The Difference Between Training, Practice, and Rehearsal

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It may seem strange, even silly, to define practice, training and rehearsal down to the “nth” degree. Always remember, “Education is key!” Note: there are JROTC units that do not have the luxury of an experienced drill coach. Many JROTC instructors have never marched much past their Basic Training or Boot Camp days and that’s OK. Our military jobs came first …

Programming, Continued

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Apparently “dropping the base” can have something to do with describing how one creates a routine and, while that may have some sort of relevance at the moment, this description could very well have lost its meaning in a short time. I’ll stick with terms that designers have used for decades. Below, are the Seven Parts of and Exhibition Drill …

Angel Solis Spinning with The DrillMaster Bayonet

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When I first had the idea for the bayonet in early 2012, I created five prototypes with Angel receiving one.I went through a couple of different titles: The Drillmaster Training Bayonet and The DrillMaster Driller’s bayonet. It’s safer since it does not have a tip or sharp edge and I was thinking that Drillers would want to use it when …

What do judges look for in a military drill team performance?

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What do judges look for in a military drill team performance? I get this question quite often. Here is the answer: it doesn’t matter “what the judge is looking for,” it matters what the standard is. I put that in quotes, because obviously, a judge is going to be looking for something, but what that something is has nothing to …

How to Switch from Regualtion Drill to Exhibition Drill

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A short time ago a student friend of mine sent me a video of his armed solo performance asking for feedback (I give real-time audio feedback on performances of Drillers and teams in the WDA Adjudication System: Overall Effect, Composition Analysis, Marching & Equipment- usually a combined critique of a little from each caption). To preface the video, he told …

The Opening Statement

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When I judge, I create a commentary/critique of each performance during the performance and I then post it on my website here for the Drillers/teams to download and listen to. On many of my recordings, you can hear me talk about the Driller’s or team’s “opening statement.” But what is this opening statement? Defining the Term In military exhibition drill …

Copy or Version?

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Direct Copy Let’s say I watch a movie, Men in Black, and I really like Will Smith’s song at the end and I’d like to listen to it from time-to-time. I look it up on a music service for my smart phone and find it. I buy and download it only to find out it’s a generic version of the …

Where can I find a complete list of exhibition drill moves?

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Some other countries use a separation of terms: Foot Drill and Rifle Drill. At The DrillMaster, we use “Drill” as meaning the feet; Unarmed Exhibition Drill (UXD) and Armed Exhibition Drill (AXD) to mean the body and equipment movement layered over the drill for the feet. On with the question. In General There isn’t such a thing as a “complete …