How to Throw a Reverse Ninja

What? Alright the title of this is different but this pitch is awesome!

Let me tell you what the “reverse ninja” really is and what it does to hitters.

First of all, a lot of people in the baseball world tell their pitchers when they throw a curve to “karate chop” the ball.

This gets very confusing for young pitchers because they literally think that is what they have to do. 9 times out of 10 they throw it wrong because they change their natural arm slot to try and show their karate skills when pitching.

If you think about it, when throwing a curve, your wrist and forearm angle are set up like the karate chop, you just don’t want to change your arm slot, wrap or twist your wrist when you throw it.

When you throw your circle change you want to throw the actually circle at the catcher. (the circle you make with your thumb and index finger)

If you think of where your wrist is at release of the baseball when throwing the C or circle change it is “reverse” of the curveball. You may say its a “reverse karate chop” motion, but reverse ninja just sound cool. Especially when someone from the stands yells “throw the reverse ninja” and the batter whiffs.

So what is the reverse ninja? Its just another way to say you throw a Circle or a C change. In fact, the circle change is just another way to throw a screwball. Your wrist and forearm angle are the same on both pitches.

This pitch is a nasty pitch that hitters dread. When thrown correctly you’ll see some knees buckle, its got some crazy downward movement.

Why do we share this with you today?

Just to reiterate that being successful (imparting rotation on the ball) throwing another pitch has to do with where your wrist and forearm angle are at release of the baseball. Don’t make throwing a curve or a “reverse ninja” more complex than it really is.

In fact, the most common mistake most pitchers make when they learn another pitch is try to force the rotation of the ball. This, as you can imagine, makes throwing the pitch more difficult than it really is.

If you’re serious about learning how to throw different pitches while staying healthy, we highly recommend you order our pitching grips/pitching workouts DVD.