KingJoeVII Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Since the mod suggested it, I'll go ahead and open up this topic. In much the same spirit as the "Brass Caption Head" thread, I'd just like to know what kind of style each corps teaches. Specific pedagogical methods would be great as would rationale and reasoning behind the technique. I'm also looking for not just modern techniques that corps use these days, but also techniques from corps past. as always, feel free to ask questions or correct anything Ive got wrong... I'll start out with what I know - Cadets Technique: Straight legged Nicknames:"Straight-Legged-Freaks", "Scissors" The Cadet visual style is based upon two things, height and straight legs. The initial motion of the leg is to push the heel to the ground with minimal knee movement. The leg swings in a pendulum motion using the thigh muscles to propel the entire leg forward as one unit. The rear ankle flexes to push the body weight into the step. The goal of the technique is to preserve the maroon stripe that runs down the side of the uniform. The bagginess of the pants (at least the old unis from '03-06) allow the leg a little bit of knee bend before it is visible. The marcher should however NOT displace the hip joints in order to preserve a straight leg - you can recognize this by seeing if the hips raise and lower independently on every step. The performer should be as tall as possible at all points during marching and should never lower, especially during direction changes and backwards marching. The traditional "stop and go" technique is used where no body weight transfers to the front foot on the last count. The legs should be crossing on the "and" count of the beat. Halts are approached through a toe first placement at high tempos and are rolled into at low tempos. At low tempos, the backwards technique changes to a "roll down" where the foot rolls down through the heel in a kind of reverse forward rollstep. When standing still, the toes and heels are together. Weight is distributed evenly on the whole foot with maybe a slight inclination towards leaning forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nite_Maresz_25 Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Great post. and sweet thread. Anyone else have info to add? that would be sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nctarheels05 Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 crossmen's technique is the same as the cadets. (4 members of the vis staff are cadets alum. ) also i think glassmen have or had a similar technique. as a visual instructor, i like this technique. It is pretty simple to teach and it the easiest to define and clean. obviously it is a little hard to get used to marching this way, but when it clicks... it looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteblaze102 Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I would like to see the Cavaliers Technique broken down. It changes year to year but I need to see if I understand it pretty well :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leadsop97 Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I have a feeling that many or most of the corps have adopted the straight leg technique to a certain extent. However, none of them are as much of an intense straight leg as Cadets and XMen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingJoeVII Posted July 30, 2007 Author Share Posted July 30, 2007 (edited) as a visual instructor, i like this technique. It is pretty simple to teach and it the easiest to define and clean. obviously it is a little hard to get used to marching this way, but when it clicks... it looks great. I would agree it is probably the easiest to define..however I dont know if it is the easiest technique to use. If you think about it, it is rather unnatural and unless the marcher is experienced and well trained, it is easy to stiffen up and create tension throughout the body that can adversely affect performance. Also I;m not sure one gains much of a visual advantage by using this technique with a group wearing black pants. Black pants obscure lots of the lower body movement so you can get away with doing things a little more relaxed - kinda like BD technique. as a note, in addition to the Cavies technique broken down, I would love to hear someone discuss BK...they have a strange technique it seems.... Edited July 30, 2007 by KingJoeVII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nctarheels05 Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 (edited) I would agree it is probably the easiest to define..however I dont know if it is the easiest technique to use. If you think about it, it is rather unnatural and unless the marcher is experienced and well trained, it is easy to stiffen up and create tension throughout the body that can adversely affect performance. Also I;m not sure one gains much of a visual advantage by using this technique with a group wearing black pants. Black pants obscure lots of the lower body movement so you can get away with doing things a little more relaxed - kinda like BD technique. true. but teaching this technique is easy if you understand the biomechanics of the body. For example, the straight leg technique for backward marching is easier to think about when you say "only use the muscles that extend the leg" which is the glutes and hamstrings. once the students learn the muscles you have to use to march a certain technique, they can feel themselves doing the technique right or wrong, allowing them to personalize what they do. obviously this can be used to teach everything from posture to marching and horn/ drum carriage. our activity is a sport, and our bodies are a tool. Knowing our body and muscles will make us move more efficiently. Edited July 30, 2007 by nctarheels05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelius Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I thought BK marches the same technique the Cavies do... At least thats what I thought of when I saw them earlier this month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteblaze102 Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I thought BK marches the same technique the Cavies do... At least thats what I thought of when I saw them earlier this month. It's similar but it seems more exaggerated to some extent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingJoeVII Posted July 30, 2007 Author Share Posted July 30, 2007 (edited) true. but teaching this technique is easy if you understand the biomechanics of the body. For example, the straight leg technique for backward marching is easier to think about when you say "only use the muscles that extend the leg" which is the glutes and hamstrings. once the students learn the muscles you have to use to march a certain technique, they can feel themselves doing the technique right or wrong, allowing them to personalize what they do.obviously this can be used to teach everything from posture to marching and horn/ drum carriage. our activity is a sport, and our bodies are a tool. Knowing our body and muscles will make us move more efficiently. The more I'm around this activity, the more I realize that it is all about awareness. Becoming aware of what your body is doing and how it feels is paramount to correctly using whatever technique you are marching. As Marc Sylvester once said, "Marching is all about feel - about how it feels to you." I thought BK marches the same technique the Cavies do... At least thats what I thought of when I saw them earlier this month. it is similar, yes, however there are few things that are different in terms of step offs and direction changes Edited July 30, 2007 by KingJoeVII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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