Most of a lifetime ago, I encountered the “thrower list” on the then newfangled internet.
The thrower list was about knife throwing and other thrown weapons, and run by a gentleman we will call MJR.
The thrower list and thrower site has long since disbanded, but the knife throwing.info site maintains an archive of some of the valuable information the thrower held.
I was curious about a number of related topics, including Chinese piao/piau. I was to discover that no one on the list knew much about them, so I shared the little I knew. MJR turned my post into a webpage, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Over a thousand webpages, blog articles and several books later, I am still writing.
I also learnt to throw knives.
Recently, I reached out to a number of people I had lost contact with. One of these was Christian, the administrator of the knife throwing.info list.
Christian has asked me to write about “Taylor Power Throwing Technique One”, a derived version of which I call “punch throwing” in my book.
Before I can write about that technique, I feel I need to prepare the ground by addressing some other topics related to knife throwing.
Super Secret Spin‑Less Throws!
Reading an article on the knife throwing.info site, I was somewhat bemused to read the claim that spin‑less knife throwing was a lost art rediscovered in the early 21st Century.
I put a couple of techniques of spin‑less throwing in my first book: “Attack, Avoid, Survive”. The “secret” was there for anyone who brought the book!
Many of the members of the original thrower list, myself included, were using spin‑less methods in the mid-90s.
Kevin She had a very simple method I christened “She-Finger”, which I used. It took about a minute to learn.
I cannot recall how much success I had with the “Shirakami technique” after reading MJR's article on it. It proved relatively easy to learn once I acquired a copy of Shirakami’s book.
I sent another copy of that book to another thrower regular, Ed Sackett. Ed was an enthusiastic, generous and imaginative thrower, and I would be very surprised to learn that Ed had not persisted until he had mastered it. If he had had problems, I would have learnt of it, since Ed and myself exchanged emails on diverse topics a couple of times a week, at least.
Throwers of the World! Relax!
The “new” knife throwing.info pages often emphasise that spin‑less throws need strength or are tough on the joints.
Similar statements are made about gripping knives or other elements of knife throwing in general.
I can only disagree.
With the exception of “punch throwing”/“Taylor Power Throwing Technique One”, needing lots of effort is contrary to my own experience of spin‑less throwing and of knife throwing in general.
Firstly, do not grip your knife any harder than you need. One of the things that will cause problems with your knife throwing is an inconsistent grip. If your grip pressure varies, for example, because your hand gets tired from an unnecessarily strong grip, you will see variable results.
If you use more energy than your projectile can absorb, that extraneous power has to go somewhere else. If you are experiencing joint pain, this may be the cause and you may need to make an adjustment.
To any new throwers or throwers having trouble, I would advise “relax, let the mass of the knife do the work”.
Relaxed body parts may be moved faster, so greater speed is actually produced by “making an effort not to make an effort”. This is the foundation of all the better martial arts and fighting styles, incidentally.
The original thrower pages had some advice along the lines of: “as range increases, throw higher, not harder”. Good advice from MJR, although my recollection (possibly faulty) was that he liked to fastball his knives. My probably flawed, failing memory is that I suggested this might be contributing to problems with mastering Shirakami’s technique. I was lucky enough to meet the gentleman in real life, and we threw a few.
Incidentally, knives and other low‑velocity missiles are never thrown “point blank”, as some authors term it.
Point blank does not mean “close”, as it is frequently misused. Point blank means aimed without an allowance for drop.
Thus, knives are never thrown “point blank”. Their trajectory should always take them above their intended target. Some throwers inherently know this, but it is a topic books on the subject seldom touch on.
Throw Like a Girl?
On the subject of strength, why are there separate male and female sections of throwing competitions?
Knife throwing is a pastime involving accuracy, precision and skill. There is no reason why men and women cannot compete with each other.
If desired, you can maintain separate streams of prizes: Best female, third best male, second best cute Japanese schoolgirl, and so forth. Gender is a Gordian issue these days, however. Only a matter of time before the woke nazis stick their upturned noses in.
Shirakami Revisited
Last night, I took my copy of Shirakami Ikku‑Ken’s “Shuriken‑Do” down off the shelf, and finally broke my “no throwing in the nice house” rule.
I collected a diverse assortment of spikes (thank you, Jason!), and without looking at the book, tried a technique I had not tried in well over a decade.
The first was a “clanger”, but that is to be expected after such a long time, and may have been due to a poor choice of grip on a longer than normal spike.
Second and every other throw, hit and stuck in the target.
I wasn't aiming at a particular mark, but all were within a few inches of each other, despite their varied lengths, shapes and masses.
Yep! Still got it!
This is the first of the techniques called “push throwing” in “Attack, Avoid, Survive”, and is my interpretation of Shirakami’s spin‑less technique.
Shirakami’s book has far less text on spin‑less (“direct” p.42) throwing than you might expect. A single paragraph before moving on to half‑turn and multiple‑turn throws.
Useful range for direct throwing is given as 5.5 metres (which is about 18 shaku/3 ken in old Japanese units)
The contribution of finger brushing/friction is mentioned in the book. MJR actually writes more on this element than Shirakami.
From my experience, finger brushing is a component, but not something I consciously notice or attempt to do. The spike or knife leaves the hand with the hand pronated (palm down) so the rear part naturally slides across the lower surface of the fingers.
The throwing action that I use for “Shirakami-style” is rather like slapping down a card or domino, although with considerably less violence than some card and domino games I have witnessed!
It is an unhurried, relaxed, even lazy looking motion. Follow-through naturally.
I have described the Shirakami technique as “tai chi-style”‑throwing. You need to be able to relax your upper body and waist to use it successful. There is a motion in the shuriken kata (“The First Movement”, p.66) where you raise your arms up horizontally to the sides. I use this motion to loosen up and relax before a throw. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why it is in there?
I have some experience with tai chi and soft martial arts. This, and some would claim, my inherent laziness, made learning Shirakami’s spin‑less throw variant relatively easy for me.
If your method of knife throwing involves lots of sweat and muscular effort, you will probably have problems and may conclude that it cannot be done. It can. It is relatively easy. You need to learn to use less effort!