I am becoming close to settling on key aspects of my stance following sustained bouts of filming my own throw. I have also been watching John Lowe and Phil Taylor videos regularly to try and burn into my brain the image of a good solid stance. There is a stillness in both of these players' setups before throwing that leads me to believe they are the ideal models for angled foot and 90 degrees front foot stances respectively.
I am still undecided on overall height and the degree of twist and lean towards the shoulder but I have settled on a simple mantra for oche postion which is 'stand right, steer left.' When I checked my overall oche position a while back using a homemade 'sight-right' (for the original sight right see http://www.winmau.com/det/909/sightright/) I discovered that for a central viewing position I need to stand a little right of centre bull, but at first this seemed counter intuitive. I have always suffered from darts drifting to the left so I thought that if I stood right and threw to the left it would exacerbate this phenomenon. The mistake I was making was one of perception because if I stand slightly right I think I am looking leftwards at the middle of the board but in fact I am facing it. This subtle shift in perception has allowed me to retrain my angles a little and be more comfortable with where exactly I am standing and in order to throw straight.
I have identified that a likely factor in darts drifting to the left is a slight twist or jerk in my abdominal muscles and have been trying subtle stance variations to eliminate this. On one night this week I had good results steering my throw slightly to the right by shifting my back foot out to the left a little: I threw straight darts including 5mins with a 51+ scoring average with no significant drifting. My next experiment will be to try and keep my weight centered over my front leg a little more to see if this resists body twist and wobble on the oche. I am inclining towards a relaxed oche stance instead of forcing a more upright one, so I continue to use this method without exaggerating the sunken posture too much and scrunching the muscles in my lower back. I am also pleased to report I threw another 180 the other day, which makes 2 in January so far! I threw 3x180s in total last year so I am hopeful that this is an indicator things are heading in the right direction.
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
Wednesday, 20 January 2016
Variables
There are many tiny variables in a dart throw which have an exponential effect on the trajectory of the arrow. A hint of drift as it leaves the hand for example can easily send the dart skewing into the 5 or worse still the 12 bed instead of a straight 20. It is therefore important to eliminate all stray movement in the throw and in a recent video of my own throw I noted a tiny lurch forwards every now and again.
To tackle the problem of body and head movement I have been altering one variable in my stance every session and recording videos of straight throwing. I then watch back the footage and make notes on stray movements which work against a smooth consistent throw. To begin with I tried sinking into my stance a little before throwing which felt solid straight away. I even threw a maximum 180 shortly after changing to this stance from my former more upright position.
As anyone who has experimented with alterations to their throw knows that this one moment of darting perfection was more than likely the result of a short term increase in concentration than a product of the stance, so it will take further research before I am totally confident in how I hold my body ready to throw. In a subsequent session I then varied this stance by widening my feet placement to create a more stable platform but in turn this altered my entire balance and orientation, so it felt too different to be a simple variation on the one basic stance. Interaction of the variables in a darts throw is the root cause of the frustration we all experience when trying to put it all together and make improvements to our game.
What I have discovered is that if I compare my most recent video with earlier takes I am definitely becoming more stable in the upper body but there is still work to be done because my new stance is hard on my lower back. Whilst a twist in the body lines up the arm nicely with the middle of the board it forces my head into a slight lean towards my shoulder which I expect is not great for back pain in the long run either. The overall lower height of the stance also leaves me feeling as though I have to tilt my head up to look at the treble 20, but then in between each throw my head will sink back down a little. I have also learned that a slight twist in my lower abdomen is often the cause of drift into the 5 bed aka the dreaded 'Mardle drift.' The other recurring errors I make are an overly paused and exaggerated draw back in the throw which leads to an odd follow through and usually a dart that loops too high over double top. I have also noticed a deterioration in the quality of my stance over time which manifests itself in more body wobble and an indecisive setting of the aim point before throwing. This last observation explains how I can start throwing a 501 leg with promising straight darts, deteriorate a little with a couple of 45s and then completely slide into uncontrollable wild throwing and 22s when the total creeps down below 200. I used to think that this problem was a mental one and that I could concentrate my way out if, or think positive and throw positive. I am now of the opinion that this is a declining stance issue because my oche position it is not solid and repeatable. Furthermore wild darts are the result of a pull back and follow through issue that I intend to focus on once my stance is improved.
In my quest to work on one variable per practice session I am surely in this for the long haul and it is very difficult to watch and assess my own footage whilst remaining focused on one aspect of the throw. My mind is very quick to forget that I am watching like a hawk for head bobbing for example and I start thinking about the angle of setup, or follow through hand positions for example. This tendency for the mind to flit about and latch onto new variables, combined with the interaction of the variables is surely the reason why so many darters go slightly mad or lose focus and do not progress. I am determined to be methodical in the deconstruction of my throw because I have spent years developing a semi-useful dart throw that is all too easily ruined by a wobble on release, a pause on drawback, or an odd follow through. I am keen to move onto experiments with other aspects of the throw but the next variable I will work on will be the height of throw again: I am not totally convinced by the sunken stance and I think that if I can use the best features of this method in a more upright stance I will lessen the pressure on my lower back and give myself a more repeatable throw that I can settle into more easily on the oche.
