The Knife Thrower Next Door

Published on Fri, Nov 8, 2013 (9:33 a.m.)

Submitted by Blade Aces / Tribal Advantage Systems International

Melody Joy 'Montana Hale' Cuenca is the #1 adult female knife thrower in the world. As a 10 year veteran of the International Knife Throwers' Hall of Fame, this three-time inducted member recently won the Walk Across Texas (accuracy throwing) at the 2013 IKTHOF Championships on Nov 1-3, 2013 in Blanco, Texas and tied the world record once held by 'Top Shot' host, Todd 'Jack Dagger' Abrams. Although her score was not enough to retain her Speed Throw title from last year, her blazingly fast 23 knives in 20 seconds garnered her a second place award and the respect of everyone in the knife throwing community worldwide.
Melody's resume reads like a Who's Who of Extremely Dangerous people. She graduated from the world famous United Stuntman's Association program in 2002 learning armed & unarmed stage combat, footfalls, stair falls, air ram, precision driving, horse falls, rock climbing, fire burns, speed drops, wire work, rappelling and high falls. From there, she went on to work at several venues including the Ponderosa Ranch, Helldorado, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, WWAC Wild West Show and the Gene Autry Music & Poetry Festival as a gun spinner and walkabout western character. Her passion for stunt training took her to more training in air rams, high falls and fire burns at the Women in Film Stunt clinics and the Royal Champion Equestrian riding center for horseback riding and horse falls.
In 2011, Melody teamed up with Dan Mink of the Rhinestone Roper Show to perform all over the country as part of a western specialty act. This led to their electrifying performance on ABC's 'America's Got Talent' which brought them all the way to the quarter finals. Throughout all this, Melody continued to compete in nearly every annual IKTHOF Championship which eventually resulted in her induction three separate times into the Hall of Fame. She has appeared in magazine articles about knife throwing from all over the world including France and England. In addition, since her competition scores are not separated from the men's division, she has ranked as an expert two years in a row in overall competition, and is a certified Master Knife Instructor by the IKTHOF.
Melody is married to Dr. Jon 'TJ Quicksilver' Cuenca, a level 18 master of the Filipino Martial Art called Ocho Kantos Kali, stuntman and actor. Together they own and operate Tribal Advantage Systems International, a leadership development school that uses martial arts, projectile sports (like knife throwing) and Parkour to build confidence, self-reliance and leadership skills in men, women and children. Their motto, "Empowering individuals to take responsibility for their own defense" embodies their personal principle of advancement through personal achievement. It is their hope that people will see the art of knife throwing for what it truly is - a challenging sport that requires incredible concentration, dedication and skill and is wholly achievable by anyone regardless of gender. Their website, Blade Aces.com was created to promote the sport of knife, tomahawk and primitive weapon throwing as well as a warrior arts preservation organization. Their company websites are http://tribaladvantage.com and http://bladeaces.com.
International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame website: http://ikthof.com