Long Distance Throwing!

1

10thMtn

Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
66
I was finally able to see some of the old throwing archives, and I've seen this topic pop up occasionally, although not recently, so I decided to give it new life with some new blood.

I've been slowly increasing the distance of my throws. At first, I am only concerned with sticking the knives into the target. But, as I begin sticking each distance comfortably, I start focusing on accuracy. For me, an accurate hit would be a 4-6 inch black oval bullseye painted on both sides of my target about chest high. I won't move back until I can hit those bullseyes fairly well.

Right now, I'm out to 60 feet. At this distance, I'm working on the accuracy part which I have no idea how long it'll take me to get consistent with hitting the bullseyes. Once I hit them consistently at 60 feet, I think that would be good. I'm not 100% positive, though. I don't throw with anyone else, so I have nothing but YouTube to compare against. Some guys seem a lot more accurate at distances like than that on YouTube, but I don't know what's real and what's fake there.

My goal is to throw ACCURATELY at 100-plus feet.

I'm throwing Cold Steel Pro Balance and Tru Balance knives. They are long enough and heavy enough to do the job right at these distances. I think the right knife has a lot to do with it.

What are your experiences, and where are you currently? What are your goals?
 
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hey 10thMtn this is my first post but I've been watching the forum for a few months and I have got to say that your contribution lately has really sparked some good conversations.

I've been throwing for about six months, started with the spin technique but now I'm strictly practicing straight throw. I can stick most of my throws accurately from about 12 feet but I hope to lengthen my distance to about 15-20 feet by the time summer is over. I'm using almost every Cold Steel thrower available as well as a few SOG's just to get the feel for different weights and styles of knives out there. I've also been looking for people in the area to throw with in order to bounce ideas and techniques off of but it's a little tough finding someone in SoCal that's close by plus there aren't many other girls that throw in general. My long time goal though is to be between 50-60 feet accurately so if you have any tips let me know
 
SteelSiren said:
hey 10thMtn this is my first post but I've been watching the forum for a few months and I have got to say that your contribution lately has really sparked some good conversations.

I've been throwing for about six months, started with the spin technique but now I'm strictly practicing straight throw. I can stick most of my throws accurately from about 12 feet but I hope to lengthen my distance to about 15-20 feet by the time summer is over. I'm using almost every Cold Steel thrower available as well as a few SOG's just to get the feel for different weights and styles of knives out there. I've also been looking for people in the area to throw with in order to bounce ideas and techniques off of but it's a little tough finding someone in SoCal that's close by plus there aren't many other girls that throw in general. My long time goal though is to be between 50-60 feet accurately so if you have any tips let me know
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Hey, thanks for the compliment. I appreciate it. And WELCOME to the forum!! I think it's awesome that you're throwing! I've seen videos of girls who throw. There's this one girl on YouTube who does a lot of videos, and I think she's from Southern California. Check it out. She seems to love it, and it would be great if you two could get together. She goes to a lot of competitions too, and if you get into that aspect of it, you'll probably meet other women who like to throw seriously.

I'll tell you the secret to long-distance throwing as I know it (it's not much of a secret! :) ): don't increase your distance until you become accurate at your existing distance. Once you are accurate, move back a few feet and repeat. Since you're working no-spin technique, I say just a few feet. For me, I move back the next 1/2 rotation, wherever that may be. Then, get solid sticks, and then work on accuracy. Repeat. Well, that's how I'm doing it, and it seems to work for me.

I'd love to learn no-spin, but I'm afraid if I try it now that it'll mess up my spin technique. I don't mind spin throws. For the "entertainment" aspect, I quite like it a lot. But one day, I will work on no-spin.

My all-time favorite thrower is now the CS Pro Balance. Have you tried it? What are your goals with throwing? Competition, performance, personal enjoyment? Hey, if you can't find anyone to motivate you, then forums such as this are OK too!
 
Thanks for the welcome! I started off with the spin technique but after I got my 1 1/2 spin down pretty well I decided to try something new. I'm a fan of both spin and no spin and I will admit switching to the no spin technique was a little more challenging than I had expected but as soon as your body gets the technique down it gets easier.

The CS Pro Balance was one of my first Cold Steel throwers but I am a little more fond of the CS Perfect Balance, although the Pro Balance is second on my list. I have a good collection of throwers so my next goal is to make some more targets for me to throw at, I only have a couple and they are a little time consuming to put in place. I haven't really looked into competition throwing yet but I hope to within the next year or so, it's more for relaxation and personal enjoyment. I've read that you are looking for performance acts, have you put any thought into competing as well? Also, Thanks for the tip, I'll be sure to keep that in mind the next time I throw.
 
