That Sound? Rubber Hitting Road.

[Kinetikat]

OK, here's the first video of me and my caber. Technique sucks, I know.... comment and advice please guys!

http://s1164.photobucket.com/albums/...=cabervid1.mp4

Sorry it's not on YouTube, Photobucket just buffered it really slowly when I checked it...

[Kinetikat]

Here's the second vid of me and my caber. Ditto technique.

Apologies for sideways video - can't figure out how to 'turn' it.

http://s1164.photobucket.com/albums/...=cabervid2.mp4

Ditto comment re YouTube and Photobucket as above.

[Alan H]

Ah, a lovely sunny day in Northumberland.

OK, here's whatcha gonna do. You're going to go get 5 cans or plastic bottles or something like that. Heck, some washlcoths or towels or old t-shirts are fine. They're just markers. You are going to set them up in a pattern that mimics all the points in the letter "W". There will be about 15 feet between each can, more or less.

Set the caber up about 20 feet from one end of the "W". Pick it. Control it, pull it up until your arms are bent and the butt of the caber is as your navel. Bend at the waist about 45 deg...which means that you'll need to hold your hands a little ways out from your torso, or the caber will tip over forwards.

Now, looking UP....not at the ground.....treat the cans/bottles/whatnot on the ground like an obstacle course, and walk the caber through the course. toss it at the end.

Pant and sweat for a bit. Then pick it up and do it again, going back the other way. Repeat until exhausted. At your next workout, do it again. Once you've done that, you will totally have control of the stick and you can work on actually tossing it.

BTW, standing up a caber by yourself is a pain. You can make a "shagging buddy"...yes, that's what it's called.... like this...

Get a piece of wood about 2 feet long and maybe 4-6 inches wide. Drive a bunch of nails...like maybe 12-20 nails, into one edge. Not the end...not the flattest face of the wood...an edge. Now nip the ends off of those nails so that the heads are gone.

tote your shagging buddy up to the throwing area and put it down, nails pushed down into the grass. Put the butt end of the caber up against it. Now you can push it up without it sliding all over the place. When it's upright, ooch it a couple of feet away from the buddy and you can pick it without worrying about accidentally stepping on your shagging buddy.

And think of the mileage you are going to get on your blog, writing about your new "shagging buddy"!

OK, positive things about your video..

1. good, wide base. Atta' girl!
2. you got your **** down low, so you could reach really low to pick the caber. guid on ye lass!
3. You got it up, and then adjusted it to a comfortable level with your elbows bent and your hands at about navel-height. Spot-on.

Now, things, to work on.

1. When you pick the caber, don't be shy. Don't come up slowly. You can get away with being slow with this itty-bitty stick, but when it comes time to pick a big one, that isn't going to work. So work on picking *fast*. commit to it. It'll come in time.

2. Your first toss was a bit of a mess. Second one (the sideways one) was better. WHAM with the hips. HIT IT, woman! Drive your hands up in the air. slam it SO hard that you HAVE to go on your toes, or even come clear off the ground. EXPLODE...and better to do all that early, than late.

All in all, a good pair of attempts.

[Kinetikat]

Ooh, an obstacle course carrying a caber - sounds like fun! Thanks for that. 'Twill be done.

And... oh, yes, I am going to get a great deal of mileage out of my new shagging buddy on the blog! LMAO.

The first toss was embarrassing. I've done it better than that, but oh well. It's probably just as well to work on the worst aspects of my technique, and that one pretty much showcased 'em all. My best toss of the day, when I almost turned the thing, naturally, the video didn't work!

So I'll get on with walking the W today, and make myself a shagging buddy while I'm down the workshop mending my hammer. Lordy, the things a lady has t'do just to be an athletical belle!

[Alan H]

BTW, the reason it's called a shagging buddy is that the function of returning weights from out in the field to the throwing area is called "shagging". At least, here in the States, that's what we call it.

So in the morning at a Games., if the club is low on volunteers the athletic director might tell us to "shag your own weights".... meaning, go get them, yourself. At a big competition, they might have volunteers to do that for you. "Shagging the caber" means to go pick it up, set up the butt end in a "V" shape that the next athlete makes with his feet so that the caber doesn't slide around, and then stand it up for him/her. That's usually a two-person job. Well, if you don't have another person, then you have to shag your caber yourself.....but it sure is a lot easier with a friend. Thus, the "shagging buddy".

[tulloch]

All I can say is you are doing wonderfully. What great stuff. You almost make me wish I had my own caber. I have never had that feeling before. Keep it up. The process is fascinating.

[GoodGirlGonePlaid]

Looks good kinetikat! You don't seem "afraid" of the caber, which is a huge plus when starting out. I don't really have technical tips, cuz I don't know them, but it looks like you may need to take more time with your run and then heave, (pretend to throw it backward, behind you. The throw starts from your legs, then back, then arms)... which you did in throw 2 so there you go. That thing will turn over before you know it! Good work!

And what Alan H said about the pick. The faster you do it, the easier it is. Just press your palms into the caber and stand straight up, try not to "scoop it" <- I was doing that for a while and it kept going over my shoulder.
Which reminds me, if it feels like it's going back over your shoulder, run backwards to meet it. Trying to pull it in to you will kill your collar bone. But if it's really unsalvageable, hust get the heck out of the way FAST.

You've got me inspired. I'm going to try and get my 5 year old to video me so I can see what's going on with the business.

[Kinetikat]

Yes, I get what you mean about the running backwards bit! Ditto the getting out fast - I had to flip the thing off to the side and depart at high speed a couple of times today, when I'd walked the W several times and was getting tired.
Hey - your 5-yr-old will probably do a better job than my brother! Go for it!

[Kinetikat]

Just asking... when I threw the men's 16lb hammer at Blair Atholl 2 weeks ago, I really hurt my right wrist - actually whacked it with the butt end of the hammer handle as I wound it round for the first time. It was stiff and tender for the next day or two, with some interesting bruises, and I thought it had gone away. The last 2 weeks have been a bit crazy, and I haven't done any hammer practice so as to give my wrist time to heal. But I grabbed something a bit oddly yesterday and swivelled my wrist downwards in a bit of a twist, and it still hurts in exactly the same place. Dammit, I don't want to scratch this weekend's hammer throw (especially the proper ladies' hammer throw at Ardrossan) because of injury, but I think I may have to. I don't want to screw up my wrist for the whole summer 'cos I couldn't be patient.
What say the Rabble?

[David Thorpe]

Let it heal. You risk being out for the rest of the season, or longer, if you aggravate the injury and do long-term or even permanent damage.