Rifle Line in Color Guard
Posted in Color Guard on Jul 10th, 2008
By Jesse Schmitt
Even though it took place such a long while ago, there is something about the things you learn in adolescence that follows you through life, if you remain vigilant towards it. It is with a steady, skilled, and stoic hand that I still, from time to time, will find myself spinning my rifle from high school color guard. When spun well this whirl of white and black can seem like an impressive set; though with strong fundamentals and a talented hand, you can find yourself doing exactly the same one day.
Color guards are the women and men who march with the flags, rifles, and sabers alongside the marching band; winter guard is color guard, indoors, without the band and in the winter. While I marched with the drum line in the fall, come winter I was able to pick up this fun and interesting activity and enjoy the camaraderie and fitness it employed. When it comes to spinning your rifle there are an important set of behaviors to remember to maintain in order to spin most successfully.
1) First off you’ll want to remember your starting posture. Before you’ve even done anything you’ll want to make sure that your feet are in a comfortable, stationary position and you’ll want to be sure that your body is straight up, top to bottom. Having good starting posture is essential in any sport; it’s especially important in an activity like color guard as once you’re set to moving with your equipment and your body, you’ll need to be sure that you maintain full control over your rifle, flag, or any other piece you may be manipulating.
2) Getting into rhythm: Once you get your posture set you’ll want to make sure you start your spinning in an efficient and fluid manner. If you start off your spinning in an inefficient manner, the chances are great that you’ll end up dropping your equipment after a couple of spins. This is especially true of the rifle as it is a free floating piece which flies through the air; starting off well is pivotal to getting a good sense of spinning
3) Don’t Wobble: Once you’ve gotten your rhythm going you’ll want to be sure you’re able to maintain a steady pace and that you’re not overexerting yourself trying to maintain your level throughout. If you begin to wobble or otherwise falter, it’s a good idea to stop straight away. You don’t want to send your equipment flying and injure yourself or someone else.
4) Only go as far as you’re able: Now that you’ve attained a regular pace of speed and you’re going in a whirling motion around and around, you may think that the hard part’s behind you. While it’s true that spinning is ¾ getting everything going in a steady manner, there is the plenty left to do: You need to maintain your posture, keep your wrist and hands turning in an efficient way, not take your eyes off the rifle, and maintain your focus and concentration. You also need to be able to gauge yourself and when it’s time to stop as you don’t want to set your rifle flying.
5) Stop It: After a while of spinning and getting your basics down, you’ll want to be able to stop in an efficient manner. If you feel like you’re ready to stop you need to have your timing down so that you’ll be able to bring the spinning exercise to a successful conclusion. On a traditional, right handed spinning rifle, all you need to do is snap your left hand out once the tip of the rifle has passed your left side so that your hand is there to catch the tip on the next go around. From your vantage point the tip will be traveling in a counter clockwise motion and you’ll want to have your left hand out at: 45. Your right hand will already be out to catch the butt and the rifle should snap back gracefully into your outstretched arms.
If you’re interested in spinning for your schools color guard, I’d suggest making a top priority of going to speak with someone about learning about the guard before the tryouts so you’ll know what’s involved; each school has a different level of participation so you want to make sure you’ll be able to commit. Then it’s really just practice, practice, practice! You can be a color guard star for the rifle line in no time!
this is the way you hold your rifle…
…and this is the way you spin it!
