Eclipse
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History of the Eclipse
History of the Eclipse
Entry by Adam Jeup:
The Eclipse, once known as "the Kyle", is amongst the first of several two-rifle tricks that emerged in the mid to late 00's. While the trick stems back to an unknown inventor, the eclipse saw its debut at the 2007 NGA Pro-Am held at the Coast Guard Drill Hall in Alexandria, VA. During the tandem phase of competition, competitor Jake Spiers tossed his rifle back to competitor Matthew Pereau so he could first perform this trick. This can be seen at the 3:00 mark in the following video: youtube.com/watch?v=ae-bNyoFZQ0.
It was then popularized by Matthew D. Wendling of The Illinois Crew during the 2009 Finals Round Event at the World Drill Championships. A video of this major exposure can be found on YouTube at 3:17 here: youtu.be/zlXpfRzwa3g?t=197.
Today, it sits comfortably as a Green Sling trick on the Drill Dojo curriculum and is used all around the country to show off at local events. It's a fan favorite in the eyes of the public and new drillers, though contentious amongst seasoned competitors, perhaps due to extreme overuse in the early 2010's.
Addition by Matt Wendling:
From what I recall, Josh posted a video from the New Braunfels drill meet where he was doing two fire knives at the same time. This was absolutely 2006 because Josh was in HS and the commander and we graduated together. Video being what it was in 2006, Kyle Piecynski, a member of The Drill Jungle (who also happened to go to my alma mater’s sister school), misinterpreted what he saw as someone juggling two Rising Suns and posted his own video. Josh confirmed this was NOT what he was doing and we asked Kyle what he wanted to name his creation. He named it after himself and the name stuck for years until it was retconned into “The Eclipse.” He’s probably the most well-known driller never to be actually known as a result.
Addition by Matt Pereau:
I may be the first documented on video as we know it doing the Eclipse in a competition, but my inspiration for it actually came from trying to copy Joshua Fischer. I thought I was copying Josh from a report out segment he did with his MCJROTC Armed Drill Team in Alvin Texas at a local comp, but Matt Wendling pointed out it was something different many many years ago. I don't know if the move has a name, but it was similar to the eclipse, only it was like some sort of one handed rising sun with both rifles that didn’t leave that hands.
The Eclipse, once known as "the Kyle", is amongst the first of several two-rifle tricks that emerged in the mid to late 00's. While the trick stems back to an unknown inventor, the eclipse saw its debut at the 2007 NGA Pro-Am held at the Coast Guard Drill Hall in Alexandria, VA. During the tandem phase of competition, competitor Jake Spiers tossed his rifle back to competitor Matthew Pereau so he could first perform this trick. This can be seen at the 3:00 mark in the following video: youtube.com/watch?v=ae-bNyoFZQ0.
It was then popularized by Matthew D. Wendling of The Illinois Crew during the 2009 Finals Round Event at the World Drill Championships. A video of this major exposure can be found on YouTube at 3:17 here: youtu.be/zlXpfRzwa3g?t=197.
Today, it sits comfortably as a Green Sling trick on the Drill Dojo curriculum and is used all around the country to show off at local events. It's a fan favorite in the eyes of the public and new drillers, though contentious amongst seasoned competitors, perhaps due to extreme overuse in the early 2010's.
Addition by Matt Wendling:
From what I recall, Josh posted a video from the New Braunfels drill meet where he was doing two fire knives at the same time. This was absolutely 2006 because Josh was in HS and the commander and we graduated together. Video being what it was in 2006, Kyle Piecynski, a member of The Drill Jungle (who also happened to go to my alma mater’s sister school), misinterpreted what he saw as someone juggling two Rising Suns and posted his own video. Josh confirmed this was NOT what he was doing and we asked Kyle what he wanted to name his creation. He named it after himself and the name stuck for years until it was retconned into “The Eclipse.” He’s probably the most well-known driller never to be actually known as a result.
Addition by Matt Pereau:
I may be the first documented on video as we know it doing the Eclipse in a competition, but my inspiration for it actually came from trying to copy Joshua Fischer. I thought I was copying Josh from a report out segment he did with his MCJROTC Armed Drill Team in Alvin Texas at a local comp, but Matt Wendling pointed out it was something different many many years ago. I don't know if the move has a name, but it was similar to the eclipse, only it was like some sort of one handed rising sun with both rifles that didn’t leave that hands.