Hi Gorak. Eventhough much people will tell you that bullwhips and stockwhips are handled the same way, they're not. Yes, both whips have a handle, a thong, fall and cracker, and yes, you have to make both types of whips move in similar ways to make them crack.
In my opinion, there are some differences between these whips:
Bullwhip
- When handling a bullwhip, what you usually do, is you just put your thumb and your index finger around the handle right over the knob. The knob rotates freely inside your palm when you swing and cut the whip back to make it crack. There is little wrist action to aid the whip when cracking.
- When making a flick, you hold the knob firmly, but the handle is always
aligned with your forearm.
Stockwhip
- When handling a stockwhip, you must grab the knob firmly, holding it at a 90° angle with your forearm. You swing and cut, and then you use your wrist to move the handle away from you to make it crack at the end of this movement.
- When making, let's say an overhand flick, you hold the knob firmly inside your palm and you almost want it to remain static, at a 90° angle with your forearm. You place the thong in front of you, pull it back, let it take off, continue moving the handle to the back and then up. You stop when the handle is
perpendicular to the ground, and let the thong roll out and crack.
- With stockwhips, you can do things you can't with a bullwhip. For example, you can make underhand flicks by holding the handle parallel to the ground, sticking out of one of your sides (as in the "cow and calf" crack).
That's how I would describe those little differences between handling a bullwhip and a stockwhip.
Hope it helps.
Aldo
http://elasticrods.wordpress.com
