FREE – Hybrid Exhibition – Hybrid Routine Design: Handling Rifles

Overview

One of the most daunting elements of creating a hybrid drill team is designing the exhibition routine.  When thinking about how to successfully incorporate both unarmed exhibition drill AND armed exhibition drill, things can get overwhelming quickly.

In this series of articles, we want to highlight elements that make hybrid drill successful and fun for your team while also showcasing elements of design that will create captivating and engaging performances!

Handling Rifles

While hybrid exhibition drill is a mash-up of both armed and unarmed exhibition drill (and uses skillsets from both disciplines), it’s a mistake to think of it as ONLY placing those two elements side-by-side and synchronizing them.

For a hybrid exhibition performance to come alive – and maybe most importantly, for it to be justifiable in armed exhibition drill competitions – ALL the cadets must utilize rifles throughout the performance in some capacity.

This means that each and every one of your cadets, whether they specialize in armed or unarmed exhibition, must be basically trained in fundamental armed exhibition techniques such that they could utilize them throughout your routine!

While your armed cadets may have more advance skillsets such as aerials, shoulder tosses, etc., even the unarmed specialists should have a command of movements like basic spins, boxes, manuals, etc.

The great part about this, however, is that your unarmed specialists need only be basically trained.  And because you have armed exhibition cadets in the ranks, there’s NEVER a shortage of skills to work on meaning there’s NEVER a dull practice, even if you get rained out and need to use a hallway!

Types of Interaction

Here are some ideas to get you started when it comes to getting everyone in the routine to handle rifles:

1. Trade-Offs: Rifles can be handed from cadet-to-cadet so that different groups can handle rifles and perform meaningful sequences.  Trade-offs are easy because it’s basically as simple as creating a time for rifles to be handed from one performer to another!
2. Exchanges: Because there are otherwise-unoccupied hands, exchanging and tossing rifles between cadets can become EXTREMELY creative!  When an armed exhibition team exchanges rifles, there are always two rifles to consider: the thrower’s and the catcher’s.  However, in hybrid drill, the open hands mean a ton of possibilities for creative passes!  Just keep safety first!
3. Working Together: Like with exchanges, open hands mean open possibilities.  An armed cadet paired with an unarmed cadet means you have FOUR hands and ONE rifle.  Cadets can work together to handle the rifle interactively.  One could start a spin while they other helps stop it.  The limits are endless here!

Conclusion

When creating your hybrid exhibition drill routine, you want to ensure that at least 30%-40% of time is spent with your unarmed specialists handling rifles.  This will ensure that ALL cadets are treated as having handled rifles and, thus, would be an integral part of an ARMED exhibition competition!

We hope these ideas get your creative juices flowing!  If you want to see examples of hybrid exhibition drill, check out THIS PLAYLIST!