Target Panic! 100% Cure Rate - Let's Put it to the Test

[Cecil]

Jays book is great I been working on it for over a week now and it is curing me. I been drawing alot doing his drills and other ones and letting down without shooting. I can hold it now as long as I wont to. I had a flinch when I would shoot it is gone also. I still have a ways to go but it sure fills good being in control. Thanks Jay!

[J-KID]

Greetings Dirty Bill, Peter and Cecil.

I'm pleased you are experiencing improvement in your shooting with my techniques.  Being able to put the fun back in archery for you is a great reward for me.

Peter, make sure you let me know how you do when your life settles down and you can give the drills a try.  I'd like to know the outcome.

Jay

[BigCnyn]

j-kid pm sent

[laddy]

You have stated that Hill and Bear would shoot with the other hand when they had problems.  I do not seem to have a strongly dominant eye.  If I think about it, I can be left or right when lining up my eye with my wifes eye when looking a hole in a piece of paper she holds up.  I have noticed in the Hill videos that he has a slight down and right motion when he shoots at targets.  This would seem to be similar to the figure eight technique in your book.  When I shoot at my back yard target, this is difficult right handed and simple left handed. Question, if I keep shooting left handed will this rub off and help my right hand side?

[J-KID]

There are certain qualities of your shooting that could benefit from practicing with both hands.  One of the benefits is that it gets additional areas of your brain included that can help later with other hand.  It also will help prevent any development of target panic.  I'm not coordinated with my left hand to shoot that way.  I'm left eye dominant and shoot right handed and it seems to work.

So, I'd say if you can switch hands comfortably, it might just make you a more well rounded shooter.

Jay

[J-KID]

I see that target panic threads keep starting up and I see a lot of the same advice that doesn't work in them.  I also see some good advice in them, however, how long will it take to figure out which is which?  Target Panic can be beaten 99% of the time.  (It used to be 100% but I've heard from two shooters that the techniques did not help.  I'm certain if I could stand by them when they shoot and instruct them we'd get back to a 100% cure rate.)

I've personally helped over 500 shooters fix this problem and there are many coaches using the techniques with the same results.  TP can be beaten and you typically see results within 15 minutes.

ttt

[Phurba]

Jay, I just sent you an email to see if you could help me like so many others. Thank you.

Mark

[CJC]

jay
 what is the name of your book?

[J-KID]

Instinctive Archery Insights.  A number of the TradGang Sponsors carry it.

Jay

[TradPaul]

Jay sent you an email. Thanks.


P.

[Todd Hathaway]

For the last couple years, I keep thinking I have it licked. I can hold on target at full draw all day and make a nice shot during practice sessions.

But then I go to compete, and suddenly I can't get on target, or I release before I want to, etc.

This is an issue that's never addressed....why does TP only show up (for some)during competition?

How does one fix that side of it?

How does one know if that side of it IS being fixed during practice if he has to wait until a competition to find out?

[J-KID]

Todd,

If you watched any of the Olympics you probably heard the athletes talking about staying loose and relaxed.  We always perform at our optimal level when we are loose and relaxed and for that same performance to be replicated in competition we must replicate the state of relaxation.  This is very difficult to do in reality and it's one of the things that separates the best from the rest of us.  So . . . one of the causes of your problem may be that the state of relaxation when you are practicing is not the same as it is when you are competing.

Another component to the problem is that some people have a shooting routine that is very different in competition.  Target panic, a premature release for you, is learned through repetition and the the more exact that repetition the quicker it is learned.  If you are more deliberate and precise during competition you are, in reality, engaged in a different behavior than when you practice.  That is why routine is so important when you practice.  It must replicate as much as possible what will happen in competition.  Precision and focus must be the same or the practice session and the competition will not be the same.

So then, what can be done about it?  First, make every effort to practice at least a little exactly as you will shoot in competition.  That level of awareness is taxing during practice and you are probably better off doing a little at a time.  Second, try to imagine that you are in competition when you practice.  Imagine you are shooting the last arrow for a perfect round and feel the anxiety.  You will in time learn to control it.

Finally,  when you are competing try doing some of my drills during the actual competition.  One here and another there.  Sure people might say "what's he doing" until you start shooting better and then they will all be doing it.  A golfer takes a few practice swings before he hits the ball or putts.  A batter does the same.  Why not you in competition.  You are taking the remedy right to the problem and fixing it right then and there.

I have had plenty of shooters do the same in competition and none of them expressed any difficulties with the process.  Actually, a few only do the drills in competition because that is where they experience the problem.

I hope this answered your questions.

Jay

[Todd Hathaway]

Jay,
Thanks for the reply.

I agree with much of what you said. And at times I have tried valiantly to summon the feelings of tournament pressure in order to get used to it.

However I guess I am not blessed with a vivid enough imagination, since visualization has never worked for me. Countless self-help books rave about visualization and it's benefits, and I've tried many times to no avail.

But I keep on, and from time to time do as you suggested, trying my best to feel like I'm trying to make a winning shot.

But something in me will always know it isn't real, and not important to make the practice shot.

I like your suggestion about doing the drills during the competition, and have tried it, but maybe I need to put more effort into it.

Here is my problem with it: During the drill, I will at some point be in the position to make a great shot. The part of me that wants to win, will over-rule every other motivation and will execute the shot when everything is perfect (I know based on past experience).

This usually results in a terrible spasm or pluck as one part of me says "don't shoot, this is just a drill!" and the other part of me says "screw that, this'll be a great shot!"

The competitive side of me knows there are no second chances, and the next time I draw, I might not be as lined up as during the drill, so it will want to take advantage of the good shooting circumstances.

Batters and golfers have the benefit of not being in a position to execute a perfect hit while doing their practice swings.

