Target panic?

[Sesco_c]

I

[Matt_UK]

I've not been shooting for as long as some on here, nor am at thier level, but for what its worth i would say, just shoot at a target, don't worry about aiming too much, just get them on the target face. Don't touch the sight if they are off just get in the swing of doing things without thinking about it.
I used to find that if i really concentrated on a shot it would go bad but wheni was relaxed and just shooting, not really worrying where the sight was they went in the gold. Let your brain worry about where to send the arrows.

[Antoine]

perhaps try shooting without the gold rings, or even the red rings.
Yes, a target with a hole in the middle, and only the while, black and blue rings.
Then when you feel confident, add the inner rings progressively.
it's easy to get some old faces and cut the inner rings out.

[Flehrad]

Jim Larven suggested to me the reverse.

Target panic is a fear of the gold.
So, get some carboard, and make the whole target yellow.
Shoot at a yellow target until you get relaxed and confident again.
Then reduce the yellow by a little, and add the red.
Shoot until confident and relaxed.
Shrink the gold and keep adding rings until you get back to the normal target face size and rings.

[Matti Laakso]

Sesco C - My son had a bout of TP (Target Panic) or Gold Shyness or the yips or whatever you wish to call it. After much well meaning advice his coach (with experience of these things) suggested he shoot at anything that didn't resemble a target face. (Jim Larven was on the mark Flehrad!) - By only shooting short distances at things like paper plates with smily faces drawn on with texta (he is young) - you could probably substitute the face with cut outs from that election material handed out last weekend. Or alternatively shoot baloons or pieces of foam or big leaves off trees etc (you get the idea). We only shot a quiver full of arrows each afternoon for week 1, he also attended the regular Saturday morning shoot to remain "part of the crowd". It is important to talk openly about this (What are your thoughts Zoe?) TP seems to be a subject wispered about in the dark alleys, like it is some sort of social disease or something.- if people around you understand, they can give you the encouragement you crave for, which brings confidence which you also need psycologically? Spelling?? Once the confidence builds and you start to feel good, the encouragement continues and you shoot for fun instead of points (during this process it's important to group rather than score) it all comes together! But be prepared to put in the work and you will be amazed at how soon you will improve. Before you know it you will be shooting regular target faces getting good groups - in the middle. I'm not a shooter, but i was one of the two parents that spent hours standing beside their son telling him that every end shot was a fantastic effort! (for 5 months) So I know where I'm come from on this one . I'm sure there are other ways to overcome it that work just as well. There are other threads relating to this subject - GOOD LUCK and see you "on the other side" Damn - that's 3 posts!

[Zoe]

It is important to talk openly about this (What are your thoughts Zoe?) TP seems to be a subject wispered about in the dark alleys, like it is some sort of social disease or something.

Absolutely good to talk about it. Don’t know about the dark alley whispering though, Target Panic (TP) has been discussed quite a bit on the forum, and it’s worthwhile having a look at what people have said in previous threads about it. Some really good stuff in there. For starters:

http://www.archery-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=87350

http://www.archery-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=83806&start=0

http://www.archery-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=83178&start=0

Always a few common themes. The most frequent as I recall:
* TP is largely a result of punching a trigger release. Suggested remedy: Use a triggerless release (like a Stanislowski) or readjust the placement of the trigger so that you’re activating the trigger indirectly (eg move the trigger away from the point of your thumb to the base of your thumb, then pull back or rotate your hand to set it off)
* TP is a follow-on from ‘gold shyness’ (an inability to hold steady in the middle of the target when you have no problem holding steady anywhere else). Suggested remedy: use a ring on your scope rather than a dot, or just use an open scope; do some blank-baling (though this doesn’t seem to be fashionable atm). Haven't heard of Jim Larven’s proposal before but I like it

I reckon the second area’s much more interesting, as it starts to get to the crux of the matter. I’d agree that a bad release grossly exacerbates the problem, but the root cause is undeniably psychological, and so you start to get into all sorts of interesting stuff like ‘performance anxiety’ and ‘self efficacy’, cognitive focus etc etc. Pick a theory, any theory, and you can probably twist it to apply to TP if you try hard enough :wink: . The ‘fear of failure’ concept is always a nice place to start.

Would suggest reading through those above threads first though.

