Where to throw?

[Canuck Digger]

I know this has been talked about in the past, but I was wondering if anyone had something to add here.

The past few years have proven difficult in finding a good practice space. Parks and such always attract the cops, who I must admit, react to a legitimate concern, especially if all one knows about it is the sound, which does sound like a firearm. Usually, it ends up in me being politely chassed out of the park, with a tacit understanding to never return with my whips.

When I was a kid praticing in our backyard, it was so easy; all the neighbours thought I was an annoying and weird kid with a noisy whip and sort of turned their TVs up while I threw the whip around. Nobody ever called the cops, because they all knew me and didn't want to start a war with my parents, and I respected that leniency by not cracking the whip too early or too late in the day, nor for too long. It worked out.

But now I live in the city (as opposed to suburnbia) and I find it a real pain in the ### trying to find a spot where folks will leave me be. People here are pretty laid-back to begin with, but I think the sight of a whip stirs strange reactions in people... Not to mention the gun-like sound that freaks mothers out. I even brought the whips I'd made during the winter over to the studio with me to test-crack during my lunch hour, and the security guard came out investigating. Now, to be fair he wasn't all steaming mad or anything, but I was reminded of how people react to whips and ellected to put them away before he called the producers of the film I'm on and got me fired from the show.

Any advice?

Franco

[Gary2880]

Same problem here. It wasn't so bad during the winter as i would actually do it at night after work on the edge of a near by golf course, with the cars headlights pointed towards me so i could see what i was doing. now the summer is rolling in and lighter evenings the golf course is filled with golfers! very thoughtless of them. One of my friends is senior techie at a local theater and would sometimes let me pratice on the stage of an evening when everyone else is gone but such occasions are few and far between. I can't bring myself to practice out in a public park, pitch or garden as you see people doing on youtube. don't have the balls for it! I told myself once i master it a bit i may do but not at the point when i am regularly taking my head off trying to do a forward throw.

At least in america people may be used to sounds of gunfire or people using whips occasionally. in scotland its rather a foreign sound, when i first got a proper crack i thought "jeez this is going to attract a bit of unwanted attention!"

[Canuck Digger]

Well I gotta tell you, the sound of gunfire isn't all that common in Montreal either mate, hence my problem. If I were in the country it wouldn't be an issue as farmers will use guns to shoot vermin from time to time, if not to go out hunting, so it might raise an eyebrow, but that's about it. I looked for a school gym in which I might practice, but then I thought "Would a school principal really want some stranger with a bullwhip having a go at it in the place where children go to study, and thought better of asking. My only hope is to be able to gather 'round a large group to do it with. I figure the stigma might be somewhat lessened if it wasn't a lone individual, but as a group activity... Well I can always hope.

Franco

[hollywood1340]

For me public parks and my own front and back yards do just fine. I'm a very firm believer in our right to do something legal. Which for most of us, cracking a whip in a public place is. I'm not affraid to polielty challenge an authority figure if I know for a fact I'm in the right. And in my state at least, I am. On the other hand if asked to move, I don't have a problem with that either. But I guess I'm loud and I'm proud and the whip is here to stay.

[winrichwhips]

Now that I'm in the LA area for a few more weeks, I got a gym membership and I practice in the aerobics room when classes aren't going on. I also put extra heavy crackers on my whips so the whip crack becomes a half thud/half crack. Most of these rooms have mirrors, and cracking in front of mirrors can really help develop your technique.

-Adam

[BullWhipBorton]

If your own yard or a local park is out of the question for you, Gyms and rehearsal studios are good options. Even some martial arts studios can be accommodating. You may have to pay a membership or a usage fee but most have plenty of room to work, smooth polished floors and mirrored walls which like Adam stated really do help in refining your technique. Also check out look into Indoor racquetball courts as they are often well suited to whip cracking and are sound proofed.

Dan

[stealthboy]

So in the living room is right out? Dang.

