What the heck was that?

[Crayola8]

But you see, young grasshopper...if one can sustain this drill, executing today's shows becomes easier both mentally and physically...

I completely agree with you, and that's why we did it! I simply stated that in an "either/or" situation, I'd take today over yesterday. But of course, I'm a student of today! B)

-M

[strutta]

Who wouldn't???!!! :P

[MsBusDriver]

Now THAT would make a great Fanfare column. Any other suggestions on a time machine offering that would wake up the kids today and make them grateful they weren't born 30 years earlier?

How about a "5" minute high leg lift mark time? You put the Corps in a circle elbow to elbow and do a high leg lift mark time for 5 minutes. If someone messes up, even just a little, like knee not high enough, looking around, elbows fall etc, the clock stops and the 5 minutes is started all over again. Believe me, it's harder than it sounds. The worst is when you get to the end and when called to a halt , SOMEONE MOVES. Guess what you get to do...

[bstar82]

If I recall, the movie "JAWS" came out that same summer. Who stole the idea from whom? Remember Richard Dreyfuss in the shark cage? Now if we can get VK to put this in their show next year. Dress up a member as this 2-7 dude and have the 92 VK shark attack him!!

Edited May 1, 2006 by bstar82

[84BDsop]

Mike,

I believe he's referring to an older marching basics exercise, supposedly created by the Blue Stars in their heyday. As I understand, it goes something like this:

All members line up along the endzone yardline, elbow to elbow, facing the opposite endzone. Start the metronome, then step off. We did an "8 to 5", but I'm sure it can be varied. Endzone to 5 yardline, then immediately backwards to the endzone. Immediately forward to 10 yl, back to endzone. EZ to 15, back. To the 20, back. 25, back. Continue in this fashion all the way down to the other endzone. Once you get there, continue back to the original endzone, and work backwards. Original endzone to far 5 yardline, back to endzone. Far 10 yl, back to endzone. Continue until you're down to the final 5 yards and back.

If my math is correct, that's 4000 yards, or 12,000 feet, or a little over 2 miles. Those 6,400 steps at a tempo of 144 bpm would take about 45 minutes. All of this is done continuously, with horns up. Oh, and by the way, when we did it we weren't allowed to speak and remind each other of where we were in the sequence... think after 25 minutes you'd remember whether you're going to the 30 or 35 yard line? ^0^

We (the 2005 Bluecoats) sampled this "Blue Star Drill" this past summer, but only got about 1/3 of the way through it due to time. Our instructors that had completed it (most of them from experiences in the Phantom Regiment in the 80s) spoke about it as a rite of passage.

ALL of us expressed our opinions that we'd rather spend all day with today's shows - tempos in the 180s, fast and hard direction changes, and huge step sizes - than with that kind of sustained, unchanging mental effort.

Meghan

2005 Bluecoats Mellophone

I think there have been many variations over the years...the one we did in BD was a punishment drill...and I've LONG since forgotton what we did to earn it.

Corps lines up on one goal line

Mark time, hut (high lift)

When the staff is satisfied the mark time is good, forward hut.

Whoever's the center starts doing 8s & 8s...high lift on the mark time, all the way down to the other goal line. Whenever he

gets to the mark time part, whoever was on his outsides start THEIR 8s & 8s.

You start feeling it around the near side 40....then it's 60 more yards of PAIN.

After the last outside guys get to the opposite goal line and the corps is once again high lifting -- and when it looks as good as the beginning -- corps halt...and you'd better not even blink.

After the "relax" command, the moans of pain come and a few people slump to the ground.

OY!

[MarimbasaurusRex]

Mike,

I believe he's referring to an older marching basics exercise, supposedly created by the Blue Stars in their heyday. As I understand, it goes something like this:

All members line up along the endzone yardline, elbow to elbow, facing the opposite endzone. *snip*

Wow, I'd like to think we were that hard core, but I don't remember doing that or even hearing about it in my time with Blue Stars (79-81). Not sure how these stories get started or if that ever happened in Blue Stars at all. What I do recall with great dismay is something called "chop suey." After the show, in the parking lot in full uniform with high mark time and full equipment, the entire corps would march the warm up, the whole show, and a long warm down. If it wasn't satisfactory we would start again until the staff was happy. Then we would collapse, change clothes and have dinner, usually after most other corps had left. As a corps with no winter program to speak of, coming together in June every year, we needed that kind of thing to catch up. We pretty much stopped doing it in 1980 and the results speak for themselves.

[mistertoo]

.

Edited July 13, 2006 by mistertoo

[Michael Boo]

If I recall, the movie "JAWS" came out that same summer. Who stole the idea from whom? Remember Richard Dreyfuss in the shark cage? Now if we can get VK to put this in their show next year. Dress up a member as this 2-7 dude and have the 92 VK shark attack him!!

I'd pay good money to see that.

[bearz]

AH...as an ex-Blue Star I can assure you, we WERE that hardcore! While I don't remember that particular exercise (I think I have selective memory) I remember endless hours of high mark time exercises, and I guarantee you we were very hard core about it.

The endless drum roll thing too...we used to do that to play us off the field AFTER a show...YUP, we were hard core in the 70s....

Edited May 1, 2006 by bearz

[bluestarsmello]

Wow, I'd like to think we were that hard core, but I don't remember doing that or even hearing about it in my time with Blue Stars (79-81). Not sure how these stories get started or if that ever happened in Blue Stars at all. What I do recall with great dismay is something called "chop suey." After the show, in the parking lot in full uniform with high mark time and full equipment, the entire corps would march the warm up, the whole show, and a long warm down. If it wasn't satisfactory we would start again until the staff was happy. Then we would collapse, change clothes and have dinner, usually after most other corps had left. As a corps with no winter program to speak of, coming together in June every year, we needed that kind of thing to catch up. We pretty much stopped doing it in 1980 and the results speak for themselves.

We did it in 2002 and 2003. Actually some of my best memories. After about 20 minutes of that (without messing up) you can't help but to feel like a total ######.