Originally Posted By: PolyesterHemiola

From the way that you describe the high school technique you used, it seems like there would be a "hitch" in the crab step because you couldn't extend all the way.

Originally Posted By: DRUMS11

drum corps started using "left foot always behind", so after a while that became "normal."


Did you march in a corps that did this? I would love to hear where you received your information on this one.

My thing is, I highly doubt that anyone in drum corps would subscribe to the "left foot always behind" method. On certain moves (uhm, moving right at a forward diagonal!) they wouldn't be able to extend as far, thus limiting their movement...or mashing their taters. Either way doesn't make for a good summer!


The information is from my own eyeballs, late '80s to '92 or so. I'd have to check tapes/DVDs for reference to actual corps. One doesn't need to switch feet when changing direction this way, so it's hard to forget to do so or otherwise get mixed up.

Obviously, oblique movement often requires something different; for example, an oblique back and to the right wouldn't use the "trailing foot in front" method that has been described.

Crabbing directly sideways works fine with any choice of which foot is in front of/behind the other since one foot is *always* offset behind, regardless. The important thing is for a program to pick one method and stick with it.
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