# My Target Panic journey



## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

After finally coming to terms with how I am going to deal with one of the most common issues in archery, I thought I'd share with folks my 29 year relationship with what I now affectionately refer to as "my old friend TP." My apologies for the length (blame my HS typing teacher), but I post this in the hopes it may help someone.

Target Panic, or "TP" or "target anxiety" or whatever we choose to call it, is often the topic of conversation among archers. I don't have to tell many of you the stigma it carries with it and how many archers believe you shouldn't talk about it lest you become afflicted. It is a condition that is more often denied than admitted, and because of this - more often left untreated than treated. It's also more common that most people realize and anyone who has shot competitive archery for any length of time, gets to deal with it sooner or later. Like the Paparazzi, it is often a price of success in this sport.

I first met my old friend TP on a field archery range in 1988. At that point, I had been shooting a compound bow with fingers and a simple sight pin bracket as was popular at the time. I owned one bow and it was my hunting bow. But I enjoyed shooting and joined the local "bowhunting club" to participate in some field archery and early 3D events (in those days, 3D was actually 2D paper animal faces and flat foam cutouts!). So that was my first real taste of competition rather than just bowhunting. Because I wanted to be competitive, I practiced. A lot. I loved to shoot so I was out at that practice range several times a week, whenever I could break free from classes and working. But despite the practice, my shooting was getting progressively worse. I wasn't sure the reason until one day I realized that no matter how I tried, I simply could not hold the pin on the spot I wanted to shoot. I could get close, but then the pin would freeze up and I would do a "drive by" shot - releasing as the pin passed the spot.

I can remember exactly where I was standing when I finally admitted to myself I had a problem. Why couldn't I just hold the pin on the spot? I had no idea, and really nobody to ask. So the fun of shooting was escaping me, and I hated that. I loved to shoot. It had been my lifetime companion and reliable friend growing up and I didn't want to ever quit shooting. So, I decided that was my excuse to try traditional archery - something I had wanted to do since I was a child. I got a takedown recurve hunting bow and learned to shoot "instinctively" like the guys I had seen at the club and the videos I'd seen of Bear and Pearson and Hill. At least, that's what I thought they were doing - aiming without aiming. LOL

It worked for me. I no longer had to deal with a sight in my field of view and just knew the arrow was "lined up" in my peripheral vision and eventually figured out when to release. I became pretty proficient with that method too, winning quite a few local 3D events and placing well in the TX traditional championships in Jacksonville, TX in 1990, despite being half the age of all the other guys there. I won or placed 2nd in our Forestry Conclave archery event for three consecutive years with that bow. I was happy with that, was having success hunting with the recurve, and all was good for the next 13 years. Turned out shooting without aiming worked well enough to send my old friend TP packing on a long journey and I was not sorry to see it go.

In 2003, I was still happily shooting a traditional bow when someone talked me into shooting an indoor NFAA 300 round for a benefit event. I'd never shot a 300 round before but I couldn't say no to the cause so I signed up figuring I'd do okay. I suppose I did do okay for someone shooting a 63# longbow and 2020 legacy arrows off the shelf, but at that event I got my butt handed to me by a gentleman old enough to be my father, shooting a lightweight metal recurve with no sights. He beat me by more than 40 points and I wanted to know how. Bob Wolff was his name, and he became my target archery mentor for the next few years. He patiently explained his aiming method, and encouraged me to give it a try. So I did. And after a 13 year absence, my attempt to use the arrow to consciously aim was all it took to bring my old friend TP back for a visit. Again, I remember exactly where I was standing when it came back. Try as I might, I couldn't hold the point of the arrow where I wanted to, and the "drive by shooting" returned. I was disgusted. 

Fortunately for me, another archery mentor - Larry Skinner - had watched the whole process of me trying to learn to aim again. It took some time, but Larry can be quite persuasive and he convinced me to "put a clicker on that bow!" ha, ha. I was very reluctant because I really enjoyed and identified with traditional archery and in my view, clickers and sights were not traditional archery. But I swallowed my pride and gave it a try. Larry told me it would cure my TP and to my surprise, he was absolutely right. Literally overnight, I was able to hold on the spot I was aiming at as long as I needed to. So I cobbled together an old used Hoyt TD-2 recurve setup, Check-it sight, aluminum long rod, clicker and all, and joined the ranks of the Olympic Recurve shooters. The rest as they say, is history. Archery was never easier for me. Who knew a $10 piece of spring steel could make such a difference? Well, Larry knew, and I was grateful for his intervention. So a few months visit was all my old friend TP got, and off he went packing again for the next half-dozen years or so.

Fast forward to 2010 and my longing to shoot target barebow (and frustration that I never really figured it out) finally had me back shooting barebow. Turns out that a few hundred thousand shots through a clicker over the course of 7 years is great medicine for target panic. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could aim with just the arrow, and shoot pretty well without a clicker. In 2011 I shot the NAA Indoor Nationals and managed a respectable 530 average over the two days, taking 3rd in the U.S. that year in senior men's barebow. I was very proud of that and quite happily rolling along in my "new" role as a target barebow archer. I had even started to eye some of the state barebow and TFAA trad. records as goals for the next few years. 

I think that having some success and then "getting serious" about target barebow was the open door that my old friend TP needed to walk back into my life. Once again, I can remember where I was standing, during the TSAA state indoor event, when he came calling. Even though I recognized him right away, his return was not a welcome one. I did what many folks do, and tried for years to deny it. Like the old friend we all have that isn't as welcome as they once were, but they aren't going to leave you alone and you aren't going to ask them to leave. So there you find yourself, standing there having yet another conversation with them.

My eventual solution once again was to pick up the Olympic rig and try to use the clicker to train my way out of the TP. This was a timely move since the 2012 Olympic trials were around the corner, and despite being 42 years old, I was still capable of shooting the OR at a pretty high level. So I trained for those trials with the O.R. knowing I was training for barebow at the same time. It was a "win-win" solution because it led to my highest indoor and outdoor scores of my Olympic Recurve career in 2012, and a respectable finish at the trials event shooting against full time archers, most of them half my age. So mission accomplished in 2012, and in 2013 I was eager to return to my first love and old nemesis, target barebow. 

