Ask Martin Vol. 10: The Winds and Entry
Published on 2 February 2011 in Ask Martin | 2 Comments |Normally I’m pretty open about how people start the throw, but I do not agree with keeping the shoulders fixed at the start. Keeping the shoulders fixed creates a false sense of have good balance and an axis of rotation. What actually gives you balance and a good position is having a little momentum. Momentum is how the hammer carries you into the first turn and what creates a long path for the hammer out to the left. In essence, momentum will let the hammer will turn you. The problem with keeping the shoulders fixed is that you can’t accelerate the hammer until it is at zero (which, by the way, is where the low point should be). By turning the shoulders, you can accelerate the hammer slightly on the second wind before the hammer gets to zero, thus giving it that needed momentum. Look at all of the top throwers and their starts will all be different, but they turn their shoulders in the winds.
On the flip side, turning the shoulders can be overdone. You don’t want to be all over the place with the shoulders. They should be relaxed, comfortable, and maintain a good axis over the left side so that when you accelerate, you are maintaining that balance. If your body is dancing all over the place, then you cannot have balance no matter how much momentum you have.
The vast majority of errors originate in the winds. If you start the throw poorly, it will most likely end poorly. And one of the most common errors I see is that even when a thrower turns their shoulders, they often do not accelerate the hammer in the second wind. They just sit passively throughout the winds and then wait for the turn to happen. This is something I do from time to time and I’m thankful that Kibwé caught it when I sent him some video for his thoughts last weekend.
When I say that you should accelerate the hammer, I don’t mean that you need to start blazing fast. The start speed is fairly individualized, but the important thing is that no matter what speed you are going, you add a little to it. This will set up your rhythm of the throw and give you some momentum that will take the hammer around to the left side. Stuart Togher always says that the first turn should be just like another wind, but what people forget is that you still accelerate the hammer during the winds. Just as an example, take one more look at Sedych’s world record:
2 Responses to “Ask Martin Vol. 10: The Winds and Entry”
Leave a Reply
Next Competition
Name: Mémorial Kops, Ludivig & Reuter
Date: 19 May 2012
Location: Ettelbruck, Luxembourg
I have wondered why Kibwé, Sultana and several other notable throwers seem to have a very steep angles in their winds, when other world class throwers wind almost flat. Is it as simple as personal preferance?
I have tried both and run into a contradiction where I feel more comfortable with flat winds, but have better training results with steep winds into a flat 1st spin.
Thanks so much for your efforts. The hammer throw for me is like golf for many. Its what I do for fun and relaxation. Thanks to sources such as your blog I am testing out wether an old dog can learn new tricks and maybe get a few more meters out of my beat up old body.
I think the angle is a little individual If you look at top throwers, their angle of release also varies. Most fall from 38 to 42 degrees. A few factors come into play: the height of the athlete, comfort, etc. The same can be said about the start of the throw. Another important factor at the start of the throw is how fast you start. If you start fast and accelerate only minimally during the turns, then you will need to start with a steeper angle. The angle will normally increase as you go faster, so if you already start fast, you will need to start a little steeper. Also, three-turners need to start steeper.