Corps marching technique/style

[kickhaltsforlife]

I don't think marching at all is really good for your body, except for the exercise, but I feel like the most natural technique is straight leg. It feels a lot more like a normal walking motion, just with more structure to it to eliminate upper body movement. That really is the point of marching technique. It is to facilitate playing while on the move.

[fsubone]

I don't think marching at all is really good for your body, except for the exercise, but I feel like the most natural technique is straight leg. It feels a lot more like a normal walking motion, just with more structure to it to eliminate upper body movement. That really is the point of marching technique. It is to facilitate playing while on the move.

That is true, that eliminating body movement is the main key to any technique, but when it comes down to it, the technique used by SCV and Cavies is actually the closest to walking, albeit a bit exaggerated. Most of the straight leg corps use a bit more rigid technique than normal walking, as the extra rigidity over the body allows for a bit more smoothness of motion and playing. And from a kinesiology standpoint, the bent knee is the best for you, but it's really the best of the worst. I started out marching a corps that was straight leg, very old-school, and it was really hard on my knees, then switched to one of the bent-knee corps, and my knee problems cleared up fully. Because of the constant fluidity of the technique, it allows for the pressure on your joints to be always moving, instead of sitting more on your knees and ankles, which is a common problem of straight leg techniques, namely with the inclusion of "dead-count" transitions. Just trying to explain my point fully, but everyone has different feelings about it, that's why we see so much variation among the corps.

[soccerguy315]

Hey there, to answer your question, no, they don't. The foot stays forward all the way through the roll forward, then the other foot changes direction. If you take a picture of someone at exactly count 8, you should not be able to tell if the marcher is going forwards, backwards, left or right, or halting. That's the beauty of the technique.

And to the second question, it's an always moving thing. It's supposed to be relaxed at the "and" count, but if the roll through is done properly, then the foot should travel through "flexed/ relaxed/ pointed" as it travels through to the next step.

appreciate your insight, thanks.

[bringTheLoud]

I don't think marching at all is really good for your body, except for the exercise, but I feel like the most natural technique is straight leg. It feels a lot more like a normal walking motion, just with more structure to it to eliminate upper body movement. That really is the point of marching technique. It is to facilitate playing while on the move.

ehhh.... I'm going to have to disagree. Straight leg causes so many knee/ankle problems it's ridiculous. I've got a buddy who needs knee surgery after marching straight leg.

However, straight leg definitely uses the least amount of energy, and I think makes the whole process of playing and marching as easy and efficient as possible.

[hboyce]

ehhh.... I'm going to have to disagree. Straight leg causes so many knee/ankle problems it's ridiculous. I've got a buddy who needs knee surgery after marching straight leg.

One of two things.

1) Your buddy was doing it wrong.

2) Your buddy's injury is unrelated to the technique and is actually the result of marching on so many bad fields all over the country for 10 weeks straight.

[bringTheLoud]

One of two things.

1) Your buddy was doing it wrong.

2) Your buddy's injury is unrelated to the technique and is actually the result of marching on so many bad fields all over the country for 10 weeks straight.

my point wasn't that straight leg causes injuries. It was that it's not natural. I remember being told time and time again, "If you're comfortable, you're wrong."

Even "doing it right" feels unnatural.

[dcialumni1989]

Cavaliers technique: What technique? Pick em' up and put em' down. Judges will imagine that they see a technique and give us credit for it because the drill is clean.

Cadets technique: cut out your knees and insert springs (although their technique is starting to become the crown technique) (the majority of the falls I see during the season come from the Cadets, but to their credit, their drill is pretty ridiculous most of the time)

Blue Devils technique: straight legs, no bounce, and no dirt. they march the hardest drill in dci, and make it look the easiest because of the minimalistic approach of their technique

SCV technique: unique. that's about it, it's bent leg, but not at all like Cavaliers. How they manage to define that technique is beyond me, but they make it work

Phantom technique: same as crown, but with a really "low" or more squatted jazz run

Crown and most of the other corps in World Class: straight leg, with slight bending between downbeats. Legs are kept "long" or "extended." Classic, looks great, and is easier to clean than most of the other techniques.

This is an extreme oversimplification of the different techniques, but if you sit in the stands and watch all the corps, this is what you will see.

Wow. There is so little that is correct in this post that I don't even know where to begin.

[hboyce]

Straight leg causes so many knee/ankle problems it's ridiculous.

my point wasn't that straight leg causes injuries.

There are plenty of things when you first do them are unnatural. Throwing a curve ball, speaking a foreign language, jazz running, etc. But with enough exposure and repetition should feel natural.

That being said at no point should it be uncomfortable.

I hope, for the sake of your marching program, whatever instructors told you that you shouldn't be comfortable are confusing the two bolded words.

[bringTheLoud]

There are plenty of things when you first do them are unnatural. Throwing a curve ball, speaking a foreign language, jazz running, etc. But with enough exposure and repetition should feel natural.

That being said at no point should it be uncomfortable.

I hope, for the sake of your marching program, whatever instructors told you that you shouldn't be comfortable are confusing the two bolded words.

1) Touche. I admit my contradictions and agree with your logic. (seriously feel like an idiot)

2) In my case uncomfortable and unnatural basically mean the same thing. (not uncomfortable as in pain).

There was never a time where any instructor I've had told us to be in pain in that sense of discomfort, but more along the lines of being in an unnatural position should never feel right (comfortable). Also in the mental aspect, you should never be comfortable with your situation, always checking yourself (even if it does become "second nature").

IMO no matter how many times you repeat some of the concepts in marching it'll never feel natural.

anyways sorry for being a d###### again.

[fsubone]

appreciate your insight, thanks.

Anytime. Glad I could help out. The technique really didn't make sense to me either till I marched it, and the staff broke down every 16th note for us, then after practicing over, and over, and over again a 16th note at a time, it finally started to make sense.