I have a couple of Perfect Balances as well, and I know why you like them -- they are better for no-spin throwing! Occasionally, I'll use mine to sling a no-spin throw down range. Sometimes it sticks...mostly it wobbles and slaps hard before falling to the ground! :)

I just finished a long-term target. I bought five 4x6 posts and secured them together with four 2x4 boards cut to 30" which I screwed to the posts. Now I have a nice, flat surface that won't fall apart too fast. My first target was made of 1x6 boards...it lasted two weeks.

Yes, I'm into performance, but I am going to be throwing in competition, especially long distance throws. I'm doing well at 60' getting them to stick, and today I did well by keeping them in the middle of my target board. I'll keep working it for another couple of weeks and will then move back another four paces. Hopefully, I'll get pretty good working from these distances. I'll tell you, though...I've had to change my technique quite a bit to throw with force, and i takes me a few throws to get back into the groove at the closer-in throws (1-2 spin zone).
 
nice! I have made a few targets myself but for the moment I have been throwing at a few tree stumps, they are a pain to move so I'm looking into cutting them down and making at least 5 or 6 targets that I can move fairly easily. I have used 2X4's but since I throw almost every day for a good amount of time I have had to replace the middle planks often. I have found it tougher to adjust my distance when I move toward the target as well but that may just be because I practice from longer distances more often than anything else, keep up the good work though, I'm sure you'll hit 100+ feet in no time!
 
SteelSiren said:
nice! I have made a few targets myself but for the moment I have been throwing at a few tree stumps, they are a pain to move so I'm looking into cutting them down and making at least 5 or 6 targets that I can move fairly easily. I have used 2X4's but since I throw almost every day for a good amount of time I have had to replace the middle planks often. I have found it tougher to adjust my distance when I move toward the target as well but that may just be because I practice from longer distances more often than anything else, keep up the good work though, I'm sure you'll hit 100+ feet in no time!
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Well, it sounds like you would be a good teammate because we seem to practice the same way and share similar goals. Too bad you live on the opposite side of the country!

I've never thrown on tree stumps. Pine is what's most available where I live, and I don't want to deal with the sap. Good luck finding good targets that are easier to move. I'm sure there are many ideas and blueprints out there for portable targets.

I threw a lot today from 60 feet. Oddly enough, then I went back to one rotation and threw for accuracy from there. In fact, I think I'll finish the day working on the shorter stuff just to keep my mind focusing on the target.
 
60 feet?! If you can hit an apple (pretty much 4in in diameter) from 60 feet, I'd say you're set for accuracy and distance. Not many activities would require further out than that.

Hunting or self defense stuff, if you're so inclined, would both have targets that could avoid knives thrown from that distance XD

If I were you, I'd start working on how quickly you can throw a number of knives. Or possibly hitting moving targets.
 
Renaissance-reborn said:
60 feet?! If you can hit an apple (pretty much 4in in diameter) from 60 feet, I'd say you're set for accuracy and distance. Not many activities would require further out than that.

Hunting or self defense stuff, if you're so inclined, would both have targets that could avoid knives thrown from that distance XD

If I were you, I'd start working on how quickly you can throw a number of knives. Or possibly hitting moving targets.
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Yea, I'm definitely not consistent with hitting a called circle at 60' yet. That's going to take a lot more practice. At 40-45', I'm doing well with that, but so is a lot of people. I have just started to throw at moving targets. That is not only a challenge, but it's a skill that inolves a lot of rapid adjustment. I'm slowly but surely getting more comfortable with it, and more accurate.
 
10thMtn said:
Right now, I'm out to 60 feet. At this distance, I'm working on the accuracy part which I have no idea how long it'll take me to get consistent with hitting the bullseyes.
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Some perspective: the European record for long distance knife throwing (male) is 18.45m, which equals 60,5 feet. The competition works such: you start close, and have to work your way back, once you stick you have 3 more knives and can move 3m back. Oh, and the target diameter is 1m.

So: Any accuracy at all at 60 feet can be considered world-class level!
 
KnifeThrowing said:
Some perspective: the European record for long distance knife throwing (male) is 18.45m, which equals 60,5 feet. The competition works such: you start close, and have to work your way back, once you stick you have 3 more knives and can move 3m back. Oh, and the target diameter is 1m.

So: Any accuracy at all at 60 feet can be considered world-class level!
Click to expand...

Well, then I'm throwing distance at the world class level. That surprises me. There's a guy on FB that has a video of him doing a 111' throw. I know I can get it there at over 100' right now. It's the accuracy and correct arc to stick it that I've got to worry about working on.
 
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