St. Cloud resident finishes third in the world for knife throwing

St. Cloud ax-throwing business owners Dustin and Niki Knight competed in the World Axe Throwing League Championship in Appleton, Wisconsin, at the beginning of the month.

Dustin Knight finished third in the world for knife throwing, despite only getting into knife throwing six months prior.

The couple owns United States Axe in St. Cloud, Alexandria and Fargo. They run recreational throwing leagues in all three cities, scout for national talent and also operate rentable mobile axe throwing units for parties and weddings.

Niki Knight has been pushing for more women to compete in major ax and knife-throwing tournaments because, despite women making up about 75% of their customer base, less than 10% participate competitively. In November she won two divisions of the World Axe Throwing League Midwest tournament and went on to throw hatchets at the world championship in December.

A mental and physical game

Six months ago, Dustin Knight said he couldn't stick a knife in a target. But after a lot of hard work and repetition, he said he's proud it has paid off and put him on the world's stage.

In September 2020, Knight competed in his first world ax throwing competition and won third place. After falling in love with the sport and realizing he could make a living off winning competitions like this, "that was it," he said.

Since then he's been throwing hatchets, big axes, knives and competing in dual tournaments with Niki all over the country. To make the treks worth it, Dustin Knight will compete in all four category types.

More:United States Axe owners to compete in world axe throwing league championships

"I just think that's more impressive, to be just a well-rounded thrower," he said. "It's kind of like dodgeball philosophy, right? (If) you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball. You can throw an ax, you can throw a knife."

Each skill takes a lot of muscle memory to throw just right. Knight said he spends 20 to 30 hours a week practicing. Through trial and error he learned how to make the conditions right for a bull's-eye, with proper stance, grip, distance from the target, follow through and velocity of the throw, he said.

It's also a mental game where he's learn to deal with nerves and pressure. Once while competing for the first time for a tournament broadcast on ESPN, one whole section of the crowd booed him, a rarity in the community, Knight said.

"I don't know who I've made upset or who secretly doesn't like me, but when I heard those boos it really took me into competitor mode. Like, I'm here to beat everybody, I'm gonna shut everybody up kind of thing," he said. "And I thrive off that."

'That talent could be in you and you could not even know it'

Knight said he hopes more people learn about this new sport and give it a shot for themselves, even if they have no prior experience.

"Whether they join league or not, I'm scouting. I want to grow our league and make sure that people get access to good coaching. We're more of a service-oriented business than a retail organization. We're providing a service that few businesses provide," he said. "And that's you come in for an hour, I work with you for an hour, you leave hitting bull's-eyes and … you have a whole new skill set. And to me, that's valuable."

What started out as a fun date night ax-throwing changed his and Niki's lives, Knight said. Although he wasn't a natural knife thrower starting out, his coach didn't give up on him and that made him feel good.

"We're just excited for a new league season. You never know, the next world champion could walk through our door in St. Cloud or Fargo or Alexandria," he said. "We can spot talent. This sport is so new, that talent could be in you and you could not even know it."

ESPN interviewed Dustin Knight, which can be viewed in the next week or two at a United States Axe Throwing watch party. The couple's next competition is at the end of January in Medford, Oregon.

Becca Most is a cities reporter with the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at bmost@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter at @becca_most. 

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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud resident finishes third in the world for knife throwing