Blocking

[Bianchetti Ivan]

I think extreme is needed Ivan, why is casting the only sport that does not use it? Fishing no, casting yes.

John

I absolutely agree, because this is what makes the difference between a photocopy and an original, I was simply referring to not exceeding the limit that from a good performance leads to a bad one, by excess.

[John Waters]

Apologies Ivan, my error in your meaning of extreme. You are correct, take the body movement to the extreme. It can only add to outcomes. No value using 99% of movement for two reasons, the first being you have under-utilised the engine of the cast and secondly, you do not know where 100% is if you do not blow that engine up.

Again, apologies and well said.

John

[Bianchetti Ivan]

Apologies Ivan, my error in your meaning of extreme. You are correct, take the body movement to the extreme. It can only add to outcomes. No value using 99% of movement for two reasons, the first being you have under-utilised the engine of the cast and secondly, you do not know where 100% is if you do not blow that engine up.

Again, apologies and well said.

John

You don't have to apologize, I can only learn, indeed, thank you!

[Paul Arden]

I blew up the engine of my old Isuzu Trooper four times. I never learned where 100% was. Interesting the new owner has blown it up again!

Jumping is an interesting avenue. I think the reason jumping doesn’t work well in flycasting sport is because we need to apply the force gradually; we don’t make a sudden contact with the line, instead we are in contact with a long length of line right from the outset.

I do of course thrust up from the front leg as I’m turning the rod butt over. More of a hop than a jump

Cheers, Paul

[Bianchetti Ivan]

I blew up the engine of my old Isuzu Trooper four times. I never learned where 100% was. Interesting the new owner has blown it up again!

Jumping is an interesting avenue. I think the reason jumping doesn’t work well in flycasting sport is because we need to apply the force gradually; we don’t make a sudden contact with the line, instead we are in contact with a long length of line right from the outset.

I do of course thrust up from the front leg as I’m turning the rod butt over. More of a hop than a jump

Cheers, Paul

Probably wrong, I believe that the jump affects as an addition of force, if applied, delayed, such as rotation and pulling the line, by the way, the engine of my old opel also failed to exceed 100%

[Mangrove Cuckoo]

I'm still trying to get my head around this...

Blocking and braking are the same thing?

By blocking acceleration in one part of the body you can enhance the movement of another (smaller) part of the body?

[John Waters]

The terms "blocking" and "braking" need to be defined because they apply to two different actions in fly casting. We tend to be very keen to define some actions within strict definitions, yet allow others to be either ignored, interchanged or absorbed within more general terminology.

There are two blocking or breaking actions for fly distance casting. One being the brake applied to a rotational movement, the other being the block applied to a linear movement. In short line or fly accuracy casting only the block is relevant.

John

[Paul Arden]

Hi John,

Could you explain that a bit more deeply please?

Thanks!
Paul

[John Waters]

Hi Paul,

At its most basic, fly distance casting has two movements, one is linear, the other is rotational. Depending on your technique you can employ one, or the other, or a combination. Both linear and rotational movements start with zero velocity and accelerate to a point where the body must terminate that movement in order for the cast to occur. Also, both linear and rotational movement accelerates the line. Linear movement impacts only the line, whilst rotational movement accelerate both the line and in most cases, another body segment. Termination of linear movement coincides with line release, whilst termination of a rotational movement, actions the movement of a another body segment further along the movement chain. Only the final rotational movement, that being the turnover of the forearm and wrist, is a movement in a single plane and hence could be described as linear.

On way I describe the differences is to imagine a the casting plane as a Cartesian plane, in which movement occurs both along the X axis and around the Y axis. Linear technique moves the body and the rod along the X axis in the direction of the cast. The upper body does rotate around the Y axis at either the start, or end of the stroke, but it is primarily linear movement along the X axis that generates hand speed. A rotational based technique rotates around the Y axis whist moving along the X axis. Here the primary driver of hand speed is the rotation around the Y axis.

I have discussed these movements in previous posts but in summary, because the purpose of terminating a rotational movement at the right time is to trigger another rotational movement, the body segments move as interconnected pairs. Rotational movement accelerates the rod-side of the body, but in order to action the next segment in the chain, the non-rod side must terminate that movement abruptly. I describe it as a collision. The rod side accelerates to a collision after which there is no follow through of the rotation al movement, you collide with a brick wall and stop dead. That collision type termination of the rod-side rotation by the paired non-rod side segment generates the hand speed that culminates in the forearm turnover of the elbow pivot.

Given there are two distinct and separate movements, each requiring termination action, I like the term “brake” to describe that collision type termination of a rotational movement and “block” to describe the termination of a linear movement. To terminate linear movement you do not need a “paired" body part, you only need to terminate that linear movement using a one or more larger muscle group. For that type of movement cessation, I like the term "block". If rotation and its impact on hand speed generation is not considered relevant to the stroke, then “brake" and “block" are interchangeable, but that would ignore the major component of hand speed generation in casting, and other sports.

Hope that makes sense,

John

[Paul Arden]

Thanks for the explanation, John.

Would block primarily be using the body to naturally restrict further movement? For example putting the shoulder in the way of the backcast or rotating to the maximum body twist available in either direction?

I suppose it’s slightly confusing perhaps because when we turn the rod over in the X axis it’s rod rotation that is the primary driver. It seems to me that everything we do (in distance at least) is mostly to assist rod butt rotation from MCL onward. And then the rod butt simply flipped over without resistance, like the final moments of flinging a ball.

Thanks,
Paul