Target Panic- Please Participate

[BWallace10327]

I feel that I have a very good understanding of what target panic is...both from experience and in theory.  I would like to have many archer's definitions of what they think target panic is compiled on one thread.  Please participate, as I think this will be incredibly interesting with enough contributors.

[Preston Lay]

I think it best defined as ones inability to make a good shot when its capable of being made due to mental issues. But there are many different symptoms from each shooter.
Some short draw,snap shoot,loose total control, ect. But it all comes down to keeping your cool to make a good shot. You have to control the mind.

[Sam McMichael]

One of the reasons that kids don't have target panic is that that a bad shot is not the end of the archery world for them. They simply pick up their arrows and figure to do better next time. Adults, on the other hand, tend to freak out. You see it here on Trad Gang all the time. Some guys make post after post nit picking every aspect of the shot well after they have a basic understanding of fundamental form. The world does not end if we make a bad shot, or have a lousy round of 3D, or muff a hunting shot, but we sometimes react as if it does. I agree with Preston Lay, that it is primarily mental. A very accomplished archer once told me to quit quibbling over the little stuff and, "Just shoot your damn bow!) He was right.

[Sam McMichael]

Originally posted by Sam McMichael:
One of the reasons that kids don't have target panic is that that a bad shot is not the end of the archery world for them. They simply pick up their arrows and figure to do better next time. Adults, on the other hand, tend to freak out. You see it here on Trad Gang all the time. Some guys make post after post nit picking every aspect of the shot well after they have a basic understanding of fundamental form. The world does not end if we make a bad shot, or have a lousy round of 3D, or muff a hunting shot, but we sometimes react as if it does. I agree with Preston Lay, that it is primarily mental. A very accomplished archer once told me to quit quibbling over the little stuff and, "Just shoot your damn bow! He was right.

[Sam McMichael]

OOPS! double post.

[Sam McMichael]

Double post

[Sam McMichael]

I guess this many foul ups constitutes keyboard panic. Sorry 'bout dat.

[longbow fanatic 1]

To me, TP is the inability to; 1) come to full draw 2) hold your arrow tip solidly on target 3) inability to hold a strong shot (bow arm & back tension) 4) plucking the string instead of letting the shot happen. In a general sense, TP can occur in a lot of varied forms from slight, mild or severe. I've never battled a severe case of it, so I can't really speak to it's worsts forms. I feel that TP is anything that breaks an archers form down. For example: I struggle with expanding through the shot. It's the one thing in my form that causes my shot sequence to be inconsistent. And in truth, it's probably a mild form of TP.

[McDave]

I like to distinguish target panic, which seems specific to shooting sports, from anxiety or clutching, which has a much broader impact.  Both are caused by the mind, but target panic seems triggered by the subconscious, while clutching is conscious.

Target panic arises when there are artificial barriers to completing the shot.  Artificial meaning they are not related to any lack of strength or skill on the part of the shooter, nor are they necessarily related to any feelings of anxiety.  Archery symptoms would typically be inability to come to full draw without prematurely releasing the arrow, or inability to achieve the desired target picture without prematurely releasing the arrow.  I believe similar things occur in other sports, such as flinching in gun shooting sports.  Nothing I have read indicates to me that we have a complete understanding of the causes or cures for this problem.  On the bright side, virtually everyone who is persistent seems to eventually find something that works, although methods that work for some people may not work for other people, and things that work for a while may not work forever.

Anxiety, or clutching, is caused by conscious self-imposed mental pressure to perform.  The more the pressure, the higher the anxiety.  This can occur in any activity where success is in doubt, such as sports, business, and even social activities such as asking someone out on a date.  Symptoms include inability to achieve performance potential, or in some cases, even to perform at all.  The causes and cures for anxiety are much better understood than target panic, if equally elusive to apply.  Anxiety predictably succumbs to mind training or desensitization techniques.  An example of a mind training technique is training for increased concentration; the pressure is still there, but the conscious mind is able to focus on something else for long enough to complete the task at hand.  An example of desensitization would be if one feels pressure in a tournament situation, shooting tournaments more often should reduce the sensation of pressure.   A similar densensitization could be achieved by voluntarily embracing the anxiety rather than attempting to avoid it. Interestingly, techniques for reducing anxiety are either ineffective or actually may increase the symptoms of target panic.

Target panic and anxiety may exist separately, together, or not at all.  In other words, one person may experience target panic and/or anxiety from the same experiences that have no negative effect on another person.

[crazynate]

I used to have target panic very bad. I read archery insights by j kid well and that cured me. BUT it is very serious. To me tp can be premature release which is the most common and premature hold. I believe one more that is not talked about as much is when acquiring the bullseye triggers a release. Once I got my premature hold fixed I struggled with this for about 6 months before I fixed it. I believe I had tp because I have a lot of anxiety and I'm pretty darn hyper. Type a personality for sure. But tp can be cured trust me. I've said it 20 times on tradgang but if you have tp or just want to learn more about the mental side of shooting a recurve please pick up a copy of archery insights. From 3 rivers. Also spend 100 bucks and buy a  cheaper recurve in a low poundage to use as a trainer. It will benefit you very much as a shooter. Just my opinion.

[Tradcat]

I think the best definition is: the lack of complete control while attempting to shoot an arrow at a target

[reddogge]

My own form is fairly common and I even saw world class barebow shooters do it on live TV, the dreaded double clutch. May or may not be considered target panic but it is very annoying.

[Dan Jones]

Target panic is simply a loss of control over the shot. The loss of control is manifested in various ways - an inability to hold at full draw, an inability to reach full draw, an inability to move the bow hand onto the target etc. etc..

Target panic is commonly said to be rooted in the archer's mind.

My own experience with the panic causes me to wonder if my own case, and perhaps other cases, are not mental but physical. I spent a lot of time and effort trying to rid myself of the inability to reach full draw variety with absolutely no success whatsoever. I've read everything on the subject and I've tried every approach to remediation that's come along. I am simply unable to prevent my drawing hand from opening prematurely.  Is that type of loss of control mental?  Or physical?

I'll second McDave - we do not have a complete understanding of the causes and cures for target panic. Far from it.

[McDave]

For most of us, it is pretty easy to determine that it is a mental, rather than physical problem.  For example, I could easily come to full draw and hold if I wasn't aiming at a target and had no intention of shooting the bow.  If I intended to shoot the arrow (even if I tried to trick myself into thinking I wasn't) I would release prematurely.  If there are no circumstances where you can draw and hold the arrow, then I would agree that it might be physical.

[Three Arrows]

I think the worst thing about target panic is the frustration you get from missing the target. I was a pretty decent shot by my own opinion until I developed target panic 17 years ago. I don't know exactly what caused it other than trying to hold at full draw.  I was shooting with some friends who suggested that I hold at full draw and aim a little to hit the smallest circle on a 3-D target. It became mental and ruined my love for archery for a few years. I simply cannot hold at full draw without plucking, double clutching, and have a premature release. I am very strong, so it is not a physical issue. I have found a temporary cure that has worked for me over the years. I shoot in the dark with a candle flame as my target.  A friend of mine got me into traditional archery shooting instinctively in the dark at a candle flame. I don't know why I went to that after trying everything under the sun to cure it.  Target panic never goes away once you develop it.  You can only reset it for awhile.  I've read books that I've since forgotten.  I've tried clickers.  I tried three under. I tried closing my eyes until full draw.  I tried gap shooting. I tried shotgunning the arrow.  I'm back to what I started with: swing draw and pick a spot.

[Dan Jones]

Mental or physical?  Here's a passage from an article about target panic that Jim Ploen wrote years ago for the Instinctive Archer magazine.

The very act of drawing a heavy bow builds tension in the muscles being used and in the tendons that attach them to the bones that can lead to a  protective reflex reaction to the tension or a flexor reflex. A flexor reflex is a movement which occurs without a conscious decision by the brain. There are many different types of reflex, but the ones that we are most aware of is the flexor reflex that reacts to pain and is part of our self-protection. We will quickly withdraw any part of our body the instant it is hurt. No conscious decision on our part is needed to jerk away from the area of pain.

I'm not well versed in medical science, but this certainly seems to explain my inability to control the release more so than a fear of missing or anything else that may or may not be going on in my head while shooting a bow. At 48# I was way overbowed when I began to shoot a bow and I shot it way too much and after a few years I got the panic, which I was never able to overcome.

*Jim Ploen's excellent article can easily be found on the internet.

[oldrubline]

I would take a look at Joel Turner's stuff.  I purchased his ebook and read that. He also has excellent videos you can watch including The Science of Target Panic 1 and 2.  I tend to agree with his description and I also have gained a ton from Mr Kidwell's excellent excellent book.  I have had very bad target panic...Kidwell's book helped me in leaps and bounds and the work of Joel Turner gave me the final tools I needed to control target panic.  In fact, it got me to a confidence level that allowed me to hunt both MT and CO for the first time in my life this past year.

Dan

To me, it's simply not having complete control over every aspect of your shot sequence; the inability to do exactly what you want to do.

[Roy from Pa]

It's a mental road block that is difficult to overcome. I had it bad when I first joined an archery league and was shown how to shoot three under, using the point of the arrow as my front sight. In conjunction with that, I purchased a little too heavy of a bow for target archery. Along with that, I would start out above the target and bring the point of the arrow down onto the target. My target panic was, I could not get the arrow point completely down onto the bulls eye and subconsciously my mind said release. I shot great groups about 5 inches above the bulls eye. That carried over into hunting and I shot over top of every deer I took a shot at.

So a buddy persuaded me into shooting split finger and just staring at the bulls eye instead of placing the arrow point on it as a front sight. My target panic was immediately gone! I thought damn.. SO after a year of just staring at the spot, I gave three under another go around. My target panic was cured and never returned and that was 15 years ago.

Now I hope this thread doesn't put the whammies on me. LOL

[BWallace10327]

This is great.  Finally, a thread compiling many different understandings of this unfortunate condition, disorder or habit. Thanks for everyone's contribution.