[rjallen70]

Here in florida a whip is not classified as a weapon, but an agricultural tool. Depending on you state, county, country etc your mileage may vary.
I was only harassed by the cops once (weapon). The next time I returned to the park I had the necessary statute in hand.
No problems since.
Ron

[hollywood1340]

^+1

[Mulceber]

Here in florida a whip is not classified as a weapon, but an agricultural tool. Depending on you state, county, country etc your mileage may vary.
I was only harassed by the cops once (weapon). The next time I returned to the park I had the necessary statute in hand.
No problems since.
Ron

I agree with rjallen. In most states it seems that whips are classified as agricultural tools. Check out the state and local laws. If it's classified as an ag tool like it is in Florida, then simply tell the cops that when they arrive - you'll be especially convincing if you can state precisely where in the books a whip is classified. :junior: -M

[Shtick]

Well, I don't think the question is how the whip is classified, but rather what the intention is. If you walk into a bank with a baseball bat and a ski mask and say "Relax, they're just sporting goods", I doubt they'd be too friendly.

The cops need to be convinced that you are not a threat or a nuisance. That is the real issue here.

[Sergei]

In my experience, there are not that many places in the US that ban the use of bullwhips outdoors. When an officer drops by to see me whipcracking I make sure my attitude is parked. I am polite and courteous. When the conversation switches to the whip, I politely state that the whips in general are classified as "agricultural" tools and not weapons. I carry a few business cards around that show my professional affiliation with the WWAC (Wild West Arts Club), APWA (Australian Plaiters and Whipcracking Assoc). In general, they leave me alone. But I avoid crowded parks and tend to go to less frequented areas like industrial parks over the weekend or corners of soccer fields. Kids, dogs, horses are usually bad combinations when whipcracking, so just use your common sense.

However, to be on the safeside, call the local sheriff's office and double check if there is anything in the books that prevents you from whipcracking. But again, play up being poite, friendly, throw the "agricultural tool" and not a weapon line on them and if they ask you to move along, then do so.

-Sergei

[Lightning]

I haven't had any trouble in Austin so far, but then, I don't actually practice that much. Plus I can use my back yard, which is just barely big enough. I didn't have any luck with an online search for local whip laws. I seriously doubt it's ever come up, I suppose if I ever increase my activity I ought to call to make sure. This is Texas however, so I'm assuming I'm safely covered by state law. Of course, I couldn't find any relevant state rules online either.

[Canuck Digger]

Yes I understand that a whip is technically an agricultural tool and much like, oh just about anything, unless used as a weapon, cannot be classified as such.

But the gist of what I'm saying is basically that part of the fun of cracking a whip is, well the crack right? If throwing a whip didn't produce a crack, I'm not sure how many of us would be here having this conversation. So beyond demonstrating harmless intentions to John-Q Law, noise is the real issue, and that can't be completely elliminated, nor would I particularly want to. I'm a reasonable guy and I don't look for trouble, but if a police officer comes over and tells you, nicely or otherwise to stop because you are annoying the folks in the area, then weapon or not, he has the right to stop you, and I for one tend to keep as much of a distance between the police and myself... So I'm forced to stop and go look for another place to practice.

Funnilly enough the place I've had no trouble at is a big park where every sunday during the summer, hundreds of people gather to throw frisbees, play tam-tams, dance and basically enjoy the sun. There are tons of people there, and we go to a spot that is wide open and out of the way and crack away. This is on the side of a hill and at the bottom there's a busy boulevard and I once saw a police cruiser at the bottom of the hill turn in the opposite direction after I'd cracked the whips a bit, and go off in the direction of the ECHO!!!! I laughed myself silly on that one! LOL!

Thanks for all the input guys )

Franco

[louiefoxx]

Franco,

In the USA we have a sweet thing going with our first amendment that protects things like **** and whipcracking.

I know of a busker in Seattle that sues the city every year or so over things like making him stop performing in public parks and wins...EVERY YEAR!! In my opinion I think he makes his living sueing the city, not performing.

It turns out that his attorney is a childhood friend of my dads, so I'm not too worried about anyone telling me I can't crack my whip. They may be able to tell me once and I'll stop...but then the attorney's get to play.

Reading your cities noise laws will give you a good legal base to know what you can and can't do. In most cities since a whip isn't amplified like a "boom box" radio you are in good shape to crack during the day.

xoxo

Louie
P.S. don't take any legal advice from my post, I'm not an attorney and barely literate enough to type this post.

