Everyone, thank you for watching my videos and giving me advice.
Still rainy and grey here, so for that and a few other reasons I didn't get a chance to practice.
Johnny, thank you for that video link!
Ben, I know what you mean about the mirror! One of the reasons these two cracks (the FC and the Horizontal Crack) are so challenging is because I cannot get immediate visual feedback, and so I am recording myself. I wish I could have a mirror out there as I practiced.
Quiet here today. I hope people are doing ok!
The 10/10 Challenge
It's always helpful to get instant feed back for improvement and as you watch the videos you made just compare what you are doing vs. how Robby does it and you can probably see where you need to concentrate .
Basically that's what this exercise is all about, dedication to practice for improvement.
No matter what skill level one has there is always room for improvement. The only way to do that is to practice.
Keep up the good work.
Today I had to practice with just a "handle" . It was raining most of the day and not conducive for a positive practice outside.
I am finding that using just the handle / stick thing is good for practicing form and analyzing things to practice when I do have a whip in my hands.
I highly recommend it when a proper practice isn't possible.
Ron
Basically that's what this exercise is all about, dedication to practice for improvement.
No matter what skill level one has there is always room for improvement. The only way to do that is to practice.
Keep up the good work.
Today I had to practice with just a "handle" . It was raining most of the day and not conducive for a positive practice outside.
I am finding that using just the handle / stick thing is good for practicing form and analyzing things to practice when I do have a whip in my hands.
I highly recommend it when a proper practice isn't possible.
Ron
It's ok if you disagree with me.
I can't force you to be right.
I can't force you to be right.
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Tristan Foy
Ron, I have been kind of skeptical of just using a handle, since it's the thong that I worry about. But after practicing in a mirror once, out of curiosity, I was surprised how much it helped. I still make the same mistakes, but I had a much better idea of what I was doing and how it looked, so I have to agree with the mirror practice now. It's nice to hear that others, such as yourself and Ben (and I think Erik has mentioned it?) have having success with it!
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Johnny Pell
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Ben Varsek
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Tristan, thank you for sharing your videos !!!
Don't get frustrated if it takes a little while before you get the hang of a certain crack (like the forward crack) !!!
Remember how it went with the underhand crack - you got the hang of it and since you practice on a regular basis you will also get the hang of the forward crack (including the same "smile on your face" effect
) !!!
On the horizontal crack I would recommend the following:
You seem to use to much speed and force on the HC. A good way to develop a feeling on how much (or little) "force" is needed to keep the thong on a horizontal plane is to follow Robby's advice in the Whip Basics DVD: rotate the thong of you whip on a horizontal plane over your head. Don't do a crack just rotate it in one direction only (for example first counterclockwise, then stop the rotation, then go for a clockwise rotation). This is a save way of developing a feeling for how little force you need to use and it's also a good way to develop a muscle memory for this crack in general.
Nothing special to report on yesterdays (Thursday's) practice - it was a lot of fun but my whips got so much mudd on them after each practice during the last couple of days that I wish I had a "whipcleaning machine"
All the best
Ben
Don't get frustrated if it takes a little while before you get the hang of a certain crack (like the forward crack) !!!
Remember how it went with the underhand crack - you got the hang of it and since you practice on a regular basis you will also get the hang of the forward crack (including the same "smile on your face" effect
) !!!On the horizontal crack I would recommend the following:
You seem to use to much speed and force on the HC. A good way to develop a feeling on how much (or little) "force" is needed to keep the thong on a horizontal plane is to follow Robby's advice in the Whip Basics DVD: rotate the thong of you whip on a horizontal plane over your head. Don't do a crack just rotate it in one direction only (for example first counterclockwise, then stop the rotation, then go for a clockwise rotation). This is a save way of developing a feeling for how little force you need to use and it's also a good way to develop a muscle memory for this crack in general.
Nothing special to report on yesterdays (Thursday's) practice - it was a lot of fun but my whips got so much mudd on them after each practice during the last couple of days that I wish I had a "whipcleaning machine"
All the best
Ben
Ben, thank you for that good advise for Tristan.
That is a excellent way to develop the proper speed, and muscle memory.
It's a shame about the mud.
If I use my shorter whip that's not waxed it gets really heavy from soaking up the moisture from the grass. It behaves like a totally different whip almost like a whip twice as long.
Good going practitioners.
Ron
That is a excellent way to develop the proper speed, and muscle memory.
It's a shame about the mud.
If I use my shorter whip that's not waxed it gets really heavy from soaking up the moisture from the grass. It behaves like a totally different whip almost like a whip twice as long.
Good going practitioners.
Ron
It's ok if you disagree with me.
I can't force you to be right.
I can't force you to be right.
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Tristan Foy
Ben, thank you for the idea! I actually do warm up by rotating my whip already, a bit like just like a helicopter, but even so, you still reminded me on what to focus on in terms of weight and feel.
I made videos today but they are mostly more of the same so I won't bother posting them on my channel. On my HC I think I try to crack it too late, so by they time I crack the whip my arm is out to the side of me, rather than to the front.
With the FC I actually managed to get some pain-free cracks today. They weren't loud, but they weren't sub-sonic either, so I'm counting this as progress.
