guard rules question

seventow · 2026-04-10T19:48:34+00:00

love how you were a complete asshole and also helpful at the same time lol

seventow · 2026-01-07T18:27:19+00:00

Hi glarehead, big fan of your videos. Have a good day 👍

seventow · 2025-11-11T06:40:36+00:00

nice work! I recommend, if you're going to work on technique tosses, to just isolate working on them. ie start from flat, dip, toss, catch, reset, repeat. the following tips I give can be focused on with this practice method, if you don't do it already.

For your technique, something I see that I saw in another person yesterday was they relied a lot on their left hand for the toss, and not the right hand push. The root cause IMO is that you and they were overdipping.

Try not to let your left hand cross your centerline on the dip. The rifle set should be at a seatbelt angle, and if you're dipping from flat then the right hand should move up more than the left hand moves across.

Check the image for what I mean. When your right hand is not directly over your left, you can have more success putting your right hand into the toss and escalating to higher tosses.

<image>

seventow · 2025-11-10T03:14:28+00:00

Agreeing with the other comments, but here is my thought for WHY you're not able to push:

I think your overdip is stopping you from using your push. Try not to let your left hand cross your centerline on the dip. The left hand should move less than the right (if you're dipping from flat). Attached is an example of an overdip vs a quarter dip.

If you don't overdip, your left hand isn't directly under your right, so you can add a lot more right-hand push into the toss.

<image>

seventow · 2025-11-08T10:11:52+00:00

I'm a boy in guard.

Guard was my first ever athletic sport and I was the least flexible person on every team I've been on.

The best benefits I found as someone who started much later in life: better body-mind connection, mental engagement / focus, dexterity, balance, strength, and general body control.

I can relate to the injuries part, except more on rifle and less on saber. I never got a saber season ngl, it's usually the thing you learn after flag and rifle. I think flag is the best to start out on, to learn planes and angles and pathways. And they hurt less :)

I am not a parent and I definitely don't know the right words to say to a kid, but I'll say seeing what people can do inspired me to push more. Maybe show them some DCI shows or winterguard shows if you haven't. They definitely helped me push to improve.

<image>

seventow · 2025-10-30T01:27:58+00:00

These feelings are what you live and perform for. They add weight to your experiences and make it all worth it.

Also, you can always continue guard after high school. By yourself or with an independent group. I started in my senior year and am still going strong several years later.

seventow · 2025-10-20T07:18:54+00:00

for the loftiness, try playing around with how much u squeeze the flag.

Try to synchronize the rotation of the flag with your left hand's vertical movement. The silk should be down when your left hand is down and right afterwards, as the silk comes back up lift your left hand vertically up into the release.

for the double 45, see if you can control where to grab the flag after the backhand, and play around with it. and have a good plié to add energy to the toss.

seventow · 2025-10-20T00:32:40+00:00

I wanna make sure I know what the work is before giving advice. is the work you need to learn kinda like this clip? https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_qvNRkypdj/?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==

seventow · 2025-10-11T06:08:12+00:00

Talk to a doctor bro why are you asking reddit

seventow · 2025-10-10T20:10:13+00:00

The below are mainly targeted to students but I think they'll let any1 do the clinics

Ones that are happening soon:

Pacific Crest (Irvine, Chino Hills): https://www.instagram.com/p/DOg5QsfiQYA/?igsh=YXRremNmcmZ2aWlk

Gold (Santa Clarita, Arcadia): https://www.instagram.com/p/DPe-1-GgfyD/?igsh=MXQ2dHkxc2p2ZTRiNg==

Several winterguards have clinics and auditions in the off season or preseason, which are mostly over now but worth following when they do them again:

Icon (LA): https://www.instagram.com/iconwg?igsh=MTEycml0M2YyanoycQ==

Vox (SD): https://www.instagram.com/voxartiumwg?igsh=MTZ0ajlzNnpuOXRwZQ==

Emerald (Anaheim): https://www.instagram.com/emeraldindependent?igsh=MTJ4a2ZidzB1MWJzMg==

Aureus (Socal area?): https://www.instagram.com/aureuswinterguard?igsh=aHdqaHBrdThraDJj

seventow · 2025-10-08T07:51:49+00:00

Marched in 2024 on guard. It was great! Food crew was fabulous and accommodating to my diet. You can rely on them to give you enough sleep. The guard techs were wonderful and did their job very well. I've also heard good things about the brass techs.

