Whip Basics. The Forum

Will someone please do a slow video of how to do the Underhand Crack? I'd appreciate it if Robby does, but since he encouraged us to look to each other first, anyone who can do it will would be helpful.

After watching Robby's video above, I think part of my problem might be in how I hold my handle, too. I'll have to take another look tomorrow before I practice.

Thank you very much for your encouraging words Ron and Robert !!!


Ron, here's the video in which Robby explains the sling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6KaoVEi2M0


Welcome to the challenge Mr. Torpström !!!


Tristan, I'm sorry to hear that you've injured your thumb and I hope it will heal soon !!!
One thing that helped me with the underhand crack was that changed the position of my hands - on the CC I have the palms of my hands "facing" towards my body. On the underhand crack the palms of my hands are facing into a direction in front of my body (the same way someone would position the palms while throwing a bowling ball).

I'll try to shoot a slow UC video but I can't garantee you that I'll be able to shoot a video which has educational value (I'm struggling with the issue of using to much speed and force myself).
As soon as I manage to shoot a slow UC video that contains educational values I'll post it here !!!

All the best
Ben

Alright alright, here's my entry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thmm8PTb60I

I'm doing all the cracks on the challenge so far, kinda to warm up for the whole thing since I haven't been cracking so much recently!
I start with my 14 plait 6 footer and repeat with Rachel's made 14 plait 9 footer. It's shot at my mom's yard while my girlfriend was shown old photos and told stories of young me : D I tried to pick a nice scenery for you ; )

I keep shaking my shoulders to make sure my arms are relaxed and that I have a decent posture and my back is in line.
Something of a habit I guess from practicing drums, systema etc.!

I practiced with my left hand when it felt safe and like it made sense - since I didn't have eye protection I didn't want to mess up the sidearm flick with my left hand on the 9 footer! I can already see a problem with my wrist and arm doing all sorts of funny stuff on the left.

On the sidearm crack I noticed I had been letting it hang in the back for too long, and when I sped it up a bit - meaning I flicked it forward a bit earlier - and it started cracking (me giving the thumbs up).

Overall I can and will minimize all the movement and calm it down more. I noticed I was getting anxious at the end and didn't always remember to take long enough brakes. Some of the cracks were easier on the 6 footer - like the circus crack and some on the 9 footer - like the underhand. The sidearm flick was equally challenging on both I'd say.

Since Tristan asked and I studied my camera a bit more and it did have a slow motion feature! It does take away from the quality but I think it's a fair deal. So pardon me for the potato quality on the latter! There's no sound so you'll just have to take my word on that they did indeed crack!

Here's some cracking with 0.5x speed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAWlu5ZpZpM

And here with 0.25x speed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWPFrvlWDQI

This is a great challenge and I enjoyed it very much so thank you Jessie for arranging it!

I think you're doing very good, Erik. Period. Especially the "Thumbs up!" at 09:35, where you had that clean crack was nice You're on the right road and track. What you need now is - practice.

I would suggest, get up at 04.30 am. Whip cracking practice. One hour. Then a shower, little breakfast. Then: Whip cracking practice. Three hours. Lunch break. 20 minutes. Whip cracking practice. Three hours. Coffee and a bagel. Then - Whip cracking practice. Two hours. Lunch. Free time. 40 minutes. Then: Whip cracking practice. One and a half hours. Sleep. And the next day - on monday - the same thing, but two hours in the evening. I'd like to give you a bit of "private time" on sundays.

That is the programm, everyone here at Whip Basics has and exercises. Every day.

Come on folks, don't let me hang in, here... Write something...!

When you do that, you'll master those basic cracks in no time. It'll take you not more than 4 or five years. Then it's time to practice a bit more serious!


Robby

Thank you for your compliment Robby!

There's just one thing... not everyone is made of platinum and gunmetal by German engineers like you

That sounds like a nice routine though, I just have a few other things to do than whip cracking, sadly!
That's a good reminder on maintaining a routine though and I'll take that one to heart!

But yeah, 10 minutes is nothing and I was surprised I did so little and I already had a 10 minute video, there's really no excuse for me.

Great videos, Erik! I'll study them more carefully tomorrow morning, when I'm fresher.

What I notice immediately is that, in the Circus Crack, you just bring the whip down and go 'dead' with your arm. Try following through after the whip has cracked, to bring it smoothly behind you, ready for the next crack.

A great start with the 10/10 challenge!

Platinum and gunmetal...? Oh, thank you When it's about me, I think more about Coffee, milk chocolate and spaghetti. But I won't disagree with you

Serious - ten minutes are a good time. Every day 10 minutes are way better than two hours on one day in the whole week. And - here's a little (psychological) advice for everyone, reading this. When you had a nice crack, or the feeling that you had a satisfying technique - stop practicing for that day. When you stop with a good feeling, you will be anxious for the next day. When you stop with a bad crack, or when you've hit yourself, you'll carry that bad feeling until the next day.

What's better?

Robby

Erik, I think you are better with Rachel's whip.
One thing that I can mention is that you might want to slow down and pause between cracks. Maybe like a 5 second count... visualize the movement then throw. Then do it all over again.

I really like your practice area.
Thank you for making the slo-mo videos as well and participating with this exercise.

Ron

Robby's right about stopping on a positive note.
That feeling of accomplishment does carry over to the next day and you end with knowing what you did right in stead of ending with what did I do wrong.

