Beat Target Panic (Maybe?)

[McDave]

NOTE:  The Target Panic Drills have been updated as of January 31, 2025 to include the following paragraphs:

I’ve heard that only goal-oriented folks suffer from target panic and process oriented folks never suffer from it.  I believe that to be true and these drills are designed to make you take complete control of your shot sequence.  You ABSOLUTELY MUST concentrate on each and every aspect of your shot sequence while performing these drills.  Make sure you do each step before proceeding to the next and only then are you permitted to even consider releasing an arrow. If there is a breakdown in that shot process you’ll need to let down and start over.

To quote Bill Jinks, “Rehab: Involves a value system overhaul placing execution over result along with retraining of the mind exercising strict adherence to a shot sequence.”


The drills and spreadsheet can be accessed in the attachment below.

I have been a supporter of your system for a long time, Jim.  The time in between taking your program and now has been full of ups and downs, many relapses and a few successes.  Some days are so bad that no matter how many practice drills I do or how long I try to hold through the storm, I can't beat it.  Some days are so good that I wonder what the fuss is all about. 

The reason I quoted your bold text is that it supports my own belief that ALL targets panic is a result of anticipation.  Goal orientation is itself a form of anticipation.  Process orientation means keeping one's mind in the present moment.  This isn't something that process oriented people aspire to, it's just the way they are.  Lucky them.  I've always considered myself to be a process oriented person too, but I also anticipate things a lot, which has helped me in life, but not so much in archery.

The very worst form of anticipation for we who suffer from target panic is the anticipation of target panic itself. Roosevelt said, “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.”  That is not just a call to be brave, but is literally true when it comes to target panic: there is nothing to fear from drawing and shooting the bow; the only thing we have to fear is the anticipation of having another target panic attack.  Which is exactly what brings it on! 

Obviously, the fear of having another target panic attack is something that only a person who already has target panic can have.  But this is a fear that looms large in the minds of target panic sufferers, much larger than whatever the original cause of target panic may have been, which i doubt that most people can even identify.  The fear of having another target panic attack is a cascading fear, that is amplified each time it occurs. 

If I am correct about this, finding a permanent cure to target panic means finding a way to avoid anticipation, i.e. a way to keep the mind in the present moment, where there is no anticipation, where we are totally focused on what is happening around and within us.  On my good days, I must be able to do that; i just don't know how to do it whenever i want to.

Please don't take anything I say as a criticism of your system.  I recommend it to everyone, and benefitted greatly from taking your program. It left me with an important tool in my bag, that I use every time I shoot, as I continue to struggle with what will probably be a lifelong challenge, but a challenge that I willingly accept.