NEWS | An Interview With KLDSA New Top Breaking Athlete
Photographed by: Tomofumi Sugiyama
Kuala Lumpur | Earlier this year, KLDSA representatives have met with a group of BBoys in Malaysia to include Breaking into the Malaysia DanceSport Federation (MYDF) community. This is in conjunction with the adoption of Breaking into the World DanceSport Federation and its games. The 2019 SEA Games in Philippines will feature both Latin & Standard events as always as well as a new event which is the Breaking event. Breaking was featured in the Youth Olympic Games as well in 2018 and MYDF has sent 2 athletes to compete. It is the first time in history Malaysia has sent a team to a breaking tournament under the Olympic Family Charter games.
Photographed by: Tomofumi Sugiyama
Our KLDSA Deputy President - Mr Chua Zjen Fong had an opportunity to interview one of our best Breaking athlete in Malaysia - LEGOSAM. He is well known for his skills and his reputation in winning multiple championships in Asia. LEGOSAM has been nominated by MYDF to participate in the 2019 WDSF World Breaking Championship in June 2019. This championship is the first ever recorded world championship that is also monitored closely by the International Olympic Committee. LEGOSAM is currently a member of the state DanceSport Association - KLDSA and National Sports Association - MYDF.
Photographed by: Tomofumi Sugiyama
Below is the Interview conversation between KLDSA and LEGOSAM:
1. How long have been involved in Breaking? Since how old?
I been breaking for 11 years now, I started when I was 13 years old
2. How did you get involved in the sport (breaking)?
When I was young, I saw a music video by a Taiwan boy band ( Energy ). Inside the MV, they did some breaking. So I started by copying what they do in MV and found myself in love with it, soon i begged my mum to bring me to a bboy dance class. I practiced almost everyday on what my teacher taught me after my class.
3. What is it about Breaking that interests you the most?
I think because breaking is very challenging and I’m a person that loves to challenge everything. Somehow in breaking, you can’t learn everything by yourself, there’s always something to learn. So that’s what make me interested in this. Like so mysterious
4. How many times/hours do you train in a week?
If there’s no other work, I probably train 4-5 days in a week. Each day for about 3-4 hours.
5. Who is your main coach in breaking?
To be honest I don’t really have a coach right now, I only go to the people who have guided me since I started. Now is more like I’m my own coach.
6. What is your best results so far?
Can’t say it's my best results, but the one I am really satisfied with is a competition in Taiwan 2018 called New Taipei Bboy City. It’s an international competition. I got 1st runner up in that competition, I beat contestants from Japan, Ukraine and Taiwan. And also that’s the best result so far in Malaysia.
7. What do you think of the Breaking scene in Malaysia and if Breaking got into Olympic Games?
The breaking scene now in Malaysia is going down. I prefer when it was in the 2011-2016 era. Why I said so, is because during hat time there were more big competitions and the prize money was a lot. That’s what makes every bboy to practice very hard everyday just to prove themselves on the stage one day. But now Malaysia doesn’t have as many platforms like before. Slowly everyone is starting to give up on breaking.
8. What do you think of Breaking being accepted into the Youth Olympic Games & SEA Games?
Some people agree but some people don’t. It's a very new thing for now. But I mean it’s not a bad thing also. Breaking is evolving year by year now. This could create lot of opportunities for bboys, bgirls, competitors, dance schools, coaches, events, bboy owned businesses, judges, DJs, music producers, etc. So I do support this.
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9. How do you think Malaysian can improve in Breaking?
I think for the bboys, they just need to train hard and stay hungry all the time. For me, I think that some of the Malaysian bboys are so lazy and give so many excuses to themselves. If you really love breaking, save up your money and try to travel more to explore and gain experiences. This is what I'm doing right now, I believe it's hard to improve and grow up if you just keep staying in the same place and comfort zone. Lastly, I hope more organizers will organize more breaking event in Malaysia. This is just my own opinion.
