Knife Throwing May 2026

- a good but not quite as intense month 

If April was completely crazy from a knife-throwing perspective, with almost ninety hours spent with a throwing knife in hand, May has been somewhat calmer. Although not by much, it must be admitted. It only differs by a few hours across all the days. But I only noticed that now when I summed it all up.

A summer picture already in May. The new TacticalEdged.Dojo Spike DC

There are, of course, several reasons why there is a lot of training. Internal motivation is one such, a concept that I discussed a lot on a sports leadership course I am taking part in. But external factors also contribute. At the end of this month, the Soulthrower Open awaits, and the following month, the big highlight of the year, the U.K.A.T. World Championships in Carpi, Italy, will come. After that, my competition season will be rounded off with the Swedish Championships in Arboga in August.

In addition to the fact that there have been various types of motivation, the strange spring of course contributes to good conditions. Where I am, we have basically had summer heat without rain for almost the entire month. The number of rainy hours is easy to count. A blessing for throwers, but perhaps not as appreciated by nature and those who live from it. It is starting to get dry now.

Another reason for fewer throws is this one, which I spent a few hours on. But after having all my first submissions rejected because of sandals (!) I don't know if I'll feel like continuing.

As is customary at this point, the results are summarised with some numbers.

For May, they are;

•  86 hours, divided into
•  26 training sessions, which resulted in approx.
•  31 800 throws

Thus, one less session in May compared to April, which almost exactly explains the difference in time. Strange!

However, the number of throws was fewer, and that is not so strange. The beginning of the month was spent more on Walk Back and precision throwing with the associated point counting, which slows down the "pace". I have also thrown a little more long distance, which also gives fewer throws per unit of time. You simply have to go longer distances. But, it is important to point out, the number of throws is not a value indicator in itself and not something I pay much attention to. It is mostly an interesting aspect.

Warming up is important in all contexts. But here it is done sport-specifically.

The list of the most used knives this month looks like this:

1. Throwingzone Pathfinder: 7504
2. Zitoon Le primitif Rotation: 5304
3. Zitoon No Reload: 2185
4. Zitoon Le Rafale: 2185
5. Zitoon Le primitif NS: 2050
6. Zitoon Commemorative Dagger: 1955
7. Bullseye Blades Nobu:1857 
8. TacticalEdged.Dojo Spike DC: 1185
9. Acejet Merlin Kiridashi: 945
10. Zitoon Philippe: 555

In addition, there have also been some axe throws, about 1600 throws with the custom ceratops from Throwingzone.

At the top, as usual, is my number one competition knife in No Spin, Pathfinder from Throwingzone. Number two is just as consistently my competition set for Walk Back rotation, Zitoons Le Primitif rotation. A couple of new knives have also crept into the list. Acejets Merlin Kiridashi is a test subject for an upcoming review, and the same can be said about TeDojos Spike DC.

Progression

You know how things tend to go in waves and how you suddenly reach a new plateau? That was a bit of what happened at the beginning of this month, it feels like. In that time, I managed to break some personal records again.

The first thing was that I FINALLY got 105 points from a three-meter rotational throw. And no less than twice. Before, I've had many 104-pointers, but now that curse is broken.

In addition, I've polished my PB Walk Back rotation. Up from 265 points to 268 points! I'm of course very happy with that. Although I'm happier that the series often ends up over 250 points now. Now I'm aiming to pass 270 points. That would be a nice milestone.

I am most pleased, however, with the smashing of my previous No Spin record. There, I increased from 237 to 248 points, which is my current personal best in practice. The next goal is, of course, 250 points. A round and nice number.

Just for the heck of it, I also managed to throw 92 p from 5m precision/No Spin.

Now all that remains is to continue on the chosen path and mix "volume training" with quality and mental relaxation on the way to new goals.

/ J - continues on the chosen path

Knife throwing March 2026

This is not only a summary of a month of knife throwing but also the first of the year. So far, neither I nor Växjö Sportkastning are so lucky that we can throw indoors. But I can reveal that we are working on that too. But that's getting ahead of the curve.

March was a bit special this year when it was first a harsh winter, even down here in the south, and then went straight into spring. It still looks a bit strange when we had a few weeks in a row with mostly sun but not a hint of green anywhere. Yes, then we also got some April weather a month in advance with some snowfall and a few rain showers mixed with the sunshine.

Although when I look back at the training diary, I see that the throwing actually didn't start until March, even last year, either. On the other hand, it was possible to throw well into December, which hasn't been possible this winter. That has led to being more rusty than usual.

