In front of us, Phil Wizard takes out his cell phone and opens one of his notes. With his finger, he scrolls through a long list divided into subcategories: the bangersTHE maybesTHE freezes…
So many expressions that we, breaking neophytes, do not understand. So the Vancouver b-boy explains them to us, without any judgment. After all, he is the first to say that his priority is to introduce his discipline to the widest possible spectrum of people. In his words: “It doesn’t matter to me if people like me or not. I want people to like breaking.”
So let’s get back to the list.
First, you should know that the said list includes all the movements he is capable of doing in breaking.
“I categorize them. For example, the entrances [entrées]these are the movements I start with. The bangers are signature moves. I also have the maybes [peut-être]which means: I don’t know if I can do this, but we’ll see what happens. These are risky moves. Then, I have small moves [petits mouvements]of the freezes [mouvements figés]etc. “
Under each category, you can read different words. “I have a movement called swimming, because I took it from swimming,” he summarizes.
Simple, right?
Lots of movement
Phil Wizard – real name Philip Kim – is the favorite to win the first ever gold medal in breaking, a sport that is making its Olympic debut this summer in Paris. He was also the first champion of the discipline at the Pan American Games.
But what makes it better than the others? What makes it different?
“That’s hard to say,” the 27-year-old b-boy replies. “That’s a good question for others!”
PHOTO TAKEN FROM PHIL WIZARD’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Phil Wizard in action
His strength, he says, is his “vocabulary.” By that, he means he can do “a lot of moves.” You see, in a breaking competition, a b-boy or b-girl shouldn’t repeat the same move multiple times. Hence the list we talked about earlier, which he refers to when he “gets really nervous” and needs a reminder of the extent of his vocabulary.
People tend to run out of moves quickly. They’re really good for the first few rounds, and then you can see them slowly getting worse and worse because they don’t know what to do anymore.
Phil Wizard
“My strength is that I have a lot of moves. My favorite thing to do when I train is to try to create something new. Since I’m always creating something new, my vocabulary is very large. When I get to the finals, I have as many moves as when I started. I also have a diverse vocabulary. So I have a lot of moves, and they’re all different.”
A “never-ending” creative process
Phil Wizard discovered breaking while walking the streets of Vancouver. A little crew was training. And then… bang! Love at first sight.
“They were spinning around, doing crazy movements. I was just a kid at the time; I was blown away. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I could attract girls with that!’” he exclaims, smiling.
When he began practicing the discipline, he fell in love with the “physical difficulty.” Later, he learned its artistic value.
“The combination of the two is a never-ending creative process. It’s always fun, there’s always something new to learn. I learn a lot about myself.”
When Phil Wizard told his parents he wanted to be a break dancer, they were… “hesitant.” “My parents immigrated from Korea. They came to Canada to give us a different life. They wanted us to go to school, get a job.”
In 2017, the qualifiers for one of the biggest breaking events in the world, Red Bull BC One, were taking place in Los Angeles. Phil Wizard was a college student at the time. At the time, he was a “miserable” young man, “confused,” in his own words. “Mentally, it was tough,” he says. He didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew one thing: he loved dancing.
So he set himself a goal: to do his best to go to Red Bull BC One… and win it. “If I win it, then that will be my sign to drop everything and give dance a chance,” he thought at the time.
I went to LA, won the event, left school and told my parents to give me a few years to figure out what I wanted to do. They said, OK, great. It sounds cool, but even every night after that, I was scared.
Phil Wizard
The b-boy doubted “every day.” But he loved to practice. He loved to dance.
Here he is today living his dream.
“There’s nothing that can make me sad. My life is pretty awesome. […] When you see me on stage, most of the time I’m smiling because I’m so happy to be there. I’m living my dream, I love what I do and I love being able to show it to the world.”
For that, what could be better than the Olympic stage and, why not, a gold medal?
Advice for beginners
Breaking competitions will take place at the end of the Paris Games, on August 9 and 10. For those new to the sport from the underground, which are undoubtedly many, Phil Wizard advises watching it with “an open mind.” “The first time you watch breaking, you think the person who spins the most or does the craziest moves is the one who’s going to win. Obviously, it’s very impressive, but there are a lot of details that you might not notice at first glance. What I recommend, and what I think is cool about breaking, is that everyone dances so differently. I would recommend picking someone who resonates with you, whose energy you like, the way they dance. Take on that person, see it as a character. Pick someone you like, cheer them on, and enjoy the show!”
Why Wizard?
The name Phil Wizard comes from his first dance troupe, “the Wizards.” Since he was constantly calling himself “Phil of the Wizards,” the nickname “Phil Wizard” began to be used. And it never left.
Who is Phil Wizard?
Age: 27 years old
Place of birth: Toronto
Hometown: Vancouver
Latest international charts
Pan American Games: 2023 – GOLD
WDSF World Championships: 2023 – SILVER
Pan American Championships: 2023 – GOLD
Dates of his competitions in Paris: August 9 and 10