To tackle the problem of body and head movement I have been altering one variable in my stance every session and recording videos of straight throwing. I then watch back the footage and make notes on stray movements which work against a smooth consistent throw. To begin with I tried sinking into my stance a little before throwing which felt solid straight away. I even threw a maximum 180 shortly after changing to this stance from my former more upright position.
As anyone who has experimented with alterations to their throw knows that this one moment of darting perfection was more than likely the result of a short term increase in concentration than a product of the stance, so it will take further research before I am totally confident in how I hold my body ready to throw. In a subsequent session I then varied this stance by widening my feet placement to create a more stable platform but in turn this altered my entire balance and orientation, so it felt too different to be a simple variation on the one basic stance. Interaction of the variables in a darts throw is the root cause of the frustration we all experience when trying to put it all together and make improvements to our game.
What I have discovered is that if I compare my most recent video with earlier takes I am definitely becoming more stable in the upper body but there is still work to be done because my new stance is hard on my lower back. Whilst a twist in the body lines up the arm nicely with the middle of the board it forces my head into a slight lean towards my shoulder which I expect is not great for back pain in the long run either. The overall lower height of the stance also leaves me feeling as though I have to tilt my head up to look at the treble 20, but then in between each throw my head will sink back down a little. I have also learned that a slight twist in my lower abdomen is often the cause of drift into the 5 bed aka the dreaded 'Mardle drift.' The other recurring errors I make are an overly paused and exaggerated draw back in the throw which leads to an odd follow through and usually a dart that loops too high over double top. I have also noticed a deterioration in the quality of my stance over time which manifests itself in more body wobble and an indecisive setting of the aim point before throwing. This last observation explains how I can start throwing a 501 leg with promising straight darts, deteriorate a little with a couple of 45s and then completely slide into uncontrollable wild throwing and 22s when the total creeps down below 200. I used to think that this problem was a mental one and that I could concentrate my way out if, or think positive and throw positive. I am now of the opinion that this is a declining stance issue because my oche position it is not solid and repeatable. Furthermore wild darts are the result of a pull back and follow through issue that I intend to focus on once my stance is improved.
In my quest to work on one variable per practice session I am surely in this for the long haul and it is very difficult to watch and assess my own footage whilst remaining focused on one aspect of the throw. My mind is very quick to forget that I am watching like a hawk for head bobbing for example and I start thinking about the angle of setup, or follow through hand positions for example. This tendency for the mind to flit about and latch onto new variables, combined with the interaction of the variables is surely the reason why so many darters go slightly mad or lose focus and do not progress. I am determined to be methodical in the deconstruction of my throw because I have spent years developing a semi-useful dart throw that is all too easily ruined by a wobble on release, a pause on drawback, or an odd follow through. I am keen to move onto experiments with other aspects of the throw but the next variable I will work on will be the height of throw again: I am not totally convinced by the sunken stance and I think that if I can use the best features of this method in a more upright stance I will lessen the pressure on my lower back and give myself a more repeatable throw that I can settle into more easily on the oche.
Sunday, 17 January 2016
Stance variations post filming
I have spent the weekend investigating slight variations to my stance with the intention of providing a more solid platform for throwing without any body movement. Today I watched back several clips and was pleased to note I am able to limit the forward rocking most of the time, by setting a more upright and yet relaxed stance to begin with. The trouble I have had with this stance however is that I am very inaccurate with my throwing in this position and my weight does not feel balanced between both feet or from side to side. I feel a slight sideways wobble when setting up for the throw that is completely off putting.
I decided to investigate a couple of variations to the idea of a sunk-back stance and was immediately more successful with a Van Gerwen-esque stance. I approach the oche and sight the target with a slight lean forward then let my torso sink downwards and settle as I simultaneously lift my chin to look up at the target. I warmed down using this new method and comfortably scored to my usual average with some attractive grouping of the darts. In my next round of filming I will check back to see if this throw does in fact limit lurching in the body and that these positive results were not just variance or the short term positive effects of wishful thinking. I was pleased to find that this stance automatically lines up the top of my my shoulder with the dart so I can measure the drawback to the same place in a fairly straight line. It is one of my short term performance targets to gain a more consistent and smooth drawback so if I persist with this method it may solve more than one issue with my throw.
The downsides of a more sunken stance are that double top feels a mile away at the moment and in the past I suspected that this stance also increased lower back pain. When I used to use this stance as my default method it was when I also twisted the front foot completely sideways to the oche which I do not do any more. I am hopeful that the stance will hurt less with a more angled John Lowe style front foot as there will be less torsion in the leg and lower back.
