Mental Strength

Dart Arts Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

In recent reviews of the best of darts matches for 2016 it has become clear just how much mental strength is to the dart arts. Yes, strength is not exactly the best term to describe the mind-state and mind-set necessary to achieve great darts so I will try to describe what it is that makes for, “Mental strength.”

The greatest obstacle that the dart artists must train for is, “Adrenal triggered stress-conditions of competition.” Lets face it, most who throw darts can achieve a relatively good throw but what happens when the pressure is applied in competitions, especially against strangers and especially against known pro’s who have held high levels of darts then the stress builds and effects how we throw.

What are the effects of such mind stresses, “Loss of fine motor skills, anxiety, fear, palpitations or increased heart rates, sweating, nausea and possible vomiting, dizziness and tremors,” to name a few (spacial issues, auditory exclusion, etc.). They are the flight or fight get-r-done chemicals for human survival and they don’t help even a little when you play darts. 

When you get stressed the major adrenal stress condition in darts is loss of fine motor skills causing darts to fly off into the five or one pie. This brings us back to mind strength. Learning to overcome such stressors from the adrenal or chemical dump can be most difficult. It takes a certain mind-set or attitude of confidence to make it go away or at least manageable. To achieve a level of experience to achieve this goal means you need to practice a lot and you need to compete a lot in all sorts of venues from local pubs to larger sanctioned contests.  

It is also wise to remember that experience overcoming the effects of the chemical dump from other sources or triggers such as sport competitions does not mean that when you enter the arena and approach the ockey line you won’t still succumb to the dump, those are different triggers. Yes, it will help you to achieve that gaol faster but not as fast as flooding yourself with competitive experiences. It helps explain why some go through a long period of competitions to reach the majors, so to speak, of the dart arts.