[Canuck Digger]

Hehehe funny Louie )

Again, it isn't so much the LAW per se that is the real issue here, it's the PERCEPTION by the police on the scene. You can be ENTIRELY within the law and indeed pose neither threat or perception thereof, but if a cop DECIDES that you are making his/her day a bit more of a pain, then my experience has shown me that argueing/explaining your point, however legally or politely, means squat when faced with a Glock... I guess it's off to the local rental spaces...

[rjallen70]

Canuck Digger is right...
legal or not, if the cops want to run you in they will.
You can beat the time...but not the ride.
Be polite at all times.
Ron

[PyramidBlaster]

Yes. Even though in many places the whip is not considered a weapon, they can run you in if you continue to 'disturb the peace' or refuse to leave a location such as a park where you have been asked to leave (since you would now be 'trespassing'!)...

So best policy is know the laws, check the 'tude, and try to find a nice, unobtrusive place to practice! The middle of a public park filled with Sunday picnickers ain't the place to start...

I'm just totally lucky i'm out in the suburbs, have tolerant neighbors, AND am 50 miles from a Whip Enthusiasts group...Not to mention I live in Florida, known for its stockwhips(and fringe elements)...So people are a little less uptight down here...

Common sense is always the best policy...

[Magno]

I've never had a problem cracking in my back or front yards, other than that one time I caught a mean comment from the guy who lives behind me. But he's a total jack#$$ anyway so I didn't take it to heart.

Doing it in parks; here's a bit of a trick. I've gone to the park with some of my swords before, and I find that presenting yourself as more of a relaxing action (Tai Chi) really works well. If I were to go to the park and start hacking upa tree with my sword, people would inquire, but if I stand in the middle of the field, using controlled movements and regulating my breathing, they just figure "ah, he's doing some sort of martial arts. Cool", and then continue.
Same for the whip. In short, make it look like you know what you're doing

I live somewhat near a really big park...I think it's a square mile altogether. I could find a really sweet spot there if I wanted to, but before doing so I need some help finding out local regulations on whips. Where should I look?

[Magno]

Nothin huh?

[louiefoxx]

Your local library has a stack of notebooks with all your city's/county's law's in it. You can also call you local city council or police department and ask if there is specifically a law against it.

Many cities have their local laws online, which is much easier to search than an notebook at the library.

I used to check into the laws when I would be traveling into a new area, but I've never encountered one that specifically prohibited a whip and eventually I quick checking. There are noise ordinances, but usually those don't kick in until dark.

xoxo

Louie

http://bullwhips.org

[Canuck Digger]

Magno,
I'm not a lawyer so this is just top of my head. I guess the first thing is try to find out if there are any regulations in your city about weapons etc (I doubt there will be any specific mention of whips per se), then if that comes out clean (meaning nothing that could be construed as being relevant to the use of whips in a public place), then I'd move on to a wider search like state/province-wide regulations. How and where you go to find this out, I don't know. You could try simply asking the cops, but I wouldn't count on them knowing the law inside out... and you might just tick them off to you being a potential problem... I don't know, it's dicey. On the one hand, I think any officer would understand your intentions are not to harm anyone and from that point of view, I doubt you would get any flack from them. On the other hand, they are obliged to investigate any complaints, which a continuous and persistently loud cracking of a whip is, and in this light, might constitute a public nuisance. Long and the short of it is, try to know your rights, but understand that if you start bothering people with the noise, they may shut you down...

[bluzharp]

Learn your local laws/statutes; Decibel levels, Disturbing the Peace, etc. I don't like attracting attention to myself, whether it's in my backyard, or in a public park. I have thrown my whip in those places, as well as "supposedly" remote places, and 8 times out of 10, attracted the attention of a "Law Enforcement Official."

There are many places in Nevada where you can crack a whip, but it's all rocks/desert which can easily damage the fine roo whip that I own.

I wish I could offer better advice. But in my situation, I've learned that unless you're willing to constantly butt heads with the local police department, the least you can do is be armed with knowledge of the law.

[Dalexs]

It's also not a bad idea and just stop by the local police station and ask.
At the very least you'll give them an idea what you're up to when they get the call!

I have also had great luck cracking way out on the back 9 of our local publci golf course.

The course it self is secluded and passer bys are infrequent.

[Magno]

Okay, thanks guys. I think I'll try the library first.