Whip Basics. The Forum

Here's today's practice with the forward crack for day #1 10/22/2016.
I watched the video several times and from what I see from mine I need to watch it a lot more.
I am using way too much muscle but it's a start.
Yes, those are my pajama pants. I am ready for bed when ever the mood strikes me.
This cold is still kicking my ass, but I am not giving up.

https://youtu.be/BSDEdxbzlxU

Ron

@Eric: I try to find time to crack every day but it sometimes doesn't happen. If I miss a day, I just make up for it by doing a 20 minute session the next day.

Last night for instance I didn't have time to practice.I am a little curious though in that I don't see a big difference in technique between the CC and the FC that we are now starting on.

Tristan, as I see the difference the thong is thrown forward to crack at eye level in stead of more of a downward motion to crack at belt level.
In stead of throwing the "ball" or "spear" down into the ground you throw it at a more forward target in front of you.

I hope that makes sense.

Ron

Also the forward crack is started from front of you like the horizontal crack. To me these two are more similar.

Ron, I think you're off to a good start! Pajamas or not, it's your own yard!

I had a nice session just now. No video though: it was already dark when I got home. I'll take the time tomorrow to film.

I'm still doing all the cracks at least in the beginning. I was surprised how hard the forward crack was for me at first so I tried to focus on that the most. I also did some left hand practice but just as much as I felt comfortable with: just some CC's and UHC's.

I noticed I was a bit afraid of hitting myself in the head so that's why it felt so difficult - my body was reluctant to do it the proper way. I think with the forward and sidearm crack it's extra important to have some kind of eye protection - at least it would've made me more comfortable.

Anyway at first I did it too high up and finally from right next to the face - the best results were somewhere in between where the whip made a nice vertical "slashing" motion while cracking.

Overall I noticed I was more patient in taking little breaks between cracks - I did my practice on this fake-grass-turf-stuff nearby so it was partially because my feet weren't freezing. On this surface I noticed the whip getting stuck under my feet more often than not and this nearly pissed me off but I took it as a mental practice : D
It was a nice 20 min session and I ended it in a high note so I'm looking forward for tomorrow for some more crackin'!

Erik, I have never tried cracking on the artificial grass but I'll bet it does have a tendency to snag the fall or fall knot some, being less forgiving.
Excellent job in finding the importance in wearing eye protection. Sometimes I will take a towel and wrap it around my neck for protection in that area as well as a wide brimmed hat to help ward off misguided throws.

I really can't stress this enough...... SAFETY FIRST ! Always , if nothing else wear eye protection. It only takes one misplaced throw to take your eyesight from you and it happens faster than you can blink.

Ron

Yes, definitely having something to wear when you are learning! I've hit myself in the face a few times that have made me thankful for my glasses.

Well, now I wonder if I have been doing the FC the whole time I thought I was doing the CC? Because sometimes when I do the CC it does crack high up in the air. In fact I find this to be more comfortable. If the crack goes off near the ground I always worry about the impact the whip has against the ground.

Ron, your two videos of the frist and the last day of the RH crack show very good progress - congratulations Ron !!!
I'm sorry for beeing late on uploading my last day video of my RH crack practice !!!
I must admit that I have forgotten that the 21th of October has been the end of the RH crack on the 10/10 challenge.
Well there are "things" called calender where people can write down important dates - I apologize that I haven't written down the date of the 10/10 challenge in my calender before (I've just written down the date - I should have done that on the beginning of this challenge - sorry !!!) !!!
I'll upload my RH crack video tomorrow as well as my first forward crack video !!!
Your performance in your forward crack video from day one is very good in my opininon Ron !!!
My best recovery wishes !!!



Bob, I've tryed to use your advice for the UC - the results:
The results had been different depending on the the length of the whip that I've used. This says NOTHING about your advice since I'm not good at whipcracking !!!
On my heavier whips like on Mr. Partins donation whip (8 foot, long handle) your advice had worked out well for me !!!
On my shorter (and much lighter) whip's it didn't work for me as well - but again, this has nothing to do with your advice !!!



Erik, first of all thank you for offering me a non formal adressing !!!
It's good to hear that you've had a nice session !!!
I'm not good at doing the FC myself but what has helped me pesonaly in trems of the FC is to start the crack the same way I start the RH crack (starting with the thong in front - then pointing the handle to the 9 o'clock position and letting the thong follow that direction) and then doing the "sprear throwing motion" in slow motion by keepping in mind to lead the thong in a streight forward motion parallel to your body - adding speed and force in tiny little steps.



All the best
Ben

Ben, just do what you can in uploading videos and calendars and such.
The important thing and the main focus of this challenge is to practice, and practice daily.
You are doing that to the best that you can and I thank you for being apart of this exercise.

You are right about starting out slowly and incrementally adding energy until you reach the point where the crack or poof arrives as it should.... naturally.
I believe a natural movement will produce a crack much better, easier, and cleaner than a forced movement. Thank you for pointing that out.

