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Welcome back to another installment of drill trends! The Origin: This move was first created by Angel Solis and rapidly grew from there. Since it's creation it had many uses with new variations becoming popular, such as the Arm-bar. The Ike/Arm bar's crowning achievement is its featuring role in Cooper Donlin's 1st place 2017 NHSDTC performance. The move appeared in 4 separate portions of the routine, all with different variations which you can see below.  The Trend:
Now the big question about this move, is why is it so popular? One probably cause for its longevity is its usage by River City Drill. Starting with the 2016 medal round when a rival team member dropped a double ike in medal round, RCD began using "We don't drop double ikes" as an ironic slogan. Following the 2017 medal round when another member of the same rival team dropped a double ike, the slogan was cemented as part of RCD culture. The slogan can be heard in the background of many RCD videos and led to creation of a new tradition: if an RCD member drops a double ike, they cannot wear the RCD uniform at their next competition. As River City Drill grew its impact on the drill community and young drillers, this can definitely be a reason for the growth and relevance of the move staying. One of the biggest reasons this move is loved by lots of drillers is due to the adaptable it can be used for any drillers style or skill set. Along with the extreme adaptably made with this move, it's a great move to use at local competitions or show non-drillers due to the vigorous position have after the catching the Ike, showcasing difficulty. The End? So, will this move die out? This move is going no where, for it is still one of the most popular moves in the community and is hard not to see in any competition you enter. There is still lots of room for more variations of this move to be expanded on. I'm just waiting for the behind the back Ike to become popular. Sources: Cooper Donlin 2017 NHSDTC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PHKNvkOT4o&t=2s River City Drill – @rivercitydrill By: Andrew Katz Over the weekend, MassDrill president Andrew Schuster unveiled a new incentive titled the "Champions List". This list is comprised of members of the community who consistently support the MassDrill brand and projects either monetarily or logistically. Because of the current MassDrill business model which involves limited runs of products, missing out on drops is very common if you are not on the lookout at the right time. The Champions List provides a fix for this by giving its members early access to drops, as well as discounts.
For the next week only, anyone can sign up to be on the Champions List by going to https://www.drillclothingcompany.com/ and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Enter your email and you will be immediately added to the list! The first Drill Dojo qualification stream is complete! The following people qualified for each level.   After a grueling application process that spanned multiple months, Street Elite has announced the addition of 3 new members. Throughout the process, applicants were required to submit three assignments which tested their aptitude for media, storytelling, and drill knowledge. The first assignment was to create a meaningful piece of media of their choice. Some applicants chose to make a montage in the same vein as SE's featured YouTube videos, while others took a less conventional route. Stephen Gulley made an educational video on the physics behind the differences between bladed and stubbed drill.
Assignment 2 was hosted by ADR, and required the remaining six applicants to write blog posts, which you can read here. For this assignment, a majority of applicants wrote personal blogs about their drill journey or goals, with John-Ryan Lawrence bucking the trend. His assignment consisted of an essay on the history of drill dating back to the Roman Empire. The final assignment was to submit footage for the reveal montage, where the public and the applicants would discover who was accepted into the fold. Watch the montage here. ADR would like to extend its congratulations to Stephen Gulley, Ethan Tinsley, and Brando Fuentes on their induction into the team!  In the drill community, there are always moves being made, improved, and/or resurfaced for the use of drillers. Many of us will look at these moves and ask the same questions such as, “Has this been done before?” “Who made this move first?” “Why is this popular now?” and so on. In this series, we will be going over the constant changes and trends in the drill community, what is the new “hot” move or trick being used, and where did it come from. To start us off in this series, we will start off with the “Hourglass.” The Origin: The move known as the “Hourglass” was first made by none other than the 6X World Champion Andres Ryan in 2008. When asked on the origin of the move he sent a clip of one of the very first time the move being used:  Also when asked on the ID Discord about the recent trend of the move being used, he had this to say about it: “I came up with that move in 2008 I can’t believe its still being used quite a bit and I’m seeing new variations almost every month.” One of the most well know times the hourglass has been put to use is Justin Delaurier 2013 WDC winning routine. The Trend:
Now here is the main question, why is an old move trending now? Well there are many things that could be the cause of this. One cause of this trend can be led to Stephen Gulley’s 2019 NHSDTC routine where he used this move as a finishing part of his report out. This is one of the recent cases of this move being used in a national level competition. Another big player that can be a cause of this is Oscar Arroyo, a well know drill historian and trick monkey. With Oscar having a big return into drill in the start of 2018, many old tricks have slowly been resurfacing. Oscar has been using this move in many different variations as of recently and has been posting it on a drill account with over 1500 followers. Along with this he recently competed in one of the biggest drill events of the year, The Summer Drill Tour, and used this move in one of his only solo’s snice his return. The End? This move has a lot of background and history along with new variations being made by many creative drillers. So, will this trend die out? As of right now it is here to stay as it is still an extremely popular move for both trick monkeys and flow drillers. Now all we have to do is wait for someone to do this OTH. Sources: Justin Delaurier 2013 ISIS WDC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0H4X10oNBw&t=188s Stephen Gulley 2019 NHSDTC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OppEg5wlx4I&t=73s Oscar Arroyo – @elef3600 Instagram - @bestofdrillclips By: Andrew Katz  After teasing the project on his social media accounts, Adam Jeup of Independent Drill has officially announced the beginning of a new venture, The Drill Dojo. Alongside Justin Delaurier and Justin Ghan, Jeup hopes to fulfill the motto on the logo, Learn, Grow, Teach.
