Walter....
Here is my answer to a question posed by Jim Penrod from Tallahassee, Florida.....
Gordy
From: "Gordon Hill" <hillshead@xxxxxxx>
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Subject: RE: pulling/pushing
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 10:31:46 -0400
Jim....
I'll answer this one first as I'm waiting for a few more answers to the list of questions to come in.
Pulling is a LOT more effective than "pushing". Paul is absolutely correct about that.
One of the reasons, is that it's a great deal easier to control the straight line path of the rod tip through that portion of the stroke when you are pulling. Another reason, is that for most casters, the effort of pulling is smoother that that of pushing. It's not that one can apply more power with the pull.
Some casters have a tendency to, "elbow cast" rather than using an effective compound motion of all of the joints of the upper extremity. (Joan Wulff make a good point of teaching to avoid this as she has the caster go through the motions with a mirror to the side.) This tends to yield a convex rod tip path. When Paul has the caster use a fluff ball in the crotch of the elbow, the idea is to have him not release it until late in the stroke. This has the effect of, "leading with the elbow" which favors a pulling move while loading. It's particularly effective when a vertical / elbow forward style is used.
Also, I find that (for me, at least) that the transition from the pulling mode done mostly during the loading phase to the rapid acceleration to a stop, (the so-called, "power snap") is better controled and smoother.
Lastly, for those with powerful wrists (like Tom White) this transition point allows an effective, almost explosive wrist turnover to the adducted wrist position at the final stop. This, in turn, helps to yield as true a STOP as possible for these casters.
Gordy
From: t.maltese@xxxxxxxxx
To: hillshead@xxxxxxx
Subject: pulling/pushing
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:17:20 +0000
Good morning, Gordy,
I have now caught up on my e-mail. I really wish that I could have made
Livingstone. It sounds as though your hand has made a good recovery. I caught
you note about your fishing day when you broke your hand. What a bad end to
such a good day!
I ran across something in Paul Arden's games (now I can't find it at the
moment) but he had two exercises that involved pulling the rod. One was with
a soft ball (sponge like) tucked in at the bent elbow while doing the casting
stroke and the other was with weights dangling. Both were designed to
help "pull" the rod through the casting stroke. He commented that it gave a
more arrow like shape to the loop and had pictures of a loop from a "puller"
and a "pusher". You have commented that an arrow point loop can be made
otherwise. Are there real advantages to being a puller versus a pusher? It
seems that this is really a style as one has to have some push at the end of
the stroke. However, I remember Mel giving a dmeonstration of pulling and
George Roberts emphasizes pulling through the stroke also. Kirk Eberhard
tells me that he is a "pusher". Your experience and comments would be
appreciated. (I watch George Roberts so effortlessly throw 70 and 80 feet of
line with no haul and such beautiful loops. His stops in real time are almost
imperceptible but must be extremely sharp).
Jim