Discus throw

“ The attitude adopted when actually throwing is best given by the Discobolus of Myron, which has come down to us in several copies, and which is thus described by Lucian: “He is stooping down to take aim, (his body) turned in the direction of the hand which holds the quoit, one knee slightly bent, as though he meant to vary his posture and rise with the throw.” ”

“ For throwing, it is often necessary to slip the hand through the other’s arms and give him a sudden twist, or to place one arm on his neck and push him backward. The legs, too, have their part to do. Sometimes a boy is thrown across a projected knee, or a leg is thrust outward to check the fall when the attempt is made to throw sideways by lifting. Or the method adopted by Odysseus in an extremity may be employed—a sudden blow dealt at the bend of his opponent’s knee being the cause of his overthrow. ”

“ The word diskos means nothing more than a “thing for throwing,” and the object thrown by Odysseus was a stone. Whether the artificial diskos of later times was known to the poet may be doubted, although the words “diskos” and “a diskos’ throw” are 23of frequent occurrence. In the later gymnasium there was no doubt always a supply of diskoi of various weights and sizes, like the supply of dumbbells in our own gymnasia. But we should hardly expect to find such a stock of athletic implements in the agora of the Phaeacians hard by the ships where these impromptu after-dinner sports took place. ”

“ But the red giant, seeing his brother fall, smote at Le Beau Disconus with the half-roasted boar, like a madman; and he laid on so sore that Le Beau Disconus's horse was slain. But Le Beau Disconus leapt out of the saddle, like a spark from a torch, and drove at him with his falchion, fierce as a lion. The giant fought with his spit till it broke in two; then he caught up a tree by the roots, and smote Le Beau Disconus so mightily that his shield was broken into three pieces. But before the giant could heave up the tree again, Le Beau Disconus struck off his right arm ”

“ On the contrary, the Homeric athletics especially presuppose a long antecedent course of development. Hellenic legend strengthens this inference. According to a myth, Apollo enjoyed the diskos no less than music. He practiced for amusement with his favorite Hyakinthos, whom, as it is related, he accidentally killed by an unlucky throw. Other traditions inform us, that Orion challenged Artemis to a contest with the diskos, and that Autolykos, son of Hermes, instructed young Herakles in the art of wrestling. ”

“ Most of the toys, borrowed from long-disused practices of adults, which cater to this impulse belong under another head—Throwing at a target.
Among the earliest of these were the catapult, the ancient discus, something like the English quoit, and the sling. We often find grown men testing their strength and skill in throwing. ”

“ Throwing of heavy weights and stones with the hand was much practised in former times, and as this pastime required great strength and muscular exertion, it was a very proper exercise for military men. The Greeks, according to Homer, at the time of the siege of Troy, amused themselves with casting of the discus, which appears to have been a round flat plate of metal of considerable magnitude and very heavy. [344] "The discus [Pg 75] of the ancients," says Dr. Johnson, [345] "is sometimes called in English quoit, but improperly. The game of quoits is a game of skill ”

“ The result of the blow is likely to be the breaking of the spine of the one so attacked. A blow equally wicked may be delivered with the edge of the hand—of course, the little finger side. A trick from which considerable amusement may be derived is the throwing of an opponent over the shoulder. It is better that the throw be made over the right shoulder. The illustration shows the best position for the making of the throw. Of course, much must depend upon the way in which the assailant finds it possible to make the attack. ”

“ If they desire to kill or wound an enemy or an animal, they fling one of the ends of this cord at him, and begin instantly to draw it back by the other, which they keep carefully in their hand, to be ready for another throw if necessary: but if they wish to take an animal alive, and without hurting it, they possess the singular art of throwing it in such a way as to make it run several times round the neck of the prey, occasioning a perplexing tightness ”

“ The two essential points which distinguish one style of wrestling from another are the definition of a fair throw and the nature of the holds allowed.
In most modern styles a man is considered thrown only when both shoulders, or one shoulder and one hip touch the ground at the same time; in the Cumberland and Westmorland style he is thrown if he touches the ground with any portion of his body, or even with his knee. A throw may be either a clean throw or the result of a struggle on the ground. ”

