Are you the one with a nasty “Don’t copy this!”or something similar on your video(s)? Or do you encourage others to take what you’ve developed and make it their own? Sure, copying is flattering but it is also something that some do just so they don’t have to work any harder.
How about this: do you post things on YouTube videos like “That sucked.” or “Those rifles look like they are lightweight. My school’s better and we drill with 19lb rifles.” Well, that’s certainly telling them!
Please stop telling others that you or your school drills with rifles that weight 19lbs or 26lbs or whatever number you want to pull out of the air. M1 Garand and M1903 rifles (and their replica’s) weigh around 8.5lbs and hardly ever any more than that unless they were demilitarized really badly and had a rod welded into the barrel. The exception is the M14 which weighs in at around 10lbs.
To encourage another one must not be selfish or controlling. How does one give “bad news” then? Through constructive feedback. What you say MUST be constructive.
“Don’t Copy Me!”
Copying is the only way some people can learn and once they do, they can, as I mentioned earlier, make the move or movements their own with their own little nuances. However, if someone has not reached that level of “owning” a move for their self, they need to start somewhere and copying is sometimes best. Now, hopefully the copying is only a move or two and not a whole routine.
“That sucked.”
What the person could have said was something like: “The team is out of alignment and the timing is off. Was that a Side Double? I couldn’t see it clearly.” Asking questions without the snotty tone is always good.
Or how about offering some simple advice: “During the first minute of your solo sequence I noticed that you executed several facing movements. You may want to let the rifle ‘lead’ you around the drill pad so that you come across with less of a ‘basic’ routine.”
Photos courtesy US Army and WN.com, respectively.