User blog comment:Kogath/Monster Hunter X Discussion/@comment-12049719-20150914112742/@comment-26034899-20150914223821

^ Considering that there was a character in Orage who used a whip, it's pretty likely that it was the planned weapon. If Capcom made it canon like they did with the Wind element, they could balance it out by having it revolve around quick attacks that can temporarily paralyze monsters (whips can paralyze you if they hit you in the right spot) at the cost of power (whips aren't really meant for killing) and blocking (it's a two-handed weapon).