Helicopters by Lil Boy Keith .

Helicopter, or one step, front sweep, coffee grinder, footwork pattern, one-leg sweep in a full circle from a squatting position, with a small jump over the sweeping leg.

The helicopter entered breaking in the early-to-mid 1970s. The Zulus¹ and Mike G were doing helicopters by 1975 . Beaver confirms that he was taught the move by older Zulus . Aby may have developed the helicopter independently . The move may have been influenced by kung fu movies . It is mentioned in the first news article on breaking in 1981 . A sweep counterclockwise with the right leg (or clockwise with the left) is the standard helicopter, while the opposite direction can be considered a variation.

The helicopter has been performed in gymnastics since no later than 1964 .

Reverse Helicopter

Also back sweep, reverse coffee grinder. Helicopter with the sweep going in the opposite direction. Developed by Beaver in the mid-to-late 1970s .

1. Referring to the b-boys and b-girls in the nascent Zulu Nation, i.e. the Zulu Masters, Zulu Kings, Zulu Queens, Shaka Zulus, etc. .