Transitioning to blades for hammer

I'm thinking about it. I've got just under a month until my first Games that I want to do well in.

Go for it?  Not?

What are the main challenges you face when making the transition?

I'm an 83 foot 16 lb hammer thrower,  Old Fart Master guy, about 6' 2" 275 lbs. and I practice 2x a week.

It was several years before I went over. A good friend told me that if my feet
started to slip out during the centrifical force of the winds it was time to
make the move. I found it very good advice.

Yes, what Coach Mac- I started with the right blade only ( I release over my left side). I learned to push or transfer balance over my right side by applying more pressure/force into the ground with right side blade only.  The transfer of weight in conjuction with countering of the hips, rotation of the torso and the pushing of knees forward is quiet difficult to pick-up with both blades.  I also used a 40" handle to transition with the blades. But keeping things in context I wasn't an accomplished hammer thrower 105/125 10 years ago.  I'm considering going back to the 1 blade or no blades. Turning 50 in a few and need to keep the knees healthy- something to consider if your getting up there.

I still wind/drill ( no release) with a 20 lb ankle weight on my right side in the off-season to feel grounded. Good luck.

hey coach, remember dave mckenzies left blade that released/turned when he threw

Alan, a couple of comments that I hope will help.

First, when I made the transition, I had been throwing for about 6 or 7 years off and on and I had leveled out at 88-93ft.  Every games, same distance with the 16lb hammer and I had noticed that when I tried throw with "longer arms" I would pull a foot off the ground and loss my balance. 

So, about 2000 I decided I was going to focus on HG full time and actually start "practicing" .  Mike Smith made me some great hammer boots and I pulled these out of the box and thought when I put them on, they would be "magic".  But instead my hammers dropped about 10ft and put them in the closet for about a year.  That was a mistake in my opinion.  Finally, Kevin Rogers told me to either throw with them or without them and if I was going to throw with them I need to practice only with the boots and never, ever throw without them.  So I did, and very quickly I was hitting PR's and when over 100ft by the end of the year.  I now have a PR of 112' plus in competition. 

So, second, you don't have time to adjust to the blades, in my opinion.  But, that said, I know that Nathan and Isaac Burchett put blades on the first time and hit huge PR's right away, but they are young and very athletic, if you are a crusty ol' master, you may need some time to adjust.  Hope this helps, Thom

If I may ask, are the blades considered fair game in any class, or is their a certain implied rule about it?

I'm doing a hammer workshop with Josh Grace in a few weeks, and Josh's prep hints are getting me to throw in a very different style than I'm used to. I have the distinct impression that if I can "get a handle"  on what Josh is saying, I'm going to add a bunch of distance to my throws, since the head speed I'm getting already is a lot higher than what I've been doing in the past..  I'm winding 3x a week to try to accomplish this, as well as doing some specific stuff in the gym....and for me, that's a lot of practice.

I suspect that this change is going to start moving my feet all over the place, in time. If that's the case, then I'll do the transition.

Speaking of boots/blades, in case you guys don't want to go to the trouble of making your own, I bought a pair that Ryan Vierra made for me--awesome.  Not that I can throw the hammer well, but it's not the boots' fault. He uses aluminum blades that are way way strong, don't bend and are really light.  I think I paid around $130-140 for them fully made with boots. I sucked at making my own. I think he still sells 'em.

FYI.

Well, I took an old pair of boots and drilled some holes in the soles.  I went down to Ace hardware and bought some 1-inch mild steel, went after it with a hacksaw.

Couple of 5 / 16ths inch bolts and fender washers and 90 minutes later I have something that looks like hammer boots.

Now, it turns out that the steel bends, but then on the flip side, the first two times I did this I wound up on my hands and knees, facing away from the trig board, laughing.  Since the steel bends I didn't rip out every ligament I was born with in my knees.

Anyway, after those two humbling episodes I changed to just wearing one blade, and that went very well.  I have a hard time keeping my left foot steady, and now it's solid with the blade in the ground.  So for the forseeable future I'll be throwing with one hammer boot.

Thanks for all the information, gents.