Listen up, reader. A lot of our blog posts are mainly informative, with a side of jokes. We let you know the deal, while keeping you engaged. It’s called “writing well.” If you don’t know what we mean, check out our blog posts for enjoying a night out, having a holiday part, and learning if axe throwing is fun to get a taste.

Not this one, though. This one is all facts. No jokes. We need to hit you with some pretty important information. Rumor has it that some of these axe throwing venues in the world are just handing guests axes and saying “have fun.” Well we’re here to tell you that that isn’t the case here at Total Axe. Here, we’re dedicated to making axe throwing an experience. We’re not just another axe throwing venue.

We’ll make it a real event for you.

When you make a group reservation at Total Axe, you aren’t just coming to haphazardly launch axes into planks of wood. Our goal at Total Axe is to give you an experience. When you come in, a coach will go over some brief but crucial safety protocol. Then, your coach will give the group a lesson on how to properly and effectively throw an axe. Then, your coach will explain all the gameplay, and how to play matches. After that, your coach will run a tournament for the group, all competing for the title of champion of your friend group. Finally, the last hour is reserved for the extra stuff: grudge matches, throwing stars, and whatever else you want out of the group.

We don’t want you to just come in and throw stuff at a wall. We want you to feel the excitement. Friendly competition, learning new things, and getting to walk away a champion (hopefully).

Our coaching staff coaches.

Our coaching staff has been expertly trained to ensure that you have a successful outing. Beyond the initial group training session, our coaches will work with you one-on-one for the entirety of the group to make sure that you get some points on the board. It not fun to drop axes for 2 hours. So we’ll make sure you don’t. If you do not stick an axe or star, it is company policy to give you a full refund. The absolute last thing we want is for you to pay money to not have fun. It doesn’t matter if a group of 13 year olds come in for a birthday party, a bunch of guys come in for a bachelor party, or if the retirement home has event here, our money-back guarantee stands.

Extra Stuff:

-Different throwables: We’ve got throwing axes, throwing stars, throwing cards, and even a tactical shovel for you.

–League options: We have two different types of leagues. IATF sanctioned leagues, and the Total Axe original “Michigan Style” leagues.

-Total Axe is offering a $5,000 bonus if a Total Axe thrower wins the International Axe Throwing Championship.

-Owner Chris Ross is constantly consulting with other axe throwing businesses, axe throwers, and freelance consultants to bring the customer the best experience, and be the best axe throwing venue.

-Total Axe has the most transparent pricing. We even did the comparison work for you, here.

So, you’re in charge of planning the bachelor party…

That’s a lot of responsibility, huh? The entire weekend falls on your shoulders. If it goes well, that’s great. But if it doesn’t? That’s between four and sixteen guys who blame you for a bad weekend. Plus, studies say that the success of a marriage can be determined by how fun the bachelor party was (this isn’t true). You don’t want to get blamed for a divorce, do you (you won’t)? So, we’re here for you (we are). We’re going to take a little weight off your shoulders, and make a little of the planning easier. Book a group reservation at Total Axe Throwing, and make sure the weekend starts off right.

First things first,

Total Axe is great for anyone and everyone. You won’t have to worry about making sure everyone in the party is having a good time—that’ll take care of itself. Bachelor parties are made up of all the groom’s best friends from across his life. This typically means it’s a pretty wide range of interests and skillsets. But this will be great for his Game of Thrones enthusiast friends from high school, his lacrosse friends from college, and his Wall Street friends from his fancy new job on Wall Street (God, what a sell-out). Everyone will be able to enjoy chucking axes, throwing stars, and tactical shovels at a target.

Plus,

You can bring food in, or get it delivered. Two birds with one stone. Order a pizza, grab some sodas (no alcohol is permitted in the building), and enjoy the event. Eating here while you throw will free up some time for the rest of the weekend. The crew can crush some pizzas and Diet Dr. Peppers as you throw, and then head out to the next thing. It doesn’t matter if you leave here and head to a bar, a casino, or a fight club. All that matters is that you won’t be hungry when you get there.

We’ll see you soon…

We know that there’s hundreds of things you could do to celebrate your best friend getting married. But we want to help you celebrate, and have the bachelor party of a lifetime. We promise to make the day special for him, and the rest of the crew. We’ll give everyone a quick safety lesson, teach you all how to properly throw an axe, and then we’ll even run a tournament for you. We’ll make sure the competitiveness in the group comes out, and someone walks out of the building a champion. It would be cool if it was the future groom that won the tournament. Which begs the question: would you let him win? Or would you ruin his day (and, again, the marriage) by taking the championship home with you? I guess there’s only one way to find out.

