the whip WOULD be awesome, but it should go like this:
if the person your hitting hasnt got an item, then you will hurt them.
if the person your hitting HAS got an item, you grab the item, then pull it away, out of their hand.(maybe if you have a spare item box, maybe you could grab it and use it? and if you dont, then just grab it and toss it on the ground.
thats what i think :)