Inside downtown San Jose’s new axe-throwing venue

Ten yrs back, if a person had explained to you they were being into axe throwing, you might speculate if they were being a lumberjack or just start inching absent slowly and gradually. But these days it is 1 the latest recreation developments to sweep the place, with businesses throwing axes as workforce-constructing routines and championships revealed on ESPN.

And now, it’s landed in downtown San Jose with the opening of Axe-Adult men Throw House on South Second Road. But the new location had an open residence Wednesday evening, so I ventured about to discover out what the fascination is all about.

Owner Sarah Sed, who opened her to start with axe-throwing location in Houston about 5 decades in the past with her husband, Matt Chicken, chalks up a whole lot of the reputation to the novelty. “It’s some thing you can learn, and most people is fired up to find out a new skill,” she explained, introducing that knowing most men and women are relative novices at axe throwing will make first-timers far more comfy. “The 1st time you stick, you’re hooked.”

She’s appropriate about that component. “Sticking” is the lingo for hitting the target with your axe blade (“Not Sticking,” which I did many far more moments, results in your axe just hitting the concentrate on and dropping to the floor like a lifeless duck). What went unsaid was the adrenaline-spiking thrill of hurtling a hatchet as a result of the air like Jon Snow on “Game of Thrones” and the pleasure of looking at it break up the wooden. It is like bowling your to start with strike or getting your initial hole in one particular. But with an axe.

This is not the first location in San Jose. AxeVentures opened past calendar year on Park Avenue outdoors downtown, and the Winchester Secret Residence included an axe-throwing range to its stables. Silicon Valley, with its tech-bro/geek tradition vibe, may perhaps not feel like the position to unleash your inner Viking, but it’s not a lousy way to close a long working day of Zoom meetings.

Fremont resident Jenna Silva was a different novice who stopped by Axe-Adult men with two pals on Wednesday. She desired ideas on her observe-through but at some point buried the hatchet in the correct location. “It was a lot more durable than I thought it would be, but it was exciting,” she said. “I’d certainly do it yet again.”

That is basically how Sed received into the axe-throwing company herself. She was working escape rooms — don’t forget individuals? — when she initially experimented with out axe throwing at Philadelphia with close friends in 2017. Immediately after profitable their mini event, Sed pledged to open up the initial axe-throwing location in Texas, which she did about a few months later. Now, she serves on the advisory council of the Earth Axe Throwing League, a single of two governing bodies that sets guidelines and rules.

At Axe-Gentlemen — the title is a participate in on a specified mutant superhero team, not a knock on females throwers — you can pay $40 to throw for an hour, both on your have or competitively. Coaches are on hand to educate you basic safety rules and standard throwing and to assist boost your stance and system (it is a lot more about leverage than toughness). The standard axes are 1.5 kilos with foot-prolonged handles, even though much more professional throwers can update to heavier equipment or even knives. Hours and other information are available at www.axe-men.com.

Primarily based on her Houston practical experience, Sed expects all kinds of men and women to come by for birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette events or to just hold out with co-employees or close friends. One of the venue’s 13 lanes is outfitted with a wheelchair ramp, and even little ones 8 and up are welcome with a dad or mum or guardian. “Kids are basically truly great due to the fact they have a tendency to pay consideration additional than grown ups,” she said. “Adults believe they know what they’re executing speedier than they truly do.”

There are tables and video games accessible for folks waiting on a reservation or non-throwers observing the motion. Axe-Adult males Toss Residence does not currently serve alcohol, however there are sodas and other drinks offered for acquire. And if you decide it’s a superior strategy to have a number of photographs of tequila and demonstrate off your axe-throwing competencies, Sed has a message: Just don’t.

“We’re not worried to throw individuals out who misbehave or appear in drunk,” she explained. “It’s for their personal safety.”

UP IN SMOKE: Personnel at San Jose’s O.C. McDonald Co. celebrated the lifting of Santa Clara County’s mask mandate Wednesday by tossing theirs into a charcoal and wooden fireplace. Jim McDonald — the fourth-technology owner of the plumbing and HVAC contractor — explained the gesture was much more a cathartic work out than any form of protest.

“The previous two a long time have just been terrible,” he explained. “Today, we get to melt away our masks — for now. Tomorrow, we may perhaps have to place them on once more.”