Club Obi Wan

All right, whip crackin' ramblers... Lets get ramblin':

Let's see the whips that you own and the whip crack types you are proficient at;
Feel free to include interesting facts/experiences ...
OK, here's mine:
1- My Whip: 8' Whiskey Kangaroo from Bernie Wojcicki.
2- Crack Types: I can only do three: Overhead, Forward, & Side Cracks
3- Favorite Crack: Overhead - 'cause it took me the longest to master and feels really cool doing it.
4- Loudest: It seems to vary; lately, my forward crack is the loudest.
5- Longest to learn: Overhead - I was concerned about whacking myself in the head with this one - so it took me weeks (OK, OK, a couple of months ) to get down ...
6- Tough Nut to Crack (Unsuccessful To Date): Underhand - been unable to do it so far (I hope to have someone demonstrate this at QM); Also would like to learn the pig drover’s crack.
7- Evil Crack : Side crack once nailed me above my right eyebrow :evil:
8- Most Interesting Place I've Cracked: None so far ... but next month: Outside QM.
8- Personal Bullwhip Factoids: I learned my cracks from a basic instructional DVD that Bernie sent with my whip; I'll probably order the Mike Murphy DVDs after QM.

P.S. I like going over to my relative’s house and scaring their dogs by cracking in their front yard - I also try to whack seed pods off their Magnolia tree .
(OK, just so you don't think I'm evil - I also go in afterwards and console & play with their dogs, hehe)

Best Regards Ramblers,

Hmm...I better speak up before the experts do, or I'll be afraid to post in their company.

1- My Whip: 8' IOAB from Adam Winrich
2- Crack Types: overhead, forward, sidearm, underhand (sometimes), backwards (sometimes)
3- Favorite Crack: for a SINGLE crack: overhead (for VOLUME) or forward (for accuracy), but favorite combos are alternating left- & right-hand overheads (pass whip behind the back) or the sidearm-overhead-backward-forward...not always working right...someone got a smoother combo I can try?
4- Loudest: OVERHEAD
5- Longest to learn: Hmm...seem to be all about the same. Except that backcrack...okay, the backwards crack.
6- Tough Nut to Crack: backwards. Especially in combinations...if I need the back crack in there, forget it.
7- Evil Crack /b] Hmm...the one that spun my hat off my head like a frisbee at the QM last year...
8- Most Interesting Place I've Cracked: Right between the shoulder blades. Oh...you meant...okay, then...either at the daycare, or in the bathroom. You guess which was harder to manage.
9- Personal Bullwhip Factoids: In chronological order:
a) Adam liked my suggestion for the name of the IOAB (Indy-On-A Budget) whip - up until then the prototypes were called the IOASS (Indy-On-A-Shoe-String) whip (hey, I got to NAME something!);
b) ITG taught me how to crack at the QM III - woohoo! (I think I was her first pupil!); and
c) I started target practicing on leaves in the backyard...moved on to oranges and avocados...now I'm down to guavas (much smaller!)

5 - the 'egg' crack
the 'crack in the sidewalk'
the 'crack-pipe'
the 'smoking crack' (similar to the crack pipe)
and the most popular 'butt crack'



have a nice day.

Well, I've got a lot of whips and I do a lot of cracks, so I won't go into those details, but about places I've cracked whips:

#1 The back lawn of a hotel in Munich: It was kind of funny when some guy came running out yelling at me in German; I didn't know what he said but I knew he wanted me to stop and I went to the mown grass out by the road. I think somebody told me when I was there that a whip was considered an illegal weapon in Munich.

#2 the middle of Salzburg in front of a group of boy scouts.

I did both of these when I went to the World Jamboree in Holland in 1995, and we were touring Germany and Austria the week before the jamboree

For cool stuff done while cracking, I've cut free-standing, empty aluminum pop cans clean in half, but it takes a lot of practice. Also, one time I broke two beer bottles with a whip, one right after the other, one crack at each bottle. I was at Jim Hurlbutt's place when he lived in Wyoming and he thought it would be fun to try to break some bottles. He was really impressed, and I just tried to play it cool, like I do that 'ish' all the time. BTW, Jim was unable to break one bottle.

