Your worst crack/nightmare ever...

[Robby Amper]

I was thinking about what was my worst crack to learn. There were actually two of them. The Victorian Cutback - it made only some "flopp" sound for a long time and the combination opposite horizontal crack, turn 180 degree and into the horizontal. I thought, I'll never learn that. Never ever. Gave me headaches for a looooong time. But - one day - the knot opened and, tataa, it worked. I remember so well. It was in winter. It was cold and snowy. I was practicing and had no hope at all. But from one moment to the other...success! I was so happy that I called my girlfriend to tell her. She was polite enough to say "Oh, I'm happy for you". I'm sure she thought I went some kind of crazy or something

Do you have your own story to tell? If so - come on, we're all curious, right?

Robby

[Stephane Normand]

The victorian cutback has been giving me some problems too. I've gotten a few cracks, but a lot of wooshing sounds mostly. I'm still trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing wrong.

Hasset's 4 corners has been an ongoing challenge for me as well. This one's a little different, as I know what I should be doing to get the cracks, it's just that I'm having a hard time getting my arms to do what I want them to. Not too sure if that makes any sense, but I think I just need to practice more and build some muscle memory for the proper motions.

It's soooooo frustrating, but like other things that are challenging it will be that much more satisfying when I finally do get them to work

[Guy Washburn]

OK you guys, I'm gonna reveal my ignorance LOL.....What the hell is a Victorian cutback. My body is veeeery familiar with the Australian cutback, which IMO should be renamed "Australian cuts ya' wherever it wants to" :P
Regards, Guy

[Robby Amper]

Ah, come on... There's nothing ignorant. I - personally - think, that the Victorian Cutback (same for the Tasmanian Cutback...) is quite unnecessary. Again: My personal idea! But every now and then someone in a seminar comes to me and asks for these cracks. I always tell them that it's much better, and more important, to know and to practice the basics & basic combinations (which is already more than enough to learn! I'm still refining all these basics every day), but if they insist, well.

The Victorian Cutback is a crack in which you bring the whip up like on the Circus crack. Or Cattleman's crack. When you have the whip up - between 10 & 11 o'clock - you change the direction of your handle and throw it forward. Against the direction, the whip has. Something like a coachman's crack upside down

Did that make sense...?

Robby

[Robby Amper]

Sure. I've been in contact with her for some time. And I think, that she's a great teacher! If she wouldn't be so far away, I'm sure I could learn a lot from her.

Robby

[Guy Washburn]

Got it Robby, Thanks, and thanks for the vid Axel:) I totally agree with ya' Robby about the basics (Which I haven't come even close to grasping) I am always curious though of what is out there as are the boys. I am always wary of trying anything that I feel is out of my range, but the guys....not so much. In fact Cody has started practicing with the whip on the trampoline :O Like either one wasn't dangerous enough on it's own.......Ah, to be young Thanks for the info,Guy

[Robby Amper]

On a trampoline...??? Geez.

When people ask me if I'm a whip master, I always tell them, that I'm a teacher ground school up to third grade. That's it. The biggest mistake one can make is to lean back and think: "Now I'm ready. Now I mastered all and every technique". Bad idea. These days I had some really, really interesting conversations. Two of them are here in the Forum - Steph & Simon Martin. It was about combinations. For example: The breakaway... There are three to four different versions. The Queensland Flash - same thing. More different interpretations. I'm planning on some combinations (WB DVD), which I'd like to show in their primary versions. Steph & Simon were very helpful to me.

Steph is a very good whipcracker, too and Simon is simply an authority when it comes to whipcracking! What I want to say, is, you can practice years and years and years. And then - if you have what it takes to be a whip master - you realize that you're still at the beginning.

Disregarding all that... I think, that anyone who calls himself "Whip Master" makes a fool of himself. Well, my two Cent on that

Robby

[Guy Washburn]

I hear ya' Robby, I believe that ALL things in life are a constant learning process. I've been workin' the wood for as long as I can recall, and still learning new things @53. Like you said, if you sit back and say "well, thats it" you're sadly mistaken IMO . Wouldn't that be boring anyway?
My Dad always told me that "Practice does not make Perfect, it merely make you more proficient". These words echo with me whenever I start to fool myself. He also told me that my 2 cents won't buy much today
Guy

[Stephane Normand]

My Dad always told me that "Practice does not make Perfect, it merely make you more proficient". These words echo with me whenever I start to fool myself. He also told me that my 2 cents won't buy much today
Guy

I like these quotes a lot, I can see myself using the first one. It's couldn't be more well said.

[Guy Washburn]

Thanks Steph, Yeah, he always said that if folks would use these words as a Mantra they wouldn't sprain their arms while patting themselves on their backs Guy

[RichLash]

My cracking nightmare right now is the volley, I can get three cracks before wrapping the fall on my wrist, but with more practice I shall become more proficient (thanks, Guy, I'll remember that one).

The coachman's crack was my first worst crack and I have the scars on my arm to prove it (and show people why a whip should never be cracked on someone).

Rich

[Stephane Normand]

Rich--don't know if this will help much, but when doing the volley try to point the handle slightly away, instead of having travel in a completely vertical plane (I hope that makes sense). this should help keep the thong/fall away from your arm

[Diamond Whips]

I have been working on the "arrow head" and for the life of me I can't get the final crack.

[AAAlexander]

I haven't been cracking for too long. I was out this evening visiting my parents and sister. I showed them my second whip and was doing some overhead and forward cracks. Somehow, the fall got under my foot just before raising the whip for a powerful overhead. With everyone watching, the transition knot on the handle caught me square between the eyes.
I was good for a laugh, but I almost broke my glasses.

[Robby Amper]

I'm sorry to hear that. And I hope that you didn't hurt your eyes. I wear glasses myself, and I know how bad it is to break glasses. Especially when you don't have spare glasses... On the other hand - perhaps it protected your eyes, who knows. If all that is good for a laugh; well I personally doubt that. The most important on all that is, that you aren't hurt.

Robby