Yes. It is.
In theory, you could stop reading now, and book a group here at Total Axe.

But, if you don’t trust me (which is honestly pretty offensive considering I’ve never lied to you), and you’re still wondering “is axe throwing fun?” below is some evidence to support my claim.

Learn a new skill!

Learning a new skill is one of the most satisfying feelings, in my opinion. After a quick safety lesson with the coach that is assigned to your group, everyone will learn how to throw an axe. Since everyone’s bodies work a little bit differently, the coach will give everyone individual attention to get their throws into working condition. The sense of accomplishment you get upon hitting your first bullseye is unmatched. So, when your coach is giving you advice, make sure you listen!

All of your friends and family will be there!

Total Axe is proud to be a 13+ (with a guardian present) venue. This means that the whole family, and all the kid’s friends can come on in and learn how to safely throw axes. Learning a new skill is undoubtedly a good experience, but getting to share that experience with your friends and family, who you intrinsically trust (unlike me, who has done nothing wrong but can’t seem to get you to believe me), is like nothing else. Getting to look around and see everyone laughing and smiling as you do this new thing is exactly what “having fun” is all about.

Friendly competition!

After you learn how to throw, the matches begin. Match after match, until one of you is the ultimate champion of your group. If your group is all about the competition, that’s great! Or, if they just want to mess around and have fun, that’s awesome, too. Either way, there will be plenty of trash talk (gentle teasing), high stakes betting (loser cooks dinner), people showing their true colors (happy for you no matter what), and brawls in the street (brawls in the street). You’ll be surprised to see who might win! Sometimes it’s who you’d expect, and other times Aunt Delores really shows everyone whose boss.

Make new friends!

If you didn’t know, Total Axe has leagues! You’ll compete individually, but feel free to sign up with a few friends. If you end up joining our tight-knit community, you get to add a bunch of people to your social circle, hang out with them every week, and throw for a discounted price! Nothing seems better than that. Plus, if you get really into it, you’ll get to travel across the country (and even internationally) for major cash prize tournaments, where even more friends await. All fresh faces for you to either trust or not trust. It’s your call. Honestly, it doesn’t even bother me if you don’t trust me. You read this far so you must care about what I have to say just a little bit. I’m fine.

Is axe throwing fun?

So, again: Is axe throwing fun? Yes! It’s a great way to bond with your friends, and make new ones. Learn a new skill and get to compete with it. Still don’t trust me? I guess the only thing left then is for you to come on in, order a pizza, and get throwing!

Hey… It’s me, Representative from Total Axe Throwing in the Metro-Detroit Area. I just wanted to stop by and say that I noticed how long of a week you’ve been having. It isn’t easy, I’ll be the first to admit it. There’s so much to do! Go to work, do laundry, grocery shop, pick your kids up from soccer practice but then remember that they’re actually at karate tonight so you have to turn around and drive in the opposite direction only to find out that their “father” was already there to pick them up but he didn’t communicate that to you which is a whole separate issue but aggravating nonetheless. Like I said, long week. You deserve a night out.

Let Total Axe help! Whichever way you like to relax at the end of a hectic week, we’re here for you.

Stress Relief

Everyone needs a way to get all that pent up anger and frustration out. After a long week, all that stress can manifest physically. Some people box, and others throw rocks at geese. We here at Total Axe don’t recommend either of those things. Instead, why don’t you chuck some axes at wooden targets? That way no one gets hurt, and we don’t have to call animal control. There’s something so satisfying about getting to launch a piece of steel into a target, and having it stick. We’ll be the first to tell you that it doesn’t take a lot of strength to stick the axe, but it sure does feel good when you do.

Comradery

Or maybe you’re the type who unwinds best by hanging out with your closest friends. Well, we can help with that, too! Bring as many friends as you want, and have a night out. Order some pizza, have a little bit of friendly competition, and enjoy yourselves to the fullest. You’ll get to enjoy each other’s company all while doing something fun, new, and exciting! Just don’t invite Stacy. God knows she’ll ruin the whole thing by trying to steal someone’s husband, again.

A Whole New World

What better to forget about the problems of your week than to do something that has literally nothing to do with the aforementioned problems? Luckily for you, when you walk in the doors of Total Axe Throwing, all you have to worry about is bullseyes. We promise* that once you’re inside, you won’t have to worry about your quarterly budget analysis, your student loans, or if Mark and Stacy are happy together.

Join us for a night out!

