Quote:
The whip was used by cattlemen as a tool, and whip-cracking was an art to the cowboys. Because of its great length, the whip could be employed from horseback. When on foot, the whip could be employed with a Bowie knife or other short range weapon in the left hand. Focus in on developing combative skill and not simply cracking the whip. We train in two man combat sets with the whip as well as in solo drills aimed at developing accuracy on small or moving targets. http://ahfaa.org/exotic.htm
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The whip has been a versatile tool and weapon in cultures worldwide since the beginning of time. It has been used as an implement for punishment, for controlling animals, for war, and, in recent years in the less talked about corners of society, as an accessory for intimacy (we’ll let that use go without further discussion -- this is a family show). War whips were usually very sturdy and flail-like. Most involved metal or stone tips attached via a chain or linking metal bars to a metal or wood handle. The variety of whip common in Elanthia seems to be flexible from the way it can be cracked, thus we selected the bullwhip for display here. The bullwhip, in the hands of an expert, can tear the flesh off bodies, pull objects out of a target’s hand, and in rare cases break bones.
Interesting note: the reason a bull whip “cracks” is that during the swing, the tip actually breaks the sound barrier for a split second as it is snapped back, producing a miniature sonic boom. http://members.aol.com/dargolyt/TheForge/whip.htm
Interesting note: the reason a bull whip “cracks” is that during the swing, the tip actually breaks the sound barrier for a split second as it is snapped back, producing a miniature sonic boom. http://members.aol.com/dargolyt/TheForge/whip.htm
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Most of the whips that are cracked today evolved just for making a noise, to herd cattle or perhaps to control sled dogs. They are not intended to hit anything or anyone, except in emergency. If you use a whip to hit livestock, you run the risk of doing too much damage, breaking bones or leaving open wounds that may get infected. There is one type of whip that has a more sordid history, though, and that is the short blacksnake. Part whip and part blackjack, it is a vicious street fighting weapon.
A blackjack (also called a cosh outside the US) is small club with a flexible handle and a lead weight on the end, usually with a leather cover. A light tap on the skull with one of these is enough to render the victim unconscious, and a full force hit will break bones. In many jurisdictions it is illegal to carry one.
Some time, probably in the early 19th century, a canny whip maker had the bright idea of loading the handle of a short snakewhip with lead shot and selling it for use as a blackjack. While there might be a law against carrying a blackjack, there was no law against walking around with a whip rolled up in your pocket. Often these whips will have some fancy plaiting beginning a three or four inches (75mm. to 100mm.) into the thong. This is to give a better grip when the whip is reversed and used as a club. If the whip is grasped a bit further down the thong, then the handle can be swung like a nunchuck, too.
Blacksnakes have attracted the attention of luminaries from Mark Twain to Russ Meyer. In The Galaxy, December 1870, Mark Twain wrote:
How well I remember my grandmother's asking me not to use tobacco, good old soul! She said, "You're at it again, are you, you whelp? Now, don't ever let me catch you chewing tobacco before breakfast again, or I lay I'll black snake you within an inch of your life! I have never touched it at that hour of the morning from that time to the present day.
A century later, Russ Meyers movie Black Snake: The Whip told the story of a slave revolt on a Caribbean island. Instead of Meyers usual exploitation of female anatomy, this film used the crack of the whip for its shock appeal.
A whip is at its most dangerous at the moment it cracks, and it is usually fully extended when this happens. For a short whip the danger zone is between four and six feet (1.2m. to 1.8m.) from the whip handler. If you are facing an opponent with a short whip in a fight, you have two options. You can run away, or you can move closer and attempt to punch, kick or grapple with the whip handler. If you are closer than four feet (1.2m), you are too close to be easily hit by the cracking end of a whip, but watch out for a quick flip or a switch to the other hand to turn that whip into a blackjack.
Short whip fighters will usually retreat from someone who tries to grapple with them, while dealing quick stinging blows aimed at both sides of the head and torso. When a blow connects and the pain distracts the opponent, the whip handler can then reverse the whip and use the handle for a disabling blow.
The best cracks to use for short whip fighting are variations of the sidearm and overhand flick. A whip handler should avoid moves like the forward crack, which have a long setup and thus telegraph her intentions to an opponent. Strokes may alternate from the left and right hand sides or stay on the same side of the body. In either case, the follow through from one stroke must be the setup for the next. The whip should be continually moving in ever changing unpredictable vertical and diagonal planes. Moves in a pure horizontal plane should be avoided unless the whip is very stiff, as the follow through may wrap around and hit the whip handler on the back. Even if the whip is not travelling fast enough to be painful at this point it takes too long to reverse the motion and bring the whip back to fighting mode, and it is quite undignified.
The basic exercises you should practice if you want to defend yourself with a short whip are the continuous overhand flick on both sides of your body, and the X pattern. Then, by switching from one pattern to another and varying angles and timing you can create an intimidating defensive screen of fast moving leather.
One way that a whip fighter can prevent someone moving inside the danger zone is to use a knife in the other hand. Whip and knife techniques are taught in Filipino martial arts such as Kali. One form of whip traditionally used was the buntot pagi or tail of a stingray! The poison was left in the sting making this a particularly vicious weapon.
A weapon called the sjambok originated in Southern Africa, and is now widely available. Its similar to a whip in that it is a flexible tapered hand weapon between about three to five feet (0.9m to 1.5m.) in length. However, the sjambok is not flexible enough to crack and does not have a popper. It is only intended as a weapon, and is carried by South African police for riot control, instead of the nightstick or truncheon we are familiar with in the US. Originally they were made from a single strip of thick hippopotamus, elephant or rhino hide, rounded by rolling between steel plates and tapered from a little over one inch (25mm.) in diameter down to three eighths of an inch (9mm.). These days cheap but effective plastic versions are common and can be found for a few dollars on Ebay. The hippo versions sometimes turn up there too, selling for fifty dollars or more. Being more rigid than a genuine whip they are easier to control, and thus require less training to use effectively.
I have seen a shot loaded snake whip for self-defense. It has with two metal rings at the handle end, which allow it to be fastened round your waist and used as a belt. Note that unless you have spent a number of hours practicing the use of a whip, pepper spray is likely to provide a more effective form of defense, if it is legal in your jurisdiction. The other advantage of pepper spray is that when you take it out to use it, your pants dont fall down.
Longer whips can be used as weapons, but they require a different set of techniques. As well as striking, the whip can be used to wrap a body or limb and disarm an opponent or pull them off balance. A wrap aimed at about knee height followed by a sharp tug on the whip will bring most people to their knees.
It takes an appreciable amount of time to set up and crack a long whip, and the danger zone is further away from the whip handler. An opponent who judges the timing correctly can avoid the blow and then step inside the whip handlers danger zone before he has time to set up another crack. At this point the whip handler has several options.
As with a short whip, a knife can be held in the other hand to discourage a close approach, or the handle of the whip can be used as a club. However, the extra length of the thong allows additional moves. The handle can be thrown or swung while holding on to the thong. Many techniques used in Kung Fu for a weapon called the rope dart can be used with a reversed whip. If youve never seen a rope dart, look out for the movie Shanghai Noon where Jackie Chan improvises one out of a lariat and a horseshoe.
The length and rigidity of a bullwhip or cow whip handle allow it to be used as you would a stick, to block blows with other weapons, or to hit and thrust. Theres another possibility, too. If the whip handler can flip a loop of the thong over the opponents head, pulling on the thong and pushing with the handle held horizontally will result in a chokehold, or if done forcefully can crush a windpipe. (Chokeholds can be extremely dangerous. Do not attempt to practice them without coaching from an experienced martial arts master.)
A loop of the whip can be used in other ways. If the thong is doubled back and held in the same hand as the handle it can deliver a powerful blow, extending the reach of an arm. If an opponent tries to kick, it can be hooked around an incoming leg and used to pull him off balance.
Overall, though, in spite of the emotional and artistic appeal long whips are not the most effective weapons for self-defense. I asked a black belt friend of mine who also cracks whips if she would rather face an opponent with or without a whip in her hand. She responded:
Having something to hand is always nice - I'd rather hit hard things like skulls with something other than a fragile hand. And it would be helpful in making a safe getaway - being able to back off and keep him at a distance would be helpful (or at least it would if my aim were better). I can think of ways I'd could use a bullwhip to, for example, remove a knife from a hand. But would I, as a choice? Probably only in limited situations - like someone with a knife standing just outside my kicking range, where I could hit the hand with the butt end (hiding the swing with my body - the perfect set-up is needed) or with the end, and do a wrap. I think using the bullwhip is like jujitsu rather than karate - in karate, you have a few dozen techniques, most of which can be used in pretty much any situation. In jujitsu you have hundreds of techniques, each applicable to only particular set-ups and attacks.
