Caber Toss: why long sticks give you trouble

Caber, highland games, mckim -

Caber Toss: why long sticks give you trouble

It can all crumble at the end if you're not careful. You might have an amazing "pick" that just drops into your hand cradle, a high carry that allows you to drive the stick with speed, and a quick gather step that puts you in just the right position to finish the throw ... but now what? I've seen it countless times in competitions and all too many times to me. When, and how, should we pull the caber?

Timing
This is such a hard, hard thing to coach, as it all depends on the length of the caber - that is, physics wise. Now, this won't surprise anyone, but I'm no genius thrower. I never have been, and never will be. You see, I'm a simple man and I like my throwing to be as simple as possible, too, as I believe it equates to fewer errors. I'd like to give you "x" recipe for long sticks and "y" recipe for short sticks, but I just can't. I have to make it more simple than that.
I was once told I needed to initiate my pull as soon as the caber left my shoulder. I've really stuck with that through the years, as it works better than the other cue I hear a lot; "pull as soon as the caber passes your eyes." I've found that when I do that, I pull far too late.
Think of it this way, as soon as you stop running, the caber is slowing down. Once you stop applying speed to it, it's no longer gaining - you're losing. Whatever the visual you need, realize you will rarely EVER hear the words, "Wow. You just pulled too early." I've only seen this a few times in my career, as the opposite is almost always the case. I feel I can best say it this way: pull sooner than you think you should or need to.
Now, I do have a small "recipe" for a long stick, but it's not really a "recipe;" more of a microwave meal.
Longer cabers fall much slower than the shorter, heavier cabers. You'll hear throwers say, "I just can't get it off my shoulder." That's code for, "Wow, this caber is huge," or, "Wow, this caber is long." To help with that, you've got to give it some shoulder. As you're driving the caber and sprinting down the field with the speed of a deer, fleet-footedness of a mountain goat and the physique of a Greek statue, throw your shoulder forward into that stick when it comes time to pull. This helps speed up the top of the caber and gets it falling faster. This "recipe" is important, and none more critical when it comes to a long caber (20'+). Admit it, you've always enjoyed throwing your weight around.

Pull
The pull is such a critical component of the throw, and is the final piece to turning big sticks and getting 12:00's awarded. The big thing to remember is that you aren't throwing it out away from you - you want an upward pull. Letting your hands get out and away from your body on the pull limits your power and control of the caber. Instead, think of pulling the caber up and through your chin. Pull fast and pull hard, but don't stop those hands! I hate seeing people stop their hands at chest level - it completely kills the caber's speed and your power to flip it. Follow through! Finish with your hands up and over your head.
Lastly, use your legs. My absolute best pulls have always included me actually leaving the ground. If I am in a caber funk, I can usually accredit it to a few things, and if I'm struggling with heavier or longer sticks, my lack of "pop" off the ground is a part of it.

So, in short, the caber is super easy, right? Wrong. Get your time in with one in your hands - you'll be glad you did, and so will the crowd.

133 comments

  • Collins Lawal

    I’m Lawal from Dubai. I was exploited by a Crypto Exchange Investment Platform and was made to invest $198,000 worth of crypto to this company. They made it all look real and it was impossible to easily figure out the sham they were running. I was just like every other curious person and investor who decided to invest in cryptocurrency trading all in the aim of making profit, but I was exploited and lost my hard-earned money to this service, if not for the intervention of Mr. James, a cyber security and crypto recovery expert who was able to help top officials from the government/companies recover their emails and cryptocurrency successfully, I would have not been able to recover my crypto assets. The spammers had contacted me through a popular social media platform (Facebook) which I later found out to be a sham, But James made me realize many other victims like me invested in this platform, I’m bringing this to you here that it was a scam to steal crypto from people. James was able to recover my crypto successfully and has since been able to assist two of my partners in recovering their crypto from this same online crypto investment platform. If you wish to contact James for any help regarding lost of funds or any social media hacking and recovery services, you can reach them via the info below: Email:jamesmckaywizard at gmail dot com or what’sapp +31657446248.

  • Alec Riley

    losing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT is quite regrettable. I fell prey to an online investment schme and lossed all my money and realized it wasn’t genuine, I was hearing stories. But that wasn’t the end; I tried to contact hackers and recovery expert but was unsuccessful till I came across jamesmckaywizard a Recovery Hacker, who after 7 to 8 Hours helped me retrieve my Bitcoin. Having seen firsthand how they assisted someone in a similar circumstance, I had faith in them and was patient. Mr. James Recovery Hacker deserves praise for his excellent job. Contact them through the address below if you need a recovery expert..
    Email:jamesmckaywizard at gmail dot com or what’sapp +31657446248.

  • johairhamzah

    SMART CONTRACT EXPLOIT RECOVERY HIRE DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION
    Our well-established mining corporation in New Zealand suffered a devastating loss of NZD 10,000,000 due to a fake gold mine investment. The situation began when we were approached by a group presenting a promising gold mining venture in the South Island. They provided impressive reports, detailed business plans, and forged documents that seemed legitimate. Confident in the opportunity, we decided to invest a significant amount of capital.At first, everything appeared legitimate. We had meetings with the so-called project leaders, and their presentations were convincing. The location, projected returns, and even the legal paperwork seemed sound. We were assured that the project would yield high returns, making it a perfect opportunity to expand our business. However, doubts started to arise when we sent a team to visit the mining site.What they found was shocking. There was no gold mine, and the site bore no resemblance to what had been described. The people we had been dealing with were unreachable, and communication abruptly stopped. It became clear we had fallen victim to a well-organized scam, leaving us with a substantial financial loss.Realizing the gravity of the situation, I knew we had to act fast. I reached out to DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION, a company with a strong reputation for recovering funds lost in fraud cases. From the moment we connected, they took charge of the situation, and I felt a sense of relief knowing I had professionals on my side.DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION immediately launched a thorough investigation. Their team worked closely with law enforcement and financial investigators to track the flow of funds and uncover the details behind the scam. They used advanced cyber forensic tools to trace the stolen money, identify the perpetrators, and uncover their network of fraudulent activity.Over several months, DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION persistence and expertise paid off. They located the scammers’ bank accounts and froze the assets, ensuring the stolen funds were recoverable. Through their efforts, we secured the full NZD 10,000,000 we had lost.Thanks to DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION diligent work, we not only recovered the full amount, but the perpetrators were also brought to justice. This experience taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of professional recovery services in navigating complex fraud cases. Without their expertise, our company would have been left with nothing. Thanks to DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION we were able to rebuild and move forward.
    dunamiscybersolution@zohomail.com
    +13433030545
    Dunamiscyber@solution4u.com

  • Jack Bouchard

    I was exploited by CanCap Crypto Exchange and was made to invest $112,000 worth of Canadian dollars into crypto trading by this company. They made it all look real and it was impossible to easily figure out the sham they were running. I was just like every other curious person and investor who decided to invest in cryptocurrency trading but I was exploited and lost my hard-earned money to this scam, if not for the intervention of Morphohack, a cyber security and crypto recovery expert who has been able to help top officials from the government recover their cryptocurrency successful, I would have not been able to recover my crypto assets. CanCap contacted me through a popular figure on Facebook who I later found out to be a sham too, and Morphohack made me realize many other victims like me invested in this platform, I’m bringing this to you here that it was a scam to steal crypto from people. Morphohack was able to recover my crypto successfully and has since been able to assist two of my partners in recovering their crypto from the CanCap crypto investment scam. If you wish to contact Morphohack, you can reach them via the info below: WhatsApp: +1 (213) 672 4092 Or Morphohack@Cyberservices.com

  • selina brad

    I aim to enlighten those who wants to be elevated and taken out of deep shallow hole, crypto investment is like a dark shallow when you end up with a wrong one(scammer) and it feels lively when you make a good choice(legitimate traders) how do I know am with the righer trader, e.g rating by website: Brunoequickhack.COM and their machinery compose words will lead you astray, you have to make use of insights and understanding the logic about what you are getting into, I Selina Brad was a victim of stock investment, I learnt all this lesson and expressed during my search for a recovery hacker of whom I stumbled at after being through several scammer (Brunoe Quick Hack) WhatsApp:+1705-784-26-35 helped in getting my funds recovered. I owe him a big thanks, Please do reach out to him. Email: Brunoequickhack(AT)GMAIL.com

Leave a comment