DARTSLIVE's "about 250 JAPAN tour pros" survey series has another installment asking: what do pros actually do when they're off their game? And do they have a fixed pre-game routine before stepping up? Turns out even pros don't have one universal answer, everyone's a little different.
How pros handle a slump
The survey grouped the responses into roughly three styles:
- Grind through it: plenty of pros said they practice harder specifically when shots aren't landing, using the practice itself to dig out the problem
- Step away and reset: forget the feel for now, eat something good, put on music, take a short nap, then come back with a reset mood
- Stop aiming, go by feel: pull attention off the board entirely, stop consciously aiming, and just focus on making the throw feel comfortable
Pre-game rituals: stretching wins by far
The survey also asked about fixed rituals before stepping up to throw. Stretching, especially the shoulder blades, was the single most common answer, with over 100 pros doing it. Loosening the shoulders before throwing is the closest thing to a shared consensus.
About 1 in 8 pros have no fixed ritual at all
Not everyone needs a set routine. Roughly one in eight pros surveyed said they have zero fixed ritual, they just step up and throw, no special prep, and they play just fine.
The wildly specific personal rituals
The rest of the pros had rituals that got increasingly specific:
- Drinking a beer before playing
- Eating a cream puff
- Taking a shower that morning
- Doing a full round of calisthenics before leaving the house
No single ritual is "correct," each one is just whatever makes that player feel ready to step up.
Just find your own rhythm
The most interesting part of this survey is that even pros don't have one shared answer, everyone's a little different, so your own weird pre-game habit isn't weird at all. If you've got a ritual before you throw, a specific grip, always warming up with one round first, tell us next time you're at AI DARTS, we're genuinely curious how our regulars get ready to play. For the practice-methods installment of this same survey, see 250 pros surveyed; for the mental game installment, see shaky hands are normal. Menu's here.