The sound of a whip crack will grab the attention of a room full of people, and the whip can then be used as a threat to control a group, especially if a long whip is cracked over their heads. However, the sound can also be mistaken for that of a gun. A friend of mine was cracking his whip in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco one day, when a police officer came over and asked him to stop because he kept mistaking it for gunfire and it was making him jumpy. Its not healthy to be around nervous cops, so my friend postponed his practice session for another day.
Whipmaker Gayle Nemeth, from Queensland, Australia, is promoting the sport of full contact whip fighting. Contestants wear long heavy coats and fencing masks, and whack away at each other with stock whips. Points are scored for a clean strike to the head only, so the object of the game is to avoid or block your opponents blows, while setting up a clean hit yourself. Gayles sparring partner, Angie Mooney says:
Even though you are protected the sound of the whips hitting is frightening and you can't help flinching as the whip cracks around you! It's amazing!
Perhaps the most amusing method for self-defense using a whip goes as follows. First do your most impressive and stylish multiple crack routine to keep your attacker at bay. Then pretend to accidentally drop your whip. Now stand back and watch while your attacker picks up your whip and injures himself with it! http://www.bullwhip.org/faq/combat.html
A blackjack (also called a cosh outside the US) is small club with a flexible handle and a lead weight on the end, usually with a leather cover. A light tap on the skull with one of these is enough to render the victim unconscious, and a full force hit will break bones. In many jurisdictions it is illegal to carry one.
Some time, probably in the early 19th century, a canny whip maker had the bright idea of loading the handle of a short snakewhip with lead shot and selling it for use as a blackjack. While there might be a law against carrying a blackjack, there was no law against walking around with a whip rolled up in your pocket. Often these whips will have some fancy plaiting beginning a three or four inches (75mm. to 100mm.) into the thong. This is to give a better grip when the whip is reversed and used as a club. If the whip is grasped a bit further down the thong, then the handle can be swung like a nunchuck, too.
Blacksnakes have attracted the attention of luminaries from Mark Twain to Russ Meyer. In The Galaxy, December 1870, Mark Twain wrote:
How well I remember my grandmother's asking me not to use tobacco, good old soul! She said, "You're at it again, are you, you whelp? Now, don't ever let me catch you chewing tobacco before breakfast again, or I lay I'll black snake you within an inch of your life! I have never touched it at that hour of the morning from that time to the present day.
A century later, Russ Meyers movie Black Snake: The Whip told the story of a slave revolt on a Caribbean island. Instead of Meyers usual exploitation of female anatomy, this film used the crack of the whip for its shock appeal.
A whip is at its most dangerous at the moment it cracks, and it is usually fully extended when this happens. For a short whip the danger zone is between four and six feet (1.2m. to 1.8m.) from the whip handler. If you are facing an opponent with a short whip in a fight, you have two options. You can run away, or you can move closer and attempt to punch, kick or grapple with the whip handler. If you are closer than four feet (1.2m), you are too close to be easily hit by the cracking end of a whip, but watch out for a quick flip or a switch to the other hand to turn that whip into a blackjack.
Short whip fighters will usually retreat from someone who tries to grapple with them, while dealing quick stinging blows aimed at both sides of the head and torso. When a blow connects and the pain distracts the opponent, the whip handler can then reverse the whip and use the handle for a disabling blow.
The best cracks to use for short whip fighting are variations of the sidearm and overhand flick. A whip handler should avoid moves like the forward crack, which have a long setup and thus telegraph her intentions to an opponent. Strokes may alternate from the left and right hand sides or stay on the same side of the body. In either case, the follow through from one stroke must be the setup for the next. The whip should be continually moving in ever changing unpredictable vertical and diagonal planes. Moves in a pure horizontal plane should be avoided unless the whip is very stiff, as the follow through may wrap around and hit the whip handler on the back. Even if the whip is not travelling fast enough to be painful at this point it takes too long to reverse the motion and bring the whip back to fighting mode, and it is quite undignified.
The basic exercises you should practice if you want to defend yourself with a short whip are the continuous overhand flick on both sides of your body, and the X pattern. Then, by switching from one pattern to another and varying angles and timing you can create an intimidating defensive screen of fast moving leather.
One way that a whip fighter can prevent someone moving inside the danger zone is to use a knife in the other hand. Whip and knife techniques are taught in Filipino martial arts such as Kali. One form of whip traditionally used was the buntot pagi or tail of a stingray! The poison was left in the sting making this a particularly vicious weapon.
