Lesson II: 07/02/2017 to 07/22/2017

[Ron May]

Ben, you might be judging a little harshly on yourself, but any practice is progress and I'm sure that it will evolve to your idea of what it is supposed to be.
Of course there's no such thing as perfection and constant improvement is a good goal which you to demonstrate. I thank you for that.

Ron

[Ben Varsek]

Thank's Ron!

Just like you, I also think that learning how to properly handle a whip is a never ending task. Perfection can/will never be reached, but trying to come as close to it as possible is a good approach in my opinion. I'm not frustrated or upset when things don't work out on a whipcracking session - for me it's more like a source of motivation to see where I am now and to have a "far away goal" I want to achive. Where I am now (in terms of skills) is absolutely fine for me - even more so - if I compare my first 10/10 videos to my recent videos I'm very happy for the overall progress that I've made so far !


All the best
Ben

[Ron May]

Absolutely Ben.
It's inconceivable to think that someone can commit to these challenges and drills and not improve their skills to a much higher level.

It still escapes me why others, who enjoy cracking whips in the forum, do not take advantage of this. Especially whip makers. It's a good selling point if you can handle a whip and show what it's capable of and how the whip performs.

To be able to crack it effortlessly is a very impressive selling point.

Ron

[Ben Varsek]

Ron, you're right about the selling point and what is even more important to me - my whipmaking skills also benefit from this challenge. The more I develop a feeling for handeling a whip the more I beginn to understand what a good whip is all about.

All the best
Ben

[Sven van Leeuwen]

Ron and Ben, I agree with you.

Here's my video of todays practice.

https://youtu.be/64pkB1tStAM

It went... ok, I guess. I wasn't really into it.
I still have trouble with the second (or thirth, if you count the last crack from the previous routine).
It also requires the swiveling handle, but I have a feeling that someday I'll get the hang of it

Sven

[Ron May]

Sven, I think the base of the difficulty is the limited space.
I believe that if you get into a more open area these will be fine.
You are smooth and it flows from one to the other.
Perhaps a little shorter whip might help a little.
Is there a park or empty field or lot you could go to?

Ron

[Sven van Leeuwen]

Thank you Ron.
Well there is an open area. But I'll have to overcome my fear of doing this in 'public'

Sven

[Ben Varsek]

Sven, your video shows great improvement - congratulations!

I know how you feel about practicing in public - I also didn't feel comfortable practicing in front of strangers on my first "public sessions" but I'm glad that I gave it a try (it's definetly worth giving it ) !

The second and third swivel worked out better than before on todays practice session !
Overall I'm counting three swivels in this 9 crack combo: 1. - the swivel between the first (underhand) and second (circus) crack, 2. - the swivel after the 6th (crossover) and before the 7th (backhand) crack, and the swivel between the 7th (backhand) and 8th (circus) crack.
I still have a long, long way to go but I'm very happy about my baby steps !

All the best
Ben

[Ron May]

Way to go Ben.
It sounds like you are making good progress.

Ron

[Ron May]

This morning I woke up with a 'catch' in my right shoulder blade, so practice is put on hold for a while.

Ron

[Ben Varsek]

Thank's Ron!

I'm sorry to hear about your shoulder and I hope that you'll recover soon!

All the best
Ben

[Robert Gage]

Ben, I think that's looking remarkably good....

Sven, I have to agree with Ron: in a bigger space, I think you'd find much more confidence....

Ron, I do hope your shoulder comes right very soon!

[Matt Henderson]

I'm rather late to contribute, I'm afraid, as the last week has been almost entirely without technology and certainly without internet. I'll try and shoot some video tomorrow for us, but what I've noticed so far is that the changing hands to flick with the left is an absolute bugger.

It's looking really good Ben

Sven, I second Robert: a bigger space would help loads.

Hope the shoulder feels better soon Ron

[Sven van Leeuwen]

Thanks guys. I'll see what I can do.

Ron, I hope your shoulders clears up fast.

Ben, I'll pay more attention to the swivelpoints you mentioned, but I think you're right.

Matt, the change of hands is difficult, just remember to make a fluid motion.

Sven

[Matt Henderson]

Shall do, Sven, the stick of death is never far away

[Ben Varsek]

Thank you very much Robert and Matt!

Sven, I'm not 100% sure that my observations are correct and I just shared them in order to see if the other participants are practicing the combo the same way (with three swivels).

The second swivel is becoming better but now it's the third swivel which is not working like I want it to. Some of my other "weak points" in this combo like the crossover have improved a little but I still have a long way to go.

All the best
Ben

[Ron May]

Ben, you are doing good.
Knowing what is needed is half the battle.
The crossover is my Achilles heel. It seems so simple but in reality it's not.
I'm still waiting on the neck /shoulder to get better.

Ron

[Ben Varsek]

Ron, I hope that your shoulder/neck will be healed soon!

The crossover feels completely different when combining it with the swivel method in my opinion. In this combo the curve of the whip is already in a position where the first part of the crossover is beeing cracked with the curve. After changing hands I'm also trying to do the second crack of the crossover with the curve (again) which is very challenging for me to do.

All the best
Ben

[Sven van Leeuwen]

I understand Ben. I'm currently getting the hang of this last combo.
Practice is going well I assume. I'll see if I can get a new video up tomorrow.

Keep up the good work,

Sven

[Ben Varsek]

Thank you Sven and congratulations on your progress!

All the best
Ben