Bullwhips Use & Bullwhip Injuries

I was recently asked about bullwhip injuries via an IG story posted by @rachelschadeauthor which, I LOVED!!!!! Buy FightWrite the book

How to Use a Bullwhip

First, if there is a whip in your story, be sure you are referring to the right type of whip. There are five or six types and all have a purpose. The bullwhip is generally the longest and is the kind that Indiana Jones used. All the things Indy did with a whip are legit uses.

I took one bullwhip lesson and the concept of use is pretty easy. The whip goes where the handle points. But, let me tell ya, that length of leather is scary. Until you see one in use in front of you and can hear its sonic boom crack, you can’t appreciate how terrifying they are!

Here’s a quick video on how to use a whip courtesy one of the greatest shows ever: MYTHBUSTERS!!!!!

You may have noticed the distance the whipmaster was to the target. The closer you are to the target, the more likely you are to hit the target with the fall or thong. To strike with the popper, you need a bit of distance. How much is dependent upon the length of the whip. If your character is well practiced with a bullwhip, they will know how far away they should be.

Bullwhip Injuries

As pastoral tools, bullwhips aren’t use to strike the animals because they would damage the hide and injure the animal. Instead, they are generally used as noise makers to drive the animals. The crack sound you hear a bullwhip make is actually a tiny sonic boom and it is loud!!! I cannot stress that enough. It can make your ears ring.

As a tool of punishment, bullwhips are diabolical. They create two types of injuries: they lash the skin or pop it open. If the thong of the whip hits the skin, it will likely be a lash and it could possibly cause a laceration. (Incised vs Laceration) But, if the bullwhip hits with the popper, it will literally pop the skin open. Once the skin is opened, the bullwhip can tear away at muscle and organs.

A skilled whipmaster can knock the cigarette out of someone’s mouth. But, the back is the easiest target. Not only is it a large area, but it’s fairly easy to bind someone in such a way that the back is exposed. The back is also a good target because it spares the hands and feet. If your character is whipped, before their wounds are healed they can resume manual labor. BTW, if your character is hit in the face with the popper, they might come close to losing a nose and they could definitely lose an eye! With continued lashes, a bullwhip will take the face down to the bone, beyond recognition.

Pain Adjectives

Blood Loss

As far as blood loss, where and how many times the popper lands makes all the difference. If the popper hits true right on the jugular, it’s feasible that you could open the artery in one strike. As for the rest of the body, the bullwhip will go through tissue layers as long as the whip keeps landing. On the back it will tear through skin and rip the muscles to shreds. It will only chip away at bone if there’s metal on the popper. To the front of the body it can go through skin, muscle and damage vital organs.

Could you whip someone until they die from blood loss? Absolutely. They could also go into shock from pain. If left alive, it is completely feasible that the victim die of infection. I’ve seen flagellation, such as with a bullwhip, called a half death. Half the victims survived, the other half died of blood loss, shock or infection.

Fight Scenes with Injured Characters

Visual Reference

The best visual reference for the appearance of bullwhip scars are among historical documents of slavery. To include pics like that in the post felt disrespectful. Other pics I found were not bullwhip lashes from torture but rather experimentation to see how they felt or for sadistic pleasure. Yeah…I’m not including those either.

To describe bullwhip injuries, imagine the skin and underlying muscle torn into shreds. When the popper lands and lacerates the skin, the skin may have a long tear depending on how taught the skin is. If the skin is young and loose, the lacerations may not be that long. But, with repeated lashing, even supple skin will tear open further. And remember that the blood will stream down and depending on how long that stream is, there may be clotting along the way. So let’s say the back is whipped. There will be more blood at the backside than heels. If the character is clothed, the clothing will absorb the blood and then it will stream when the clothing is soaked. And, yes, blood has a tinny smell.

Scarring from bullwhipping is dependent upon the number of lashes, obviously. In areas where there is greater injury there will be thicker scars. If your character has dark skin, there will likely be keloids as darker skin tends to produce more scar tissue. If there are many lashes on one place, the scars may sit one on top of the other. Imagine if you stood over someone and dropped a handful of hay. Think about how the hay would land. There would be pieces one on top of the other and some scattered alone. Now, imagine that hay is slick, shining, scars.

Here’s a few videos that might help you with a bullwhip scenes, bullwhip use and bullwhip injuries. Until the next round at FightWrite™, get blood on your pages.

This one is great for sound!!!