A weapon called the sjambok originated in Southern Africa, and is now widely available. Its similar to a whip in that it is a flexible tapered hand weapon between about three to five feet (0.9m to 1.5m.) in length. However, the sjambok is not flexible enough to crack and does not have a popper. It is only intended as a weapon, and is carried by South African police for riot control, instead of the nightstick or truncheon we are familiar with in the US. Originally they were made from a single strip of thick hippopotamus, elephant or rhino hide, rounded by rolling between steel plates and tapered from a little over one inch (25mm.) in diameter down to three eighths of an inch (9mm.). These days cheap but effective plastic versions are common and can be found for a few dollars on Ebay. The hippo versions sometimes turn up there too, selling for fifty dollars or more. Being more rigid than a genuine whip they are easier to control, and thus require less training to use effectively.
I have seen a shot loaded snake whip for self-defense. It has with two metal rings at the handle end, which allow it to be fastened round your waist and used as a belt. Note that unless you have spent a number of hours practicing the use of a whip, pepper spray is likely to provide a more effective form of defense, if it is legal in your jurisdiction. The other advantage of pepper spray is that when you take it out to use it, your pants dont fall down.
Longer whips can be used as weapons, but they require a different set of techniques. As well as striking, the whip can be used to wrap a body or limb and disarm an opponent or pull them off balance. A wrap aimed at about knee height followed by a sharp tug on the whip will bring most people to their knees.
It takes an appreciable amount of time to set up and crack a long whip, and the danger zone is further away from the whip handler. An opponent who judges the timing correctly can avoid the blow and then step inside the whip handlers danger zone before he has time to set up another crack. At this point the whip handler has several options.
As with a short whip, a knife can be held in the other hand to discourage a close approach, or the handle of the whip can be used as a club. However, the extra length of the thong allows additional moves. The handle can be thrown or swung while holding on to the thong. Many techniques used in Kung Fu for a weapon called the rope dart can be used with a reversed whip. If youve never seen a rope dart, look out for the movie Shanghai Noon where Jackie Chan improvises one out of a lariat and a horseshoe.
The length and rigidity of a bullwhip or cow whip handle allow it to be used as you would a stick, to block blows with other weapons, or to hit and thrust. Theres another possibility, too. If the whip handler can flip a loop of the thong over the opponents head, pulling on the thong and pushing with the handle held horizontally will result in a chokehold, or if done forcefully can crush a windpipe. (Chokeholds can be extremely dangerous. Do not attempt to practice them without coaching from an experienced martial arts master.)
A loop of the whip can be used in other ways. If the thong is doubled back and held in the same hand as the handle it can deliver a powerful blow, extending the reach of an arm. If an opponent tries to kick, it can be hooked around an incoming leg and used to pull him off balance.
Overall, though, in spite of the emotional and artistic appeal long whips are not the most effective weapons for self-defense. I asked a black belt friend of mine who also cracks whips if she would rather face an opponent with or without a whip in her hand. She responded:
Having something to hand is always nice - I'd rather hit hard things like skulls with something other than a fragile hand. And it would be helpful in making a safe getaway - being able to back off and keep him at a distance would be helpful (or at least it would if my aim were better). I can think of ways I'd could use a bullwhip to, for example, remove a knife from a hand. But would I, as a choice? Probably only in limited situations - like someone with a knife standing just outside my kicking range, where I could hit the hand with the butt end (hiding the swing with my body - the perfect set-up is needed) or with the end, and do a wrap. I think using the bullwhip is like jujitsu rather than karate - in karate, you have a few dozen techniques, most of which can be used in pretty much any situation. In jujitsu you have hundreds of techniques, each applicable to only particular set-ups and attacks.
The sound of a whip crack will grab the attention of a room full of people, and the whip can then be used as a threat to control a group, especially if a long whip is cracked over their heads. However, the sound can also be mistaken for that of a gun. A friend of mine was cracking his whip in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco one day, when a police officer came over and asked him to stop because he kept mistaking it for gunfire and it was making him jumpy. Its not healthy to be around nervous cops, so my friend postponed his practice session for another day.
