Whew! Glad we're clear on the remuneration issue, Steven. I'm a bit touchy on matters of disclosure regarding who is/isn't getting paid for what and by whom. And I certainly don't want anyone to have the impression that a) I don't think quality instruction, intellectual property, and service have economic value, or b) that the institute is "all or nothing" in either direction on the subject of compensation/fees. We are a non-profit corporation that does a lot of fee-for-service work, but we turn the revenues generated from that work into charitable work so that those who lack the means to pay can benefit as well. Same thing that the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Humane Society, Habitat for Humanity, et al. do every day. But I am not of the opinion that fly casting instructors and guides should all work for free! I think the socially responsible and morally conscious instructors and guides out there generally do quite a bit of pro bono work...in an industry where, frankly, they cannot actually afford to do so as readily as in most others. I'd just like to see more of the certified instructors actually out there teaching at all! I think many of the rank-and-file members would be somewhat unsettled to find out just how few of these so-called "certified instructors" actually teach fly casting with any regularity...professionally or for free. In my experience, most fly casting instruction around the country is done by un-trained, un-certified volunteers - who do a pretty darned respectable job of it, too! But more importantly, they're doing it. And that's far better than the alternative: no one doing it. This is one of the main reasons why the Adaptive Fly Fishing Institute has launched our Basic Casting Instructor seminar-based casting instructor certification program.
The BCI is a full-day seminar for intermediate to advanced fly casters (meaning you at least have a solid overhead and roll cast in your bag of tricks) during which a Certified Adaptive Fly Fishing Instructor teaches how to teach fly casting and some very basic fundamentals of teaching casting for people with disabilities/injuries. The goal: to produce an instructor capable of taking someone who has never cast a fly before and in about an hour get them to casting well enough to go fly fishing and have fun, and to do so in a manner that is fundamentally sound, safe, and enjoyable for everyone involved. Sounds simple, right? It is simple...but it's not easy! If it were everyone would be doing it. In fact, the thing that is the hardest for most folks is keeping it simple. LOL Too much contemporary casting instruction is about impressing the student with how much you know, what you can do, and how important you are. All...I repeat ALL...of that is disruptive to the learning process. Showing off isn't teaching. For the teacher, the only focus is on the student and what she/he accomplishes. The jewels in the crown of a teacher are the accomplishments of their students. Putting students at ease, making them believe it is easily attainable and quite natural, and keeping yourself out of the way so they can "discover" their new skills and knowledge "for themselves" are the true hallmarks of mastery in teaching. A fly cast is actually a very simple thing if you don't think about it too much.
Your examples are good ones, Steven. Your points are well-made. And the approach of using the body to create the momentum for the fly cast is certainly one valid approach. In fact, it is an approach that seriously reduces the strain on the arm of the caster. We use this quite a bit for people with upper extremity injuries. More than 3/4 of the strength in the human body lies below the solar plexus. Learning to utilize this vast storehouse of kinetic energy efficiently can remove much of the effort and wear-and-tear from a lot of the things we do.
I should add:
By missioning the BCI the way we have and formatting it into a 1-day seminar, what AFFI has tried to do is to meet the actual needs of the community instead of some conceptual "ideal" of what "a fly casting instructor" should be capable of. 1 day of school, $75 tuition, and you're equipped to teach introductory fly casting. Presto! No muss, no fuss, no tournament casting crap, no hero stuff, no 100' measuring tape, etc.
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