If there were a way to mentally disconnect from the importance of the shot, I think I'd be all set.

But the true archer's paradox is: how do you not care about hitting the target when everything you are doing is for the sole purpose of hitting the target?

[J-KID]

I know exactly what you are saying about visualization.  It is difficult to put yourself in another place and feel the emotions that go along with it.  I think anything you can do in that regard will be helpful.  I truly believe in visualization of the shot and the arrow flight etc.  That is a different thing altogether and the benefits are dramatic.  Many people still feel that their visualization should mirror the real thing and  - everyone read this - it never does.  Everyone has a different subjective experience of visualization and whatever it is, it will work.

Now, back to your situation.  I get close to the ball with my practice swings when I chip from off the green.  Sometimes I'll feel like the practice swings are so good I'll make that small adjustment and hit the ball.  Sometimes it was alright and other times it wasn't.  I stopped doing that because that is not a behavior I want to teach my brain.  In other words: if you are doing the drills and decide to shoot - stop it!

Actually, there may be an option for you if you find your self-control is lacking.  Pick a spot on the target away from where you will ultimately aim and do your drill on that spot.  That way you won't be tempted to shoot because you are on the wrong spot.

[Todd Hathaway]

That's a good idea, Jay. I'll definitely try it next time I really want to make the shot.

As always, thanks for your insight.

-Todd

[AllenR]

Todd,

Another way to approach it is to re-define winning.  

I've talked to many competition shooters (mostly compound, but that is irrelevant for this discussion) and when they are running into TP problems in competition, they have to take a step back and define winning as shooting a certain percentage of good shots in competition.  They admit that they can't win when they are suffering from TP, so they step back and do what they have to to get control of it.

One excellent pro archer, George Ryals admits that he entered the pro ranks long before he was ready and developed TP from trying to win against the best archers around.  Fortunately he got help from a good coach.  One of his milestones was when he was able to shoot 50% good shots at a tournement.  It took him several more years to get to the first tournement where he shot 100% without jerking the shot.  He went on to win several national & international tournements.

The point is that TP can't be cured 100% overnight, especially when you can't duplicate the conditions that trigger it.  

Figure our your ratio of good shots to bad during competition.  Then the next time you compete set a goal to try to improve that by a realistic margin.  Don't even worry about where the arrow lands.  Not every good shot is an X.  You know what a good shot is.  Just keep track of how many you are able to execute.

One of the fastest ways to avoid winning archery is to focus on "winning".  Even at the highest levels you have to focus on executing good shots.  String enough good shots together and you have a winning score.  To do that you have to focus on shot execution.

It's sort of the old "How do you eat an elephant?" question. Obviously, one bite at a time.  A good archery shot is built one step at a time.  Jay's techniques are excellent and WILL work, but they are not instant cures.

If you focus only on executing good shots and ignore the score, you will shoot winning scores much sooner.  

Todd, this is not just my advice.  It comes from George, Al Henderson, Terry Wunderle, Len Cardinale and several other great coaches and archers.  I've suffered from exactly the same problem.  I haven't beat it yet.  Until this year, shoulder and elbow injuries have kept me from practicing enough.  I'm finally up to 80 to 100 arrows a day.  Usually I stop from mental exaustion, not physical.  Focusing on execution is difficult and mentally tiring, but I see a huge improvement in my shooting.  Fortunately, like most exercises, it gets easier the more I do it.

To win, focus on execution, not score.

Hope this helps,
Allen

[Todd Hathaway]

Allen,

I knew where you were headed with that post, and was about to say how hard it is to simply convince oneself that good shots are better than good scores, but I didn't expect that idea of keeping track of good shot percentages.

That's a great idea, and creates a concrete goal as opposed to just some idealistic, unattainable attitude. I should carry a notepad at each shoot and mark the shots as to how much I was in control: good, medium, or poor.

Thanks.
-Todd

[BLACK WOLF]

I totally agree with what Allen just shared. TP is a mind game and it can be beaten by changing the way you think and practice. Good shots are better than good scores. I personally rather have a good shot miss the bullseye than a poor shoot hit it...at least in the big picture. I've learned that with more good shots under my belt...the more accurate I become.

Using the bale to focus on form takes away the need to think about accuracy and allows you to concentrate on developing and maintaining what a good shot feels like.

Ray  

[J-KID]

Allen,
You said that "target panic can't be cured 100% overnight ..."

I've received over 40 emails from shooters requesting help with their various forms of tp this past week.  Five of those came today.  I can add those to the hundreds I've personally helped.  Most have kept me informed on their results.

I think we need to remain aware that there are two groups of shooters.  One group enjoys their backyard practice as they ready themselves for the upcoming hunting season.  Shooters in this group do experience relief from tp very rapidly with my techniques.  They often write that by the end of their first practice session using the drills they are back to normal with regard to control.  Many are shooting better than they did pre-tp within a few weeks.

The second group focuses more on competition.  While they tend to shoot more arrows I wouldn't say they are necessarily more serious about their shooting, but there are the additional components of pride, stress, anxiety etc. to deal with on a consistent basis.  These shooters have tp and additional demons to deal with.  You are correct that these people will find it more difficult to beat tp because of these additional components, or what you called "conditions that trigger it."

I think your advice is excellent regarding this second group.

[AllenR]

Good points Jay, I guess that's why you are the doctor  

It's also a good example of how easy it is to become myopic about a subject.  Every one that I shoot with at my club is very competitive and I tend to forget about those who enjoy archery on another level.

You are a great resource.  Thank you for posting so freely and helping fellow archers.

Any chance of a chapter on the mental aspects of competitive archery in the next edition of your book?

Allen