I decided to investigate a couple of variations to the idea of a sunk-back stance and was immediately more successful with a Van Gerwen-esque stance. I approach the oche and sight the target with a slight lean forward then let my torso sink downwards and settle as I simultaneously lift my chin to look up at the target. I warmed down using this new method and comfortably scored to my usual average with some attractive grouping of the darts. In my next round of filming I will check back to see if this throw does in fact limit lurching in the body and that these positive results were not just variance or the short term positive effects of wishful thinking. I was pleased to find that this stance automatically lines up the top of my my shoulder with the dart so I can measure the drawback to the same place in a fairly straight line. It is one of my short term performance targets to gain a more consistent and smooth drawback so if I persist with this method it may solve more than one issue with my throw.
The downsides of a more sunken stance are that double top feels a mile away at the moment and in the past I suspected that this stance also increased lower back pain. When I used to use this stance as my default method it was when I also twisted the front foot completely sideways to the oche which I do not do any more. I am hopeful that the stance will hurt less with a more angled John Lowe style front foot as there will be less torsion in the leg and lower back.
Saturday, 16 January 2016
Filming straight throws and fine tuning
Today I worked on the pure mechanics of straight throwing and decided to film myself again as the instant feedback this provides should in theory override any imaginative and spontaneous ideas I might have about how to modify my throw. It is all too easy to throw tonnes of shots at the 20 bed and lose track of what or how you are practicing and I need to make better use of time, not least of all because I am a long term sufferer of both rsi, back pain and sciatica.
I set about a three part practice session: part one concentrating on only one aspect of the throw at a piece of paper on the board with my performance target written on it; part two was to video a few minutes of straight throwing at the fat 20 bed and part three analysis and note taking. In a previous recording of my own throw I had diagnosed problems with drawing back the dart too far and pausing before release so I started with the idea of drawing back less far and releasing in one smooth movement.
After I had watched my first playback I noticed that my worst throws were the result of slight body movement and that my slightly sketchy drawback was present in both my best and worst visits to the board. The logical conclusion I drew from this (albeit small) sample size is that my drawback may be problematic but if I cannot keep my body still I will be fighting against drifting darts forever more. I also noticed that my chin is not pointing upward and therefore sometimes the dart does not sit below my eye line. I almost anticipate the throw with a lean forward and slight head tilt downwards as I move through the shot which is subtle but may well be the root cause of issues with accuracy in the vertical plane as well.
I decided on a second round of practice to lean slightly less far forward and in fact to sink back a little in my stance so that if I relax my torso after the first dart, my body will remain in the same place for the second and third. I figured that a slightly sunk back and yet still upright stance would provide a little more resistance to the forward momentum of throwing than the leaning method. I videod a second round of throwing and was pleased to note that out of all the throws I made in a few minutes around 7 were quite smooth with no overly-paused drawback and I even hit a 140 with my new sunk back stance. Both of these features represent improvement in my throw but the jury is out on whether the stance it is ultimately limiting sideways drift in the dart. I will proceed with the new stance method in my next practice sessions as it takes some of the tension out of my setup and I think a relaxed throw will be a smoother throw with hopefully less body movement.
I set about a three part practice session: part one concentrating on only one aspect of the throw at a piece of paper on the board with my performance target written on it; part two was to video a few minutes of straight throwing at the fat 20 bed and part three analysis and note taking. In a previous recording of my own throw I had diagnosed problems with drawing back the dart too far and pausing before release so I started with the idea of drawing back less far and releasing in one smooth movement.
After I had watched my first playback I noticed that my worst throws were the result of slight body movement and that my slightly sketchy drawback was present in both my best and worst visits to the board. The logical conclusion I drew from this (albeit small) sample size is that my drawback may be problematic but if I cannot keep my body still I will be fighting against drifting darts forever more. I also noticed that my chin is not pointing upward and therefore sometimes the dart does not sit below my eye line. I almost anticipate the throw with a lean forward and slight head tilt downwards as I move through the shot which is subtle but may well be the root cause of issues with accuracy in the vertical plane as well.
I decided on a second round of practice to lean slightly less far forward and in fact to sink back a little in my stance so that if I relax my torso after the first dart, my body will remain in the same place for the second and third. I figured that a slightly sunk back and yet still upright stance would provide a little more resistance to the forward momentum of throwing than the leaning method. I videod a second round of throwing and was pleased to note that out of all the throws I made in a few minutes around 7 were quite smooth with no overly-paused drawback and I even hit a 140 with my new sunk back stance. Both of these features represent improvement in my throw but the jury is out on whether the stance it is ultimately limiting sideways drift in the dart. I will proceed with the new stance method in my next practice sessions as it takes some of the tension out of my setup and I think a relaxed throw will be a smoother throw with hopefully less body movement.
Post match analysis
Last night I got together with quite a few darting friends for a game because we are interested in regular competitive play again, perhaps even reforming our old team. My last post culminated in a to-do list I was aiming for in terms of conduct and mood control. I decided not to set myself performance targets as I have over-practiced darts of late and I felt like my arrows would most likely flow if I took my mind off technique.