Throwingzone Pathfinder, my first choice for No Spin

But the joy of throwing has definitely returned, even though I am currently having to take a break due to back pain. It may have something to do with the one and a half tons of targets I have loaded in and out of our small car. It is impossible to throw them into the car; you have to lean forward slightly and carefully put them down. It is probably not the most successful thing from an ergonomic point of view when you are holding a piece of wood weighing around 70-80 kg that is wet and without a handle. 

In a way, it was worth it, as we finally have targets to throw at. Therefore, it won't be long before regular training starts.

Before the back problems, however, there was some throwing, more specifically:

• 20 training occasions
• which gave a total of 63 hours
• and approximately 28,600 throws

In other words, it was a real flying start to the throwing season for me. However, as I mentioned earlier, I have a lot to catch up on, as colleagues and competitors train both indoors and in climates that allow year-round throwing. On that point, I am in the clear.

Kast med mina "Nazgul", mina nio No Spin-knivar från Zitoon Knives

The knives that have been used the most are the ones that I also intend to compete with in the World Championships eventually. These are mainly Le primitif rotation and Pathfinder for rotational throwing, and No Spin, respectively. For long distance, I am leaning towards the Bullseye Blades Nobu so far.

Good hits from 7 m with Bullseye Blades Nobu

But of course I throw some with other knives too, especially when I throw "volume throwing" No Spin. The top list looks something like this so far:

1. Throwingzone Pathfinder: 5415
2. Zitoon Knives Le primitive rotation: 3960
3. Zitoon Knives Le Rafale: 3224
4. Zitoon Knives No Reload: 3224
5. Zitoon Knives Le primitive NS: 3194
6. Zitoon Knives Philippe: 2654
7. Bullseye Nobu: 2289
8. Acejet Excalibur: 1129
9. Lanceur de l'âme Tangetsu: 455

The reason three of the No Spin sets from Zitoon Knives have such similar numbers is that I usually throw them at the same time. I call them Nazguls, the nine!

As I mentioned, there will be no throwing today, so the month can be summarised as above. Hopefully my back and the weather will allow for some throwing tomorrow!

/ J - your thrower in cyberspace

Throwback 2025

- Another year of knife throwing has passed

Time flies, they say. That's something I can agree with. This is especially true if you are engaged in an outdoor activity in the northern hemisphere, where it is cold and dark for most of the year. Then interests are concentrated in the available time. This accelerates the feeling that time is flying.

Despite that, there has been some throwing during the winter, but any proper "training" is difficult to engage in under the conditions that have prevailed. It can possibly be considered training in throwing in all weathers.

But that was the end of the season. Before that, a lot had happened, more than ever in fact. Here is a summary of the knife-throwing year 2025.

Knife throwing - another state of mind. Zitoon Le primitif rotation

To be reasonably consistent with how I usually present the season, I'll start with a few statistics.

This year's knife-throwing in numbers

My fifth year as a knife thrower generated the following:

• 408 hours, divided into
• 138 sessions, which resulted in 
• 162 700 throws

The numbers are more accurate than in recent seasons when I haven't been doing as much "spontaneous throwing" in the form of forest trips with a throwing knife or two in my pocket. The training sessions have simply been more pure training. Much of that is because I am now closer to the throwing range.

Interestingly enough, the average time per session is still almost exactly three hours, but since the number of sessions has increased compared to last season by 27 occasions, the number of throws has also increased significantly from about 90,000. In fact, this is the year I have spent the most time throwing since I started practising! This, in turn, is of course dependent on a combination of motivation for the 2025 big event, something I will return to, and weather conditions, as I am an outdoor thrower.

No spin-kastning i början av året

Regarding personal records, not much has happened in the time that has passed since last year's summary. I have not had access to targets of sufficient quality for that. Therefore, it has mostly been basic training of various kinds. However, there have been some refinements of previous results.

As usual, I would like to point out that all PBs are set under calm training conditions and not competition, which is something completely different.*

Walk Back (3-7m / 300p):

• Rotational: 265 p
• No Spin: 235 p
• Axe: 213 p (from previous Swedish Championships with borrowed axes)

Precision, rotational (105p):

• 3 m: 104 p
• 5 m: 99 p
• 7 m: 83 p

Precision, No Spin:

• 3 m: 101 p
• 5 m: 91 p 
• 7 m: 70 p

Precision, Axe:

• 3 m: 100 p
• 5 m: -
• 7 m: -

Long distance:

• Rotational: 15,75 m.
• No Spin: 11,1 m
• Axe: 13,67 m (Swedish Championships)

As I said, very modest adjustments to the results, but they mean that I added five points in WB rotation and two points in WB No Spin.

