Some slightly more advanced freezes

BBoy riPHt · Joined: 19 Jun 2005 Posts: 93 Location: Chicago/Boston

So, you've mastered handstand and turtle freeze and you're wondering, what next? Or maybe you're just sick and tired of falling, but that's none of my business.

Regardless, this post is going to center on a few of the more difficult freezes that I have mastered over the years that I believe are the next steps after getting the basics done.

Air chair:

This is the most basic of the following freezes. All it is is a one handed turtle freeze. However, it can serve as the basis of a lot of things, and can be really impressive once you get the balance really down and can hold it for a while. What you do with the non-stabbed hand (hand not in your stomach) is up to you, as you can see, I like putting it on my waist. A way to help gain balance in this position is to push hard with your fingertips. CAUTION! Don't actively put weight on them, because I guarantee that you will break them. Rather, focus your weight down into the heel of your hand, and then use your fingers to help with the small adjustments to keep yourself balanced.

Chair freeze:

This, despite being more complicated than the air chair, is probably the easiest of the freezes listed here. Your right arm is stabbed in your right side, and your right ankle is resting on your left knee. This is sort of like crossing your legs when you're sitting down, only this time your head and your right arm is making contact, instead of your butt. Try this two handed first, then progress to one handed. To make the one handed look clean, find a place to put it. Either hold it out straight and still, or keep it on your waist, forehead, etc. Otherwise, it will be waving around and makd the freeze look less like a freeze and more like a mistake. When first learning this, start from an air chair position, with your feet on the ground. Then twist your torso, cross your legs. Use your left toe for balance for the first few times you try this freeze.

Air baby:

This is a very difficult move to begin, but you'll probably hit a point where it just all works well. You place your right knee at a point in your tricep just above your elbow, while squatting. Thus, your right hand will be up in the air. Move your body forward in a sort of rolling motion, bringing your hand down and jabbing your rear end into the air. Your left leg should be straight and angled relatively down. Use your left hand to help with balance. When you're first trying this freeze, start with your left hand fully on the ground. Then, as more weight shifts onto the right hand, try putting your left hand on its fingers, then three fingers, then one finger. Lastly, try doing it with your left hand not supporting any weight at all. So far, I'm sort of cheating by gripping my right forearm with my left hand. This way, I get a very accurate sense of the balance I need, but I don't kill my elbow in the process. Try this freeze with jeans, or some other rough cloth. It's going to hurt your elbow, but trying it in warmups is nearly impossible.

And no, I’m not actually attached to that wire.

Invert

Last but not least, we have the invert. Before this, you definitely need to have a one hand handstand for at least 2-3 seconds. To get into this, swing your legs as if you were getting into a handstand, but with much much more force. As soon as your feet leave the ground, start twisting your body and bending your knees. Once your body makes a 45 degree angle with the ground, you should be completely on your right hand, and your body should have twisted about a full quarter turn. As you complete the turn, your body should come to be straight up and down, with your knees bent in towards your chest. From here, it is a simple matter of kicking your legs up towards the ceiling, and you have an invert. Unfortunately, finding the balance point so that this works correctly without you falling, is going to be very difficult. To strengthen your arm, do a handstand with your feet on the wall, then turn over so that you are basically in an invert position, with your feet still resting on the wall. Hold it for as long as you can. This freeze can hurt if you're not careful. Make sure that your feet go whichever way you fall, that way you don't land on your shoulder, head, neck, or whatever might be in that direction. Good luck and happy dancing!

pr · Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 1011 Location: Göteborg, Sweden

WOW!!! :)

Medira · Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 3:38 pm Post subject:

Geez...if I tried something like that, I'd definitely break myself.

Very impressive!

BBoy riPHt · Joined: 19 Jun 2005 Posts: 93 Location: Chicago/Boston

That's why these are the "advanced" freese :D

You've got to have rock solid forearms before you try any of these. It took me about a year to get to this point.

Medira · Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:18 am Post subject:

BBoy riPHt wrote: That's why these are the "advanced" freese :D

You've got to have rock solid forearms before you try any of these. It took me about a year to get to this point.
;) :P

Did you just practice all the time to build up the strength, or were there exercises you did in addition to the practicing?

fred2028 · Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 2:13 pm Post subject:

In the chair freeze, isn't your left leg supposed to be flat on the ground?

BBoy riPHt · Joined: 19 Jun 2005 Posts: 93 Location: Chicago/Boston

In the chair freeze, yes, you'll often seen a lot of people touch their left foot to the ground, but I prefer to keep it in the air. Usually I'll do it with my head off the ground too. I just think it's more impressive :D

bboy_breathless · Joined: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3

Hangon....that isnt an airchair...and airchair is when you lean on your side and have one leg straight up in the air and the other below bent but parelle to the floor...