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I am a newbie in playing darts. When I practised myself, I noticed that even if I stood with my feet parallel to the oche, the movement of my arm was not a straight line going out from my dominant eye towards the dartboard. When I propelled the darts, my elbow seemed to twist a bit at certain position. As a result, the dart often hit Single 6 or Single 11 when I aimed at the Bull.

To simplify what I have said:

The dart, my aiming eye, my throwing arm and my target were not always on the same vertical plane in a throw.

Is this normal? Anyone who can share his/her experiences in playing darts are greatly appreciated.

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I throw darts fairly regularly. When you say that your feet were parallel to the oche, did you mean perpendicular? If you stand with your feet parallel, then you'll be facing the board straight on and it will be very hard to do this.

Here's my suggestion - place one foot (generally the same foot as your throwing hand, so right foot for a righty, left foot for a lefty) right up against the oche. Put most of your weight on that foot and place the other foot a little bit back (maybe 10-15 inches). Just use the toe of that foot to help maintain balance.

At this point, you'll have your body turned a bit - somewhat perpendicular to the oche. Turn your body a bit more so that your throwing shoulder is in front of your body. Bring your dart up in front of your face, and you'll find that it's much easier to keep the dart in line with your eye (as long as you don't move your upper arm too much when throwing).

Here's a site with pictures of the foot position and one view of the shoulder/upper arm:

http://www.nicedarts.com/dart_stance.html

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  • Ya, my stance is more or less the same as the image shown on the page you suggested. Having my right feet in the front, parallel to the oche, and my body perpendicular to the oche. However, when you throw a dart, do your shoulder, upper arm and lower arm always remain on the same vertical plane? – S.C. Jul 22 '14 at 2:19
  • It depends a bit on your stance, but yes mine generally do. The easiest way to accomplish this is to not move your upper arm (or at least, minimally). This will restrict how far back your upper arm comes, but it will also allow you to keep the dart in line with your eyes. I'd suggest practicing this without a dart - just assume the stance, raise your arm so your upper arm is close to parallel to the floor, and practice moving your lower arm in the throwing motion. Focus your gaze on your hand and make sure it's coming straight back towards your eye, then straight away from it. – Duncan Jul 22 '14 at 17:07

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