The 10/10 Challenge

[Ron May]

Erik, I can see some real improvement there.

It could be on the horizontal that you might be using too much muscle.
To me it's more rhythm than strength. I try use only the amount of energy needed to keep the whip horizontal and not let fall due to the pull of gravity. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for uploading your videos. That's one nice camera it seems. It captures it beautifully.

I will have to practice a little later this evening (afternoon) when the heat cools down some.

Ron

[Guest]

It's very possible I'm muscling it - I've done the "bloody turban" too many times doing the overhead crack when I've let the whip fall too low so I'm making sure there's enough momentum. I'll take your hint though and try to time it rather than powering it!

It's a nice camera but it's not exactly a video camera - enough for my needs though. It's basically a tiny DSLR with interchangeable lenses, a samsung nx300:



If someone's looking for a good camera with interchangeable lenses but doesn't want to put thousands of euros on it I recommend checking out these "mirrorles DSLR's".

There's a thing with taxes on video- and normal cameras so this can only take 29 minutes and 59 seconds of video at a time - otherwise it would be considered a video camera, but that's plenty enough for a single take for my use. And it does take awesome pictures for it's size!

[Ron May]

Erik, thanks for showing us.

Ron

[Ron May]

Here's my horizontal crack video for day #1
It's really windy out side at the moment and I was loosing sunlight and my phone kept getting blown over. I finally got it to stay for a while..... well until it fell over.
But the show must go on so I reset the camera and continued on.
Boy howdy do I have a lot of work to do with this one.

https://youtu.be/8GNk6Z1ISr8

Ron

[Bob Ouellette]

Erik, I noticed a few things about your forward crack. It looks like you're trying to do everything in line with your shoulder. By that, I mean that you bring your hand directly behind your shoulder, then throw forward and out to the side, and then finish in front of your shoulder. You might have some success if you try every part of the crack about 1 foot or 30 cm away from your body. Remember, you want the whip to travel in one plane at a time.

For your overhead crack, you might not be bringing the whip high enough over your head before bringing your hand forward to start the loop. Your crack appears to be in a horizontal plane tilted low in back and high in front. Try to get them a bit more even in terms of elevation. Otherwise it looks good!

Ron, you seem to be pointing the handle of your whip straight up. Try to keep the handle horizontal.

Unfortunately, this is not a crack I'm able to practice. I've tried a few times, but I always seem to hit all the walls of my hotel room. :
Instead, I've been practicing my forward and underhand cracks. I haven't had the energy to try filming myself after 12 hour work days. One day, maybe I will.

[Bob Ouellette]

Before I go to bed, I will share that one of my favorite simple crack combinations is a horizontal into an overhead.

[Ron May]

Thank you Bob for your observations.

Ron

[Bob Ouellette]

Sure thing, Ron. Since I'm under a space limitation, I'd like to participate by assisting until I get to a point where I can take video of myself.

[Ron May]

Bob, every bit of participation is greatly appreciated.

Ron

[Brandon "Sparky" Lam]

After attempting the horizontal crack with my left hand multiple times, including cracking a line from bicep to mid forearm, I've noticed that small things like wrist positioning that I do without thinking on the right arm I have to concentrate very hard on imitating with my left arm. This challenge is great for me, I'm learning so much about my non-dominant side!

[Tristan Foy]

I also had the notion for a while that the plane for the FC had to be right next to your body, which probably has a lot to do with why I keep hitting myself. So it's nice to see someone else actually say that you don't need to do this. Thank you, Bob. :-)

I didn't have a chance to practice the OC, as I'm going to call it for now. I was with a friend and showed her a couple of cracks, but I didn't have time to go through a whole ten-minute session, for fear of boring her. I think she liked the whip I was using, but looked nervous in general.

One of the next whips I'm planning on making is a short one, maybe a 3-footer, to help me work on my posture while watching in the mirror indoors.

[Robert Gage]

Ron, that's actually not bad - though it will get better. But at least you are not doing something I tend to do with this crack - which Robby pointed out to me in no uncertain terms: giving in to the instinct to duck! This instinct is based, I think, on fear of hitting oneself in the head; but by ducking, one greatly increases one's chances of doing so - because the arm with the whip will then come much closer to one's torso And the whip always does what you tell it to do, not what you want it to do!

[Guest]

Thanks for the pointers, Bob!

[Ron May]

Thank you Mr. Robert.

I do think I need to put the handle in a more horizontal position and less vertical at the top.

Ron

[Guest]

No practice for me today unfortunately. I was making a whip before evening work and thought I'd go now in the evening but turns out I really don't have the energy to face the elements tonight.

I'll make it up tomorrow when I have better time!

[Ron May]

Again, I will have to wait until the temps go down .
Erik, I can sure understand about the weather kind of being the go or no go about practicing.
I can't wait to hear about the progress you are making on tomorrows practice.

Ron

[Jessie Edwards]

The Bloody Turban. Robby taught me how to avoid that. When you bring your arm over your head, bring the whole arm over, so that your forehead is just below your elbow joint. The whole arm. The bloody turban is avoided AND you get that horizontal action that he demands in his video(s) AND you don't have to muscle through it.

[Guest]

Thanks a bunch Jessie! I've been very afraid of it : D I think Ron has a good rhythm to it. I'll take your advice and report tomorrow (technically today) after practice

[Ron May]

Today's practice was better for me in that I made a mental note to hold the handle a little more horizontal so that it was not pointing straight up like I did on the first day.
It worked out better except for a couple of times the thong brushed across my wrist forearm. When that happened I just adjusted the angle up a little no more wrist rash.... so far.

I also used the longer whip which is much heavier and promotes a slower and smoother throw. Swinging it with just enough velocity to keep it in the horizontal plane.

It was a good practice.

Ron

[Ben Varsek]

Thank you for your tip Ron !!!

Your horizontal crack video looks good - I like how you keep the thong on a horizontal plane !!!
One thing I've noticed is that you are using more speed and power after you've reversed the movement of the thong than on the initial "upward swing".
It's great to hear that you've had a good cracking session today !!!


Erik, thank you for sharing these videos !!!
Practicing during strong winds is always a challenge for me.


Thank you for your tips Bob !!!


Brandon,you're absolutley right - the position of the wrist is very important for this crack !!!
One mistake that I've done on this crack is that I keept my wrist on a little angle which resulted in an unwanted "body wrap" around my forearm.


Tristan, practicing in front of a mirror to work on your postures is a great idea but I wouldn't recommend a 3 footer for that - 3 footers are incredibly fast which makes it very difficult to develop a muscle memory for the right way of moving your whip in my poinion. There is also a chance of developing "bad habits" like using to much force on your cracks because of the fast action.


Thank you for your tips Robert !!!


Thank you very much for your advice Jessie !!!
I was once wearing a "Bloddy Turban" - never again !!!


Todays practice was fun - I mostly had been using my off hand since I need a lot more practice with it and I was happy with the small improvements I made during todays practice !!!


All the best
Ben