Kick Ax | Old City Philadelphia | 10 May 2019

 

Yesterday as I trekked to the roller rink, I noticed that an ax throwing bar opened. I walked inside to check it out, they gave me a free pass to check it out, it looked fun and I told them after I was done skating, I would come back.

I only skated for an hour and walked back to Kick Ax at 5:30. I didn’t eat, I was going to eat after, and I will admit that when I was told that the earliest reservation was for 6:30, I was hangry. There’s not much GF in Old City. I said I would wait and wait to eat. As I was sitting and waiting, one of the managers saw me and asked me if I was alone. I said I was, and he said, “would you like to join a group? Playing with a group is more fun!” I agreed, he walked me back, and I joined a group of two men: father and son, Derek and Stephen. A few minutes after I joined, Lia and Matt joined, then Leah and her husband.

Before we began the games, Mollie, our instructor, went over the rules, showed us how to handle the ax, and gave us techniques for throwing. I was a little nervous, but I was excited because this is something I’ve wanted to do for a few years now. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but regardless I was here to have fun.

Steve and Derek went first and they were pretty good. I later learned that Steve, in his early to mid 20s, is in the Navy and is home visiting. I was called next, along with Leah, and we grabbed the axes from the stump. Before I walked up, I gave Steve my phone for him to take photos.

I went first. I gripped my ax, stepped a little past the line, placed it behind my back, I lifted it and before I slung it, I took a deep breath. Guess what I aimed for? For my first try, I got a bulls eye. Mollie was shocked and my group cheered and I heard Matt call out, “are you sure you have never done this before?” I said no. Unfortunately, my second throw, which Steve taped, was a miss. I did get a hit for the third.

 

I’m glad that the Kick Ax manager placed me with this group and placed us all together. My teammates were fun and we enjoyed chatting, laughing, and while it was competition, it was friendly competition. We did play for points, but there were no winners or losers, just fun.

As I continued on, I kept aiming and shooting for 4s and bulls eyes. At one point, I was paired with Matt, we tapped axes and wished each other luck, and while I missed one, I shot for two fours. For the next game, it was called “Around the World” and we had to go in number order. I had to shoot for a 2, but shot for bulls eye first. Matt called out, “of course she did! Jessica only shoots for perfection!” I tried to get a 2, but missed, and then hit a four. Eventually, Mollie just said, “whatever you hit is fine.” I eventually did hit a 1 later on, and in the future, higher aim is what I want to practice. I’m short and 4s, bulleyes were natural for me.

 

 

 

One thing I learned from ax night: “One other thing I noticed when I made some mistakes and didn’t hit at all. I noticed when I did that, it was because I was rushing and didn’t take a deep breath. At some points, I was worried that my team members would become annoyed if I took longer, but Derick said to me: “it’s okay, take your time. This is only fun.” He was right. Once I took my time, took a deep breath and took a breath as I threw, I hit. I could say the same about life.

At 7, our session ended and Mollie took a group photo of us. Mollie just posted the photo to social media and it is great. I loved my group and that laughter made my night. I also felt good about my natural abilities. I felt good about myself.

The playlist for the night was some of my favourite music: grunge. I heard some of my favourites:

 

 

However, I couldn’t stop thinking about my favourite Dark Lotus song as I threw:

After our group photo, Mollie took a photo of me with my phone. One farther away and one close-up. I posted the close up on Instagram and captioned it with the beginning of the Dark Lotus song, “I would like to invite you on a journey, watch me as I pass the axe.” Andre responded with Blaze’s line next and I would have loved to kept the song going, but I’m trying to keep my Instagram PG-13 as much as possible. I just responded, “then passed it off to Madrox. :laugh: Isn’t it fun?”

 

 

 

I can’t wait to go back next week and I hope I can join another group.