The art of the throw ball

Viking

Viking

Location
Columbus Ohio
I don't get it. I suck,....BAD at it. I really want to improve but need to get over this hump first. Im watching guys in comp hit stuff near DOUBLE WHAT I COULD WITH A BIGSHOT. Its frustrating, and a serious weak link in my skills set.

I know practice is probably key, but the image of me practicing, is cussing F words to myself, losing throw balls, and ripping up foliage and trees, not cool I say. The one thing I know I do often is try to muscle the bag on final toss, and end up two trees away.

Anyone got training or practice tips? Videos are even better. Hypnosis maybe? How about a skin patch or a purple pill that will rid me of all crappy throw line technique!?

Foxtail from sherrill is OUT! My cousin and I got those things stuck all the time when we were kids, but got to climb the trees to retrieve the stuck foxtail which was always wayyyyyy cooler

CHEERIOS!
 
Basket throw is a great one to work on to improve accuracy and height. I think one arm can be thrown higher but it's a wilder throw at the upper range. You can learn to hit 80+' with decent accuracy using the basket throw.

Smooth your delivery, visualize where it's going to go, let it rip. Be one with the throwbag Grasshopper :-)

Untie the bag before pulling your line back through the tree, greatly reduces wear and tear on the twigs and leaves for practice throws. And you won't end up with a tree decorated with stuck throwbags.
-AJ
 
Well some of the things I have found is the further back I am from the crotch I am trying to hit the better I am. When I am right under it I am all over the place. So maybe pay attention to that and find your sweet zone.

Because if my thinking is right if you stand the same distance away each time the release point should be the same. The only thing that changes is how much you put into it for the height of course.

I hope that makes sense.
 
Here's an old post from another forum that <u>might</u> help:

[ QUOTE ]

It takes three things to hit your target with a throwbag:
1. Consistency
2. Focus
3. Practice; 4. Practice; 5. Practice; … 6. PRACTICE!
... &amp; I’ll add; 7. LUCK – ain’t nothin’ like luck!

Consistency = MINIMIZE variables; you can’t control your target, wind, terrain, obstructions, distractions, etc. - but you CAN:
- Always use the same weight – find one that works best and buy spares.
- Always use the same line – the best, DynaGlide 1.8mm
- Always grip the same way – knot, placement, finger positions, no glove
- Always use the same stance – do your best to get the same footing
- Always swing the same way – same number of times, speed, height, etc.
- Always release the same way – relax the grip identically every throw

Focus = Keep your eyes on the target. This is the most important part of hitting any target. There’s some folklore about the famous baseball player, Ted Williams. The story goes; hi-speed photography attributed his success to his eyes being focused on the ball when it hit the bat. No one else did that. He didn’t believe it, but that’s the legend …

Remember, your target is NOT the branch. Focus your eyes, intently, on the target: that space above the branch. Also, practice your swing so that you can just peripherally see the throwbag at the stop of each swing. Don’t look at the throwbag – look at the target.

Practice; Practice; Practice; … PRACTICE!
How hard to swing? When to release? That’s what practice is for. You have to build the “muscle memory” by making shots over and over and over ‘til you KNOW; how hard to swing &amp; when to release.

Now if all that fails you can cheat: If you got the line on any branch above the desired branch, you can use limb isolation tricks to get your line exactly where you want it. But, that’s a whole different thread

Well, that’s all I got – hope it helps. GOOD LUCK!

[/ QUOTE ]
 
Of course practice. Visualizing the arc and the bag going above the crotch helps me more than anything but a perfect release is key. It's like shooting a bow, your release has to be consistently smooth. Always hold the line the exact same way and know (by feel) where in the swing you'll release. That determines the arc you're visualizing.
It is a form of shooting and like was said before, consistency in how you hold the line, how you swing, all that stuff will make you better shot. The inly way to develop consistency is REGULAR practice. Ypu don't have to practice for hours, but you should practice frequently for 15 or 20 minutes.
Stow the bigshot and throw everything by hand. Don't pull the BS out until you've really pissed yourself off by missing.
One last thing, if you don't hit in 3 tries, walk around and look from multiple angles, sometimes thar's all you have to do to find a better, easier shot.
 
