We, colorguards, are spending 15 to 20 hours a week marching up & down a 50 by 70 foot area spinning a 3 1/2 pound rifle or a 5 1/2 foot flag. It's our free time to strive for perfection & hear; "That's wrong! Pay attention! Try harder!" over and over. Sometimes we march with blisters on our feet, splints on our fingers, even when we're sick or when every muscle in our body aches. It means willing to try again even though we have just suffered a defeat; tears were streaming down our face & our heart was breaking. Then the show day come. For five or six minutes, every ounce of our strength & concentration are dedicated to making our family, friends, school, and town proud of our competitive unit. The demanding, endless hours of practice have been a prelude to this moment. A prelude to show that color guard is something much much more than work & intense competition.Colorguard is Science:It is exact, specific and it demands precise execution. A designer's drill is a chart; a graph which indicates x and y coordinates for constantly changing geometric shapes and forms in both time and space. Our equipment and props are always pushing the laws of physics with force and speed, action and reaction. All of this with an incredible control of time.Colorguard is Mathematical:It is rhythmically and metrically based on the subdivision of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously. We have angles and degrees, both acute and obtuse, sequences, ranges, and hypotenuse.Colorguard is a Language:It is a visual picture alive with message and meaning. We use interpretive phases, sentences, and words many times with music which creates a most complete and universal language, to be recorded for others to see, feel, and understand. It is a language which is recited and shared many times both near and far.Colorguard is History:Colorguard can be influenced by the environment and times of it's creation, or it can reflect the past as well as the future. It can send us to a far away country or bring us closer to home. We are rich in our heritage and have forefathers as well.Colorguard is a Physical:It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, feet and legs; in addition to extraordinary control of the back stomach and torso; all of which are called to respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the sight of the eye see. Colorguard surrounds around endurance, ability, strength, and balance.Colorguard is a Sport:A game which we play with others in which we share and we shine. Competing with ourselves to perform better each time.It allows us to learn more on our inside on confidence and fear, self-esteem and self-image; as we get better on the outside with performances, people, expressing our feelings, and sharing our dreams. It is a chance to realize our attitude is what makes us or breaks us, not anyone or anything else. It is a kind of mind set with an increase awareness which challenges us to realize the potential in our selves.Colorguard is Performing Arts:It is a show which can be entertaining and enlightening! With directing, acting, producing, managing, and touring. Colors, fashion, flair, excitement, piazz, sophistication, and subtlety. Always realizing the traid of performance; audience, performer, designer.Colorguard is Educational:It allows a human being to learn how to take all of these things; some dry and technically boring, some difficulty and challenging; and use them to create EMOTION! The one thing that our world needs.
If ya haven't noticed from my older posts yet, well, I join a marching band & I'm in the colorguard section. Yes, I do spend 20 hours for practice on normal weeks, & 40 on holidays. And yes, I have lots of blisters & scars & injuries, so much I practically lost count.
And yes, I just realized how proud & serious I am in this marching band/color guard thingy since:
1. Weekends are forever lost to practice
2. I see my band more often than my family
3. The gym/hockey/football field is my second home
4. Leggings & tank tops has become a permanent part of my closet
5. My nails have never extended beyond my finger tips
6. I have 4 tan lines: tees, gloves, shorts, & socks
7. I have a permanent rifle bruise on my left & right thumbs
8. I know exactly what a jell-o arms & legs feel like
9. Every song becomes a possible flag routine; I start to count songs to beats of 6 or 8
10. I push myself to try dangerous routines; sometimes I suspect I've put life as my second priority
11. I begin to conclude that "one more time" never really means one more time. It usually means 5-10 more
12. I have 2 rifles & sabres. One for practice at the practice venue & one for practice at home
13. I look forward to getting new gloves
14. I know if I break a bone I'd still insist that I can march (even if on crutches)
15. I have more bruises, scars, and injuries than a military solider
16. My non-band friends know that I'm almost never available to go out
17. The term democracy is not in my vocabulary
18. Life? What's that?
