The 10/10 Challenge

[Jessie Edwards]

A nerf whip might be a thing....

I can't look until break time. Tristan has the videos, maybe he knows. I think, Ron, we are on the same page. It's the crack that is horizontal from the side, not over the head, though, like the underhand, you want to follow through over and around your head to dissipate the energy and not hit yourself on the finish.

[Ron May]

Ok today is the October 12th and it's time to move on to the horizontal crack.
I looked at the sample of Vol.I and it is indeed the third crack.
So, we start it today and if possible after your 10 min. of practice post a video of what it looks like today so there will be documentation of the progress we make at the end of 10 days.
I am going to start super slow, trying like the dickens to emulate the movements that are on Robby's video. If I can do that it will work.

Let's see, eye protection.... check, motorcycle helmet ... check, armored biker jacket.... check... pillows duct taped to back of legs.... check. All right, I'm good to go.
"geRONimo"

Good luck whipsters.

Ron

[Ron May]

I misspoke, the name is the opposite horizontal crack.
The third crack in the Vol.I series.

Ron

[Tristan Foy]

I still have a couple of days left for the circus and underhand cracks.

[Rachel McCollough]

I'm back at practice, around day 6 on circus crack and starting again on underhand.

[Ron May]

Tristan, if you want to you could do some extra homework with the circus crack and underhand, and go ahead and start the opposite horizontal crack along with us.
Sometimes when I get a little frustrated I stop and try something different and come back to it later.
We will certainly get back to these cracks we are practicing now.
To keep every one on the same page we need to concentrate on the same thing together. So, view Robby's video and see how the opposite horizontal is shown done.
Start slow and take your time.
I think you are making progress in what you have learned so far so don't give up on that.

Same thing for you Rachel.
If it's good for you, go ahead and practice the first two but start with the third too.
If you don't have enough time then concentrate on the current crack and we can come back to the others a little later.

Will that work out ok for every one?

Ron

[Rachel McCollough]

10-4!

[Tristan Foy]

I'll do that, but I'll probably continue to double up on cracks. I'd rather get through the cracks in 50 days rather than 100.

[Robby Amper]

It is so cool that all of you help each other
That was my idea about what Whip Basics should look like one day.

Robby

[Jessie Edwards]

The whole site is this way, Robby. You done good.

[Jessie Edwards]

I'll do that, but I'll probably continue to double up on cracks. I'd rather get through the cracks in 50 days rather than 100.

It's not a race, and we are not on a deadline. Sooner or later we will circle back around. You never stop learning or getting better. If it takes you a year, so what?

Here's the thing. My youngest daughter is dyslexic. She still struggles to read. My dad was dyslexic, her father is dyslexic. She is 8 years old. I homeschool. I hear all the time about how she is behind. Behind who? She has 18 years of her life under my care. Does anyone honestly think that, if we practice every day for even a little while, she will be illiterate as an adult? Of course not. She is learning, and will learn all the things she needs to go on. Most importantly, she will have learned how to learn HER way, so she can progress through college. There is no timeline. If it takes you 300 days to learn, it will take a lifetime of practice to keep it strong.

This might seem off topic, but it's not. This is an aspect of the learning process that I think should be clear. Your time, your speed. That's just as important as the cracks themselves.

[Tristan Foy]

I'm not trying to get sloppy or move ahead of the pack. I'm just excited to learn. I go intense through my languages as well.

[Jessie Edwards]

I figured. I just wanted to be clear and not put pressure on anyone to "catch up."

[Ron May]

Jessie's right.
This is to learn the cracks , true, but one ever stops learning.
I'll be willing to bet that even Robby profits by practicing as much as he can.
There's no rush, no finish line, no one will ever be "perfect", just some, more proficient than others and that never stops. Nor should it.
Improvement is the goal.
So, take your time.

Ron

[Ron May]

Ok the first 10/10 sidearm crack has been completed.
I went very very slowly and it's super awkward for me at this point.
Several times I hit my back, back of the neck and the back of my legs but at least towards the end it was less often. No pain, no gain..... right?

I wanted to start from behind me, which was easier for me, but Robby has us starting with the whip in front and I am sure there is a good reason for that. So, I kept the starting point with the whip laying straight in front of me.
By the time I videoed the results I was pouring sweat in the 100f temp.
Being tired helped me slow down more.

I will upload the video after 9:00pm or so when I have more band width.

Ron

[Jessie Edwards]

Starting from the front sets you up for the 4-crack routine that you will learn in disk 1 when it arrives...and, I assume that's just how it's done. Robby has the Master T-shirt, he should explain. I'm only the Apprentice...I get coffee and fluff pillows.

[Ron May]

Jessie, I knew that there was a logical reason.
Thanks for the clarification.

And such a good coffee fetcher/pillow fluffer you are.

Ron

[Ron May]

Here's the video for today's practice.
Even in this video I hit my self a couple of times slightly but only a glancing hit.

https://youtu.be/npm3gwyZ1Lo

Ron

[Tristan Foy]

Painful practice day.

I feel like everything I learned about the circus crack went out the window today. I slowed it down yesterday, but somehow the rhythm wasn't there the whip would consistently fall out of the air and hit me. By the end the my practice, I was getting it back, but it took a lot of throws.

With the underhand crack, still no crack, but I think I am sllllowly getting the hang of it. I am now holding the handle parallel with my arm to keep it more stable and give it more power when I flick my wrist upwards. Even though there was no crack, I could start to feel the loop go down the whip, they way it feels like it should, and there was "poof" at the end. I don't know if that counts as a crack, but I think it counts as form progress.

The opposite horizontal crack...it was ok. I think I just need to watch the videos again. But for those who have the DVD, on it, Robby shows you how to do the crack, and then how not to do it. I watched it a few times and I have hard time seeing the difference. I think it's one is moving just the arm, whereas the other you are moving your torso?

Once again, no video. Too dark. I think once I finish up with my sessions of the CC and the UhC, I am going to to perhaps stick to one crack per day. I will say though that once I start, I kinda want to keep going.

[Tristan Foy]

Ron,

I don't have much to contribute, but it is inspiring to see you have success at it. And you do it with some grace as well. Until seeing some of the videos associated with whip cracking that I came across starting this summer, I didn't realize that it could be such a graceful and rather peaceful sport, a bit like dancing. I think I always sensed that in the flow of the whip, but it's become more obvious now.