Just HOW do you do a sidearm crack?!? Hopefully a tutorial..

[Castor Dioscuri]

Ok, I have the forward crack down pat. I even am confident with the overhead crack. And the Cairo Flash is easy. I even figured out how to do repeating forward cracks by incorporating semi-overhead swings in there...

But how do you do the darn sidearm crack?

Each time I try, something bad happens. Either I whip myself in the face, or I whip myself in the back, or I whip myself in the arm, or I end up with a painful body wrap, which whips just about everything... I've gone over Youtube videos (not much help since they are mostly far-away shots), read tutorials (bullwhip-info.org), and even just said "whatever, let's do this..." Yet nothing works.

Help!

[McFly]

How are you doing it? The way I do it is, I start out holding the whip at the height I want it to crack at - this way I don't have to raise the whip AND crack it. The butt of the whip points out, and you move your arm forward smoothly in a straight line (not curving out), and once your arm is fully extended, you point your wrist forward, letting the whip roll out and crack.

This crack took me a LONG time to figure out, and my problem was that I had the whip hanging down by my arm and I wanted to crack it at mid-torso level, so I was raising the whip AND moving it forward, which didn't work.

Shane

[Mannie Bothans]

how do you do the darn sidearm crack?

Not very well, and not very often.

Try a few things the pros taught me.

Lay the whip down on the grass and make it do the hairpin while it is on the ground, even in slower motion-- that way you can experiment with different ways of flicking it around to try to make it pop.

Try running with the whip trailing behind you before you flick it. That is an easy way to make sure it lines up straight beside you (and behind you) before you start, plus it gives you a little momentum when flipping it out there.

Try pointing the butt of the handle exactly where you want the whip to crack while you drag it forward and after you sidearm it out there, flick it around so that the butt points backward behind you. If your hands are large enough (mine aren't) you can use your index finger to help you pivot and (really push) the whip around at the time it is supposed to flick.

The key to not hitting yourself is to line it up behind and beside you (think of those invisible railroad tracks that you want to keep the whip outside). Make sure the whip is straight when it is behind you before you start. Drag it, push it, snap it. And when you follow through, pull the whip around your body, don't let it snap back and hit you.

I can't believe I am trying to give advice here when I can't even do this one consistently myself, but these things helped me.

[Indiana G]

that one is fun for lashing yourself across the back and the calves

its tricky in the fact that you need to get the whip in flight prior to throwing it for the crack. if you just throw it while the whip is still on the ground, you'll get that SA TOD shirt happening on your back

for me it's like using first gear to get the whip up and in the air then switch it to second gear for the throw. i don't know if that makes sense but thats how i managed to pull off the side crack and forward crack without lashing myself.....which i still do sometimes....for old times sake

[Castor Dioscuri]

Well, in the past, I tried holding the whip motionless, pointing at 3 o'clock, and swing it counterclockwise. Not very sucessful. I've tried pointing it between 4 and 5 o'clock, and still the same results. Not once did I think of getting it in first gear (to quote G) before swinging, for fear that it would cause much more pain than what a jumpstart swing would cause.

I do appreciate the help McFly, but I am having some trouble understanding your advice. When you say the butt of the whip points out, do you mean that it points in front of me, which would mean I would be holding it in a "half-shrug" kind of way?

I'll have to practice Mannie's borrowed advice as well, and do the snake-in-the-grass thing with the whip. Never thought of that before, and I can see how it would at least help with understanding the mechanics of the pop!

And G, if I do get decapitated trying the gear-shift advice, you'll make the proper funeral arrangements, eh?

[McFly]

Hey! Yes, I mean in front of you. The butt of the whip will face the same way you're facing, so that the handle is parallel to your body, and so that when you flick your wrist at the end, the handle will rotate 180*, if that makes sense.

Once you get the grip down, I find that the most important thing is to keep the handle at the same height throughout the crack, so that you're not fighting gravity to lift the whip AND push it forward. Also, you don't want to crack it directly in front of you, but rather, if you imagine your feet standing on railroad tracks, with your feet shoulder width apart, and your arm just outside the tracks when you start, the whip will crack just outside the tracks.

Shane

[Indiana G]

And G, if I do get decapitated trying the gear-shift advice, you'll make the proper funeral arrangements, eh?

that'd be the least i can do for you sir.....so if your head hits the ground before the fall of your whip.....the whip you've got......can i have it?

good luck with the crack my friend....there's only 3 important things to remember in whipcraft:

1. practice
2. practice
3. practice

cheers,



g

[McFly]

Don't forget to practice, too.

The 3 ones I learned were, "Keep it simple, keep it specific, practice."

Good luck out there, and be sure to let us know how things are going!

Shane

[raider 57]

Just jumping in here.
Thanks All, I tried the sidearm today for the first time and after awhile got a few good cracks using all your detailed advice.
I'm no expert, but one thing I noticed--- a slow light wrist motion worked the best for me. Lighter the better really. If I tried to go fast or snap the whip strongly I either hit myself or didn't get the crack.
-raider 57

[Solent MKIII]

Ditto on raider 57's advice - a slow, light wrist motion. I start with the whip parallel
and behind me, keeping the handle horizontal to the ground. I then lightly throw
the whip in a wide, low movement ( still keeping the handle at about waist height )
When my hand reaches the three o'clock position, I pause for a split second, then
push forward with my wrist to crack the whip, then finish by pulling the whip around
and behind me, ready for the next flick.

That's about the best I can explain it. It may not be technically correct but it works for
me - and I get a nice crack out of the whip nearly every time! :junior: