Safety first, and last!
Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:01 am
Louie over at http://www.bullwhips.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; just put up some videos of people who think they know how to use a whip but don't, in an attempt to educate beginners that a whip can be a very dangerous thing if one has no training and thinks it is easy to pick-up. I would like to take a few moments here to talk about safety in whip handling.
Anyone who knows me a bit knows I am a big stickler for safety, sometimes annoyingly so. This is because I have been hurt myself many times, though never seriously by a whip strangely enough... and I know what it can mean to get injured.
For anyone starting out with whips here are the basics of safety:
-ALWAYS wear safety goggles. ALWAYS.
-Make sure you have done your homework BEFORE you attempt ANY cracks. This means go on Youtube and learn from those who know more than you. There are many who have taken the time to put together how-to videos and who do a great job at teaching how to safely use a whip. It's an invaluable resource and it's free, so use it.
-Don't assume you are God's gift to whipcracking, the odds are you're not. I don't know if ANYONE is, and if there is such a person, it's safe to say they are the exception and not the average person. Assume you are the world's worst candidate to whipcracking and you'll save yourself (and others) a lot of pain.
-Always walk the area you are going to practice in and make sure there's no small objects lying around that could be inadvertently be picked up by the whip and thrown as high-speed projectiles.
-Always make sure there is enough space to safely swing the whip in any direction without it hitting anything. When you become good enough you can reduce this area to work in more confined spaces, but until then, give yourself the chance to be safe. Take the entire length of your whip and add a good two feet to that and multiply that by two, this will give you the diameter of the circle in which you can safely practice without hitting anything. So if you have an eight foot whip with a 30 inch fall and an eight inch cracker, that means the total length of you whip is 11' 1" + 2' (for the length of your arm)=13' 1" X 2 = 26' 2". Twenty six feet two inches is your MINIMUM safety diameter! I'm sure that's a lot more than most people would have thought, but that's the reality of it.
-Practice in a wide open area where you can be seen from a great distance. A whip's crack can to many, sound like a gun shot and if the police are called in thinking there's a nut shooting a gun in the park, they will see you from a distance and understand you're not shooting a gun, but cracking a whip and this will immediately lower their level of tension and their response will also change. They are not likely to charge at you with their pistols drawn, and you in turn can put your whip down when you see them approaching you; this will signal to them that you are not dangerous and are aware of other people's safety and responsible enough to not place anyone in danger. This has happened to me and because of how I handled the situation and where I was practicing, they police officers were courteous and we had a very pleasant talk and everyone left happy and in good terms. This is your responsibility, make sure you live up to it.
-Don't be confrontational and understand that the noise may bother those around you, so don't practice late in the evening or at night, and try to do it in a place that is likely to not bother too many people. If someone does ask you to stop, be understanding and apologize for the disturbance and try to see if an understanding can't be reached. Most people are more than willing to come to a compromise if they feel you are not disrespecting them and their right to live in peace. When I was a kid I would crack my whip almost every day from spring to fall, but I wouldn't do it for hours on end - I knew even a saint has a limit to their patience...
-NEVER let someone use your whip without eye protection and without having showed them HOW to use it safely. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure those around you stay safe while using your whip.
-Understand that animals may react strongly to the noise, so if you are practicing in a park, be aware of dogs and pets who may be scared by the sound and might react aggressively.
-Children are very impressionable so if some kids are around and seem interested by your whip, try to show it to them and explain that it can be very dangerous and that it is not a toy. Kids are fascinated by things like this and it's ok to let them hold a whip but make sure they don't try to crack it, unless of course they have the protection necessary and their parents are OK with it. When my stepson was six or seven, he wanted to try cracking the whip, and instead of telling him no and destroying his enthusiasm, I showed it to him and let him handle it and then I put some goggles on him and crouched down behind him and held the whip WITH him, so I was controlling it but because he was also holding onto it, he felt like he was doing it. He was very happy and soon turned his attention to something else. I'm not saying you should do the same thing, I'm just illustrating the point that it IS possible to have a positive take on it while remaining safe.
-I know many have brought this next point up and love to debate the possibilities of it, but a whip is not made to swing from a tree with, so don't do it. You run a very high risk of damaging or breaking your whip, which you probably paid good money for, and you also risk injuring yourself in the process. If you want to swing from a branch use a rope. Unless your life is depending on it and there is ABSOLUTELY no other options, DON'T SWING FROM YOUR WHIP. End of story. I'm not going to debate this, there are threads that are dedicated to this topic.
-Don't try something stupid like you see in the movies with your whip; those are stuntmen and movies are not reality. Understand that there is a lot of expertise and practice that goes into stunt work, you do not become a stunt coordinator over night, and there is such a thing as editing and nowadays, computer graphic (CG) and visual effects, so don't believe everything you see on the screen because you don't know how it was made and chances are the reality is far from what you think it is.
