Gimme Your Opinion: Best "Learn to Crack" DVDs?

[Mannie Bothans]

I have just ordered the Murphy "Fundamental Whipcracking Techniques," "No Bull Whipcracking," and "Dueling Whips" DVDs, (and even the "John Brady: Australia's Greatest Whip Artist" DVD,) but NONE of these DVDs have arrived yet.

Has anyone here seen the "Beginners Whipcracking and Whip Maintenance" and "Two-Handed Whipcracking: Level 1" DVDs? I just stumbled onto http://www.whipmaker.com.au/Content_Whipcracking.htm

Before you comment, let me tell you where I am...

I do not yet own a whip, but my very first real whip should arrive at the end of this month or the beginning of next month-- and 8ft Indy-style bullwhip.

I have watched the De Longis "Whip-Cracking With The Masters" DVD and the Alex Green "Whip Cracking Made Easy" 1 and 2. I have watched a lot of YouTube videos, too. I have also watched Allen's "The Art of the Bullwhip" DVD.

I have had one (introductory) how-to-crack-a-whip lesson in person with Gery Deer, and one (introductory) how-to-crack-a-whip lesson in person with Lauren Wickline and Paul Nolan.

I think I understand how to do a cattleman's crack, a reverse of that, a slow figure eight, and an overhead crack. (When I do these, I can get a crack-- but they are sloppy, way out of plane, poor timing, and I hit myself alot.) If I practice some more, I think I will understand the sidearm flick and the volley. I have never attempted the coachman's crack, any kind of cutback, any two-handed stuff, or hardly any combinations at all.

I am looking for a resource that will help me refine my skills and learn how to combine the basic cracks into more impressive combinations.

I would say that "The Art of the Bullwhip" was a waste of money, but it was free. I found the DeLongis "Whip-Cracking With The Masters" DVD to be very helpful-- but after watching it, I found the "Whip Cracking Made Easy" volume 1 to be almost a waste of money (because it was redundant, covering what I'd already seen DeLongis do).

Also, would there be anything in Murphy's "Whip Maintenance and Repair" DVD that I couldn't glean elsewhere?

Again, I am still waiting for the Murphy "Fundamental Whipcracking Techniques," "Dueling Whips," and "No Bull" DVDs to arrive, but after watching these DVDs (and Whip-Cracking With The Masters, etc.) is there anything in "Beginners Whipcracking and Whip Maintenance" or "Two-Handed Whipcracking" that would make it worth my while to invest in these, too?

[jedidentist]

You just need to practice. There are a lot of people out there in life that prepare, prepare, prepare...but never do. Take my mom, for instance, she's taken like 3 classes on how to use MS Word and Excel...and never uses them. You learn by doing, so quit worrying about reading and watching and just get your whip and start cracking!

[Mannie Bothans]

Check out http://www.thewhipstudio.com/ . Owned and operated by our very own GeryDeer. He would be my first point of contact.

Thanks. His rates are reasonable for in-person instruction, and he's less than 3 hours from me. BTW he will have his own DVD out very soon.

You learn by doing, so quit worrying about reading and watching and just get your whip and start cracking!

Oh, I will... just as soon as I get a whip. I'm just looking for something to study while I wait. Watching DeLongis was a great help before actually meeting with Gery Deer, Lauren Wickline, and Paul Nolan in person.

[JMObi]

I'd be interested to know what everyone recommends as well.

No one out there seems to produce a DVD that exclusively concentrates on the Indy whip - that is excluding HF himself, who as I understand it has 3, soon to be 4, excellent DVDs available It is interesting that all the available DVDs seem to have only longer handled bullwhips and stockwhips being demonstrated.

[BullWhipBorton]

Working with the "Ohio" Gang, you’re off to a good start.

All the videos you mentioned are worth adding to your library of knowledge though, Especially if your serious about becoming a skilled, well rounded whip handler. They are all full of great Information and techniques even though no single one really has it all and they all have their pros and cons.

The Art of the Bullwhip and The John Brady Videos aren’t really teaching videos per say, they are more for entertainment. Not that you won’t learn a lot by watching them though, John Brady is a whip cracking legend for a reason.

Whip Cracking made easy 1 & 2 are good for someone who has never picked up a whip before and wants to learn to crack one with relative safety, and doesn’t have anyone to help them. It will help them start to learn those basic foundation skills fairly easily and put together some simple combinations and show you what to do with effective results. The second one has some good stuff on working targeting skills as well.

If you liked the DeLongis "Whip-Cracking With The Masters" DVD, I’d also recommend His Mastering the Bullwhip Vol. 1 and 2 DVD. The Whip Cracking With The Masters is good, but its more of a quick introductory course, where as MTB 1 & 2 gos into much more detail with his techniques and style. It explains why he does the things he does and in my opinion I think you’ll get more out of them. Anthony does things a little differently then most as you’ve probably noticed already, but it’s a really great style and system to learn and he is very precise and straightforward walking you though everything you need to know. This is also what he taught Harrison Ford to do for the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, even though it wasn’t really utilized in the film itself.