Whipmaker Gayle Nemeth, from Queensland, Australia, is promoting the sport of full contact whip fighting. Contestants wear long heavy coats and fencing masks, and whack away at each other with stock whips. Points are scored for a clean strike to the head only, so the object of the game is to avoid or block your opponents blows, while setting up a clean hit yourself. Gayles sparring partner, Angie Mooney says:
Even though you are protected the sound of the whips hitting is frightening and you can't help flinching as the whip cracks around you! It's amazing!
Perhaps the most amusing method for self-defense using a whip goes as follows. First do your most impressive and stylish multiple crack routine to keep your attacker at bay. Then pretend to accidentally drop your whip. Now stand back and watch while your attacker picks up your whip and injures himself with it! http://www.bullwhip.org/faq/combat.html
Shaolin Bullwhip
Latigo y Daga literally translates Whip and Dagger in Spanish. It is a Filipino martial art which focuses on the use of flexible weapons, particularly whips. It combines elements from a multitude of martial arts found in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
he Latigo y Daga system was formulated in 1987 by Guro Tom Meadows. Through his research and experience working with various whips in conjunction with multiple martial arts systems and styles, he formed Latigo y Daga and developed a standardized vocabulary for whip techniques. This greatly aided practitioners with the continued development of the art. The primary aspects of Latigo y Daga are the use of the 4-ft. short whip, the combination of using a dagger with whip, and using the empty hand with a whip.
Some of the more prominent practitioners of Latigo y Daga are Dan Inosanto, Ron Balicki and Anthony De Longis. Sorce Wiki
http://filipinofightingwhip.blogspot.com/
http://www.aussiewhipmaker.com/WhipBoxing.htm
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz7d-y1Jzas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkILmmEev8g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNPObgY7B4c&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyUQXb3NN7Q
Stage combat stuff but some cool whip stuff as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLSiEqkvSyc
WATCHING THE SUN RISE
Teaching Bullwhip Handling to Martial Artists
by Robert Dante
I love teaching the ways of the bullwhip. I love seeing that flash of illumination and enlightenment as a person realizes the truth inside themselves of what I am talking about, from their own direct experience.
Some of the best whipcrackers in history were smaller men or women. To crack a whip powerfully, accurately and dramatically does not require a great deal of strength. If the form is correct, the physics of the whip will allow the cracker to reach supersonic speeds with relatively little effort.
(Whip's cracker breaks sound barrier at about 750 miles per hour -- this is 1400 feet per second. Since a bullet leaves the barrel of a gun at 1100 feet per second, we can honestly say a whip cracks faster than a speeding bullet!). Anyone who knows how to use a bullwhip automatically understands two principles. First, "The power is already in the whip." You cannot add to its power with muscle or savagry. All you can ever do is guide the whip, because the power is in the form itself.
This simple truth leads to the second principle of bullwhip handling: "You've got to ride the horse in the direction it's going." A whip cracker cannot "make" a whip do anything -- but, by God, it will try to express everything your body and mind tell it to, with each throw (think about that the next time it slashes your cheek or clops you on the back of your neck!).
As a long-time professional bullwhip artist and teacher, I've given lessons and workshops to such varied audiences as karate teachers, kids, actors and cowboys.
I don't think I've given a single lesson or presentation where I did not learn something new from at least one of the attendees. A good teacher is always learning more (arrogance is the hallmark of ignorance).
Before I start talking or cracking, I usually ask if someone has a background in the martial arts. If the answer is yes, I know that a lot of my work as a bullwhip coach has already been done (especially if the person is a Tai Chi practitioner).
I love teaching in karate studios -- the rooms are floored with rubber mats which seem to focus energy as much as they muffle the sounds of footsteps.
When I speak to martial artists, I've noticed that as I explain the anatomy of whips and the different styles of whips and their uses, I usually encounter a succession of questions coming from a single perspective: Can these whips be used as weapons?
The answer, of course, is yes -- within limitations.
In Texas, I learned that for close encounters one would likely rely upon the cudgel of the handle end of the whip as much as the cracker end. If your opponent stands within the range of your whip, he can tangle it or grab it, effectively neutralizing its value as an offensive weapon. When you "c**k" the whip, swinging it backward in order to throw it forward, you leave yourself unprotected long enough for your foe to gain advantage.
The solution to these problems is to use a short whip, like a snake whip, no longer than 3 or 4 feet. One should rely upon it to startle and disorient your foe by cracking at his face. If you strike the eyes, you incapacitate him immediately -- and if you do not make contact, it will still likely take the wind out of his attack.
