Fascinating Photos of Knife Throwers in History

Knife Throwing was popularized in the US in the late 19th century by traveling circus acts. But the history of knife throwing dates much further back. This particular skill was first used in hunting and martial arts, incorporated into the martial disciplines of the Japanese, African and Native American tribes.

Knife throwing involves basic principles of mechanics. The thrower must acquire the precise skill of throwing a knife into the target with a sufficient amount of force. For this to be successful, a knife thrower needed hours and hours of practice to master the accuracy, distance, number of rotations and placement of the body.

Here are 14 fascinating images of knife throwers in the past: