Knife throwing is a somewhat popular hobby and sport in the United States. Without a doubt, anyone can learn to throw knives effectively and skillfully. It isn’t the easiest thing to learn how to do though. Throwing a knife isn’t as simple as picking up a butter knife and chucking it at a target. In fact, there are knives designed specifically for throwing. At all times, this sport and hobby takes patience and control. Here are the basics of knife throwing and throwing knives.
Getting Some Throwing Knives
First of all, you have to make sure that throwing knives are legal to own and use in your local area. Most places allow private ownership and use of throwing knives because they are simply knives designed for throwing – obviously. Anyways, obtaining these weapons isn’t that difficult, and you can even toss sharp kitchen knives at a wooden board or something similar. Purchasing them online or at specialty shops is pretty easy and they aren’t priced too high, especially for starter knives. With that in mind, just get yourself four or five knives to start practicing with.
Learning How To Throw Knives
The first step to learning how to chuck a knife involves holding techniques. Sure, Hollywood movies just show actors launching the knives with a pitch-like throw, but that isn’t how it’s actually done. There are various ways a knife can be held, but the most common throwing techniques involve gripping the handle or holding part of the actual blade. Either way, you should pick whichever style you prefer and stick with it. Most people start out with the hammer grip, which involves holding the handle just like a hammer. However, you should use the thumb-index grip for a lightweight blade.
Anyways, the next step to throwing knives involves form. You have to keep your wrist completely stiff when you throw the knife. On top of that, you must stand with your left foot in front and right foot a foot or two behind it with knees slightly bent if you are right handed (vice versa for lefties). Holding the knife steady with a locked wrist, you want to aim the knife and throw it at the target. As you start to lean forward to throw, you’ll want to keep your legs in place but lift your right foot and shift your weight onto your left foot. This will give you as much power as possible to throw without hurting yourself. Also, you should release the knife so that it is aimed right at the target, but you shouldn’t throw with all your strength and you have to stop your arm before it extends all the way or you could injure yourself.
Keep Improving Upon Your Skills
Obviously, you’ll need to practice quite a lot to get the techniques and skills down so that you can do them in your sleep. You’ll need to make certain adjustments when you miss a target, depending upon distance and how the knife hits the target. After a few training sessions, this should all become second nature to the point where you don’t have any trouble with it. Learning to throw knives perfectly takes years, so you shouldn’t expect yourself to become a master overnight. There are plenty of more advanced moves and techniques that you can learn, so keep that in mind as you get better and better!
Always take safety precautions to keep everyone safe. Don’t throw the knife with a blade grip if you aren’t certain you can do it safely. Also, never throw a knife when someone is in front of you, even if they seem out of the way. Use a target that the knife will stick into rather than go through.
Work upon improving your technique because it’s almost guaranteed that you won’t perfect it for years. In fact, little tweaks in your technique can help you throw faster and with more power plus accuracy.
Learn to throw both heavy and lightweight knives. Of course, this will make you a better thrower overall, so it’s a good idea. The techniques for throwing each type of knife is a little different, but you should get the hang of it right away.
Finally, never use all of your strength for a single throw because it could easily lead to an unnecessary injury. It’s like throwing a baseball at full strength, extending your arm, and throwing out your arm. Don’t risk overextending your arm – it hurts a lot.
For more information on throwing knives, visit KnifeThrowing.info, The Great Throwzini, and Knife Throwing Techniques.