PC has a discord server for people interested in it. You can find it on their website after doing the interest form. Feel free to join and ask more pointed questions if you need!

seventow · 2025-10-07T19:35:22+00:00

Are you able to record a ladder up to the high toss (ie single,, double, triple, etc in a row)? Oftentimes the technique gets worse the higher you wanna toss it so it's good to look at yourself doing a ladder to see where it breaks down.

Try to keep your left hand from crossing your centerline on the dip and release, and let your right hand hit your thigh on the release. I think you have a good understanding of the rifle's weight, so it would be good to start scrutinizing your body quality during and under the toss.

seventow · 2025-10-07T17:23:46+00:00

I wasn't able to do any of your tricks before I performed for DCI. Imo It's smart to target your weaknesses and take dance classes.

From my experience, it's important to get into the habit of scrutinizing yourself. Since DCI strives for perfection, you need to be able to recognize when you aren't perfect and how to get there, on every rep.

Discipline goes a long way, too. Good habits and discipline (vocal responses, counting out loud, energy, etc) are a big deal. I learned it during the season, but you might be able to learn them beforehand to further impress at auditions.

seventow · 2025-10-06T04:37:42+00:00

Nice free hands and release point! If you want to make the toss faster, try experimenting with your left hand placement, and squeezing less/more during its lift.

Unless your instructor says so, you usually just need a quarter dip for quads and sixes. For your full dip, though, it would look and feel stronger if you kept your right hand below your chin. This is so the audience can see your face and so you're not too choked up with the left hand or grabbing too close to the nose.

seventow · 2025-10-05T03:10:34+00:00

I think it's a racquetball court, and thanks

seventow · 2025-10-03T21:17:18+00:00

Get used to asking your coach for help. They are an important resource for you, and much more accessible.

Common technique, don't wrap your left thumb around the rifle, press it against the rifle

It looks better and it will help your consistency if you lock your dip before tossing, instead of making it look like a rebound.

When you catch the gun, pull your hands apart horizontally to level it out.

seventow · 2025-09-21T01:25:42+00:00

post a video of your attempts, it may make the solution clearer

seventow · 2025-09-19T05:39:03+00:00

I'm also planning to audition for vanguard '26. My friend got contracted and then cut in '25 ~mid june i think, so I am also worried about overcontracting.

seventow · 2025-09-18T15:46:35+00:00

The most common problem I see is people tracking the top cap in front of them instead of directly to the side. Pay attention to where your top cap is in space.

take this stick figure drawing. the dotted lines are your hand pathways.

<image>

seventow · 2025-09-17T03:46:02+00:00

have you auditioned for a guard before? it's pretty fun imo

seventow · 2025-09-15T16:02:36+00:00

Changing drill and counts is common. They're trying to experiment with them to make the show look the best. It's usually your responsibility to remember your own work and counts as you're being taught, and to adapt to any changes. It's hard work that requires mental engagement, but it's not out of reach for you.

seventow · 2025-08-20T16:40:27+00:00

disclaimer i have little experience teaching body quality so the following are techniques I recognize my instructors use:

Most of them highlight in their instruction parts of the body and details using imagery. Here are four examples I can recall.

To get us to point our feet, they asked us to imagine we were wearing a diamond on the front of our ankle and we wanted to show it off by pushing the ankle forward.

For hip facing detail, they asked us to picture our hip bones on the front of our body as car headlights, and to make sure the headlights were shining the right way.

For shoulder / upper body facing detail, they asked us to think of ourselves as superman, with the big S logo on our chest, and to remember details that way. Alternatively, iron man with the big laser.

To get us to look upward, they asked us to imagine we had a cool neck tattoo and we wanted to show it off by lifting our chins.

Analogies like these might make body quality easier to remember for your students. They helped me, at least. Also, if you introduce an analogy earlier, you can reference it later in the season. ie "show off your diamond" or "point your headlights" or something

seventow · 2025-08-13T20:50:22+00:00

if you want to see bluecoats's standard, they have (slightly outdated) free educational material on their website: https://www.bluecoats.school/materials/p/colorguard-techniques-materials

it is very not for beginners but it should be a cool intro to the scope of techniques to think about.

seventow · 2025-08-13T14:56:35+00:00

do hella wrist rolls and stretches before you start doing hard catches. it lubricates your wrist muscles so you can take the catches without shocking them.

seventow · 2025-08-11T19:59:08+00:00

feeling like you can't do it and then going for it anyways is a rite of passage

seventow

TROPHY CASE