Teaching by having the student use the non dominant hand / Left handed casting instructors

Walter & Group...

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            TEACHING BY HAVING THE STUDENT USE THE NON DOMINANT HAND - COUNTERPOINT

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Counterpoint by Mark Surtees.  I highlighted part of his message.  G. :

Hi Gordy

Wow, interesting...!

 Like yourself I had, for a short period thankfully, to fish with my non dominant hand. Frankly, I struggled?and still do J.

 I could see no good reason why, with sufficient practice, I couldn?t become reasonably proficient at casting with both hands. I thought that it would be an interesting exercise to practice the CCI test as if I were going to take it with my left hand. Like others, I still strain for co-ordination to get the double haul working but I had, and still have, most difficulty with accuracy. This, it transpires, has more to do with the effects of a dominant/non-dominant relationship between my left and right eyes than between my hands. I can thus cast more accurately with my left hand across my right shoulder than I can casting with my left off my left shoulder.

 Whilst the exercise is technically interesting from a casting point of view, it was, never the less, always just a necessary evil from a fishing point of view and, with the exception of experienced casters that I knew very well, I don?t think, despite all the positive feed back, that I would be inclined to put a student through this kind of self torture unless all else utterly failed or they had been most exceptionally rude?. J

 Best Regards

Mark   

 Mark Surtees

Outback Rigging Ltd

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COMMENT:  Mark makes a good point, here.  Makes sense not to do anything which demeans a student's actions or provides damaging negativity.

I suspect that instructors who do use the method of having the student cast with the non-dominant hand successfully do it briefly and with the utmost tact.  I also think they have found ways to do it in a positive way.

Gordy

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                                              LEFT HANDED INSTRUCTORS - EXPERIENCES & TECHNIQUES

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Bill Toone answers my questions about left handed instructors.  I have included his attachment (The highlights are mine):

Gordy

 I am a lefty and noticed fairly early on in my teaching occasionally students would be confused by my left handedness. 

 Students whom I knew to be right handed would switch to their left hand trying to exactly imitate me when following a casting motion I was showing them.  I found this particularly true when they were not holding the rod but sometimes even with the rod.  It was clearly not a majority of the students but enough of them where I decided I better be able to demonstrate aspects of the cast both with and without the rod using my right hand; so yes I have taught myself to use my opposite (right) hand when teaching (and fishing). 

While I don?t give the lesson right handed I do use it frequently when doing one on one instruction or trying to make a specific point to a small group.  It is now second nature for me to include the use of my right hand when teaching.  The attached photo was taken at the 2007 Conclave and published in the Flyfisher.  It took me a few moments upon seeing it to figure out what looked so strange until I realized I was demonstrating a particular aspect of a cast with my right hand.

One advantage and technique using your left hand with a right handed student is it is very easy and natural to have the student put their right hand on my left hand (while I am holding the rod) when trying to ?cast together? to help them develop the feel and rhythm. Both student and instructor are using their natural hands and can stand side by side instead of trying to accomplish the same task from behind a student. 

 I also use this sometimes for various reasons when both the student and I each have rods and cast simultaneously.  Once again you are side by side with the student, your natural hand next to the student?s natural hand.  It is easier for both you and the student to watch each other with your peripheral vision being rod next to rod.

 Bill Toone

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From Liam Duffy :

Hi Gordy,
            It is a well known fact that left handed people are more artistic than others because of living in a right handed world I have always found that left handed people have to "analyse" things as what others take for granted we have to mentally "switch" everything into a mirror image. This leads us to properly think out all aspects of what we see and "amend" it to suit us "lefties" (How many tools powered and unpowered do you see designed for "lefties", even the quality fly dressing scissors are designed for right handed people) As a surgeon think how many medical instruments would suit a left hander! this leads to a lot of left handers becoming "ambidexrous" in a lot of things
 
Yes, I have taught myself to cast with my non-dominant hand (comes naturally with the two hander) and the method I used (and still practice) is to take two rods with the same action, rating and lines with a marked equal length of line out and work with a rod in each hand using the dominant to "train" the other i.e. GET BOTH HANDS/ARMS WORKING TOGETHER through all elements of the cast (a bit like a conductor in an orchestra).  When you get to the "hauling" stage it can be a little frustrating but if you have a serious problem switch hands for one cast and check whats the difference in the way the line behaves switch back to the non dominant hand and try to replicate the cast.  One advantage of teaching right handers is that I can stand beside the student (on their casting side) and move my arm/hand in the correct motion usually with shoulders, elbows and hand touching lightly this lets the student feel and "copy" my movements which I find assist in the learning curve.

When practicing for the M.C.I.and T.H.C.I. I found that I was becoming better with the right hand!! when this happened I had to bring my "natural" hand up to speed.  One fun exercise to try is switch hands in mid cast!I.E backcast right hand forward cast left hand!! it's great fun and will give a great feeling of satisfaction when you can do it.

Hope this is of some assistance to somebody.
Best Regards,

Liam Duffy.

P.S. It's even better teaching fly dressing I have the student sit opposite me at the table and as I tie left handed the student sees the fly being dressed right handed!! (I naturally reverse the direction I wind thread,floss,dubbing)
Saying from Ireland "It all depends on how you look at it!"

Hi Gordy,
            Sorry, I did not see your question before I replied to the general enquiry. Yes, the brothers literally tried to "hammer" the left handedness out of me. I now find that I can do most things with either hand, knife/fork, shooting,sawing, driving nails, screws (had to be carefull phrasing with that one) etc a lot of the time it just depends which way something is handed to me.
Best regards,
Liam Duffy
P.S. I still prefer the left

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Liam...

 Your comments give us right handers more insight into the life of a left hander.

Your last sentence intrigued me.  This is one of the self-teaching "games" I practiced in private (for fear that those watching would think I'd slipped a cog or two.)  I would make the forward stroke with my right hand, then as the loop unfurled, instantly switch to my left hand to make the back cast and vice versa.  I wasn't going to mention this, but since you did .............................................

Switching casting hands for right handers is much more difficult for some than others.  Never was easy for me.

Tom White had been strictly right handed in life for all things including his expert casting.  One fine day, he decided to teach himself to cast left handed.  He worked tirelessly at this.  A couple of years later, he asked me to re-test him with the casting portion of the Master's exam.....CASTING STRICTLY WITH HIS LEFT HAND.  He passed with flawless performance.

I tried the same thing and couldn't even come close.

Gordy

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Attachment: PHW Conclave 2007.jpg
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