From what I got out of it, casting is a fast strike carried out by torquing (I know it sounds bad, but it's not) joints in succession enroute to a target.
Think of a whip strike to the jaw. Put your arm out, turn your body and the strike hits the opponent in the jawline.
Casting (from what I understand) is when you put your arm out, enroute you'd turn your elbow, wrist and palm a second before making contact, creating twice the amount of rotational force into the area.
A good part about this strike is it makes the adversary tense up the part of the body he was just hit in... Which is a good way to follow up with a "I'll hit you different" kind of punch. *winks at DCohen*
This particular move is all done while relaxed.
In his tape "Fisticuffs" which I just got to look over from my Systema instructor, he demonstrates some interesting and useful strikes, as well as drills.
However, some of the strikes and movements he does are too "Boxer-esque" and prone to creating a situation when you square off of someone (Systema tries to move on multiple planes). Also, he seems to tense parts of his body (shoulder, for example in casting) while moving and creating strikes, which in Systema we try to avoid.
Also, he bashes whipstrikes and emphasizes casting. Yes, casting are good strikes, but I've felt whipstrikes that were twice as hard.
All in all.. Casting is a good close-quarters strike instead of a liniar hook or jab. But not the best punch out there.  |