It's those little things.....

[Dorian]

........that can make the biggest difference.....as we're all looking forward to a great year and of course meeting our darting goals (what! you haven't set yourself any goals! :dodgy:  ) its time to iron out any bad habits and get better and enjoy doing so.

Consistency in scoring is my main goal as I want to increase my averages over this current next season and to help achieve some improvement I have broken down the task into 3 main areas:

A. Technique

B. Concentration

C. Self-Talk

My shooting technique is a ready aim fire action and IMHO is roughly similar to P.T / G.A But very obviously with absolutely nowhere near the results  Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.  Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.  Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.  
 
However I have found though that I can greatly improve my technique consistency if, when I line up the dart to the target, I take a quick look to see that my forearm is in as vertical as possible. The amount of stray darts left or right of the 20 is then greatly reduced. It is also vital the during the aiming that the dart comes to a complete standstill during aiming and before I start the drawback and release. My 'follow through' for me is not greatly pronounced ( I use a combined weighted dart of 27 gms ) and I essentially see that completing a follow-through after release as a way of muscle memory training for the subsequent darts and of course making my action as smooth as possible.  

Another thing that is helping me is being able to switch off all distractions and be able to concentrate solely on a focus point on the target area......really staring it down before taking a dart in hand. This takes a lot of effort and I struggle with this and random thought take over and I sometimes lose concentration during games......... I do see more players wearing ear-plugs and might try it out as it must help I would think....anyone using them now ?

Lastly saying to myself what the target is as I'm aiming at it does help me clear my mind of any extraneous thoughts ....it becomes a kind of instruction and reminder.

I'll keep you posted and welcome any pointers that you have and I'd like to see if you have set any goals for this year ....remember though a goal without a time-frame is a dream.



regards


Dorian



PS. In a recent post I highlighted my practice routine and the benefits I was getting from it and have refined the 'around the board in doubles' now to a more effective set which is to alternate between the D's & T's instead. So starting with a D1 my next shot becomes T2 then D3 followed by T4 and so on.....variety is the spice of darting practice Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.



NOTE: All of these types of comments past present and future are not meant as some masterclass in Darts ......I'm only a average shooter Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images. (but getting better) I'm no guru  :s there are far more worthy Dartsnutz members than I in that regard (I failed kindergarten with honours  Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images. )  ......no....they are just things, suggestions and ideas that work for me.... food for thought I guess, I share them only to see if they can be of some benefit to others, I have learned sooooo much from others here over the past couple of years and of course I hope to learn more Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[Omp]

However I have found though that I can greatly improve my technique consistency if, when I line up the dart to the target, I take a quick look to see that my forearm is in as vertical as possible. The amount of stray darts left or right of the 20 is then greatly reduced.

I spent 6 weeks last year trying to keep a vertical forearm. My game went to pieces. I need a slight angle on mine to have any hope of delivering a straight dart.
I like your point about a completely still dart before you start the throw. When I have the concentration to do that, it seems to improve the results.

[Dorian]

However I have found though that I can greatly improve my technique consistency if, when I line up the dart to the target, I take a quick look to see that my forearm is in as vertical as possible. The amount of stray darts left or right of the 20 is then greatly reduced.

I spent 6 weeks last year trying to keep a vertical forearm. My game went to pieces. I need a slight angle on mine to have any hope of delivering a straight dart.
I like your point about a completely still dart before you start the throw. When I have the concentration to do that, it seems to improve the results.

Hello Omp,

I understand exactly what you mean that's why I said as much as possible its not entirely vertical at all because that feels uncomfortable, in my case if I don't make a conscious effort to keep the elbow in and rigid whilst aiming and before the forward stroke it tends to swing out ever so slightly. Which in turn of course causes my forearm arm to move in a horizontal plane.... then the darts stray left and right of the target and my scoring is inconsistent.
 

Thanks very much for your comments

regards

[SlingBlade]

I just read your practice routine and recently I've also changed mine up to include more variety with the doubles and trips. It's all about muscle memory and nailing down the "perfect" throw, if that's possible for me. I try and not over think any of it and just focus on what I'm aiming for as I believe to over think it takes so much away from just doing it to relax.

One good thing about relaxing and letting the dart go instead of focusing on doing this or that before the throw was hitting my first 180 of the new year last night. I don't focus on throwing at that mark as much as maybe I should but just include it in my practice routine. Maybe if I focused more on hitting it I would?

[mcockrell]

I think concentration is a huge issue for me and something im hoping to get better at this year. its just way too easy to get into a routing of throwing blindly at 20s and then getting pissed when you spray. for me, stopping for a second before I throw greatly improves my results. just that little amount of time lets me look and make sure im lined up and I think its very important to do that BEFORE you start playing like crap. in my case it seems like I will start off throwing great but after a few minutes it will go to hell because im really not paying attention to anything. when I first start I put a lot of concentration into it, but once I get into a groove and doing well its like I go on autopilot or something. so stopping for just a moment and looking at everything helps me out quite a bit. the other night this happened and i noticed that i wasn't keeping my elbow still at all. i was just aiming and hurling. i also need a slight angle but this is also something that will go on autopilot if im not careful and by the time i start paying attention the angle is so severe that its a miracle i get anywhere close.

when i was doing the first flight school drill this would happen a LOT. i think mainly because it was just so boring after a while. i would get to the point where i was just so ready to complete the drill or complete certain numbers that i was just chucking up there with no actual concentration at all. its also a reason i started switching up the games when i play against the computer and instead of playing 501 i will play a lot of 301 and 201. if you have a concentration problem like mine then you will always start playing better when you get down to an out. i kept wondering why i would have 80-120 left and almost always have at least one dart at an out but when throwing for score i would almost always mess it up. so starting at 201 you pretty much have to concentrate on your score and what you have so far just about the whole time so it eliminates a lot of zombie throwing.

good stuff, thanks for the post
MC

[Dorian]

I think concentration is a huge issue for me and something im hoping to get better at this year. its just way too easy to get into a routing of throwing blindly at 20s and then getting pissed when you spray. for me, stopping for a second before I throw greatly improves my results. just that little amount of time lets me look and make sure im lined up and I think its very important to do that BEFORE you start playing like crap. in my case it seems like I will start off throwing great but after a few minutes it will go to hell because im really not paying attention to anything. when I first start I put a lot of concentration into it, but once I get into a groove and doing well its like I go on autopilot or something. so stopping for just a moment and looking at everything helps me out quite a bit. the other night this happened and i noticed that i wasn't keeping my elbow still at all. i was just aiming and hurling. i also need a slight angle but this is also something that will go on autopilot if im not careful and by the time i start paying attention the angle is so severe that its a miracle i get anywhere close.

when i was doing the first flight school drill this would happen a LOT. i think mainly because it was just so boring after a while. i would get to the point where i was just so ready to complete the drill or complete certain numbers that i was just chucking up there with no actual concentration at all. its also a reason i started switching up the games when i play against the computer and instead of playing 501 i will play a lot of 301 and 201. if you have a concentration problem like mine then you will always start playing better when you get down to an out. i kept wondering why i would have 80-120 left and almost always have at least one dart at an out but when throwing for score i would almost always mess it up. so starting at 201 you pretty much have to concentrate on your score and what you have so far just about the whole time so it eliminates a lot of zombie throwing.

good stuff, thanks for the post
MC

Hi MC,

Thanks very much I really appreciate your comments I can relate very much to them.....well said Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.


Cheers

[mcockrell]

this weekend I spent a lot of time thinking about this and applying it and its funny how such small things make such a huge difference, just as the title states. I took your advice and started repeating to myself what I needed and staring it down for a moment. another thing I did was that while I was bringing my arm up to get into throwing position I would try to get my arm to travel in the same arc or path that it would need to make the shot. that is I would slowly line myself up at the number and then slowly raise my arm while keeping the dart pointed at the target and that has helped a lot with certain numbers.

I think the thing that helps me improve the most is by teaching or coaching other players. I will help my wife with her throw a lot and I have a couple of friends that have gotten into darts recently and I will help coach them as well and just by me looking at their throw and trying to help identify mistakes I will almost always see something that I am doing as well. I told my friend over the weekend that he was moving his head while throwing and after I said that I immediately noticed that I was doing the same thing. so I made a conscious effort to stop doing it and all of a sudden I was unstoppable. just little things that you don't even notice that you are doing make such a huge difference.

[BigE]

Funny.  I have had the exact opposite experience. You might know I believe in "detect and correct" and a very harsh sort of utterly self-conscious "over thinking" sort of practice.

I just played a bunch of sets of 501 against the laptop ( n01 ) on level 6.  I did not win the night, but I did put together a nice string of winning legs at the end.

I decided to rely only on the technique that I have been working on so extremely consciously to come through when simply throwing the darts.  So, I did not supervise the throwing of the darts.  This started well into the game.   Up until that point, I was struggling with supervising the throw, very consciously lining up the body to address the target and trying to force the dart into the target.

Basically, I focused on what I wanted to hit and did not over-strain during delivery.   I did not think much about technique, if at all.  

It was far more important to think about the target and choose whether or not to switch or throw fats.  Strategy was way more important than delivery.  And yes, the technique did come through.  I was relaxed and hitting big scores (incl. 2x180) and finished a 158 in the last string of wins.

IMO, there is a time and a place for very strong technical focus to build and monitor your technique. And there is a time and a place to *let* your technique work for you.