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Revision 2

archivist · Jul 13, 2026, 6:04 PM · Added a citation for the 8-count structure claim

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The whip is the signature 8-count pattern of West Coast Swing and the gateway to an enormous family of variations.
 
## The shape
 
- **1–2**: follower travels forward down the slot
- **3&4**: leader steps across the slot and catches the follower's momentum in closed-ish position, redirecting them ("the coil")
- **5–6**: follower travels back down the slot the way they came, leader posts
- **7&8**: anchor
 
The follower's path is sometimes described as a "down-and-back" on a single track: the whip sends them past the leader, turns them around at the end of the slot, and brings them home.
 
## What it teaches
 
Whips are where **stretch** becomes unavoidable: the redirection on 3&4 and the leverage on 5–6 only feel good when both partners maintain elastic connection through their bodies. Rushing count 4 is the classic whip mistake — most teachers drill "wait for the stretch."
 
## Naming
 
−Some older curricula count the whip's second half differently or teach a "coaster" ending; the 8-count structure above is the one most commonly taught today.
+Some older curricula count the whip's second half differently or teach a "coaster" ending; the 8-count structure above is the one most commonly taught today.[^1]
+ 
+[^1]: See e.g. [West Coast Swing Online's basic patterns guide](https://www.westcoastswingonline.com/west-coast-swing-basic-patterns/), which teaches the whip as the fourth core pattern with this structure.
Page as of this revision

Whip

beginner

also known as: Basic Whip · 8-Count Whip

The whip is the signature 8-count pattern of West Coast Swing and the gateway to an enormous family of variations.

The shape

  • 1–2: follower travels forward down the slot
  • 3&4: leader steps across the slot and catches the follower's momentum in closed-ish position, redirecting them ("the coil")
  • 5–6: follower travels back down the slot the way they came, leader posts
  • 7&8: anchor

The follower's path is sometimes described as a "down-and-back" on a single track: the whip sends them past the leader, turns them around at the end of the slot, and brings them home.

What it teaches

Whips are where stretch becomes unavoidable: the redirection on 3&4 and the leverage on 5–6 only feel good when both partners maintain elastic connection through their bodies. Rushing count 4 is the classic whip mistake — most teachers drill "wait for the stretch."

Naming

Some older curricula count the whip's second half differently or teach a "coaster" ending; the 8-count structure above is the one most commonly taught today.1

Footnotes

  1. See e.g. West Coast Swing Online's basic patterns guide, which teaches the whip as the fourth core pattern with this structure. ↩