The helicopter, also known as the "coffee grinder", is one of the main breakdance steps. Once learned, you can use it to move on to more complex movements, such as the flame, the mill, or the one-handed handstand. To make the helicopter, just support the body with one leg and rotate the other "suspended" leg, also known as the "helicopter blade", around the body as many times as possible. Just a little strength in the torso and a few tips. If you want to find out how, go to the first point.
Steps
Step 1. Curl up on the floor
Get off by touching the floor with your fingers or palms. You can curl up, with both feet on the ground, on your toes. You can also use this position to get more comfortable on your hands and feet, and to feel more balanced. You can lean forward slightly until your palms touch the ground, then return your weight to your feet. Repeat this movement a couple of times to feel more stable, before starting to rotate one leg.
In this way you can also understand which leg you prefer to use as a "helicopter blade". See which foot you prefer to throw around your body and which one you feel most comfortable curling up on
Step 2. Extend the leg that you will use as a "helicopter blade"
Extend your leg to the side. Fingers can be straight or bent towards the floor. Stay balanced on your hands as you do this. Usually, if you are right, you rotate your right leg counterclockwise. If you are left handed, then the left leg rotates clockwise.
However, you may feel more comfortable placing your dominant leg and rotating the other. You will have a clearer idea of what you prefer after trying it a couple of times
Step 3. Lift your hand on the same side as the "shovel" as you swing it that way
Let's say you're using the left. In this case, turn it clockwise, to the right. As you do this, you raise your left arm and hand, so that the leg can pass them. One trick to balance while lifting one arm as the leg passes is to transfer as much weight to your hands as possible, leaning your chest over your hands, while keeping your hips as high as possible. In this way, you maintain strength and coordination as you raise one hand, and then the other.
Step 4. Put the raised hand back on the ground and raise the other while the "shovel" goes over
You will have to lift one hand at a time so that the leg passes, but you must always keep one on the ground to stay balanced.
You should start slowly, but once you get the hang of it you will be able to do it so quickly that you make it unnoticeable to lift your hands at different times
Step 5. Jump over the "shovel" with the other leg while the "shovel" passes it
You will have to lift one hand, the other, and then the other leg so that the "shovel" can go over your whole body. You will have to calculate the times so that the bent leg is raised while the other overcomes it in order to return down as soon as the other has passed. Keep your chest forward, more or less on a par with your wrists, to maintain balance.
Step 6. Swing the "shovel" all around to the starting point, and keep rotating it until you are tired
Continuing to move, repeat to the bitter end avoiding letting them touch the ground for as long as possible. If your foot touches the ground, you may lose balance in addition to the initial thrust.
Also, if your foot continues to rotate without touching the ground, you can continue to renew your run and gain speed, making your leg even more like a helicopter blade
Step 7. Keep practicing
As you practice, you will be able to go faster and faster, until you perfect the technique and make it yours. You will be able to get carried away by the music and you will no longer even think about when to lift your arms and the other leg. Once you've mastered the technique, here are a few more tricks to try:
- Take the helicopter with the other foot outside.
- Do the reverse helicopter, the same as the normal one but in the opposite direction. Therefore, if you usually use the left hand, instead of going forward and clockwise, you will move it backward and counterclockwise.
- Move on to more advanced breakdancing moves. The helicopter is a basic technique, but the beauty is that it will allow you to move on to other more advanced tricks, such as the mill or the vertical.
Advice
- Have fun. If the article doesn't help you, you can find your way!
- If you know a friend who can do this and find it difficult to follow these instructions, show them what you can do and ask what you are doing wrong.