-Adam

Indiana Jerry wrote:sidearm-overhead-backward-forward...not always working right...someone got a smoother combo I can try?

I just ran outside and tried that... it worked fine for me... here
Try an underhand, and a forward...
Try an underhand, forward, then a forward throw (Cairo Combo)
Try the Hungarian Pig Drover's Crack (see www.Bullwhip.org in the "Whip Cracking Section")
Try a sidearm, overhead, then swich hands behind your back and do a forward with your other hand! ;-)
Buy this book for only $13 US! Features Indy on the cover!
http://www.loompanics.com/cgi-local/Sof ... .cfg+19246

I'm going to save up for it.

1- My Whip: 8' Whiskey Kangaroo from Paul Stenhouse
2- Crack Types: Overhead, foward, forward throw, sidearm, reverse forward, underhand, Hungarian Pig Drover
3- Favorite Crack: Forward
4- Loudest: Overhead / Forward
5- Longest to learn: Forward
6- Tough Nut to Crack (Unsuccessful To Date): The "Just Try it, Young Ned" see bullwhip.org's cracks section. Also, the reverse sidearm, as shown by Sergei
7- Evil Crack : I made up my own variation of the forward crack, and once, the fall came down between my arm and my head, and went down all along my forearm, giving me the coolest welt I've ever seen
8- Most Interesting Place I've Cracked: QM, and also in the Church Hall
9- Personal Bullwhip Factoids: Learned all my cracks from Bullwhip.org!

I'd like to learn some new stuff at the QM - can somebody show me some stuff?

Jerry, you and I can hang out and make up combos.

In Christ,
Shane

Indiana Jerry wrote: ... 8- Most Interesting Place I've Cracked: Right between the shoulder blades. Oh...you meant...okay, then...either at the daycare, or in the bathroom. You guess which was harder to manage. ...

You must have a large bathroom .
Bad shower curtain! Bad! ... Take that soap dish !

[quote="winrichwhips"]... For cool stuff done while cracking, I've cut free-standing, empty aluminum pop cans clean in half, but it takes a lot of practice. Also, one time I broke two beer bottles with a whip, one right after the other, one crack at each bottle. I was at Jim Hurlbutt's place when he lived in Wyoming and he thought it would be fun to try to break some bottles. He was really impressed, and I just tried to play it cool, like I do that 'ish' all the time. BTW, Jim was unable to break one bottle.
-Adam[/quote]
That sounds like a cool beer commercial ... great taste, less fil ... crack! Ok, great taste it is.


[quote="IndyMcFly"] ... Try an underhand, forward, then a forward throw (Cairo Combo) ...
... In Christ,
Shane[/quote]
I just watched & rewatched that scene ...
Q: Is THAT the underhand crack? I noticed Indy had his palm facing forward ... huh, I think I'll try that. I've read bullwhip.org descriptions also ... some are a little difficult to visualize.

Best Regards,

Spooky wrote:Q: Is THAT the underhand crack? I noticed Indy had his palm facing forward ... huh, I think I'll try that. I've read bullwhip.org descriptions also ... some are a little difficult to visualize.

I believe so, yes. Sometimes the Bullwhip.Org stuff is hard to visualize, yes... but you may get the hang of it. Maybe you have to see it done first, and then read that stuff.

Adam - how do you cut stuff like that? I have a hard enough time wrapping vertical thin bamboo poles (maybe they should be thick? maybe the sidearm crack is bad for wraps). Maybe just my aim is off... got any tips for wraps and cuts? Any idea what Indy did at the end of Temple of Doom to wrap Willie's waist?

In Christ,
Shane

winrichwhips wrote:one time I broke two beer bottles with a whip, one right after the other, one crack at each bottle. I was at Jim Hurlbutt's place when he lived in Wyoming and he thought it would be fun to try to break some bottles. He was really impressed, and I just tried to play it cool, like I do that 'ish' all the time.