Ron

Tristan it's a matter of where you want the crack to be. It might vary with what crack you are going to follow it with if you are doing a multi crack routine. Watch the videos that Robby has done and note where the crack occurs. That would be a better explanation than I can provide. I appreciate you bringing that up.

Ron

The practice yesterday was a nothing burger.
It did not progress like I was suspecting, but it did not digress either.
I was going to post this yesterday but took a nap and it turned out to be an off and on sleep cycle in stead.
I am hoping that today's practice will be better.

Ron

Here's my today's full session:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwdv1Jk-i8w

I'm still doing all the cracks to see if there's any progress but I concentrated mostly on the forward crack. I had little success in the beginning but then I realized I needed to give it a bit more body and do a little squat to give the whip the energy it needed. Looking back it seems I was powering a bit today, might be because of the raw cacao I had just before! Also on the forward crack I can see the whip wanders a bit too much going back - I'll be working on that.
I noticed that holding my free hand in front of me like that helps with the balance and "aim". I noticed it last time already but forgot to mention. I tried to be different and cool and have my hand on the side but the truth is it's easier with the other hand like that (and actually cooler ).

I had a nice time and ended it on a bright note again and this spot I found is just around the corner and I can practice in peace most of the time! It's not an ideal surface but at least it's flat and not wet and cold. The whip keeps getting under my feet but it was a bit rainy today so I kept off the grass. It's getting darker and darker all the time: this was filmed around 4-5pm and you can see it's already getting dark. It's 6pm now and it's nighttime dark already! That's Scandinavia for you.

Good going Erik.
It looks like a lot of your practice is paying off. It's starting to come together nicely.
Love the wrap at the end and the thumbs up. That was a productive practice.

Ron

Got 10 minutes in today. Some guys were out running their dogs in the field I was practicing in, which made me feel self-conscious but also I thought it would be good for me to get used to having people around as I practice.

I worked on the forward crack, but I also spent the 10 minutes with the other cracks, since the forward crack I don't think is that particularly difficult. I don't have it mastered of course, but I also think the other cracks could use some practice.

I seem to have lost the curve I was one with the RHC. I was getting it a lot, but now I just got swooshes. I think it's a matter of trying to hard, and forgetting what I've discovered.

Also with the UC, I am stopping my hand at my thigh now. I think I might have been waiting too long to stop and flick my wrist.

Excellent discovery with the UC.
The problem you had with the UC is the main reason that practice to not only learn cracks but maintain what we have learned.
Good job Tristan.

My practice today was very tiring and I had to break up the 10 min. into 2 x 5 min.
It's still quite difficult to be consistent but it's getting there.

Ron

Thank you Ron.

And yes, it's surprising that this can be quite a workout. I have a bit of a heavy whip, but even if I didn't I think I'd still be working up a sweat.

Thank you very much Ron !!!

Having no disgress on your practice while suffering from a cold is a huge progress in my opinion !!!


Erik, your new practice video looks great !!!
I'll try out holding my free hand in front of me in order to have a better aim and balance - thank you for pointing that out !!!


Tristan, whipcracking can be quiet a workout indeed - especialy when you're using a heavy whip (I can feel how my wrists are building up because of the 10/10 challenge which is great ) !!!


Yesterdays practice wasn't very good for me but it could have been worse. Here is a tiny video of my last 10/10 RH crack parctice:

http://vid1098.photobucket.com/albums/g ... wbpvjl.mp4

I've also shoot a video of my forward crack practice yesterday and I'll post it here soon.


All the best
Ben

Here is a short clip of yesterdays forward crack practice. I haven't wached it before and I was surprised to see that I've also been lifting up my free hand during the practice (I did visualize the spear throwing motion that Robby mentioned in the Whip Basics DVD but I didn't conciously lift up my free hand).

http://vid1098.photobucket.com/albums/g ... ipkjkz.mp4


All the best
Ben

Today I mostly did forward- and horizontal cracks. I felt like they needed most of the training.
I also made use of the soccer court lines on the ground so I pulled the whip back in a straight line.
Nothing grand, just grinding these basic cracks. Oh and I did do some starting from behind just to change the game a bit.

I'm kinda missing different whips so I'm looking forward finishing my current 6 footer! The two (in my opinion - the only decent) whips I have in my person right now are two very different whips but they're both 14 plait with a single belly: other a 9 foot cow whip and the other a 6 foot bullwhip. I'm missing a real heavy and/or long whip. I have a 11 footer planned but I have one more whip to do after the current one and before that one.
I do keep changing between these two whips and it gives the practice a different dimension: some things just are easier with the other whip and some with the other!

Erik, using different whips will also give you a good feel for what to adjust for the differences between them. It's always good to be versatile.
Keep up the good work.

I had to back off practice today. I just didn't have the energy beyond 5 or so crack tries.
I also didn't want to develop bad habits just because I was tired.

Ron

Not a bad practice session today. I re-watched the video sections by Robby on but the CC and the FC as well as some other tutorials I found on Ewetoob.

I have been making some basic mistakes. Firstly, I don't have the whip out in front of me. It took me like three viewings at least before I realized that. Now I have to go and try again, either tonight or tomorrow, to see if that helps me with my posture and technique.