Guard Moves

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These are very hard to explain, but I tried... By the way, these are all for flags.

Stand By
at stand by (parade rest) in which feet are shoulder width apart, the flag is down at the ground in a diagonal from your upper left to lower right with the flag on the ground and the pole at your left shoulder. The left elbow is straight out, parallel to the ground.

Push spins
start with the flag at right shoulder. flip your right hand over so that your thumb is down. Turn the flag clockwise as you see it. When the flag is upright again, you can grab it quickly with your left hand while you flip your right hand again to start over. 2 counts per 360 degrees.

Drop spins
start at right shoulder. Holding the flag with your right hand, turn your left hand so that it is thumb down, palm facing left. Turn the flag 180 degrees counter clockwise, grab the flag with your left hand. Turn the flag the rest of the way with the left hand so that you can grab it again with the right hand. This spin is done with the hands close together near the belly button. When done quickly, the hands are right above left, the thumbs on each hand move up and down at the same time, and the hands rotate in opposite directions. 2 counts per 360 degrees.

Speed spins
Starts like a drop spin with a counter clockwise left 180 degrees (half turn) and proceeds using 3/4 turns after that. The hands alternate between right over left with both thumbs down, to thumbs on the outsides. After 4 counts, the flag will be on the right and you can end the spin by bringing it back up with the right hand. This spin will start over after 4 counts.

Peggy spin
I don't remember how to do them. I think they were something like speed spins in that they had 3/4 turns, but I don't remember anything else...

Extension
starting at right shoulder. you don't use your left hand (for a normal right handed extension, you can also do lefties of almost anything). this one is a bit complicated to explain in words, though very simple to do. the pole aligns itself with your arm at first. make a counter clockwise circle in front of you with your right arm extending it over your head at the end of the circle as if you were raising your hand in class. At this point the flag does a spin behind your head in the same direction as before. The whole thing takes 4 counts.

Double Extension
starts like a regular extension. when the flag is behind your head facing down, catch it with your left hand instead of letting it spin around. At the catch, your hands are right over left, both thumbs down. then lift your left hand and bring the flag back down in front of you from the left. the trickiest part is the end where the flag does an additional spin counter clockwise over your left hand and you catch it with the right hand to go back to right shoulder. The whole thing takes 8 counts. 3 to go up, 3 to come down, and 2 for the last spin. when you do it, you look kind of like you are trying to make a snow angel with your arms.

Back Extension
starts like a push spin with the right thumb down, palm facing right. do the first clockwise spin like a push spin, but instead of catching with the left hand and adjusting the right hand, keep your hand on the pole. go right into a spin behind your back starting on the right side. this usually goes right back into another spin like the first in front of you. You can continue going front, back, front, back, each spin taking 2 counts, so that front, back would take 4 counts. We usually did front, back, front to make 6 counts, and then ended with a push spin to make an 8 count sequence. alternatively, you can end with a toss to make it 8 counts.

PDP
This is a back extension (front, back, front) followed by a left handed extension. it is 10 counts total. if you do a toss in between, it make it 12 counts.

Butterfly
starting at right shoulder, move your hands closer together to make it easier. the flag goes forward and down and completes a circle to one side while the pole goes to your other side, then switch sides. the motion is like rowing a canoe, and I've even heard it called "rows". each side takes 2 counts, so a complete butterfly is 4 counts, though you can do 6 counts of butterflies if you want. Start on either side. We say left butterfly or right butterfly. Butterflies are along your sides in planes such that if you had people standing a few feet to your left and to your right you wouldn't hit them, but you might hit people in front or in back of you.

Backward Butterfly
just like a regular butterfly except the flag starts off going behind your shoulder instead of forward. counts work the same way, as do left and right sides. just call it left back butterfly or right back butterfly.

Double Butterfly
Done slowly, this is like doing a forward butterfly to one side and then a backward butterfly to the other side. But you have to imagine that you have turned your body to those sides first, because double butterflies are done parallel to your front and back unlike regular ones that are parallel to your sides. In these, you would not hit people standing right in front of or behind you. The overall effect is that you do a spin behind you, two spins in front, and another behind. Double butterflies are named for the side you start on, so that a left butterfly followed by a right back butterfly is a left double butterfly. These take 8 counts.