It’s really easy to use the same few stress relief techniques to relax after a long week. We encourage you to do what you have to do to stay on top of your mental health. But if you’re looking for something new to relax with, stop on in. Also, we only kind of mentioned it earlier, but please do not throw rocks at geese. Throw axes at targets instead.

*We can’t actually make that promise. We don’t have control of your brain like that. We just hope that you won’t have to worry about all that stuff.

There’s an infinite amount of things you could do in the Metro Detroit area. You could drive go-karts, or go to a museum, or try to escape from a room, or even get 6 friends to pedal a moving bar about Detroit, dodging traffic and getting drunk. The possibilities are endless. So we figured we’d make it a little bit easier for you. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite Total Axe reviews to let you know that the question of “what should we do tonight?” is actually an easy one to answer.

Variety

“Tried axe throwing and throwing stars for the first time! Amanda was an amazing instructor and the experience definitely makes me want to come back for more!” –Aysia G, 5 Stars, Google Reviews

We hope to have you back, Aysia! We’re proud to offer a variety of throwing options, including axes, throwing stars, throwing cards, and tactical shovels!

Bachelor Party

“Never thought of going axe throwing until I had to plan my brothers “straight-edge” bachelor party back in May. Since then, I have been more than 5 times with each time bringing friends who have never thrown axes before who now can’t get enough. What really makes it a thrill to come back to over and over again is their staff. From the owner, down to the coaches and safety members, they truly make it a welcoming and fun place to throw axes.” –Matthew S, 5 Stars, Google Reviews

Thanks for celebrating with us, Matthew! We’re glad we could supply a fun time for your brother’s bachelor party. We hope the wedding was a success (because if it was, we will take credit for it)! If you know anyone looking, we also do bachelorette parties!

Tournaments

“I threw in the Last Days of Summer tournament and it may have been the best I’ve ever done! Great amenities, smooth coaching, quick and fun games, and all around great people to throw with! One of the best nights I have ever had for sure!” –Corben D, 5 Stars, Google Reviews

Great throwing, Corben! Congrats on going home a champion. Please give us a shout out if you ever get to throw axes on the Steve Harvey Show.

Coaches

“It was a really fun experience! We enjoyed every minute of it. Our coach was funny and very informative, I forgot her name (I’m really bad with names)!” –Jasmine S, 5 Stars, Google Reviews

It’s okay that you forgot your coach’s name, she’s not offended. If you need a refresher course on her name, just stop by!

Discounts

“AWESOME FIRST TIME AXE THROWING EXPERIENCE! Myself and a group of friends went to Total Axe for something new and fun to try together. Our instructor Brad was very funny, comforting, and made our experience one to remember. Being that it was our first time Brad showed us all that we needed to know to be safe and have fun at the same time! The pricing was great, and I even found a promo code online that took 20% off our entire bill! I definitely recommend Total Axe to anyone interested in trying something new. My friends and I can’t wait to go back!” –Ryann C, 5 Stars, Google Reviews

RYANN WE APPRECIATE YOUR ENTHUSIASM but we will need you to relax on telling everyone there’s promo codes. We have to make money somehow!

We hope that seeing a few Total Axe Reviews was helpful in planning your trip, your night out, or your family gathering. We’ll see you soon!

Planning a Bachelorette Party?

We can help! We run the gamut when it comes to events being held here—corporate events, birthday parties, holiday parties, the whole nine yards. So, a bachelorette party is right up our alley. So, what exactly does planning your bachelorette party at Total Axe get you?

What do you get?

After everyone gets checked in, we’ll waste no time in getting the event started. First, one of our professional coaches will give everyone a brief safety speech. Next, that same coach will teach everyone how to throw, giving you one-on-one instruction if necessary. Finally, your coach will run an entire tournament for your party, which is where the fun really starts. You and the girls will get to compete for the championship, and prove to each other who the best axe thrower is. By the end of your event, someone will be named champion, and gets to brag about their new crown for the rest of the weekend.

Why axe throwing though?

Well, as time goes on bachelorette parties become tougher and tougher to make unique. Destination getaways are expensive and hard to plan. Spa days are nice but they’ve been done before. And bar crawls have the chance to end with vomit on your new shoes—and we don’t want that. Instead, axe throwing offers something unique. This bachelorette party will stand out from the rest, securing your spot as best Maid of Honor/bridesmaid ever. Here, you’ll get to do something different, exciting, and most importantly, picture worthy. Or maybe there not being vomit on your shoes is the most important. It’s up in the air.

Still not convinced?

