To throw a boomerang, hold it in your throwing hand, pinching one wing near the tip (Figure 18-15).
Cock your arm back so that the boomerang is vertical, with its face toward your head. Throw with a flick of the wrist, being sure to keep the boomerang vertical throughout your throw. Ideally, the Fast-Catch Boomerang will stay vertical and travel straight for a couple yards, then begin to curve to the left (for a right-handed thrower). It then lays over (leans into a more horizontal position) as it comes into its return curve, so that it ultimately is hovering horizontally in front of you, where you can easily catch it by sandwiching it between your horizontal hands. The Cross-Stick Boomerang tends to climb higher (10 or 12 feet from the ground, rather than the straight path of the Fast-Catch Boomerang) and go out further (perhaps 20 feet) before starting its return.
In very still air, you may find the boomerang is returning inconveniently far in front of you (following a path like a question mark). If this is the case, try throwing with some layover—angling the boomerang a few degrees away from your head, as illustrated in Figure 18-16. Since the boomerang naturally lays over as it goes into its return curve, throwing with some layover will put it into its turn sooner.
Figure 18-16. Normal throwing position (left) and throwing with a little layover (right), as viewed from behind a right-handed thrower
When throwing outside, throw a bit off-center of the wind. Aim about 45 degrees to the right of the wind if you’re right-handed and likewise to the left if you’re left-handed. As a rule, if there’s more wind, you need less layover to get a good return.
Throwing and tuning go hand in hand. Once you’ve finished your boomerang, give it a few tosses, and then start tuning to get better performance.