The first goal on my "to do" list in 2013 was the NFAA state traditional record, which I thought was within my reach. I set up an NFAA trad rig, figured out my 16" gap, and spent the winter practicing and shooting local events to prepare, and the preparations went pretty well. I broke the old record (albeit with the aid of the newly approved 12" stabilizer) by quite a margin, and toasted my newly achieved goal with a steak dinner and a good cold beer. Things were good and I figured I had finally done all I wanted to do with the Olympic bow and would just shoot barebow from that point forward. 

That glowing feeling lasted for exactly one week. A week after the TFAA state indoor event and my record setting performance, I found myself stringwalking and aiming on the spot for the USArchery indoor nationals barebow event, alongside my friend Rick Stonebraker. Rick and I had some great battles that year indoors and out, and that is still one of the most enjoyable years of my shooting career because of him. Unfortunately, that day at Nationals, my old friend TP found me again and once again he was most certainly not a welcome sight. I shot well under my average that weekend, and Rick being the veteran he is, knew why. But being the friend that he is, he also didn't mention it. He knew that was something I had to work through on my own, but if I had asked him he also would have been very ready to help.

For the past few years I've struggled through barebow, trying a lot of different things that might show my old friend TP the exit. Sometimes he would leave for a few shots. Sometimes for a few days, and sometimes even for a few months. But he always came back sooner or later. I made a half-hearted run at training for the 2016 trials, thinking some time behind the Olympic bow would help me again, but my heart just wasn't in it. As the sitting chair for the USArchery barebow committee, I wanted to shoot target barebow more than ever to help grow the division. With or without my help, the barebow division grew to the point where this year, we have by FAR the most barebow archers in USArchery since people started putting sights on bows. So in that respect, mission accomplished. 

What to do now? I asked here for votes on whether I should shoot recurve or barebow at indoor nationals, and overwhelmingly the vote was for barebow. So that's what I shot. But as soon as I committed to it, my old friend TP pulled up a chair, sat down and cracked open a beer. He was here for the long haul this time and I could tell. Sure, I had moments of great shooting, but I also had moments that would make most folks want to throw their bows in the dumpster. If I didn't just love to shoot, I probably would have done just that. But since I loved to shoot, and I had made an commitment to shoot barebow, I did what a lot of folks do when unwelcome guests settle in and unpack their luggage. I figured out how to grin and bear it and make the best of the situation. I looked at the positives and focused on how much I enjoy shooting and shooting alongside friends. And it worked. 

No, my shooting didn't magically improve, but my attitude did. I learned to accept my challenge and even embrace it. I learned how to still have fun despite not being able to consistently shoot anywhere near my potential. I remembered that archery is about a lot more than a number on a piece of paper. And because of those things, despite shooting the lowest competitive indoor barebow score I shot in years, I really enjoyed indoor nationals and got comfortable with my old friend TP watching the whole event. Instead of getting angry with the anxiety induced 6 I just shot, I learned to laugh about it, shake my head and move on to the next arrow. In fact, I surprised myself at somehow being able to do that and maintain a pretty good attitude through the two day event. It felt like I had found myself in a new place, at peace with my affliction. 

It's funny how sometimes you bump into the right person at the right time. As I was turning in my scorecard and chuckling at the numbers on that piece of paper, I ran into a young archer that I had known for years and we had a chance to catch up. I had seen this young lady come up through the JOAD ranks and take on the best in the business as a young adult. Her determination and grit so impressed me that I took all the young ladies in my JOAD club up to shoot with her one day a few years ago, so she could mentor them and talk to them about commitment and dedication from a perspective they could appreciate. I'll always be in her debt for taking the time to do that for my students.

Unfortunately like many high level archers, she had earned a visit from her friend TP a while back too. I knew that, and asked how it was going. I wouldn't have felt so comfortable to ask except that she had a big smile on her face after having just concluded the tournament. Being the sharp young lady she is, it only took her two years to learn what it took me two decades to figure out - how to make peace with her friend TP and enjoy her shooting again. These young folks are so smart these days. LOL I really enjoyed hearing that because she is a real gem of a person, and losing her to TP would be a loss for all of us. I'll remember that conversation for a long time because she and I have both been through the valley and come out the other side, even if she crossed it 10x faster than I did. ha, ha.

I write all this not to bore folks or toot a horn but rather to say that if you are struggling with TP or someday find yourself greeting your new friend, realize that a love of archery, some supportive friends and mentors, and a lot of patience might just be what you need to learn how to live with it, or even send it packing for a while. Know that many of us have dealt with it and despite how frustrating and debilitating it can be, you can make it through and learn to enjoy the sport again. Don't be afraid to talk about it with those who have had it. IMO it will help you. Most of all don't be ashamed. Learn to laugh about it and recognize it as a part of the game. Some days it will win, but some days you will win. And those days are sweet.


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## ccwilder3 (Sep 13, 2003)

Archery was a lot more fun when I wasn't as good.

As I have become better TP has taken most of the fun out of it.


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## Demmer (Dec 1, 2012)

I've dealt with TP for quite a while. Not very severely but I do have a miss or two happen too often. Lol. Relax, slow down, and focus on the follow through has saved my butt every single time. I flinch here and there sometimes anticipating the shot... Let down and redo. Honestly, for me, has been quite that simple. It's a mind set that I choose to have and does me well. That and pretty much just shrug my shoulders when I do make a terrible shot. Lol

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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Demmer said:


> I've dealt with TP for quite a while. Not very severely but I do have a miss or two happen too often. Lol. Relax, slow down, and focus on the follow through has saved my butt every single time. I flinch here and there sometimes anticipating the shot... Let down and redo. Honestly, for me, has been quite that simple. It's a mind set that I choose to have and does me well. That and pretty much just shrug my shoulders when I do make a terrible shot. Lol
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


Exactly.


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## mamba/ny (Mar 11, 2012)

Thanks for taking the time to write this.I have struggled with different forms of tp for years,like you just when I think I have it beat it shows up again.
I shot a indoor 300league again this winter.Once again started out great, our team was in 1st place for half the league.One more night to go and were in 5th and my shooting has been a train wreck.
I won't give up though love the sport to much-Ray.


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## camperjim (Oct 22, 2016)

I posted some detailed comments on your identical Stickbow forum post. To summarize, it seems to me that TP is not some sort of demon that comes and goes. Rather TP has a variety of symptoms that reflect the same basic issue....coordination of conscious and subconscious aspects of shooting. If, or I should say when, we fail to properly coordinate the conscious and subconscious processes, the results are likely to be disastrous. I am looking forward to the day when sports psychology will give us a better understanding and better tools. For now I am just relying on use of a mantra. That is a pretty common technique used in all of the various shooting sports.


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## granite14 (Nov 10, 2014)

Thanks for the post John. Great writing.

I hit this within my first 5 months of shooting, and I finally am learning this lesson and how to focus in BT and follow thru. 

I even had to apologize to the guys in my group on 2nd day of field nats 2015.

The people in barebow are great and one of the main reasons I keep up the good fight.

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## Tbarkeriii (Jun 24, 2016)

Hi my name is Tom and I have TP. Good write up.


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## Rylando (Jul 30, 2016)

I think it's really odd that people are honestly afraid of Target Panic, call it TP or what that shall not be named to avoid it. All that does is compound it and make it worse in my opinion. Everyone I know who has Target Panic pretty much admits it affects them in some way, myself included.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

I'd pay a lot of money to be able to hold in the spot without feeling like my world was about to end. Thankfully compound is still fun (I love hinges).


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## ralluri (Mar 9, 2015)

Thanks for the post. 

Though I don't personally have TP (at least I think I don't, not considering the occasional flinch or failing to letdown), I try to avoid the discussion about it so as not to think about it at all.

But my daughter shooting BB has severe TP. I thought she was overcoming it as she shot better than her expectations at the State Indoor tournament. Then couple of weeks later when we were at the USA indoor nationals, she was completely freezing her arms at the shooting line. She was in Tears and I couldn't help at all. sShe knew she had to pull her arms to get to her anchor, but her body was not listening to her mind. Later at the practice time on the same day, she was back to her best. 

I didn't realize till then that TP can show up any day. 
I am looking for options to train her and help her rediscover the passion of BB. 

My daughter now is trying with Clicker and Sight to see if it helps her recover her confidence. 

I wonder if other sports have similar issues and if "Choking" under pressure is he same as TP.




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## Osmanthus (Dec 2, 2014)

John,

Thank you for sharing that. I was shooting a few lanes down from you at USAA Indoor Nationals, and I think we were on the same shooting line up, so I did not get to see you shoot. It was great to finally meet you.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Osmanthus said:


> John,
> 
> Thank you for sharing that. I was shooting a few lanes down from you at USAA Indoor Nationals, and I think we were on the same shooting line up, so I did not get to see you shoot. It was great to finally meet you.


Good to meet you as well. If you had seen me shoot, you would have seen two pretty good shots out of every three-shot end. LOL 67% is passing still, right?


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## Mr. Roboto (Jul 13, 2012)

Great write up.

I didn't really come to grips on this until last summer after the NFAA Outdoor Field Nationals. I kept trying to blame my form. Yes my form still has a lot of work, but Jason Wesbrock's comments after the shoot finally got me to acknowledge the truth.

With gap shooting, I spend most of my time aiming off the target, at some rock, tree branch, dark depression in the hay bale. A lot of nebulous aiming points, Arrows score well. Then comes the point on distance, 45 yards. Its like the bow suddenly gains 100# and locks under the spot. No matter how hard I try, I just can't move the arrow tip to the spot and then I just flinch, pluck, punch, collapse, etc. Arrows all over the place. I get so totally frustrated because I can hit a 50 yards or 35 yards with better scores. 

For indoors, I have always shot with a gap where the arrow tip was 24 inches below the spot. If I can find a good smudge somewhere I can put up some good numbers. If I can't poor numbers but just blamed it on not getting a good reference. Then I made the mistake of looking at what all of the other top indoor barebow/Trad shooters are shooting and noticing that they tune their gear to get the arrow tip on the dot. So last year, I decided to do that. Then all of a sudden the same exact problem that I have at 45 yards for field shooting began to occur with all of my indoor shooting. Most of the time I just blamed my form and that this was a new way of shooting that I just need to get used to it. There were moments of greatness, but on average, my scores were lower. This year the problem just persisted.

Lately I have been watching some youtube videos from Joel Turner, and what he says hits home about target panic.

Yeah, I got it, and its frustrating. But I love shooting too much to run from it.

So what am I going to do about it? I am going to spend most, if not all, of the outdoor season shooting barebow style with string walking to put the arrow tip on the dot all the time. But this year is going to be all about form. Tomorrow I have my very first meeting with a real coach and all he wants me to bring to the first session is my tab. Its going to be all about working on form, and swallowing my pride in how I can learn this all on my own. I will still shoot all the big shoots in my state, but that is going to be more for having a head count for barebow at tournaments. Keep the head count numbers up. 

Will this fix the target panic? I don't know, but my goal is to rebuild the fundamental form, and hopefully with good form I can have a lot of fun again.


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## hammer08 (Aug 28, 2012)

Target Panic has always bothered me at bigger shoots. It's very frustrating to see amazing practice scores come down so far in competition. I shoot right around my average in leagues and then slightly below in state level and sectional tournaments. National tournaments are where my target panic bothers me the most. I shot more than 20 points below my average each day this year at Nationals in Harrisonburg. 

At Nationals I struggled with it bad on some shots and had some shots where I was totally in control. I shot a good amount of 10's and 9's being in control but a 5, 6, and a couple 7's when I wasn't. 

I feel like I'm close to being able to overcome this but it takes a lot of practice while being in total control. I have to find a way to be focused on the process 100 percent of the time in tournaments instead of 80-90. Those few shots where I get in my head really kill a good score.


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## Ms.Speedmaster (Dec 10, 2010)

Good stuff, John. As always. 

I was one of those who said if you name it, it becomes a reality. Until it happened to me. A shoulder injury has pretty much taken me out of the game for now, but I know it will be waiting for me when I get back.

