Since I'll be relocating to Ohio next month, I was searching for a Filipino martial arts school up there and came across the following website www.sayoc.comThe_Edge wrote:All I am arguing is that a whip can be used as a weapon in certain situations. Plain and simple. Neither am I saying that using the handle and knob of the whip as a weapon is not a viable option. I have told several people that the Pocket Bulls I make can be used for cracking or as black jacks. This technique is not in dispute and never was.Farnham54 wrote:Think is, between a gun and a whip--if your opponent is using an 8ft bullwhip, and you are 9 feet away with your gun....Guess who walks away un-injured?
As per defending yourself AGAINST a bullwhip or using one as a weapon--I think we all forgot to mention something about the human mind. A crack of a whip can be intimidating, really throw someone off of their stance.
As per cracking it offensivly or defensivly for an extended period of time, probobly not effective. Swinging the whip allowes constant movement, say, around ones head. It takes time to recover from a crack, and make another crack on target, However, if you are using it like a club and swinging it, you can pretty much instantly swing it down and make solid contact. Kind of like using an axe in battle, the key is to keep the object moving at all times.
What I find interesting is the stance to completely dismiss the use of cracking a whip as, primarily, a defensive weapon.... I think that a sparring match between, say, one fella with a baseball bat and the other with a six foot bullwhip would be very interesting.
If you click on http://sayoc.com/article_info.php?articles_id=15 there's an article regarding the use of the whip as a flexible weapon in combat.
http://sayoc.com/article_info.php?articles_id=22 has a course outline listing 20 different strikes using a 6 or 8 foot nylon whip with a wooden handle. It reminded me of when Indydawg and I were practicing at his house around this time last year a few of his Ranger buddies came over and watched us cracking. Although we had 8 foot whips, they gave their opinion that a shorter whip used in conjuction with a knife would be a great combination of weapons.
I.J.