Not to mention, axe throwing is empowering. There’s something about tossing a chunk of steel and getting it to cut through a piece of wood that just feels good. The energy that you feel when you get your first, tenth, or hundredth axe to stick in the board is like none other. You can throw axes, throwing stars, and even a tactical shovel into a target, and experience the once-in-a-lifetime feeling of being an assassin. With axe throwing getting you feeling strong, energized, and powerful, it’ll be the perfect thing to send you into the rest of your bachelorette weekend.

Did we forget to mention?

It’s some good, wholesome fun. This is the type of bachelorette party that mom could come to and it not get too awkward. Put some decorations around your arena, bring some sashes and a crown, some food and soft drinks (no alcohol is allowed), and have the perfect bachelorette party. When the bride-to-be thinks back on getting married, it’ll be the axe throwing that she remembers. Not the ceremony. Or the flowers. Or the best man speech that was borderline inappropriate. But the axe throwing. Probably.

We’ve Made it to Our One Year Anniversary All Thanks to You!

From the bottom of our heart, thank you. We cannot even begin to explain how wild the first year of Total Axe has been. But we owe a successful first year to the community. Anyone who has come for walk-ins, a group event, been in a league (and especially anyone who has been in multiple leagues), and anyone who has come for a tournament—we owe it all to you. There have been some ups and some downs, but that’s expected. The good thing is that the ups significantly outweigh the downs. It’s all worth it. We’re going to keep being us, innovating when we can, and being a staple of the axe throwing and Metro Detroit communities for a long time to come.

As a token of our gratitude,

we’ll be offering free throwing on the evening of November 21^st (our actual one-year anniversary) to celebrate. Stop on in to get some free throws. Whether you’re practicing for league, trying it out for the first time, or getting back into the swing of things, we’ll be happy to have you. If you’re in the wonderful community we’ve built, bring a friend and stop by! Now might be a great chance to get a friend hooked. Or to finally introduce that special someone to your hobby.

Onward and Upward

We hope that through Total Axe, you’ve made some memories, made some friends, and had some fun. We expect to keep supplying you with those things for the long, foreseeable future. Since our inception a year ago, we’ve been focused on growing as a staple of the axe throwing world and growing as our own individual axe throwing community. That’s not going to change. We have every intention to keep pushing our throwers and the sport further with each new event, season, or ridiculous idea. The first Marathon Man League is in the books, and we’re already thinking about the next. We’ll keep hosting tournaments and events if people keep asking for them.

Finally,

Thanks again. Your continued support doesn’t go unnoticed. Until next time!

Our Start in the Sport of Axe Throwing

In terms of axe throwing, we haven’t been around very long. Axe throwing began thousands and thousands of years ago, most likely in a cave or wooded area with a lot of bears or stegosauruses or rabbits or whatever vicious animals were around during cavemen times. But, in the recent years, axe throwing has become quite a popular activity. There are hundreds of thousands of throwers worldwide, either throwing in their backyard, in formal leagues, or in cash prize tournaments. And we wanted in on that action. So, when we opened in 2018, we were excited to enter such a strong community and were even more excited to help the community grow.

So, we created our own style of target, our own game rules, and our own league format, all to give something new to the axe throwing community. We created this Michigan Style axe throwing format to introduce our portion of Michigan to the sport of axe throwing. Luckily for our portion of Michigan, we didn’t subject them to bears or stegosauruses or rabbits or whatever vicious animals were around during cavemen times like the original axe throwers had to deal with. Our own style of throwing was and is still good. We love what we created. But we wanted more.

Our Current Mission in the Sport of Axe Throwing

We didn’t know what the next step was to continue to help the sport, and our local community grow. We needed a way to push everything further, without losing who and what we are. So, decided to try to get Total Axe Throwing deeper into the community, so we can help push it forward. In October of 2019, Total Axe Throwing formally joined the International Axe Throwing Federation (IATF)—an organization with venues and throwers from across the world, all competing against each other in an international ranking system. This put us on the world’s stage. Which has been exemplified by having some of the world’s best throwers travel here just to compete in our venue. This allows our throwers to compete at a higher level, compete for cash prizes, and compete for international titles. If our throwers grow, they’ll put it right back into the sport.

But… that still doesn’t feel like enough. What’s next for us? For the sport?

Our Future in the Sport of Axe Throwing

Honestly, we don’t know. But we know that we’ll have a hand in it. Day-by-day, we’re trying to find something new to bring to the sport of axe throwing. Our Marathon Man Leagues, for example. A standard IATF league takes seven weeks to complete regular season play, and an eighth week for playoffs. But we decided to do it all in one night. 28 matches a person, plus a double elimination championship bracket to decide the winner. It’s a lot. It’s not nearly as insane as trying to fight off bears or stegosauruses or rabbits or whatever vicious animals were around during cavemen times with a throwing axe, but it is insane, nonetheless. Something like that is new. It hasn’t been done before. So, we’re happy to make it an option. We don’t know what’s next for us, or the sport. But we’ll let you know when we do.

