Spectator Competition: Breaking it down

In Competition 3365 you were invited to submit an extract from a PhD about an aspect of street culture. Obviously this was inspired by Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun, the Australian academic/Olympic break-dancer who wrote a PhD on the cultural politics of breakdancing. This intro has to be short to make room for all the long words. Respect to Bob Newman, W.J. Webster, Bill Greenwell, Mark Hunter Brown and others – and the winners get £25.

Citius, Altius, Grooviest: An Investigation into the Classical Origins of Breakdance as an Olympic Sport. With an Excursus on Biblical Parallels.

In view of objections to breaking as a legitimate Olympic activity, its origins are here sought in the context of early Greek history, from which it may be inferred that the movements, especially those at ground level with sudden and unexpected twists, were intended originally as a military activity involving two warriors, which had to end in the death of one competitor.