How to throw a dart like Luke Littler – according to science
He’s the boy wonder knocking world champions aside like pins in a bowling alley.
Except this isn’t bowling, it’s darts, and Luke Littler is poised to become a world champion himself – on debut, no less.
But while he makes the sport (if you consider it one) look ludicrously easy, strolling up to the oche and nonchalantly firing three darts at triple 20, be warned.
It really isn’t.
As old home movies of Luke as a toddler show, it takes a whole lot of practice to become proficient at the 700-year-old pastime.
There are many elements to it, from physics and psychology, to muscle memory and maths – and even sex, possibly.
But before we get too in-depth, first, the basics.
Darts are made of four parts – the point, barrel, shaft and flight.
The point is usually made of steel, and, as the name suggests, is the point at the front that sticks in the dart board.
Behind that comes the barrel, where the player holds the dart. These can be made of many materials including plastic, brass and nickel-silver, but the best quality darts usually use a tungsten minx.
Next comes the shaft, which connects the barrel to the flight, the fins at the back of the dart that help keep it stable when thrown.
Flights come in many different shapes and sizes, and darts themselves range in weight from about 16g to 30g – heavier darts are generally better for beginners.
But because of the weight of the dart – and, you know, gravity – it is very hard to throw one in a perfect straight line.
Instead, players aim for a parabolic curve, which means the dart will first travel upwards, before flying back down and hopefully hitting the board opposite where the player threw it in a smooth, symmetrical arc.
This is where the skill comes in. Throw it too hard, and it will land higher than you aimed. Not enough power, and it will fall further down than you wanted. Or in either case, you can miss the board entirely.
Beginners are also commonly haunted by a wobble in their darts, which can have many causes. The dart may not be pointed fully in the direction of the throw. You may be spinning it as you let go (probably accidentally).
Proper foot stance is also important – keep about 70% of your weight on the front foot when throwing.
Then there’s the mechanics of the throw itself.
In darts, the human arm functions as a ‘multi-purpose lever system’, from the shoulder to the hand.
Watching the pros like Luke, you’ll see the shoulder and elbow are almost in line, the elbow dipper slightly lower. This remains fairly static, with the lower arm doing most of the work as it is pulled back and accelerated forward in the throw.
The release – letting the dart go – completes the throw. The lower arm and hand start the curve, so obviously letting go at the right point along the arc to set the dart off on the trajectory you want is key.
That’s the physics bit, but what about the psychology?
In darts, the mental aspect is just as crucial as the physical – if not more so. It requires intense concentration and confidence, both of which can be easily broken.
And in a high-pressure situation like Ally Pally, players also have a rowdy crowd high on adrenaline and alcohol, cheering and shouting as they play.
That means practising how to focus is just as important as practising how to throw.
Dr Linda Duffy, former women’s world number one turned sports psychologist, says: ‘Mindset at a given or in a particular scenario is the most important aspect of darts performance. In fact I would argue that among the top players, darts is 95% mindset during a particular match and 5% level of skill.’
Speaking to the DartsWeb blog, she added: ‘All those players are experts at hitting the target, anything on the board, much of the time – but it’s still the same handful that usually win an event.
‘Those “winners” have higher levels of psychological resilience, more positive focus on competitive anxiety and greater perceived situational control.’
Backing that up, a study in the Sports Psychologist journal found that players who used mental skills training programmes performed better than those who had more physical practice but did not do mental training.
However, it’s still not as simple as concentrating – because overthinking can prove just as detrimental.
A study in the journal Cognitive Processing found that players given an internal focus instruction – being told to think about what their body was doing as they threw – performed worse than those who were not.
That’s where the confidence and muscle memory comes in, and why successful players focus on the board, not the dart.
Then of course there’s the least fun aspect of darts. The maths.
Not in terms of how you throw this time, but when trying to count down from 501 by hitting particular segments on the board – and finishing on a double – you need to be strategic in your scoring.
And then perhaps the most contentious element. Sex.
Dr Duffy, herself an extraordinary darts player, believes men are naturally better at darts ‘due to their concentration skills’.
Very controversial.
‘In healthy adults, from children all the way through to mid to late adulthood, men and boys are always better than girls at throwing,’ she said last year.
‘It doesn’t matter what task you give them, there’s just something and some reason and not just with darts, but balls and beanbags, throwing at a target in whatever way, the boys are always better.
‘I still haven’t got to the bottom of exactly why this is, there’s possible reasons in brain structure and other psychological concepts related to field-independence and field-dependence that may come into play.’
Dr Duffy wonders if the concentration aspect, rather than physical, plays a part in her theory.
‘It may be where people say anecdotally “women can pay attention to ten things at once, where men can only focus on one thing”, which is a joke, because it’s not true for everyone, but I do believe there’s some truth when you are looking at sports which require real focus and concentration such as darts, chess, bowls and archery,’ she said.
‘I think men manage to block out a lot of the white noise, if you like, and focus on what they need to do a lot easier than women. That makes them better.
‘That’s not to say a woman can’t beat a man, I’ve beaten loads, but when you look at the top of these sports the best men are always going to be better than the best women.’
However, there’ll be no way to test it in tonight’s final, when Luke takes on world number one Luke Humphries – who has been vocal about his own battle with anxiety.
There are also few scientific studies into gender and darts prowess, although a study by Dr Duffy found the amount of practice was unable to explain differences in ability between male and female players.
But by applying the science to your next darts game, hopefully everyone will be a winner.
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