Bullwhip.tv Blog
Guinness World Record - Fastest Whip
The record calls for 10 targets to be hit with a cracking whip. Witnesses, timekeepers (with clocks to measure 1/100ths of a second), photographers and videographers were all on hand for the event at Camp Ramblewood in Maryland.
The previous record was 4.85 seconds. My goal was to break the 4-second mark. My first run through was 4.37 seconds, good enough to beat the record -- but not good enough for me.
Saturday, June 1st at 10 a.m., I did it in 3.87 seconds.
The attempt was filmed from many angles, and included 3D versions. Here is a video taken at a close angle that captures the tension and speed of the event.
And if you want to see what the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has to say about it, read the story HERE
Dante's Last Year
I am retiring from professional performing as a bullwhip artist this year.
Adhesive capsulitis ("frozen shoulder") in my left shoulder limits my range of motion and drains my energy with pain. I am being treated with therapy and injections, but the constant pain is tremendous. Gravity is once again my enemy.
The same condition in 2009 froze my right shoulder as I was preparing to break my own Guinness World Record for most bullwhip cracks in one minute. I flew to London in a promotion for a new Indiana Jones video game. I failed in the attempt. I then tried again when I returned to the US at the Annie Oakley Festival. The number of cracks was exactly the same both times, miserably short of my goal. One hydroplasty and two surgeries later, my right shoulder was operating again, although not to the degree it was before this endocrine-based ailment ambushed me.
I covered up, using my left arm more and striving more for accuracy than speed. I talked more in my shows and Mary started cracking a whip and standing closer to the front of the stage. It worked. The shows were still good, edgy, and held entertainment value.
I considered seeking a disability, but my lawyer (Greeman-Toomey) threw me under the bus and withdrew moments before the hearing, agreeing with the off-the-record judge that I could obviously still work if I could keep my website updated and use email. (We won't talk about the definition of "due diligence.")
At the same time, I'd developed lateral epicondylitis in both arms (tennis elbow) and carpal tunnel syndrome in my left hand (probably from all that updating of websites).
Happily, my belief that my method of cracking bullwhips would not lead to carpal tunnel syndrome was true -- it's all that other stuff that you have to look out for, like writing emails.
My type 2 diabetes sent me to the Emergency Room twice. It killed Brian Chic, a friend and fine whip cracker from Los Angeles. It now affects my eyesight in the form of a vitreous gel detachment in right eye, smudging everything to my right as though through an oily smeared window. This is not good for someone who takes the pips off a playing card from 8 feet.
Recently, two fine doctors - my internist and my orthopedic surgeon - told me point-blank this is my last year.
I am ending before I think I am finished, and that's a bitter one to swallow. You always think the party will end for others, but not for you.
I have several ongoing projects I did not complete. I see no one else pushing to get whip cracking into the Olympics. The prejudice of entities like Oregon State against whip cracking as a hobby and a sport needs to be publicized so others can see it for what it is. I wish I'd made the dvd version of my book, and made it a useful resource. I wish I'd seen a credible bullwhip TV show on the Travel Channel.
But that's the nature of change. The nature of growth. The nature of being who I really am in the world as it really is.
You'll continue to see me around, more as an alumnus like Arnold Palmer and less as a joke like Mike Tyson, I hope.I will try to step back with grace and style, because the whips have been good to me. I've tried to give some of that back, and I hope I can continue to.
In the meantime, do you hear that sound? It's the gods laughing.
Everything is as it's supposed to be.
-Robert Dante-
"Silhouette Whipcracking to Music !"
Whipcracker Lauren Wickline videotaped herself working with whips (which she made) and added some music. The result is breathtaking.
Annie Oakley Festival Celebrates 50 Years
Yep, the Annie Oakley Festival marks its 50th year honoring Western Arts in general and Annie Oakley in particular.
The Greenville, OH native's legacy is on display year-round at the Garst Museum, but June 25-28 all stops are out with look-alike contests, fast-draw competitions, knife-throwing and whip-cracking shows and the ever-popular Western Arts Showcase hosted by Gery Deer.
It's one of our favorites, so we'll be there this year.
For more information, go to The Annie Oakley Festival website.
The Confederacy of Dunces is Back
Bullwhips are no longer allowed on Washington State's Olympic College campus after an email complaint from a professor about "the historical use of whips and their meaning to her as well as other students."
The student newspaper's story, "Bullwhip controversy inspires a forum," can be seen at http://www.ocolympian.com/news/article_28654240-919d-11e2-b471-0019bb30f31a.html#.UUuDAGySGLk.
In short, student Jason Harris would sometimes crack a bullwhip on campus as a hobby -- until professor Karen Bolton sent out an email saying that, as a person of color, she felt offended by the recreational practice because of the historical context of the whip and it’s (sic) origins in slavery.
A public forum on the issue, attended by OC’s President Dr. David Mitchell, gave students, staff and instructors the chance to share their feelings about bullwhips, both as dangerous weapons and from their racial standpoint in relation to Bolton's email. (I do not know if any whip experts were present at this discussion.)
Reading this, I could not believe that in this day and age, such ignorance and prejudice could rule at an institution of higher learning.
I tried to see the issue from Professor Bolton's perspective. A few weeks ago, I watched a TV special about "Roots." In one scene, a black slave was beaten with a bullwhip wielded by another black slave under the watchful eye of a white overseer.
It is a wrenching scene emotionally, but it was theater. The whip technique was wretched, with the vicious cracks obviously added in a "sweetening" session in the editing room.
