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Walter & Group...
[GH] From Bob Stouffer :
1. Do any of you use visualization when teaching? Yes
2. Of any who may, how do you use it?
I like to work on Symmetry and visualization can be a great tool. The words or tools used are specific to the exact student and vary with each situation and purpose. The idea is to get the caster to see themselves as a center of focus for creating loops opposite and equal to one-another to create order and balance in the unrolling loop.
Also, I sometimes develop an off-the-cuff simile (in Western Maryland we cannot afford the luxury of metaphors) such as "just as the tiny chink in the stone wall directs the single ray of sunlight onto the altar, so must your thumbnail travel the path from the backcast to the target". This type of visualization is tongue-in-cheek hyperbole - a relief for some students and for me as well.
3. Do you feel it is helpful? Short-term benefit to student can be remarkable in terms of their ability to use other than muscle-memory and repetition to be creative. Long term benefit, for example, can be the ability to cast without hurry and see the direction of the casting cycle as interchangeable.
4. When do you use it? When a student is stuck or frustrated with their progress, when a particular student responds well to visualization or when the other tools do not yield the desired result.
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[GH] From Mark Milkovitch :
1. Do any of you use visualization when teaching?
Yes
2. Of any who may, how do you use it?
To teach timing for initiating the forward cast. As casts get longer (20’ or more of fly line extended) and the required pause on the backcast gets longer, there is a greater tendency for students to initiate the forward cast early. When that happens I ask students to hold the rod with a relaxed grip in the back stop position. I ask them to feel as I ever so slightly and gently rock the rod backwards in their hand. I then have them close their eyes and wait to feel the rod rock back in their relaxed hand at the end of their back cast before they can begin the forward cast.
Closing eyes helps eliminate distractions and allows them to feel the subtle rod shift. Once they feel it with their eyes closed, they can begin to feel it with their eyes open. As casts get longer the “rod shift” must be followed by a pause before initiating the next stroke. It none the less serves as a timing device to initiate the brief pause which naturally varies in length with amount of line cast.
3. Do you feel it is helpful?
Very
4. When do you use it?
See above
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[GH] For me, teaching the pause time on the back cast is much more of a problem than the forward cast pause when the student is false casting. That is what you are describing.
The caster can see the forward loop. Once he learns that he must start the back cast when that loop is almost completely unfurled, I have him turn and watch the back cast. Works OK with some casters... but not with those whose style includes a vertical rod plane (casting plane). Rather than confusing that student with a change of style, I use a form of visualization... i.e. He learns to form a mental image of the back cast loop from physical image of the forward one. Works at that stage because I don't have that student shooting any line on the back cast at that level.
Of course, another way to learn timing is with horizontal casting where the student can see both forward and back cast loops. Once he gets good at that, the "feel" can be introduced by having him keep doing it after he closes his eyes.
I have not tried your "feel" method. I wonder how many students would really feel a subtle rod shift.... ?? If the student waits until the less subtle tug after the loop unrolls, it will be a bit too late to initiate the forward stroke.
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[GH] From Ckling :
Hi Gordy,
We have to differentiate between beginners and more advanced students of fly casting when it comes to using visualization technics for teaching.
Beginners have no basic concept of how a cast is executed and how a good cast looks or feels like. Without these it is nigh impossible for them to visualize a casting move or a casting outcome.
Visualization technic is useful for self teaching mainly. For a more advanced students we could suggest certain visuals that they can sleep on and eventually execute. I guess visualization pre program the nervous system for the move we want to execute, but we still have to educate our muscle, joints and joint position sense by practicing!
For beginners I still teach the old fashion way, see, do and feel. Teaching kinesthetically in the beginning is done in all movement discipline; taichi, tennis, golf etc. Understanding and refinements will come later depending on how keen the student is.
Regards
Ling
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[GH] Ling...
I'm pleased to see you joining me in pointing out the value of visualization for self teaching.
Many instructors (including me) have their new students swing their rods about and swirl the lines in different ways to get the "feel" of line resistance to the rod. We also have these students close their eyes to help eliminate distractions and sharpen the "feel".
Once could argue that this isn't true visualization with these new casters for the reasons you point out.
To put it simply, they gain the benefits of learning the feeling, but at this stage they can't translate that to the outcome when they can't see the line.
Mark Milkovitch takes it a step beyond, however, when he says, "Once they feel it with their eyes closed, they can begin to feel it with their eyes open." If this is done repeatedly, perhaps there may be some visualization developing.
Gordy
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[GH Interesting that we have not heard a word from those of you who do NOT use some form of visualization. Are you hiding ?
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