OK, so I'm not talking about the very worthy #likeagirl thing, I'm doing this here instead of PROC deliberately. I'm talking about the, lets be honest here, very real physical phenomenon that some people - and again lets be honest, mainly female - have. This came up in a post I'm writing and, well, *stands up* My name's Kythia and I throw like a girl.
Ninety odd per cent of my PE lessons at school were spent pretending to be on my period so I could smoke with my friends, and now I have no idea how to throw. And my soon-to-be-ex boyfriend seems to think laughter is the appropriate response when I asked him to teach me how to do it. So I'm reaching out to you lovely and unlaughing folk of E. What the fuck am I doing wrong here? Is this something that can be explained textually? If not, does anyone know a good video source or something - everything I've googled comes up with #likeagirl stuff.
On the far from 100% of occasions where the ball goes in the direction I wanted it to it has no force at all and often falls short. I go to the gym pretty much every day and have, you know, relatively toned arms from the rowing machine and cross-trainer - while I might not be olympic javelin thrower standard I don't think this is a physical strength limitation. I kind of thought it might be a boob thing, that I was moving my arm different to avoid hitting the girls, but now I don't think it is.
Is anyone able to help? Am I being ridiculous here? I haven't slept for a couple of days so its possible I am.
You don't know how to throw.
It's okay.
If you've lasted this long without being able to throw, you don't really need to be able to throw.
If you want to be good at tossing remotes, practice tossing remotes.
You can learn how to throw things like balls farther than across the room, but it would probably be harder to do as an adult than as a child.
It's really about technique, which may have to be taught at first, but then has to be practiced.
I used to be able to throw a baseball pretty well, with both accuracy and power. Now-a-days, that's not true at all. I just haven't had to throw something like a baseball in forever.
However, when it comes to other things, like ping pong balls into cups across the table or keys into an outstretched hand down a flight of stairs, my aim is still pretty god.
For certain things, like hitting a tennis ball or throwing a baseball, yeah, you want to use more of your body to generate more power.
For ping pong balls, keys, TV remotes and frisbees, it's just technique.
In college, I knew a guy who was his Ultimate Frisbee team captain, and it seemed like he could hit anything he could see with a frisbee. I think he told me it was mostly about flicking his wrist, and the challenge of the sport was being able to throw or catch a frisbee on the run, with someone in your way.
I suggest starting off simply. Get like 20 ping pong balls or crumpled up paper balls and keep tossing them into a garbage can. When you get better, use a smaller can or throw from a longer distance or throw something heavier like a tennis ball. Don't expect results right away. You're probably looking at weeks of practice to be decent. But it can be fun in a mind-numbing way. Try to get 1 in. Then 2 in a row. Then 3 in a row. And so on.
As an aside, starting simply works for other things, too. If you want to dunk a basketball, if you have the vertical leap, start by dunking a tennis ball, then a baseball, then a softball, then a basketball. Going straight to dunking a basketball would be frustrating and discouraging.