How to Crack a Whip: the Circus Crack or the Cattleman's Crack

I finally updated my "how to" videos.  Here's a demonstration of the Circus Crack otherwise known as the Cattleman's Crack.

1. Start with the whip down or preferably behind you and your arm down straight by your side (the 6 o'clock position). Note – I’m demonstrating with a 6 foot bullwhip and a short 3.5 foot snakewhip (The Pocket Rattler).
2. In a smooth motion bring the whip around in front of you, up and over your shoulder. Your arm should stop around the 12 o’clock position, yet allowing the whip to continue on behind you.
3. When the whip is pointing back behind you – at around the 9 o’clock position or even pointing down toward the ground (your arm is still around 12 o’clock) – bring your arm quickly forward to the 3 o’clock position. The whip is traveling on a horizontal plane beside you and when you change its direction here it is forming the critical loop that will travel down the whip ending in the sonic boom.
4. One thing that I have seen that seems to help with this crack with new whip crackers is to practice the motions WITHOUT trying to crack the whip. Many people simply try too hard, so just try to get the motion down and it will often crack without you intending for it to happen.

Have fun cracking!

~Ryan

http://www.happycracking.com/

How to Make Your Bullwhip Louder!!!

Here's a short infomative video by Adam Winrich on the "loudness" of bullwhips.



Here's an example of a four foot black paracord bullwhip I just shipped off this morning - notice especially the taper.

Happy cracking,

~Ryan

http://www.happycracking.com/

Even You Can Crack a Whip :)

I get asked now and again if it is difficult to crack a whip.  My answer is no and yes.  By that I mean that accomplishing a basic crack is quite simple when you understand the movements, but there are also many types of cracks that are much more difficult to master and even I can't do all of them yet, or all that well.

On that note, I shot this clip the other day of my seven year old son, Elijah, as he cracked his bullwhip.  The whip he's using is his three foot electric blue and neon orange paracord bullwhip.  I was duly impressed with his improvement.  The crack he is performing is the forward crack or the circus crack.



Happy cracking,

~Ryan

http://www.happycracking.com/

How to Lose Weight With a Bullwhip

I love it when I see bullwhips going more mainstream.  Here's a post from the LiveStrong webiste. (Click here to see it in the original.)

Overview
A bullwhip is a tightly woven cord attached to a handle and is traditionally used for steering animals on a ranch or farm; however, fitness enthusiasts have found another use for bullwhips. The art of bull whipping requires exceptional coordination and requires strength in the arms, shoulders, back and core. With practice, bullwhip training can be an entertaining alternative to traditional forms of cardiovascular exercise. Exercise with the bullwhip can help you burn the calories it takes to lose weight.

Step 1
Practice your technique with the bullwhip. There are three basic whip cracking motions: the forward crack, the overhead crack and the sidearm crack. Bullwhipping for exercise requires fast motions to get your heart rate up.

Step 2
Wear safety goggles, durable jeans, a long-sleeved durable top and gloves. These items will protect the body from various injuries in case the whip motion goes awry when trying to bullwhip for exercise.

Step 3
Start with a warm-up before you begin whipping. You will be utilizing your arms, shoulders, back and core. Five minutes of jogging followed by arms circles, trunks twists and squats should sufficiently warm up your body for bullwhipping.

Step 4
Start bullwhipping by beginning with one technique and performing the move slowly. Gradually increase your speed until you are performing that particular technique quickly.

Step 5
Switch to another technique after you have reached maximal speed with the previous technique. Repeat this process for each of the three techniques, twice.

Step 6
Complete your cycling through the three techniques and then break out into a bullwhipping "freestyle." This means stringing together the three techniques so that you move quickly from one technique to the next without repeating the same technique twice in a row.

Step 7
Continue to "free style" until you have completed at least 30 minutes of bull whipping. Depending on how vigorously you are whipping, you can burn anywhere from 150 to 200 calories per half hour.

Sounds like fun and an interesting workout idea.  Happy cracking,

~Ryan

http://www.happycracking.com/

The Bumble Bee

I finished this whip this week and thought it looked like a bumble bee...

I would imagine that it has a good sting to it.  I truly enjoy cracking these shorter whips.  They work well for fast cracking routines and are just easy to tote around with me.

This shot gave me some good close up resolution.  I'm not much of a photographer so I appreciate it when I get a shot like this that shows good detail.

