We are always up for a surprise. So I got up with the sun on Saturday and drove to Paderborn. A birthday boy was waiting there. His children had given him a whip course as a present, as he is a big Indiana Jones fan. So I had bought the appropriate clothes to make an appearance in proper style.

Everything was well prepared and a freshly blown up lawn was waiting for his actors. The sun was shining brightly and it was 30 degrees Celsius, so we spent four hours with the whip. The birthday boy and his three grown-up children got started straight away with great enthusiasm. I was amazed at how quickly they got to grips with the first technique. For the next few hours, the whips were cracking at full volume.

After more than an hour of trying out and practising basic techniques, it was straight onto the target exercises. As in the seminar, we started by working with fixed targets. Even the little grandson had a go with a children's whip and hit the target quite well. Every hit was cheered. All actions were captured on photo and video. Despite the heat, everyone hardly allowed themselves a break.

After all the targets had been whipped short and small, we practiced more new moves. We needed them too. Because now the flying targets came into play. This fueled our ambition once again. The destroyed lids were kept as trophies. Round after round went on and on. There were short breaks in between. In the last half hour, we repeated everything we had tried out today. We covered some basic techniques.

By the end, everyone was pretty exhausted. It wasn't just the sun that had done its work. Our arms were also pretty exhausted. Everyone obviously had a lot of fun. This gift was a good decision, because the birthday boy not only enjoyed it himself, but it was also a special atmosphere with his children. In this respect, the trip was worthwhile and we certainly gained some new fans.