How I got into darts - Chapter 2 Getting started

How I got into darts - Chapter 2 Getting started

Well up to about June that year I had been avidly bodybuilding and was up to about 260’s and huge. I had suffered a very serious back injury at work in 2009 culminating in 4 ½ months off when I prolapsed a disc and herniated 2 above and below it however I had built myself back up, and was doing occasional work at boxing events as a judge and officer in charge on top of my regular job and had also toyed with the idea of returning to active competition in 2011 so my time was pretty full up and actually playing darts just didn’t seem feasible with the time I had on top of a family and a near 3 year old. I also hadn’t had a drink in 3 years and just couldn’t see where I would fit in with it or vice versa.

Unfortunately whilst deadlifting my right leg went. Whilst on the ascent the leg started wobbling (a bad sign), and I felt a shocking pain in my back. Now this is a clear indication to ‘STOP’ however having worked through so many injuries before, and in ‘obsessed’ mode I powered on through the remainder of my workout. Now this was INCREDIBLY STUPID!, especially given my previous injury and its severity,  The next day  it was a chore to say the least to get out of bed and whilst very uncomfortable I made it into work. This though was the least of my problems, after an hour I tried to get up and couldn’t, my back went into spasm and I literally couldn’t stand. I was in agony and unable to move.  It was so bad that I had to phone my then 74 year old Father to come and pick me up. Bare in mind I worked at a Hospital I literally had to crawl on my hands and knees down a corridor that felt as long as the Great Wall of China whilst letting out the occasional moan of agony! I must have looked like a lunatic. Thankfully my Father had a van and I literally crawled all the way out of the building and into the back of his van, totally fucked!

Needless to say I wasn’t back to work the next day and was off for 2 weeks. After another 4 weeks uncomfortable I saw a physio who did some minor manipulation but gave me major relief instantly.  I also submitted for a full physical and was diagnosed with hyper mobility in certain areas (hands, back, fingers).  That diagnosis in effect spelled out ‘end of heavy weight lifting’ to me. God I wish I’d had that diagnosis 13 years earlier. Heavy  deadlifting, squatting and bent barbell Rows were the worst thing I could do with a hyper mobilised back and I was and had been going ‘real’ heavy for years.  It was basically a small miracle that my back hadn’t gone out years sooner (and under heavy weight). It was a BIG blow though. Working out had been a major part of my life since I was 15 and 17 years later I had to face up to some realities.  The boxing, wrestling, martial arts and bodybuilding had taken quite a beating on my body which at 32 was starting to show wear and tear. I was therefore faced with a choice, either carry on as I was and risk adding more damage to my already damaged back or accept the fact that this chapter in my life was over.

I was never someone who wanted to give less than 1000%. The prospect of lifting light weights just didn’t appeal and I knew that eventually I’d talk myself into eventually going heavier and heavier and risking the same result. I therefore needed a hobby that would be competitive, but wouldn’t tear me up physically, and darts seemed to be the perfect answer and something I could do in theory into old age!

 Now that I had decided that I wanted to start playing darts I realised that I would need a place to practice that wouldn’t involve a lot of travel. In doors was a no go, however I had a big summer house at the end of my garden  which had been my gym for the last few years. Now my gym had everything, benches, dipping racks, squat racks, 1000 Kg in weights, every bar you can imagine, you name it! This was all quality gear and didn’t take long to go, within about 48 hours everything had been sold via Gumtree.com and I was about £1,000 better off. I now had the perfect space to practice darts in!

So what do you need to play darts??? Well a dartboard helps, so I looked on Gumtree and found an old Winmau Blade 3 board with wooden case was available for about £20. I thought I was getting a good deal but in hindsight I wasn’t.  It was ok, but a little hard and abused (doesn’t matter though does it? Boards last for years right??). Not that I knew this at this point. Anyway, I was savvy enough to realise that I would need to get the dimensions right in order to play properly so I invested in a Winmau measurer and set about setting it up! Now I must be thick however setting the cabinet up wasn’t as easy as I thought and after a lot of swearing and a row with the wife (who I got to hold it for me) I’d now hung the damn thing!

Now I had a dartboard I needed some darts. Easy right?, Wrong!!! I went on Amazon and typed in darts and literally there was hundreds of the things. Rather stupidly I imagined they’d all be pretty similar but here they were all looking different. Different sizes, weights, shapes etc, and all endorsed by different characters. I really had no idea where to start. I must have spent several hours looking and reading reviews, however I had a problem. No one I knew actually played darts and there wasn’t a darts shop in the area where I could go and try some out.  I therefore elected to go with 3 that I liked the look of:

Ted Hankey 24g atomised: Because they looked cool

Simon Whitlock 24g: Because he looked cool and I liked the packaging

Red Dragon Hellfire 26g: Because they were cheap at £12

That is the beauty of darts though, it is a comparatively cheap sport to play and so my 3 purchases set me back about £50.