DC Dancer Fuel Review: Kraze Burgers

Carlo is at it again. This place is great. It’s not what I’d call cheap, but you definitely get a lot of options. This is the Korean Burger Chain that has opened it’s first store in the US in Bethesda Maryland. Customers are given great alacarte menu choices to build their own monsters. Mine was almost 6 inches tall by the time it was finished. My meal ended up being about 15 dollars, which wasn’t the cheapest option you could get for a burger, drink, and fries…but it was certainly unique. Unlike Carlo, I’m not a huge In-n-Out follower. I just like burgers. I’d recommend anyone try this place. While Shake Shack left me feeling like I spent too much money, Kraze Burger left me feeling satisfied.

 4733 Elm Street, Bethesda, MD (301) 215-9068

In the market for a new 50mm

I’ve been pretty happy with my canon f1.8 50mm. It’s super cheap. It’s also the easiest lens I have to just quickly carry around. I’d like to upgrade now to either a 1.4 or a 1.2 ($$$). I saw this great video on youtube today discussing the benefits of this size lens. I agree wholeheartedly with the 4 points made here. Many of my favorite shots are on the 50mm.

A good How To video for Cleaning my Camera Sensor

I’ve had some dust spots appearing lately that I’ve had to manage. There are a lot of videos on youtube for this but I think this is pretty good.

MGF University

I’ve been thinking about this post for a while now. In the last few years, I’ve been fortunate enough to attend workshops from many great dancers. The list here includes people like Wiggles, Jazzy, Acky, AKA Kin, Bam, Gemini, Tyrone, Pop’n Tod, Mickey Disco, Tempo… the list goes on. Each workshop was fantastic. Everyone always had something insightful to impart on the class.

Well, this last two weeks, I purchase two plane tickets. One for Sweepy from MGF to come to teach a workshop for us in October, and another for me to fly to LA and train with Slim. I haven’t taken a workshop from Sweepy yet, but I’m looking forward to it immensely. We’ve been pretty fortunate in the last 2 years hear at Studio G in that we’ve had a constant exposure to the crew Machine Gone Funk. Now I realize, for some of you one the west coast, that it is a regular thing. The dance comes from your state after all. For us, in the DMV, we are a scene that is still building and changing and I would say, in the popping scene anyway, only about 10 years old. Sure, you can find some people in the area who have popped for longer than that.. but as a scene.. realistically I think 10 years is a fair estimate.

I don’t want to suggest, by posting this, that I’m elevating them over anyone else. I do want to point out some great things about my experiences learning from these guys. Some people out there, who only know them through youtube..may experience them in ways that I feel are slanted towards competition only. There is, in my opinion, a disproportionate focus on winning and being dope if your main time is spent digesting the urban dances through YouTube. This is not surprising, since most of the footage out there, is of battles.

Carlo Manobat (lifeXhiphop) and I have arranged several different visits.. almost always accompanied by a workshop, with several of the MGF Members. So far, the list includes, alphabetically, Bionic, J Smooth, Junior Boogaloo, Kid Boogie, and Slim Boogie. One might mistakenly think that learning from multiple members of the same crew might result in a duplicated experience. Some might think these people might be clones of either each other or their own teachers. This was not my observation at all.

These guys are completely different from one another in how they handle a workshop. They are also different in how they give advice.  The only common thing that they all have said, and I heard this directly from their mouths when people asked them the following question, “Do you have any advice for me about my dancing?” The answer, from every one of the MGF teachers we’ve had is some version of the following, “Well, why don’t you tell me what direction you are trying to go?”

Bionic

His classes are rigorous. They start with a pace that most can follow, then progressively become more and more taxing.. especially on your legs. One of the things he teaches is to build up your strengths to protect your joints so you’ll have a longer future in the dance.

J Smooth

Waving and isolation were a big part of the workshop we had with JJ. He makes sure that we focus on our shoulders, the little things. There was a routine we all learned which gradually became more and more complex. You can really pick up a lot of ideas on how things can chain together from JJ.

Junior Boogaloo

One of the things that resonates with me from his class was that he had us focusing on keeping tension in our bodies. Positions had to be strong and clear. When I say strong, I mean if he came up and grabbed your wrist while you were waving, it would have tension in it and not be easy to move. He told us we had to learn to feel our movements, not emotionally.. but physically.