Just like the shot, our attitude about it is the make or break. Thanks for the reminder.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

I've had it since 2004-2005 when I started shooting again. Not a trace with compound, but it all freezes down with recurve. When it was at its worst, I had to get to full draw with my eyes completely closed, or I could fire at any time during the draw cycle. When I opened them, I just hoped I was aiming somewhere near the target, as the arrow could go in any second. In one nationals I managed to shoot two targets to my left (not target faces, actual free-standing, 130cm+ target stands, at 18m), hitting 10 in my club mate's target.

I've tried it all, training like mad. Not training at all. Trying mental focusing, exercises, you name it. I even wrote an academic paper on it (albeit for different purpose).

What I've found out is that it is mainly triggered by a faulty technique. Problem is that when ever I stress, I fall back into that technique, and it all breaks loose. These days, when I shoot just for fun, it doesn't harm me at all. But all it takes, is for something to break my concentration and that's two next weeks gone.


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## Laurie Borealis (Mar 10, 2012)

Thank you so much for the post, John, and for the thread, everyone. John, I remember asking a year or two ago about you how you overcame target panic and you said "Keep trying things. Something will work." I've hung onto that, along with a bunch of other advice from a bunch of other people. I get severe target panic. Various things have worked for me, and I get really excited to think that now I've got it under control, and then the new technique doesn't work anymore. Except that some things absolutely DO work, I just have to keep after them with a lot of hard work and drills, and when one technique starts to fade I have to have other strategies in my back pocket. My target panic got worse and worse starting about three years ago. Even my practice scores suffered a lot, but tournaments were worse, and USA Archery indoor nationals were the worst of all. I always shot way under my average there but last year was terrible. Every shot was out of control and I scored a 315 the first day. Afterward, I went to see Joel Turner in Washington, I had a long talk by phone with Martin Ottosson in Sweden, I exchanged messages with Allison Miller (who is recovering beautifully from severe target panic), I talked to Ben Rogers and a bunch of other people, I had a couple of lessons with Astro shot trainer designer Tyler Benner. I am by no means back in full control, but this year at indoor nationals I shot a 429 the first day, and I was reasonably in control until four of the last five ends of the tournament on the second day. For the last end I did OK because Becky Nelson-Harris gave me a tip based on a Mark Applegate strategy (Pete, this is for you: If you can't hold on the center because the center has become a trigger and your neurons want to fire without your permission, then change your stitch count and aim at the bottom of the target. It works.) The tournament felt like a turn-around, but I know the path back will still be difficult with setbacks. John, I loved what you said about the times you can shoot without target panic are so sweet. Absolutely. It is a rare barebow archer who hasn't had to work through target panic. And thank you, John Demmer, for your post. It always helps to know that the best of the best experiences it, too. And shrugs it off!

Here are some of the things that help me:
* What Patrick Seiver said: A.) I'm in it for the long run. B.) Archery is a meditation.
* What Martin said: Your archery performance has nothing to do with how good of a person you are. It cannot be wrapped up in your self-esteem. My tai chi teacher: "Lose the ego."
* Practicing regularly with a shot trainer and staring at the center of the target when I do.
* Doing Ben's long-hold routine for two solid weeks at a time, doing nothing else (at a close-in distance, for every shot hold 10 seconds on the target, then release -- or 6 seconds with my heavier limbs). Ren's variation on this: for the last 3 seconds, pretend you are pulling through a clicker.
* Doing Joel's interior dialogue emphatically (OK, I'm stretched out and on the focal point, I can move on to the next thought, keep pulling back, keep pulling back, keep pulling back) and having the discipline to let down when I'm not at full draw, when I'm not on the focal point or when I flinch.
* Using a metronome app to practice (thanks, Patrick).
* Concentrating HARD on pulling through the shot at release -- elbow ticking slightly back, back, back.
* Not scheduling too many tournaments in a short time -- I need to keep returning to practices and drills in between.
* Not shooting to exhaustion in practice because target panic loves exhaustion. Stay in control, even if I have to stop in the middle of a scoring round in practice and move 5 meters from the target to reinforce my holds.
* Do strength training exercises. So I don't get exhausted.
* Switching to shooting with both eyes open so the center is not in sharp focus.
* What a barebow shooter (who remains anonymous because I can't remember his name) said to me at tournament when I said I had target panic: The only cure for that is the force of will.
* What Mike Brown says: Just focus on executing the shot. And ENJOY every shot.


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## Rylando (Jul 30, 2016)

I never thought about a metronome app to practice! That's a great idea.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Ryland, I used metronomes for my recurve students many times to get their timing down and speed up their shot. As you know, the clicker can be a slavedriver.

Great contribution Laurie, as usual.

I've used the technique of changing my crawl to aim off the "spot" for most of this indoor season. I figured if I could shoot so well in NFAA trad with a 16" gap, then maybe aiming at the spot just isn't for me. I noticed I shot better at 60, for example than I did at 50 because 50 was my point-on distance for my outdoor setup, and at 60 I was using the plunger to aim. So that is a very good solution for many folks. This year at indoor nat's it wasn't good enough, so like I told you, I'll just keep trying new techniques. 

I still enjoy competing with the recurve too, so when I need a break from barebow I still have an enjoyable option.


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## Lumis17 (Jun 9, 2003)

I got target panic very early in my shooting days, but didn't realize it for awhile because I actually shot better scores with it at first. Drive-by shooting can give you a very clean release! When I hit that wall, man it was ugly. Not being able to get to anchor and freezing under the target are an out-of-body experience. It's mind blowing not being able to control your body. I knew it was really bad after I dropped 10# and still had the same problems.


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## Osmanthus (Dec 2, 2014)

limbwalker said:


> Good to meet you as well. If you had seen me shoot, you would have seen two pretty good shots out of every three-shot end. LOL 67% is passing still, right?


2 pretty good shots out of every 3 is still better than many of us  Your score is still a goal to aspire to for many of us as well.

Does TP only afflict barebow archers? Why does shooting with a clicker keep TP at bay? How about compound archers?


