Club Obi Wan

In the films, Indy is known for his great aim with the whip, and how he is able to swing from it when he lahses it out to a "whipable" object. Now, I've tried on tree-trunks and branches, my bed post, even my desk lamp, and my whip never wraps around the object. It just goes around the object once, and falls....

Is this just a "movie gimmik", or am I just doing something wrong?

I have come across so many conflicting opinion on this. The Bullwhip book I have says it can be done. I have heard here on the forums it cant. I think basically you can whip it around an object so it grips. But then you coouldnt get it to ungrip with just a flick. But dont take my word for it wait for the real gurus to come in here and tell you the truth!

Ken

Bah, give goggles and gloves, plenty safe. They are kids, they grow back

Joking of course, safety IS number 1.

I think it is very hard to get a whip to crack AND wrap, but just wrapping it around something is fairly straightforward. I've removed some threatening shaving cream cans from the reach of my foes (we have fights with the stuff all the time in our res--the equivalent of waterguns) many times. Best part, the whip isnt' going fast (as I am not trying to crack it) so no harm is done.

Regards,

Farn

First of all be careful which object you are about to wrap. You don't want to harm the laces of the whip. The trick to the wrap is to make sure the crack is done right before the object is hit. That way the inertia of the whip carries around or wraps the object. So I would imagine you are about to wrap a small pole. With a sidearm crack, make sure the crack occurs about a foot or two right before the object, coming from the side. Once it cracks, it safely wraps around the pole. Real simple.

-Sergei

Make sure the whip is nice and broken in as well. A whip with 6 months use on it is going to wrap a lot better than one that is right out of the box and stiff. And of course, be safe.

Jim

Yes, it can be done. And, yes, there is a trick to it. As the whip wraps the object you have to flick your wrist to the side, laying noe coil over the rest. If you were to swing or even lean back your own weight is what keeps it secure. It's sort of the same prinipal as Chinese fingercuffs. All you have to do to free it afterward is flick the final coil off the others. Granted, I was about 10 when I figured this out, and weighed a heck of a lot less. I fell in more than one stream learning to do it. As for the crack AND wrap, this can also be done. However, in the movies (Raiders, anyway for sure) Indy's whip does not actually crack. That's just the "movie magic" enhaced sound of the leather slapping the object. I don't know the last time anyone here may have punched a guy dead in the face, but that doesn't sound like it does in the movies, either. It's just little stuff to raise the drama.

I disagree,
I was doing a wrap on a tree the other day, (the branch above my head)
And when the cracker/end of the whip finished wrapping the tree,
There was a loud crack. That’s the first time that ever happened to me.
On a trailer on the dvd (TLC trailer I believe) there is footage of Harrison doing a wrap on a stand and IT does make a crack. I have also been able to wrap and pull dead branches out of trees at about waist height. (About where the hands of the guards in the film were). If you look closely in ToD, you can see that each time Indy uses the whip to disarm the thugges with the swords, he wraps their wrists and pulls the sword away, and he does not wrap the blade.
Adam

I've been doing wraps for years. I don't like wrapping tree trunks for limbs. I do a lot of shows and get volunteers of ALL ages that I wrap them. I usually wrap very low... usually around the knees or just above. The whip cracks, then quickly wraps the person and the leather catches itself where it's like a rope now where if I wanted to, I could easily jerk them off of their feet, because I can just pull their knees towards me and down they go. The first time I crack the whip on a person it usually scares the heck out of them because of the crack. THen it goes around them and I say did it hurt or did you feel anything and they say now. Once I did it at a church with kids and the kid said it felt good. LOL
I strongly suggest you don't swing from your whip. Use a rope, and don't be silly.
I also do a self-wrap, where I do a reverse horizontal crack and just before the whip has me wrapped up, I begin unwrapping. So it's like 2 things are happening at once. It's a timing thing and not so difficult to learn. It always gets a lot of oohs and ahhs. Once unwrapped go to your regular horizontal crack to finish and bow. It's a nice looking combo!

Some people wrap necks, which I have done a few times but don't like to do it because it's too near their face. I sometimes do their arms also. That would be for disarming them taking the pistol or knife from their hand. It's impressive to an audience too.

Another similar trick to the wrap is the flog. Instead of wrapping the subject the whip end hits their back. You better be a pro to do this one. If you see me sometime, ask me to show you. You can do repetive flogs. Since their is no wrap, you can immediately draw back and repeat.
The flog amazes people because they hear the whip crack and the whip hitting them but it doesn't hurt them. Remember kids ... don't do this at home!