I'm not a pro for sure. However my opinion (for me) is to draw the dart back to me dominate eye fairly slowly then launch the dart to my intended target. Most pro's I have observed do it in this manner. However we all know C0-Stompe and John Part have multiple pumps and are great players. To me its something that if you do that, it is another thing for error (my opinion). Also players who bring the dart pass their head ( Mark Webster) and yet others who may actually throw above their forehead. For me it makes sense to always have the dart in sight (that's me). Yet again my 2 cents and just my personal opinion ! What you say?

I generally draw the dart back to just before my chin so I keep it in sight almost all of the time, I try to focus on the target and have the dart in my peripheral vision and then throw. Problems occur when I start snatching, sometimes find myself stopping when the dart is not sitting right in my hand or if i feel something wrong in the draw back. I used to carry on and hope for the best but I always try stop myself now if I feel something is off. I just start again then.

well my dominant eye is my left, I throw with my right and find it way too awkward to bring the dart across to my left eye, so its usually somewhere near the middle. But sometime I dont aim or look at the dart and I bring it past my right ear and have been just as successful at hitting my target.

my draw begins as soon as i transfer the dart from my left hand to my right(throwing). my arm comes up fully extended and i line the dart stem with the target as i draw back (kinda like a front sight on a rifle). I keep the dart in front of my dominant eye throughot the draw and the throw. i make it one fluid motion. I have never been able to hold the dart up (still) to sight and then drawback and throw. im all about balance and have always tried to make my draw the reverse of my throw and follow through.

Well being blind as a bat in my right eye (and being right handed) I would have the same problem as Grip, and I am unable to draw the dart back across my face either.

I extend my arm towards the target and my drawback is to my collar bone, almost like Martin Adams (in fact I may have copied him years ago if memory serves correct), this way I find I can follow through with the throw.
If I try and draw back to my face I always snatch the dart.

I keep the dart in my line of site throughout my entire throwing motion

Up until a few days ago start in a static position, basically trying to get my forearm vertical and the line the dart up with the target, then I drew back until the flight just touched my right cheek and released. But I found that I was having to throw the dart REALLY hard that way to get to T20 and had to do all kinds of weird manipulations to get at tops.

The other night I realized this was a power problem and used a little golfer logic to overcome it. One of the big reasons a fairway wood travels farther than a short iron is the length of the arc. The club head has more time to accelerate fully and the end of the "spoke" of the motion is farther from the center which magnifies the increase in speed of the hub by a great deal at the spoke end.

Apply the same physics logic to a dart throw and you get: draw back farther and you generate more power.

I tried it and found that my darts immediately started sailing to the top of the board beautifully and without an additional "effort".

Now I just have to learn to repeat it every throw, and aim it and I'm off to Lakeside. Right? Right? lol.

i am a bit wierd when it comes to throwing, when throwing around the board i seem to throw from the side of my head, but when it comes to throwing at a double i throw from the middle of my right eye.
i have no idea why i do it but for me it seems to sort of work

my biggest fault over all is just not practising apart from turning up early on game night

Practice make perfect buddy. lol

i know, but sometimes i dont finish work till 2300 and seeing as im up at 0600 i spend all my spare time sleeping

pastyman wrote:

i know, but sometimes i dont finish work till 2300 and seeing as im up at 0600 i spend all my spare time sleeping

Think we will call you Rip Van Winkle then

First I just look at the target.
Raise my arm and cover the point of the dart over it.
Bring my arm back towards my right eye, still keeping the dart in line with the target.
Then Releasing it with lots of power and following through.
This is all done in a fast smooth motion.

It's always been my natural throw ever since I first picked up a dart.
Although it did change slightly after the dartitis, but not by much.

Well recently I've been thinking a lot about my throw. Which means I throw shit darts.

So I'm considering giving it up since I don't seem to know how to "just throw" and I keep throwing turds when I don't "just throw". So... stop thinking and just throw.

I promise you'll be happier.

My own throw is still a little schizophrenic, sometime I sort of bring the dart very close to my eyeline and kind of aim with the point and other times I will just throw without aiming.

Still trying to find a method I can feel consistent with, but its then that the "thinking too much" rears its head and everything seems to go wrong no matter which way I try.

Wish I could just stay in the "no thinking zone" as when I'm in it, my throw seems to have a much smoother and stronger release.

I just posted about draw length to Grips thread but this deals with aim. Perhaps the threads could or should be merged?

I'm right eye dominent but a bit ambidextrous from playing many sports and striking an object, tennis backhand, hockey, was the opposite side from my throw. Until wearing glasses I was fortunate to have excellent eye hand co-ordination and taking up darts again these last 2 yrs has helped me to adapt and regain it with my specs on.

That said, I have numerous chronic injuries from those sports, and life, with my wonky shoulder forcing the manner in which I aim & toss. Quite simply, my shoulder won't allow me to line up my arm in front of my face when I set my stance at the optimum for my dart to land straight in the board. This requires my draw to come up to where the flight is beside my head and if it was pulled directly to my face, the flight would be in my eye socket. When I clip my glasses I know I'm likely leaning in too far which for me angles my head to the right, and/or I have dropped my elbow. It sucks getting older and having injury but this adaptation took mths to get set thru countless hours of practise and experimentation but it works for me when I put it all together.

sounds like a bit like how I have been throwing this past week. I have been bringing the dart to my right side and throwing with a little more forearm movement going forwards, seems to be less trouble for my wrist that way, I just need to practice the accuracy now.

dvsdog wrote:

I just posted about draw length to Grips thread but this deals with aim. Perhaps the threads could or should be merged?

I'm right eye dominent but a bit ambidextrous from playing many sports and striking an object, tennis backhand, hockey, was the opposite side from my throw. Until wearing glasses I was fortunate to have excellent eye hand co-ordination and taking up darts again these last 2 yrs has helped me to adapt and regain it with my specs on.

That said, I have numerous chronic injuries from those sports, and life, with my wonky shoulder forcing the manner in which I aim & toss. Quite simply, my shoulder won't allow me to line up my arm in front of my face when I set my stance at the optimum for my dart to land straight in the board. This requires my draw to come up to where the flight is beside my head and if it was pulled directly to my face, the flight would be in my eye socket. When I clip my glasses I know I'm likely leaning in too far which for me angles my head to the right, and/or I have dropped my elbow. It sucks getting older and having injury but this adaptation took mths to get set thru countless hours of practise and experimentation but it works for me when I put it all together.

Yep dvsdog,
I to at times hit my glasses.

getagrip wrote:

sounds like a bit like how I have been throwing this past week. I have been bringing the dart to my right side and throwing with a little more forearm movement going forwards, seems to be less trouble for my wrist that way, I just need to practice the accuracy now.

And that's where the grouping exercises come in m8. 3 in a bed, even the fat, lends to a whole bunch of confidence and then ya progress from there rather then constantly searching for Goldilocks when you aren't hitting a max. Find success in gradual measures and set yourself up to do that by starting with the easiest, biggest target. I even made paper pin ups to ease the boredom or one could do the same giving a bigger target if the fat is a problem. Success breeds on itself.

As to the accuracy bit, I found the flicking of water off the fingers at the target visualization worked wonders as it keeps focus on the target and removes all the other thoughts from your mind.

For me, the trick is to incorporate it into the rhythm of the toss without exageration at the point of release and use those fingers to follow thru at the target. Over time you'll discover a certain feeling or sensation of a particular knuckle or joint pointing at your target and that will lend to consistency and as a reminder. As a bonus, the gentler motion is kinder to the wrist once ya get it down. Don't expect miracles and give it some time as studies have shown it takes up to 28 days to form a habit and the same to break oneself consistently from another.

Nice one Kev! Will bear that in mind and keep practising my Flight School, I know the grouping is improving just the accuracy thats lagging

bump new members

I focus on the target with my hand down at my side. I raise my arm until the dart rises up into my field of vision (which always stays focused on the target) and then extend my arm in a hopefully smooth but I suspect slightly poofy manner.
Results vary but think I'm edging more in the right direction than not.

i think it is a bad idea to block your strong eye with the dart look at taylor he is left eye strong but draws the dart for the centre down his right cheek.anderson draws the dart to his right eye but could not play because it is his left eye that he uses to look at the board when he had an eye problem.also barney is left handed but uses his right hand to throw and brings the dart down his right side aswell.i think there is a good reason to think blocking your strong eye will make you throw badly.most right eye right handed seem to line up in the middle then draw back down the right side.