As for precision throwing, it was the target problem that meant that I couldn't train specifically on that detail.** What has been added, however, is that I now have throwing axes. However, no special results with them yet for the same reason. The PB in Walk Back that exists was set during the Swedish Championships.

Furthermore, I have improved my results in long-distance throwing somewhat, but they are still very modest; I am simply not good enough for that detail. But there was a two-meter improvement in rotation and about half a meter in No Spin.

Knives

The number of knives also increased during the current season. Some of the new models are also candidates to enter the competition sets. But one set that for once will not be replaced is my knives for No Spin, it is and will remain, for the foreseeable future, Throwingzone Pathfinder!

This model is going nowhere, Throwingzone Pathfinder

I might consider using a different and heavier model for long-distance throwing. The same goes for rotational throwing, as I will probably use Zitoon Le primitif rotation for walk-back and precision throwing. But for the latter discipline, the Lanceur de L'âme Dague de Competition is also very good as they are excellent to throw from a grip in the handle. The same can also be said about Bullseye Blades Nobu, which is also the likely choice for long-distance throwing. So the choice is not completely decided yet.

A candidate for precision throwing - Dague de Competition from Lanceur de L'âme

The knives I trained with the most in 2025 were:

1. Throwingzone Pathfinder: 53 900 throws
2. Zitoon Knives Le primitif rotation: 28 800 throws
3. Zitoon Knives No Reload: 9 800 throws
4. Zitoon Knives Le primitif No Spin: 98000 throws
5. Bullseye Blades Nobu: 8 900 throws

Then it just so happened that several of them were new for the year. For example, the Nobu set was bought during the World Cup, so they have only been used since July.

Competitions

World championship

There were also a few competitions in 2025. First and foremost was a premiere. It wasn't just any premiere, but a World Championship under the auspices of U.K.A.T.s. It is the largest throwing organization and the competition took place in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.

As a warm-up for the World Championship, I had planned to participate in the AIM games online, but it had to be cancelled due to the weather. Instead, I practised a lot as soon as the weather allowed. The result from the World Championship was more successful than expected, and I brought home two medals. A gold in 3 m precision, No Spin and a silver in "Hunter".

In addition to that, there were mixed placements, but overall, I became the best Swede with an 18th place if all results were added together. The modest placement is due, among other things, to the fact that until just before the competitions, I had never trained with an axe and that several disciplines were completely new to me. But it's difficult to get to the top of that list as it also requires you to be able to practice things like Duel, which I don't have the equipment for.v

En guldmedalj i Böhmisk kristall, vad annars?

Before the competitions started, however, I had not dared to hope for such success. The goal was to participate and to set results in all disciplines that can then be improved! They are now in place!

A good basis for that is that I now know a little more about what is required and how it can be done. The next step is to bring out a little of what I know at the next competition, and it could go really well. On the other hand, there are lots of external factors that you can't control, so how it goes remains to be seen. But I am extremely motivated to start practice.

Swedish Championships

The 2025 Swedish Championships in sport throwing were a bit of a strange story. Much due to the fact that several participants, including myself, had tough times in life, both mentally and physically. This meant that perhaps not everyone threw at their best, even in the disciplines where they usually do. But as I usually say about competitions; It's important to be healthy and whole to be able to train, it's important to be in place, and it's about what is done there and then. Not quite simply, in other words. Everyone who competes in something knows that.

But it was a successful Swedish Championships for me. Despite rather mixed results, I managed to retain my title as Swedish champion in No Spin. To underline that, I also took gold in long distance and silhouette in the same discipline and a bronze in "Plank" with the same technique.

In knife, I moved up a position and took silver in Walk Back, and to top it off, there was a real surprise in the WB with axe. There, I unexpectedly managed to grab a bronze medal even though many throwers who were actually better than I were there.

Almost all the medals from the 2025 Swedish Championships, I actually missed some

Overall, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places and other results meant that I racked up enough points to become the best thrower overall. A title that I hardly think I'll keep, but that I'm still very proud of.

 

Towards 2026

The new year will bring several big changes. Two of them are closely related; that is, I, together with my dear wife, have started a club, Växjö Sportkastning***. In addition to everything that will entail, it also means that instead of having 15 km to my training range, I now have 1.5 km. It makes training much easier.

Otherwise, some of the main points are the same as before. One of them that I wish to participate in to a greater extent is, of course, the ever-present online competition AIM Games, where my participation is unfortunately minimised due to a lack of target material and winter weather. For example, a knife competition has just ended, and an axe competition, H10, is about to start. I can't participate in either of them as it looks at the moment. One has already been sabotaged by winter, and the other looks like it won't take place either.

Another permanent feature in my calendar is, of course, the Swedish championships. Especially since my ambition is that I want to continue to subscribe to the title of Swedish champion in No Spin. Then the other results resulted in increased interest. As soon as I can, I will also practice some of the different elements in Axe.

That competition takes place in Arboga, and there is also another event that usually takes place there in the form of the Soulthrower Open. My ambition is to participate there as well. But time and money can be tight as it is very close to the biggest competition of the year.

The main goal for 2026

I am, of course, talking about the U.K.A.T. World Championships in Italy, which will take place at the end of July. There, I have every intention of trying to surpass the 2025 results, although of course it will be difficult. Especially as these competitions look to be even bigger in terms of the number of participants. Among other things, countries such as China and Indonesia have been added, and I know there are incredibly good throwers there.

Thus, there will be a lot to report on from a knife-throwing perspective also in 2026. There will be no shortage of blog material.

/ J - "The Swedish Chef"

* But as I usually say, if you can't achieve good results in training, they won't magically appear in competition either, so you have to start somewhere.
** It's difficult to achieve correct competition targets with pieces of wood with large holes in the middle.
*** As a subdivision of VAIS

Inked

- A new kind of knife!

It was about time! I have been thinking about the idea from time to time, and considering how much time I have spent on this activity in recent years, I am hooked. So a small tribute to the interest was not far off. But then, ideas must be converted into practice as well. In this case, as often, I must attribute the catalytic effect to my dear wife.

She had seen an offer for a free consultation at Tello.Ink - Växjö. I was really just following along as support. Her motif was going to be a family tattoo, featuring a rose and everyone's initials. That was an idea she had had for a long time. 

After a first conversation with one of the partners, we got a very good impression of the studio. Especially from the way they work with a rotating group of tattoo artists from Europe and, as it turns out, South America! This means that they can offer basically anything in terms of motifs, including fine line and realism, for example.

In the back of my mind, I had my little idea for a throwing knife, so I presented it, and it was received with enthusiasm. After a while of talking about it all, it turned out that we could come the next day. The artists drew the proposals on Friday evening, and we arrived on Saturday at lunchtime to decide on the alternatives. In my case, the process was simple, as it had to be as imaginative as possible, but a little more artistically complicated in C's case.

The result was very good! My worn copies now look a little shinier than when they were new!

After a little preparation, it was time to get started. Unfortunately, I couldn't talk much with the very nice tattoo artist while the work was going on, as my Spanish is almost non-existent and he is from Colombia.

It turned out that Olger Pabuena was not just anyone, but a multiple award winner back home in South America, despite his relatively young age. It is extra impressive since this art form is big there. Feel free to visit his Instagram account and follow him if you are interested. In addition to his talent in this area, he was also a musician and, if I understood correctly, a music teacher. A gentleman with many talents. 

The technique used was new to me, which doesn't say much, but it included silver paint, which gives a much more realistic result than just black and white. The size is slightly reduced, about 2/3 of the original as it wouldn't have fit otherwise. I'm not THAT big.

It couldn't be that much bigger. Now it just needs to heal.

Why this particular motif and this knife? Well, it's my favourite model for competition, and it was with it that I won my first World Championship medals this summer, a silver and a gold. For me, it's quite big. That's why it's a Pathfinder from Throwingzone that's depicted. I also think the name is quite fitting.

The tattoo itself took about two to two and a half hours or something like that. I'm very happy with the end result! Now it just needs to heal properly so you can really see how it turned out.

/ J - newly inked

#knivesandbikes #knivigtvarre

New Knife - Vulture Blades Teardrop 3.0

This is a very special knife for several reasons. First, it is a type of knife I have not owned before. The appearance is a distinctive teardrop shape, which contrasts with the throwing knife market, where the three most common types are Bowie knives, daggers, and "Osetr"-like knives. Second, Vulture Blades, who are behind the Teardrop 3.0 model, are completely new to me.

They are, like many in the world of throwing knives, a small enthusiast company run by people who like what they do. I can quickly see that in the products. The finish on this knife is of the highest quality. But that's getting ahead of things to come. An in-depth review will be at a later date.

Regarding Vulture Blades, it can also be noted that they are based in Bulgaria, which is relatively new to me, but not entirely unfamiliar. I actually have a folding knife from the same country.* So if the quality is the same on this knife, I will develop a positive prejudice about knives from there!

Vulture Blades Teardrop 3.0

The most obvious difference is, of course, that this is a throwing knife. It is made from a single piece of SIDUR 500, which is carbon steel. Here polished to a very elegant finish. The knife has three holes, as you can see. In addition to being decorative, they lighten and balance the knife. In addition, they provide a better grip and index the grip for the thrower. In other words, they are quite important.