New Memories

The family can only go bowling so many times. You’ve been to the same few amusement parks over and over again. There’s nothing interesting on TV. So how do you create some new, vibrant memories with the family? You go to a family friendly axe throwing venue of course! At Total Axe, you’ll get a coach to give you a quick safety speech, and explain how to throw, and then the fun starts. Everyone in the family will get individual attention, an explanation on how to play the game, and an exciting new hobby. As each throw goes by, everyone will be laughing, and enjoying this new thing you’re all doing together. From experience, the look on mom’s face when she hits her first bullseye is like nothing else.

Ages 13 and Up!

Most axe throwing venues have an alcohol element to the event. Be it BYO, or a full bar. But here, we’ve decided to leave the alcohol out. Because of this, we’re incredibly proud to boast that Total Axe Throwing can have guests as young as thirteen! This helps make sure that the entire family, young and old, can have a nice event together. Now, you don’t have to worry about leaving lil’ Jimmy at home, and creating all those fun memories without him. Jimmy can be right there with you the whole time, throwing, competing, and maybe even winning your family friendly event.

A Family Friendly Way to Compete

Sibling rivalries never end. Whether its grades in school, performance in sports, or salaries as adults—siblings are always competing. So, why not give them something brand new to compete in? There won’t be a shortage of intense moments as brother and sister go throw for throw into the championship. Not to mention all of the side bets, such as “whoever gets the next bullseye is dad’s favorite,” and “winner gets the entire estate when the time comes.” There will be plenty of laughs, trash talk, and negotiating over dad’s golf clubs during your group event!

A Great Photo Op

It’s undeniable that throwing an axe is cool. So of course you’ll be taking pictures and videos of this great event. Not only will you be showing off your axe throwing skills during the event, you’ll be able to randomly text the rest of the family the pictures you took, just to remind them how good you were. Plus, the video of mom beating dad during playoffs will be the talk of the town (on Facebook). All the comments from Aunt Ethel, your ex-girlfriend’s mom who you’re still friends with, and Mike (who isn’t really your cousin but you call him your cousin anyway) will be great to read as you reminisce on such a fun time.

It’s pure, family friendly, fun.

What this all boils down to, is spending time with the family. It’s nice to get out and do something every once in a while. But, we know how tough it is to get everyone’s schedules aligned. That’s why when you do have the time together, you definitely don’t want to waste it. So, pick a day, come on in, and bond with us.

Logistically, what is an axe throwing league?

At Total Axe, we offer two different types of league. Our Michigan Style league, that originated here at Total Axe, and our International Axe Throwing Federation sanctioned league, which has competitors across the world. Regardless of the style of league (which you can find more information on here), they both boil down to the same concept. Once a week for seven to eight weeks, you’ll throw several matches against the rest of the competitors in the league. On the last week, the top competitors will compete for the league championship, which comes with a trophy and gift card.

But, actually, what is an axe throwing league?

A community. A group of people spending a night of their week together for two months tends to breed friendship. So imagine what happens when people keep signing up, league after league? They become a little family. Total Axe Throwing really prides itself in the community we have, and how tight-knit our leagues have become. Axe throwing is great—we all agree on that. But it isn’t really the selling point. Axe throwing is really just something to do, while making and hanging out with friends.

But… What if I’ve never thrown in an axe throwing league?

That’s perfect! We’ll make sure you get taken care of at the start—we won’t throw you directly into the fire. We’ll give you a throwing lesson, and teach you the rules of the game. Not to mention that our more veteran throwers will be eager to help you out, show you the ropes, and make you feel at home. Plus, there’s a half hour of practice before every league night, so you’ll have time to get some reps in before wins and losses are on the line. In addition to this, if you’re in a league, you get discounted rates on walk-ins and group events. So there will be plenty of opportunities to practice.

So… I’m gonna join an axe throwing league?

Yes. At this point, this far into the blog post, you’re too deep in to just back out all willy-nilly. We understand how nervous that might make you, however. So, we have good news. If you don’t like the axe throwing league after the first week, we’ll be happy to give you your money back. No harm, no foul. We don’t want anyone to feel obligated to be here because they spent money on it. Above all else, we just want you to have fun with friends.

Am I going to have fun in the axe throwing league?

Yes. We’ll see you soon.