“ In this way the game is kept, but each keeps his adversary’s game, not his own; that is, he hands him a number of sticks equal to the amount of his throw, which are laid so that all can see them. Each throws in turn unless the big claw stands on end, in which case the person 568 is entitled to a successive throw. ”

“ When diskos-throwing was first revived in Athens in 1896, the Greeks and other competitors, taking for model Myron’s statue and untrammelled by theories, naturally developed a style which certainly approximated to the true style of the ancients. A new method was invented shortly afterwards by foreign athletes, particularly Americans, who applied to the diskos the principles employed in throwing the hammer and the heavy weight, in which the force is gained by one or more complete turns of the body. ”

“ Besides this copy of Myron’s statue, we find on many vases and gems the diskobolos in the act of hurling the diskos. For instance, on one of Hamilton’s vases we see a diskobolos with a diskos in his right hand, while the right arm is bent and held forward, showing that he is on the point of moving the arm backward, and then forcibly hurling the diskos from below, forward. The left arm is bent over the head, the eyes are fixed on the diskos, the right foot is placed forward, so that the centre of gravity falls on the left, which is obliquely bent at the knee. ”

“ It is exceedingly difficult to acquire the knack of throwing the boomerang with ease and certainty. I have practised for years, and can throw some boomerangs not unsuccessfully; others which I have in my possession, and which experienced natives can throw with admirable precision, I cannot manage at all. In my hands they behave in the same way as a crooked stick, and this is solely owing to my want of skill.
Sir Gardner Wilkinson gives figures from the Egyptian monuments representing sportsmen using throw-sticks for the purpose of killing birds. ”

“ In the pentathlon, spear-throwing was a test rather of skill than of strength; an athlete who could win the victory with the diskos might suffer defeat with the spear, although diskos-throwing required more strength than spear-throwing. ”

“ The defence was often a grip on the opponent’s wrist, which might lead to the offensive if his elbow could also be seized and the throw we call ‘the flying mare’ be then executed. Of front body-holds, the most effective was gained by catching the waist with both hands and then lifting the opponent off his feet, such a hold as Heracles used against Antæus. ”

“ The thrower, therefore, bent his whole body somewhat in the moment when he threw back the right hand with the disc, in order to give it the necessary impulse, pressing his left leg firmly on the ground, and digging his toes into the sand, at the same time bending the right knee in order to give the disc increased power by springing up from his bent position at the moment of throwing. ”

“ All gaze around: another spear The avenger levels from his ear, And launches on the sky. Tagus lies pierced through temples twain, The dart deep buried in his brain. Fierce Volscens storms, yet finds no foe, Nor sees the hand that dealt the blow, Nor knows on whom to fly. "Your heart's warm blood for both shall pay," He cries, and on his beauteous prey With naked sword he sprang. Scared, maddened, Nisus shrieks aloud: No more he hides in night's dark shroud, Nor bears the o'erwhelming pang: "Me, guilty me, make me your aim, O Rutules! ”

“ Archery was regarded with the same contempt by the Greek hoplite of the fifth century, and though it formed part of the training of the Athenian Epheboi, it never entered largely into Greek sports. The diskos, however, was always and in all places a favourite exercise. Odysseus, as we have seen, to prove his strength to the Phaeacians, hurled far beyond all their marks a diskos larger than his hosts themselves ever threw. ”

“ The bend of the right arm which is noticeable on some of the coins is clearly due to considerations of space. The diskos is represented at right angles to the body, because, if drawn parallel, it would appear from the front as a thin line, which in so small a space would be almost unrecognisable. The position of the unemployed left hand may point to a difference in the style of throwing. ”