There are several instruments in the martial arts armory which rely upon whip physics, including a short steel braided whip of Chinese design which is used to grab and hold. There is a chain whip with blades on the end which can be used effectively. Cossacks were noted for the cruelty of their whips, and South African policemen routinely subdued protesters with shambocks, non-cracking whiplike canes. In Russia, the knout had hooks braided into the whip's thong, and to be beaten with this instrument resulted in bones being broken and flesh being ripped from the body. One U.S. whipmaker told me that he had seen an American whip from the 1860's which had fish hooks braided into the thong for some reason.
With a short whip, one can use nunchuk techniques effectively. Some observers have said the whip handling movements I was demonstrating reminded them of 'kali' moves.
Several karate instructors I've taught have commented on how the whip immediately grounded them, forced them to not think about what they were doing. They appreciated my method of having them try a stroke with their weak hand before trying it again with their dominant hand. Apparently, in their weapons training, this two-handed technique is also used extensively.
I have seen that with a person's dominant hand, he or she will try to impose on the whip their vision of how the whip is supposed to crack. When the whip is placed in the other hand, they cannot impose this vision as easily, so they are forced to pay attention to what the whip is actually doing, outside of their expectations. After a few minutes of this, when they put the whip back into their dominant hands, they now crack with more awareness and understanding. This two-handed technique is also used by jugglers, because juggling and whip cracking are both activities which integrate the two sides of the brain.
In bullwhip workshops, I have seen that children seem to catch on fairly quickly, perhaps because they do not intellectualize the process. They are allowed to be awkward, and through this acceptance of the inevitability of mistakes, they can explore and grow in their ability unselfconsciously. Having an adult use his weaker hand short circuits the thinking mind in order to make the student teachable. When students move whips back to their dominant hands, they are usually amazed at how much they learn from this procedure.
The students with martial arts training in their background come into teaching sessions with a higher level of ability than normal. In two memorable instances, I thought I had been set up with "ringers," people who had been taking lessons from some accomplished whip coach somewhere. The movements were as graceful as the whips, traveling at their own speeds without being muscled. The foot stances and arm positions were precise and did not misdirect the whip or allow the energy to dissipate before it exploded out of the cracker. It was beautiful to watch, and the crisp cracks produced by their pure forms resounded triumphantly off the walls of the dojo.
I was truly impressed -- how dare I presume to teach people who already know how to do it, but just do not know that fact?
I accept this reality, and I give them information, I give them feedback -- and I give them permission to make the whip their own experience, not mine.
Good students start with the right attitude. They are respectful while being aware of the potential for self damage. They are courageous and thoughtful. They are calm and focused. They are conscious of what they are doing. They ask intelligent questions. They bring the wealth of their own experience and ability to a lesson, and it pays off for them. By the end of my lessons, almost every person is able to crack a whip -- many of them in all of the three basic cracks I demonstrate to beginners.
I do not teach bullwhip handling in order to impose my view of the universe upon anyone, but this in no way diminishes my pleasure as I watch students teach themselves, as I watch them listen to their own bodies and listen to the whips. They honor me by allowing me to experience their discovery and through them to rediscover my own spirit of the whip.
A whip is a tool, an instrument -- but so is a piano. Learn to use it well, and "chopsticks" can become a sonata. Most martial artists are better after a single lesson than many people who tell me they've been cracking whips for years. I know that if I've done my job right, they'll leave me prepared to continue to learn from the whips themselves. All I can ever do is pass on my own experience and share my own ongoing appreciation of the power and beauty which the whip continues to create every time I pick it up.
Each crack becomes a star flash, a point of light in the darkness. And it's that spark which I see in the eye of every credible and conscious bullwhip handler I've been honored to meet.
http://home.earthlink.net/~rdante1/martialessay.html
The Lash / Dragons Tail.
Known in the West as a bullwhip the Lash or Dragons Tail is an easily concealed weapon made of braided leather from a horse or water buffalo hide. Li family Dragon Tail weapons were normally about six feet in length four use in rooms and confined spaces. The tip of the lash was often one to three pieces of six to eight inch metal wires. A wire tipped lash can in the hands of the experts cut through thick leather jackets and some armor. A master of the Dragons Tail can use his weapon to cut almost like a small dagger, entangle weapons or arms and legs with the flexible leather shaft and use the weighted handle like a blackjack. Dragon Tail weapons can also be reversed and used like the Meteor Hammer as a flexible impact weapon.
http://www.ninedragonbaguazhang.com/weapon.htm
