Knife throwing

“I got my first set of matched throwing knives when I was eight. I was already a good marksman with a BB gun by then, and could break it down, clean and reassemble it with practiced efficiency. The boxes I practiced shooting at weren’t tough enough to withstand a throwing knife, but there was a big old tough tree in my front yard, and I began practicing on it. Those first knives weren’t fancy, but they were reasonably well-balanced. The first couple thousand throws were a mite sketchy. After that they smoothed right out. I practiced close and far, at an angle and straight on, with a soft throw and with all the force I could muster. After a while there were certain distances from which I could attain some consistency. That wasn’t good enough, and under the tutelage of my Dad I slowly improved. During the next years he rarely threw the knife himself, but rather showed me how to hold it, gauge the needed rotation, control the throw and follow through.”