I have had a great 2013 between bboying and my other passion, martial arts! This year I have managed to travel to some new places for judging and competing in the bboy realm with various members of my crews, Lionz of Zion, United Alchemy and Beat Whakz. I have taken home a few great wins and some good losses as well! However, for those who do not know, I am also a professional martial artist and am proud to say I own and operate what I believe is one of the top martial arts schools in the United States. I have traveled and taught martial arts around the United States, and received some great martial arts industry awards this year. One in particular award was for martial arts “School of the Year” and another for being a “Leader in the Martial Arts,” mainly for taking my business to the next level. Within the last month, I also tested for 5th Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do and my 3rd Degree Black Belt in Sin Moo Hapkido. It has been a busy, challenging and wonderful year.
An important thought process that I teach to my staff, my students, and I live from day-to-day and year-to-year is never-ending and continuous growth. It is something I hope you see in my bboying, and it is something my students see in my martial arts. It is also something I believe we need to see in all humans in everyday life. There should be growth and expansion all the time. Something I know many bboys including myself have been waiting for is an opportunity for us to make a real living off of our hard work, our creativity, and constant effort and love for breaking and the culture of this dance. The UDEF Pro Breaking Tour is in my view a first big step in that direction. I look forward to 2014, where I will continue to make myself a better breaker, a better martial artist, and a better business owner. I also look forward to seeing the growth in our scene, because there is an organization put together for us andby us under a non-profit in UDEF, specifically designed to give bboys and bgirls a bigger opportunity for all the hard work and effort we put in.
I look forward to seeing everyone on the Pro Breaking Tour and the many warm-up prize money events leading up to it, whether those be prize money events sponsored by Silverback Bboy Events or a part of Cros1’s Freestyle Session series of events. I hope you are training hard, because this year should be the year with the opportunity that lay in front of us to bring out the best in all of us.
I leave you with a great Zig Ziglar quote, “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”
Ryan Wagner, Bboy Napalm
Napalm On Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Website: http://www.