[rjb]

Hello again!

Thank you for cleaning up the text. I certainly don’t mind. Feel free to do so again anytime.

And yes, throwing the dart through the target is an excellent idea – kind of along the lines of the fastest route between two points is a straight line. At times I have even tried to envision a tunnel effect from release point directly into the target. It appears we’re of the same opinion that we do not recommend a looping or floating trajectory.

And I guess I could have started dart tips with some more fundamental things like the stance. If right handed, stand with your right leg forward. In darts you do not step into your throw like in baseball. Also the right leg should be straight or locked (no knee bend). You want to try to eliminate bouncing or other unstable moves. The hope is to limit the moving parts to only your arm (and yes – your fingers). With fewer movements, fewer things can go wrong (at least that’s my opinion).

Now about the grip, well, this is my most troublesome component. I grip with my index finger, middle finger, and my thumb. All three are bent. The thumb and middle finger are basically on the left and right sides of the dart (pinching it). The index finger is above or on top of the dart. Oh and I hold the dart closer to the back of the barrel (near the feathers). I try to have equal pressure on all three fingers. But for some reason the index finger tends to get less grip or pressure when I throw poorly. I have to admit the grip is difficult for me to replicate time and time again. This leads to missed darts more than any other action in my throw. My arm is likely to swing very similarly each throw but any slight deviation on grip could yield a poor dart. Oh well, enough of my difficulties…

What I like to recommend for beginners is to think vertically while aligning and throwing. Consider a good throw as any three darts that end up in a vertical line in the board. An extreme vertical line example is the 20, cork, and 3 vertically aligned arrangement. If you can start to throw in vertical lines, that eliminates one of the two variables. After getting consistent with vertical efforts, I then suggest moving into thinking horizontally to find the right height to release your dart. Finally I hope to merge both into the right path. Mongoose, do you tend to keep vertical or horizontal alignment in mind? Or have both been ingrained into your throw that you no longer have to think about them? : - )

Before I forget to mention this one, another tip is to step back an inch or so from the line to get your dart to hit a lower target. If, for whatever reason, you are consistently hitting higher than your intended target, you might try moving back a little from the line – instead of altering your throw. It’s kind of a quick fix.

Another unrelated tip is to aim for a higher target if you are nervous. I suggest this because you are likely to short arm it or be more tentative because you are not relaxed. If you are not relaxed you won’t have your normal fluid motion.

And last time I mentioned keeping your elbow tucked in while addressing the dart to the board. One way to get that alignment is to point the dart tip toward your right eye. Notice as you do so the elbow will automatically come in nicely. You will also notice that you have to cock your wrist to get the point in a direct flat line with your eye. Naturally you then have to turn the dart to the board before your throw. When you do, that’s roughly my starting position – at least I hope that all makes sense.

And for now, just one more tip – when you practice, do not do the following. Throw three darts, sit down, have a drink, wait 5 or so minutes, and then get up and throw three more darts into the board, sit down, etc. Meaning, do not think about trying to simulate what happens when you throw in your house league (simulating having to wait for a bunch of other shooters before your next throw). When you practice, throw and throw and throw. I don’t even turn around on my way back from the board. My practice routine has been characterized as thump, thump, thump, three steps back, thump, thump, thump. The goal of practice is to develop sound repetitive actions that will increase your confidence and allow you to replicate it when needed. Oh I guess that leads me to one more tip. When you throw in your league, feel free to do a mock first throw without having the dart in your hand. Think of it as a practice throw like a practice golf swing before the real one. I do this before each round – not before each of the three darts – just before the first one. It helps to remind me of what I hope to do on the first dart. To be honest, I haven’t ever seen anyone do this. But I like it. Give it a try.