Knife Throwing Clubs in UK

Have you ever wondered how knife throwers consistently stick a knife into a target time after time? Well, an Association has been formed to foster the art of throwing knives, axes and tomahawks in the UK and to give advice on safe throwing. With the expert advice of several members who have thrown in International competitions we have been helping people learn to throw at our 15 lane throwing range based near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, for about 6 years now.

Competitions

The Knife, Axe, Tomahawk Throwing Association UK (KATTA UK) came into being after one of our members was frustrated by trying to learn how to throw knives, on his own, in his back garden but could not obtain any consistency. A search of the internet revealed there were tournaments in the USA, one of these being an annual event run by the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame based in Austin, Texas.

A trip over to Austin revealed a long standing history of throwing competitions dating back to the times of the fur trapping mountain men in the early 1800’s. Yearly they would gather at a rendezvous and with their working knife and tomahawk take part in tests of accuracy.

The trip to Austin revealed a wealth of information concerning how to consistently get your knives to ‘stick’. This is based on the basic techniques of hold, stance, wind-up and follow through. Without these being performed in a natural way a beginner will not progress very far.

The sport has now been taken to another level in that there are competitions every year throughout the USA and Europe, while KATTA UK has now being holding a tournament for the past 4 years. There is no recognised set of rules used worldwide. However, progress is being made for unifi cation in this respect.

The various competitions are based on accuracy being achieved, at several distances, by throwing at suitable targets with rings painted on them offering a 1 point ring up to 5 for a bullseye.

Safety

Safety has to be very much on the mind of any prospective thrower. If you try to pick up any old kitchen knife and try to throw it holding the blade you are just an accident waiting to happen! In fact most throwing knives are dull and have no cutting edges at all on them.

Proper Kit

One of the most basic rules of throwing, especially in a club situation, is that knives and tomahawks are of a suitable length. There are two reasons for this. If you stand too close o the target with a 6” knife there is far more chance it will come back and bite you. The second is that weight is a very big factor in enabling you to throw consistently from 5 metres or more. So a 12” minimum knife is recommended for throwing and it should weigh about 12 ounces or more.  With these specifi cations in mind, and some practise, it is perfectly conceivable for consistent sticks to be made out to 7-8 metres and further.

Interested in learning more? KATTA UK has throwing ranges in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Milton Keynes. For more information please visit our internet site www.knifethrowing.co.uk or email [email protected]