I guess that's it. Use your common sense and for goodness sake, be careful!!!
Cheers,
Franco
Anyone who knows me a bit knows I am a big stickler for safety, sometimes annoyingly so. This is because I have been hurt myself many times, though never seriously by a whip strangely enough... and I know what it can mean to get injured.
For anyone starting out with whips here are the basics of safety:
-ALWAYS wear safety goggles. ALWAYS.
-Make sure you have done your homework BEFORE you attempt ANY cracks. This means go on Youtube and learn from those who know more than you. There are many who have taken the time to put together how-to videos and who do a great job at teaching how to safely use a whip. It's an invaluable resource and it's free, so use it.
-Don't assume you are God's gift to whipcracking, the odds are you're not. I don't know if ANYONE is, and if there is such a person, it's safe to say they are the exception and not the average person. Assume you are the world's worst candidate to whipcracking and you'll save yourself (and others) a lot of pain.
-Always walk the area you are going to practice in and make sure there's no small objects lying around that could be inadvertently be picked up by the whip and thrown as high-speed projectiles.
-Always make sure there is enough space to safely swing the whip in any direction without it hitting anything. When you become good enough you can reduce this area to work in more confined spaces, but until then, give yourself the chance to be safe. Take the entire length of your whip and add a good two feet to that and multiply that by two, this will give you the diameter of the circle in which you can safely practice without hitting anything. So if you have an eight foot whip with a 30 inch fall and an eight inch cracker, that means the total length of you whip is 11' 1" + 2' (for the length of your arm)=13' 1" X 2 = 26' 2". Twenty six feet two inches is your MINIMUM safety diameter! I'm sure that's a lot more than most people would have thought, but that's the reality of it.
-Practice in a wide open area where you can be seen from a great distance. A whip's crack can to many, sound like a gun shot and if the police are called in thinking there's a nut shooting a gun in the park, they will see you from a distance and understand you're not shooting a gun, but cracking a whip and this will immediately lower their level of tension and their response will also change. They are not likely to charge at you with their pistols drawn, and you in turn can put your whip down when you see them approaching you; this will signal to them that you are not dangerous and are aware of other people's safety and responsible enough to not place anyone in danger. This has happened to me and because of how I handled the situation and where I was practicing, they police officers were courteous and we had a very pleasant talk and everyone left happy and in good terms. This is your responsibility, make sure you live up to it.
-Don't be confrontational and understand that the noise may bother those around you, so don't practice late in the evening or at night, and try to do it in a place that is likely to not bother too many people. If someone does ask you to stop, be understanding and apologize for the disturbance and try to see if an understanding can't be reached. Most people are more than willing to come to a compromise if they feel you are not disrespecting them and their right to live in peace. When I was a kid I would crack my whip almost every day from spring to fall, but I wouldn't do it for hours on end - I knew even a saint has a limit to their patience...
-NEVER let someone use your whip without eye protection and without having showed them HOW to use it safely. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure those around you stay safe while using your whip.
-Understand that animals may react strongly to the noise, so if you are practicing in a park, be aware of dogs and pets who may be scared by the sound and might react aggressively.
-Children are very impressionable so if some kids are around and seem interested by your whip, try to show it to them and explain that it can be very dangerous and that it is not a toy. Kids are fascinated by things like this and it's ok to let them hold a whip but make sure they don't try to crack it, unless of course they have the protection necessary and their parents are OK with it. When my stepson was six or seven, he wanted to try cracking the whip, and instead of telling him no and destroying his enthusiasm, I showed it to him and let him handle it and then I put some goggles on him and crouched down behind him and held the whip WITH him, so I was controlling it but because he was also holding onto it, he felt like he was doing it. He was very happy and soon turned his attention to something else. I'm not saying you should do the same thing, I'm just illustrating the point that it IS possible to have a positive take on it while remaining safe.
-I know many have brought this next point up and love to debate the possibilities of it, but a whip is not made to swing from a tree with, so don't do it. You run a very high risk of damaging or breaking your whip, which you probably paid good money for, and you also risk injuring yourself in the process. If you want to swing from a branch use a rope. Unless your life is depending on it and there is ABSOLUTELY no other options, DON'T SWING FROM YOUR WHIP. End of story. I'm not going to debate this, there are threads that are dedicated to this topic.
-Don't try something stupid like you see in the movies with your whip; those are stuntmen and movies are not reality. Understand that there is a lot of expertise and practice that goes into stunt work, you do not become a stunt coordinator over night, and there is such a thing as editing and nowadays, computer graphic (CG) and visual effects, so don't believe everything you see on the screen because you don't know how it was made and chances are the reality is far from what you think it is.
I guess that's it. Use your common sense and for goodness sake, be careful!!!
Cheers,
Franco
