Stu Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 (edited) "Regular" means you're using your body the way nature intended, with your knees and joints doing the jobs they were designed to do... So, since none of the human hip or knee joints were designed for the side to side crab-step motion, you have your battery march...? Edited February 9, 2013 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjm207 Posted February 9, 2013 Author Share Posted February 9, 2013 Crown? Bent leg? Crown had straighter legs than Cadets this past season. That's an observation made by my friend who was on Cadets visual staff in '05. Sorry, I had a Freudian slip. I meant to say Cavaliers, not Crown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Fieldpaint Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Sorry, I had a Freudian slip. I meant to say Cavaliers, not Crown. Ah, makes sense now. I see three different techniques in use. Cadets straight leg, Cavies bent leg, and the style used by the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils style is a little closer to "straight leg" than it is to the bent leg technique the Cavaliers use, but I don't see it as "straight leg." Cadets have backed off of the straight leg somewhat this past season (maybe to try to use the technique that BD uses), which is why Crown seems to be straighter at times. To me the Blue Devils technique seems to be more natural than both the full out Cadets late '90s straight leg, and the Cavies bent leg. Maybe someone who has marched Blue Devils in the past 20 years can explain their technique in detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Straight legs on the downbeat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 (edited) So, since none of the human hip or knee joints were designed for the side to side crab-step motion, you have your battery march...? Turn the feet out, and moving the heel over and across the planted foot to take a step isn't particular stressful on the joints. Harder work for the muscles, but that's true of any athletic activity. I'll start to believe that there's any real physiological advantage to straight leg when I start see football players, basketball players, or sprinters running with straight legs. Until then, it's just a product of the Drum Corps Ministry of Silly Walks. YMMV, of course. Edited February 9, 2013 by mobrien 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Turn the feet out, and moving the heel over and across the planted foot to take a step isn't particular stressful on the joints. Harder work for the muscles, but that's true of any athletic activity. However.... your objection to straight leg over bent knee marching was a regular natural motion in the bent knee in which the joints were originally designed. The crab-step style is way more stressful and unnatural to the joints than straight leg marching; you have now tried to justify that stressful unnatural crab style; and it sort of negates your non-natural objection to straight leg marching; just sayin'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 (edited) I'll start to believe that there's any real physiological advantage to straight leg when I start see football players, basketball players, or sprinters running with straight legs. Until then, it's just a product of the Drum Corps Ministry of Silly Walks. How many Football and Basketball players as well as Sprinters walk on their tip-toes like Ballet performer? Is the Ballet just a series of 'silly' walks? Edited February 9, 2013 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellodramatic Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Pretty much every technique tries to have straight legs on the downbeat, even Cavaliers. It's the crossing count that defines different styles, typically. That said, the BD technique of as straight legs as possible without being bouncy looks dead sexy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIfan90 Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Currently, SCV, Cavaliers, Blue Knights, and Pacific Crest all use a bent knee technique for marching. The rest of the corps use a straight leg technique. Some very extreme, in the case of Cadets, some a bit more relaxed, like Crown or Crossmen. Blue Knights stopped using bent leg in 2010. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 How many Football and Basketball players as well as Sprinters walk on their tip-toes like Ballet performer? Is the Ballet just a series of 'silly' walks? How many ballet dancers have you seen moving about the stage at 180 bpm for extended periods of time with straight legs? I'm at dance events all the time, seeing major companies from around the world, and have yet to witness that. ( I know, I know, some folks are determined to see drum corps as a fine art, but it's really still just band on grass, and as such, more sports than art.) Stu, I'd posit that with the knee and ankle turned out (both of them positions that the hip flexor is designed to allow), the motion of crabwalking, while unusual, isn't unnatural. The lower joints are flexing in a totally natural fashion to allow the crossover step. That being said, it strikes me that talking about the two schools of thought on this topic is probably right up there with discussing religion and politics, with all of the participants being fervent in their beliefs. I doubt any of us would convince anyone else to change positions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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