Drillers will be required to test for colored slings, instead of belts, to prove their ability and mastery over certain tricks which are laid out ahead of time. A prospective tester may choose his initial test to be at any level, but after completion, they must progress through the slings in order. During initial testing, drillers will also be allowed to submit videos for multiple sling levels in order to be correctly placed. Each level is a significant leap in skill level, so these tests are not for the faint of heart. To do the test, each driller must record themselves attempting each trick on the required list in a single, unedited video. To pass the testing, a minimum of 8 out of 10 must be scored on each trick. Mr. Jeup himself will be the sole grader for consistency, and all videos will be graded over a livestream on the Independent Drill channel. Participation in The Drill Dojo is 100% free with no requirements other than your dedication. All rifles must meet a 7.5 lbs. weight requirement. The possibility of a Facsimile qualification is being considered, if enough interest is expressed then it will also be added. Following a tense discussion on the future on of the online drill community came a post from the former leader of the popular MassDrill team and clothing line, Andrew Schuster. This post only contained one thing, a picture of the eagle MD logo... After years of silence on the MassDrill site and pages, this is the first direct reference to the organization since from 2018 from the founder. Immediately, rumors began swirling around the forums of a possible return, but what form the organization may take is currently unknown. When contacted by American Drill Report, Schuster himself responded with with a very simple, "No comment." Further evidence of a possible revival comes from the Independent Drill Discord channel, where a new image was sent, appearing to be a minimalist version of the eagle's head. This image can be seen immediately below.  Are these breadcrumbs leading us to a return? Or simply Schuster's newest design projects, which he went to school for? Only time will tell, but the community currently lacks a dedicated clothing company so there is a niche to fill. Stay on the lookout for more as ADR follows this developing story.
 A representative from Street Elite has confirmed to American Drill Report that a new member of the team will be debuting at the Richmond, VA World Drill Championships Qualifier and the subsequent "EXD1" competition. While the identity of this new member was not revealed, we were assured that this addition will raise the talent level of the already top-notch group.
The representative also confirmed a second reveal (non-membership related) will be happening at the WDC qualifier, but would give no further details when questioned. Our guesses: Oscar Arroyo: Well-known former CI member who is jumping back into drill is a prime candidate. Bryce Carden: There has been a large uptick in the amount of communication between in team leaders and this recently graduated driller, as evidenced by Instagram. Noah Calvert: The name is synonymous with big tricks and crazy drill, exactly what comes to mind when you say "street drill". Trey Simmonds: Perhaps a sleeper pick, but very few people handle a bladed M1 like Trey. DJ Smith: Just won NHSDTC with a near flawless performance based around control of large tricks, seems like a no-brainer. Reace Fitzgerald: Came in 2nd to only DJ this past year, another eager young driller wanting to prove themselves on a larger stage. A decision has come down from SNI headquarters, and the group phase of the World Drill Championships has been dropped from competition. No specific reasoning has been given by SNI, but it is most likely due to low entry count and overall logistics. Solo and Tandem will remain unchanged.
This story will be updated if new information becomes available.  After two weeks of voting, Robert Zyko's World Drill Championships Routine from 2017 has been chosen as the Solo of the Decade!
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