This 30-second scene was not intended to be a history lesson about bullwhips, or it would have discussed the physics of the apatosaurus' tail, the whips found buried with Neanderthal hunters, the whips drawn on the walls of the pyramids as symbolic of royal power. It also did not note the significance of whips in Australian culture, where children take part in contests at county fairs, vying for honors that recognize their skill and artistry in whip routines. It certainly did not address the growing feeling among many whip crackers around the world that the day is nearing when whip cracking will have a place in future Olympics.
Consequently, I wrote this letter to the student newspaper's editor, Allysen Dyrness:
Is this story for real or is it an early April Fool joke?
I am astounded, because Washington is home to David Morgan, the internationally renowned maker of the whips used in the Indiana Jones films, and home to Restita de Jesus, founder of the Snapdragon Whip Enthusiasts, a respected organization in the world of martial arts. It just goes to show, I guess.
Personally, I had no idea that my entertaining and exciting bullwhip shows are only echoes of historical oppression -- and apparently, neither have my audiences over the years.
Respectfully yours,
-Robert Dante-
3- time Guinness World Record holder (Most bullwhip cracks in one minute)
Author of "Let's Get Cracking! The How-To Book of Bullwhip Skills"
Professional bullwhip artist and teacher
A few days later, I received this reply from Ms. Dyrness:
Dear Robert,
My name is Ally Dyrness and I am an editor of The Olympian. This is indeed a true story and is a topic which is still being discussed. If you would care to share your view on the situation we would love to hear it and I am sure we could set up an interview. Let us know what time works for you and we will see what we can do about it.
Thank you for your time and concern,
Ally Dyrness
After a bit of thought, I replied:
Dear Ally,
Thank you for your invitation to comment. I have taken the liberty of forwarding your note to David Morgan and Restita de Jesus, noted below. I am on the road this week and I am not able to sit down with a phone until this weekend. I imagine you are on a deadline, so you are welcome to reprint my original letter (also below) and/or to speak with these other two whip experts who live in your area.
I am sure that one or the other would be happy to speak with you shortly.
Respectfully yours,
-Robert Dante-
Whether coincidentally or not, a few hours later, I got this note from Jason Harris:
Mr. Dante,
I wanted to thank you for something that you did for me - you spoke up about the Bull Whip fiasco that happened at a Washington State College (I was the individual involved in the ruckus). I was shown the E-mail that you sent in about the incident, and was honored that you took the time to speak up about it.
Thank you again, Mr. Dante; it meant a lot to me.
~Jason Harris
I think Jason Harris has handled himself well in this matter. While we may not have control over a situation (even when it is unfair), we still have control over our reactions. And that, in turn, gives us control over the situation. In this entire ridiculous matter, he has shown himself to be a class act.
Under the guise of political correctness, what we have here is a confederacy of dunces, as Jonathan Swift wrote: "When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him."
So that's my say. If you'd like to toss your own two cents into the pot, write to Ally Dyrness, an editor of The Olympian, at olyeditor@olympic.edu.
When you dance with a bullwhip, the bullwhip always leads."
Here, Naomi Damian shows us why the bullwhip and tango music have gone together since the days of Rudolph Valentino.
"Whackety Whack, Mr. Winrich is back!"
Whipcracker Adam Winrich aims the camera at some of his practice sessions, cutting flowers, snuffing candles and splitting soda cans in this (fairly) recent video. So enjoy! It's a good watch!
Adam asked me why I chose to features this video. I answered,
"I picked this one because:
- it reflects well on whip cracking as an art and a sport.
- it is short - 2 minutes which holds the viewer's attention before boredom sets in.
- not a lot of talking.
- it has variety.
- it has humor.
- it shows good whip cracking skills.
And perhaps the biggest reason...
The Oddest Whip Lesson I Give
I did not know how to relax. My constant tension level was that of a classical composer trapped in a beginner banjo class.
I knew I had to learn a new way of being, so I consulted a psychiatrist. The advice I was given was good:
1. Go to a toy store.
2. Buy some bathtub toys.
3. Play with these toys in a hot bathtub.
I reported my success: I was able to make a fleet of six windup toys buzz around the bathtub in formation, timing the refresher windups so they were all always in action.
She shook her head. I'd gotten it all wrong, she said. I was told I needed to go back to the toy store to buy an official Sesame Street rubber ducky. It must neither squeak nor squirt water, she said. It was supposed to simply bob there in the water as I watched.
This was an alien concept to me, but I practiced diligently. trying to get to a point where I could simply "be" with the rubber ducky. Splish splash.
In between immersions I researched relaxation and I learned a few surprising things which I pass on to students.
Now I share it with you.
Did you know that a healthy human body farts on the average 14 times a day? I was way behind, but I was teachable. These days, if someone in my proximity passes gas, I acknowledge it with the toast, "To Good Health!"
It is amazing how much tension we hold in our buttocks.
I next consulted friends of mine who were dancers. Their advice was to relax my ass.
I tried it, and I saw that if you relax your ass, your whole body relaxes.
It's true. Try it yourself...
See?
So just what has any of this got to do with whip cracking, you may ask.
As I became proficient with the bullwhip and was asked to pass on my hard-learned knowledge to others, I saw that when the whip handler was tense and tight, the whip was tense and tight, too.
When the whip handler was loose and relaxed, the whip was relaxed. With power came grace.
This is the reason I will so often say in a teaching situation, "Relax your ass!"
Some of my former students even have T-shirts which say, "Robert Says Relax Your Ass."
And that is my suggestion to you today.
Let me know if you want one of those T-shirts.
(Written with a nod to Sharon, Laura and Steven. Thank you, my friends.)
Blast from the Past: "The Whip"
Available at Amazon.com.
The Beauty of Nylon
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