Knife throwing - Wikipedia Page 1 of 3

Knife throwing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Knife throwing is an art, sport, combat skill, or variously an

entertainment technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing
knives, the weapons thrown, and a target.

Contents
◾ 1 Basic principles
◾ 2 Sport
◾ 3 Martial arts
◾ 4 Representations
◾ 5 See also
◾ 6 Notes and references
Knife throwing show
◾ 7 Sources

Basic principles
Knife throwing, whether in a martial or sport application, involves the same basic principles of
mechanics. The objective in each case is for the point to stick into the target with a sufficient amount of
force. For this to be successful, accuracy, distance, number of rotations and placement of the body all
must be taken into account.

If the thrower uses a spin technique, the knife will rotate during flight.[1] This means that the thrower,
assuming they are throwing the same way every time, must either choose a specific distance for each
type of throw or, more practically, make slight adjustments to the placement of the knife in the hand or
to the throwing movement.[2] Another adjustment that can be made is the way the knife is held. If it is
held at the blade when it is thrown, this makes it spin half, whereas if it is held by the handle, this
makes a full spin. So if the thrower estimates he needs one and a half spins for the point to hit the
target, he would hold the knife from the blade when it is thrown. If he feels he needs two full spins for
it to hit the target point-first, then it would be held by the handle.

With the much more intricate no spin throwing techniques, the throwing motion is made as linear as
possible, the knife's rotation being slowed down even more by an index finger on the spine during
release.[3] Thrown no spin, knives will make no revolution or only a quarter spin before reaching the
target (point first), but the no spin throws are not as accurate or stable in flight as the spin techniques.

Sport
In the USA and in Europe, there are communities of people pursuing knife throwing as a sport, similar

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Knife throwing - Wikipedia Page 2 of 3

to archery.

The competition itself consists, in the most common form, of a series of

straight throws aimed at a set of standard wooden targets or in some
cases foam. Similar to an archery target, competition knife throwing
targets have a bullseye surrounded by one or more rings. A sticking
knife scores points. The thrower must be standing at least a set distance
away from the target, with higher distances for more challenging events. Knife throwing competition
IKTHOF keeps a ranking of its members based on their performance
during these sponsored competitions. The scores achieved at
Eurothrowers events can be examined at the meetings' reports.

Martial arts
Although it was popularized in America in the late 19th century by traveling acts such as the Barnum
& Bailey Circus, the history of knife throwing dates much further back. The art of knife throwing was
first used in martial arts or hunting applications. It has been incorporated into the martial disciplines of
the Japanese as well as some African and Native American tribes. In such cases, throwing a weapon
when fighting is generally thought of as a risk. If unsuccessful, it can leave the thrower without a
weapon and arm his attacker. However, many warriors traditionally carried two or more weapons at the
same time.

Representations
The opera Queen of Knives, which premiered in Portland, Oregon on May 7, 2010 tells the story of a
brother and sister knife throwing act in the midst of the student protests in Birmingham in the early
1960s.[4]

See also
◾ Impalement arts

Notes and references

1. "Physics of knife throwing". Retrieved 8 July 2013.
2. "Knife throwing training". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
3. "No spin knife throwing". Retrieved 28 October 2014.
4. McQuillen, James, Opera review: "Portland's Vagabond Opera's 'Queen of Knives' is one sharp
show" (http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2010/05/portlands_vagabond_operas_quee.html),
The Oregonian, May 11, 2010

Sources

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Knife throwing - Wikipedia Page 3 of 3

◾ Collins, Blackie. Knife Throwing-Sport – Survival – Defense. Knife World Publications, 1978.
(ISBN 0-940362-03-1)
◾ Echanis, Michael D. Knife Fighting: Knife Throwing for Combat. Ohara Publications, 1978.
(ISBN 0-8975-0058-X)
◾ Hibben, Gil. The Complete Gil Hibben Knife Throwing Guide. United Cutlery Corp., 1994.
(ASIN-B0006FAV9E)
◾ Madden, James W. The Art of Throwing Weapons. Patrick Publications, 1991. (ISBN 0-9628825-
3-4)
◾ McEvoy, Harry K. Knife Throwing: A Practical Guide. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1973.
(ISBN 0-8048-1099-0)
◾ McEvoy, Harry K. Knife and Tomahawk Throwing. Knife World Publications, 1985. (ISBN
0-940362-10-4)
◾ McEvoy, Harry K. Knife & Tomahawk Throwing-Art of the Experts. Charles E. Tuttle Company,
Inc., 1988. (ISBN 0-8048-1542-9)
◾ Moeller, Harald. Knifethrowing: The Viper Story. Lynclif Publishing, 1988. (ISBN 0-921444-
00-1)

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Categories: Circus skills Precision sports Throwing weapons

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