For some reason I could barely do the circus crack though! Every time I did my timing was off. Strange because that has become fairly simple now.
Also, irritatingly, after almost every single crack or throw I made, my popper knotted itself around the thong. Do you experience this? Is it a symptom of something I need to worry about regarding the whip (like time to change the popper?)
One of the bonuses of my new practice spot is there are a lot of deer out there. Almost every time I've been out there I see them hanging out by the trees, by the parking lots, or trotting across the soccer field. I have to admit I wondered how they'd react to a crack, and found that they stare at me pretty intently, which I expected. What I didn't expect is that when they leave they are far less timid that I would have anticipated. But then, I guess, they do indeed live in a park where there are lots of folk around.
I made videos today but they are mostly more of the same so I won't bother posting them on my channel. On my HC I think I try to crack it too late, so by they time I crack the whip my arm is out to the side of me, rather than to the front.
With the FC I actually managed to get some pain-free cracks today. They weren't loud, but they weren't sub-sonic either, so I'm counting this as progress.
For some reason I could barely do the circus crack though! Every time I did my timing was off. Strange because that has become fairly simple now.
Also, irritatingly, after almost every single crack or throw I made, my popper knotted itself around the thong. Do you experience this? Is it a symptom of something I need to worry about regarding the whip (like time to change the popper?)
One of the bonuses of my new practice spot is there are a lot of deer out there. Almost every time I've been out there I see them hanging out by the trees, by the parking lots, or trotting across the soccer field. I have to admit I wondered how they'd react to a crack, and found that they stare at me pretty intently, which I expected. What I didn't expect is that when they leave they are far less timid that I would have anticipated. But then, I guess, they do indeed live in a park where there are lots of folk around.
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Brandon "Sparky" Lam
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Robert Gage
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Bob Ouellette
I finally got some practice with the overhead crack. I was playing around with different speeds to get it to crack in different spots in front of me. I was using my 6' bullwhip by Bernie Wojcicki. I warmed up a bit with a circus crack. I need to get some video with this whip. It's quite impressive how little I need to move to get it to crack.
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Bob Ouellette
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Guest
Wow a Bernie whip! That's a treat!
Last few days it's been dry practice for me. At least we'll see has it carried fruit!
I wanted to finish a couple of whips before leaving to Helsinki - to showcase to my Systema friends.
So I'm in Helsinki right now for a weekend seminar for Russian martial arts.
I'll slip in some practice in the usual lunch brake we have tomorrow!
Last few days it's been dry practice for me. At least we'll see has it carried fruit!
I wanted to finish a couple of whips before leaving to Helsinki - to showcase to my Systema friends.
So I'm in Helsinki right now for a weekend seminar for Russian martial arts.
I'll slip in some practice in the usual lunch brake we have tomorrow!
Erik, even with the dry practice you are thinking about the proper moves and technique.
You will probably find that you are visualizing the thong in flight.
I think if you can keep the visualization when you get to use the whip in a full practice you will find a pretty good connection is translated between the two. Stand there nice and relaxed and before you throw it, visualize the throw and how you want the thong to fly and how you want to finish. Then throw. I find that it does work that way for me.
You will find that a lot of sports professionals use visualization in sports before they hit the golf ball, do gymnastics, or leap off the 10m platform, etc. ... it works or so many would not use it like they do.
Ron
You will probably find that you are visualizing the thong in flight.
I think if you can keep the visualization when you get to use the whip in a full practice you will find a pretty good connection is translated between the two. Stand there nice and relaxed and before you throw it, visualize the throw and how you want the thong to fly and how you want to finish. Then throw. I find that it does work that way for me.
You will find that a lot of sports professionals use visualization in sports before they hit the golf ball, do gymnastics, or leap off the 10m platform, etc. ... it works or so many would not use it like they do.
Ron
It's ok if you disagree with me.
I can't force you to be right.
I can't force you to be right.
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Robert Gage
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Mr. Robert, long before I finished my first whip I used this method to "practice" the cattleman's and reverse horizontal cracks. I had no whip to use until it was finished.
I hadn't even thought of using a stick or such in conjunction with it, but that would have certainly helped.
When I made my first attempt ever of throwing a whip, which I made a video and posted it in my first whip thread when I finally had it finished, it didn't feel like it was my first time. So to me that's solid proof of how much this helped.
Ron
I hadn't even thought of using a stick or such in conjunction with it, but that would have certainly helped.
When I made my first attempt ever of throwing a whip, which I made a video and posted it in my first whip thread when I finally had it finished, it didn't feel like it was my first time. So to me that's solid proof of how much this helped.
Ron
It's ok if you disagree with me.
I can't force you to be right.
I can't force you to be right.
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Robert Gage
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Guest
That's interesting Ron! It's with many things I do that subconsciously: drumming, martial arts... but you really have to pay attention that you're doing it correctly, otherwise you might be developing wrong kind of muscle memory!
I didn't have so much time today but to shoot a couple short videos of my whips. The lunch break of our 5 hour training was only about 10 minutes and I got to shoot the videos and eat only my other sandwich : D
I didn't have so much time today but to shoot a couple short videos of my whips. The lunch break of our 5 hour training was only about 10 minutes and I got to shoot the videos and eat only my other sandwich : D