Tuesday Tip: Staying still and movement.

Nobody really taught me how to throw. At least, not actively. Not when I was first starting out.

I've had just oodles of teachers. People I've looked up to. People I've mimicked and asked questions to and, for 30 minutes at ChillAxe, Dr. K took it upon herself to show me how she throws an axe, and watched/advised me as I tried.

As such, I'm very willing to admit there are gaps in my throwing knowledge. But I think there are gaps on all of our throwing knowledges. It's okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's okay that you're crying. Don't be embarrassed about it. Let it out.

What I wish I knew about movement earlier

That being said, I thought it would be wise to share a few things, every once and again, that were...well, not revolutionary for me as a thrower...but seemingly very important in my axe-throwing growth. One of those, and the one we're starting with, centered around what one's torso is doing whilst taking your step and throwing.

I'm positive you've seen AALOTO's advice about keeping one's tits up - but sometimes advice doesn't come when you need it, so I'm going to try to present that same idea in a bit of a different way:

When you're throwing, it's tempting to throw yourself at the target. You want to lean in to it, or extend yourself towards it as much as you can (and looking a lot like a ballet dancer while doing so). Newer throwers will often have this kinda move, where they stretch themselves out as much as possible towards the boards when they are just about to complete a throw, and it feels really intuitive to do it.

But friend. Dear reader. Sweet-ums. It's not the best.

Problem is, the more moving parts you've got going on with that cute body of yours, the more points of failure or points of variance you've introduced. Axe throwing is certainly a balance between adaptability and repeatability, with people leaning to one side of that measurement or the other. But in both, consistency is important. If you're moving your torso forward with your throw, or taking huge steps that are dependent on how tight your pants are/how loose your hips are/whatever, it's very difficult to be consistent.

Becoming more still while moving

So, my advice. Here it comes. Are you ready? I bet you are: Figure out what you gotta move, and what you can avoid moving.

Like I said, not groundbreaking - but really important, and something that nobody ever told me within my first year of throwing axes.

Basically, in scientific terms, it can be broken down like this: Movement = variance.

Variance = inconsistency.

Inconsistency = frustration. So movement = frustration (fuggin story of my roly-poly, homebody life, amirite? Yeah I am).

But I can hear you, dear reader, and you're mumbling something about "you gotta move to throw, badger. Holy shit you know that, right? You need movement to throw? Holy god this guy...".

And you're right. Hella.

But you don't have to roll into a match moving around like you're trying to sell cars, you know? A big part of my practice sessions are spent identifying what on my body is in movement during my throw, and trying to figure out ways to limit that movement. What elements can I just stop, or at least minimize.

For instance, I used to bring my axe all the way back (behind my head, almost touching my shoulders) before throwing. And I was doing pretty well with that - but the consistency wasn't there.

So I started thinking about it. I was engaging my:

• shoulder

• elbow

• wrist

• fingers

• leggies

• backies

Now, with my current throw, I rest the poll of my axe (the butt. The back part. You know. The back of the hatchet. I don't know how many ways to say this to you. The not sharp part of the metal?) on my shoulder, and throw from that position. Now I'm engaging my:

• wrist

• elbow

• fingers

• leggies

You could argue that I'm also engaging my shoulder and my back, too, but the truth is, because those areas of my body aren't actively engaged as part of the throw, they aren't necessarily affecting the outcome.

So take a look at your throw, figure out how much of your body is engaged with that throw, and see what you can mitigate to limit active, engaged movement.

Visualizing a locked-in center

To that end, I also started (and am still trying) to act as if my head and back are strapped into a board. When I'm doing it right, my throw doesn't change the position of my neck/back relationship. My head doesn't swivel or move or adjust to accommodate my throwing. That whole section of my body, from the top of my head to

...oh boy...how to put this in a delicate way. My sacrum? Yeah.

From the tippy top to my sacrum - that whole region of my body is locked, short of my even exhale during the throw. And because it's locked, there isn't much variance happening there. It's consistent. And consistent means more accurate (I mean, in theory. Much like every piece of advice you get from this blog, please realize I'm not an all star thrower. I'm a "here for a good time" thrower). Anyway, It's something I wish someone would have talked to me about much earlier in my axe throwing journey, because I feel like it could have saved me some time. Hopefully it saves you some time, at least.