Heeheeheehee...yeah, I was surprised when I hit those three guavas - two on the first crack at each. I swallowed the smug look and tried to play it cool...yeah, do that ALL the time... RIGHT!

Btw, that's AMAZING stuff. Maybe, someday, if I eat all my spinach, I can grow up to be like Adam...

IndyMcFly wrote:ndyMcFly"]Jerry, you and I can hang out and make up combos.

Shane, you are WAY ahead of me. I'll have to start using the whip around the house more often to brush up enough to keep up w/ you..."Darn kids...don't run so fast! Daddy isn't really going to hit you! Mommy would KILL him!"

Spooky wrote:

Indiana Jerry wrote: ... 8- Most Interesting Place I've Cracked: Right between the shoulder blades. Oh...you meant...okay, then...either at the daycare, or in the bathroom. You guess which was harder to manage. ...

You must have a large bathroom .
Bad shower curtain! Bad! ... Take that soap dish !

I cheated a bit...I was standing in the office, but the whip extended into and cracked within the confines of...the bathroom. That's when we realized that dark or not, beers or not, we HAD to take the whip out to the backyard...

BTW, that underhand sounds correct. I recently picked up Paul Stenhouse's DVD, and it's GREAT stuff. He's been offering them CHEAP lately because he's moving to NZ...take a look in the For Sale forum - I think he's only asking $10 for them!

Thanks Jerry.
I'll check out those DVDs.

Best Regards,

-My whip: 10ft natural kangaroo from Bernie Wojcicki
-Cracks Types: forward,overhead,sidearm,revers forward
-Favorite: overhead
-Loudest: overhead
-Longest to learn: forward
-Tough Nut to Crack: underhand,backwards
-Evil crack: once time I was crack myself with forward to my neck
-Most interesting place: ruins of castle Pajstun
-Personal Bullwhip Factoids:I learned my cracks from Bernie DVD and
bullwhip.org

P.S: nice whip Spooky!

1- My Whips: An 8' Strain Lonestar in brandy with red accents, (my baby); an 8' Twelve-plait Indy Cowhide by Adam Winrich, (that looks DARN screen accurate for cow!) and a twelve-plait 6 foot black cowhide target whip with 2 four-plait horsehide bellies gifted to me by our own Jim "RacerX" Jarrell, (dubbed by the maker, "The Dan Whip")

2- Crack Types: About all of the basic cracks and then some. Both forward and reverse. I can't do the Hungarian Pig Drover's Crack, but that's primarily because I've never actually SEEN it done.

3- Favorite Crack: Normally, I'd have to go with Halle Berry's answer and say the overhead, but lately, I've really been playing around alot with underhand cracks. Cutting a target underhand and then another one with a circus crack from the underhand's follow through looks REALLY cool!

4- Loudest: The overhead. Hands down, (though my sidearms are getting up there!)

5- Longest to learn: The overhand crack, (AKA the forward.) I've finally got consistancy on it, though I'm not as accurate at targeting with it as I'd like to be.

6- Tough Nut to Crack (Unsuccessful To Date): Two handed (and whipped) Queensland crossovers. I fell in love with the look of these watching Chris "Canasta" Camp performing these with firewhips. I've finally, FINALLY managed some consistancy with a single handed Queensland Crossover now! Each Hand! YAY! Though I still end up with knots in my fall and popper if my arms are getting tired, (The trick is not letting the wrist break over for the follow-through until AFTER the whip has cracked.) Problem is that it's HARD to do with 2 8' whips, and the 8' cowhide that Adam made is a great whip, but it's HEAVY for doing stuff like that! I need another sixer. Preferably one to match my Dan Whip, (so be expecting to hear from me, Jim!)

7- Evil Crack: OK. True story, and a full support of the disclaimer Sergei put up at the top of this forum. There is this crack that Mark Mulligan was doing at the Annie Oakley festival, where you spin around in a circle and just flex your wrist back and forth, with the whip repeatedly popping out in front of you, and then you stop spinning, let the whip roll up over your head, and you finish with a big horizontal crack. Now I tried this, and it was going pretty well, but then I said to myself, "You know, Mark was putting this extra spin over his head before he cracked, and I think you can just stop spinning, and do the horizontal crack before you make one full revolution..." (if you've seen the crack, this all makes sense.) So I decide to experiment with leaving that full revolution out before doing the horizontal crack at the end, (mistake #1) Now, this was a couple months ago, and it was REALLY hot outside. I wasn't wearing a shirt, but I was just doing very basic cracks with very little power behind them with the whips, and wasn't really concerned about hurting myself, (mistake #2) So I try the Mulligan Spin, and IMMEDIATELY realize why it is that Mark does that extra spin. It's to orient yourself to where the thong of the whip is. If you're used to doing overhead cracks, you just let muscle memory do most of the work for you. But the thing of it is, the whip has not only the power that you've just put into it by swinging it over your head, but ALSO the centrifugal force of doing several physical revolutions with your body. You stop spinning, but the whip doesn't, therefore the whip is travelling faster than you think it is. (Mistake #3) The whip DID crack...right as the fall of the whip, slapped across my bare back. I spend the next 5 minutes or so cursing loudly and trying to run away from my own spine, (a very difficult process.) It didn't scar as bad as I thought it would, but hurt like the dickens. So, READ AND FOLLOW THE DISCLAIMER AT THE TOP OF THE FORUM, regardless of your experience level. So sayeth the voice of experience!

8- Most Interesting Place I've Cracked: To date, a college lecture hall. Full of people, (demonstration.) But that's pretty sedate. I'm taking the whip back with me this weekend to a machine gun shoot. Don't know how much cracking I'll do, but hey! Ya never know!

9- Personal Bullwhip Factoids: The basic arm and body movements required for bullwhip use mirror almost exactly the basic arm and body movements for rapier duelling. Also, the better you get with a bullwhip, the easier it is to coil and uncoil microphone cables in a big hurry ;-)

Ouch, great story though, Fish.
I have been extremely fortunate thus far (only hitting myself hard one time).
However, I haven't tried many combos.

Where did you see Canasta perform?

Best Regards,

Saw lots of Canasta's and Adam Winrich's brilliant work at the WWAC Ohio Convention in Darke County Ohio, (part of the Annie Oakley Days festival this past summer.

thefish wrote:Saw lots of Canasta's and Adam Winrich's brilliant work at the WWAC Ohio Convention in Darke County Ohio, (part of the Annie Oakley Days festival this past summer.

Man, I'd love to see a bullwhip artist in action!

Hey Fish - do you have any pics of your whips?
How does your cowhide Indy perform compared to your other whip/s?

Thanks,

Spooky wrote:Man, I'd love to see a bullwhip artist in action!

Hey Fish - do you have any pics of your whips?
How does your cowhide Indy perform compared to your other whip/s?

The only pics I currently have are of my Strain 8-footer. I haven't taken ANYTHING with the camera since then. Something I need to correct.

But the Strain is in one of the pictures of my $20 target stand by my buddy Bryian over in the "Bullwhips vs. Neighborhood" thread.

A couple others I have right now:

This is the one that Joe sent me when he completed the whip back in December, 04.



(Incidentally, if you've been to Strain's site, - northernwhipco.com - lately, this pic may look familiar, it's because my whip is the new posterboy for the Lonestar model.)

This is also the same model of bullwhip that you saw Chris "Canasta" Camp cutting the flower with on the "Tonight Show." His was just shorter, and black where mine is brandy colored, (and it handles BEAUTIFULLY. I got to play with it while I wasn't shooting video at Annie Oakley!)

This is a pic of my Strain next to an older model of Jim "RacerX" Jarrell's "Ugly Duckling" 8-plait whips. I don't that that whip anymore. I passed it on to a guy who was just learning.



