

Guidelines on using your whip safely.

First remember that when using your whip you are in the middle of a sphere that is equal to the length of the whip plus the length of your arm time two. For example, if you are using a six foot bullwhip plus the length of the fall, say two feet and your arm is two feet in length the total space required to safely use your whip without hitting anything is approx. 24 feet. That means you are in the center of a 24 foot sphere. There are ways to use a whip that require much less space but this is the rule of thumb. I have personally seen Whip experts rip lighting off of a ceiling or have the whip wrap around a candle stand on the back swing. In the case of the candle stand the person didn't even know it until they tried to crack the whip and sent the stand flying across the room lit candles and all. So be aware!

When you are first learning to crack a whip you will hit your self a lot .So please wear eye protection when you are first learning to crack a whip. A strong pair of wrap around sunglasses will work just fine. If you don't have them don't worry a pair of safety glasses are very cheap at Home Depot. This becomes even more important when you are using longer whips say above 4 feet. But it is a good idea to do it with any whip when you are first learning. Also with longer whips you may want to wear a brimmed hat like a cowboy hat to keep the whip form hitting you in the head. Long sleeve shirts are always good in the beginning as well. You can minimize the chance of hitting your self by always keeping the loop formed by the whip on the out side of your arm. A whip gill go where ever you point your thumb so if you are crossing your body with the swing of your arm you are going to hit your self.

Remember that the business end of the whip is traveling at the speed of sound or faster so you probably don't want to aim at anyone until you have put in a lot of practice and are sure you can hit what you are aiming at.

I would not recommend doing any wraps around the neck. I have seen people do it but unless you have put in the hours of practice to assure you can control the fall of the whip I would not recommend it. Even those that have practiced this do occasionally have accidents. We are talking about a very fast moving dynamic thing here and while you think you may have complete control there is always that element of chance.

Be aware that the thong or fall of the whip can pick things up from the ground and send them flying through the air. While it is very rare it can happen.

Always practice target cutting using a target holder and not a person. When you can hit the target exactly where you want every time then you can try taking the target out of someone's hand. When and if you do use a person I suggest you have them stand with their back to you and their arm out stretched. Also it would be a good idea to have them wear eye protection.