Is the Arrowhead easier with a 10 foot whip?

[Lukes Roommate]

I had a quick session with the lovely weather we had and gave the Arrowhead a try to less than stellar results. Granted that was to be expected.
However, it felt as though the whip (8ft) might be a little short for this combo. Is it easier to perform with a 10ft whip?

[WhipDude]

This isn't the norm, that's for sure. Normally it's easiest with a shorter whip. I like doing this with a 5 or 6 foot whip and it works quite well. Due to the nature of it constantly changing direction, having a longer whip would make it more difficult.

I'm sorry if I sound blunt (you said it yourself) but it probably has to do with your lack of skill. Granted it is a hard one to learn and is best for more advanced people. Doesn't Winrich have a video on this? If so, I'd check it out and try to take it nice and slow.

[Indiana County Jr.]

It can be done with either length (long or short). The trick is to get the movements down first, break them down into pairs. Work one side, add the transition point, then add the other side. I do mine with 8 and 10 fts usually. The longer whip flow looks cool to me. Just take your time on it, it does take a while to get down. It took me about two months before I got the result I wanted.

Allen

[WhipDude]

I will agree with you on that. When you do get it down real well, the flow of an 8 ft. or 10 ft. whip is rather quite neat. But if you can start with something along the lines of 6 ft. then it would be best. 8 ft. will suffice.

What are the lengths available to you?

[WhipDude]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUVOcR4yAAM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjLnDqizZOs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lukes Roommate]

Thanks very much for the links and all the tips guys!

And WhipDude, you didn't sound blunt at all!
I've never attempted it before, so my comment about the whip feeling "too short" was just an initial reaction.
When I can get some solid practice time I'm going to take this one nice and slow.

I only have an 8ft whip right now, but I will be picking up a 10 ft real soon (a gift from my employer for my 5 year anniversary with our company!).

[riku1914]

I recently made a 6ft. whip for my brother, i posted pics of it on another thread by me, but it's way too short for my liking.

Granted it's not broken in but maybe the first 1.5 ft. of the whip, but i can just tell it's too short, however i do have an 8 ft. whip

that i like alot more, i feel i have more control over it though ( handles are same length so that's not a factor )

What i'm saying with all this, whip length is necessarily a " you need this length if you are this tall and are doing the arrowhead"

It's what feels right for ya

[DarenHenryW]

I know this: I can't do it with all of my whips for some reason, but the one I can do it best with is my 9' Raiders whip made by Bernardo Del Carpio. I have a harder time doing it with my Joe Strain 8' KOTCS whip, but I think this is because my Del Carpio is broken in a bit more, and also because Joe's whip are braided so very tightly that they take longer to break in anyway. Bottom line is, I think a more well broken in whip will make it easier.

I also did it the other day with one of my 4' "Aussie" whips made by Joe Strain, but I realized in that case, that you have to move VERY fast. So, the shorter the whip, the faster the motion. I know that may seem obvious, but with the 4 footer, I was going REALLY fast. And it was working . . . So if you are trying it with an 8-10 foot whip, you can go slow, but I would recommend working towards a speed that may seem a bit faster than what you suspect might work, as it keeps you in better control of the whip. Too much slack and the whip has a hard time cracking.

My two cents,

Daren Henry W

[Indiana County Jr.]

Very interesting,
Contrary to popular belief, you can go pretty fast with the 8-10 footers (not "super" fast, but you get my meaning). Only thing is, they crack so loudly when moving like this that someone will think a firearm is at work in the neighborhood . I think that a technique like this should not be performed to fast, otherwise it kind of robs it of the beauty that it is and the reward to the viewer when properly executed.

Allen

[WhipDude]

I'm a little surprised at how many people prefer a medium length whip! I'd say the norm is still for a little on the shorter side but it looks like starting off medium may be best. But hey, whatever works!

Just keep it in mind to go easy. You don't want to be jerking it around to get a crack and end up putting unnecessary strain on the immediate thong below the handle.

[riku1914]

I'm a little surprised at how many people prefer a medium length whip! I'd say the norm is still for a little on the shorter side but it looks like starting off medium may be best. But hey, whatever works!

Just keep it in mind to go easy. You don't want to be jerking it around to get a crack and end up putting unnecessary strain on the immediate thong below the handle.

yeah, 8-9' is what works best for me, and i've been whipping for maybe 2 months, probably less.

[Indiana County Jr.]

I'm a little surprised at how many people prefer a medium length whip! I'd say the norm is still for a little on the shorter side but it looks like starting off medium may be best. But hey, whatever works!

Just keep it in mind to go easy. You don't want to be jerking it around to get a crack and end up putting unnecessary strain on the immediate thong below the handle.

Agreed, I noticed the short handle whips take a tremendous amout of strain on the thong when doing this technique. I usually just do mine with 10 inch handles or above. I believe the reason why alot of people (including myself) perform this technique with a long whip is due to Adam Winrich. When he first performed the technique, he first demonstrated it with a 10 ft David Morgan. So once you get used to seeing it that way, you either dig it or you do it with shorter whips. Funny enough, when I first started collecting, I had mostly 10 ft whips, so I had to learn with them when doing the whole gambit of different cracks. Some of it was pretty cool, some was not so cool. In the long run, I now have a better appreciation of the shorter variety that is for sure.


Allen