Another of the Strain in hand:



The knot when I first got it:



The pattern in there looks like a star when viewed from straight on. The knot looks like this now.



Note how the color of the brandy has bled over into the red. It still looks nice, and it sure handles better than it did when that first picture was taken, but I don't think I'm going to be getting another two-tone whip because of this.

Adam W. and Paul N: Any way of preventing this? I used Fiebings glycerin saddle soap on the knots to clean off the grime and sweat from my hands.

This whip is my baby, and I could take up SCADS more bandwidth with pictures of it I have laying around the harddrive and web directories, but I'll stop now. I have no action shots, as my digital camera is SLOW, and Heather, (my wife,) has a hard time getting good action pics with it. I'll probably pull out my video camera and shoot some stuff at a high shutter speed and post some still images from that.

I also promised Adam for a review of that 8' cowhide Indy when I bought it from him back in late July. Here it is. I PROMISE I'll get pics of it up soon!

It handles very nicely. It's very accurate for targeting, and cracks louder than anything else in my bag. I wish I had some pics handy to show just how much it looks like the "Raiders" whip. Extra big knot, longer handle section before the transition knot, darker leather for the transition, (like Pagey did to his previous Morgan.) Dark brown that's developed a beautiful deep russet patina.

Adam told me that he had been doing two 4-plait bellies with two bolsters, (all out of cowhide,) to keep them the same construction as the Morgan's from the period, but they were too fat and heavy in his opinion, so he started leaving out the bolsters.

I must say, that it really makes a BIG difference. There is only a little difference in the weight of my kangaroo Strain and my cowhide Winrich. The Winrich is a little heavier, and the action on it is a lot slower, but I bought this whip for Indygear purposes, and a slower whip is a "Showier" whip. It's not completely broken in yet, but it still handles like a dream.

The 12-plait overlay drops six strands at the point, but I am hard pressed to find where in the thong he drops those strands. This impressed the heck out of me as I can find almost every place on my Strain where he dropped a strand.

The one thing I would change, (and I will,) is I feel the fall is a little too heavy for this whip. Its a deep brown leather, (think it's brown latigo,) that takes a beating, but I think maybe a lighter, more flexible whitehide would do the trick there. Bear in mind though. It's still accurate as #### and cracks like a 12 gauge! The fall behavior is a "personal preference" thing that doesn't effect the performance of the whip at all. When I wear out this fall, I'll probably replace it with whitehide, (which will take a LOOOOOOONNNNNG time, as it's some tough-as-nails leather. If I were a younger, and dumber man, I'd trust it to hold my weight and try swinging on it. But while I may be dumb sometimes, I'm not as young as I used to be.)

My final thoughts: If you're interested in getting a screen accurate Morgan, forget it. David doesn't do them like that anymore. Save yourself some money and aggravation and get one from Adam. Adam himself is an Engineer, (so is Morgan,) which shows in the design and detail of his work. He is also one heck of a whip performer, (and now a Guiness World Record Holder! Congrats Adam!) so he knows how to make them so they'll dance! I picked up this whip on a lark because I really liked the look of it, and thought it cracked nicely. The more I work with it, the more I'm convinced that when I decide to get a kangaroo Indy-style, I know I'm calling Adam!

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Adam for the sweet whip!

Oh, and as for seeing a whip artist in action:



A sceen capture from Canasta's Saturday evening "Firewhip" demonstration at Annie Oakley. That fireball just flew off the end of that long lightsaber-looking thing after it snaked out and cracked at the crowd. Canasta should be putting up some of the footage I sent him when he updates his website: thewhipguy.com

THIS will most likely make the cover of the WWAC Ohio 2005 Convention 2-disk DVD set, (soon available for under $25 from gldenterprises.net! In time for Chrismas! Order Now! Offer expires while you wait! As seen on TV...Well...mine anyway...OK....Shameless self-promotion done. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.)

