Who is this guy?
Posted by James Maxwell on Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Some of you may be wondering who my
influences are and how I ended up this way. Well here are some
answers:
Anthony Delongis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYwKFTOB0bc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2KIzojrroM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9-1IKKz4z0
Kendall Wells
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLSiEqkvSyc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEkzSn_0EgQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8qvx7Jx634
When I started using the bullwhip I had a pretty bad one. Just a 6' swivel handle bought through an online retailer called Valley Vet. With the help of Andrew Conway's Bullwhip site I learned the basic cracks. They weren't pretty but I could make the whip go BANG and I thought I was the coolest thing since sliced bread. But as I have mentioned elsewhere it was the Indiana Jones movies that started this whole thing so I needed a better whip. And I got one. Sort of. It was a 10' swivel handle and I thought it was the greatest thing in the world when it arrived. It cost the obscene amount of $79.95, which to a 12-year old if a fair chunk of borrowing, pleading and begging. I dragged that thing all over the place, swung on it, even herded cattle with it once. It was never very accurate nor was it graceful but it was a whip and I was happy. Then I heard about this video called "Mastering the Bullwhip" by this guy named Anthony DeLongis. He had his own website and had been in some movies and I figured it might be a good thing to pick up.
And in what would be an occurring theme in this hobby of mine, it wasn't cheap. But I ordered it and waited a few weeks. Then it arrived. And it all changed. It wasn't some cowboy cracking whips and shooting guns. No this guy was in glasses and nice clothes. His whip cost more then my life's worth at this time and he was very direct and clear on how one mastered the bullwhip. It was like starting all over again. The railroad tracks, the loop, body alignment and practice. This was all new to me. I soaked it up and kept at it.
Now a 10-foot swivel isn't the best whip for the DeLongis system or any whip use at all really so I decided I'd buy one in black. I soldiered on for a few more years trying to get right what I figured had been so wrong. And things improved, my accuracy, my power, my alignment. Around this time I also began my training in the martial arts, even doing it professionally for a number of years. The whip work was only enhanced by this training as my footwork and balance became better.
But I was still hampered by my tools to an extent. I knew of this man, David Morgan who made the whips for Indiana Jones. I knew the hide of the kangaroo was the best material for a whip. And I knew it was very, very expensive. It was a goal but a goal I thought I wouldn't achieve until I was 30. And then this changed to.
I bought my first kangaroo whip off Ebay for less then $100 dollars. It was by this gentleman in Washington named Louie Foxx. I really didn't care if it was only 4' long, it was kangaroo! It felt different, it moved different I loved it! Within a year I had designed and purchased my own whip, The Maxwell Special, 6' of kangaroo awesomeness! And two years after that in 2008 I achieved a life long goal: I purchased a 10' kangaroo hide bullwhip, just like Indiana Jones'.
Now at the end of 2009 I've also met David Morgan and cracked one of his amazing whips. I've trained with Kendall Wells and cracked whips with Louie Foxx. I've done a whip demonstration at an Indiana Jones premier and have started a successful Youtube "career". I'm blessed in that I have people interested in learning from me and have much to learn myself. The learning will never stop. I hope thought this website and blog to share this journey with you. Enjoy the ride.
Stay Safe, Practice.
Anthony Delongis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYwKFTOB0bc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2KIzojrroM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9-1IKKz4z0
Kendall Wells
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLSiEqkvSyc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEkzSn_0EgQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8qvx7Jx634
When I started using the bullwhip I had a pretty bad one. Just a 6' swivel handle bought through an online retailer called Valley Vet. With the help of Andrew Conway's Bullwhip site I learned the basic cracks. They weren't pretty but I could make the whip go BANG and I thought I was the coolest thing since sliced bread. But as I have mentioned elsewhere it was the Indiana Jones movies that started this whole thing so I needed a better whip. And I got one. Sort of. It was a 10' swivel handle and I thought it was the greatest thing in the world when it arrived. It cost the obscene amount of $79.95, which to a 12-year old if a fair chunk of borrowing, pleading and begging. I dragged that thing all over the place, swung on it, even herded cattle with it once. It was never very accurate nor was it graceful but it was a whip and I was happy. Then I heard about this video called "Mastering the Bullwhip" by this guy named Anthony DeLongis. He had his own website and had been in some movies and I figured it might be a good thing to pick up.
And in what would be an occurring theme in this hobby of mine, it wasn't cheap. But I ordered it and waited a few weeks. Then it arrived. And it all changed. It wasn't some cowboy cracking whips and shooting guns. No this guy was in glasses and nice clothes. His whip cost more then my life's worth at this time and he was very direct and clear on how one mastered the bullwhip. It was like starting all over again. The railroad tracks, the loop, body alignment and practice. This was all new to me. I soaked it up and kept at it.
Now a 10-foot swivel isn't the best whip for the DeLongis system or any whip use at all really so I decided I'd buy one in black. I soldiered on for a few more years trying to get right what I figured had been so wrong. And things improved, my accuracy, my power, my alignment. Around this time I also began my training in the martial arts, even doing it professionally for a number of years. The whip work was only enhanced by this training as my footwork and balance became better.
But I was still hampered by my tools to an extent. I knew of this man, David Morgan who made the whips for Indiana Jones. I knew the hide of the kangaroo was the best material for a whip. And I knew it was very, very expensive. It was a goal but a goal I thought I wouldn't achieve until I was 30. And then this changed to.
I bought my first kangaroo whip off Ebay for less then $100 dollars. It was by this gentleman in Washington named Louie Foxx. I really didn't care if it was only 4' long, it was kangaroo! It felt different, it moved different I loved it! Within a year I had designed and purchased my own whip, The Maxwell Special, 6' of kangaroo awesomeness! And two years after that in 2008 I achieved a life long goal: I purchased a 10' kangaroo hide bullwhip, just like Indiana Jones'.
Now at the end of 2009 I've also met David Morgan and cracked one of his amazing whips. I've trained with Kendall Wells and cracked whips with Louie Foxx. I've done a whip demonstration at an Indiana Jones premier and have started a successful Youtube "career". I'm blessed in that I have people interested in learning from me and have much to learn myself. The learning will never stop. I hope thought this website and blog to share this journey with you. Enjoy the ride.
Stay Safe, Practice.
Tags: "anthony delongis" "kendall wells" "indiana jones"
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