I was expecting around 4 darters on the night but even with a last minute change of venue 8 players in all turned up. Half were from our old team and half partners and friends so we settled into rounds of doubles 301 SIDO to get warmed up. My first target was to avoid over-anxiousness but as it happens I did not have time to become too introspective and worry about the finer points of my throw. When I was not throwing I was occupied chatting, buying drinks, wrestling with the scoring machine and greeting new players as they arrived. The first few legs flew by and after my customary awful first leg I put together a few unspectacular but fairly steady rounds including a solid finish in one leg without messing around. If I reflect back on my personal targets I definitely failed when it came to resting my eyes and mind between shots. Big tv screens, quiz night on the mic, a crowded oche and loads of banter from my darting friends meant the classic sporting 'focus' was definitely not happening!
The subject of gamesmanship is one that routinely comes up in darts and with good reason. The game is played in the pub, which sells alcohol, which removes inhibitions, which loosens gobs! I knew with the old team getting together there would be some trash talking, especially since I know these players from the punk rock scene which is a breeding ground for hecklers. I also invited a new player who is a grand master of hissing comments designed to unsettle you both on and off shot. I decided in advance that I would laugh off gamesmanship attempts and also to butt out of other people's games and avoid heckling myself. I was fairly successful ignoring the odd comment aimed my way, but at a couple of points found myself borderline needling other players and may have caused a bit of grumbling. In some spots even asking a question such as "what (shot) are you on?" was enough to illicit a bout of chuntering. With so many players all watching at once the atmosphere was quite tense and gladiatorial but I did not do or say anything particularly out of order and even tried to talk one player down from the ledge when darts tilt sent him to a dark place. In a climactic game of halve it I became the Peter Manley of the night after showboating a 140 to shoot ahead, so I was pretty much the target of heckling rather than the instigator which suits me anyway.
With so many new and some inexperienced darters toeing the oche I was mindful to compliment good throws and even though I am often accused of a sarcastic tone of voice I was able to do my bit to build some team spirit. There was in fact quite a bit to get excited about if we are going to form a regular team and compete in the area: steady scoring from at least 2 players who have clearly benefited from recent practice, an 82 finish, 2 wired tonne plus finish attempts, 2 or 3 clinical finishes from a recovering dartitis suffer, and a cool finish from an old friend on double 13 to close a leg in which I unwisely gave the throw away Phil Taylor style! For my part I hit a couple of tonnes early doors, a couple of decent finishes and held my own overall. My throw however was unpredictable and felt disjointed and jerky most of the time, so for some reason I kept shuffling about on the oche to try and fix things. When I get back on the practice board I am going to fix my oche position again, and go back to working on rhythm and straight throwing. A continual niggle has been the aim point as well so I will refocus on how I line up the barrel with the target and try to come up with a consistent method that works.
I was expecting around 4 darters on the night but even with a last minute change of venue 8 players in all turned up. Half were from our old team and half partners and friends so we settled into rounds of doubles 301 SIDO to get warmed up. My first target was to avoid over-anxiousness but as it happens I did not have time to become too introspective and worry about the finer points of my throw. When I was not throwing I was occupied chatting, buying drinks, wrestling with the scoring machine and greeting new players as they arrived. The first few legs flew by and after my customary awful first leg I put together a few unspectacular but fairly steady rounds including a solid finish in one leg without messing around. If I reflect back on my personal targets I definitely failed when it came to resting my eyes and mind between shots. Big tv screens, quiz night on the mic, a crowded oche and loads of banter from my darting friends meant the classic sporting 'focus' was definitely not happening!
The subject of gamesmanship is one that routinely comes up in darts and with good reason. The game is played in the pub, which sells alcohol, which removes inhibitions, which loosens gobs! I knew with the old team getting together there would be some trash talking, especially since I know these players from the punk rock scene which is a breeding ground for hecklers. I also invited a new player who is a grand master of hissing comments designed to unsettle you both on and off shot. I decided in advance that I would laugh off gamesmanship attempts and also to butt out of other people's games and avoid heckling myself. I was fairly successful ignoring the odd comment aimed my way, but at a couple of points found myself borderline needling other players and may have caused a bit of grumbling. In some spots even asking a question such as "what (shot) are you on?" was enough to illicit a bout of chuntering. With so many players all watching at once the atmosphere was quite tense and gladiatorial but I did not do or say anything particularly out of order and even tried to talk one player down from the ledge when darts tilt sent him to a dark place. In a climactic game of halve it I became the Peter Manley of the night after showboating a 140 to shoot ahead, so I was pretty much the target of heckling rather than the instigator which suits me anyway.
With so many new and some inexperienced darters toeing the oche I was mindful to compliment good throws and even though I am often accused of a sarcastic tone of voice I was able to do my bit to build some team spirit. There was in fact quite a bit to get excited about if we are going to form a regular team and compete in the area: steady scoring from at least 2 players who have clearly benefited from recent practice, an 82 finish, 2 wired tonne plus finish attempts, 2 or 3 clinical finishes from a recovering dartitis suffer, and a cool finish from an old friend on double 13 to close a leg in which I unwisely gave the throw away Phil Taylor style! For my part I hit a couple of tonnes early doors, a couple of decent finishes and held my own overall. My throw however was unpredictable and felt disjointed and jerky most of the time, so for some reason I kept shuffling about on the oche to try and fix things. When I get back on the practice board I am going to fix my oche position again, and go back to working on rhythm and straight throwing. A continual niggle has been the aim point as well so I will refocus on how I line up the barrel with the target and try to come up with a consistent method that works.
