Why Practice?

I found the series of articles a good read and very informative. I have integrated some of thees tips into my practice routine and I hope to see some results (only league & tourney play will tell). So I will keep you posted.

Why Practice?
Toincrease our ability for upcoming competitive situations and simply get better. Throwing darts can be very enjoyable in a completely non-competitive way. It can be relaxing or it can be stimulating.

Some important practice tips:
You must decide on the mechanics that suit you, and identify any bad habits you may already have.

Educate(or re-educate) yourself about good dart mechanics. If you have access to video of pro-darts then try to identify the things that all pro-dart strokes have in common

Reference sources such as books and instructional videos can also be helpful ...consult several sources and identify the constants.

Find a comfortable, well balanced stance - not leaning over too far . The orientation of the feet to the oche is not important as long as you are consistent. Your stance should be erect and the only movement should be in your forearm and hand.

The elbow should be extended fully towards the target. Really extend and stretch the elbow out. It may feel unnatural at first, but it is an excellent habit to develop.

The dart should be brought back to the dominant eye (or between the eyes). At this point your arm has effectively become a catapult and all that remains is to move your arm forward and release the dart.

At the completion of your throw, your arm should be fully extended as though you were pointing at the board.

The grip should be natural and feel comfortable.

The grip is in part determined by the equipment that is used. A good grip for a short fat dart is not going to be a good grip for a long skinny dart.

Never aim high or low to compensate for your throw. That is a bad habit. Just work hard until the darts go where you aim them.

Maybe the most important ingredient for success is your frame of mind.You want to be focused and alert, yet calm.

This is just a bit of the important and helpful information about practice that can be found in John Part's series of articles at:
http://www.planetdarts.co.uk once you are at the site look for Part's Darts.

Some suggestions for practice games:

10 Bulls: One person /team throws (3 darts per turn) at bull's-eyes until you hit 10 of them, while your opponent throws at 20's (or any number) to score points. The people scoring points could only count those points in a turn that were greater than 40, for example, three single 20's equals a combined total of 60 points, but only 20 points are recorded as the first 40 points did not count. This makes it a little more challenging for the person shooting to score points. This process continues until the person shooting the bulls hits 10 of them. Once this is achieved, you switch and you start shooting for scores and your opponent shoots to get 10 bulls. Once both sides have had their turn shooting for scores and shooting for 10 bulls the game is over. The one who scores the most total points wins!

101:Can be played straight on or double on. Counting down to “0” doubling out. Good for working on outs, and doubles.

Legs: Winner of the cork throws three darts adding up their score. Player 2 has to beat that score (ties do not count). If they beat the score, Player 3 has to beat that score. Not beating the score equals a mark and the next person has to beat whatever it was they hit. Five marks and you're out of the game.


I'm sure you will find that some pros will have some variations on some of thees tips, but I hope you find them helpful and read more of the series of articles.

Most of the games suggested here have been around for sometime, but I think they are fun and a change from the routine. Enjoy!

D.T.