yashiharu Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 (edited) My friend & I would like to start a color guard project ... here's some question: 1.) Should we start from movement & flags > rifle > sabre in order? can we start with flags & rifle at the same time? 2.) there's no CG here, (we've got a very little experience), should we buy this DVD set from WGI? http://www.wgi.org/store/products/The_Basi...D_Set-41-2.html price good? any other choice? 3.) what pole should we need? 2 piece pole or 1 piece pole? (seems 2 piece is better for transport but i never seen anyone selling it ...) 6 feets is good for beginner? fiberglass or aluminum or plastic pole? 4.) what flags should we buy? what size? what texture/material? 5.) about rifle (i have a 36" cavaliers, seems good) 36" or 39" ? which model ? 6) where to buy? for international shipping i brought a rifle from this shop few years ago => http://www.swbandproducts.com/store/home.php i found this shop is quite cheap today => http://www.bandshoppe.com/catalog/productL...les_Accessories 7.) most important, anything we miss? We're going to bring CG in a no CG place Please kindly give us some advise. million thx Edited June 22, 2008 by yashiharu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quegrawks Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 (edited) Are you starting a guard program at a school, or an independent program? Are you interested in starting a guard for a marching band or drum corps, for winter (indoor) guard, or more than one of these? Will it be a competitive guard, or just for fun/education guard? Are you sure there absolutely NO guards (either scholastic or independent) or people with guard experience in your area? What grade levels/ages are you thinking about? What experience do you have that you can offer the students? These are things I would think about also. Edited June 22, 2008 by quegrawks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Murphy Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 If you have no knowledge of CG and basic skills in any of the equipment pieces, then the WGI set is pretty good. If you know how to spin flag even a little bit the flag video may be boring to you, but it does have some good warm up exercises, and some reminders on technique and hands. The WGI price is The Price. You will not find it lower on any website that I know of. McCormicks also sells the WGI videos too. My advice: start with flag, and those that really catch on to flag fast, try on rifle or sabre. Reasons vary between which weapon to start first. I start rifle first, then sabre, but I have a sophomore who is learning both at the same time. She caught on to rifle so fast that it seemed fine to put her on sabre as well. Some instructors start sabres then move to rifles. There is no right or wrong. We use Premier rifles (www.premierrifles.com). very similar to the Ultimate rifles (cant get ultimates anymore). I really like the Premiers. Have used Elites, but wasn't all that thrilled with them. We are starting to use King Sabres, but also have a few excalibur's. Either is fine, but I like the lifetime warranty of the King's. (www.designsbyking.com) I'd use a 6' flag, with a flag with a 36" sleeve. lengths of silk vary, but are in the 52-54" range. Poly silk is the norm, with tissue lame' being the shiny stuff. I like the curved rectangle (still has 4 corners and the sleeve and opposite end are still parallel) or the rectangle with top corner curved out. That being said, I have flags that also have different shapes than that as well. 6' poles are fine for beginners, as they don't know the difference. Band Shoppe is fine, I order more from McCormicks and The Band Hall. Not sure about international shipping with those 2 though. (www.mccormicksnet.com and www.thebandhall.com) good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashiharu Posted June 22, 2008 Author Share Posted June 22, 2008 Are you starting a guard program at a school, or an independent program? Are you interested in starting a guard for a marching band or drum corps, for winter (indoor) guard, or more than one of these? Will it be a competitive guard, or just for fun/education guard? Are you sure there absolutely NO guards (either scholastic or independent) or people with guard experience in your area? What grade levels/ages are you thinking about? What experience do you have that you can offer the students? These are things I would think about also. independent program. for marching band & drum corps. not really for competition, for performance, for the future. i would say absolutely NO guards in my area. we are all 2X yrs ... (too late to start learning ...) there's no student. we are our student. we're going to spend few years to learn all the skills. it's all for the future development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashiharu Posted June 22, 2008 Author Share Posted June 22, 2008 If you have no knowledge of CG and basic skills in any of the equipment