Sideways Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Circle drills....ugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellodramatic Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I won this exercise back in my day. Just sayin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
31rabbit Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 never even came close. yet it was like the kentucky derby as far as thrill went, i'd have probably ran book on it if I'd had any money at all when I marched. i'm no doubt exaggerating the level of spectator sport this would be. But it speaks volumes to me (*nostalgia alert*) about to the grind of tour such that 'competitive!' basics block garnered actual excitement from the corps, and that certain Willingness to Hype that marchers have that cannot be explained. waking up and realizing you were in Mississippi for a full rehearsal day could be instantly alleviated by the morale boost of Competitive Drill Day. undue excitement about a 10minute exercise that could provide enthusiasm to not only get through but enjoy 10 hours of grind. imagine, a thing like that. if only Corporations could figure out how to get that reaction from adults... Corps have their big hypes that everybody knows about, but it's the little hypes that garner temporary fanatical devotion. every time I see an small statue of some kind tucked into the strut of a piece of equipment, or a staff member in the stands waving a random objet de arte, I've no doubt that there is a section of the corps which has a series of rituals that they hype to over it. drills skills may not be primetime TV, but nevertheless I get vicariously excited when I see a corps running one. and i bet that nearly everybody who ever won a drills skills contest remembers it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deftguy Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) We did this but it was in drum major camp with George Parks. Very fun but entirely nerve-wracking! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYmKJXEH738 Having done this in a very large competitive colorguard, I agree with your comment. I think some miss the object of this exercise. It is not to see who is the best marcher, it is to focus on following rules,orders,commands or whatever you call it. My guard learned their drill much faster this way because it required profound focus. In my high school colorguard(which was extremely competitive) if you were eliminated early, you sectioned yourself off with the others that were eliminated, and you worked like hell to get it right. Edited February 17, 2015 by deftguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeZ Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I have yet to find the benefit of a large game of simon says. If i can avoid doing this, i do. Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) I did this "game" in high school. Whittling the corps down to the best few marchers a waste of time in technique block that can be spent on making the corps AS A WHOLE march better. Did it in college a few times and still swear it was to fill out the time instead of letting us eat early. Usually ended up with 100+ people staring at the 5 or so left until the BD gave up and let us go. My downfall was drifting off the set while doing the bands wierd ###ed mark time. More than half the length of your foot and .. OUT... Also wonder who else in the band has arthritic toes from that stupid marktime (included bending toes past the normal position with the foot on the ground/asphalt). Edit: Thinking about it we had technique beat into us the first week of band camp so what the purpose of this was still escapes me except for game time. Whoopty freakin' doopty... didn't miss this at all the next year when I decided not to return so I could concentrate on my studies more. Edited February 17, 2015 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seen-it-all Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I have yet to find the benefit of a large game of simon says. If i can avoid doing this, i do. Z Because it's fun? Because it's challenging? That's two things right there I've always enjoyed about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I think some miss the object of this exercise. It is not to see who is the best marcher, it is to focus on following rules,orders,commands or whatever you call it. My guard learned their drill much faster this way because it required profound focus. The "ya screw up yer out" part is what escapes me. During the first week (aka beat techniques into you week) we did what you described and it helped. But if you are out right away and you're just staring at the people left how does that help? Man... flashback to game when I was taking ice skating lessons. When the music stops... freeze... and if you move you go to the side. At least that wasn't presented as learning something, it was during the fun time after the lessons/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
31rabbit Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 well the 'improving' part is that it gets you seriously thinking about every aspect of your technique again, whereas it could be very easy to bare-minimum your way through your 50th basics block of the season. and for many people competiton can get you thinking and working harder and noticing more. bottom line is that it's a 10minute game-exercise at the start of practice, not the fundamental of rehearsal. i was harkening back to it as something I and possibly others really dug. Had no idea it would be a bone of contention for some :) if DCI ever hosts a 'sudden death best marcher' competition during intermission, y'all can go get hotdogs but I think I'd watch it eagerly. that's all I'm saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabMaster Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Having done this in a very large competitive colorguard, I agree with your comment. I think some miss the object of this exercise. It is not to see who is the best marcher, it is to focus on following rules,orders,commands or whatever you call it. My guard learned their drill much faster this way because it required profound focus. In my high school colorguard(which was extremely competitive) if you were eliminated early, you sectioned yourself off with the others that were eliminated, and you worked like hell to get it right. I doubt anyone would be beaming with pride at being the best direction follower. It WAS to lay claim to being the best marcher. Being in the final five was pretty cool but winning it and winning it more than once was the goal. EVERYONE got better for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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