From falls & poppers to plaiting & cracking technique, this section is dedicated in memory of Sergei, IndyGear Staff Member and Whip Guru. Always remember to keep "Celebratin' Life!"
Well its official-the madness has taken hold. I have my third whip now, the EM Brand by Bernie WOjcicki won on ebay. A beautiful 10 footer. When it cam out of the box I was stunned at the beautiful rich color.
After marveling at the beauty of it I started unwrapping it and checking it out closely, and what do I find? The whip numbered with a manufactured date and a signature from Bernie engraved on the end. Number 2226 if my eyes read correctly-a nice touch if you ask me!
And for fun, I had the wife accompany me outside for the first crack with her oh my gosh complicated Nikon digital SLR. Here is the first crack, my current favorite, the overhead.
I am excited to tell you that the new 10 foot Wojcicki whip has brought enlightenment. First, I learned to do the cattlemans with it, a first as all previous attempts with the 14 footer proved it was too long for this crack. Second, the carriage or circus crack is now being done, again with the 10 footer. Right and left handed over head cracks, flicks and side arm all coming along as well with the 10 footer. Then today feeling gutsy and brash (I am sure you all know what I mean) I had the 14 footer out and threw everything I could into a cattlemans crack with it-result a nice crack! You really have to put a lot of power on the upswing to get that thing to lay out and curve over you with out falling and then be pretty freaking quick on the forward movement before all of that weight comes crashing down and losses momentum. Ripped three more off in a row and then Mr. Right Shoulder said that was enough of that! Then feeling even more confident (probably more than I should) I went back to the 10 footer and tried a volley! Got a face full of whip for my effort. However I was undaunted and tried again, learning from my mistake, holding the handle more in line with my shoulder and more wrist action in the perpendicular plane to my body. Did not get the nice resounding cracks, but did get the low level pops that showed I was on the right path. Tried it a couple more times but see I need to work on this one. And then for the heck of it I did a 4 volley with an overhead crack played off the back hand of the volley.
Finally, good photos! I've never like I had justice with Ernies photos on his site. They always come off as either dull or plastic looking. Your photos have shown me what nice plaiting and craftsmanship he has. Nice choice and enjoy!