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
Preparing for a game
Recently I have put in some respectable darts performances against friends when a casual leg or two has fired up on a night out in between other activities. I have even hit some personal bests such as a 10 dart 301 leg and proudly taken a couple of legs off a better player who usually beats me. This week I will get together for a darts night with some friends who I used to regularly throw with, and a couple of other people who reckon they will be up for some regular games. The atmosphere will be different: everyone will be psyched to play and ready to nick legs off each other and some will likely stick the needle in afterwards!
I need to make sure I am mentally prepared for this event because there is more at stake than just reputations: if everything goes well we could bond and form a fun darts team like we once had a few years back. At one stage we had a regular game against a rival team of darters from the local music scene and it would be fun to get back to semi-regular competitive darts. I therefore need to forget being results dependent, or even performance dependent, I need to judge my performance based on my mood and behavior. I am a notorious bad loser who is capable of quickly ruining the atmosphere on any night out when some form of competition goes down.
A method I have been using to remain on an even keel during competition is to use the red head/blue head method Daniel Coyle writes about in his brilliant blog (and related book) "The Talent Code." Put simply when you start losing it is easy to lose mindfulness and let all semblance of control erode little by little until you feel helpless to control your performance. Coyle refers to this as 'red head' and it is virtually guaranteed that when a leg or two of darts slips away I start to get my red head on. If I am not careful my mood will then plummet accordingly and I will start griping, making excuses and create bad vibes. The alternative is to use a mental cue or trigger to call forth your 'blue head' which is the rational, in control side of your personality that understands you can only control certain things and sets about the business of measured, mindful actions.
My personal mental trigger is to picture a tree with roots of experience, a trunk of knowledge, and branches of skill reaching out and growing. I know this sounds daft but it works for me and is instantly calming and helps me get back to blue head mode. It reminds me of the elements of skill I do have, and that I am always reaching and growing which is a realistic, positive thought. This focus on the positive pushes out irrational thoughts to do with lack of perfection, or wish to control things which I cannot (E.g. an opponent's purple patch), which is the root of red head thinking.
I will therefore consider my performance this week to be a success if I do the following:
I need to make sure I am mentally prepared for this event because there is more at stake than just reputations: if everything goes well we could bond and form a fun darts team like we once had a few years back. At one stage we had a regular game against a rival team of darters from the local music scene and it would be fun to get back to semi-regular competitive darts. I therefore need to forget being results dependent, or even performance dependent, I need to judge my performance based on my mood and behavior. I am a notorious bad loser who is capable of quickly ruining the atmosphere on any night out when some form of competition goes down.
A method I have been using to remain on an even keel during competition is to use the red head/blue head method Daniel Coyle writes about in his brilliant blog (and related book) "The Talent Code." Put simply when you start losing it is easy to lose mindfulness and let all semblance of control erode little by little until you feel helpless to control your performance. Coyle refers to this as 'red head' and it is virtually guaranteed that when a leg or two of darts slips away I start to get my red head on. If I am not careful my mood will then plummet accordingly and I will start griping, making excuses and create bad vibes. The alternative is to use a mental cue or trigger to call forth your 'blue head' which is the rational, in control side of your personality that understands you can only control certain things and sets about the business of measured, mindful actions.
My personal mental trigger is to picture a tree with roots of experience, a trunk of knowledge, and branches of skill reaching out and growing. I know this sounds daft but it works for me and is instantly calming and helps me get back to blue head mode. It reminds me of the elements of skill I do have, and that I am always reaching and growing which is a realistic, positive thought. This focus on the positive pushes out irrational thoughts to do with lack of perfection, or wish to control things which I cannot (E.g. an opponent's purple patch), which is the root of red head thinking.
I will therefore consider my performance this week to be a success if I do the following:
- Use calming measures such as breath control, or mental imagery to stop over anxiousness
- Rest my mind and eyes in between throws instead of watching my opponent's throw (which conserves energy)
- Laugh off or smile and ignore an attempt at gamesmanship by an opponent
- Butt out of other people's games: E.g no heckling, advising of finishes, commentating
- Compliment good throwing
- Keep my recent good form to myself and not brag, or complain that my form has suddenly evaporated
Sunday, 10 January 2016
Searching for a rhythm
I had a Eureka moment yesterday when I theorised that the way to smooth out the rhythm of my throw might be to put some music on and try to set up, aim, pull back and throw in time to the beat. Since I am a musician I figured that all I have to do is train to a well known song then in competition I can imagine the song and then throw to the beat in my head. I know this sounds a little bit like over-thinking the throw but since I am trying to resist pausing on drawback I need all the creative ideas I can muster to beat this cursed lack of smoothness!
