Contact Rope Dart, and other oddities

First of all I wanted to see more action on the "other toys" section.

So anyway...I was playing around with my rope dart as I do almost daily and I started thinking more about not using my hands. For some reason I also never played around with other ways to hold the rope, or even using both hands ambidextrously.

Now I did some quick searching and didn't see any mention of contact rope dart. If anyone is interested in video of rope dart tricks, and contact stuff specifically I'm workin' on it, and maybe I'll record myself doing some stuff in the near future.

Also please tell me if I have my foot in my mouth and this stuff is already readily done.

I've not seen it, MRC, of course I'm not a rope-darter myself but i would love to see the contact stuff.

Then I guess I'll work on perfecting some moves. I will also likely try and do lessons for as much as I know about rope dart, since sometimes it seems like the redheaded stepchild of props.

Doesn't have to be perfect, or tutorials, just a quick demo is fine, but tutorials are of course great, too!

Yeah I'm only just working on the stuff so a lot of it is unpolished concept but I'd love to get other people thinking about a new way to use the prop, I'm also thankful that it's less martial than it's typical use.

But I do also want people to start at the same point as me and know what I know so I'll try and lay out some explanation on the few things I do know.

Im a rope darter as well and im always trying to do new things with the dart. It seems like there are very few dart users and most all have the same martial arts based style. I personally try to avoid that.

Agreed. I figure it theoretically has more movement possibility for dance since you only have one object's momentum to worry over. What's more its length makes for a number of interesting possibilities. If nothing else I'd like to just put some effort into compiling some interest in using it in new ways.

i'm a rope darter too and would love to see your ideas about contact rope dart. Mostly I stick to the martial moves I've found as they maximise the visual effect of the dart. but something a bit different and some new moves would be great

Swanky to see some interest.

I'll need to get back on practice. I just moved recently so things have been hectic, work, belly dancing classes, music, and me being incredibly lazy. I'm closer to being legitimately busy this week but I will try and kick up the practice and plan out some sort of specifics so if I get hold of a video camera I'm not just futsing around trying to figure things out.

So MRC, did you ever nut out any of the rope dart ideas you had? I'm still interested to see a video of it sometime

Yeah... where are these videos? I need to learn something a bit more funky than my usual rope-dart routines.

Something to quiet the critics at my workshops (not mentioning any names Merlyn and Mech!).

Sorry guys, dropped a ball on this one. I got busy, forgot about it, kind of remembered then ya know endless stream of stuff. Now I have a lap top with a camera in it so maybe I can pull off some manner of video, I'll have to get back to grinding away on the move ideas because I'm actually a bit out of practice, this summer has been a bit of a dry season for me.

even if your video is just some ideas which aren't fully developed into moves, I'd love to see them. Maybe as a group we can build on the ideas and come up with some awesome moves

Alright well this weekend I have to work hawking kimono to anime fans. Then monday I have a band practice, etc. So maybe I'll get on it next weekend. THAT SOUNDS GREAT I'M SURE.

EDIT: next week rather, we'll see how it goes with my sudden bursts of activity.

I have a couple of contact tricks but no camera at the moment!!!!

I'm a rope darter too, It's cool to see others who enjoy this device. I'm fairly new at it but I learn quickly. Unfortunately I have to put it on hold due to dislocating my shoulder (for the third time!) last week while skiing.

But I'll be back in business soon and hopefully have a routine nutted out when Common Ground rolls around.

seems all the rope darters are coming out of hiding!
I'll see you at common ground poifull spirit and hopefully we can share some moves

I am rollingfiredragon and i love my ropedart greatest thing in the world- in my view
but i am curious as to what the hell you mean when you say contact rope dart
seeing as when you use a ropedart it is contact.

Ive got a couple advanced techniques that ive posted on my youtube page

www.youtube.com/rollingfiredragon

again im interested as to what you mean when you say contact

look at me causing interest and not delivering. UM I mean like with "contact staff" the idea is using less actual hand grip to control it. Combination of friction and momentum etc.

Rolling Dragon your stuff is freaking awesome! How long have you been practicing?

MRC I think that contact dart is not really plausible due to it being a flexible weapon unlike staff. but I will gladly be proven wrong and if you figure it out please let me know/upload videos to teach us all!

