FOCUS IT.] Seiko's first breakin' competition was held! Report on the heated dance battle between B-BOYs from around the world.

A global sports festival to be held in Paris in the summer of 2024. The year before last, skateboarding was added to the competition, and many people were glued to their TV sets thanks to the success of Japanese athletes. Following this, breakdancing has been adopted as a new sport in Paris and is attracting a great deal of attention.

In this vein, SEIKO held a breakdance competition called the "Seiko 5 Sports Showdown" on December 3. Top athletes from around the world were invited to compete in a one-on-one battle. Here is a digest of the exciting showdown.

Photo_Jason halayko
Text_Tsuji
Edit_Ryo Muramatsu

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What is the Seiko 5 Sports Showdown hosted by Seiko?

Seiko is known as one of Japan's leading watch manufacturers. You may have seen Seiko as the official timekeeper for athletic events such as track and field or swimming, not to mention wristwatches and wall clocks. Seiko has long been a brand with deep ties to sports.

Seiko 5 Sports, a brand of Seiko Corporation, is now focusing on breakin.

The venue for the Seiko 5 Sports Showdown was Lalaport, a shopping mall in Sakai, Osaka, which opened last year. The stage was set up in the event space in the center of the building, equipped with a large screen and digital signage. This year's event was one of Sakai City's regional promotion measures, and was actively advertised.

The pattern of the battle isSeiko Watch Global" on YouTubeandSeiko 5 Sport on InstagramThe "Best Breaker" and "Best Battle" were decided by online voting by the viewers of the live broadcasts and the audience at the event. (Videos of the day's events can be viewed on each of these accounts.)

The dancers selected for the competition will receive an original Seiko 5 Sports watch and cash prizes.

Ten world-class B-BOYs will gather in Osaka.

Now, what we are interested in is the matchup card. The organizer, Seiko, decided the matchups in advance based on historical battles that have been viewed more than 9 million times on YouTube, etc. Of the five possible matchups, the last one is the one that breakdance fans want to see the most. The final battle will be chosen from a special website.

The 10 top-class B-BOYs in the world, both in name and reality, including TAISUKE, who leads the Japanese breakin scene, PHYSICX, who is extremely popular in Korea, VICTOR, who was chosen to represent the United States at the sports festival to be held next summer, and LIL ZOO, who has 220,000 followers on Instagram, have all gathered at the event. B-BOYs of the world's top class in both name and reality gathered at the event. The match-up card is as follows.

1st：LIL KEV (France) vs KID COLOMBIA (The Netherlands)
2nd：PHYSICX (South Korea) vs STRIPES (USA)
3rd：PHILIP (USA) vs SUNNI (UK)
4th：TAISUKE(Japan) vs LIL ZOO(Austria/Morocco)
5th: BRUCE ALMIGHTY (Portugal) vs VICTOR (USA)

Before the battle began, the competitors were all on stage warming up for the battle. Families, couples, and young people enjoying shopping at "Lalaport" began to gather around the stage.

Five heated battles. Competing techniques with nimble movements.

When it was time for the battle to begin, a crowd formed around the stage, and many people were also seen on the second and third floors of the atrium overlooking the stage.

In this one-match event, two competitors will perform their moves to the beat of a DJ within a set time frame. Of course, since the beats are not announced in advance, the point is to test their improvisational skills.

When the beat sounds, the battle begins. Since there is no first or second attack, players check each other out and explore each other's moves to make the first move.

All performers wowed the audience with their overwhelming performances. Their steps and body movements were so nimble that even those of us watching were moved by them. For a moment, I wondered if I could imitate them. But it is needless to say that it is not so easy. However, the charm of breakin may lie in the lightness of its movements that make you think so.

Naturally, all players train their bodies and hone their skills on a daily basis, and they overwhelm their opponents with rotational power moves that are a showcase for their skills.

The interesting thing about this competition is that you cannot miss every move of the players on stage, whether they are performing or not, including their behavior, such as provoking their opponents, inspiring the dancers, and asking the audience to clap along. Some players joke around, others are serious about their performance, and their individual personalities come through.

After all five battles are over, an announcement will be made to encourage scoring. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the "Best Breaker" and "Best Battle" will be chosen by the audience at the event and the live-streamed audience through online voting.

It was very meaningful in terms of raising awareness of Breakin.

As a result of the tally, "Best Breaker" went to VICTOR from the U.S., while "Best Battle" went to the match between TAISUKE from Japan and LIL ZOO, who is based in Austria.

The three winners were presented with original Seiko 5 Sport watches and cash prizes.

After the convention, HOUYHNHNM conducted interviews with these three individuals. We asked them to share their thoughts on this event and on breakin.

From left to right: TAISUKE, VICTOR, and LIL ZOO.

Congratulations to the winners of this year's competition! How do you feel now that you have been chosen as winners?

VICTORI was actually unable to perform at my best due to a finger injury, but I concentrated on doing my best. As a result, I am very happy and at the same time surprised that I was chosen as the "Best Breaker.

LIL ZOOI have respected TAISUKE for a long time, so I am grateful to have had the opportunity to battle with him this time. I felt that I could make it even more exciting, so if there is a next time, I would like to make it even better.

TAISUKEI was a bit worried about whether I would be able to please everyone when I received the offer, but now I feel that it is finally over. However, I decided to do what I could do, so I took on the challenge. I am glad that my body remembered my movements when I entered the battle. LIL ZOO and I have spent a lot of time together as teammates, so it was a lot of fun to battle with him.

How do you feel about wearing the original Seiko 5 Sports watch that was presented to you?

VICTORI think: it's amazingly fresh and cool. I'm glad I haven't worn a watch like this very often.

LIL ZOOI like the coloring, it's great!

What did you keep in mind when you were competing this time?

VICTORI was injured and couldn't practice, but I was conscious of trying to be myself without being cool, and I think it paid off.

LIL ZOOI was glad that I arrived in Japan 10 days before the event and was in better condition than everyone else. The audience at the venue was very enthusiastic, and I was able to concentrate on the battle so as not to betray their support, which led to a good result.

TAISUKEI have been doing breakin for more than 20 years now, so I feel that my experience was a boost even though I was not satisfied with my preparation. As for my self-evaluation, I still have some issues to work on, but I intend to continue with breakin, so I will continue to do what I can do steadily.

I think it is rare to have an opportunity to compete in a shopping mall. What did you feel when you competed in a different mood from usual?

VICTORThe number of participants was much larger than usual, and the entertainment factor was stronger, making the battles more enjoyable than usual.

LIL ZOOI think that the many people who gathered from the first to the third floor paid attention to our individuality, and just like at VICTOR, I was more than happy to be able to enjoy the battles because of it.

TAISUKEI think it was very meaningful in terms of raising awareness of breakin to be able to involve the audience. We have been in the culture for a long time, and this time we had only players who are thinking about what B-BOY is with a high level of awareness, so I think it was good that people were interested in what we were doing. Moreover, I think people watched the competition not just to watch, but because the system required voting, people watched the competition as if they were interested in it. That is a very good thing for the breakin scene.

How did you feel about this limited battle of two rounds per match?

VICTORI personally would have liked to have danced more, but I enjoyed it.

LIL ZOOI would have liked to have gone three rounds too (laughs). Well, I enjoyed watching the battles that were set up, like the battle between STRIPES and PHYSICX, it was good to see fights between similar styles and backgrounds. You don't see those kinds of battles very often, so I think this one was really special.

TAISUKEI think it is easier for the dancers to dance in one-match competitions (laughs). I think it is easier to show the individuality of the dancers if they compete in a small number of rounds, as they did in this event, because it is not a physical contest. In that sense, it is easier to enjoy the spontaneity of the competition, and it is also easier to attract the interest of the people watching. I hope that this will lead to people looking up players they are interested in. That's why this year's competition was so good.

Finally, what are your goals for the future?

VICTORI would like to prepare for Paris next year first.

LIL ZOOI just have to make sure to complete the tasks that are in front of me one at a time.

TAISUKEI would like to take a break for now (laughs). I will also be competing in a competition in the U.S. next April, so my goal for now is to finish up for that.