Push toss
Coming from a push type spin, like a push spin, back extension, or PDP, you toss after your hand has turned 360 degrees. Takes 4 counts usually. Catch with your right hand, palm up, while the flag is to the right.

Push turn around
Very difficult to explain... Do a push spin, catch with your left hand (2 counts). follow the momentum with your left hand as you turn your body to your right 180 degrees. your left hand will be thumb up at your back (2 counts). you can catch the flag with your right hand, right over left, both thumbs up. follow the momentum with your right hand as you continue turning the rest of the way around so that you are back where you started (2 counts). End with another push spin (2 counts). The whole thing takes 8 counts.

Slam toss
starting in a down right slam (like stand by, but with feet together), your hands are facing opposite directions with the right facing up and the left facing down. The right is lower, on the flag side. Without moving your hands laterally, bring them toward the center at equal pace, so that the right hand is moving up and the left is pushing down. do this fast enough and the flag will spin on its own. you can catch it with your right hand, palm up, while the flag is to the right.

Drop toss
Hmmm... I can't remember how to do this one...

Speed toss
After a 4 count of a speed spin, using your right hand which starts thumb to the right, turn your hand counter clockwise 360 degrees quickly and let go while raising your arm. These go high and should be caught with the right hand, palm up, with the flag on the right side.

Helicopter, Left and Right
start with the flag behind you, parallel to the ground, with the flag facing right for a right helicopter and right thumb facing right. Swing your hands up above your head so that your hands are facing behind you with thumbs out. Catch the pole with the other hand and swing it back behind your back, under your butt with your hands facing you and thumbs out. Can be done to either side. Takes 4 counts.

Neck Roll
put your hands in push spin position. now bring the flag behind your back so that the pole is on the ground and the flag goes up behind your arm. this is the starting position. bring your right hand across your chest like you are saying the pledge of allegiance. the pole will be at your left shoulder. lift your right arm so that the pole goes down your back. The flag should be at your left shoulder. bring the flag over your head to your right shoulder, keeping the pole in contact with your back. Bring the pole back down so you are back in the starting position. 4 counts.

Neck Roll Toss
starts like a neck roll, but let go as the pole goes down your back on count 1. count 2 the flag is falling and you turn your body to the right to catch it. count 3 catch it with 2 hands right palm up, left palm down on your right side. count 4 return to right shoulder. to practice this, do it without catching it. The flag should land on the ground straight at your right side with the flag pointing behind you. This is the hard part of it.

Tick-tock
starting at right shoulder. up right slam, move your left hand above your right as your right hand moves the flag down in a diagonal parallel with its angle. up left slam, move your left hand back to its regular position as your right hand moves the flag back up parallel to its angle. 4 counts.

Snake
up right slam, up flat, down right slam, down flat. 4 counts.

Crazy Eight
I think I've also heard this called hourglass because it is like tracing the outline of an hourglass with your flag. starting at right shoulder, trace a circle with the tip starting to the left and back. then go from the upper forward right corner to the lower forward left corner. make a circle on the ground starting coming toward you and right. go from the lower closer right corner to the upper forward left corner. 4 counts.

Waterfall
start in a down flat. the flag moves in a circle as you turn around. pushing the flag to the right, step with your right foot. then step with your left foot while turning your body 180 degrees, and pushing the flag farther, now almost over your head. step with your right foot while turning your body the rest of the way. as you step again with your left foot, the flag is back where it started. 4 counts. The problem with this one is that your feet are messed up if you are marching.

Windmill
I can't remember this one.

Presents
starting at right shoulder, the top of the flag moves in the direction of the present. right, left, forward, back. 1 count.

Slams, Flats, and Chops
slams are at the diagonals - up right, up left, down right, down left. flats are parallel to the ground - down flat is in front of you with your arms extended all the way down, back flat is with the flag over your left shoulder, etc. Chops require slicing through the air. A front chop starts at right shoulder and ends with the flag parallel to the ground with the pole over your left shoulder and the flag in front of you. Several of these names can be redundant, like a right present and an up right slam or a front flat and a front chop. A lot of it has to do with how you get there. If you go to an up right slam from right shoulder, it would be called a right present, but if you get there from a down right slam, it wouldn't, where if you got there from an up left slam/left present, it could probably be either. All are 1 count and are quick and choppy.

Sweeps and Floats
These are just another way of getting to the above positions in a way that takes more time and/or is not so quick and choppy.