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Oh no - it's certainly not barebow only. But I think it's far more common in barebow. I'd say compound is almost as common because of the number of "punchers" I see using releases and doing drive-by shooting with those bows. So pretty common with compound as well. In my experience, it's least common with recurve archers but I have seen my share of OR shooters who have been affected by it. One young lady who shot for China was probably the worst case I've ever seen. At the Turkish Grand Prix in '04, Tom Green pointed her out to me and I watched her shoot a few ends. She would stand there and watch the clock tick down to 60 seconds without shooting an arrow, then shoot all six of her arrows in 60 seconds. It was the only way she could get them all off. Pretty crazy.


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## DWilloughby (Dec 26, 2014)

Nice writing John! Great input to all those that have posted!

I know you must have condensed that story a great deal, as my story would be quite a long one and I'm sure most stories of TP would be also. In fact, last year I started writing a journal of my TP training and progress. It is full of studies, drills, training logs and the many hours I have dedicated toward having control.

I have have made great progress, although the progress is very slow, but progress none the less. I dropped out of competition (with the exception of an occasional shoot to measure my true progress) to fully focus on gaining control. I have learned a lot and have been able to help others with the same difficulty. I have also learned that the is no one "cookie cutter" method that will work for everyone and some of those methods are a temporary fix. You have to find what works for you.

I believe the key factors are to be persistent, work in very small steps/stages/distances, and slowly progress toward your end goal. Never continue forward without having full control which means never practice shooting without control. This takes a lot of mental focus not only in the shooting, but also in the sacrifices you must make, if you truly want to gain the control. It is a hard road and a long road for most, but the rewards are great. Once you experience the pleasure of executing controlled shots, it will open up a whole new experience within the joy of archery.


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## Demmer (Dec 1, 2012)

Danny, have you ever talked to Bobby Worthington? I don't know how local he is for you, but always worth a shot. 

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## ralluri (Mar 9, 2015)

Laurie Borealis said:


> Thank you so much for the post, John, and for the thread, everyone. John, I remember asking a year or two ago about you how you overcame target panic and you said "Keep trying things. Something will work." I've hung onto that, along with a bunch of other advice from a bunch of other people. I get severe target panic. Various things have worked for me, and I get really excited to think that now I've got it under control, and then the new technique doesn't work anymore. Except that some things absolutely DO work, I just have to keep after them with a lot of hard work and drills, and when one technique starts to fade I have to have other strategies in my back pocket. My target panic got worse and worse starting about three years ago. Even my practice scores suffered a lot, but tournaments were worse, and USA Archery indoor nationals were the worst of all. I always shot way under my average there but last year was terrible. Every shot was out of control and I scored a 315 the first day. Afterward, I went to see Joel Turner in Washington, I had a long talk by phone with Martin Ottosson in Sweden, I exchanged messages with Allison Miller (who is recovering beautifully from severe target panic), I talked to Ben Rogers and a bunch of other people, I had a couple of lessons with Astro shot trainer designer Tyler Benner. I am by no means back in full control, but this year at indoor nationals I shot a 429 the first day, and I was reasonably in control until four of the last five ends of the tournament on the second day. For the last end I did OK because Becky Nelson-Harris gave me a tip based on a Mark Applegate strategy (Pete, this is for you: If you can't hold on the center because the center has become a trigger and your neurons want to fire without your permission, then change your stitch count and aim at the bottom of the target. It works.) The tournament felt like a turn-around, but I know the path back will still be difficult with setbacks. John, I loved what you said about the times you can shoot without target panic are so sweet. Absolutely. It is a rare barebow archer who hasn't had to work through target panic. And thank you, John Demmer, for your post. It always helps to know that the best of the best experiences it, too. And shrugs it off!
> 
> Here are some of the things that help me:
> * What Patrick Seiver said: A.) I'm in it for the long run. B.) Archery is a meditation.
> ...


Thanks Laurie for continuing to pursue and sharing your experience and tips.


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## DWilloughby (Dec 26, 2014)

Demmer said:


> Danny, have you ever talked to Bobby Worthington? I don't know how local he is for you, but always worth a shot.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


Thanks John. Yes, I have shot with Bobby before. With me, it's not so much knowing how to work through it, it's just taking a lot of work after so many years of bad control.


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## John_K (Oct 30, 2011)

Very interesting reading. Thanks John.

For me, my problem is clicker panic. I just freeze with 1mm to go. Barebow, stringwalking or gap, I just don't have a problem.

Yet to work out how to beat the clicker panic, so I may just end up packing away the sight and stabilisers and going barebow again.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

Osmanthus said:


> 2 pretty good shots out of every 3 is still better than many of us  Your score is still a goal to aspire to for many of us as well.
> 
> Does TP only afflict barebow archers? Why does shooting with a clicker keep TP at bay? How about compound archers?


It definitely exists for compound, but there are many more options for keeping it under control. Not do much for barebow.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Thanks Danny. I tried to make it as short as I could but it was still longer than I wanted. I felt it might help folks to understand the full journey though. A lot of folks never knew I shot an arrow before 2004. LOL

Sounds like you have a good deal of it figured out and I love hearing that you are helping others now.


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## DWilloughby (Dec 26, 2014)

I feel that living it and working through it gives me a greater understanding to help others. I have truly felt their pain!


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## calbowdude (Feb 13, 2005)

Great article John, loved reading about it from a high level competitor's perspective! Definitely not too long, I read every word, and those of all the other posters on this thread.

I'm an Olympic recurve shooter, and I have gone back and forth with TP. The first couple of times, I was able to get past it strictly through dogged perseverance and ignorance of any other solution.

I've not shot as much as I used to, and when i do, it's clear that I'm not as proficient as I was when I was. There are other influential factors contributing as well: reluctance to accept less than a perfect shot, mild consternation at the sight pin movement causing me to "steady" my hold, score expectation vs. reality. So now my TP causes me to freeze on the clicker and causing a lack of push pull/follow through. It's bad enough that I'm the archer pulling up, letting down, repeating, then firing off the arrows while deep into the yellow light. I also note a very elevated heart rate, around 160 at the full height of my TP. Needless to say, archery is not very fun right now. 

I've gone back to shooting up close, on a small scale target and simply enjoying the process of firing a bow. Still with the clicker. I've also worked on accepting the fact that I'll be in a high state of arousal, and accepting that I can still shoot even though I feel like I'm running the last lap of a relay race. Interestingly, today is the first day in nearly 5 months where I managed 50 shots on at 18 meters, and actually shot a good score! 

