It’s hard to talk about any form of hip-hop without mentioning freestyling. On the other hand, even people who “freestyle” always go through a few stages of pre-planning, especially if they plan to win battles.

Well, almost always.

The rules might be a little different if you’re Focus (click here to read our feature with him), and you essentially win an international footwork battle on a whim.

Or, at least, that’s kind of how it played out at last year’s IBE footwork battle.

“We we’re chilling in Amjad’s room with A.T. and Hatsolo watching the Octagon battle, cyphering for a while, and then went out for a drink with no real intentions to enter any battles that day,” Focus writes in an e-mail. “When we came back, I felt good so I jumped in the footwork qualifiers with like 100 bboys from all over. More and more ideas kept coming in my mind as the competition went on, and I ended up winning the battle.”

Hey, whatever works. It’s definitely an impressive feat — but Focus says what’s impressive to him is the fact that IBE is able to juggle so many events at once.

“Besides being maybe the most international gathering for b-boys and b-girls in the world, IBE is dope because it gives something for everybody,” he says. “With this many people attending, you can still have the soulful feeling of a small jam because the main day’s divided in seven or eight venues.”

This year, he’s getting pumped about watching Hat Solo and A.T. hold it down on the Europe team for All Battles All. Of course, he’ll be holding it down himself all weekend with his fellow Flow-Mo crewmates as well.

Who knows — he may just win another battle on a whim.