Ron

I always find that if I have had a bad day, the next day is always better. It's weird. I tell others that i am practicing with the same thing. Had a hard day? Tomorrow will always be better.

"Private time on Sundays"...creepy, German.

Today's practice was like a dance at the "Silver River Dance Hall" in Brownwood Texas.
Two steps forwards one step back.
Progress was made , but in a note to myself, stop practicing when you are getting tired.
Not feeling too shiney, the energy level dropped pretty rapidly and resulted in a not so good outcome.
I did end the practice, like I always to, with a good clear crack to reinforce a positive thought about the practice time.

Ron

That's a good advice Robby (mispelled: food advice, now I want spaghetti), I'll see what I can do with that!

Thanks for the hint Mr. Robert, I'll take it in account!

Ron, you're right - I was being impatient. My 6 footer is quite light so the action is faster. Rachel's whip is a 9 footer so the action is automatically more gracefuk.

Awesome videos Mr. Torpström !!!


Great job on your whipcracking !!!
I've noticed that you're moving the handle on your circus crack to the 10 o'clock position instead of the 12 o'clock position. Also sometimes you've been moving your shoulder forward during the underhand crack (a little "turn" of your upper body) - especialy when you did that crack with your right hand.

I like your techinque of relaxing your arms and shoulders by shaking them - I'll try that on my practice today !!!


Robby, thank you very much for your psychological advice !!!


Ron, I hope that you'll be feeling better soon !!!


All the best
Ben

Thanks Ben! I also noticed my hand didn't lift all the way up. The turning of the hip and upper body is the movement I'm talking about minimizing, but I'll give that on some extra attention.

I had a good 20 minute session today. I did all three cracks again. I had a bit of an epiphany on the underhand crack - that I used to use my wrist a bit too much to flick it: really all the movement can come from the big muscle groups and the stopping of the hand is what makes the loop form and whip crack. I really gave attention to be relaxed and most of the cracks were soft "puffs". I realized that it's more important to have a relaxed and proper form rather than force the whip to make a loud crack: that's easy. What's hard is to make a loud crack with a proper, relaxed technique!

I also gave my left hand some more work today. I was even thinking of doing a left hand day entirely.
I noticed on the sidearm crack that on the right side I used only my arm to pull the whip back to start the crack, but on the left side I rotated my whole body which took the whip behind me resulting in a nice snap on the face from behind!
At this point I focused on getting one soft puff and ended the left side session. Altogether I payed attention to end all different practices on a good note!

Erik Torpström wrote:...really all the movement can come from the big muscle groups and the stopping of the hand is what makes the loop form and whip crack.

Absolutely spot on, Erik! And with good form, the loud cracks wil;l; become entirely natural - if you want them!

Indeed, Mr. Robert! I noticed slight wear on my hand and wrist every time I cracked and then I remembered something I learned from professional drummer Mike Mangini (current drummer of the band Dream Theater and former world's fastest drummer, musics professor) who teaches using the big muscle groups rather than your wrists to move the drumstick and the wrist and fingers merely follow. It was mind blowing for me and it takes some unlearning but it makes many things in music and martial arts a lot more effortless!

You're welcome Mr. Torpström and thank you !!!
I've tryed your "relaxation technique" on todays practice and it works for me !!!


My practice today has been good - I've focused on the technique instead of the crack again and fealt a lot more control over the whole action. I did't get the whip to crack a lot during my practice but it fealt good to know that I'm on the right track to overcome my biggest whipcracking problems - using to much speed, to much force and doing unnecessary movements with my body.


All the best
Ben

Erik and Ben, I am so happy to hear about your progress in the positive direction.
With my energy level low I did two 5 min. sessions to total 10 min.
One thing is that being on reserve energy has done wonders for slowing down my throw and pausing in between them.
Erik, I too tried the relaxation technique that you mentioned and the main thing is that if you stop after the throw and "shake it out" then do the next one, it clears you mind from any negative feedback you might have from a poor throw. It automatically creates a pause and a calmer frame of mind. Thank you for sharing that.

Ron

Wow, what a a good time I had practicing the RHC tonight. Robby's video reminder on youtube helped me remember about skipping the stone (which he included in his original course, so indeed, I was duly shamed), and I had some nice subsonic cracks and then some loud gunshot ones! Using a bit more force did yield some louder cracks I found, but that wasn't the point. The breakthrough came for me when I stopped trying so hard.

The whip wants to crack. Let it do the work. Just put it in motion. A lot of the cracks I had came with very little effort at all. Again, I could feel the loop just going down the thong and reporting, and it was a very satisfying feeling because it didn't feel forced, it just felt natural.

I think this is helping me realize that probably my main obstacle with the UC but just in general is that I've been trying to break it down into steps and motions. Too mechanical, and not flowing enough. Granted, this is because I'm learning still and haven't developed those instincts, and certainly haven't developed a fluent and graceful yet, but it seems the main thing is to not try to hard to make everything perfect. For instance, I kept my grip looser on the handle and let the whip just move naturally with the momentum rather than try to hold it with a death grip and make it do what I wanted it to do, by God. I found that the whip has a spirit of its own and knows what it's doing if you just put it in place.

Tristan, that is indeed good news.
Every thing you have learned today can be applied to every single crack in the future.
Well done.
I can hear the smile in your tone and that's the way it should be.

Ron