OMG, Dan! That screen capture is AWESOME!!! I have a new wallpaper on my computer now. / I'm totally looking forward to getting and seeing this DVD. Thanks for posting that "preview" up here.

That's a Joe Strain whip? Wow, it looks completely identical to my Russell Schulz whips. I didn't know Strain designed like that also.

Fish:
Thanks for the detailed info. and fantastic pics !
Wow, those are indeed fine looking whips.

A 12 gauge huh?
Mine sounds pretty much like a 9mm (on occasion it sounds like a 45 - but only when I get off a super clean crack).

Best Regards,

Spooky wrote: A 12 gauge huh?
Mine sounds pretty much like a 9mm (on occasion it sounds like a 45 - but only when I get off a super clean crack).

Well, the Winrich is the only one that really cracks that loud. I think it has to do with the weight, the generally heaviness of the fall, and the fact that it's still got that big, black popper on it that Adam sold it to me with.

The poppers I use on all of my other whips are thinner and lighter. Made out of 1 strand of artificial sinew wound with two strands of orange kevlar, (the stuff they make bow strings out of. The orange is easy to see and comes in handy not only for people watching, but also when you blow a popper off the end of your fall.)

They make really sharp, quick cracks, and can slice vegetables very cleanly. Food Processing at the Speed of Sound! Look at that tomato!(seriously, we gave Canasta some of the kevlar stuff, and he really liked it!)

They last a LONG time, and are great for cutting targets, but the crack they make aren't QUITE a loud as the heavier baling twine poppers. They mostly sound like a 22 at their loudest, (sometimes a 45 if I really wind up an overhead crack.) They're great for indoor work and when you just don't want to deafen yourself and everyone within a 10 yard radius. Plus, you really don't want to let HUGE cracks fly with these poppers, as the kevlar has a tendency of cutting into your fall if you're not careful.

-Dan

1- My Whip: 8' "Greasy Whisky" Kangaroo from Paul Nolan.
2- Crack Types: Overhead, Forward, Underhand (so so), volly (once in a while if I'm brave and do it right)
3- Favorite Crack: Overhead(Circus?) as I figured it out accadentaly before I knew what it was, though I wasn't doing it quite right, but it still craked.
4- Loudest: Overhead(Circus?)
5- Longest to learn: volly
6- Tough Nut to Crack (Unsuccessful To Date): R to L volly.
7- Evil Crack Laughing: Attempting the underhand, I caught that soft part of the leg right behind my knee. (in shorts) Left a nice welt and actually scabed over.
8- Most Interesting Place I've Cracked: Back yard???
9- Personal Bullwhip Factoids: I learned my some of cracks from bullwhips.org. Hope to learn some more from the Paul Stenhouse DVDs I have on order.

DEFINITION OF A CIRCUS CRACK: The Circus Crack might be what many are calling the forward crack. It depends on who you talk to as to what is considered what.

A Circus Crack begins with the whip straight out in front of you. You lift the whip straight up, letting the thong roll straight up over your shoulder, and then throw it forward like casting a fishing line. It makes a loop that rolls down the length of the thong. When the fall flips over at the end, it breaks the sound barrier. BANG.

Many people also call this crack a "Forward Crack," though for many others a "Forward Crack" and a "Circus Crack" are two different things.

To them, a Forward Crack begins with the whip straight behind them, and then is pulled straight over the shoulder, and cracks out in front of them in a tight, sideways "U" shape. The fall rolls over at the end, and BANG. I tend to call these "OverHAND" cracks, (not to be confused with "OverHEAD" cracks,) as the thong and fall roll out from the handle passing over your shoulder and ultimately over your hand as it travels out to the end for the crack.

This is the crack that Indy uses when we first see him crack the single action .45 out of Barranca's hand in Raiders. It is essentially a a "flick"-type crack, and can be described as a sidearm crack turned 90 degrees into a vertical plane.

Likewise, a "Circus Crack" is essentially an "Overhead" crack turned 90 degrees into a vertical plane.

