How many hours a day?

[Jread180]

Hi all, I have been playing darts for 6 months and I am steadily progressing. I recently learned that I am to be made redundant from my job of 3 years and instead of looking for something else straight away I have decided to take a 6 month break (which was planned before the redundancy was confirmed) to chill out and concentrate on darts also. I have no expectations I just want to see how much I could progress but how many hours a day would you lot say is competition level? I was thinking around 4 but I was thinking of increasing to 6 hours a day to keep myself busy ( same hours as my working day now).

Thanks,
Jack

[Getagrip]

I think its different for everyone as it can take some a good 30 mins or longer just to warm up and get in a groove.

I can only do about 45 mins a day now which I know is not ideal for me but when I was playing at my best I was practising 2 and half hours a day but I think 3 to 4 hours would have been the max I would have done.

[Stalker]

I try my best to get 1 solid hour a day in. I usually only feel like i get about 30 minutes of constructive practice because that first 30 minutes is just warm up getting loose, finding my groove as Grip put it.

My only recommendation would be to work up to the number of hours you want to practice. When I get a free day and spend it just throwing for 4-6 hours usually my arm, legs, and back get stiff the next day. Working from a chair all day sucks sometimes.

I think I read once (sorry no link) that Bristow was going for 8+ hours a day when he first battled with dartist just to get over it. And Taylor would play with him and learned and thought that the 8+ a day was normal and that 8+ a day for years got him to where he is today.

[BigE]

It depends on how long you can stay focused.

If you want to practice 4 hours/day, you will probably have to break the session down into at MOST 20 minute chunks. That is 12 chunks with a break in between. I'd say 10 minutes in between. That would take 6 hours to do.

The reason for chunking your practice like this is that if your mind starts to wander, you are as likely to be reinforcing bad technique as good technique.

Check out the book link I posted to "The Talent Code". It is a terrific explanation of how you can develop talent. The bottom line is *focused* practice during which you detect and correct errors in your technique.

Phil Taylor says sometimes his practice is 1.5 hrs/day, other times it is 3 hrs/day. That is because he has a routine that he goes through each day. If he is done in 1.5 hours, he did everything well. If it took him 3, I think he was involved in detecting/correcting problems.

That is the benefit of a fixed routine.... when all is good, you will know.... leave things alone.

When things need fixing, you will know.

I'd rather spend an hour in 3 chunks of focused practice in fixed routines than 4 hours of mindless throwing.

[gumbo2176]

When I first started playing darts many years ago and a much younger man, I would practice a couple hours a day and play 3-4 nights a week between league and tournament blind draw play.

As I've gotten older, I really don't practice but a couple hours a week by myself but get in at least 5 hours a week against others in the local bars that have league teams. I no longer play league or blind draw tournaments. The interest in the game is still there and I follow it on PDC Live and other feeds, but with not playing a lot, my game has suffered---especially my doubles for an out.

Every once in a while the magic is still there and it feels good to put together good games, but overall, I'm not near the player I was 20+ years ago. That guy had the desire to stand in front of the board and play for hours, especially against opponents, and he was always seeking out the best ones he could find. Now, he's just like a duffer in golf. LOL

[Fred-180]

2 concentrated sessions of 30min.

[ChrisTheFish]

Any spare time at all, Mrs out- darts, bath running after work - darts etc. wish I got home earlier as sometimes it's days between chances

[*Saber*]

long ago 4-6 hrs x 5 days a week. Now about 30-45 min a day.

[Banned]

Big E made a GREAT post here. Read what he said very carefully.

I'd also like to add that if you pick up the darts and they just aren't going right and nothing is working, don't force the issue. Go do something else for a while. Then come back and have another go in an hour or so. Personally, I hate walking away from the board grumpy. If I pick up my darts and they just don't feel right I'll go find something else to do. Try not to make a big deal out of it. Because bad days WILL happen. Nothing we can do about it. Just don't take it to heart. It's not the end of the world if we can't hit anything.

Last night for example, I shot some of the best darts of my life. After my best practice leg was over i set the darts down and walked away. Today I'm walking around thinking I'm in the best form of my life and I can hit anything at will. It's a good mindset to have. The last thing I remember is playing well. Darts is all about remaining positive and being happy.

Follow Big E's advice about practicing and stay happy at the same time. You can't go wrong Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[redhedkev]

I can't throw daily or for "Hours". My arm just turns to lead the next day.

To-wit, this season when we made the Finals I only touched my darts to clean them the day before. My arm was fresh and I did much better than I did 2 seasons before when I threw for hours...and fairly well...the day before, but my shoulder was actually spasming at the finals...which sucked...so, don't go there if your throwing arm ain't 100 %.

[BigE]

Thanks for the kind words Cy!

You are very right about the "stay happy" part. You just cannot do it if you are not happy when you do it. It's a easy game to beat yourself up on, but remember: it just takes time to get really good.

I saw an interview with Whitlock and Wright on the Aussie news. They were asked when they started to play darts. They both replied about 14 years old. It takes *decades* of work to get that good.

So don't think that in 6 months you'll be ready for the PDC! Do think in 6 months, with directed and focused practice, you would have done what others take 5 years or more to do. You'll be a way better player than you are right now, and that skill won't go away.

Enjoy that time!

Cheers!

[m1ghty]

Anywhere from 10-15 hours a week.

[Machine618]

I would say it depends on you that day. Some days I can practice for 4+ hours and still remain focused. Other days I find myself losing focus after just 30 minutes. I like to practice until the focus starts going away. Then take a 30-60 minute break and come back again. If I still cant keep my focus then that days practice session is over. I've found practicing without focus is counterproductive for me.

[SlingBlade]

Many days I'll do 1.5 hrs sometimes I'll do two 1hr sessions. I find that if I'm having a crappy day and can't hit jack then I'll take a break a few hours and go at it again and it seems to clear my funk shots

[RichardUK]

I kind off messed up my elbow from practicing to much but i was doing 2 hours a day. But now I'm now going to do 30 mins a day until my elbow gets better..