So, in short, I'm Larry and I have Target Panic too!


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

John K, 

I'm wondering how pull-through drills go for you. Blank bale vs. target face - just pull-throughs - no shot.

Thanks Calbow.

I don't claim to have the answers, but I think that sharing my journey with folks may help them feel like they aren't alone, and it's okay to talk about it. Hopefully that will help them make peace with it and IMO that's the first step to enjoying archery again.


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## granite14 (Nov 10, 2014)

This thread needs a picture for Tapatalk.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

LOL. Nailed it.


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## ralluri (Mar 9, 2015)

granite14 said:


> This thread needs a picture for Tapatalk.


The other two holes (in the 1 ring and miss), show that you are very consistent even with your TP shots [emoji3][emoji3]


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## DWilloughby (Dec 26, 2014)

I love it!


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## Demmer (Dec 1, 2012)

I have lots of these pics. Lol

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## DWilloughby (Dec 26, 2014)

John, great for you to post that picture and your comments. Don't take this the wrong way, but I remember when I shot with you in a IBO Triple Crown and you shot a tree. I was in awe and thought you really don't wear a supper hero cape LOL! Knowing that, your control is awesome!


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## John_K (Oct 30, 2011)

limbwalker said:


> John K,
> 
> I'm wondering how pull-through drills go for you. Blank bale vs. target face - just pull-throughs - no shot.


Yeah, tried those many times. Clicker set well forwards or no clicker; eyes closed and open; target or blank boss; shot or not shot.

They go well for a while, and then when I transition back to using the clicker the timing slowly goes and the freezing comes back.

On the other hand, I threw a set of light limbs on my old PSE Intrepid this weekend, stuck on a Hoyt rest (no button), and dug out my W&W Atrax arrows. After a few shots to work out where to walk the string to, I was hitting tight groups at 15 yards. Go figure, as I believe you Americans sometimes say


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

I have hundreds of those:









It's always a wonder how consistently at the same place those flinches are. Sometimes I shoot two good groups, about 60cm apart from 70m.


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## Rael84 (Feb 22, 2016)

Thank you to all who have shared in this thread, it is very helpful! 

I've been trying to effectively deal with flinching when I'm close to alignment with my aiming point. I tell myself I should let down, but I there are times I feel it reinforces my mental "trigger" causing the flinch and hurts my confidence in the following shot. Lately, when the flinch comes shortly after reaching full draw I've tried to reset my anchor/mental state without letting down -- I've had some success but I find myself wanting to perform the same reset when I've already been holding way too long. A metronome or merely an internal count to give me a deadline to shoot or let down is the next step.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Rael84, I've been working on my focus and pushing through the flinches. And I think it's helped me. I just keep aiming until the anxiety settles down again, then try to execute a proper shot. Most of the time I can do that. 

I snap-shot for so many years that wanting to release when I hit anchor is something I have to consciously overcome, so I've learned the flinches usually come right away, and that I can be patient and wait them out most of the time.

Incidentally, someone on another forum wanted to insist that nerves made TP worse, or suggest that nerves brought on TP. I don't agree with that and frankly when I'm at a tournament locked in a full blown battle with TP, being nervous about shooting is the last thing on my mind. In some ways, battling TP actually helps me be less nervous. Weird but true.


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## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

When I was shooting my most accurate (recurve), I was eyeball aiming at the right edge of the yellow. Psychologically, that gave me the wiggle room I needed to 'not try to be perfect'. So, a mild 'aim off' solution.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Larry, I'm not sure what you're describing is TP though. A lot of archers get "stuck" trying to aim too hard, then their shot starts to break down and they suffer from that. But I don't think that's the same as TP.


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## AJ the TP Guru (Jul 29, 2011)

TP takes many forms, and even the same form (say, punching) often mutates into varying orders of magnitude from archer to archer.

In the same manner, one archer might feel a form of panic literally from the first day he picks up a bow, and another might shoot good or even great for a number of years before it takes effect. (I have yet to hear a viable explanation for such variation).

As for what works for one archer, the same approach might have no effect on another. This is why in one thread on AT, you'll see guys disagreeing about how well blank (or blind) baling worked for them, and arguments about which style of release aid will do the job best.

Finally, one person might feel "cured" right away after changing equipment or getting help, and others making the same type of change will take weeks or months before seeing improvement. Then of course, there are those who simply give up, and leave our great sport forever. I sincerely believe TP is responsible for more people leaving archery than anything else.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

limbwalker said:


> Larry, I'm not sure what you're describing is TP though. A lot of archers get "stuck" trying to aim too hard, then their shot starts to break down and they suffer from that. But I don't think that's the same as TP.


It's performance anxiety, which can manifest in countless different forms. Plenty of sports people of very different disciplines suffer from it, musicians too. It is basically the loss of autotelic person and re-emergence of heightened awareness on peak performance.

The swing side of it is autotelic self, which often manifests as what people call as "flow" (or that's what Csikstzentmihailyi calls it).

That's why it's so tricky to "cure" as it can take any form depending on person. Mine is caused by stress. No matter how much I blank bale or "pull through" it won't help, as there's no competition stress there.


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## fingolete (Jun 9, 2016)

Nice post. i'm dealing with TP right now and you words encourage me to keep shooting! Love this fórum!


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

fingolete said:


> Nice post. i'm dealing with TP right now and you words encourage me to keep shooting! Love this fórum!


That's how it was intended - to encourage people, let them know they are not alone, and reassure them that they can make peace with it and enjoy archery. 

Glad it helped.

AP, you are absolutely right. I've seen just what you describe through my shooting and coaching career. I can think of several archers who simply chose to quit shooting and that's the saddest thing of all IMO.


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## jharrowmom (Aug 20, 2005)

I'm right there with you all. Been working on overcoming "the gremlin" for years now. I can shoot great groups-- under the target!

But haven't given up yet…..



Joan


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## bbtradlb (Jul 8, 2016)

jharrowmom said:


> I'm right there with you all. Been working on overcoming "the gremlin" for years now. I can shoot great groups-- under the target!
> 
> But haven't given up yet…..
> 
> ...