Not much to blog about at the present time.  I'm hoping to shoot some better "how to crack" videos over the Christmas break.  The more I look at the ones that I have created the more I think they look lame.  We'll see how it goes.  If you're planning to order a whip I'd encourage you to do it fairly soon.  My plaiting claendar is filling up quickly and I'm already into January.  At the present time I may only have time for one, possibly two more oders for January and will be looking forward to February.  I'll be out of town for a week during that time and may not have the freedom to work on whips.

Well I hope you are enjoying your cracking.  Our weather here may be turning ugly soon - thankfully I have several nylon whips to play with that won't be affected by the weather ;)

~Ryan

http://www.happycracking.com/

Got 'Er Done :)

I finished the snakewhip from my earlier post and thought I'd throw out a few pics.

Happy cracking!

~Ryan

http://www.happycracking.com/

Busy With Christmas Orders

Well, I'm busily cranking out whips for Christmas.  Currently I am booked through about the second week in January, even though I've been able to get out several whips lately rather quickly (well quickly for me that is).  I'm currently finishing a three foot snakewhip to send to Canada for a gal who has told me this is her first whip.  I think she's going to enjoy the final product.  The colors she chose were colonial blue and neon orange - and I have to say I really like this color combo.  Here are a couple of pics of the whip in progress...

This one is not the clearest resolution, but here's the belly being plaited.

In this shot you can still see the loop where the butt knot will be that I hang the whip by as I plait it and the five strands of paracord on the other end that I'll tie the transtion hitch with.  I took this one outside in the sunlight with my iPhone.

Anyway, I just thought I'd write a quick update.  Feel free to contact me with questions about my whips, whips in general, or about ordering.  Have a wonderful Christmas season.

~Ryan

http://www.happycracking.com/

How to Crack a Whip: The Reverse Circus Crack

The Reverse Circus Crack or the Reverse Cattleman's Crack



This crack is accomplished in much the same way as the regular Circus Crack, only in reverse.

1. Begin with the whip down or in front of you and your arm down straight by your side (the 6 o’clock position).
2. In a smooth motion bring the whip up behind you and over your shoulder. Your arm should stop around the 12 o’clock position, yet allowing the whip to continue forward in front of you.
3. When the whip is point straight ahead of you - the 3 o’clock position or even slightly down, say 4 or 5 o’clock (note that your arm is still in the straight up 12 o’clock position) – bring your arm quickly back to the 9 o’clock position and on down to 6 o’clock.

The whip is traveling in a horizontal plane beside you and when you change directions it forms the loop that will make it reach the speed to crack.

Happy cracking!

~Ryan

http://www.happycracking.com/

Just Working on Some Whips

With Christmas coming I have several orders on the docket.  I just tonight finished an order for a purple and black Snapdragon.  I had a dickens of a time getting the purple cord.  It took a bit of work to find a store that had it in stock and then when my package arrived in the mail it was lacking the purple part of my order, which was the whole reason for placing an order with that company - yeah!!!  Oh well, my customer was very gracious and patient with me.  Anyway here it is.

I'm pleased with how this one turned out.  It's got a good little "pop" to it.  I hope my customer is pleased as well.

There's still time for a few more Christmas orders.  Contact me if I can help you get the whip you're looking for.

Happy cracking,

~Ryan

http://www.happycracking.com/

Rock Climbing

I'm taking a group of my outdoor skills students rock climbing in Lincoln, Arkansas tomorrow.  For some of them this will be their first time on the rocks and this trip will help to make sense of the things we have been learning in the classroom.  You may be wondering why I'm including this posting on my whip blog and the reason is that outings like this one are perfect opportunities to bring along a whip or three for the kids to mess around with.  Cracking whips and wilderness sports go great together.  Here's my packing list for tomorrow:

• Static rope(s)
• One for rappelling
• One for Yo-yo runner
• Dymanic rope(s)
• Prusik slings
• Free carabiners
• Locking carabiners
• Friction devices
• Figure 8s
• SBG
• ATC
• Rope pads
• Webbing (anchors & harnesses)
• Harnesses
• Tarp 
• Wasp spray
• 1st aid kit
• TP
• Knife/multi-tool
• Camera 
• Extra batteries
• Lunch
• Snacks
• $
• Drinks (i.e. water)
• Cell phone
• GPS
• Comfy clothes
• Hat 
• Whips :)

Happy cracking,

~Ryan

www.happycracking.com