Throwlike

Throwlike is an adjective used in biomechanics, animation, and robotics to describe a movement or motion pattern that resembles the act of throwing, without necessarily releasing a projectile. It denotes the characteristic sequence of kinetic events: a preparatory wind-up, rapid extension of the arm, and forward acceleration.

Common features include hip and trunk rotation, shoulder flexion and external rotation, elbow extension, and wrist pronation. The motion is often analyzed in terms of timing (coordination of proximal segments with distal limb), angular velocities, and release timing when a ball or object is actually projected. When no object is released, the motion is referred to as throwlike rather than a throw.

In sports science, throwlike analyses help differentiate actual throwing from similar tossing motions and are used to study technique and injury risk. In animation and robotics, throwlike kinematics can inform synthetic motion generation to produce believable throwing or throwing-like actions, or to design actuated gripper motions that mimic throwing.

Throwlike should not be confused with a true throw; the defining criterion is resemblance of the motion pattern to throwing rather than the act of releasing a projectile. Variants include overhand-like, sidearm-like, and underhand-like throw patterns, depending on the trajectory and joint sequencing.