I think that Mike Murphys "Fundamental Whipcracking Techniques" is a must, but I also I think the title is a little deceptive. This one goes a bit beyond fundamental American style whip cracking techniques and really dives right into the Australian style of working dual handed routines. Alot of it is also done with stock whips too and the techniques he focus on aren’t really ideal for short handled Indy style bullwhips. For a beginner (and even some who have been doing this a while too) it can be a bit intimidating because some of those combinations he starts to get into can look a bit daunting the first few times you see them. To be honest a lot of this stuff is going to be way beyond your current skill levels, but it's good to see and if you take it slow, break it down and practice the techniques you will learn a lot from it. This stuff really leaves the Alex Green’s Whip cracking made easy DVDs in the dust though, but you really must master those basic skills before you can move on to any of the more advance material.

"No Bull whipcracking pretty much picks up where fundamentals left off going into much more complex and difficult routines, complete with Australian flys . Dueling Whips showcases some great whip cracking by some of the best Australian Sport crackers in the last 10 years, but its more a overview of how the Australians run there competitions, showing off skills rather then a how to DVD.

Murphy's "Whip Maintenance and Repair" DVD is just that, there is only a few segments of whip cracking in it and its nothing overly spectacular. With that said I really think this DVD is a must for anyone who owns a high quality whip and wants to be able to take optimal care of it. Sure You can get a lot of that same information form Me, Paul N, and else were online, but It's one thing to read about it, or to watch short youtube videos, it's another to be able to see it in a high quality convenient DVD where every thing is spelled out very clearly for you.

Regarding Simon Martin's "Beginners Whipcracking and Whip Maintenance" and "Two-Handed Whipcracking: Level 1" DVDs they are great, I really like them and would recommend them but again much of what Simon is showing especially in his Two handed DVD are going way beyond what many American whip handlers are used to seeing or are capable of especially as they are just starting out, and again much of it is done with Stockwhips.

I think that all of these DVDs are worth getting and seeing though (as well as a few others that haven’t been mentioned yet). The more information you can get and the more knowledge you can absorb by watching them and by practicing the techniques in them and the more people you can learn from the better off you will be as a whip handler. You are going to get far better results by watching these videos and having them on hand as you practice then you ever will just taking a whip out and trying to crack it with out any guidance. These are going to show you tried and true methods and for the most part they work and they will they help strengthen your foundation knowledge and build on that as well as help you avoid picking up those bad habits that are so easily develop while teaching yourself. Sometimes their methods will conflict, sometimes they mesh together perfectly, but learn all you can, take it in and add it to your range of skills. There is a wealth of information in these and belive me It can be a lot to process, It will take months and years of practice to get to the levels presented in these videos so I probably wouldn’t recommend sitting down and watching them all in one night . Hope that helps.

Dan

[Mannie Bothans]

Thanks for the insightful comments and reviews! I wish these were available in my local library, but since the libraries in my town don't do inter-library loans with DVDs (or VHS tapes) I will be adding these to my own personal library. I do wish I had higher-res copies of the Winrich and Midwestwhips YouTube videos.

I think that all of these DVDs are worth getting and seeing though (as well as a few others that haven’t been mentioned yet).

Are there any that have not been mentioned that you would definately recommend?

[BullWhipBorton]

A few others I could suggest are Bernie Wojcicki's Whip cracking basics DVD www.em-brand-whips.com It's very straight forward and easy to follow.

Also the WhipMan, Peter Jack www.thewhipman.co.nl out of New Zealand has his Ways of Whips DVD Part I & II. They are not too bad at all.

Another one of my favorites, though a bit hard to find now was whip maker Paul Stenhouse, Whip cracking and maintenance video. I thought this was an excellent beginner to intermediate level training DVD especially well suited for Indy fans as it focused quite a bit on the Indiana Jones style bullwhips that Paul used to make. It also included a good bit of how to information on whip well maintenance. I hope he starts selling them again in the near future (hint hint Paul).

I actually wouldn’t mind having higher-resolution, downloadable copies of Adam Wimrich and Midwest whip’s YouTube videos either, they really are great learning tools and I think they both did a commendable job putting them together and making them so readily available.

Dan

[Mannie Bothans]

Thanks a million.

A few others I could suggest are Bernie Wojcicki's Whip cracking basics DVD www.em-brand-whips.com It's very straight forward and easy to follow.

Also the WhipMan, Peter Jack www.thewhipman.co.nl out of New Zealand has his Ways of Whips DVD Part I & II. They are not too bad at all.

Another one of my favorites, though a bit hard to find now was whip maker Paul Stenhouse, Whip cracking and maintenance video. I thought this was an excellent beginner to intermediate level training DVD especially well suited for Indy fans as it focused quite a bit on the Indiana Jones style bullwhips that Paul used to make. It also included a good bit of how to information on whip well maintenance. I hope he starts selling them again in the near future (hint hint Paul).

I actually wouldn’t mind having higher-resolution, downloadable copies of Adam Wimrich and Midwest whip’s YouTube videos either, they really are great learning tools and I think they both did a commendable job putting them together and making them so readily available.

Dan

[Castor Dioscuri]

You just need to practice. There are a lot of people out there in life that prepare, prepare, prepare...but never do. Take my mom, for instance, she's taken like 3 classes on how to use MS Word and Excel...and never uses them. You learn by doing, so quit worrying about reading and watching and just get your whip and start cracking!

Practice makes perfect, true, but having a point of reference helps speed up the process alot! If it wasn't for the good folks here at CoW, I'd probably have a broken whip by now!