FORMER broadband salesman Karam Singh wants to be the “Cristiano Ronaldo of breaking” as he dreams of joining Team GB at Paris 2024.
Breaking – which is the forerunner to what many people call breakdancing – is the only sport making its debut at this summer’s Olympics.
Athletes will be pitted into four groups of four to face off in one-on-one battles before eight make it through to the knockout stages, with nine judges scoring them on their body, mind and soul.
And B-Boy Kid Karam, 26, is desperate to make it into the final 16 and let his tricks and talent do the talking on the global scene, just like his sporting idol.
Karam told SunSport: “I want to be the Cristiano Ronaldo of breaking and have that positive impact when I walk in the room. It would be incredible.
“I have always wanted to be the best in the world at breaking.
“I’m a big Manchester United fan! The level of hard work from when I watched him first at United, where he went on to then coming back and the whole story of his standards compared to others.
“Being like Cristiano Ronaldo and striving to be the best sits well with me.
“Football is my first love. I probably love it more than breaking. I watch it a lot, I actually play a bit.
“Football can inspire breaking but more the work they put in, the professionalism is always something we can take.
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“I did something with Marcus Rashford and got an insight into what drives him.
“Having the opportunity to be around elite people, whether that’s footballers or any sport, is amazing for me because it makes me want to go harder.
“Marcus was such an honest, real guy. He was really open in giving me a push in the right direction.”
Like Ronaldo and Rashford, Karam is sponsored by Nike, signing with the sportswear giants in 2021 as their first male breaker.
His other deals with Samsung and Eurostar are a far cry from the seven-year-old boy who decided to take up breaking after watching someone head-spinning in a Justin Timberlake music video.
Karam had to wait until he turned eight to join his first crew, Trinity Warriors, in March 2006.
He couldn’t imagine being an Olympic breaker as he grew up watching heroes Usain Bolt and then fellow Derby star Adam Peaty breaking world records.
Now he could be heading to Paris as Peaty’s team-mate while inspiring the next generation around the world.
Karam added: “I’m a big fan of the Olympics. I cheered people on before I even knew what the sport was.
“Now we’re here and for me to represent my country on that stage would be absolutely everything. I would love to leave a really positive impact and create a pathway for the next gen.
“My friends and I always got up to mischief. The mischief we found was breaking. We wanted to be part of something cool, creative, urban.
“I know a lot of people in Derby who could have been great breakers but went down the wrong route, not just because they were bad people but because they had to try and fend for themselves.
“Being part of Team GB makes you feel powerful. It’s almost like a superpower, giving me the boost I need.
“I could never have thought breaking would be an Olympic sport.
“To get there would be history, especially with it being the first time. But the journey has been a rollercoaster, I’ve been breaking for 18 years.
“If you look at the definition of sport, of course it fits in that category but it’s very much a dance, an art, a culture.
“When it first got announced there was a lot of backlash because other sports weren’t included and breaking was.
“A lot of people traditionally saw breaking as breakdance and stereotypically thought of a boombox in the street, subcultures for other things.
BREAKING is making its debut at Paris 2024 – and fans will no doubt be gripped by the new, dynamic sport during the Olympics.
But many viewers may never have seen breaking before.
So Team GB star Kid Karam ran SunSport through the five key fundamental moves to look out for from the B-Boys and B-Girls as they go head to head in Paris…
TOP ROCK
“The first thing in breaking that you’ll always see is Top Rock. It’s the start of how we move, the stand-up part of the dance. This is your chance to shine standing tall. Staying light on your feet is key, so let loose and let your character show. It’s not about what you do, it’s how you do it! There is the cross step, Indian step and salsa step. You can mix and match and you can also create your own.”
FOOTWORK
“Footwork is based around steps or patterns usually performed on all fours. Breaking starts with mastering the ‘0 position’ – a low squat with your heels flat on the floor. And here’s the secret weapon – ditch the flat hands! Get comfy holding yourself up with just your fingertips, building strength and balance for footwork patterns such as Six Step, CCs, Hooks and Kick.”
GO-DOWNS
“Something else you’ll see quite often in breaking is a Go-Down. That’s how we transition from a standing position like Top Rock down to Footwork. There is a Knee Switch and a Rock Drop but you can also create your own or mix and match.”