I'll add stand square to the target union, feet shoulder width apart. You can adjust for wind by standing a little more upwind. Look above the union as your target, your release should leave your hands pointing at the target. I found that wrist action at the end of the swing will give you extra height with a whole lot less energy expended.

It's like golf, you're playing against yourself so don't get yourself bent out of shape when you miss (or keep missing), just make minor adjustments to your throw. Find the distance from the tree that works best for you. Some tend to throw more vertically than others and vice versa. Take some relaxing breaths before you throw much like firing a rifle at a distant target.
 
what they said bra...and finish your throw by pointing both fingers slightly above your target as if to say "YEEEEA BWEEEEEEEEEE" Try not to look too long at the weight pre-throw Gwasshoppa. Look at your target, greenie.
 
now THIS is the stuff I have been looking for. The science/philosphy behind that lil 12oz bastid! I might even make up a lil' note card with all your advice and keep it in with the line, so I stop and think about what I am doing before I do it.

The rifle/bow analogies are helpfull since I have been shooting both since I was kneehigh to a gwasshoppa. I got really into benchrest shooting/accuracy in years past, and likewise with archery. The key was doing the exact same thing every time. Archery it was learning to find the exact same anchor point with my knuckle/jaw/corner of my mouth that finally made the light come on.

I will not let you down my sensei!

Thanks doods, hopefully the light will come on!
 
[ QUOTE ]
now THIS is the stuff I have been looking for. The science/philosphy behind that lil 12oz bastid!

[/ QUOTE ]

Just for the heck of it, try throwing a 10oz bag on 1.75mm throwline. It'll feel weird and light after a 12 but the thing will fly high. 10oz won't always come down too well from a white oak for example but... it might help you refine your throwing motion and for many tree species works very well.
-AJ
 
I'm a long time instinctive bowhunter, who shoots longbows sightless, I have found that if I aim for the crotch I want, I ALWAYS hit the limb under it.

Now i shoot for the limb over it, works much better :)
 
Don't think of the crotch as your destination, or you'll consistently fall short. I think of the crotch more as a gun sight, and plan to sail that bag through the crotch and into the next county. If you can find a higher branch or any other object to sight through the crotch and use as a target, that will help as well.

I throw right-handed, and keep the thumb and forefinger on my left hand together as an "o" and let the line from the cube run through there. That way I can put a lot of force into my throw, but I can also quickly snub the line off with my left hand, as soon as the throw-ball clears the crotch, and before it gets too far past the target.

Some people don't like to use a glove, but I like the positive grip it gives me on the line, so I've evolved into keeping my throwing hand gloved, and the other hand bare so that the line runs freely through it. Not having to think about gripping the line, lets me get more into the zen of visualizing the ball clearing the crotch.
 
In basket ball, they talk about follow through. Your wrist and everything follows the basketball through the basket. Like whiz says, follow through your throw imagine your whole body following the release and through the destined crotch. If you do practice, another tip I learned from basketball, dont practice to miss. If you aren't hitting 80% of your shots move in closer (or in the case of throwbag practice low) until you are.

In basketball at the gym you always see people clanking threes off the rim "practicing" their shot. They are practising clanking it off the rim. If you go out to practice throwline and are launching it at the highest crotch, then you get it stuck, then you get frustrated then its no good. shoot at a low crotch that you can hit almost every time and practivce until you can hit it every single time and then move up to a higher crotch.
 
Exhale on the release.
If you throw cradle style. Get a micro-lanyard clip, the type you see on inexpensive jewelry. Girth hitch the clip to the line a couple of feet from the original ring.
Now thread a loop thru the micro lanyard.
What you have created is a long barrelled gun giving you a far greater gunning site. Makes it easier for siting and brings your hands closer together to ensure better balanced release from the pendulum.

Now go throw that hammer like the God of Thunder you are!
 

Attachments

  • 281288-thor.webp
    281288-thor.webp
    26.5 KB · Views: 193
Good advice so far; I'll say it again don't let your eye off the target and visualize the bag going several feet directly over your target crotch.

Oh and for improving your height, find a target that is maybe twenty feet higher than anything you've hit before. Throw for a few hours, with different lengths on your pre-throw until you're hitting it every time. I started to realize at some point I could hit 75ft. + with about half the 'force' I thought I needed, in fact the smoother I was without trying to muscle it the higher it went FWIW.

jp
grin.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom