I left my grace at the Leftatorium
May 5, 2016 12:54 PM Subscribe
This post was deleted for the following reason: Double. -- restless_nomad
This should be the new playground insult. "You throw like a man throwing something with the non-dominant hand!"
posted by bondcliff at 1:04 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bondcliff at 1:04 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm weakly left-handed: I write, eat, and shoot pool left-handed, but do most other things right-handed, including throwing. I can fake doing most things left-handed, but not throwing. I had to borrow a lefty mitt when we were playing catch outside a ballgame not too long ago, and while I can catch pretty naturally with my right hand, I absolutely cannot throw left-handed. I can't step. I know I need to step with the right foot, but I just can't do it.
I look pretty much like this. Maybe worse, actually, since you'd think I would be able to do it.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:07 PM on May 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
I look pretty much like this. Maybe worse, actually, since you'd think I would be able to do it.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:07 PM on May 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Also it seems like shirtlessness is a factor in their throwing ability.
posted by chococat at 1:08 PM on May 5, 2016
posted by chococat at 1:08 PM on May 5, 2016
At my gym, we occasionally play small-ball dodgeball rounds as a warmup.
We do regular rounds, no catching rounds, etc, and one of the rounds we do is 'use your non-dominant hand'.
it's an interesting thing to watch. It almost immediately makes the women a more active part of the game, as the men tend to hang back more, because they are uncertain of their accuracy and power.
Additionally, both sexes tend to be more discriminate in throwing, so the game is slower, but more strategic.
BTW: The key to throwing non-dominant is an underarm or sidearm throw. Get low.
If you're going to overhand it, make sure your legs are right.
A surprising number of people change which arm, but not which leg they step with.
It looks as awkward as it sounds.
posted by madajb at 1:10 PM on May 5, 2016
We do regular rounds, no catching rounds, etc, and one of the rounds we do is 'use your non-dominant hand'.
it's an interesting thing to watch. It almost immediately makes the women a more active part of the game, as the men tend to hang back more, because they are uncertain of their accuracy and power.
Additionally, both sexes tend to be more discriminate in throwing, so the game is slower, but more strategic.
BTW: The key to throwing non-dominant is an underarm or sidearm throw. Get low.
If you're going to overhand it, make sure your legs are right.
A surprising number of people change which arm, but not which leg they step with.
It looks as awkward as it sounds.
posted by madajb at 1:10 PM on May 5, 2016
This is hitting way too close to home! I'm so right-handed I can't even wield an electric toothbrush with my left hand. I'm having carpal tunnel surgery on the right side in less than 2 weeks, and I have no bloody idea how I'm going to take care of myself while it's healing. I predict about a week after surgery, I'll be wallowing in my own filth, winning Gollum-impersonating contests left and right.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:13 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:13 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
LEFTORIUM
posted by Going To Maine at 1:15 PM on May 5, 2016
posted by Going To Maine at 1:15 PM on May 5, 2016
I have a small golf-ball sized nerf ball I sometimes throw at a wall alternating hands. While I could hit the same spots with the left hand regularly, it takes a lot more time. Like, my right hand could get some sleep before lefty here decided to throw it.
However, the least said about how I kick with my left foot, the better. My saving grace was that the outside of my right foot was killer.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:18 PM on May 5, 2016
However, the least said about how I kick with my left foot, the better. My saving grace was that the outside of my right foot was killer.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:18 PM on May 5, 2016
I love how the prospect of throwing with the submissive hand just wrecks their gait right before they release. Stutter steps & total motor confusion.
posted by Zerowensboring at 1:19 PM on May 5, 2016
posted by Zerowensboring at 1:19 PM on May 5, 2016
My dad was ambidextrous, which I always thought was magical. As for me, some days I have trouble just balancing on my non-dominant foot for the two seconds it takes to pull a sock over the other one. Throwing a ball with my south paw? Forget about it!
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:22 PM on May 5, 2016
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:22 PM on May 5, 2016
When I was a kid, my mother once made a random comment about how it'd be good to know how to do things with both hands in case you lost the use of your dominant hand. That comment stuck in my mind, and every once in a while I'll start trying to learn how to do something non-dominant.
Kicking a soccer ball well with my left foot - different parts of the foot for different bends, that sort of thing - was the first thing I got okay at. It really does help to have already learned how to do something with your dominant limb, since you can slow it down and take note of what all of your muscles are doing on your dominant side when they execute the action.