When it all boils down. There are essentially only two main cracks; the Circus and the Sidearm. There might be some other weird ones out there, (cause those Australians who come up with some of this stuff are CRAZY!) but EVERYTHING else I've seen are variations on that.

-The Overhead is a Circus turned sideways.

-The Underhand is a Sidearm turned on the X axis -90 degrees.

The Forward, (or Overhand,) is a Sidearm turned turned on the X axis +90 degrees.

-The "S" Crack is a Circus turned 90 degrees on the Z axis

-Every one of the above has a reverse crack to it at well, which is where most volley's come from.

-A Queensland Crossover is a sidearm where the follow through rolls into a overhead, followed by a sidearm out of the follow through ad nauseum as long as you can keep it up.

-The "Most cracks in 60 seconds" volley are forward and reverse "S" cracks.

-The Queensland Flash is a reverse Circus Crack, followed by a forward Circus Crack, followed by an overhead crack.

On and on.

Anything to add, or correct? Please do!

-Dan

By the way...

CATHY,

You're not the first person who's said, "That's a Strain?"

Gery picked it up one afternoon while I was at his studio, and he said, "Wow! Jacka's really making his handles shorter these days."

It's not a Jacka, it's a Strain.

"Really? I didn't know he was making them like this."

He evidentally has been for years.

Paul Nolan knew what it was instantly, (partly because we'd previously talked about it, and he is indeed the Joe Strain Whip Connoisseur,) and Chris Camp recognized it because he owns two or three made exactly like it.

He's also a Mac user.

Man's got taste ;-)

>Grabs his Akubra and runs for cover!<

-Dan

thefish wrote:DEFINITION OF A CIRCUS CRACK: The Circus Crack might be what many are calling the forward crack. It depends on who you talk to as to what is considered what.

That's for sure! Even people who are a part of the same club, apparently! LOL! )

For Example:

A Circus Crack begins with the whip straight out in front of you. You lift the whip straight up, letting the thong roll straight up over your shoulder, and then throw it forward like casting a fishing line. It makes a loop that rolls down the length of the thong. When the fall flips over at the end, it breaks the sound barrier. BANG.

That's what I had always heard referred to, and subsequently learned as, the Forward Crack.

Many people also call this crack a "Forward Crack," though for many others a "Forward Crack" and a "Circus Crack" are two different things.

To them, a Forward Crack begins with the whip straight behind them, and then is pulled straight over the shoulder, and cracks out in front of them in a tight, sideways "U" shape. The fall rolls over at the end, and BANG. I tend to call these "OverHAND" cracks, (not to be confused with "OverHEAD" cracks,) as the thong and fall roll out from the handle passing over your shoulder and ultimately over your hand as it travels out to the end for the crack.

That one is what I know as the Circus Crack, or Cattleman's Crack.

The Overhand Crack, to me, is the one where it starts out in front of you, you pull it past your side to the back of you, then "throw it out" overhand to crack in front of you ("throwing it" like you would a fishing line). That's also the one I'm having alot of trouble with right now. I think I have the form correct, I just can't get the silly thing to make any noise! LOL!

I guess that just pretty much proves the point that there are no Universal names for these tricks. When I was in Texas, other whipcrackers were asking me if I could do certain tricks, and I'd be like "I've never heard of that - what are you talking about". Then they would demonstrate it, and I'd be like "Oh, the circus crack!", or whatever else.

Like I said, apparently even between members of the same club that you & I are in, there are different names for different cracks, and confusion as to which crack goes by which name (as demonstrated by you & I above). Makes it very confusing for us beginners! LOL!

OK, getting off my soapbox now....

Oh, I almost forgot - I'm glad to know that I wasn't the only one fooled by your whips. They are very cool regardless - I love that design. I wouldn't trade mine in for anything!!

The overhand is one I have problems with too Cathy. I was working on it at a whip practice in Columbus last night, and am FINALLY getting some consistancy to it.