Teardrop 3.0 is a fairly heavy piece in relation to its length, thanks to its shape. So even though the knife does not measure more than 230 mm in length, it weighs a whopping 295 g (according to my scale, stated 300 g). This, of course, comes from the teardrop shape that gave it its name, in combination with the fact that it is a full 8 mm thick. The width is at most 34 mm, and the holes are 20 mm in diameter.

"Sweet Spot", not the strawberries then, but the Teardrop 3.0 intended for all-around throwing

The knife is intended to be an all-round knife for everything from No Spin via half spin techniques to pure rotational throwing. I'll see what I think of it. To be honest, I can see some objections even before I've thrown the knife, given my technique and how I throw in general.

Currently, this knife is not found on the website, but can be found in their Etsy shop in case anyone is interested in a purchase right now.

I will, of course, come back with both a short "report" and a longer review when I have had time to use this and other knives from Vulture Blades properly. Yes, I can reveal that there is more to come!

/ J - curious and eager to throw

* Specifically, a Manly Peak that I previously reviewed here on the blog.

#knivesandbikes #knivigtvarre

U.K.A.T. World Championships, part 3

  - The competitions begin

It was finally time. Time for theories to be put into practice and training to be transformed into competition at the highest level. A pretty big step for me, as I had only competed in the Swedish Championship and the Soulthrower Open before. But the latter is certainly a small but still an international competition that attracts good throwers.

Since at the World Championships you can compete in almost any order you want, the thrower can choose what suits them best. I thought I would start with something relatively simple to get a feel for the situation and the courses. It can be added that it was very hot these days. The temperature was between thirty and thirty-five degrees, and around ten hours a day would be spent outdoors. This resulted in more than one sunburn and a few cases of sunstroke among the competitors. 

Day One - Games

These ever-present competition nerves. Yes, I know it applies to others, too. But in my case, they can be almost paralyzing. I can simply more or less forget what technique I am using, or rather, should be using. It happened, for example, at the Swedish Championships a year ago when I missed the first throw from 3m in rotational. I don't mean in miss as in a three instead of a five, but in as in "knife-on-the-ground miss". Something almost impossible to achieve. Such incidents can make anyone nervous!

To deal with it, I tried to think about what my wise brother told me when we spoke before I left. He said, "Have fun"! Then he added that I have nothing to prove. Anything that goes well is a bonus. Completely correct idea, but harder to implement. It was there in the back of my mind, though.

But now it was time to get started. Games were a good start, and my idea was to open with rotational disciplines because they are both easier and not quite as close to my heart as no spin. 

Moving Target

I opened with "Moving Target" for the simple reason that I had never seen the discipline live before and therefore had no demands on myself at all. There were some hits and some misses. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to cry about either. A fifty-eighth place was the result in the end. A lot of room for improvement, in other words.

The first competition for me was Moving Target

Richard Karlsson from Sweden threw better; he managed to win a bronze medal, which was a really great moral boost! As in other sports, the atmosphere is contagious when teammates are doing well. Now the bar was kind of set. Although I didn't know that at the time, I might add. The competition day had just started. 

The first medal for Sweden, a bronze, was won by Richard Karlsson in Moving Target.

Silhouette

The next event for me was Silhouette, as it three-meter rotational is actually the easiest to throw. But add competition nerves and the fact that this heraldic griffin that formed the target was one of the more difficult in a long time. Some of the rings/bullseyes were more or less inside the wings, which meant that a "negative" hit was constantly threatening. The thrower gets five points for each ring and minus ten if the knives even touch the silhouette. 

I didn't do well with a couple of quick hits followed by a series of misses that were all very close. But that doesn't help, and above all, it doesn't improve the score. The precision wasn't there, and only when I relaxed towards the end did the technique work. The last three throws were pounded into the target in quick succession and in the right place, but by then it was too late.

The result was a twentieth place in this event. Up to the podium, it was twenty-five points or five more hits. Absolutely not impossible, especially not as I threw forty-five at the last Swedish Championships, but it didn't work out this day.

Trick shots after the competitions, but here you can see the difficult silhouette target

Then it can be added that the silhouette is also thrown with axes. I did compete, but that was all. I had the axes for two weeks before the competition, and I had never thrown silhouette with axes before. Since, as I said, you can get negative scores in this discipline and the target was tricky, I ended up with minus thirty points, which led to 84th place out of 131 competitors in the discipline. The good thing about that is that I, no doubt, will improve next time.

Sure, I could have gotten higher points by being tactical and not throwing at all, or rather, making sure to miss on the more difficult bullseyes, but how much fun is that?

