Should You Take Dart Lessons? An Introduction to Dax Munna

YES! REALLY! Is it a far-fetched question? 

As I write this, the William Hill World Darts Championship is currently underway. North Americans now have easily identifiable paths to qualify for it via the Championship Darts Circuit (CDC) and the payout is greater than any current North American tournament grand prize – even if you lose in the first round. 

Logically, the question is: If you really want to get better, why WOULDN’T you take dart lessons?

Let me be clear: dart lessons are not how I earn a living. After all, our community is small and spread out in the grand scheme of things, but I do earn money and it is much more than a bar tab. I don’t throw the word "professional" around and I am not writing to brag about myself. If you belonged to a golf or tennis club and wanted to improve you would go to the club's “pro”. 

I am that guy – the guy who can translate our unique game into the discernible. I am writing to bring easily digestible tips, approaches, observations, and use-of-time techniques to the community. I am writing to pay it forward; an imperative tool to the health and growth of our community. 

I know what some of you are thinking: “Who are you?” and “Why should I read on?” These are valid questions especially for our skeptical community. Certainly if you feel you have nothing left to learn, then read no further. Otherwise allow me to better introduce myself…

My name is Dax Munna. I am a native of New York City and have been playing steel tip darts and teaching the game on all levels for over 10 years. For those of you that enjoy the fun nicknames of our game and apparel, I was given the name Dr. Manhattan by a local player in NYC some years back for its “ominous association” to my bald head, my philosophical level-headed approach, and my hometown Manhattan. 

I am not a household name like Darin Young or Larry Butler, but many of the household names are familiar with me. I have played with and amongst some of the best national players while maintaining my desire to be communal and inclusive on the league and recreational level. That is my sweet spot. It is where and when I enjoy my time the most.

While living in Providence, RI, I sought out one of the top ranked American Darts Organization (ADO) players at the time, Freddy Krueger (real name). We became religious practice partners and under his wing we won the Seacoast Open Doubles Cricket, which was the first event I ever played. 

Despite that, I found greater joy in meeting and playing new players in RI, MA, and CT. I also enjoyed getting introduced to long format 501 with the Pro-Development Singles League (PDSL) via DoubleCork. DoubleCork and some of its developers were the precursor to DartConnect.

I brought the PDSL and its long format to New York City and built it into 15 divisions of various skill levels, including the New York City Premier League, with the help of Anthony Eugenia. I took great pride in organizing the elite players of the metropolitan area. Even though I won the PDSL twice against top national shot Jim Widmayer, I humbly say I take greater pride in the fact that I learned how to win by losing to him four times in a row in the final.

While residing in Los Angeles, I won the inaugural Dart Players Los Angeles (DPLA) championship. An even prouder achievement was stoking the coals of the Southern California Dart Association league which had been in disarray and dwindling. I enjoyed playing my part in helping David Irete and company revive steel tip in Southern California.

I present this background because I want to illustrate that I have the acumen to hang with some of the country's best, but I also want to highlight the more important things to me along the way like enriching the locales I have lived in.

In many professional sports, some of the best teachers and coaches are not recognized as having been the best players nor did they even play their sport at the highest level. They have the desire and ability to impart knowledge and pass on a distilled blueprint gained from their experience of skill, bad beats, and triumphant wins. 

My aim is to impart what I have learned and continue to learn over my darting tenure in order to set you on a path that can help you achieve your goals.

Just like with golf or tennis, there are plenty of darters that have fun going out and throwing regardless of results or level of play. A few beers and laughs with friends and all is right with the world. No one needs lessons to have fun. Lessons are a tool to improve. Too often is the case that people in all such activities think they know what they’re doing wrong and how to fix it. 

In reality, they are simply uncomfortable admitting that they have no idea what they are doing (right or wrong) or have too much pride and stubbornness to ask for and accept help – or both. When one recognizes “I don’t know what I don’t know”, the door to learning opens up.

This is one of my favorite quotes about learning. It basically says there is always someone there to teach if there is always someone there to learn. A student’s receptiveness is equally as important as the teacher’s ability to impart the lesson. If you continue to read this column you are in a place to be receptive.

When I reached out to A-Z Darts about doing this column, I was happy they were receptive. I am passionate about the dart community and look forward to enriching it further through this forum. 

It is my hope to touch on many topics related to common threads in stance, posture, grip, and practice. I also look forward to covering tangential topics like fitness, lifestyle, equipment and history – as well as the metaphysical, such as psychology and sociology. I hope you enjoy this series and feel free to reach out with comments and questions.