Oh, and I have good news and bad news which could be good news for some other COW member. The good news is, I've posted 3 pics of that 8 foot Cowhide Indy I bought from Adam Winrich, (reviewed above.) The bad news, (for me,) is that they're posted over in the classified section of COW because I'm selling it to fund my upcoming London trip.

The good news for someone else is the first $150 or best offer will get that whip, and help pay for cool stuff while the wife and I are in London in December!

It's in the FS section. Even if you're not interested in buying it, you should check out the pics. It's a BEEE-YOOOUUU-TEEEEE-FUL whip!

-Dan

My whip: an 8ft. em brand 12 plait kangaroo hide whip

I've only had it for two months now, but I've learned 4 different cracks: the circus or foward crack,the foward throw, overhead, and backward crack.My favorite is probably a sequence of all 4 starting with the throw then backward, circus , and an overhead to finish off. that or sequencing circus and backwards for a volley of cracks. I'm coming along at lassos but have a little trouble getting a lock on something, and has for targets, I can hit things but cannot shatter or slice through things yet.

How are you doing your backward crack, IC?

Is it a backwards circus or a backward underhand or a backward sidearm? All three work well for scarin' varmints behind you.

Also, for targeting you might want to try this. It works for me. If you're targeting with either a circus crack or an overhand, (both terms common for the "forward crack,") don't lower your arm for the follow-through. Keep your arm straight and pointed at the target.

Keep your thumb on top of the handle in line with the natural "spine" of the whip, (the upper part of the natural curve,) and point your thumb at the target. A good whip will roll right out and the crack will happen at or right above the target, allowing the fall to still have a good amount of energy left to cut the target.

An update: The forward, (overhand style,) I'm no longer having problems with, and I've got the Fargo Flash, the Queensland Flash, and the Queensland Crossover down pretty well now.

Now, I'm trying not to kill myself while learning a Tasmanian Cutback, (an S Crack that's done behind the back. A ROYAL PAIN to try with an 8 foot whip!)

Hi there, so how'd your London trip go? Visit any Indy sites of interest?

The British Museum...Does that count?

I didn't get to go Indy-ing. Visiting the Wested shop would have been too tempting, and was out of our travel area anyway, (we decided to stay in London PROPER this trip, and didn't get up to Kent. Furthest outside of the city we were was where we were staying in Blackheath and over to Hammersmith to tour BBC Television Centre.) and I'm not really interested in Herbert Johnsons, since we've got Steve "Fedora" Delk and Art Faucett making far better stuff for far better prices.

Had a fantastic time though. There was a somewhat Indy moment while we were on the London Walk "Jack the Ripper" tour of the East End with Top "Ripperologist" Donald Rumbalow, as he was wearing an older, brown snap brim centerdent fedora. After everything was over, I asked if it was a Herbert Johnson. It wasn't. Don't remember the maker.

I wasn't wearing my Akubra, and a good thing too. Whenever I wore that in London, I was also wearing a navy blue topcoat, and scarf. When we got to the start of the walk, and met Don, what was he wearing? A brown fedora, a blue wool topcoat, and a scarf. It would have been like looking in a mirror, (though Donald is a couple inches taller and a lot more weathered than I.) At least he has good fashion sense ;-)

Back on topic, I got home to discover that my friend, Barbara, (who I've gotten hooked on cracking whips. It's LIKE crack, I tell ya! I showed her how to do a circus crack, and she was HOOKED!) recieved her 8 foot whip from Paul Nolan. She wanted one that was modeled after, and handled like my Strain. Paul outdid himself! It's NIIIIICE! The handle is a little longer than mine, and the knot is a 2 part turks head rather than the single strand fancy plaiting that Strain did on mine, (because the knots are two-tone "Lone Star" pattern. Barbara's is a single color Brandy, at my suggestion.)

It's still a bit too stiff to do anything fancy with, but it's breaking in fast, and Barbara, (who is completely new at this,) has her circus crack and overhead crack down perfectly. Unfortunately, this also means that she has blisters ;-) But she's REALLY enjoying it!

Next lesson: The Forward Crack and the Sidearm!