A major part of basic training for the military is marching. Stepping in rhythm to cadence is one way that the instructors teach you teamwork. You are expected to march as part of a group. The entire group has to keep the same rhythm and step. Knowing step in rhythm with the cadence is how you keep in step with the rest of group.
Instructions
1. Practice calling cadence by yourself. Whenever you walk anywhere, practice a basic cadence in your mind by saying left when you put your left foot down and right when you put your right foot down.
2. Listen to the cadence caller when you are stepping in a group. He will usually call the cadence using a basic method of left, left, left, right, left. You will notice that in the beginning, he only calls the left foot. It is understood that in between the left calls, you will step with your right foot.
3. Step in the rhythm of the cadence. Some cadence callers will call fast cadence and others will slow it down some. Find the rhythm of the cadence caller and stick to that rhythm.
4. Keep you head looking in the proper direction. It may be tempting to look at your feet or at your neighbor's feet to keep in step but, doing so will usually get you in trouble.
5. Learn to change step in case you fall out of step with the cadence caller. This is just a fancy way of saying that you get back on the correct foot with as little attention drawn to yourself as possible.
6. Know the advanced cadences. For instance, if the cadence caller uses numbers to call cadence, you have to know what the numbers mean. This is simple, odd numbers such as one and three mean that you put down your left foot. Even numbers such as two and four mean that you put down your right foot. Some military cadences are songs. In this case, you just have to pay attention to the cadence caller and the rhythm.
Tags: cadence caller, left foot, rhythm cadence, right foot, step with, your right