Drill and Marching Columns
Since the marching contingents have become such a hot topic these days, and in coming days we will see a lot of them in parades, I thought I’ll take a stab at sharing with everyone what exactly goes into making these marching columns and bands.
Since the marching contingents have become such a hot topic these days, and in coming days we will see a lot of them in parades, I thought I’ll take a stab at sharing with everyone what exactly goes into making these marching columns and bands.
Drill is actually one of the first things you’re taught when you join the academy. In case of Jawans, in their respective regimental / corps Centers.
A layman, oversimplified version of drill is doing something repetitively, enhancing and honing muscle memory for that and each
A layman, oversimplified version of drill is doing something repetitively, enhancing and honing muscle memory for that and each
action a near perfect copy of previous one. “left, right, left…” You get the drift !
But to achieve this requires thousands and thousands of hours of practice, physical labour, mental attentiveness and tenacity.
It starts with having the right posture. Just standing straight
But to achieve this requires thousands and thousands of hours of practice, physical labour, mental attentiveness and tenacity.
It starts with having the right posture. Just standing straight
properly. Ramrod straight. Chin up, chest out, stomach in, shoulders square and toes aligned. And then, you’ve to learn to stand like this for hours to even get started.
When you see columns marching, the synchronised manner is result of having the exact same marching pace,
When you see columns marching, the synchronised manner is result of having the exact same marching pace,
length of each step, adequate and proportional arm length space front and back, timing and ability of each participant to raise the leg and arm equally.
The swing of arm is one of the most important things. It had to swing up near shoulder level and also swing back, near
The swing of arm is one of the most important things. It had to swing up near shoulder level and also swing back, near
shoulder level. That means for hundreds of hours, the drill instructors will force you to swing arms back wards ( front is easy and normal), till the time he feels that your shoulder joint has developed new level of flexibility and you feel that it is about to break. And this
action, defying Newtonian law, had to be achieved without rest of your body bending on front. Means there is no way other than to grease your shoulder so much that it’s a smooth movement and doesn’t create and jerks or pressure to body.
The continents march beautifully with all
The continents march beautifully with all
their legs rising and falling together. And what I’m going to describe is the reason when they say “ Army takes away your knees”. The legs have to go through a lot. The hip joint has to be extremely flexible to ensure that you can raise your leg to the belt level, in each step,
for hours and hours. The knee joint is specially toughened as it has to bear the entire impact whenever the feet is stamped down with force, thousands of times, every day. The heel has to learn to bear a lot pain and stress because the marching steps are not similar to how we
walk normally. When the foot lands, it lands forcefully on heel, digging into the ground, and the rest of the foot stays at an angle to the ground, toes facing upwards.
The loud noise that you hear when marching columns move is the ‘digging’ of these heels into the ground with
The loud noise that you hear when marching columns move is the ‘digging’ of these heels into the ground with
as much force as you can. THIS is where it boils down to. If you can maintain your balance, perfect posture, ability to walk straight and swing your arms, while digging in your heels with each step, you’ve learnt the drill.
Not to learn this, cadets and troops practice this
Not to learn this, cadets and troops practice this
under the tyrannical and watchful eyes of Drill instructors. A league of gentlemen not know to be nice and friendly but with exemplary fitness and perfection im drill. Normal days drill can be for 1-3 hours and before passing out parades and drill competitions it can easily go
upto 8-10 hours daily. The sweltering heat or chilling cold does nothing to dissuade the practice. The only thing that stops it is rain. So every morning when we woke up in NDA, we used to pray to rain Gods. It mostly went unanswered !
Like any other activity, some individuals
Like any other activity, some individuals
are better in drill than others. The best of the lot in Academies make it Nishaan Toli (those whe carry the Banner). From hundreds of these best in drill, a handful will make it to RD contingent. Same for troops. The crème de la crème of drill in each regiment, corps etc are
sent as RD parade contingent. These soldiers have already put thousands of hours of drill hours to prove that they are the best. But once they reach delhi, it’s a whole new level of effort. As it’s always winters during RD celebrations, they are up and ready around 4-4:30 to
Start practicing the moment sun comes up.
Drill is a strenuous activity that requires hardships on muscles and joints. Like any sports, and anyone who’s players sports will vouch for it, it requires a good warm up to open(rough term) up the joints, improve blood flow and warm
Drill is a strenuous activity that requires hardships on muscles and joints. Like any sports, and anyone who’s players sports will vouch for it, it requires a good warm up to open(rough term) up the joints, improve blood flow and warm
up muscles to avoid any injury or sprain due to stiffness. The slapping of rifles, jumping on the spot, fast quick marches etc are usual warm up exercises. Same goes for the band. They play random notes or tunes and songs to warm up their limbs and lungs.
It was sad to see the
It was sad to see the
judgmental calls coming from various quarters over the choice of song for warm up practice for Naval bands. The bands will choose something that’s peppy, makes them practice high and low notes, and kind of wakes everyone up and cheers up the troops. Many Bollywood numbers offer
all this. Before every parade, there is a Pep talk by Parade commander. Because a major parade is an exceptionally big deal. You can’t falter, fall or fail. It takes a lot to make a parade smooth and successful.
Shining brass, crisp uniforms, horse shoes under the heels and
Shining brass, crisp uniforms, horse shoes under the heels and
a tight belt; and these soldiers march bravely and proudly to display the pride that’s Indian Defence Forces.
Some of them will have bruised knuckles or knees, broken nails inside the shoe, blistered feet from months of practice, back aches, sprained joints and what not. But
Some of them will have bruised knuckles or knees, broken nails inside the shoe, blistered feet from months of practice, back aches, sprained joints and what not. But
you’ll never see anyone even flinch. Because it’s a matter of pride and prestige to be part of that contingent.
They give years of their hard work, relentless practice and dedication to give us this parade for couple of hours so we can go back and beam with pride. To judge them
They give years of their hard work, relentless practice and dedication to give us this parade for couple of hours so we can go back and beam with pride. To judge them
over an issue of the songs that they warm up to, or have a little innocent fun, how small have we become ?
Every soldier marching in parades in days to come is result of years of chiselling and turning him/her into the best. Let’s be proud of them. Jai Hind. 🙏
Every soldier marching in parades in days to come is result of years of chiselling and turning him/her into the best. Let’s be proud of them. Jai Hind. 🙏
Sorry for typos. I dont generally review after writing long threads. #Lazy And no, I wasn’t great in drill. Honest confession :)
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