“ It is probable, however, that such an encounter is, in most cases, fatal to the fish, for to pull out the sword from nine inches or more of solid timber, would need a greater effort than to drive it in, and would require that force to be exerted under most disadvantageous conditions. For to give the blow, the animal is able to bring an impetus acquired by the exercise of his utmost powers of swimming, but to dislodge his firmly inserted brand, he must exert a backward force, for which his fins are but feebly adapted, and without the advantage of any accumulated impetus. ”

“ The next moment the vivid moon was suddenly obscured by drifting wisps of cloud. As the green light blurred to an emerald haze, the creature under the crag came slithering out toward Dixon.
He had a vague glimpse of a monster such as one should see only in nightmares—a huge loathesome spider-form with a bloated body as long as that of a man, and great sprawling legs that sent it half a dozen yards nearer Dixon in one effortless leap.
he onslaught proved too much for Dixon's morale, half-dazed as he was by the green moon's paralyzing rays. ”

“ He uses his strong teeth, like a trench-digger uses a pick, to loosen the earth; and while his fore-feet are kept constantly at work in digging and pressing the dirt back under the body, the hind feet also aid in shovelling it still farther back. When a sufficient amount has heaped up behind him, he performs the strangest of all his feats—he turns around, and places his hands vertically against his chin, thus forcing himself backwards, pushing the dirt ahead of himself until it is forced out of the tunnel. At the outer end of the tunnel is formed a little hillock. ”

“ The hybrid began maneuvering Dixon toward the instrument enclosure. For a fleeting second the grip of the tentacles upon his shoulders loosened slightly. Dixon took instant advantage of it. Twisting himself free from the loosened tentacle in one mighty effort, he whirled and fired pointblank at the opalescent globe on the head looming above him.
The bullet smashed accurately home, shattering the globe like a bursting bubble. The great hybrid collapsed with startling suddenness, its life force instantly extinguished as the globe burst. ”

“ One end of this string is fastened to a tall stick planted in the earth, the lower end is tied to a short stick—a part of the “spring” held rigid beneath the dead fall until the trigger is touched. The dead fall drops when the rat, in touching the trigger, releases the lower end of the cord. The animal springs the trigger either by nibbling a bait on it or by running against it, and is immediately killed, since the dead fall is weighted with stones. ”

“ Does it really terrify its prey? Under the shining head of the Decticus, behind the long face of the cricket, who is to say what is passing? No sign of emotion can reveal itself upon these immovable masks. Yet it seems certain that the threatened creature is aware of its danger. It sees, springing up before it, a terrible spectral form with talons outstretched, ready to fall upon it; it feels itself face to face with death, and fails to flee while yet there is time. ”

“ Suddenly Diccon raised himself upon his elbow, and looked across at me. Our eyes had no sooner met than his hand was at his bosom. The savage nearest him, feeling the movement, as it were, lifted his head from the earth, of which it was so soon to become a part; but if he saw the knife, he saw it too late. The blade, driven down with all the strength of a desperate man, struck home; when it was drawn from its sheath of flesh, there remained to us but a foe apiece.
In the instant of its descent I had thrown myself upon the Indian nearest me. ”

“ When seized or terrified, its habit is to twist its long, slender, and flexible tail round the object of attack, and with the serrated spine tear the surface, lacerating it in a manner calculated to produce violent inflammation." Other authors state that it is capable of striking its weapon with the swiftness of an arrow into its prey or its enemy, when, with its winding tail, it secures its capture. ”

“ As soon as he comes within throwing distance, which materially varies according to the strength of the thrower and the structure of the bolas, he hurls his singular weapon with unerring skill. No sooner does it leave his hand than the centrifugal force causes the balls to diverge, and they fly round and round in the air with a motion exactly resembling that which an English street acrobat imparts to a couple of padded balls at the ends of a string, when he wants to clear the ground. ”

“ Immediately they begin throwing at the duck again, and while the first four fail to knock it off and are obliged to stand next to their rocks until they see a chance to run home, the fifth thrower is successful in knocking off the duck, and all those waiting to run home snatch up their rocks and run, for “It” cannot tag anyone while the duck is off the rock, and they may all go home in safety. ”