The 10/10 Challenge

[Jessie Edwards]

Ron, I think it looks really good, but maybe work on your back swing just a hair, because your hand is swinging out on the second half.

[Ron May]

Thanks Jessie. Good eye.
I might concentrate more on keeping the back swing more inline on the same plane that the forward swing has.

Ron

[Ron May]

Today's practice was a good one.
I am also noticing that my elbow and upper arm are a little out away from my body.
I am focusing on keeping it closer which might help to keep the backward swing on plane with the forward swing of the thong.

Ron

[Guest]

Ron, if I May (pun intended).

Mr. Robert pointed out to me to follow the circus crack trough so my arm and the whip is ready for the next crack.
Try to seamlessly continue the movement from the circus crack all the way down and back to the opposite cc to form the slow figure eight.

[Ron May]

Thanks Erik, I had never heard that before.
That was the goal of my practice today.
It was semi-successful but has a long way to go to seem seamless and fluid.

Ron

[Tristan Foy]

I'm back in the saddle!

I did a 30-minute session of combo 4 to make up for the time lost. I'll start catching up with the figure-8 tomorrow.

Jesse, welcome! You got lots of people here who are able and willing to help you learn this craft.

Nice pipe. :-)

[Tristan Foy]

Ron, I'm going to watch the clip from Robbie's DVD tomorrow and start practicing, and then I think I'll be more suited to give you feedback.

I need to learn about crackers now. I had to replace the cracker on my whip and it just doesn't feel right.

[Ron May]

Tristan, that sounds like a good idea.
All crackers are not created equal.

Ron

[Tristan Foy]

I did manage to get some subsonic woofs that resounded off the trees. It sounded like a gun going off far away.

[Ron May]

Tristan, that means you are almost there.
Actually you might be there. With a proper popper it could actually crack like you want.

Ron

[Tristan Foy]

Yes! I remember that advice and encouragement. And sometimes I try to crack just to achieve the subsonic woof. One of you gave me that idea. I think it was either you or Robert.

[Robert Gage]

Tristan, it's worth experimenting with a great many different crackers. I'm pretty sure every whip has an optimum cracker just waiting to be found - or perhaps two (or even three) depending on how ;loud you want it to be. Robby's 'neighbourhood friendly crackers' are very useful, but will never give a loud report. Some heavy waxed crackers are so loud as to be really unfriend;y. Different materials tangle more or less easily, and wear out more of less quickly. Robby's WV Volume IV has an excellent tutorial on making different crackers.... But just experiment! Crackers are cheap, and (if you always carry a knife and a fid) easily changed.

[Jesse Bessette]

Alrighty, so I missed the post on the crack we are working on. Which is it?

[Ron May]

Jesse, we are working on the slow figure eight.
Today is , I believe, day #5.
Thanks again for joining us in this commitment to practice 10 minutes a day for 10 days.

Ron

[Jessie Edwards]

I have found, the thinner the cracker, the sharper the crack. Dyneema makes a nice cracker, but tangles like mad. Coupling the dyneema with other things, you get varied results--all valid depending on what you need. Some want loud, some want quiet, some don't want knots, some like long crackers, some short. None of them wrong. Really, the best place to shop for cracker materials is the marina, though a tightly twisted innard from your paracord works really well and already in your possession. Roy even posted a video on a hunk of plan ol' paracord being the cracker.

Secondly, you can do the slow figure eight at any angle. If you are doing well with it at your side, try bringing it in front of you and do it perpendicular to your body. You are able to watch the plane easier and it's a little something different to add to your routine.

[Jesse Bessette]

Slow figure right is an awesome crack. People on here keep talking about how whip cracking is therapeutic, and this is probably the most therapeutic of the various whip cracks to me. It just gets you in a rythm. My question is, why do we not have a separate section on the forum for the 10/10 challenge. I'm thinking one thread where we could post the type of crack and the start date, then everybody posts their progress there. When the next part of the challenge begins, a new thread is started with that crack and the start date. It would make this a lot easier to follow, and if people were looking for assistance on a particular crack, they would be able to just click on that thread rather than having to go through 40+ pages of various ones. I say this as the new guy, because qhats happening now has me a little lost.

[Jessie Edwards]

There ya go Jesse. I opened up a new section and you all can resume your 10/10 challenge from here on out there. Ron, You can go ahead and make a new topic every 10 days.

[Jesse Bessette]

Sweet. Will definitely help make it easier. It should also make this whole thing a lot more streamlined.

[Ron May]

Jesse, that's what we mean about participating in the forum
Your idea was a good one and we used it.
As you can see, even new members have valued input.
Thanks for your idea and thanks to Jessie for making that happen.

Ron

[Jessie Edwards]

And this is how the newbies work their way up to being full members.