The set distance method is for circus performers. You can't expect people to stand still while you gauge distance if you want to hit people, rather than balloons stuck around people on a spinning disc
A bit of an aside, but often Soke throws things in a spinning way towards the face It won't stick in, but it's very disruptive and doesn't require exact distancing to be effective
Thank you David, fun as it is, it's limitations are obvious. Would you care to expand on a more usable technique ?
Yes, of course, and sorry for sounding dismissive; I was just paying a flying visit and should have waited till I had the time to explain myself The first thing I read about throwing knives was by Gil Hibben, who I believe is a Karate guy who sells cheap throwers. He also teaches the fixed distance method. But you can throw at any distance, and obviously this skill is much more useful. Trouble is, I don't know how to explain the "any distance" method, other than to keep throwing things at any distance until they stick in most of the time! It seems like an impossible task, but at some point it clicks with your body and things start sticking in the target. I found you have to get "zen" with it - the more I think about a throw, the less likely it was to arrive with the point in the correct place. The best method for me was to walk away from the target, then turn and throw without giving myself time to think about aiming or spins or anything; then, more often than not, I could hit a playing card size target anywhere from 6 to 30 feet away, and not have it bounce off. To get a lot of practice in, I bought a kilogram of 6" nails and sharpened them a bit of a rotary grinder. Now, I wasn't that great at it, and it's been ages since I had a place where I can practice, so I probably can hardly do it at all anymore, but I got good enough at it to know that it is possible.
Spinning is generally a good way to add acceleration. I feel that throwing is a good skill to have for closing distance by distracting and limiting visibility, rather than the kind of "sentry sniping" you see in films. For instance, I reckon a handful of shuriken are unlikely to drop any bodies, but they might distract opponents just long enough for you to get in a more advantageous position, or even lower the odds against you by one.
It's not as hard as people think to have a spinning projectile hit the target correctly almost every time. Trying to do different revolutions(or partial ones) is harder and requires a certain distance for each throw. There is a way to throw things so they spin just before they arrive, this is the easier method. Takes practice though, just like anything else. I wouldn't recommend it for shuriken or shaken either, knives and heavier weapons work better.
Kind of what I was alluding to. Heavier weapons, especially blade heavy ones, will flip just before impact if thrown correctly. That way you don't have to try to judge distance or count revolutions.
It may be apocryphal but I like the story of the American military looking into combat knife throwing. After many months of study they concluded "Don't throw your knife!".
I'm having a hard time visualising the physics of this. How does something fly straight and then flip at the last moment? Yeah, especially when you've got worthless things like bricks, bottles, snowballs, rocks, sticks or saliva to project at someone's face.
I am not an old guy, I have no rank, so I could only share my experience. I had a bike accident, and the sakki intention saved my life, since I had no time to think before the crash, just felt my body reacting alone and the last thing I remember was my bike destroyed below me, when I was flying over the roof of the car. Also, I had a discussion with an armed guy, not because of me, but he was in anger because a thief pointed with a gun at a work partner (this was in a taxi base). He got out his 9mm pistol, and I was unarmed. I stopped him and confront in his face, explaning that in the robbery my father was also pointed to his head, and the situation was a lot worse for me than his anger and desire for vengeance. Fortunately, he put his gun down. It was necessary to do this, because the patrol car was delayed, and there was no time to wait. That is known as kyojutsu, I didn't know it was, but I used the truth to convince him I had more right than him in that moment, so it was not necessary to fight.
I felt like goosebumps in my body, and simply moved. I didn't took the choice, was only my instinct of survival.
That is not so much sakki as your body bypassing the usual OODA responses - it is exceptionally common and does not require any training
