Patrick Chaplin - Darts Historian

Darts Tuition

DARTS TUITION

I recently received an enquiry from a visitor to my web site, asking (a) if there are any books that teach you how to throw darts and (b) if there is anyone out there who gives instruction or tuition in the art of dart throwing.

As regards (a), for those just starting out, I would recommend Eric Bristow’s Darts: A Complete Guide to the Game. This was published in London in 1985 by Fanfare and was part of a gift set which included a set of Eric’s brass darts with the well known ‘Crafty Cockney flights. Unfortunately, like most darts books, it went out of print very quickly, but copies can sometimes be found on the Intranet e bay auction site and they occasionally appear on the abebooks second-hand books site.

For our darting friends ‘across the Pond’ who want to learn all there is to know about throwing a dart, the stance, the grip, etc., then you have little time to wait. George Silberzahn is publishing a new book ‘Mastering the Sport of Darts’ in the US very shortly. I’ve seen a proof copy and it really is one of the most comprehensive books on darts tuition I have ever read. I am sure that this will be available via the Bulls Eye News magazine and website as soon as it is published.

As for (b), well that’s a bit more difficult. As far as I am aware, there is no one currently in the business of teaching darts one-to-one on a full-time basis, either here or in Europe or the US. People have tried in the past. The late Noel E. Williamson, author of Darts (Kingswood, Surrey: Elliot Right Way, 1968), included some hints and tips in his book but also tried to supplement his day job by teaching darts. A few people showed interested – including one many miles away in the Midlands – but, despite his acknowledged expertise in the game, there was never sufficient demand for him to ever think about giving up full-time work.

If anyone knows the name(s) and contact number(s) of any darts instructors in the UK, Europe, the USA or elsewhere, please send details to me at the address shown on my Contacts page.

But then of course there are darts tuition videos. Darts World magazine, published in the UK as of February 2004 was offering for sale copies of the ‘Winning Darts’ video, described in the magazine as ‘Expert instruction for novice and advanced players.’ For details of price go to the ‘Bookshop’ section of the Darts World website at www.dartsworld.com. However, don’t forget that over here in the UK we use VHS-PAL that will not necessarily be compatible with machines in other countries. For darters in the US of course there’s BULL’S EYE NEWS. I think Paul Lim made an instructional video in a US format. Check out www.bullseyenews.com for further details.

If you order anything through these magazines, please mention that you found out about them from my website.