pieces, then the WGI set is pretty good. If you know how to spin flag even a little bit the flag video may be boring to you, but it does have some good warm up exercises, and some reminders on technique and hands. The WGI price is The Price. You will not find it lower on any website that I know of. McCormicks also sells the WGI videos too. My advice: start with flag, and those that really catch on to flag fast, try on rifle or sabre. Reasons vary between which weapon to start first. I start rifle first, then sabre, but I have a sophomore who is learning both at the same time. She caught on to rifle so fast that it seemed fine to put her on sabre as well. Some instructors start sabres then move to rifles. There is no right or wrong. We use Premier rifles (www.premierrifles.com). very similar to the Ultimate rifles (cant get ultimates anymore). I really like the Premiers. Have used Elites, but wasn't all that thrilled with them. We are starting to use King Sabres, but also have a few excalibur's. Either is fine, but I like the lifetime warranty of the King's. (www.designsbyking.com) I'd use a 6' flag, with a flag with a 36" sleeve. lengths of silk vary, but are in the 52-54" range. Poly silk is the norm, with tissue lame' being the shiny stuff. I like the curved rectangle (still has 4 corners and the sleeve and opposite end are still parallel) or the rectangle with top corner curved out. That being said, I have flags that also have different shapes than that as well. 6' poles are fine for beginners, as they don't know the difference. Band Shoppe is fine, I order more from McCormicks and The Band Hall. Not sure about international shipping with those 2 though. (www.mccormicksnet.com and www.thebandhall.com) good luck! thank you very much for your kindness supportings~ we're planning to buy flags & rifle at this time (lower shipping cost per item) from www.mccormicksnet.com 1. Fiberglass Flag Poles is better & much suitable for us? 2. vinyl tape & glove? 3. we may buy a cavaliers 35" rifle, seems better protection, and shorter is better for beginner right? (although it looks not good as elite 3 ....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvguard Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 1. I like aluminum poles better than fiberglass. Fiberglass are a little heavier. 2. You can get electrical tape to use at any hardware store. Gloves are optional but I would recommend using them if you are going to use rifles or sabres. 3. I would say if you are just starting out to get a 36 inch rifle. Most groups seem to use 36 or higher so I think it would be easier to transition if you are wanting to march with a guard later on. I use 36 elites with my high school group. I usually order through warren-creative-design.com They are the cheapest place that I have found and are very quick to ship things out. I've also ordered through McCormicks and Band Shop as well and they are both great too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Murphy Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I prefer aluminum poles. They do bend and dent, but if you are careful, they will be fine. Don't forget to weight the poles. I use a 3" bolt on the pole end and a 5.5 to 6" bolt on the silk end. I wouldn't do any smaller of a rifle than 36". I would find out what the groups around you use in terms of length (the ones you want to perform with in the future) and use what they use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quegrawks Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 independent program.for marching band & drum corps. not really for competition, for performance, for the future. i would say absolutely NO guards in my area. we are all 2X yrs ... (too late to start learning ...) there's no student. we are our student. we're going to spend few years to learn all the skills. it's all for the future development. Where are you located? If it's for marching band and drum corps, do they have guards? You coul always talk to their instructors and find out if you can attend any guard camps they offer. PS: You're NEVER too old to learn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashiharu Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 Where are you located? If it's for marching band and drum corps, do they have guards? You coul always talk to their instructors and find out if you can attend any guard camps they offer.PS: You're NEVER too old to learn! we're brass & battery player in our marching band ... last year, we brought a ticket to attend a camp, learn something good from a drum corps we would be the first GUARD here few years later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 6 foot aluminum poles silk should measure 36" x 52" when finished - use poly china silk fabric Rifles - use King rifles 36" are GREAT for starting off, 39" is good too. These are weighted wonderfully! WGI videos are the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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