Abstract
Objectives: The present study was into whether or not mindfulness training, based on the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment approach (MAC), can improve beginners' skill acquisition of dart throwing.
Design: Randomised controlled trial.
Methods: A total of 43 first-year college students who had not played darts professionally prior to the study were randomly assigned to either an attention control group (n = 21) or a mindfulness training group (n = 22) during an eight-week dart training program. Dart throwing and psychological variables were assessed at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and two-week follow-up.
Results: Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that the mindfulness group, but not the attention control group had significant improvements in mindfulness, experiential acceptance, and flow at postintervention and follow-up. Although both groups improved dart throwing performance after the intervention, the improvement of the mindfulness group was statistically higher in comparison to that of the attention control group.
Conclusions: It was concluded that the MAC approach could improve the performance and adaptive sport experience of beginners in dart throwing. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
