Whip fighting can be done as a

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

, a show, or a

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

, the latter also known as whip boxing. David Hicks describes ''

caci CACI International Inc. (originally California Analysis Center, Inc., then Consolidated Analysis Center, Inc.) is an American multinational professional services and information technology company headquartered in Northern Virginia. CACI provi ...

'', a ritual tournament of whip fighting among the

Manggarai The Manggarai are an ethnic group found in western Flores in the East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. Manggarai people are spread across three regencies in the province, namely the West Manggarai Regency, Manggarai Regency and East Manggarai Re ...

people of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

performed on various traditional and religious occasions (although, as the author remarks, the impact of tourism has skewed the picture). The origins of ''caci'' may lie in ancient training of warriors. Latigo y Daga literally translates to ''Whip and Dagger'' in Spanish. It is a Filipino martial art, formulated in 1987, which focuses on the use of flexible weapons, particularly whips. Whip boxing has become an emerging event in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, along with

whipcracking Whipcracking is the act of producing a cracking sound through the use of a whip. Used during livestock driving and horse riding, it has also become an art. A rhythmic whipcracking belongs to the traditional culture among various Germanic peoples ...

and other Australian traditional shows and competitions. It was created and promoted by an Australian whipmaker

Gayle Nemeth Gayle or Gayl may refer to: People * Gayle (given name), people with the given name * Gayle (surname), people with the surname * Gayle (singer) (born 2004), American singer-songwriter Places * Gayle, North Yorkshire, England * Gayle, Jamaica, a ...

. Whipboxing combines the category of targetwork of whipcracking with the person-to-person competition: the points are earned for hitting the face (covered by

protective gear Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...

)."Gayle Nemeth and the Sport of Whipboxing"
/ref>

Nikolai Leskov Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (russian: Никола́й Семёнович Леско́в; – ) was a Russian novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and journalist, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique w ...

in his novel ''The Enchanted Wanderer'' (1873) describes an old

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

bidding Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a product or service ''or'' a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or value of something. Bidding can be performed by ...

custom. In order to avoid unreasonably high prices, the two highest bidders resolve the issue by a whip fight: while holding each other by left hands, they lash each other in turns until one gives up. Whip fighting can also have use of the riding crop.

References

Whip arts Combat sports Traditions {{Tradition-stub