I resemble that remark. I can't count how many 10 ring sized groups I have shot down on the vicinity of the 5 ring. Celebrating the groups is easy at the moment, harder when you just look at the resulting final score.

But, despite struggling, a day flinging arrows (and getting my full money's worth out of a target) is a better day than one not shooting.


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## granite14 (Nov 10, 2014)

bbtradlb said:


> I resemble that remark. I can't count how many 10 ring sized groups I have shot down on the vicinity of the 5 ring. Celebrating the groups is easy at the moment, harder when you just look at the resulting final score.
> 
> But, despite struggling, a day flinging arrows (and getting my full money's worth out of a target) is a better day than one not shooting.


Stop looking at the mice in the bales


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## bbtradlb (Jul 8, 2016)

granite14 said:


> Stop looking at the mice in the bales


But they are so cute.


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## Mr. Roboto (Jul 13, 2012)

bbtradlb said:


> But they are so cute.


But they keep moving, is that why I cant shoot a group?


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## bbtradlb (Jul 8, 2016)

Mr. Roboto said:


> But they keep moving, is that why I cant shoot a group?


Yeah, I could see that as being the story...I mean reason.


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## j.conner (Nov 12, 2009)

Thank you for sharing your target panic story, Limbwalker!

The most interesting hypothesis I have heard is "neurological overtraining". The notion is that neurologic pathways get developed from use. We are all familiar with this, whereby we build a shot cycle by committing each step to muscle memory and moving on to the next one. This is actually setting preferred neural pathways from muscles to peripheral nerves to the spine to the brain. It even gets psychologically burned in to where you don't have to consciously think about it. With overtraining, the pathway gets too ingrained - conscious control can be lost and the shot can go off automatically. It is a really interesting idea courtesy of Dr. Chris Brooks at the University of Florida. Here is a brief quote from the intro.

"We don't often think about overtraining the nervous system. However, a phenomenon known as the golfer yips provides some evidence that overtraining the nervous system is possible. In golf, the yips refers to a catastrophic breakdown in highly trained motor skills. Yips was once attributed to anxiety. However, a 1992 research study challenged this notion. A relationship between golfer's yips and anxiety was not found. However, the yips appears due to repeating the same movement over and over until the athlete injures the peripheral or the central nervous system. The condition is known as focal dystonia. Now, focal dystonia refers to an involuntary muscular contractions of the muscle or groups of muscles. Focal dystonia can strike at any time. The phenomenon occurs in sports that require very precise fine motor control. Besides golf, examples include cricket bowling, includes tennis, table tennis, snooker, and darts."

Full text is at https://www.coursera.org/learn/scie...art-2/lecture/xTKAL/neurological-overtraining


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Makes sense to me. I call it "short cutting" but it's the same idea. We get good at skipping steps. Like skipping anchor or aiming.


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## Bigjono (Apr 21, 2009)

Thanks John, for those of us that have had the fun sucked out of archery by TP it's nice to know that we don't suffer alone. I've adopted a more Demmer approach now, just accepting the bad shot with a shrug and try to move on.


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## camperjim (Oct 22, 2016)

I took a look at the article and did some additional reading on focal dystonia. What I call target panic seems completely unrelated. I have encountered 3 distinct behaviors that I call TP. First is the inability to control my bow arm and achieve aim. This in no way seems to be related to muscle or nervous control of the muscles. It is strictly mental. Next is snap shooting. I am trying to settle onto the target and achieve aim but way before that happens I release the arrow. Again this is strictly a mental issue. Next is the opposite behavior, which is freezing when I should be releasing the shot. Personally I rarely encounter this problem. 

Again, all my issues I call TP involve the mental aspects of shooting. I sympathize with others who have the same or similar issues. I have been working on my TP issues, especially the snap shooting/premature release for several months. For quite a while I made no progress. Then I realized that physical training, blank bale shooting and other forms of repetitive training were not addressing the issue. I finally realized that dealing with mental issues requires a different approach and I am making substantial progress....finally.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

As far as complex issues go, researchers are rarely unanimous. It usually depends on which field the researcher is coming from. Most convincing arguments I've seen concentrate on autotelism. But it is fairly possible that the many different types of what we think as TP have different causes. I've read about focal dystonia in the past, but can't really relate to it with my form of TP.

Autotelism usually functions in skills/anxiety channel, so it's not related to just performance, but also all outside factors that can overflow the human system at peak concentration. That is something I strongly feel when I'm struggling with TP, as I can suddenly "open" to the world at full draw, hearing all the noises, smelling the odours, feeling the sun/wind etc. when I was supposed to be in deep concentration and then the shot breaks down. I only get the "yips" when I'm struggling really badly with the TP and almost every shot is hindered by it. Usually I just freeze and find myself unable to perform.

Back in late 00's I was so overcome with the issue, that I even wrote my thesis in my first Master's degree on the subject, trying to find the "cure". No luck.


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## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

zal said:


> It's performance anxiety, which can manifest in countless different forms. Plenty of sports people of very different disciplines suffer from it, musicians too. It is basically the loss of autotelic person and re-emergence of heightened awareness on peak performance.
> 
> The swing side of it is autotelic self, which often manifests as what people call as "flow" (or that's what Csikstzentmihailyi calls it).
> 
> That's why it's so tricky to "cure" as it can take any form depending on person. Mine is caused by stress. No matter how much I blank bale or "pull through" it won't help, as there's no competition stress there.


That sounds exactly 'right' as it describes me. I went through a few years where I just shot with a swagger (strength, touch, and confidence). Then I had to change up my entire setup (less draw weight) and along with the lost poundage I lost the swagger, too. Trying to find it again this year. The search/struggle has made me a much better archer and a much better coach. The 'score' is so far being more resistant to join the 'much better' camp again.

The contrasting image that keeps coming to mind is the movie Top Gun, where in the beginning Tom Cruise is the epitome of 'performance swagger', but then after Goose dies, Tom Cruise goes through a period of performance anxiety where he "can't engage" based on 'fear of a bad outcome'


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## camperjim (Oct 22, 2016)

"Shooting with swagger" sounds like skills that are being taught to athletes of all types. The self confident swagger is highly important. It helps avoid the butterflies that come with competition. It helps avoid the stress of competition interfering with performance. It helps to make it easy to forget and overcome mistakes that are going to occur. This approach to sports psychology is well know. There are plenty of books on the subject, including two of the most well known: "Choke" and Rotella's older book, "How Champions Think". 

