Kick out, footwork pattern, extension of the legs, i.e. kicking out, from a squatting position, usually supported by one arm behind the body. For some breakers, "kick out" refers to the CC [1,2].

Kick outs entered breaking by the 1980s. The "kicks in the air" described by Wizard Wiz may refer to kick outs [3], but equally may refer to a front shuffle like that of Lil Boy Keith [4]. They were uncommon in the early 1980s, though Frosty Freeze performs one during the 1982 Wild Style Tour in Paris. The move may have come from tap dance—one sees the move in performances by the Berry Brothers, the Four Step Brothers, or Sammy Davis Jr.—where it developed alongside Russian steps. Certainly by the early 2000s, Break Easy could claim that the kick out was "one of the fundamental moves that's a given in any set" [5].

Common variations include kick outs where the feet land on the heels, or remain in the air. The direction is generally forward, sideways, or at an angle in between. The move has been done with legs together or spread apart.

1. Robitzky, N. 2006, Storm's Footwork Fundamentals, USA, Kunaki LLC
2. Red Bull BC One. 2018, "How To Kickout with B-Boy Intact | Break Advice: The Fundamentals," youtube.com/watch?v=AZJbHw3tjh8 (retrieved 23 August 2022)
3. Norin Rad. 2020, "Interview with B-Boy Wizard Wiz (The Disco Kids)," preciousgemsofknowledge79.blogspot.com/2020/11/interview-with-b-boy-wizard-wiz-disco.html (retrieved 2 January 2021)
4. Fontaine, D. 1984, Beat This: A Hip-Hop History, UK, BBC
5. Langton, T. 2004, Breakdance: Step By Step, USA, Breakdance.com LLC