Quote from Grob109:
Our first week of recording slugs of drills is coming to an end as well.
I'm looking forward to these, assuming that there will be a way to get ahold of them. If I have to fly down to Tucson, so be it.
When I went through basic and AIT training, drills were the SOP day in and out. The DI's would show us the end result, and then break it down by the numbers.
Left-face. In cadence.
One - turn your body & left foot 90 degrees to the left, on the heel of your foot. Turn your right foot 90 degrees to the left, pivoting on the ball of your foot.
Two - bring your right foot up to your left, heels touching, forming roughly a 30 deg angle between your feet.
Then we'd practice for hours.
The DI would call out
"Inn CADENNNNNCE!"
We'd respond
"In CADENCE"
"Left FACE"
"ONE TWO"
And off we'd go, building up on these little, insignificant blocks of marching. All the time, we were also having pictures created in our minds.... marching is done to a beat... the DI says left-face and you left face... the DI says about-face and you about face... you move in synchronicity with the soldier to your left and right...
All the time there was feedback. You hear the command. You move your body. You observe your "buddy". You shout the steps. You operate to a beat. So much feedback, it was hard to screw up.
Yet screw up we did. Often. And there was feedback for that too. You'd regularly hear "Half-left FACE" and "Front Leaning CENTER" which meant the whole platoon had po'd the DI, and we were going to get punished (pushups!). Well, we thought it was punishment. It was really corrective action in order to reduce and eliminate the wrong behavior via painful feedback. And it helped build stamina and strength.
It's been over 15 years since I went to basic training. Yet, I can still do D&C. I can still pick up an M-16 and conduct inspect arms. Why? Because I was shown how to do it using simple atomic steps, I was told what to expect when I do it, and I was given constant feedback when doing it, by my own actions (kinestetic, auditory, visual, etc.) and by someone who knew how it should be done. Over, and over, and over. Now, I don't need anyone to show me how to do it. I don't need them to point out when I've screwed up. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Just as importantly, not only can I do D&C, I can teach (show? transfer?) someone else how to do D&C.
I've got high expectations for the upcoming stuff.
Anthony