From: tang@akofin.enet.dec.com (Gabe Tang)
Subject: Re: How do you practice?
Organization: the vms company
Date: 28 DEC 92 10:10:46 EST


re: frampton@skitzo.dseg.ti.com .........
>  I kind of felt that last night in the garage although I was still throwing
>  at a focused point.  I was using the first dart as a sighter and trying
>  to make the adjustments.  A note on adjustments... I noticed that there
>  is nothing physical that I can do to make the dart land an 1" or so
>  away from the previous dart in a chosen location.  Does that make sense?  
>  In other words.... If I can pull it off there was no change noticed in the 
>  mechanics, it was almost like a slight thought adjustment.  
>  In anycase. I respect your advice in #1 and will try not to focus during
>  practice.  Work on getting the groups down.

Framp,

	It's a bit unclear to me what you are saying and as opposed to what.
	So, rather than trying to decipher who said what and why, let me
	just add this to the pot so you can stew on this.....

	1) Aim at the bull. Every shot. Forget about where the 1st dart
	went. Don't aim at the first dart, aim at the bull. Aim at the bull
	on the 2nd shot. Aim at the bull on the 3rd shot. Try to hit the
	bull. Don't even notice where the previous dart(s) went, go for bull.

	2) After all 3 darts are shot, then check to see where they grouped
	or not. Did they all go left? right? high? low? Did they scatter
	around the bull 1 left 2 right? Except for the scattered pattern 	
	around the bull, if they didn't consistently go all left or right,
	high or low, then you don't even have a consistent shot form and
	you need to go back to square one to develop shot consistency.

	3) If they did all group left or right, high or low, or even scattered
	around the bull, check how wide a grouping you made. Were all the
	shots within a 4" diameter? 3"? 2"? 1"!!!!  :-}
	If so, then you have shot consistency and now you have to get the
	aiming/targetting down to match the fact that you have a good
	consistent shot form.

	4) Remember, consistency is essential to grouping, but aiming properly
	is essential to scoring well. In order to get the aim in line with
	what you actually score, you may have to change some of the mechanics
	of your form. If you have to do so, use a nice controlled scientific
	method. That is, change only 1 parameter at a time, figure out what
	that 1 change did or did not accomplish. If the effect is bad, go back
	to your control and try a different modification....1 parameter at
	a time.

	5) But what exactly do you change? Well, first off, if I were trying
	to change the left/right issue...I would check on my elbow/arm
	alignment.......to see if it goes straight back and forth or angled
	left to right or right to left. If I were concerned about a high/low
	problem.....I would check my release and follow-through/extension.
	Is the flight of the darts level, smooth and flat or arced in some 
	way? If arced, then it might be a too early release. If they start out 
	flat and then drop too quickly before reaching the board then I would 
	think late release and pushing too much.

	6) If you are satisfied with arm movement issues, it could be a
	foot/body alignment problem. Are you square with the target, straight
	on, leaning forward, backward? Some people are comfortable with only
	certain positions, maybe you need to find which one works better for
	yourself......only, and not necessarily imitate what another person
	does or had instructed you to do...or even what you originally just
	felt comfortable with. Sometimes, what people do when first starting
	out is not very efficient although it feels okay to them. I've seen
	people take wind-ups and throw as if they were tossing a baseball.
	They felt it to be a natural throw, but it didn't work out very well.

	7) Grip. Are you gripping in a consistent manner? Try experimenting
	with the grip forward of center, backward and just on center. 2
	fingers? 3? 4? Any above the dart? and below? Do you use a physical
	grip check or a visual?

	8) Lastly, when all the experimentation is done with your physical
	and mechanical aspects, you can start to fine tune by playing
	around with different shaft lengths and flight styles. But, why 
	wait until the end to experiment with flights and stems? Because
	these only correct or change minor defects to the characteristics
	of the shot. If you concentrate too early on these, you may never 
	really focus on your shot form. Problem though, human nature being 
	what it is, this is usually one of the first places most people turn 
	to when they are dissatisfied with their shooting.  Don't fall into
	that trap. Correct the mental and technique problems first, then
	fine tune. After all, shouldn't fine tuning come after the initial
	gross set-up?

>  When in practice, I like to make a few false or dry throws (without the
>  dart sliding from my fingers) with each toss much the same way a golfer 
>  does or when using an axe to get the correct alignment.  Its astounding 
>  how much better the groups are.  The drawback is I don't like to dwell 
>  at the oche during an actual game.  Dwelling makes me feel like my 
>  opponents are standing behind me twiddling their thumbs.  Is it more 
>  important to be polite or win the game?  Is that an unfair question?

	Nothing wrong with taking a pratice/ghost shot. Typically, there
	is no 24 second clock or time limit. And making your opponents
	twiddle their thumbs is part of legitimate match strategy! ;^)  8-0
	Take whatever time you need. Don't let others rush you. Likewise,
	you shouldn't rush your opponent, unless you think it's going to
	throw him off his game! :-}  Remember your dart etiquette. Abuse
	him after he's off the line....all you want....remember to smile. :-p

>> On the icewater idea, there is only one thing that works for me.  When I
>> come to the line, I need to believe, absolutely, that I am going to win.
>> That comes from two things, lots of practice so that I know I can hit what
>> I want, and success against my oponents.  As soon as I lose faith in my
>> abilities, I can watch the darts start to stray and the results go sour.

	Why are you losing faith? Don't you know that every dart in your
	hand is potentially a perfect dart!!!! Even if you've missed the
	first 2, that 3rd one can still be a triple! What better way to
	upset and frustrate the bejeebers out of the opponent than to
	stick the last one in just when he thought he was going to get away
	with a break. Never let up. If you get a triple on the first dart,
	why let up? Go for another triple and still another on the last dart
	too! I don't see why you are losing faith. I can see being upset 
	with missing, but you should always believe you are better than a
	miss....better than just a single. 

>  Food for thought. :-)  I shoot alot of pistol competition (which playing
>  darts I believe has improved :-)  I agree that the more you believe in
>  your own abilities the better the outcome.  On the side I also think
>  that it is important not to be believe "above" your abilities.  It seems
>  that only leads to discouragement.  In moral, loose goals may lead to
>  burnout.

	If you believe there is a limit to your darting abilities, if you
	think you don't have a potential triple in each dart.....why are
	you shooting darts? Same thing on pistols? Don't you feel you have
	the ability to score a 10 or a bull on each shot? You may miss, and
	you may feel badly about the miss, but you should also feel that
	you knew why the miss occurred and how to correct it or otherwise
	that the error was not typical. If you don't believe you can improve
	above your current skill level, then you are either at the highest
	level already, or you are not going to achieve any higher level.
	Like some people say, if you don't try, how do you know you can't
	do it? And if you don't try hard enough, you never will achieve
	the goal. I win games by pulling a horseshoe out of my ass. I
	win games that by all sensibilities I should lose. But, you know
	what, I have great enjoyment and satisfaction when I do pull those
	out and see the look on the losers' faces. All I need is for you
	to lose your faith and confidence. A break in your concentration.
	If you get discouraged easily, you're not going to win.....I am. :-)

	Here....you can have the soap box now.
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