Kid Boogie

Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop… and then Pop some more. Seriously, Kid Boogie hammers in what it means and how important it is to keep the pop in the dance. If you don’t leave his workshop wanting to practice your pop more.. well then you just weren’t paying attention.

Slim Boogie

There are so many things I could say here, because I focus a lot of my own training on what I’ve learned from Slim. The one thing I can say is a theme in most of his workshops I’ve witnessed or taken, is patience. I know that written here, it sounds trivial, but Slim really teaches that concept well.

Sweepy

Well I’ll update this soon

Anyway, it has been a great experience. I highly recommend to anyone who is interested, to take opportunities to learn from this crew. We keep going back for a reason.

My Favorite Kneepads for Popping: McDavid Hexpad

So anyone who has spent time with me training in dance will know, that I have many pairs of knee pads. I have enough of them that it is almost as full as my sock drawer. While this might be overkill, it is simply because I put a high premium on protecting my knees from unnecessary impact or trauma. Popping has enough twisting and power in its movement do damage knees in ways that a knee pad wouldn’t protect you either. I figure at least take one injury out of the equation. Many of my friends also have found the courage to unleash their ground move training as a result of having the pads. It is true, you don’t absolutely need them. Good technique saves your knees as well. However, after many years of athletic training, I’ve learned one thing. You get tired, you make mistakes. Bike helmets are based on being needed for accidental impacts only. Think of your knees that way and you’ll probably last longer.

My quest for the best knee pad occurred over a year long period, where I kept purchasing and trying different kinds of knee pads. The cheapest are the type that you get for about 5 bucks each. We all know the kind. It is the sort that is cloth covering a square of foam. One side is elastic, and the other is the pad. They are your most generic type of pad.

There are different variations of these. For a bit more money, they can have ergonomically placed “holes” in the elastic to prevent the bunching up of fabric behind the knee, which can at the least be uncomfortable, and at the worst chaff or cut off blood flow. I’ve tried several variations of these.

There are also some hard shell knee pads. These come with other types of sports, like rollerblading for example. The hard shell provides extra impact protection. I’ve found these to be far too cumbersome. The type of movement poppers do with their legs is completely different than a sport that uses the knees in a generally forward facing position. Some lockers I’ve met prefer this kind. I think it makes sense because of the high impact lockers have when they land on their knees.

My favorite, after many trial periods with different brands, are the McDavid Hexpad knee pads. They come in a couple different shapes, rectangular or square. Either one is good. They are extremely light, moisture wicking, and snug without being constricting. It is actually easy for me to forget they are even on me. Almost without exception, my popper friends have loved them. I’ve given a few pairs to fellow poppers as gifts. I’ve received nothing but good reports back from them about these pads. They cost anywhere from 15 to 25 dollars depending on the deal you find online. To me, they are well worth that. Actually, it is better to say, I think your knees are worth that small price.

For their full line of products, checkout the website: http://www.mcdavidusa.com

DC Dancer Fuel Review: Bethesda Community Store BBQ

This is the closest business to Studio G in the DMV. It is either a horrible, or an amazing discovery. I can’t decide which. The Bethesda Community Store Barbecue Pitt is a great spot that is only about 1/4 mile from me. The staff is great and very friendly. The orders are filled out quickly. Here is our video review of the spot. Carlo, James, and I ordered a full rack of beef ribs and a full chicken with mac n cheese, potato salad, and cornbread sides. The three of us couldn’t finish it! Amazing. Here is our video review of the place.

Looking for my next lense, a 70-200mm zoom

So I’ve taken a lot of shots this last year. As most of my friends now know, the camera almost never leaves my side. One thing I’ve noticed though, is that I have many times where I just can’t get close enough to my subjects. The window of opportunity for some shots is brief to say the least. There is no time to run up to the subjects with my Tamron 28-75mm. There are so many options… but I’m pretty much looking at four candidates.

2 of them are in the $700 range. The Tamron 70-200mm and the Sigma 70-200mm. The Tamron optics have been reported to be better, while the Sigma has a quieter and better autofocus from what I’ve read. Neither of them have image stabilization.

Coming in at about $1400, I’m also considering this Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 USM, with no image stabilization.

The one that is a bit of a hard price to swallow is this one, at about $2400. The Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS II USM.

I’m not sure yet whether I have the discipline to own lens that is over $2000 bucks. I think I could deal with the $1400. Most of the reviews on the  Mark II have been stellar though. Decisions decisions.