Now there will be some knife-throwing nerdery as championship times are training times, at least for me. The Swedish championships in sports throwing are just around the corner. Next weekend to be precise.
Something that certainly includes both knife and ax even though I only do knife throwing. Mainly because I don't have any throwing axes. It's a shortcoming that will have to be fixed sometime later.
But I have knives and I train a lot with them. This month's bad weather and a few other things have affected practice but last month was extremely good with a full eighty-three and a half hours of throwing. It should be noted that it is a personal high so don't think it looks like this every month.
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| I've thrown a lot lately, here on a very tough target |
In that time, I managed 32,653 throws. But who's counting? Hm, well me actually. It's not so bad that I count 1,2,3 and so on. Instead, I make up a training schedule where, for example, I throw a "WB 90" as a warm-up. It's my own little abbreviation that stands for 30 throws from 3 m followed by a competition round Walk Back which is 60 throws at distances of 3,4,5,6 and 7 meters. After that, different combinations can follow, depending on how I feel about the day. The days I didn't make a plan that is. If I practice in the forest, I count rounds. Everything is noted on the phone and summarized in a training diary.
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| This target saved the day! |
Precision throwing
Unfortunately, I don't think there has been any direct progress this year, although that is not entirely true. But purely in terms of results, I haven't reached any extreme peaks so far. Regarding, for example, precision throwing, I have set certain goals and then one will see how far it goes. I can't influence how other people throw.
My objective for the championships is
- 3 m rotational: 100+ points
- 5 m rotational: 90+ points
- 7 m rotational: 70+ points
At three meters, I'm good, in practice nota bene. The results almost always end up around one hundred points, 98-102 is the most common. Unfortunately, I have never thrown a full 105 p. Not even in practice. A bad series can end up around 95 points and in some cases lower.
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| Rotational throwing is easier than no spin |
Five meters is a distance where I perform unevenly. Fairly good results are mixed with considerably worse ones. Nice bullseyes are mixed with drops sometimes. It's a bit inexplicable as I know exactly how I want to throw to achieve results. Here I have a few points left to the goal and above all it is the minimum level that needs to be improved.
Throws from seven meters are still a bit of a chance and the distance where I'm actually worse than last year! Here too, really good hits in the bullseye are mixed with knives found on the ground. It not only worsens the result, but it also causes self-confidence to drop. The latter is hard currency in knife-throwing competitions. The best result so far this year is a modest 66p. It scares no one but myself from a competition point of view.
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| Acejet Stingers from 4m distance |
The objectives for no spin are, of course, somewhat more modest. Simply because it is a more difficult technique. It is not complicated to hit a target of say 30 cm. What is harder is "fine precision" where centimeters are involved.
Here, I aim for
- 3 m no spin 90+ points
- 5 m no spin 80+ points
- 7 m no spin 65+ points
It is quite a hard level to reach as my PB from 3 m is 96 points. But it still usually ends up around 90 points when I relax. The best this year is 95 p. It is worse with both 5 and 7 m, distances where I am significantly less good than last year due to a mess getting hold of log rounds at the beginning of the season. I have a good target now but I'm not up to speed yet. It will simply be what it will be. But 65 points from seven meters is perhaps not realistic, to be honest.
Walk Back
For some reason, I'm more consistent when I practice Walk Back than when I throw individual distances. This applies to both rotational and no-spin throwing. But the real highs are conspicuous by their absence even here. My personal best is 258 p with rotational knives. Before upcoming competitions, I aim for the range of 230-250 p. With my new knives, I've already got 255 points after two throwing sessions. I enjoy them. But they are not really broken in yet. Or rather, I'm not used to them.
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| My new, not-so-secret weapon, Spinning Butcher from WL Custom Blade |
For no spin, the corresponding figures are a target of 200+ points and so far I have performed 195 points at best this year. The average is unfortunately lower. The positive thing is that that number was achieved on the last trip to the training ground. But it is more challenging to throw without spin as I said and it can be pointed out in this context that 197 points was enough for gold in this year's UKAT WC in France.
Other Disciplines
Regarding games such as silhouette throwing, speed throwing, and mountain man, etc, it is not something I practice. I have neither the right targets nor the kind of knives or axes that I previously pointed out. Therefore, I have no hopes for good results either. It is simply fun to participate.
In long-distance throwing, I don't have high hopes either. But in no spin, it would be nice to get over ten meters. But it must be put about the fact that my PB is a modest 10.38 m from last year and that at the moment I am not even consistent from seven meters. In other words, it feels a bit like rolling a dice. It can be good, but it can also be that you miss the first distance. It is like this kind of throwing on the other hand.
Rotational throws at longer distances are tricky too. I usually stick a knife from 9 m with relative frequency in training. Longer than that is a pure bonus. The best I've done is 13.40m. That's probably about half of what the best in the business throw. From time to time I manage throws from 11m but further than that is difficult for me. One thing that matters is that I throw at log rounds that are about half the size of a competition target. So not only do I have to throw far, I have to aim as well.
Training versus competition
An indisputable fact, however, is that training is not a competition. Something I am very well aware of. It doesn't just apply to me but to the vast majority of people.
To be good at something, no matter what it is, it is not just talent that is needed. Training is a necessity, as is the ability to stay healthy and injury-free to train and, by extension, attend competitions. Once there, it is important to perform when it really matters. It's not the easiest thing as many people know.
But if you can't even do well when you throw by yourself, there is no chance of doing it when it comes to competing either!
Therefore, I have the objectives I strive towards and then I get to see what it actually ends up being and how far those results go.
/ J - heading out for practice soon...
PS. I sometimes like to talk about training, not to brag but to stir the pot. Even in other sports, it is the case that it could be a bit taboo to talk about. One must lie low and suggest that it is only raw talent that is the cause of any success and at the amateur level practicing must be hidden. Often you hear someone say "Well, I haven't had time to train because of..." and you can fill in any reason you like. This applies, for example, to cycling, where I was previously active. But I have also come across the phenomenon in the knife-throwing community.
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