page_title: Goose step
section_title: East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia
hierarchical_section_title: Goose step / Countries that use / East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia
caption_attribution_description: Members of the Afghan National Army march at the Victory Day Parade at the Olympic Center in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 28. The parade is held every year in to commemorate the day when the Afghan mujahideen overthrew the socialist government in Afghanistan in 1992. (NATO Training Mission Afghanistan Photo by Staff Sgt. Markus Maier)
context_page_description: The goose step is a special marching step performed on formal military parades and other ceremonies. While marching in parade formation, troops swing their legs in unison off the ground while keeping each leg rigidly straight.
  The step originated in Prussian military drill in the mid-18th century and was called the Stechschritt or Stechmarsch. German military advisors spread the tradition to Russia in the 19th century, and the Soviets spread it around the world in the 20th century.
  The term "goose step" originally referred to balance stepping, an obsolete formalized slow march. The term is nowadays heavily associated with Nazi Germany in many English-speaking countries. As a result, the term has acquired a pejorative meaning in some English-speaking countries.
context_section_description: Afghanistan
  Bangladesh
  Cambodia
  China adopted the goose step from its German military advisors in the 1920s. The Chinese term 正步 (zhèng bù) literally translates as "straight march" or "upright march". After the Chinese Civil War, the practice continued on both sides of the Taiwan Strait until 2003, when it was abandoned by the Republic of China (Taiwan). The People's Republic of China continues to use the goose step as its ceremonial march step.
  Hong Kong: Since the 1997 handover of sovereignty, some Hong Kong's institutions, traditionally conducting  British-style drill, like Customs and Excise Department, have adopted the goose step. While the Chinese central government has also requested uniformed youth groups in Hong Kong to adopt the goose step practice of the PLA in the mainland, only one organization has adopted the practice there.
  India: The goose step is performed by colour guards, as well as border guards at the Wagah border ceremony. Some units, such as the Gurkha and Assam regiments, use the goose step as a general parade step, although the foot does not generally leave the ground for more than a couple of inches.
  Indonesia: The goose step, known as langkah tegap or firm step, is performed by the military, police (although the foot does not generally leave the ground for more than a couple of inches unlike the military), scouts, and the flag troop during ceremonial occasions. The step is performed by swinging hands similar to the British practice (at 90 degrees, or as high as the shoulder), either unarmed or at slope/shoulder arms position, if at port arms, both arms hold the weapon while performing it.
  North Korea practices a form of bouncing goose step, which leaves a visual impression of a clear bounce in each step. This is unique among all militaries that practice the goose step. North Korea switched from a standard Soviet goose step to the bouncing goose step between 1993 and 1998.
  Laos
  Mongolia
  Myanmar: The Myanmar Armed Forces do not use the goose step. However, the ethnic Kachin, Kokang, Shan, and Wa insurgents in northern Myanmar use the goose step, as they allied with the Communist Party of Burma in the 1960s and received training from Chinese advisors.
  Nepal uses the goose step as a general parade step, but lifting the feet only a couple of inches above the ground; only Honor Guards have been observed to march with a "full" goose step. The practice has also been adopted by Gurkha regiments in the Indian Army, but not by Gurkha regiments in the British Army.
  Pakistan uses the goose step as a military march step in slow time only. The marching pace while goose stepping is 60 bpm
  Thailand
  Vietnam: North Vietnam had adopted the goose step by 1954, when the victory at Dien Bien Phu was celebrated with a military parade in Hanoi. It received Chinese and Soviet military aid during the Vietnam War. The goose step's use continues in a united Vietnam today.
caption: Afghan Army soldiers goosestepping during the 2010 Mujahideen Victory Day parade in Kabul, Afghanistan.
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