Speed throwing

In speed throwing, I actually had a goal, namely to beat myself. I don't have any knives to practice with at home, so I've never done that, but I've competed in this event at a couple of Swedish Championships in a row. Always with the same result, 11 knives. This time it went relatively well and I managed to put 16 in the target, but three were outside the scoring area, so the final result was 13. 

Which was still a personal best, so the result had to be considered decent albeit modest. It was enough for a 36th place. The best in the sport are grinding, and that's actually not something I'll ever do. I don't think it's that fun. But it's impressive to see the speed they get up to.

The Plank

The next game on the program was the much-feared "Plank". It consists of a plank that slopes away from the thrower, and on it, there are nine sectors to be hit. One point closest to the thrower and up to nine at most. The closest sector is three meters away, and then it increases to about seven meters. The difficulty lies in the fact that the distances are not exactly marked, but mainly in the fact that the surface slopes significantly. If you throw rotational, the risk of over-rotation and thus a miss is imminent. That's why I chose No Spin.

The feared Plank

After a couple of good initial throws with hits in the middle sectors, the feeling was good, and the points were acceptable. Unfortunately, this was followed by a couple of misses, some of which could have been avoided. Here, too, practice is lacking, and I will probably arrange a plank at home to practice. My 18 points were enough for 20th place.

Acejet Master

In addition to the more usual disciplines, there was a special one because Acejet was the main sponsor of the event. In this case, you would throw "Bo Shuriken", straight throwing needles from three and five meters. I have never done that before, and I am not entirely a fan of how light they are in general. But my effort was enough for a ninth place overall. Up to a medal place, there were four points, so with a little practice, it is within reach, although I do not think this specific discipline will return.

Hunter

So there was one more game I had never seen called "Hunter". It turned out to be a pretty tricky discipline. The thrower stands in a ring and has to hit eight different targets with three knives each. The targets are both at an unknown distance and are designed differently. Size, shape, and, not least, inclination vary. Especially those where the surface is tilted away from the thrower were difficult. You can't see the target you are going to hit!

Added to the difficulty was that there was quite a crowd at this course. There were many who were curious about the competition format. But by this point, I was both tired and hot. In addition, things had not gone so well before, and the expectations that an, to me, unknown game would make a difference were not there. But since the key to good throwing is to relax, it went beyond expectations.

For me, the situation was not very different from the times I throw out in the forest at various objects. I managed to pick up forty points. The annoying thing was that I hit the farthest ones and had a close miss on one of the easier targets. Something that would later prove decisive. At first, I didn't know if my result was good or bad, even though I took the lead at the moment.

Waiting for the first awards ceremony, the one that became an anticlimax for me

Later, I learned that my result would be enough to earn a first place after the deadline at six o'clock had passed. One of the other Swedes informed me about this. However, I didn't really dare to believe it because it would give me gold! 

And sure enough, when the prize-giving ceremony later took place, Hunter was saved to last, and it was found that so many people said that they hadn't "managed" to finish that particular one of all the games that it was declared open the next day as well. That's how the potential gold slipped out of my hand. Especially since I had no idea who was left to compete or how good they were. 

The second Swedish medal. A silver for me in Hunter

But it would turn out that only one person threw better and got ONE damn point more than me. But a silver medal was at home! So my first World Championships was already well above expectations, also in terms of results.

Waiting for the next day

The first day of competition was over. It had been very hot, hectic, wonderful, and full of impressions that needed to be sorted out. I already realized that there would be no problem falling asleep that night. Or so I thought. Hradec Králové had a few surprises for the visitors this particular weekend, as it turned out.

Now there was only the rest left. Day two involved the "heavy" disciplines such as Walk Back in both axe, knife, and No Spin, as well as precision and distance in these disciplines. At the same time, qualifications had begun for both "Duel Throwing" and Coutanque. 

In the first one, I didn't get anywhere for the same reason as in some others; I've never tried them. Throwing from the sheath is something I'm good at and I very rarely miss, but it's never been done with a timer before. My time was about thirty percent worse than my opponent and I was out in the first inning. But in Coutanque, I somehow managed to win the first matches and move on in the tournament.

But more about that in the next post!

/ J - the silver medalist

U.K.A.T. World Championships, part 2

 - the road to the Czech Republic

The preparations were complete. Both in terms of training and the trip itself. I was responsible for the former, and my dear wife for the rest, something I am deeply grateful for. All that remained was the packing. It was quite a lot of work, to put it mildly.

It tends to be like that if you are going to be away for a few weeks and engaging in various activities. Everything from visiting restaurants to training and competing. Then you never know with the weather. Some rain gear and a rain jacket must be brought with you; otherwise, you can expect it to rain for three days. The latter would turn out to be completely pointless. But we didn't know that at the time. 

