Biting in Bboying | Aby & Ness

Biting is considered a huge problem in the breaking scene but I think a lot of people misunderstand what ‘biting’ really is. I admit, when I come across a pretty awesome move which I had just seen some bboy do, I’d copy it. I’d copy off videos, copy off youtube, copy off other bboys and bgirls, and people call it a bite. Heck, during practice today I guess I was ‘biting’. There is such a huge stigma surrounding the topic that I find myself feeling guilty simply by trying to learn a particular move. I feel this kind of stigma is necessary, but also needs clarification.

Aby and Ness below enlightened me on this issue, and hopefully they will enlighten you too.

The Bite Sign, it's annoying. For me it has a very deflating effect. When I see a bboy or bgirl get down with a really tight set and their opposite throws the bite sign, suddenly the amazing set becomes very anti-climatic; it really takes the enjoyment out of the moment. Most of the time it's not even used well or necessarily.

I think the stigma behind biting is necessary in order to emphasise the importance of originality and the evolution of this dance form. Had this stigma not existed, bboys and bgirls would just lax out and become cookie cutters. So when the sign is used correctly, it becomes a wonderful tool for progression and advancement. But the truth of the mater is, calling bites (and throwing the bite sign) happen so often in many irrelevant circumstances that it is losing its meaning.

Many kats that mistake one similar move to be a bite have gravely misunderstood the term. Aby and Ness clarified this by stating that if by taking a move it’s a bite – then we’re all biters. Taking a move is not a bite, but in fact part of the learning process. We all try to learn moves, even new original moves, so that we can change it and evolve it. That’s how the dance has evolved all this time. Ness especially stated that a bite is not a move but a whole execution of the same set.

Also, the way I see it, some people are not cut out to do particular moves anyway. I know this is true because when I “bite” I can see that I don’t suit certain moves as well as whoever I bit it from. That’s not to say I should toss it aside – it’s to say that I should discover how I can make it look cool on me. It’s about doing what feels right with your own body. Some go around doing moves that don't look as cool on them – but heck, everyone else is doing it, so that’s why they do it *cough* airchairs. That’s not how it should be.

Being original is how it should be. For more on the history of biting click here.

Peace x :D