Vampire Killer

Other than the first techno scene in the movie, I can't say Blade was on of my favourite movies, but as a throw it's one of the favourites on my list. The blade is essentially a throw that goes straight up and straight down. It is possible to throw a backhand blade or a forehand blade. Imagine if you are the thrower all you see is the rim of the disc in a vertical position. If you watched a backhand as a thrower you see the rim of the disc in a horizontal position.

Pictured Above - Shawn Chua (right) and myself (left) after a morning Torontula practice and breakfast.

First off, the blade is a great warmup throw for to catch. I like to say, "If you can't catch a blade, you can't catch a disc". From a catching perspective, you need to catch a fast moving disc; I also expect people to catch the disc with one hand. Additionally, the person catching the disc should catch it infront of their body, showing no sign of being scared of the disc. Doing this should improve your catching confidence and warmup your hands.

Next, we have to ask, does the blade have any place in a game. To answer this, we should look at some of the characteristics of the blade. A blade is fast since it cuts through the air. A blade can easily be moved by a cross wind. A blade can be thrown from a flick or backhand grip.

In my experience, I've thrown about 50+ blades in game situations and seen about 10 blades. Here's what I've learned.
1. Never throw a blade to a moving target. It's just too hard to throw and catch a blade on the move.
2. Warm up your blade in both up and down field directions and determine how the wind will affect your throw.
3. The blade is great for breaking a zone over the cup and the mid mid.
4. Don't throw a blade into a situation where your receiver will need to jump for it.
5. Blades tend to freeze defenders (I think in shock).
6. The blade is a very effective german throw to a tall receiver.

The last question to deal with is how can a team incorporate a blade into their plan. I'll be honest, and it's one of those creative throws that just happens. As a coach or captain, just get your team to throw a few blades during warmup and just let the creativeness happen if it happens.


PJ