Knife Life: Landis couple finds niche in rare sport
Published on Saturday, September 9, 2023, 12:10 am
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Judah Myers won first place in the professional no-spin category of the Blade Aces knife throwing competition in Chillicothe, Ohio, last month. – Submitted
Hannah Satterfield takes part in a conventional knife throw. – Submitted
LANDIS – Home to many unique things, the town of Landis recently added a gold medalist knife thrower to the roster after his successful showing in Ohio last month.
Judah Myers won the top prize in the Professional No-Spin Knife Throwing category at the Games of Throws knife and ax throwing competition at the White Oak Ridge venue in Chillicothe, Ohio.
The event was hosted by Blade Aces, a leading organization in the world of knife throwing.
The field of participants consisted of 61 participants from the USA and Canada. Myers wasn’t the only Landis resident there either. His wife Hannah Satterfield was also among the participants. The couple actually met through knife throwing.
“We are excited not only about the turnout, but also about the quality of talent participating,” said Ron Thomas, Co-CEO of Blade Aces. “The sport continues to grow in popularity and Blade Aces will continue to lead the best practices for knife throwing competitions.”
Myers has been honing his skills for years. Old country and western films piqued his interest at a young age.
“You could see them throwing the tomahawk and things like that,” Myers said.
He began delving into the competitive side of the sport through YouTube videos.
“There wasn’t much else on social media other than that,” Myers said.
However, knife throwing competitions have been around for a long time.
“The ATKA (American Knife Throwers Alliance) has been running tournaments since the 1980s,” Myers said.
He also pointed out that circuses have long used knife throwers for entertainment.
Although it’s an activity the couple enjoys, they take it far more seriously than just a circus act. For them it is a serious competition and they always want to win. Unfortunately, because there are few knife throwing competitions nearby, Myers and Satterfield sometimes drive 10 or 12 hours to the events.
“There really aren’t any events here with this type of knife throwing,” Satterfield said. “Usually it’s Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, but here it’s just local ax houses and that’s not the type of knife throwing we do. They are more commercialized. They’re not real old school knife throwers.”
In the competition, the pair competes in various events and categories, which vary by the throwers’ range and the object they would throw, such as an ax or knife.
“They have amateur and professional divisions,” Myers said. “Amateur would probably be six to five feet tall. Professionally it would be three meters to seven meters.”
It wasn’t easy finding other knife throwers in the area, but Satterfield founded her own group called the Shank Sisters of the Carolinas, an all-female knife throwing club.
“I’m the president, but it’s been difficult to find many female throwers here, so all the other girls are in South Carolina,” Satterfield said. “We’re part of a nonprofit called WWK, called Women With Knives.”
Their season begins in January and lasts until April.
Myers typically practices alone, but the results speak for themselves.
“I am a two-time world champion and won twice in Austin (Texas) in 2018,” Myers said. “I won the US Nationals in Vegas in 2017.”
Myers and Satterfield encourage anyone interested in the world of knife throwing to connect with them on Facebook or Instagram.
“There are also a lot of knife throwing groups to check out,” Myers said.
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