Too bad this never got a video. I'm curious!

http://www.flashmavi.com/video/wushu_whipchain.shtml

Look at the "twine" moves on this page, I think that will be an interesting start to the idea of hands free rope dart. I've seen someone, I think Logan doing a body wrap, letting go of the end of the rope and letting it pass around to be grabbed with the opposite hand. This requires a stopper knot instead of the traditional wrist loop. Because of this, make sure you are REALLY good at holding your rope during throws and other hard maneuvers, it is surprising how easily that knot can slip out of your hands and the dart goes flying.

I thing a double meteor is going to be a lot easier to do hands free then a traditional 10'-12' rope dart.

i'm a darter too, i quite like using my elbows as grips instead of my hands, I'm also a big fan of avoiding using my hands by breaking down all the wrap-ups involved in moves and seeing which can be achieved by either turning your body/arms/legs into the rope as it's spinning or using pendulums to creating the loops, there's certainly a lot which can be done with it

Hi! I'm new to the idea of rope dart, haven't even yet done it. However, going through some YT videos, I discovered chain whip and was wondering about the differences or how maybe chain whip could be modified into a practice tool (with flags, maybe?) or perhaps a fire toy. I'm not too interested in using this actual weapon as it seems very dangerous. Anyways, it doesn't look too different from rope dart except the absence of the long kicks and throws.



Like these moves, I'm more interested in this stuff, I suppose. Again, I've never even used a rope dart but I'm definitely interested. I know this is a rather extreme example but:



This is what I'm interested in.. would this kind of maneuvering be possible with a rope dart? Or am I just being dazzled by the fast speed which I normally don't see with rope dart?

So in conclusion, how could one fashion a practice chain whip? Or practice rope dart for that matter? What are the differences between these two in terms of performance art?

Thanks so much!

you are being dazzled by the speed, while the chain whip shares some wrapping techniques with the rope dart i would not really compare the 2 closely, chain whip is a really vicious weapon and is extremely dangerous to even the practitioner if they mess up illegal in most countries for this reason.
rope dart on the other hand lends itself well to the manipulation and performance arts and is becoming ever more popular, as the looping, inventive tricks possible with it are akin to the circus arts. practice ropedarts can be made easily or even purchased here on HOP, chain whips are for martial arts masters or if you really wanna hurt someone(yourself)

idk, the chain whip in the vid has approximately the same length as modern meteors, about 2 meters more or less. Only difference is that its held on one end instead of the middle, like meteor.

Also, the danger lies in the metal that its made of. You could make a similar performance tool out of cloth or rope and use a padded weight on the end.

My rope dart is just a rope with a loop for my left wrist, a short bit of chain with a swivel near the head, and a tennis ball with coins in it for weight. The length of chain is mostly there for the swivel, which I thought might reduce kinking, but I don't think it really helps I imagine something like this would work for a chain whip too.

(as a side note, rope dart can be real nasty too. You'll find out how nasty if you ever botch a kick and send the head flying into your face instead if 10' away from you...)

While it looks like one could use a rope dart in place of a chain whip, the one vs. two handed operation drastically limits the darts flexibility in this course of action. A lot of the chain whip moves will tangle a dart rope around your neck or anchor hand.

As for making a practice chain whip, you could, but it will not have the same speed and characteristics. I've recently been playing with a variety of dart head and flags and am still surprised by how drastic a difference a different head shape or fabric type for the flag will alter the flight characteristics of the dart.

I would make my first attempt out of two 7"x3/4" dowels, 1/4"rope, and light weight swivel links. Put a mid sized eye screw into each dowel, attach swivles, then rope. Use one for the handle, the other for the head. Basically you want a 6 foot long set of poi.

Like three section staff, a lot of the chain whip moves hit the ground, something that won't work so well with fire, and will quickly break home-made versions.

my current rope dart head is a large monkey fist with a soft core of bunched up cloth so it has a good heft and flight characteristics but compresses a little on impact so a little more forgiving when you hit yourself. what are people's tastes on length? i started out using a 3m dart but now work with a 5m because you can do more complex wraps...

i do the rope dart if your new to it i suggest looking up rollingfiredragon (yes all one word) on youtube he taught me a bit when i was in toronto and my skills improved alot just from the little bit he showed me