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They didn't mention bo-shuriken[1], which is a spear-shaped throwable metal "dart". The throwing technique is in some ways similar to the way a katana is swung. A circular motion, taking the hand behind the wielders shoulder and unrolling straight in the opponents direction. As there is no rotating motion involved, these are short range projectiles. The ones I saw were top-heavy and had tail feathers. Checking the YouTube videos, some users instruct a more knife throwing grip. However, the technique explained to me was leading with the back hand side, releasing the dart from the palm[2] towards the end of the motion.

[1]: https://www.google.com/search?q=bo-shuriken&safe=off&hl=en&b...

[2]: http://cl.ly/image/012R0D1W0t3T




It's a difficult method of throwing to learn, but if you can master it it has the advantage that you don't have to worry as much about distance to the target. With the traditional spinning throw, you need to make sure the knife will reach the target at a point in the turn where the blade is pointed toward it.

I think it's probably a much more appropriate throw for use during hand-to-hand combat. My understanding is that the shuriken was primarily intended as a weapon swordsmen could use to gain an advantage by distracting their opponents.




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