The most important packing item, of course, was competition equipment in the form of axes and knives. Both mine and Mrs. C's, and also sets for rotation, no spin, and some extra sets. It was heavy but very legal as it turned out. My planning-savvy wife had, of course, checked in advance if/where/and how permits were needed to cross borders with such items in our luggage.

The Swedish police were very nice, could not answer this somewhat odd request right away, but gave the direct number to the weapons department, who mostly wished us good luck in the competition. It felt good to have them on our side.

We didn't have to hurry. When we arrived, the trucks were lined up.

The first stop was Trelleborg, and we got there quickly. Completely unnecessary, as the ferry to Rostock was three hours late. This was due to strong winds. There was a straight headwind of 36 knots, which, together with the ferry's speed, gave a relative wind speed of 57 knots, a board in the foyer showed. A wind speed that also increased in the bow, where the superstructure was leaning. An awesome experience was trying to stand there, which of course I did. Strangely enough, there were no waves to speak of and the sun was shining.

It's barely visible, but the wind combined with the ferry's movement produced winds of over 100 km/h or 57 knots.

It wasn't on the autobahn, waves that is. That was the main experience on day two. Or rather, it was the heat we remember. The traffic was moderately intense. After a night in a hotel down in the harbor, we would travel around eight hundred km to the Czech Republic and the destination Hradec Králové, so we just had to get going. Not exactly easy as it was the first day of the heat wave in this part of Europe, and thus 35 degrees in the shade. This meant that the car reached well over forty degrees because the AC is broken and you can't roll down the windows at 140km/h on the autobahn. A bit of a nightmare experience. We were sweating in layers, I can say.

But we only arrived after driving into Poland and not least passing about a hundred roadworks in the Czech Republic and learning what "Pozor" means. It is written on warning triangles about every hundred meters and everywhere. God knows what they warn about, but something was that draws attention a lot and often, and requires a sign or two.

The hotel was centrally located and was relatively cozy, although quite cramped. Especially with all that packing. It would turn out that we were not the only competitors in the hotel, even though it was small with few rooms.

The square in Radek Kralove

So it was Thursday, and it was time to head out to the competition site, which consisted of a combination of camping and outdoor recreation area located about five kilometers from the center. A large one, and of course, we parked at the wrong end on the first day and had to walk a long way. The competitions were to take place in a fenced-off part of the area. There were plenty of both competition targets and a good-sized warm-up area, which, however, became crowded in the first half of the first day. Then it thinned out during the competitions due to the very noticeable heat.

Closest to the camera are the competition area and, in the background, the warm-up section.

The first step in a competition is always weighing and measuring the equipment. Everything went well until it came to my brand-new axes. The Rinaldi axes customized by Throwingzone. Since they are hand-ground, one of the edges was apparently about three millimeters too long. Something that first caused a bit of panic, then a while of hysterical filing with the tools I had. It felt a bit crazy to have to start modding them right away. Even more so when I later saw an older man throwing with double-edged axes, which is directly against the rules.

Time for the first point of the competition, weighing in and measuring the competition equipment.

After all the equipment had received a red dot marking it as approved, it was time to soak up the atmosphere and greet everyone and everything. Those you know, those you should know, and those you want to get to know. There was, of course, the Swedish representation, but also gentlemen and ladies you had met before at the Soul Thrower Open and others you had either not seen at all or only on YouTube.

Opening and welcoming speech by Radim Drtílek

In total, there were around 150 competitors from no less than 21 nations. A respectable number that could have even included a few more, as it turned out later. The most distant ones were from Australia, South Korea (although the country is represented by an American), the USA, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Overall, everything felt good for me, although of course, there was a certain amount of tension. I was actually more excited than nervous. I didn't have any specific goals right away, except that I wanted to perform well. I possibly harbored a hope that my bad competition nerves would somehow miraculously give way. On that front, I can reveal, things went both well and badly.

I have to praise the arrangement of starting day one with "Games," it made it possible to relax a bit and get into the throwing. At least I hoped it would be that way.

On the first day's program were disciplines such as Silhouette, Moving Target, Speed Throwing, Plank, and the brand new Hunter, as well as qualifications for duel throwing and Couteanque.

In the next part of the story, I intend to dive a little deeper into how it all developed. Both day one with games and days two and three with the main disciplines, Walk Back, Precision, and distance.

/ J - finally in place

U.K.A.T. World Championships, part 1

- or preparations de luxe

So the adventure was over for this time. My wife and I have been back home for a few weeks after our road trip in Europe. During this period, we accomplished a great deal. However, the main focus was on our first intermediate goal. That was what guided the direction of the entire trip. Of course, I am talking about the World Championships in Sport Throwing 2025.