[stars_shine]

i've noticed ppl who are target shy, cutting out the gold, and putting it onto a black butt. so u still aim for the middle, bu the black instead of the gold.
it's supposed to work well2.
Just take ur time, and im sure it'll all turn out good

[shooting_star]

what i think would help (iv neva tryed it though)
but like koreans... just shoot blank butt and get ur head together.
whenever i feel like my form is slipping or if i think my mind is messing up, i just go and shoot blank butt and just concentrate on my form. maybe do a bit of shut eye. that always helps for me

>>luv smrz :wink:





Yo pretty ladies around the world
Got a weird thing to show you
So tell all the boys and girls
Tell your brother, your sister and your mamma too
We're about to go down
And you know just what to do
Wave your hands in the air like you don't care
Gilde by the people as they start to look and stare
Do your dance, do your dance, do your dance quick mamma
Come on baby tell me what's the word

Word up everybody say
When you hear the call you've got to get it underway
Word up it's the code word
No matter where you say it you know that you'll be heard

Now all you sucker DJ's who think you're fly
There's got to be a reason and we know the reason why
You try to put on those airs and you act real cool
But you got to realise that you're acting like fools
If there's music we can use it
Be free to dance
We don't have the time for psychological romance
No romance, no romance, no romance for me mamma
Come on baby tell me what's the word

Word up everybody say
When you hear the call you've got to get it underway
Word up it's the code word
No matter where you say it you know that you'll be heard

Word up everybody say
When you hear the call you've got to get it underway
Word up it's the code word
No matter where you say it you know that you'll be heard

Word up everybody say
When you hear the call you've got to get it underway
Word up it's the code word
No matter where you say it you know that you'll be heard





sorry, everyone ia probably getting really annoyed with me putting in the lyrics! i'll stop it now (or atleast i'll try)

[coach]

Youre dribbling star,, wipe your chin! Korn on the cob! :wink:

[TJ Mason]

The way I got past a target panic problem was to focus more on the follow-through. When I get to the point of release, I check how my back tension feels and keep moving. At some point I let the arrow go, but keep the movement going.

This is the thinking behind a surprise release: the release just happens at some point while drawing the arm back, but doesn't interfere with it. I have to say, though, that a surprise release didn't work for me -- I got better results by conciously controlling the release. But perhaps that will change over time.

[shooting_star]

Youre dribbling star,, wipe your chin! Korn on the cob! :wink:

atleast i admit im obsessed!

[aim4him]

so everyone so far seems to be on the same page- and i can say that I agree with pretty much all of thier ideas and such... but i just wanted to drop a few tidbits myself. One thing that i have done is put the target face up and then shoot from close up- and i mean close enough that your stabalizer could hit it! This close repetition will build up your confidence and you will be amazingly steady on the target, of course. This will help with your imagery as well. Then slowly in time move further back from the target, not rushing the process at all. And I always suggest starting each session with some blank bail- its nearly impossible to hold perfectly steady on your first few shots and all you should be focusing on is your execution, not the target. Blank bail just kinda gets me in the mood.

I have also tried taking the lens out of my scope and that has helped some in the past. This past summer before jr world champs i actually took my peep/clarifier out because I would start aiming too much and I would shoot way better with a fuzzy picture because then i had to learn to not worry about where my sight was and trust my shot a whole lot more.

well thats just my two cents... good luck and don't give up just yet...

[mbomike]

Here's a concept.......
Consider what colour pin sight you use. Maybe it is too similar to the gold.
What if you use a contrasting colour ie Black, Grey, Brown etc
Then possibly the enhancement of focus will magnify :D

[Bia]

How about target panic with recurve archers? I

[grantwomack]

Easy, don't look at the first two 10's. Some of the best ends I've ever shot were when I didn't look through my scope at every arrow after I had already established a good sight mark.

[Marcus]

Another one is that there is a delicate mind play involved.
Tell yourself you WILL shoot that 3rd 10 because that's what you do, YOU SHOOT 10's. 3 10's is nothing, of course you will shoot 3 10s because you need 60 of them for a perfect round. Be aggressive and confident. You are putting that 3rd one in the 10 because top shooters like you do that. etc etc

[Bia]

Easy, don't look at the first two 10's. Some of the best ends I've ever shot were when I didn't look through my scope at every arrow after I had already established a good sight mark.

