Talk:Goose step

Name Change

I'm going to change the name of this page to Goose-Step.LCpl 18:27, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Ok quickly going to clarify a few things

This was orignally copied from the german wikipedia and translated by me, i did a few edits where i could not completely translate german into english and a few areas which i felt needed attention.

The original creator of the article is PISplus and the following german article can be found on the german wikipedia at http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stechschritt

If you personally feel that this page needs cleaning or editing/deleting please do feel obliged to contact the wikpedia administraters. Andrew Chung

Chinese step is quite different.

I just want to point out that I think Communist Chinese step is quite different from the so-called "goose-step" in USSR and Nazi Germany. The foot must be horizontal, instead of vertical, which makes the step much more difficult. In Chinese, it's called Standard Step(正步). Anthony Gao 08:45, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Origins

Could the origins of the goose-step be clarified and vouched? I have a memory, which I cannot vouch, that it was originally developed in German mercenary units in Italy in the late eighteenth century. BTW like the George Orwell quotation- he must have had this in mind when, some years later, he wrote in '1984': "If you want a vision of the future, Winston, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever".

• Not sure of its origin being in Prussia in the early 1800's. Didnt it exist in the mid 1700's? Marcus22 (talk) 12:31, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

ridiculous

"..feel that the goose-step is also intended to look ridiculous, as Orwell said in his 1940 essay The Lion and the Unicorn:

[Goose-Stepping] is simply an affirmation of naked power; contained in it, quite consciously and intentionally, is the vision of a boot crashing down on a face. Its ugliness is part of its essence, for what it is saying is "Yes, I am ugly, and you daren't laugh at me", like the bully who makes faces at his victim… Beyond a certain point, military display is only possible in countries where the common people dare not laugh at the army.

To me, that doesn't sound at all like Orwell thinks it is rediculous, sounds more like he thinks it is rather frightening and controlling JayKeaton 00:42, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Connection with rugby?

When looking for videos featuring goose-stepping on Youtube I came across videos about rugby. The French article for this subject also mentions rugby, but my extremely rudimentary understanding of French doesn't allow me to interpret it further.

Apparently there's some connection to rugby, does anyone know more about this? --Mickel 10:09, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

Origins in Russia

I have been told (though annoyingly can't find the source) that goose stepping in Russia was introduced in the 1800's by German troops in the Imperial Russian Army. Apparently there were so many Germans in the Imperial Russian Ary that booklets for soldiers about codes of conduct, dress codes etc etc were produced in Russian and German. Is this true? I am sure I was told that this was how goose-stepping entered Russia (and then hence Soviet tradition, and soviet bloc tradition...). 144.32.126.11 (talk) 22:19, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Marching band??

I've been in marching bands and drum corps since the 70s and I NEVER heard of this description. Doing a true goose-step wold render playing a musical instrument impossible...too much bouncing around. The closest would be a portion of the 1987 Santa Clara Vanguard show, but while there was the swing of the leg to the horizontal, the foot was not slammed down, rather the leg was simply swung back to the ground gently...plus the leg motion was in a half time, rather than each step being in tempo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.106.107.111 (talk) 02:09, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Reply to Above unsigned

Please observe the Chilean Military goose stepping with instruments. They seem to have no problems whatsoever doing so. But they do seem to have modified the step, right leg step is performed normally, but the left leg lift includes a bended knee.

FYI, Jerry.mills (talk) 04:23, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Why is it called "Goose-Stepping"?

Does somebody know why it is called "Goose-Step" in English? Obviously geese don't really walk like this. Actually rather some other kinds of drilling steps could be called Goose-stepping. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.180.43.226 (talk) 19:47, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

I think its to do with the analogy. With this step, the foot (actually the bottom of the second joint from the end of the big toe, i.e. the end of the foot's arch) must be made to "slap" the ground. This movement can be made without moving the torso, like a goose. I'm not speaking form any source, so you can't put that in the article, but I am quite sure the goose comes from the analogy of the movement of the foot. 118.90.25.170 (talk) 03:28, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

English Role

I have noticed that there is no mention of the English role in this type of parade march? This book from 1900 clearly depicts this type of march from the late 1700's

How England Saved Europe: The Story of the Great War (1793-1815) By William Henry Fitchett Published by Smith, Elder, & Co., 1900 --Garnetlake (talk) 15:32, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

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