FREEZES
“Another one you will see quite regularly is Freezes. A Freeze can be anything where you hold a position – from the simple to the extraordinary. You can do whatever you want. It’s almost like a comma in a sentence and you can use it for a pause to break up your round and go again.”
POWER MOVES
“And lastly there are Power Moves. There are normally the wow moves, the ultimate crowd-pleasers – Head Spins, Backspins, Munchmills, Windmills, Tricks, Flicks, Flares and Air Flares. Conquer them by working on your core strength, ensuring you have solid basic freeze positions, good technique and most importantly being fearless. Fear is not real so just go for it!”
“It was negatively perceived by many. Even in our scene, there were two minds about it.
“It definitely raised eyebrows but has now been really accepted.”
Karam is one of three B-Boys battling to qualify for up to two British spots at Paris 2024 alongside “great friends” Sunni Brummitt and Sam “Sheku” Phillips, although the latter was originally his rival and they “didn’t really like each other”.
Derby sensation Singh faces an uphill battle, though, after a difficult first stage of the Olympic Qualifying Series in Shanghai in May.
But a strong performance at part two in Budapest this weekend could see him get in.
And that would certainly make the time working in a Sky TV call centre as well as taking his break from acting and modelling well worth it.
Karam co-led in a Sky Cinema breaking film with childhood pal and Diversity dancer Kelvin Clark.
He explained: “I had never acted before in my life. Breaking Point was my first thing. With the Olympic announcement, there was a big buzz around dance, around breaking.
“I’ll definitely keep up the acting, I enjoyed it. It’s on the back burner at the moment. I owe it to myself to try and get to the Olympics.
“I was also at uni studying sports coaching and development and was working in a call centre selling TV and broadband for Sky TV.
“It was quite funny because sometimes I’d be selling the TV and look up and be on Sky News. I’d be on the TV while selling TV!
“Then obviously I ended up doing the Sky movie. Because I played a lead role in the film, I was promoted everywhere all over the call centre. It was quite interesting!
“I went on a career break from sales to focus on breaking more! It was part-time to fund going to events and getting to the level I’m at now.”
And that level is among the very best on the planet.
Karam is a huge personality and that character is truly expressed in his breaking, describing his style as “playful, explosive, fast and dynamic”.
THERE is just ONE new sport at the Olympics this summer and it is breaking.
Breaking is an urban dance style that started in the US during the 1970s with roots in hip-hop culture.
In the Olympics, two breakers go up against each other in epic one-v-one battles, taking it in turns to dance to music using a combination of planned routines and spontaneous improvisation.
How is it judged?
Nine judges use the Trivium System to determine the winner, focusing on three key areas:
The judges give scores to each breaker for each round. The breaker who wins more rounds wins – or if it is a tie, it will come down to the number of points votes.
What are misbehaviours?
Misbehaviours are things like touching or throwing offensive signs. The battles can get heated but it’s fine margins – athletes do not want to risk being scored down.
There are unwritten rules like don’t repeat the same moves or copy other people’s moves. Breakers need to stay clean – if they crash or mess up they’ll also get marked down.
What is the format at Paris 2024?
There are two events at Paris 2024 – one for the men, or B-Boys, and one for the women, the B-Girls – with 16 athletes qualifying for each.
They are split in four round-robin groups with the top two going through to the knockout quarter-finals before the semis and final.
The groups are two-round competitions where the athletes alternate with two routines each.
In the quarter-finals and semis it’s best of three – or first to two rounds – then the final is three rounds each.
But what can Olympics fans watching breaking for the first time expect?
Karam said: “The first thing that always comes to mind for me is fireworks. It’s going to be so refreshing for people to see.
“There are so many different styles in breaking, there’s not just one model that fits all.
“Styles make battles. It’s all about how you do what you’re doing. There is top rock, footwork, get-downs, freezes and power moves.
“You’ll see a range of different things. In breaking we have fundamentals but it’s how you add your own twist on that.
“It’s like playing an instrument – there’s Ds and Cs but it’s how you play them that makes you special. It’s the exact same.
“The easiest way to explain it is that it is a very dynamic, urban, street culture which is now a sport.”
And now an Olympic sport, no less.
