Author Alex Hutchinson

  I like to write articles that I wish existed when I first tried a new sport. Most of the time writers focus only on what the top athletes are doing and don't spend enough time on how to get started. A few weeks ago I wrote an article on completing my first season of Axe throwing. The next step is to review a new Axe that is making its way onto the scene - The Bullmag A365. My name is Alex Hutchinson, I'm an amateur hatchet thrower and longtime adventure writer. My home base is Longhouse Axe in Plymouth, Massachusetts. I compete in the World Axe Throwing League. At the time of this review I have already participated in a Hatchet League, a Marathon and a Tier 3 Tournament. The point is, I've gotten in a good 10,000 throws and can feel the difference between various Axes. The Axes I have worked with include The Killshot, The Ace of Spades, The Butcher, The Corporal and The Commander. I started off by using the WATL Killshot on an outdoor target then I proceeded to the Ace of

Iris & Emma battle at the Longhouse boards   After facing 200+ starts in competitions across 11 different sports, I was not nervous when I entered my first season of Axe throwing. I just felt ready. I was at peace with whatever happened, at least until I started doing well. Then I thought, I could be good at this. That's when the nerves slowly kicked in. We have all experienced that weird sensation of trying something brand new and just being good at it for no reason. At that moment you can't help but wonder, what if I can be great? As an adventure writer I've had many opportunities to step into the breach. There were many beginning moments that filled my imagination with wonder but something would always come up short. I might have looked like a professional at times but the skills never quite matched the uniform. Alex & Paige representing Peterson's Bike Team As a mountain biker I had strong technical skills but weak lungs. As a BMX racer I had explosive leg p

When I was a little kid I was obsessed with martial arts. As early as 10 years old I was reading Iron Fist comic books and watching Kung-fu theatre. I would stand up wooden posts in my backyard as if they were opponents and then kick them over with a loud kiya! My next step up was martial arts movies. Thanks to my insistence the films of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris filled my parents video rental history. That's when I started to bug them to sign me up for karate lessons. A few years later the acclaimed film The Karate Kid changed it all. When I was 13 years old my family rented the movie and we all watched it together. I looked just like Daniel Larusso, black feathered hair, skinny physique and I already had my share of bullies. This movie was largely responsible for karate becoming a popular pursuit in America. After years of begging for lessons, my parents finally gave in and signed me up.  My first karate school was in Brockton, Massachusetts, the city I grew up around for the fi

It might sound like a lazy sales pitch but truth be told you can actually learn to throw axes fairly well in a short amount of time. My name is Alex Hutchinson and I'm what you might you call a Taskmaster. I dive into a new sport every couple years and get fairly good at them rather quickly. Why should you listen to me? I started as a kid doing team sports like soccer, baseball and basketball. As a teenager I dove into wrestling, boxing and martial arts. By my thirties I was driving hard in BMX racing and running. I spent several years mountain biking with some cyclocross on the side and even gave the Highland Games a try in my forties. Now at 50 years old I'm shoulder deep in my 12th sport. Alex and his track mates at Charlotte BMX As an adventure writer this type of immersion training was sort of my job and it taught me how to learn just about anything in a short period of time. Don't get me wrong I've never been a National or World Champion but I have earned enough t

When I decided to get into Axe throwing I knew it would be imperative to have my own target for practice. Searching the web brought countless articles and conversations that preferred specialized wood specifically from a Lumber Mill. My car cannot carry much wood, however, I do have a Home Depot card. More importantly, Home Depot delivers. Cut to the chase, I ordered one piece of plywood 3/4 inch, 4' by 8' to be used as the base. For the contact area I ordered three pieces of Pine Common board 1 inch, 12" by 6'. The three common boards (Which are cheap to buy and replace) are attached with screws. Then I simply hand drew a bullseye and kill shots using 3 colored markers which cost $4. at Dollar General. The target has worked brilliantly thus far. Eight of the first ten axes stuck perfectly while the other two were thrown incorrectly. The total cost was about $170. but I used their ProXtra card and got $50. off the price. Almost half of the price was on delivery but it