Bullwhips and the zen mentality

When I was young my father made me a bullwhip. Now granted it wasn't a Mike Murphy 16 plait, split kangaroo 15 foot Indiana Jones special, it was a piece of broom handle with 3 pieces of nylon cord nailed to the end and braided. It was about 6 ft long and I couldn't crack it to save my life...lord knows I tried.

Growing up there would come the odd time that some one would have a whip and all the guys would gather round to see who could crack it. I'd always feel like a poser in situations like these, the memory of all the failed cracks of my misspent youth conspiring to stiffen my arm and steal my strength. But years pass and time and work combine to leave no time for the dreams of the would be Lash La Rue or Indiana Jones.

Strange how the winds of fate blow sometimes. I met a guy. He knew whips. He even belongs to a whip social group. Next thing you know you've got yourself a whip from a guy in Dallas who's into dog sledding and you've taken your kids out to the park to learn how to crack a whip.

You know what's odd about cracking a whip? Once you learn to do it the whip actually cracks itself. I was a bit ill at ease when we first started, I kept wanting to force it to crack, I thought it was all about putting power behind it...bulling through it. It's not. it's the easiest thing in the world, as simple as flicking a wrist or moving your forearm up and down, if you do it right the whip will crack.

I learned some things about whips, like that there are five basic ways to throw a whip

1. The Cattleman (Sir Anthony Hopkins throws like that when he's putting out the candles while tutoring Antonio Banderas in Zorro ...and for the hell of it here's a nice pic of Cathrine Zeta-Jones. )

2. The Overhead Cattleman. (Think The Man from Snowy River...and what the hell here's another pic...I know Cathrine Zeta-Jones wasn't in that movie..guess what? I don't care.)

3. The Coachman. (hmmm...I can't think of a movie I saw this one in, and I don't think I can describe it...just trust me it's one of the five basic cracks.

4. Overhand. think...chunking a spear but instead of letting go, flick your wrist down, it's the only reliable way to crack really long whips...i.e greater than 15 ft. )

5. Underhand. Think popping a towel only you let the ground be the fingers holding the end.

I can Cattleman and Overhead Cattleman like a pro, I mean I can do it in my sleep...I have done it in my sleep. I can do the Coachman pretty well as well. I'm learning the proper way to do Underhand and I've a long way to go before I get Overhand down. I've even learned some tricks. I can do what's called a figure 8 and a fast figure 8. I can crack with either hand and I can wield two whips at once.

That said I've still a long way to go, but it's fun and I enjoy it. Oh and the kids? They pick it up like it's nothing, but they are more interested in going to the park afterward...still life is grand...I can crack a bullwhip!

Peace

Shane