I hadn't noticed that my dwarf had gotten mighty strength while going around and causing all civilized creatures (other than dwarves) to spontaneously combust and explode. (modded it so elves, humans, goblins and kobolds had [SEVERONBREAKS] and [HOMEOTHERM:40000] so they would instantly explode like that nuclear catsplosion video. I was role playing it as a curse of some sort.)
So my dwarf had actually gotten tons of xp by just walking around in travel mode and fighting predator ambushes. Turns out the world had a high savage rating which increased the amount and frequency of ambushes. So i was ambushed by wolves right next to a pond which had a one tile 'island' in the middle, so i swam to it to get some respite. I thought i'd throw some dirt at the wolves to soften them up so i could kill them all with my axe. I got an unexpected effect instead.
The spinning silt hits the Wolf in the lower body!
It is battered!
The Wolf is propelled away by the blow!
The Wolf has collided with an obstacle!
The Wolf has died after colliding with an obstacle.
I then gave the rest of the wolves similar treatment. Didn't even get to hit any of them with my axe. It was funny seeing wolves flying all over the place.
I had absolutely no throwing skill. I guess strength really does affect throwing damage.