Cutting Back Part Two: In Practice

Words cannot describe my love or the Victorian Cut-back. I LOVE this crack. It looks cool and it works AMAZINGLY well with so many different types of whip cracking combos. So let me get my giddy school girl out now:

OMGOMGOMG EEEHHHH!!!


Alright. Back to business. I've been playing with this crack and I'm wanting to work it into a cracking routine.  Here's something I was playing with the other day:

What I really want to do it get it so I can do my coachmen's into my victorian's, which, by the way, sounds really cool, in case you've never seen it done. Anyway, like most of my stuff, this is a work in progress.

Hopefully it will be nice this weekend and I will be able to go outside for a change.

Until Next Time,

Signed,
Your Scarlett SnapDragon

Cutting Back: Victorian Style

Alright folks, here's that new crack I told you all about. The Victorian Cut-Back. Doing it is mostly a matter of getting your brain to wrap around the concept of switching directions. It's a bit ticky, but once you get the hang of it, there's nothing to it.  So here's what it looks like. It is the first crack I do in this video:

I really love this crack. I think it looks cool and also is a bit unusual. I've probably already said this a bagillion times, but I have NEVER seen this crack before. I ran into while watching videos on youtube. Apparently there is this whip cracking study group called the "Seattle Snapdragons". (Great minds think a like with the name!). Their work is very good. I really enjoy seeing a group learning different cracks and doing interesting things with them. Check them out, if you have the time!


That's all for now,

Until Next Time,

Signed,
Your Scarlett SnapDragon

Practice Makes Perfect

So there are a few new cracks that I am trying to learn presently. The first is called the "Victorian Cut Back" and I just learned of it's existence two hours ago. Naturally, I am now determined to learn it. It's an interesting crack where you rotate the whip in a counter-clockwise fashion and then, once you have the whip  in front of you, you switch the directions causing it to crack by your elbow. It looks interesting and I am very excited to start working on it. Videos of that progress to come.

The second crack, or rather "Crack sequence" I should say, if called "The Four Corners".  Here is a video of my first practice session of it: 

If I were doing it perfectly, you'd hear four crack total, one in each corner as the name would suggest. It's a difficult one but I think, like anything, with time I will get the knack for it.  I really would love to get to the point where I can do it with both of my stock whips in a staggered manner, although I have heard that this is considered very difficult. No matter! I am up for the challenge!

That's all for now!

Until Next Time,

Signed,
Your Scarlett SnapDragon

Rosalyne at her Finest: My Pink Whip

Alright everyone, I have yet to "introduce" my newest whip, Rosalyne....but that's going to come later. I've had her for about two-three weeks now (give or take) and I feel like I've made a lot of progress. I put together a small routine that I think I am going to keep. What I like about it is two things:

For starters, it forces me to work on two different types of flicks, which is a crack that has been very challenging for me to learn. As they say, practice make perfect and having a routine that I like that includes them will surely inspire me to not get frustrated and actually practice.

The second thing I like...or rather LOVE about this routine are the different transitions. I think they look really cool, flashy, and add a little bit of personality to the bit.

So here it is: My latest routine:

I think once I get this down pat, without any flaws, I will make it more challenging by adding more complex cracks. As for now, it allows me to  solidify the cracks I do know and exercise the ones I am still working on.

Balance is key here.

On that note, I hope you enjoy the new video! More to come!

Until Next Time,

Signed,
Your Scarlett SnapDragon

An Introduction: Amadeus

Since you all have been reading about my whip cracking, I thought it was about time you learned what kinds of whips I am using.

This first one's name is Amadeus. He is a 5 1/2 foot long Nylon Bullwhip and I have had hip for about 7 months. He is pretty darn quick and good for crack patterns which involve some sort of rhythm.

He really is an excellent whip, and I have definitely been hard on him.

And now, without further ado, Amadeus:

 As you can see by the lightening of the colors towards the thinner part of the Thong, I have used him ALOT. The colors are black and royal blue.

I bought this lovely whip from the incredibly talented whip maker Greg DeSaye.

You may find his whips at:

http://www.stockmansupply.com/Whip-intro.html

I have ordered almost all of my Whips from him and they are fantastic. What I love most about them is how smooth they move (if you'll excuse the rhyme!).



Here's a shout out to the lovely Greg DeSaye; without you, I would have no whips!


As promised, I will be going out whipping later today and plan on working on a few new things. Hopefully I will be able to video of few of them!

Until Next Time,
Signed,

Your Scarlett SnapDragon

What's to Come

Hey Everyone!

Sorry about the slow posting, It's been very hectic in my life at the moment. Just wanted to let you all know, I do plan on going to the park tomorrow and/or Thursday to get some more practice in and maybe even a new video!

So hang in there and bear with me!

I promise there will be cake*!

