. At the end of the day, you want to be able to be proud of your efforts. Going into a competition without direction decreases your chances of accomplishing anything outside of not qualifying. The crowd and judges can usually sense what a dancer is feeling and if what you feel is nothing or confusion, then that’s exactly how they’ll feel about you.

My definition of a healthy mind for a dancer is one who has great knowledge of the dance that they are doing. Do you know all your techniques and various combinations? Do you have a strategy when doing your round? Being aware of what you are doing in battle can be the difference between being focused, and being anxious.

When asked why he was in such phenomenal shape, Bruce Lee said that he wanted his body to be able to do anything that he needed it to do. Most people get pretty fit from getting down, but other people like to also work out for additional exercise. I personally believe that every person is different and has their own way of getting physically healthy, but having good health is what’s key. You don’t want to see what happens when you do a backflip and don’t have the required strength.

Or maybe you do?

If you have any tips for up and coming dancers (exercises, battle strategies, shamanistic rituals, voodoo, etc), I would love to hear them in the comments below.