The 10/10 Challenge

[Charlie Carpenter]

Just been looking through some of Robbie's videos, very helpfull. Just as an aside, who made that whip in the WB 10/10 challenge video. The orange whip, it moves beautifully

[Robert Gage]

Charlie, I'm not sure which whip you mean, but if it's on one of Robby's videos, the answer is almost certainly Devin Bauer - his 'Amper Special'. Robby got Devin to make the prototype of this whip, and more recently got Devin to make an orange one 'for demonstration purposes'. It's 6-foot, very well made. (I've got one, too - but 6.5 feet. If we can meet up some time, I'll show you....) Devin had too many other commitments, and is no longer a member of the Forum - but look at the thread Masterpieces & Craftsmen (public archive) → Devin Bauer.

[Grant Weaver]

Looking very nice Charlie. I do notice that you guide the whip with your pointer finger. Most people do it with the thumb, which makes it a bit more natural. I suspect that your difficulty with really aiming the whip in the direction of the target may stem from leading with your pointer finger. Maybe try experiment with the thumb and see it helps. Your form looks good, but I agree with Robert, you may also find it more natural to use more of your whole body. A final note, your crack are strongest when you allow significant time for the whip to drop. Extending the pause at the top by another second on some of the weaker cracks would have allowed gravity to do a better job and give you the nice, satisfying, and clean crack that we all look for. This is so exciting, the other members here know that whip cracking is my favorite part of the art. I dabble in whip making, but cracking is my true love. I would love to see more of your work!

[Charlie Carpenter]

Thanks Grant, its so nice to have other people look at my form, I will have a play with your suggestions for tomorrow

Thanks Robert, I will be looking through his work, I look forward to meeting you when I get back

[Charlie Carpenter]

So here is today's practice, couldn't resist a wee swipe at the camera at the end

As I suspected playing with the timing and grip will take some time, my body felt more natural today although I'm still not following through every time. I wonder if I overloaded with changes today. Tried using less force as well, feels nice but my timing is out.

https://vimeo.com/194224189

After the practice though I took out my super high tech target stand, a stick, balloon and dry nettle stalks. I wasn't thinking on form too much just seeing how accurate I was and was pretty consistently able to take 1-2" chunks of stalk. I think playing is having an influence it just hasn't reached my conscious mind yet.

[Robert Gage]

Charlie, that looks a bit more relaxed. Improvement! The timing wiill come....

[Charlie Carpenter]

Cheers Robert, hope so

[Ron May]

Charlie, you are right about not following through. A lot of your throws are stopping the momentum at around 4:00 in stead of 6:00.
You are looking more relaxed that's for sure.
Trying to change too many things at one time is challenging, so maybe focus on changing one thing at a time.
Over all it's looking a whole lot better, smoother and more relaxed.

Ron

[Charlie Carpenter]

Thanks Ron, that makes sense. Its a lovely day here, I might go out again in a bit, its nice to have the shadow to act as a mirror

[Ron May]

I have completely lost time in this part of the challenge and yesterday was the last day for combo 2.
I was able to practice yesterday but didn't realize that it was day 10 so I didn't make a video. Today is drizzly and cooooolish so I won't be able to do a video until it dries out but it's coming.

So tomorrow we will be starting combo 3 : opposite horizontal into horizontal crack.
Day 1 is Monday and it will end on Dec. 14th.

I really appreciate everyone staying on the current crack(s) for all the 10 day time periods.
You can practice any and or all the other cracks but please focus on the current crack(s) for that time period.

I think every one is showing really good improvement and we all are becoming more relaxed and comfortable with every practice.

Tally-Ho and let's keep on crackin'.

Ron

[Tristan Foy]

It's been rainy here, too, so yesterday I wasn't able to practice.

Charlie, I can see you having to unknot your cracker! I hate it when that happens.

It's nice to see you are starting out slow and gentle, the opposite of what most people do, including myself. This approach will actually yield better cracks in the long run, so don't try to put a ton of energy into your throws.

I noticed with your forward crack (FC, we sometimes call it here), you aren't letting your whip chill out when it's behind you. I try to give it half a second over and over, till it starts to fill like muscle memory. Granted, I'm not master at it, but I've been making the same mistakes you are, and so I understand what it feels like to not know how long the whip should be behind you, especially when you can't see it.

[Charlie Carpenter]

Cheers Tristan, yeah knots are a pain, I just switched to dacron crackers though and it happens a lot less than my nylon ones.

It's hard, I have bad habits to break caused by lots of unsupervised practice but I can really see the value in breaking it all down from the beginning and getting things as perfect as possible. I appreciate your comments, they echo what others have said and I'll be continuing to play with the timing. I like sunny days so I can see the shadow, it seems to really help.

[Charlie Carpenter]

Well progress today I think, maybe. I was listening out for the popper touching the grass behind me and that seemed to help. Not quite as loose though and still not following through each time. Think I might have to spend more than 10 days on this one.

Ron would you prefer If I post these elsewhere until I have caught up with everyone?

https://vimeo.com/194335550

[Robert Gage]

Charlie, I fear you'll think I'm being super critical: if you want me to shut up, just say so!

But now you seem to be rocking back and forth with your whole body on each crack. Remember: if your hand stops completely in what I call 'absolute space', the whip will form a loop and crack much more easily - in fact, with almost no effort at all. By rocking back and forth, you make your hand move in 'absolute space', just as the whip is trying to form a loop....

[Charlie Carpenter]

Not at all Robert, I think it was partly to do with looking back at the thong for the timing, I must confess I wasn't thinking a great deal about my body today

One question though if I may, do you think I should be pushing toward the target more or is it almost completely a circular movement? The reason I ask is that the crack seems to be happening closer to me

[Ron May]

No Charlie, you go at your own speed. I don't want to rush anyone. Posting here is fine with me.
I think that you are definitely showing improvement and Mr. Robert's right about the rocking thing. In stead of watching the whip, try to feel where the whip is more. I think that will help not only with this crack but future cracks as well.
Good job.

It's still raining here and no let up is coming for the rest of the day.
Ron

[Charlie Carpenter]

Cheers, Ron

[Tristan Foy]

I think you should post where you are, especially if you started later than everyone else. Hopefully this thread will stay alive after the original challenge is expired, to help other students.

But maybe it would make sense just to do a second challenge altogether. In a language forum I used to be active on, they had an annual 90 day challenge, where participants would all try to learn as much of a new language as possible in 90 days, just to see how far in it they could go. I never participated, however.

[Bob Ouellette]

I took my 4' stockies out for some practice today. I might try a different cracker since my mason's twine doesn't seem to be doing the job very well. I took my girlfriend's kids out to a park a few days ago to throw their boomerang and spent some time with my 10 footer. I sometimes forget that location plays a big role in how loud cracks sound.

Welcome to the challenge, Charlie.

[Tristan Foy]

No news today, fellow cracksters.

It was cold and rainy, yes. But mostly I just had too many things to do right after work to get in a decent session. Tomorrow or certainly Wednesday I'll be back in the game.