Until Next Time,

Signed,
Your Scarlett SnapDragon

*There may or may not be actual cake. The cake is probably a lie. 

Youtube and the Like

I think my biggest inspiration for new cracks and routines comes from youtube. It always amazes me the untapped talent that is on there.

That being said, there are also numerous cases where people just do not know what they are doing.  For example, this little number: 

While I still maintain that I am NOT an expert, there is still so much wrong with this.  

To start, her "overhead" is really more of a "Diagonal". This really doesn't matter too much...unless you are working with a partner.  If you are supposed to do a crack over someone's body, for example, and you do a diagonal crack, rather than an overhead, you could hurt yourself and your partner. 

Aside from that, I have this pet peeve:  don't call a crack something it's not. It sort of goes a long the same lines of  if you're going to brag you can do something, make sure you can actually do it. ( at least in my brain it does)

The second problem I have with this video is how much she is muscling the whip. Slow down girl! Let the whip do the work, not your whole body! I know it's a long whip and therefore heavy but that really doesn't matter too much. The whip will go where you tell it to. You don't need to move your whole body in order for the whip to make noise. Bottom line here:  she's putting too much energy into her crack which will destroy it over time.  

Maybe I am being a little hard on her? She is clearly a beginner. I guess the thing that "irks" me is that fact that the subtitle says "Desiree aka Whip Girl aka Catwoman in City park Showing off her skills with her 8ft long Bull Whip"   . Clearly this woman has no idea what she is doing, so how can she claim to be "Whip Girl" or "Cat Woman"  when she can't even do a proper overhead? 

I guess the whole basis of this is that fact that there is claim that this woman is good and she is not. My whole attitude would change if she didn't think she was such a bad ass for cracking a whip. People don't appreciate the amount of work and effort that goes into being a good whip cracker, and that frustrates me to no end. 

So there's my rant. People, I beg you, if you're going to crack a whip, at least attempt to do it properly. And if you don't know how, ask for help, don't try to fool yourself into believing you're incredible when there are severe flaws in your basic technique. That's when you get hurt.  

If you'll notice, on the majority of my videos I almost always state "I am working on this" or "This is something new". I know my stuff isn't perfect and I need to practice... but that's why I am!

Alright, that's it for now.

Until Next Time,

Signed,

Your Scarlett SnapDragon

Everybody was Kung-Whip-Fighting part 1

One of the biggest uses I would like to work into my whip training is learning how to fight with the whip in a human chessboard/stage combat setting.

While I do not think myself or my partner are ready for a full on fight, we've been playing with a few concepts. Nothing solid, because like I said, my partner and I are still trying to get our core cracks as solid as possible. But, for your amusement, here is a *short* video of something we are playing with:

I know the ending wants to make you all vomit with cute but you can't say I didn't warn you. He is, after all, my partner.

  Anyway, I think there is something visually bad-ass about two whips going up against each other.  Like in the beginning, when I was re-watching this video, it looked like shit was really about to go down.

Our biggest hurdles will be figuring out how to play with the distance so all the moves make sense. We both have the same length of whip, 6 1/2ft, so we are equal to begin with but two people cracking whips at each other is going to get boring very quickly. We will need to coordinate it so that there are some interesting "cat and mouse" moments (so to speak). 

Anyway, those are all my thoughts on that for now.

Until Next Time,

Signed,

Your Scarlett SnapDragon

And Now for Something Different...

This has nothing to do with whip cracking (GASP! I know! You're all so shocked and disappointed!) but (here's where I redeem myself) it has to do with something equally as snappy:

Sharks.

This video made me fall on the floor, laughing in tears, and nearly pissing my pants because I was laughing that hard.

I can't explain why, but for some reason the concept of singing sharks amuses me to no end, particularly singing this song:

When I was little (like 3) my parents thought it was a good idea to let me watch the movie "Jaws". BIG MISTAKE. I was terrified for years to get into a bubble bath with fear that Jaws might be inside waiting to eat me. Even today I am still fearful of going into any large body of water by myself ( with the logic of: if someone else is in the water with me, I can totally out swim them. It's sad, but true!) At any rate, I would argue that Jaws was the first horror film I ever saw and definitely catapulted my interest in the genre.  So this theme song holds a very special place in my heart. (May the Jaws ride in Universal Rest in Peace!)

Until Next Time,

Signed,

Your Scarlett SnapDragon

Fresh from the Postage Box: Meet Rosaline

Greetings everyone!

I am super excited to announce that my new whip is finally in! Her name is Rosaline and she is a 6 1/2 ft long  red and pink Bull whip.

The Good News: I now have a whip with which to do small wraps on people, also she visually stands out from other whips. Lastly, she will allow me to experience something longer (giggity)

The Bad News: 6 1/2ft is very different from the 5 1/2ft that I am used to with my original whip, Amadeus. The whips moves slower and there is a lot more of it. As a result, I am going to need a lot of practice to adjust to this whip's length.