Before leaving, I noticed that time has a tendency to disappear, especially in the summer. In addition to midsummer celebrations and various boring private matters that had to be dealt with before departure, there were school graduations for loved ones.

Then it was time to concentrate on the vacation and, of course, the big event.

The event took place outside Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, under the auspices of U.K.A.T. - United Knife and Axe Throwers. One of the larger organizations in the world, although there are others.

The Sunday before departure, I had some kind of dress rehearsal. There is quite a lot to practice because I throw "everything". Or more precisely, both No Spin, which is my main strength, and rotational throwing. Then, of course, there is axe throwing. I am a novice in that area, but I am learning as I go.

Throwingzone Pathfinder is my choice for No Spin

Within the different areas, it is primarily the discipline Walk Back that requires the most attention and time. It is this format that determines who receives the actual world championship titles. In short, this means that you throw from distances of 3, 4, 5, 6, and seven meters with three knives/axes per distance. This is repeated four times, and the total points that can be obtained are a maximum of 300. Think Bowling but with sharper balls.

For rotational throwing, my choice was Zitoon Le primitif rotation

In addition, there are a number of complementary disciplines such as precision throwing, long-distance throwing, and, not least, Games. There are disciplines such as Duel, Silhouette, Moving target, Plank, and, for me, completely new Hunter. Then there is also Speedthrowing and the game Coutanque. I was unable to practice any of the latter as I lacked both equipment and time. I participated, but more for fun than well, if you put it that way.

This probably applies to most of it, as I have only been training for a few years. This should be put with the fact that some people have devoted most of their lives to throwing.

This year's training in numbers

My preparations started as late as March 1st, as I don't have the opportunity to throw indoors and am therefore completely weather dependent. However, a cold but dry spring and early summer generated the following statistics:

• 80 000 throws distributed on
• 58 sessions, which gives a training time of
• 187 hours

Basic training, No Spin, but with completely different knives.

On average, I practice for over three hours once I'm in place. That's quite a long time, I must admit. If you're untrained, you won't be able to handle that time. The knives don't weigh much if they're held in your hand or thrown once or even ten times. But a few hundred throws, not to mention a thousand or more, are felt in your shoulders and arms if you're used to it. I can promise that. This is especially true for longer distances.

The focus has been on my relatively new No Spin knives, the Pathfinder from Throwingzone, and the rotational knives from Zitoon called Le primitif rotation. Both sets are from France, by the way. Those were the ones I chose as competition knives this time.

Now I know that you shouldn't change knives every season, but I'm still a beginner and haven't decided which ones I like best to throw with. I haven't even decided if I prefer more Bowie-like knives or daggers, which is a bit of a watershed.

Throwingzone Custom Ceratops 

With the axes, there have been significantly fewer throws. Partly due to a lack of good targets, but mainly because I got them a couple of weeks before the competition. Therefore, of course, there have not been that many throws with them. But if you add earlier training with my Norsehawks, there will, of course, be a few more.

Thus, the number of throws with the competition sets before the World Cup can be summed up:

• Throwingzone Pathfinder: 27100
• Zitoon le primitif rotation: 16900
• Throwingzone Ceratops Custom: 4000

In addition to that, I have also tested a whole range of other knives, including the backup knives, the Zitoon Spinner XL. I keep them because experience from early competitions shows that it can be helpful to change if everything goes wrong during warm-up. It's solely psychology and nothing else. If nothing works, change something!

Some of the first throws with Zitoon The Primitive, early this spring

The technique training has been a bit uneven. Sometimes I'm really good, so good that I maintain a good international level, mainly in No Spin. But it's the valleys that need to be made a little shallower. The lowest level needs to be raised because the technique tends to fail when I stress myself out. This mainly applies to the longer distances, which have been a problem for me in the past and turned out to be partly the case at the World Championships.

To remedy this, I have, of course, trained that part a little extra. Furthermore, I have trained to reduce the warm-up time and in more competition-like conditions. This includes doing a Walk Back after a few warm-up throws, for example. All to prepare myself for unknown conditions. It was my first World Championships after all.

However, there were things that I couldn't prepare for. More about that in part two of this series. Then you can never train for a competition, so to speak. That situation is as it is and must be experienced.

Precision training with Pathfinders. Something that would pay off, it turned out.

Overall, I think the preparations went relatively well. Especially in the last few weeks, I got in a couple of solid training sessions, we're talking about five to six hours at a time. Other than that, it went pretty well for the most part.

With that in mind, I was about as prepared as I could be. After that, it was just a matter of enjoying the trip.

/ J - likes his preparations