I experimented today with this idea of a measured drawback and on a hunch I started by listening to "That's the way I like it" by KC and the sunshine band in my head as a potential song that would provide the right tempo. I tried to put to the back of my mind the fact that I dislike disco music as a general rule, and how desperately uncool the KC song would be as a walk on tune if I became hooked on it! The initial benefit of this method was a glorious lack of thought and pure instinctive throwing for 5-10 mins as I pumped darts into the board with a 'four to the floor' measured throw of 'arm-aim-pullback-shoot' type pattern exactly with the beat. I quickly discovered however that a dart throw is not completely even and that the 'arm' and 'aim' portions of the throw need more time than the 'pull' and 'shoot' portions with accelerate the trajectory of the dart. The need to quickly the pull back and snap follow through on the beat was also leaving me with a half finished or soft follow through which I have heard Steve Beaton refer to as 'short-arming' the dart on one of his online tutorials.
I then put on some slower groovy music on and for a while 'Fire and Water' by Free was helping me cement the first part of the throw rhythmically but the pullback and release was still troublesome, uneven and overextended, hitting my shoulder again. In fact the slower speed was allowing my brain to kick in and start thinking too hard about the throw, which is what I am trying to interrupt in order to relearn a smoother throw. I then experimented with just a metronome click to measure the beats, so I could establish a workable tempo before deciding on a song that would suit it. The closest to a satisfactory solution I found was faster 1/8th notes at 122-125 bpm and to ensure the first part of the throw gets sufficient time I count the 'arm' and 'aim' for two beats each and the 'pull back' gets only one.
Once I turned the clicking metronome sound off and practiced on sections of the board in my usual routine I found that a rhythmic approach which also allowed time to position the arm works as follows: take stance/look at target (2 clicks) position elbow towards target(2 clicks) aim/sight the target with arm at 90o degrees to horizontal(2 clicks) pull back (1 click) and then release gives me a rhythmic framework to try again next practice. I have always taken my time on the setup part of the shot but sometimes overly so, and this method could hopefully systematise my setup and lay the foundation for a more measured throw with rhythmic momentum aiding the transition to and through the drawback and release. There is of course a danger of going down the Andy Hamilton road of an over complicated throw so I will video myself throwing again soon to check my progress.
I experimented today with this idea of a measured drawback and on a hunch I started by listening to "That's the way I like it" by KC and the sunshine band in my head as a potential song that would provide the right tempo. I tried to put to the back of my mind the fact that I dislike disco music as a general rule, and how desperately uncool the KC song would be as a walk on tune if I became hooked on it! The initial benefit of this method was a glorious lack of thought and pure instinctive throwing for 5-10 mins as I pumped darts into the board with a 'four to the floor' measured throw of 'arm-aim-pullback-shoot' type pattern exactly with the beat. I quickly discovered however that a dart throw is not completely even and that the 'arm' and 'aim' portions of the throw need more time than the 'pull' and 'shoot' portions with accelerate the trajectory of the dart. The need to quickly the pull back and snap follow through on the beat was also leaving me with a half finished or soft follow through which I have heard Steve Beaton refer to as 'short-arming' the dart on one of his online tutorials.
I then put on some slower groovy music on and for a while 'Fire and Water' by Free was helping me cement the first part of the throw rhythmically but the pullback and release was still troublesome, uneven and overextended, hitting my shoulder again. In fact the slower speed was allowing my brain to kick in and start thinking too hard about the throw, which is what I am trying to interrupt in order to relearn a smoother throw. I then experimented with just a metronome click to measure the beats, so I could establish a workable tempo before deciding on a song that would suit it. The closest to a satisfactory solution I found was faster 1/8th notes at 122-125 bpm and to ensure the first part of the throw gets sufficient time I count the 'arm' and 'aim' for two beats each and the 'pull back' gets only one.
Once I turned the clicking metronome sound off and practiced on sections of the board in my usual routine I found that a rhythmic approach which also allowed time to position the arm works as follows: take stance/look at target (2 clicks) position elbow towards target(2 clicks) aim/sight the target with arm at 90o degrees to horizontal(2 clicks) pull back (1 click) and then release gives me a rhythmic framework to try again next practice. I have always taken my time on the setup part of the shot but sometimes overly so, and this method could hopefully systematise my setup and lay the foundation for a more measured throw with rhythmic momentum aiding the transition to and through the drawback and release. There is of course a danger of going down the Andy Hamilton road of an over complicated throw so I will video myself throwing again soon to check my progress.
Friday, 8 January 2016
Throw pics and analysis (side view)
I filmed my throw yesterday so I could make a 'to do' list in terms of technique and it was quite revealing although not how I had expected. I have taken screen grabs (above) to illustrate the 3 stages of my throw.
1. The aim/setup. I am quite pleased that this is close to the 90degree arm that you see Phil Taylor using and I am hopeful that this is more or less correct technique. I try to angle the dart back a bit so I can see along the barrel and through to the 20 bed. I have noticed this is how Raymond Van Barneveld sights the dart before throwing and I am a fan of his technique and not far off Barney in terms of overall height.