So, as promised, here is another video for you all to enjoy! It was recorded by my friend and new whipping buddy, Brittney (So girl, if you are reading this, HEEEEyyy!). 

I would like to note here that I am particularly found of the ending on this one!

Until Next Time,

Signed,

Your Scarlett SnapDragon

  

Whip it good: Stock vs Bull. A body comparison

Happy Saturday everyone!

So I was in the backyard of a friends house last night practicing whip and working on a few new things with my stocks and then attempting to translate them onto my bull whip.

And then, it dawned on me:

I'm really noticing more and more these days that there is a major difference between my stocks and my bull whips.

For example, with the stocks doing things like Volleys and the Tasmanian Cut-Back  are so much easier then when I do them with my bull. This would presumablely be the result of the different compositions of the bodies of the whips.

You see, with the bull whip, the handle sort of extends INTO the length of the whip. When I think about what a whip looks like, this is what I imagine. I suppose, in a way, the bull whip is the "traditional" image that comes to mind when you think about what a whip is. (This is probably thanks to such movies as Indiana Jones but a true analysis of this would require a lot more research and time. )

Stock whips have this long handle that have a definite end where the rest of the whip begins. There is a knot at the tip of the handle that makes the handle of the whip feel like a "magic wand".  The body of the whip "hinges" on the "wand" much like those silly ribbon wands that many, myself included, used to play with when we were little.

At any rate, I find it fascinating how a small change like the length of the handle can not only effect the entire whip but also how the whip handles.

Hoping to get some video-taping in next weekend. Expect more videos soon.

Until next time,

Signed,
Your Scarlett SnapDragon

Whip it Good: The "Indiana Jones" Tale

Greetings ladies and gents!

I thought this would be an excellent time to mention my latest in excitements. I just booked my plane tickets to go study sword and whip fighting with one of the most famous and greatest Masters of our time. 

For those of you who have no idea who this may be, I will give you the rundown. This individual lives in California and has worked since the 70's in the stage/film combat industry. He has worked with such famous stars as Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfiffer, Tom Cruise and the list only gets bigger. His name is Anthony DeLongis and he is incredible. 

If you have a moment, youtube his stuff, it's all very interesting. His technique seems to focus a lot on slow controlled movement (rather quick and super loud and flashy). It's incredible watching him and hearing what he has to say.

Words cannot describe my excitement for this trip. I think it will prove to be an incredible help in perfecting my technique. At any rate, I thought I'd share.

Until next time,

Signed,

Your Scarlett SnapDragon

Ode to a Lefty..Or Something Like That

I would like to start this post by shouting out to my very first follower and comment-er RASHEL! Thank you Rashel for having faith that this blog will not bore you to death.

In a comment, Rashel so expertly pointed out that my right hand is slower then my left. Elementary, my Dear Rashel, I am, in fact, a lefty. This means, as I am sure you could imagine, that I learn all of my whipping techniques first on my left hand and then try to teach myself to do them on my right. I also, when given an option, prefer to use my left hand as it is the stronger of the two. A method of learning? Yes. Flawed? Probably...but functional.

I would also like to take the time to point out that I have only had my stocks for about 3 months now so I am still very new at using them. I imagine "speeding up my right hand" is mostly a matter of practice.

Thank you, Rashel, for pointing that out as I feel it is a good reminder that I do, in fact, need to exercise the use of both hands (I'm sure there is a "giggity" that would be appropriate in there somewhere).

Until my next post

Signed,
Your Scarlett SnapDragon

Take that! My Double Stocks and I

Two posts in one week! -le gasp-!

I know, perhaps I'm a bit too excited about this blog getting started but what can I say? So, just in case you haven't had enough of my whipping videos, here's another...or two.

In these videos I am using my double stock whips (one is named "Pinkie" and the other "The Brain"..because together they can take over the world!!! Or at least the park)

Both of these videos feature me doing some free-form routines and techniques I have been working on. They are not perfect but they are definitely getting better from when I first started doing them. Hope you enjoy!

For Starters: The Begining

Alright Folks,

Lets get this blog cracking, if you'll excuse my pun.

I am nicknamed Scarlett and I have been a whip cracker for only 10 months now. I still consider myself a beginner because I know I have a lot to learn. So to inspire myself, and perhaps a few of you readers, I have created this blog in an effort to chronicle my progress and improvement. Feel free to leave tips of advice as I am new to this field and am open to suggestion. To start, here is a video of my abilities as they stand at this very moment:

If you like it, feel free to subscribe to my youtube channel as I plan on using it for the majority my of posts in this blog.

Now that we have gotten all of that introduction stuff out of the way, let the cracking commence!

Signed, Your Scarlett SnapDragon.