Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Drill Teams”
In recent decades, military drill teams—particularly those performing exhibition drill—have increasingly adopted visual elements commonly associated with pageantry arts. Audiences often see this overlap and assume the two are functionally equivalent. They are not.
Although exhibition drill may borrow tools from pageantry arts, the two are not the same discipline. They differ fundamentally in purpose, authority, design intent, and evaluation philosophy.
In JROTC drill competitions—during the regulation drill sequence—questions occasionally arise regarding the authorized positioning of the flight. One recurring practice, observed most frequently in the west, but slowly creeping to other areas, involves the commander switching from the prescribed left side of the formation to the right side and eventually switching back through column movements. This article examines whether that practice is doctrinally supported.
“A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.”Napoleon Bonapart Napoleon’s observation remains relevant because it identifies a fundamental truth of military culture: recognition matters. Ribbons, medals, badges, cords, and other uniform distinctions are not superficial. They are visible acknowledgments of effort, competence, and commitment. They communicate, without explanation, that an individual or group has earned …
This article is a continuation of Part 1, The Rhythm of Movement. Here, we go over what physically happens when taking that first step. The Gate Cycle When we talk about the gait cycle, we’re essentially describing a full rhythmic cycle of walking. Marching is a highly disciplined and stylized form of walking, so when marching, the gait cycle is …
Movement has a rhythm and with competitive marching it is crucial to understand that rhythm and break down movement to understand it’s application better.
I recently received a belligerent question from an individual who saw my posts on Facebook about restoring the replica rifles I have and the processes I’ve been experimenting with. I was performing much needed maintenance on my Glendal DrillAmerica Rifles and used this time to experiment on what looks better and what works better. One experiment is seeing what looked …
The books that I’ve been working on and publishing are to educate as many people as possible right now and in the future. Some of the information exists nowhere else than these books. Let’s educate and improve our performances in Ceremonial Drill, Regulation Drill, and Exhibition Drill.
A ripple line for a military drill team performance is a sequential movement where actions occur in a wave-like (fast or slow, smooth or sharp) progression rather than simultaneously.
The term “visual performance” has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. For our purposes, we will concentrate on the principles involved in performance based in dance, (marching band) color guard, and military exhibition drill.