| Knife throwing is an art, or variously an entertainment
technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing knives, the weapon(s) s/he is throwing, and a target. Knives used are almost always one-piece, rather than the traditional knives that have a handle manufactured separately from the blade and
attached later. Additionally, many throwing knives are double-edged, and could be used as fighting knives if necessary.
Knife throwing is frequently performed at circuses and in other forms of
entertainment available at a small cost to the public. In public performances, it is not rare that the thrower enlists an
assistant to stand before a wooden board. The thrower will then demonstrate his skill by throwing his knives around the
assistant, creating an outline of his/her body with the knives while avoiding causing bodily damage.
The art of knife throwing is extremely difficult to master. Movies typically portray thrown knives as traveling in a straight
line from the thrower to the target, the point of the knife always forward. This depiction is unrealistic, for unless the knife
is fired, rather than thrown, it develops a rotation as it flies, making it difficult to predict whether the point or the handle
will be facing toward the target when it strikes. Figuring these variables into calculations requires a good sense of distance
and the ability to change the number of spins the knife undergoes before striking. These are skills that can be developed only
after much practice.
A different type of blade-throwing, using a throwing star (also known as a Shuriken) can also be performed, and it is easier to "stick" a throwing star due to its multiple points, unlike a
knife, whose single point is its only means of holding firm in the target.
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