I quickly noticed that I needed to pay just as close attention to which muscles are relaxing at which point in the motion in order to get it right.
posted by clawsoon at 1:23 PM on May 5, 2016
Kicking a soccer ball well with my left foot - different parts of the foot for different bends, that sort of thing - was the first thing I got okay at. It really does help to have already learned how to do something with your dominant limb, since you can slow it down and take note of what all of your muscles are doing on your dominant side when they execute the action.
I quickly noticed that I needed to pay just as close attention to which muscles are relaxing at which point in the motion in order to get it right.
posted by clawsoon at 1:23 PM on May 5, 2016
I'm right handed but I snap my fingers, throw a frisbee, brush my teeth, use a phone, and wipe my butt with my left hand. I can't do any of these things competently with my right hand.
What do these five things have in common? I must know.
posted by crazylegs at 1:32 PM on May 5, 2016
What do these five things have in common? I must know.
posted by crazylegs at 1:32 PM on May 5, 2016
What do these five things have in common? I must know.
Cross-dominance!
I am left footed and right handed, which is an even more obscure version of same.
posted by rhizome at 1:36 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Cross-dominance!
I am left footed and right handed, which is an even more obscure version of same.
posted by rhizome at 1:36 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
They just haven't played enough handball! Playing that regularly for several years left a permanent dexterity (sinisterity?) improvement.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 1:36 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 1:36 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Dominate Hand: (level zero cantrip) Cast any time to induce self-punching in little brothers within 30' radius.
posted by selfnoise at 1:43 PM on May 5, 2016
posted by selfnoise at 1:43 PM on May 5, 2016
My wife is ambidextrous and when she was a teacher she'd sometimes start writing across the blackboard with her left hand and when she got to the middle she'd move the chalk to her right hand and continue, standing in place the whole time. It was a nice way to confuse the kids.
She also hurt her right shoulder so, in order to continue playing catch with our son, she just bought a right-handed glove and started throwing with her left arm. Absolutely no difference.
I hate her.
posted by bondcliff at 1:44 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
She also hurt her right shoulder so, in order to continue playing catch with our son, she just bought a right-handed glove and started throwing with her left arm. Absolutely no difference.
I hate her.
posted by bondcliff at 1:44 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm a lefty for writing, eating, and throwing but am equally comfortable using my right and left hands for racket sports and baseball to the extent that I don't really know which my preferred hand is for them. Equally comfortable and equally bad.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:45 PM on May 5, 2016
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:45 PM on May 5, 2016
I love how the prospect of throwing with the submissive hand just wrecks their gait right before they release. Stutter steps & total motor confusion.
My dominant foot and leg were crushed when I was in my early 20s. As part of the very long PT process I essentially learned how to do everything with the other leg instead. And man did it fuck with my ability to do everything else, even the simplest things like stepping forward with my keys in my hand to unlock a door. I had a few bad falls simply because of that "total motor confusion" - I broke my goddamn cheekbone because I reached for something in a closet, my legs got confused or something, and I fell into the wall. It's so interesting how brains and bodies work together, I love it.
posted by barchan at 1:47 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
My dominant foot and leg were crushed when I was in my early 20s. As part of the very long PT process I essentially learned how to do everything with the other leg instead. And man did it fuck with my ability to do everything else, even the simplest things like stepping forward with my keys in my hand to unlock a door. I had a few bad falls simply because of that "total motor confusion" - I broke my goddamn cheekbone because I reached for something in a closet, my legs got confused or something, and I fell into the wall. It's so interesting how brains and bodies work together, I love it.
posted by barchan at 1:47 PM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
I am left footed and right handed, which is an even more obscure version of same.
That's not too strange - there are a lot more left footed soccer players than left handed people.
posted by kersplunk at 2:03 PM on May 5, 2016
That's not too strange - there are a lot more left footed soccer players than left handed people.
posted by kersplunk at 2:03 PM on May 5, 2016
This video is such a thing of beauty that it almost brought a tear to my left eye.
posted by abandonedwig at 2:04 PM on May 5, 2016
posted by abandonedwig at 2:04 PM on May 5, 2016
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posted by rhizome at 1:02 PM on May 5, 2016