Pre-req's for flares?

What prerequisites do you need before training flares?

Both basic strength and if there are any easier skills to work on before attempting flares.

I'm sure most bboys can do flares without training basic strength, but I and the other bboys here are smater than most bboys. We know basic stength improves performance and helps prevent injury.

That's a good question, i asked Coach about this during the last seminar, because they look so fun.

He didn't really give much of an answer other than it takes a good few years for him to build an athlete to the point he can do a circle. For the time being that was enough of an answer for me, need to build the foundation first.

Of course there are lots of BBoys etc doing flairs, but i think their training method might not be as structured and progressive as a gymnasts, and ultimately, that foundation will enable them to do more skills more cleanly once they are at that point.

Technical pre-requisites.

Circles

Circles with spindle

Strength that will help:

Shitloads of ag walks in both directions facing up and down.

Strong hips from manna work

I can imagine being strong in planches would help to, but I wouldn't consider it a pre-req.

Bucket circles!

Thanks for the answers guys!

I'll try to find some info on circles.

Another good drill for circle work is the one arm side planks, preferably keeping the one arm as diagonal as possible. Lean on it.

Just about anybody can get breaker flares pretty fast if they work on them but I often see them hitting a roadblock to moving past 3 flares in a row.

for my experience, working on circles improve the quality of final flare...bboys learn flare more fast , sometime with horrible tecnique..no extended hips on the back, no hips torque, no pl position on the back...gymnast progession --> slow learning but clean fluid flares. bboys tecnique --> fast learning BUT not perfect tecnique, tu much energy is wasted to lift up the ass

only a little number of bboys have a great flare like punisher (who trains with some gymn body exercise), guinho, careca, zangao, jao black and some koreans...the brazilian bboys also have a perfect tecnique as gymnasts

i tried flairs yesterday...the most part of bboys don't lean sufficiently on the side (over th wrist) when they have to go on the back so they bend their legs

A proper gymnastic flare would take a few years to develop and the help of a coach would be recommended. If you don't care about 100% proper technique you can learn the uglier version in the time span of 6-10 months depending on your athletic ability. However, if you take the second route know that if you ever want to go after proper technique it will significantly increase the learning curve for a proper gymnastic flare. Also remember that most people will have no idea if you are doing it with proper technique or not and will just think it's some crazy move.

I don't need to do a perfect circle or flare, I just need a new move to bust out on the dance floor.

This channel is put up some circle drills now!

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I'm on the same boat trianglechoke7!

I'm trying to learn windmills, flares, and air-flares. But not sure how to effectively start drills for them. I've gotten the book from Coach Sommer and I'm doing everything I think that can help.

If you find anything let me know trianglechoke7.

learn the pike press to handstand decrease the time you spend to achieve airflare...

i noticed that the bboys wich train with me ( wich can do airflare passing the kick leg near to the floor) have a natural press handstand straddle with straigth arms...

so only for my curiosity i've chose to develop first the press handstand (at least the straddle is enough) then train the airflare...don't do the mistake of move the leg wich kick far away (more high) from the floor, this may result as a problem in the twisting!!!

only the ability to hold the hald pike press (hips up and legs piked down) can be very helpful...

I just started doing these myself, and I really feel it helps to do a set or two of german hangs immediately preceding the flare work to get the most out of my current shoulder ROM. My biggest problem right now though, is that my second arm collapses slightly on impact. Need to get that strength up to speed!

the speed must not be a problem...learn the flare slowly, low in the front (or better, not piked), high and extended on the back...but try to get the control of your body...stop for a couple of weeks by flair's training and try to do the spindles with counterturned hips (circles with legs in straddle position)...helps a lot to develop flair

Is it important to work flares/circles going both directions so as to not develop imbalances?

No, there is no need to work circles in both directions. It's better to have a good circle in one direction, than a shitty circle in both or none.

That being said, if you want to learn how to circle on your bad side, it is much easier once you have learned it well on your dominant side. Somewhat done by breakers.

blairbob said the correct thing, when i'm training circles i usually train on one side, but on the bucked i did a great number of circles on the other side...

so if your purpose is the flair for breakdance activity, train cloclwise and counterclockwise is a great thing for everymoves, i achieved headspin, windmill and some other combo in both the ways...is a great work for you nervous system but at the beginning is awfully a thing wich can cause irritation!!!

in order only to became more rich in your repertoire is a better thing train something on both arms (freeze, combo, balance ecc) and some skills (powermoves) clockwise and counterclockwise!!

Any progress on the flare triangle? Your post inspired me to pick it back up (use to do them in high school) the learning curve second time around is much easier. I found a lot of the tutorials on youtube by breakdancers quite helpful (you can just type flare tutorial).

what i'm yalking to you is some errors that you can find learning the flair from zero to 10, is possibile if you don't do some mistake (I THINK THAT THE BEST WAY IS LEARN IN THE GYMNAST WAY AS I DID)

the problem of the most tutorial on the web are that they are focused on some wrong points:

-swing the legs on your face on a V shape (wrong) --> exend you hips not pike them

-swing the legs under their body (wrong) --> swing on the side so the hips are extended

-on the side kick the leg near the face --> is not necessary, i don't do it

-don't counterbalance the body in every part of flair

-don't do the counterturning movements so their flares is inot perfectly open on the back

-lift the ass on the back (wrong) --> piking the hips is the biggest mistake

fot this last point consider that the biggest parts of bboys wnat to learn some combo like flair to 1990 or to airflare or to elbowariflare where if you are just able to lift your ass is better!

but for the flair is not better!

there are 2 way to go on the back:

-bboy way --> lift the ass up mainstainng the head down and the shoulders in the same position

-gymnast way --> lean forward with the shoulders, maintaining the back straigth or arched without pike your hips

you can use the way you want, learning the preass to handstand decrease the time to develop the basic transition flair to handstand! learn with gymnast way is better, also train with gymnast body programs increase your resistance and strength to learn this move in the correct way

ahhhhhhh circles are very hard to explain over the net or any technique wich is not strength related and even those are better explaind in live.

For example how much is necessary for proper flairs:

My kid is 15 years old and have excelent cirlces (I would never say superb or perfect because this is not in my vocabulary, it's never perfect), even though he can do all travels back and forward, moguilny,...I didn't start to train him flairs until one month ago basicly at the end of pommel sesion for fun (of course I'm taking it serious, but all new elements are presented if can as a fun part of training). Some would say oh this are great flairs, but in my opinion it would take least a year for taking a next step (I'm starting on a mushroom and not on floor).

Pommel horse learning or any correct circle learning is going on the road very slowely step by step walking till end by running, but never forgeting how to slowely walk.

So take your time end take long jurney, at the end you'll not be disapointed.