2. The drawback. This is where it all starts to go wrong for me as you can clearly see the dart hits my shoulder. This has caused all sorts of problems in the past with the flight hooking onto the collar of my shirt and it is a habit I need to break. The problem I have is that I have almost come to rely on it for timing the throw: as I feel the dart touch my shoulder I can measure the extent of the drawback and gain some consistency.
3. The follow through. I have mixed feelings about my follow through since my hand has an exaggerated curl and and pushes through quite deliberately. If you study Barney's throw for example or MVG's the hand ends up quickly flicking at the end but mine is a slower shaping of the hand.
Overall I am pleasantly surprised watching my own throw as I expected a tonne of elbow and body movement which is just not there. However the video footage also reveals a tragic pause on the drawback that hints at potential dartitis problems further down the road. I would also like to experiment with bringing my elbow inwards a little to point more consistently at the target, as you can see on the middle picture it pokes out slightly to the right on drawback. I think that the snagging and pausing on pull back of the dart is the worst aspect of my game so I need to pull less far, perhaps brushing my cheek to fix a new point to come back to, or just keep the dart along its current trajectory but pull back less far. My follow through has taken a long time to develop and still feels inconsistent but I think it is fairly workable and is less of an issue than the other weaknesses I have now identified.
Thursday, 7 January 2016
Practice routine (second half)
After I have finished straight throw training I play a round or two of 'cricket' to concentrate on accuracy. This is the Dartscorer software version of the game aiming for 20,19,18,17,16,15 and bull. If I score less than 14 I repeat the round because this score is equivalent to two singles per target, which based on my experience is the minimum accuracy to avoid a sound whooping in a pub game. I am actually aiming for the treble bed each time I shoot, so in a way is preparation for hitting big cover shots and set up trebles in matches. It could be argued that as a poor pub standard player I should forget about trebles and aim for the big number as there is a greater chance I might hit it. I tend to disagree with this theory because I think I gain more by practicing the art of aiming itself, since I am rehearsing the feeling of concentrating on a small target which is the best way to throw any shot. Awareness of this fact allows me to be realistic about my chances of hitting the trebles whilst at the same time pushing myself to throw at a small target which is a happy learning zone to be in and prevents me from frustration at failing regular cover shot trebles. Or to put it another way I can be extremely positive about chalking up '1' point for a single if I concentrated hard on the treble bed and threw near, but not in it.
The next routine I follow depends on my confidence level. If I am throwing reasonably well I will play Dartsnutz doubles routine and mark my score which the software automatically records on Dartscorer. My aim is to throw repeated darts at certain doubles so If I am really confident I will also play Bob's 27s double routine which also takes away points for missing a bed. I mention confidence since I believe it is important not to stand throwing missed darts over and over. The hitting of a double requires good technique, concentration and the total belief that you can hit the target. I also like to play against the computer starting from low numbers such as 60 and 48 to add realistic match pressure to finishing with a single then a double. It must be said that I am not totally happy about the effectiveness of my doubles routines but I wander how much of this is down to my slightly dodgy throw to begin with. I am in the process of refining my throw and I expect I will streamline my doubles routine to be quicker and easier to score, to facilitate more instant feedback and little bits of progress within a session once I have done this. At the moment I find that my straight throw does not translate well around the board because of too much elbow and drawback deviation, so I often flail at doubles and get annoyed towards the end of a practice session. A long doubles routine seems to compound problems and I need to find a quicker routine and perhaps segue way into a new game to end practice sessions on a more positive note.
The next routine I follow depends on my confidence level. If I am throwing reasonably well I will play Dartsnutz doubles routine and mark my score which the software automatically records on Dartscorer. My aim is to throw repeated darts at certain doubles so If I am really confident I will also play Bob's 27s double routine which also takes away points for missing a bed. I mention confidence since I believe it is important not to stand throwing missed darts over and over. The hitting of a double requires good technique, concentration and the total belief that you can hit the target. I also like to play against the computer starting from low numbers such as 60 and 48 to add realistic match pressure to finishing with a single then a double. It must be said that I am not totally happy about the effectiveness of my doubles routines but I wander how much of this is down to my slightly dodgy throw to begin with. I am in the process of refining my throw and I expect I will streamline my doubles routine to be quicker and easier to score, to facilitate more instant feedback and little bits of progress within a session once I have done this. At the moment I find that my straight throw does not translate well around the board because of too much elbow and drawback deviation, so I often flail at doubles and get annoyed towards the end of a practice session. A long doubles routine seems to compound problems and I need to find a quicker routine and perhaps segue way into a new game to end practice sessions on a more positive note.
