Hammer blades...overview questions...

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   Ok, so I have my blades and even have them on some old boots...now I want to learn to play with the big boys...but not even sure how to use these darn things.

1) How do you kick in, what angle are your feet?  I like to have my feet pointed outward a bit, kinda like I squat but that seems very awkward when kicking in.  (Toes straight once seemed to stress knees when hips went around.)
2) What is best techique to not torque up your knees?  I am old and knees are not gonna recover so want to keep em working, I can feel more torque with the blades and would like to know what is ok and what is bad.
3) What is the stance with blades?  THrowing now I have a pretty wide stance so that I have a better base to build speed from.  I am as low as I can be without hitting hammer head on winds.  (And I still do occasionally.)  I am assuming with boots I could lift up a bit and be taller?  Or is that bad thinking because I want low to use legs on releast?
4) When you are kicking in...do you use the previous divots or make your own?  What are the rules in competition?  I have seen the box get torn up so wondered if there was some kind of understanding of how to do this without ruining it for everyone else.
I think that is it for now.    I figure I won't ask about how not to trip over the blades or fall on your azz...I'll not even admit to doing either of those at this point.

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dl_buffy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Postaholic Joined: 3/14/07 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1507	Post Options Post Reply Quote dl_buffy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Hammer blades...overview questions... Posted: 4/23/10 at 2:14am
	Ok, so I have my blades and even have them on some old boots...now I want to learn to play with the big boys...but not even sure how to use these darn things. 1) How do you kick in, what angle are your feet? I like to have my feet pointed outward a bit, kinda like I squat but that seems very awkward when kicking in. (Toes straight once seemed to stress knees when hips went around.) 2) What is best techique to not torque up your knees? I am old and knees are not gonna recover so want to keep em working, I can feel more torque with the blades and would like to know what is ok and what is bad. 3) What is the stance with blades? THrowing now I have a pretty wide stance so that I have a better base to build speed from. I am as low as I can be without hitting hammer head on winds. (And I still do occasionally.) I am assuming with boots I could lift up a bit and be taller? Or is that bad thinking because I want low to use legs on releast? 4) When you are kicking in...do you use the previous divots or make your own? What are the rules in competition? I have seen the box get torn up so wondered if there was some kind of understanding of how to do this without ruining it for everyone else. I think that is it for now. I figure I won't ask about how not to trip over the blades or fall on your azz...I'll not even admit to doing either of those at this point.

West Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 4/17/09 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 348	Post Options Post Reply Quote West Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:39pm
	1) Preference 2) Sorry, cant help you here. 3) I would imagine thats also preference. I think folks will tell you what works for them, but i think it comes down to what works for you. 4) Prefence, again. I don't think there are rules regarding this, though i do believe it would be polite to use your own holes. unless you find a pair that works perfectly for you.
	Drink to the fame of it, honor the name of it, The Tartan.

mike pockoski Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Top 10 in the USA - '09-'12 Joined: 2/01/06 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 422	Post Options Post Reply Quote mike pockoski Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 4/26/10 at 12:45pm
	1) do it a lot and you'll find your groove. i like mine flat (low angle into the ground) and straight ahead.. 2)i use only a rt blade - really only need the rt to get 90% of the power (imo) 3)jump 3x as high as you can - where your feet land is where you should throw everything from... (i.e. natural athletic position) high jumpers don't jump with a sumo deadlift position b/c it's not powerful. why throw with wide legs? get'em under you so you can put the jump into the ball 4)anything goes. some guys (not mentioning any names HB!) dig it up so much it would be easier for them to bring a roto-tiller in there before they throw... good luck!

WillieR Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 9/11/07 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 15	Post Options Post Reply Quote WillieR Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 4/26/10 at 9:19pm
	Point 2 Develop atechnique of taking the left foot out on delivery. Check out some of the Scottish throwers e.g. Bruce Atken or Ali Gunn for an idea on this technique. This will stops you knackering the left knee.
	Willier

stormer Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 4/27/10 Status: Offline Points: 269	Post Options Post Reply Quote stormer Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 4/27/10 at 5:45am
	Should the left leg be lifted on a pivot or just a release willie?

dl_buffy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Postaholic Joined: 3/14/07 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1507	Post Options Post Reply Quote dl_buffy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 4/27/10 at 12:09pm
	Thanks everyone for the feedback. I actually ended up using my blades a LOT sooner than I had planned. The pressure at Warrensburg was high when we got to hammer. I had them in the trunk of car from last practice and thought..'what the heck, try em for one of my heavy hammers'...but the guys were throwing so well I decided to go for broke and used them for all my throws. Turns out using muddy, wet ground helped a lot in finding a comfortable position. The field I tried my first practice in was super dry and hard. Now I need to learn to trust them more.