Darts: a game where participants compete with one another by throwing small arrow like devices at a target that is round and has numbers and sections and an inner bull with an outer bull and so on. Darts now refer to the standard game with a specific bristle board design and a set of rules. Rules that are general to the game and rules that govern games like, “501,” “301,” and “Cricket.”


Darts is a traditional pub game that was and is commonly played in the United Kingdom as well as other places in Europe and across the pond here in the America’s.


Wikipedia tells hits history in a terse form, i.e., “The dartboard may have its origins in the cross-section of a tree. An old name for a dartboard is "butt"; the word comes from the French word but, meaning "target". In particular, the Yorkshire and Manchester Log End boards differ from the standard board in that they have no treble, only double and bullseye, the Manchester board being of a smaller diameter, with a playing area of only 25 cm across with double and bull areas measuring just 4 mm. The London Fives board is another variation. This has only 12 equal segments numbered 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15, 10 with the doubles and triples being a quarter of an inch wide.”


There have been a variety of darts created over the years but the most common today is the tungsten dart. There are electronic darts but for this blog and for my efforts in tossing darts I remain a steel dart fan and enthusiast. I am recommending a book for novice darters but only because it appealed to me and my studies and rest assured most of the dart books out there are outstanding. In short, find one if this one does not fit your needs and get it. I can tell you when I started to play over twenty years ago, before I laid down my darts in 96, I tossed darts for several years without knowing some very important and critical mechanics, etc., of the dart game. As I take up once again my steel darts I have found a fountain of information to help make the game both enjoyable and competitive. Enjoy, diddle for the middle and let the darts fly!

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The Throw: (more … II) Arm, Elbow and Release

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

At throw set up make sure the dart is set at the same position every time, this is how to attain consistent throws. Top of the index finger is on the triple twenty much like the front site blade of a rifle. The circle formed by the thumb on the opposite of the dart can also be a rear sight aperture allowing you to perceive/see the dart board. 

The elbow must not drop and it must not rise up high, that changes the darts trajectory. The elbow also has to stay vertical, i.e., the forearm is vertical so that the hand and elbow are directly vertical to one another with the elbow stationary and pointing directly to the ground. 

The body and arm and elbow once in position should not move down or up, it remains stationary and the same each and every throw. Now, the release of the dart.

Once you throw, you must get a good extension with a follow through so the arm remains at the level of the elbow and the forearm extends completely while the hand also extends allowing the fingers to release at the appropriate apex of the throw and then the hand, fingers, etc., follow through toward the dart board target, in this example the triple twenty. 

Follow through requires the full extension of the arm, the hand and wrist my flow out toward the target, the fingers must release at the point or apex of the throw and then the hands and fingers follow through pointing to the target or continue, if that helps, till the fingers and hand rotate out to the target and slightly downward to complete the extension and follow through. 



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