Club Obi Wan

Is a whip even a practical weapon? If you're skilled enough in it's use, could you actually defend yourself/attack people with a bullwhip? I mean, it seems to me that someone could just grab a hold of it and stop you, or cut the thong with a knife. Any ideas or comments on the matter? Thanks.

Nobody's gonna grab it while it's going 750 to 900 MPH!!! If anyone was stupid enough to try and grab a whip they would have a nice gash on their arm....
-Scott

Well, I know how to crack a whip, but I've never used it in a fight.

Think about this: The end of a bull whip is traveling at Mach 1 (spead of sound) and ABOVE! That is FAST my friends. So when the end of the whip touches anything while traveling at that hight rate of speed, it's going to get cut one way or another. I've been hit plenty of times with my whip, and didn't realize it was bleeding until I went inside and saw the blood all over my face in the mirror...

As far as the whip's praticality, DON'T swing on it! Rope is for swinging, whips are for cracking, don't confuse the two. When it comes to fights, I'd imagen it would work, people would be scared off just by the sound, and if they tried to grab it they would defitnatly be injured. So, keep your whip for cracking, and try to avoid situations where you might have to fend off attackers with your whip.

On the other hand, you could probably wear somebody out with the handle of the bullwhip (especially with a David Morgan). So in truth, the whip is an all-around effective weapon no matter which end you choose to wield.


-Dale

Wait, don't forget you can also, chock them to death, lasso them, hang them, remove weapons from thier hands, blind them, all sorts of good defences!

Hear, hear!!!

Indiana Josh wrote:Wait, don't forget you can also, chock them to death, lasso them, hang them, remove weapons from thier hands, blind them, all sorts of good defences!

Yup. And I believe Sergei has even mentioned breaking bones.

sab04 wrote:Nobody's gonna grab it while it's going 750 to 900 MPH!!!

And keep in mind the laws of physics. The amount of power is not necessarily dictated by the amount of strength with which one uses to move something; rather it's the speed at which it's travelling. In plain English, if you swing the golf club or baseball bat faster rather than trying to muscle it with a lot of strength, the ball will travel farther. So, I guess there is a matter of technique but that gets mentioned quite often in the bullwhip section.

Instead of muscleing (is that a word?) the whip, use proper technique and get the latter part to break the sound barrier--you have your crack as well as a formidible weapon. If you think about it, your opponent won't be able to keep an eye on it. If s/he is watching your eyes or body movement, it will still be difficult to tell what the end of that whip is doing b/c it's travelling so fast.

Indiana Joe wrote: And keep in mind the laws of physics. The amount of power is not necessarily dictated by the amount of strength with which one uses to move something; rather it's the speed at which it's travelling. In plain English, if you swing the golf club or baseball bat faster rather than trying to muscle it with a lot of strength, the ball will travel farther. So, I guess there is a matter of technique but that gets mentioned quite often in the bullwhip section.

Instead of muscleing (is that a word?) the whip, use proper technique and get the latter part to break the sound barrier--you have your crack as well as a formidible weapon. If you think about it, your opponent won't be able to keep an eye on it. If s/he is watching your eyes or body movement, it will still be difficult to tell what the end of that whip is doing b/c it's travelling so fast.

Very true. There's bairly any work involved at all when cracking a whip. Alex makes a point of this in his video, it's in the wrists! But it's true, you don't have to waist all your streigth and get worn out just to crack a whip, that's the beauty of it. So if you've got a little distance between you and your oponet, you should be able to fend him off quite easily with a bull whip. Once that blast wave hits him and the sound causes his ears to ring, he'll think twice about messin' with you again.

I know, I know. It's a two-year-old thread. But I just have to get my two cents into here. I've been using weaponry my whole life

The problem with a whip for self defense is telegraphing your strike to your opponent. The trick is to lure your opponent to strike when he thinks you're unable to counter. To do this, go about half at fast and use only one type of crack -as if you're trying to scare him away. When he lunges at you after you make a crack, back away one pace and turn your body and whiparm 180 degrees to nail him with a quick counter to his throat. Any strike at the neck/face area will end the conflict.

Anyone have anything to add?

Randall,

Offense will always be faster than defense. Basically, if you are ever in a threatening situation and you just happen to have a whip in your hand then why wait for the attack? If you’ve been observant of your surroundings and still were unable vacate the area before threat escalation then obviously you’d be at condition red all ready. So why wait for their move? Strike first, fast and above all, accurately. The actual sound of the whip cracking may be useful for intimidation but overall it is unnecessary. The lash striking someone in the face can do a lot of damage with out accelerating past the sound barrier and should give you enough time to escape (the best option) or move in for further neutralization (defanging the snake, tying up limbs, stomping their ankles, etc.)

The beauty of training with a whip as a self-defense tool is that the lessons learned can be transferred to any number of other flexible weapons such as a belt, bandana, towel, sweat shirt, jacket, etc. Don’t even consider the whip’s crack as part of your attack. Expand your creative thinking and apply that knowledge to everyday objects and apparel.

As Operator Jake would say, “Let’s be careful out there.”

Ah... some oldie but goodie threads:
viewtopic.php?t=1994&highlight=whip+weapon
viewtopic.php?t=6449&highlight=whip+weapon

<off camera>
<cue music - " The Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner">
<cue sound - "The sound of choppers">
<camera pans from crane - shot shows carnage, smoke, mahem...>

The smell of a destructive thread in the morning... smells like victory. Ahhhh. the good old days.....

;-)

BTW RandallFlagg, good job on reading the older information in these sections. There is a wealth of knowledge in the gear/prop sections.

-Sergei

I went through every thread last night, Sergei. I see that there's some here who began on this site as I did and have made some incredible first time whips.

Looks like I picked the best site to be at.