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Hi everybody,
My name is Spyridon and I live in Athens, Greece. I stumbled on this forum one day browsing the net and was amazed by the quality of people in here. I mean the eagerness to learn, the persistence, the mutual support you people demonstrate to each other and that sense of family, are very rare nowadays. I just had to register.
A little info about me then. I am 32 now, started taking violin lessons when i was around 10 years old and continued through high school for about 8 or 9 years. When I was 14 I started throwing hammers as a sport (the event of hammer throw in track & field for those who are wondering), and became good at it. However after some time it became evident that my sport was hindering my ability to comfortably play violin for more than a minute, since my arms and shoulders were becoming too stiff and my hands and fingers full of callouses from lifting weights. I reluctantly decided to give up the violin and carry on with my sport.
Fast forward 14 years later, a day about a month ago, for some strange reason i got up, went to my living room, opened up my violin cases and looked at my violins - one cheap chinese, and two old germans a friend of my grand mother gave to me. I thought to myself "it's been so long I probably won't be able to produce a half decent screech out of them". I picked one up, tuned somewhat the rusty strings, rosined the only bow I had, and started playing.
I was so pleasantly surprised, I cannot describe it. It felt like riding a bicycle after many years. I mean the speed is all but gone, but just sticking my 3rd finger on A string and doing a vibrato made me feel fantastic.
That was it. From that moment I decided to start playing again, trying to remember all the things I once knew. I even ordered a few parts to try and fix the two older violins that were badly repaired at some point in their life, and I got a new bow too.
I was hoping to hang around you guys for a while, gain some inspiration, and maybe learn a thing or two from the awesome videos Pierre has been posting.
PS1: Sorry if that was long winded
PS2: He's a Pirate... can I turn back the time and participate please?
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Welcome aboard Matey! With the years of background you already have under your belt, I'm sure most skills will come back fairly quickly if you play regularly. It will be exciting to watch your progress. You are right, this is a family of support right here. Such nice people... Anyways, good luck and have fun.
Opportunity is often missed because it wears suspenders and looks like hard work.
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Thanks for a very interesting introduction Bismarck,
I would love to see you throw the hammers. Maybe you can participate in viola throwing some day. LOL
You do know about viola jokes right? 
I look forward to future updates on your progress and instruments.
Welcome to the forum.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Honorary tenured advisor
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@bismark Welcome. There are some really nice and helpful people here. I'm glad you can join in.
@fiddlerman I told my grandson (a viola player) that you had mentioned viola jokes, so I asked him to tell me one. He said, "OK. Why are viola jokes so short?" "Ok. Why?", I asked. "Because violinists have to remember them," he replied. 
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright
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Welcome to the forum!
Hammer throw, is it kind of like discus throw? how nice that you came back to violin. it sounds like you were pretty advanced in you studies when you paused your playing. like others are saying, your abilities will probably come back rather quickly! Welcome again!
Lead me, Follow me, or get out of my way!
~General George S. Patton
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Thank you guys for the warm welcome 
. I'm afraid my level is not as high as one would think for a person studying violin for some years. I was not a very disciplined student back then. That's about to change though.
Pierre, rockinggirl33, here's what I've been doing for the past 20 years:
I guess a viola filled with some lead shot could go pretty far 
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WOW! that is impressive i must say! i would so throw it the wrong way, or just knock myself out with it! what an interesting sport! note to self, don't piss you off with anything in your hands....and with enough room to spin....and if so run in zig zag pattern!!! lol 
Lead me, Follow me, or get out of my way!
~General George S. Patton
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WOOOOOOWWWW!!!!
I love that!!! I didn't know it as "Hammer", had only hear "Weight Throw" until now.
Very impressive. One thing that I always wondered about is if you guys ever throw it the completely wrong way?
Thanks for the very impressive youtube clips.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Holy CRAP!!!!!!!!!!! > SWEET!!!!!!!!!!! > welcome to the site Bismarck!!!!
WoHoHoW!!! Cool! That's impressive! How fast does it fly after the throw?
I guess, if i tried something like this - i'd end up spinning myself around the thing, hahahahaha!
Welcome to the forums! And welcome back to violin playing! =)
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Hahaha thanx guys... it's a difficult and very technical sport but I love it.
Pierre, the two videos are two different but similar events. The first is the hammer which is an outdoor event and weighs 16lbs (7.26kg), and the second is the weight throw, for the indoor track & field season and weighs 35 lbs (about 16kg).
It's hard for a hammer thrower of some level to throw completely the wrong way, but for the eventuality of a broken wire or a minor directional error we always throw out of a cage with a strong net and a narrow door at the direction of the throw.
StoneDog, thank you for the welcome 
rockinglr33, If I get pissed off just poke me in the eye with your bow 
Mad Wed, I think the release speed for the hammer can get just over a 100kmh (about 65mph). Thanx for the welcome. I just thought of you spinning around the hammer. Too funny
From all those years throwing heavy stuff I got a broken tendon on a finger on my left hand, and a very stiff shoulder. I have to try real hard to get my elbow under the violin, and playing on G string can be painful after a few seconds. I'm not giving up though, I'm very persistent 
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Bismarck said
............I'm not giving up though, I'm very persistent
That's the spirit and what will bring you great progress to your renewed passion. Also, the type of person it takes to succeed as you did in any sport is the type who will succeed in anything they put their mind to.
Look forward to hearing progress reports in the future.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Such an interesting background Welcome to our forum @Bismarch. I'm really happy for you that you're rediscovering violin.
Blogging my beginner journey and progress...Diary of a Fumbling New Violinist: http://learningviolin.ca/
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