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Left handed cracking

Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 5:51 pm
by riku1914
I am right handed by nature so obviously I started cracking with my right arm. Well yesterday I noticed that my right arm is

extremely disproportionate to my left arm ( been cracking for maybe 3 months but with a good whip for about 1 month )

So I decided to start with my left arm.

After cracking with my left arm for about 15-20 minutes for two days now I am pretty proficient with the following cracks:

Cattleman's crack
Overhead crack
Forward flick
sideways flick
underhand flick
slowfigure-8
fastfigure-8
breakway
the volley ( kinda slow )
Snake killer
The queensland slash

and a combination of different one's i've tried a few times.

To me it seems I'm learning with my left arm pretty quick, basically i'm doing the crack with my right arm, then attempting to

copy the motions, with my left arm ( opposites apply when necessary, for instance the direction you swing on overhead )

Am I learning quickly, these are for the most part all the cracks I know with my right arm.

Some of it is kind of choppy but i can get it to crack 9/10 times with what i'm doing.

I'm using a 5'10" ( cut strands BARELY too short :lol: ) two tone bullwhip with a 9" handle made out of 1/8" wide vinyl strands I

made a little while back. Overlay is 24 strands, it has a shot loaded core, and two plaited bellies over that, again with a 24 strand

overlay, and a 10 strand point.

So am I doing good for 2 cracking sessions about 20 minutes long ( only time I have ever used my left arm )
?

Thanks for reading guys I would really like to know :-k :TOH:

Re: Left handed cracking

Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 11:43 pm
by hit80s
Dont matter what a bunch of strangers on the the net think. As long as you are having fun. Just stick with it

Re: Left handed cracking

Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 6:56 am
by Indiana County Jr.
:TOH:

Re: Left handed cracking

Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 8:45 am
by riku1914
I'd like to know if i'm doing any good or if it's normal :lol:

I am having fun smacking myself with it :whip: Still not as much control but I can do pretty well. Is this normal for starting with

left arm or am I doing any good ? #-o

Re: Left handed cracking

Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 8:53 am
by Michaelson
With any weapon, it's ALWAYS a good idea to proficient with both hands, so yes, that's normal, and yes, keep on 'keeping on' in your practice. :M: :tup:

Technique is always wonderful, but the bottomline with a weapon (and let's face it, that's what a whip really is) is to be able to hit a target everytime, and with either hand. THAT'S what you want after you're done....to KNOW that no matter what hand you use to pick up the whip, you can hit your target with confidence each and every time.

When I did a lot of whip work 'back in the day' (my shoulders just don't let me do it much anymore), my main goal was target work. Sure, you can do a lot of fancy volley's and tricks....but the question I was always asked was 'can you hit anything with that?' :lol: THAT'S what I concentrated on, and doing so with both hands. I got pretty good too, but I'd probably beat myself to death with one now. :[

Regards! Michaelson

Re: Left handed cracking

Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 10:20 am
by Indiana County Jr.
riku1914 wrote:I'd like to know if i'm doing any good or if it's normal :lol:

I am having fun smacking myself with it :whip: Still not as much control but I can do pretty well. Is this normal for starting with

left arm or am I doing any good ? #-o
riku1914,
If you really want to know, then best way is to show some video of yourself under the "pics of you cracking your whip" post. People used to do this all the time and it is great fun to see everyone in action getting their crack on! But it seems not many do so now days like they used to.

It will give you the chance to receive advice on what you are doing well with and if needed, help correct you if something is not working out just right.

Crack On! :whip:
Allen

Re: Left handed cracking

Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 6:39 pm
by riku1914
Thanks guys I can hit a target every time with my right arm ( i've been practicing throwing a water bottle in the air and cutting

it in half with a couple different cracks ) but haven't tried any target work with my left arm yet.

I have something to do later :D