Wednesday, 6 January 2016
Practice routine (first half)
I base my practice around short addictive games since repetition is important to develop any motor skill, along with an achievable target that you can get to in a short amount of time without slogging at it for too long. I warm up for a few throws by throwing the first dart and then trying to hit it again with subsequent darts, as this is a nice loosener that depends on the follow through of the arm without too much focus on the aiming point to begin with. I then play two legs against the computer, since any darter should be able to step up to the oche and play with very little warm up as this happens all the time in pub darts. I then focus on developing a straight throw by watching some videos of players with great throws. John Lowe's 9 dart video is a favourite of mine: Lowe keeps so still when throwing and his arm moves like a well oiled piston in an engine. I try to recreate this movement and aim to score 101 or more in 6 darts. This is the classic challenge from TV's Bullseye programme and if I can do it in 6 then I know I am scoring a 50.5 average which puts me on track for the magic 51 ave. I am aiming for long term. The other game I play at this stage is to put 3 darts in the fat 20 bed since grouping darts closely together is a key skill. I then move onto try and score 50 in a turn aiming just at the bullseye, since this would equate to around a 50 average for a turn and also prepares my arm for 'middle for diddle' sessions when winning the bull can give you a huge advantage. My next challenge is to score 9 or more in a turn hitting only single three or double three which again, keeps my arm straight and gives me valuable extra practice on a tricky area of the board. I then spend the next 5mins trying to get two double 20s in a turn since this is the most important double on the board.
I know I finished the last paragraph on a hugely contentious point so I thought I would let it hang there for a bit before justifying my statement: double top is the most important double to practice because it is a straight throw. A straight throw is the fundamental challenge of darts for me since my darts waver, wibble and weep all over the shop at the best of times. Practice on double top also supports practice of high scoring 20s which is essential to win legs, and bullseyes which can give you first throw and a psychological edge in a leg. I also find that since I can sometimes hit two double tops in a throw I feel more confident throwing just one dart into the target in a pressure situation. Not only that but I also feel more able to hit double 1 or 5 since they require very little deviation in the straight throw.
Having said all this I do recognise that double 16 is numerically the best double to end up on on a competitive game since it splits down to x8-x4-x2-x1 if you go inside and miss which in my matches is more or less inevitable. Today when practising I did not make it to the second half of my practice routine because I lost my discipline on the 2x tops game and carried on way past 5mins. I practiced myself into a deep black hole of crapness. I got further and further away from a solid throw and nowhere near the tops-tops shot I was aiming for, to the point where my arm ached and I could not hit the back of a cow with a banjo! I hope to regain my composure next time when I will also detail the second half of my practice routine and the other short games I play to hone in on the different phases of a darts match.
I know I finished the last paragraph on a hugely contentious point so I thought I would let it hang there for a bit before justifying my statement: double top is the most important double to practice because it is a straight throw. A straight throw is the fundamental challenge of darts for me since my darts waver, wibble and weep all over the shop at the best of times. Practice on double top also supports practice of high scoring 20s which is essential to win legs, and bullseyes which can give you first throw and a psychological edge in a leg. I also find that since I can sometimes hit two double tops in a throw I feel more confident throwing just one dart into the target in a pressure situation. Not only that but I also feel more able to hit double 1 or 5 since they require very little deviation in the straight throw.
Having said all this I do recognise that double 16 is numerically the best double to end up on on a competitive game since it splits down to x8-x4-x2-x1 if you go inside and miss which in my matches is more or less inevitable. Today when practising I did not make it to the second half of my practice routine because I lost my discipline on the 2x tops game and carried on way past 5mins. I practiced myself into a deep black hole of crapness. I got further and further away from a solid throw and nowhere near the tops-tops shot I was aiming for, to the point where my arm ached and I could not hit the back of a cow with a banjo! I hope to regain my composure next time when I will also detail the second half of my practice routine and the other short games I play to hone in on the different phases of a darts match.
About
Hello there, I am a darts addict and perpetual self-improver. If you have read my blog on microstakes poker (http://microdonkey.blogspot.co.uk/) then you will know that I analyse everything to the Nth degree and become totally absorbed in my pursuits and in the pursuit of excellence itself. I have loved darts since I was a young boy and I play with the determination and concentration of Phil Taylor but sadly throw with the accuracy and consistency of an angry monkey throwing poo. I have played for years and practice darts relentlessly so you would expect a reasonable level of competency but here is the thing: a decent pub darts player should average around 51 point per visit and I am not even close to this. On my best day with everything working I can just about touch this standard for one leg, but mostly I average only slightly better than pure fluke which would equate to around 32 points per visit!
I am therefore on a self-improvement mission to get to the magic 51 average every time I play and I have already begun on that journey with a complete overhaul of my oche position, stance and aiming of the dart. I am using a custom practice routine which is finally making a positive difference to my throw and I hope to achieve my goal within the next 12 months. I will post thoughts and musings, competitive match reports, practice milestones and problems as well as the odd comment on professional matches. Game on:)
I am therefore on a self-improvement mission to get to the magic 51 average every time I play and I have already begun on that journey with a complete overhaul of my oche position, stance and aiming of the dart. I am using a custom practice routine which is finally making a positive difference to my throw and I hope to achieve my goal within the next 12 months. I will post thoughts and musings, competitive match reports, practice milestones and problems as well as the odd comment on professional matches. Game on:)
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