WHIP MAINTANENCE

     Before you start any exercise in this procedure, especially if you are a novice, be sure to wear safety glasses and cover exposed parts of your body, i.e. wear long sleeves, long pants, and gloves.  You might even consider covering your head.
•    The forward crack is probably the first crack a person should learn with the whip.  This crack is reasonably safe, this is the one you would use for cutting targets.
•    The sidearm crack is what to use for wraps, and if you are looking to really impress then this is the way to go
•    Then the overhead crack looks brilliant and gives by far the loudest crack.
    Trail the whip behind you, handle in hand, the whip must be totally straight, and your thumb, the compass point of your whip, should be pointing down, leaving your arm hanging loosely by your side.  If the whip is kinked or coiled in any way, there is a chance it will wrap your leg as it goes by.
    Forward cracks, those that crack in front of you, become a little more involved.  Here are some brief instructions on forward cracking.   Always have enough clearance around you to carry out your manoeuvre.
•    Slowly swinging the whip in a circle above your head, keeping the whip airborne and straight
•    This move is similar to casting a fishing line, checking that the tip is behind you, to the right, stop circling, and move your arm forward trying to aim off a little to the right
•    As the whip comes forward give your wrist a good snap and you will no doubt get a very loud pop
•     Throwing to the side a little ensures there will be no injury to your head – an important issue, you don’t want to become the headless whipster.
     Side Cracks are the same as the forward crack but carried out with a sidearm throw rather than a front arm throw, instead of holding your arm forward you will hold it to the side, out from your body almost level with your shoulder.  Your palm should be up and the compass point, your thumb, is facing on the inside of the handle pointing back, you will be pushing the whip forward with your thumb.  In order to make the important loop, as much of the whip as possible should be up off the ground, as you are throwing forward there will be a slight lift of your hand, this is normal.
     This explains it very well quoted from an online whipster.
“Forward cracks The one in front of your face does not really crack there, but the whip does travel real close. You know the basic crack you use for cutting – well, follow through and turn 180° to the left at the same time and do it again, which is another thing you can repeat indefinitely. However after doing it a couple of times, follow through with your body turned 90° to the right (facing the plane of the crack).  Bring the whip up again in and do the cutting crack in the opposite direction to the previous one, so that the whip goes from your left to your right, instead of from your back to your front.”