This post is in response to a question from a student: "how can we train to be in a formation, when we can't see each other all the time?"

Well, the answer is you need to train on the very first warm-up exercise (swinging arms), that your instructor will show you. This exercise isn't just to loosen joints, but also trains your peripheral vision, which is essential to developing all round awareness.

There are other things that help with team formations:
  • everyone chooses a spot in the formation and stays in that spot for every training session
  • one person is the leader, from whom everyone else takes the time
  • the people at the ends check that they aren't speeding up
  • practise together often and then practise some more!
There are other tips, but basically all your instructors have done formations for some years already, so when you're ready for that level of demonstration, then they will specifically train you on it, don't worry!