Arms Up During Flips - We Did It.....

[LancerFi]

I was wondering, we used to love to throw our rifles and put our right arm up straight...as straight as it could get with the busby on. I was wondering, does anyone else remember guards doing that then during competition? We began I believe in 1978.

Of course it is done today however the arm is kind of bent at the elbow. Although there are different ways to do this, they are all a variation on the same thing.

Anyone else remember who else did it? Malibu, Geoff, Rocketman, Sally, Sue, deftguy....etc.

If we could have done it during each throw - used for 3's or higher, we would have, but we did it enough to be noticeable. It felt so powerful to do it that way more so than no putting it up.

Edited October 26, 2005 by LancerFi

[deftguy]

Nancy,

The Cavaliers were strickly arms to the sides guys. Only occasionally did we throw up the left arm during high tosses. When I do it now with the Renegades, it feels awkard and strange. My muscle memory still wants to take my arms to the sides, so this is something I continually work at.

Edited October 26, 2005 by deftguy

[RobH]

Mi Querida,

We who are not rifle people need pictures to show us what you're talking about!!!!

My memory vaguely recalls rifle guys in the 60's catching rifles with bent arms (those rifles were the ten pounders if I recall correctly!) but only because they were so heavy and because it's likely nobody had thought about catching a rifle any differently at that time!

[LancerFi]

Mi Querida,

We who are not rifle people need pictures to show us what you're talking about!!!!

My memory vaguely recalls rifle guys in the 60's catching rifles with bent arms (those rifles were the ten pounders if I recall correctly!) but only because they were so heavy and because it's likely nobody had thought about catching a rifle any differently at that time!

No darling, it's not the catch or the release, it's what happens in between, when the rifles in the air. If you have 79, 80 or 81, I can show you about 27 throws where we do it.

After the release, say from the left hand, the right arms goes up immediately, and is completely straight up to the sky. We'd sometimes do the #1 using our forefinger, but most of the time the hand was in a clenched fist.

Nowadays, their hand is open and their arm is somewhat bent.

[LancerFi]

Nancy,

The Cavaliers were strickly arms to the sides guys. Only occasionally did we throw up the left arm during high tosses. When I do it now with the Renegades, it feels awkard and strange. My muscle memory still wants to take my arms to the sides, so this is something I continually work at.

Thanks, for your reply.

We used our right arm with hand clenched, and only sometime doing a #1 with the forefinger.

We did a few first putting the right up, then down, then the left up then down.....during triples you had to be really fast to complete both to that straight up position. For quads there was a bit more time. But it made the throw look like something more for some reason when I think about it now.

[Malibu]

We put our hands down to our sides too. The comment from the drill designer was he wanted to see "space" between the rifle and the members head. He felt by leaving the arm or hand up, it was as if the member was reaching for it.

Like Nancy said, today there are so many variations.

I think Troopers used to put their hand up......didn't North Star do it too?

[LancerFi]

We put our hands down to our sides too. The comment from the drill designer was he wanted to see "space" between the rifle and the members head. He felt by leaving the arm or hand up, it was as if the member was reaching for it.

Like Nancy said, today there are so many variations.

I think Troopers used to put their hand up......didn't North Star do it too?

Really, I believe people are thinking I'm saying it was for every throw. It was only maybe 10 each year where it was called for in the music.

Maybe because there was no space between the rifle and the top of our heads/hats :P it didn't really matter?

The rest or should I say, most of the time the arms/hands went to the sides on the stomach or one on the side and one on the stomach.....In the Reveries we did both hands to the side.

Edited October 26, 2005 by LancerFi

[Malibu]

Was there a certain height or roatation that you did it for or was it just something you did for music GE?

[LancerFi]

Was there a certain height or roatation that you did it for or was it just something you did for music GE?

"used for 3's or higher" "and we did both right then left at sometimes"

However we could have done it with doubles I would think....

Anyway, it was here and there and sometimes called for in a song, but mostly when we wanted to add it.

There were other times without throws when it was done, like at the end of a song, but that was the hand gesture #1 as mentioned earlier in the thread.

[RobH]

Dearest Nancy,

Thanks for the clarification - I'd never even THOUGHT about what you amazing rifles did in the time between the toss and the catch!

PICTURES?????????????

oxoxoxoxo