Sometimes when I'm trainning outdoor, I don't even bring my scope, and I have to try hard not to look at the arrow when it leaves the bow... arrg, I'm sooooo anxious. hehehehe

I'll try to do what Marcus said, just to think confident...

:D :wink:

[shooting_star]

Another one is that there is a delicate mind play involved.
Tell yourself you WILL shoot that 3rd 10 because that's what you do, YOU SHOOT 10's. 3 10's is nothing, of course you will shoot 3 10s because you need 60 of them for a perfect round. Be aggressive and confident. You are putting that 3rd one in the 10 because top shooters like you do that. etc etc

that is so true! be confident enough that you expect the arrow to go in the 10

[maidmarion]

The best way is to not focus(I know I sound like a lunatic but neway) For me when I got target panic I had heaps of trouble all the usual methods helped but didn't quite cure me, what I discovered was just before I shot I was already telling myself that I wasn't going to shoot a good shot so what I tried was just totally forget about scoring and focus and bang I started shooting well again, I also found that going to blank butt and shooting with your eyes closed helps you forget about aiming.

[shooting_star]

(I know I sound like a lunatic but neway).
u dont sound like a lunatic, who sould like a hooligan...
lol jks

>luv semmerz :angel:

[TJ Mason]

I've spent the last few months struggling with a flinching problem.

I've managed to improve things recently by working on my follow-through. I've got myself a rigid Formaster, and am getting into the habit of maintaining back tension after release.

I think the only answer to target panic is: get back to basic good form, get a proper understanding of back tension, and (especially) work on your follow-through.

[The One]

If you have trouble with flinching upon, or before release, try executing an 'open' shot - a shot where all of your muscles keep extending (or squeezing) right through until the end of the shot. I had a few problems with minor flinching upon release, and found that this worked wonders. You must avoid suddenly relaxing or flexing muscles when you release (other than relaxing the finger muscles for a recurver)

[Liam]

If you have so much trouble with the gold, why not adjust your sight so your aiming for like blue, but still getting golds?

I dunno, I don't have the problem myself, but it seemed like a logical solution.

[The One]

I would not advise aiming off - this can only worsen the problem. It is best to work at getting rid of the problem as soon as possible. Preferably with the help of a coach.

[Liam]

I would not advise aiming off - this can only worsen the problem. It is best to work at getting rid of the problem as soon as possible. Preferably with the help of a coach.

Fair enough.

:D

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

I aim for gold and as long as I'm not shooting like crap they go there. :lol:

[frommy]

I really don't know what I'm talking about.[/b]



So, Liam, mate, why revive a three month old thread? :-?

[Zoe]

Not helpful Frommy.

Liam, I agree, aiming off does seem logical. Speaking from my own (dubious) experience

[arngeir]

in my opinion its only to ways to get off target panic.
1 shoot at a big target at short distanse, and go longer and smaler as you get more comfortable.
2 if you shot compound go for backtension release

and at last dont talk to much about TP at your training.
inn my club the word target panic is banned

[Brett k]

i have never experienced target panic my self.
i did however help somone through it once it is similar to what marcus said about thinking all i shoot is 10`s so of coarse i will shoot 10`s.
the person in question i speek of found that only shoot an arrow if you are convinced that it will go in the middle or very close to it. we all know what it feels like to shoot an arrow and know that it will hit the middle search for that feeling and let down if you dont have it.

[Liam]

[quote="LiamI really don't know what I'm talking about.


So, Liam, mate, why revive a three month old thread? :-?

Because it's been near the top for as long as I've been here, it's a helpful thread and a common problem.

[alexvpaq]

:cry: think I've got TP... cant shoot on FITA target but a little smiling eraserof a max lenght of 2 centimeter at 20 meter no problem... or a foam squirrel at 30 M pff Ezy...
but a target... ugly score...

[rbjb]

I believe that target panic is just another variation of "Panic Attacks." It's the FEAR of the FEAR, you will not be able to place the sight on the center of the target. Think about what I just said, you have to over come this fear. Every time this happens it re-enforces the fear in your mind. The fear you have is that it will happen again, therefore it happens again. If you don

[Purple Hats]

I came from using a trigger release and punching at the trigger - I had terrible form and was starting to have trouble with target panic.

I changed to a back tension release, learned how to shoot it properly (punched myself in the face a few times) and now no more target panic. I'd recommend trying different release aids although many of the ideas i have seen here seem very worthwhile.