Although this approach is very valuable, for my situation I do not find it sufficient. Stress definitely makes TP worse, but I still find that TP occurs in low stress situations and even when I am just practicing alone. Learning to cope with stress helps but I found I needed a different approach to deal with the basic causes of TP.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

I don't know about you guys, but not being able to hold on the spot - for me - is no different from the back yard to indoor nat's. Same issue.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

limbwalker said:


> I don't know about you guys, but not being able to hold on the spot - for me - is no different from the back yard to indoor nat's. Same issue.


That's the point. I have never had any problems whatsoever in holding in the center. But once I lock into it, I cannot move a millimeter. Which is more intense once you apply stress. But if I shoot compound, I have zero problems aiming in the middle and performing good shots, whether I use trigger, finger, hinge, whatever release. If I pick up a barebow, I can't get to full draw before the shot goes, if I even see a target. And that is something that I've had in me from the first shot I remember. Having a clicker helps in getting to full draw at least.

So, what we are talking about in target panic, is a multitude of issues, rather than one, specific form. Which makes it much harder for coaches to figure it out on individual archers.

Skill/Anxiety channel doesn't necessarily mean that it is more harder to do something in stressful situations like nat's than in backyard as the skill required is "immanent", so in the performance itself. So you build your anxiety in trying to do better, perform better, whatever the situation and outside influences are just possible break points in your concentration.

In Finland "target panic" is usually most talked about in finnish baseball, where the term for it is literally translated "pitching plate phobia". Pitchers often suffer it during their playing time, and sometimes have to completely stop pitching. They are unable to do it even in practice when you put pitching plate (about 15 inch wide white plate, on which the vertical pitch must stay in) under them. If you don't put that plate under, they can pretty much keep their pitches within a coin's width. Usually they just freeze on release, rather than get the "yips".


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## julle (Mar 1, 2009)

zal said:


> That's the point. I have never had any problems whatsoever in holding in the center. But once I lock into it, I cannot move a millimeter. Which is more intense once you apply stress. But if I shoot compound, I have zero problems aiming in the middle and performing good shots, whether I use trigger, finger, hinge, whatever release. If I pick up a barebow, I can't get to full draw before the shot goes, if I even see a target. And that is something that I've had in me from the first shot I remember. Having a clicker helps in getting to full draw at least.
> 
> So, what we are talking about in target panic, is a multitude of issues, rather than one, specific form. Which makes it much harder for coaches to figure it out on individual archers.
> 
> ...


Same here. Whenever I am scoring on my own or a bunch of colleague shooters, i can shoot great scores, when it's some sort of competition it becomes much harde to achieve those scores. 
I tend to just put my pin on the x and it sits there all day but the clicker wont go off. Sometimes my brain misfires and i start just shooting without it clicking. Somehow your brain suddenly realizes that it's much easier to just release the arrow than to undergo all the stress involved in making good shots. I need to minimize this because otherwise i get serious target panic and just let go as soon as i see gold. 
I try to fight it by just not caring, which is hard, because i shoot worse that way. I let the pin flow and just pull trough, but i get allot less 10's that way than i would in practice. It's still not that i shoot horrible scores in competition, but over the years I've grown accustomed to being content with -3-5% from my practice scores. 
With compound i have no issues at all, i can just hold it on the x and let the release go whenever I want, in a sense it's much easier for me. Same goes for rifle or shotgun shooting, no form of target panic there.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

julle said:


> Same here. Whenever I am scoring on my own or a bunch of colleague shooters, i can shoot great scores, when it's some sort of competition it becomes much harde to achieve those scores.
> I tend to just put my pin on the x and it sits there all day but the clicker wont go off. Sometimes my brain misfires and i start just shooting without it clicking. Somehow your brain suddenly realizes that it's much easier to just release the arrow than to undergo all the stress involved in making good shots. I need to minimize this because otherwise i get serious target panic and just let go as soon as i see gold.
> I try to fight it by just not caring, which is hard, because i shoot worse that way. I let the pin flow and just pull trough, but i get allot less 10's that way than i would in practice. It's still not that i shoot horrible scores in competition, but over the years I've grown accustomed to being content with -3-5% from my practice scores.
> With compound i have no issues at all, i can just hold it on the x and let the release go whenever I want, in a sense it's much easier for me. Same goes for rifle or shotgun shooting, no form of target panic there.


Yep, that's it.

Just couple of days ago I went through old practice and competition scores from time when I was practicing a lot and competing a bit too. In practice I shot on average ~640 at 70m, in competition during that month's span I shot at best 613 and most were 580-600. Back then I was getting accustomed to getting at least 50 points less in competition than in practice, with one or two complete misses every time. Often I would spend the first 3 minutes just aiming, holding still, unable to come through clicker, then letting down and repeating. Only when I really had to shoot, I could get through, so usually that meant 6 arrows in last 60 secs.

Immanence in skill means that you build up the performance in your mind, and competition aspect of it is transcendent, so just another outside influence, which triggers that problem if it is already evident. Or that is sort of the point where I got to during the time I did research on this subject. If you are comfortable in competition, it doesn't remove the immanent problem of target panic, it just lessens its effect.


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## julle (Mar 1, 2009)

zal said:


> Often I would spend the first 3 minutes just aiming, holding still, unable to come through clicker, then letting down and repeating. Only when I really had to shoot, I could get through, so usually that meant 6 arrows in last 60 secs.


That's me alright. And there goes the public image of us Finnish people being 'icemen' :')


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## sightcaster (Aug 15, 2015)

As a compound shooter I can say TP can certainly be a monkey on your back. As John said earlier though, I think in compound what people call TP is really more of a breakdown in the shot. At least for me it is. I have been working on changing my shooting style to NTS mainly to understand it better to help other shooters, to also see if it helps me. I don't have trouble holding on the spot, but if the shot doesn't "happen" and I start to shake the release goes from subconscious to conscience and I seem to force things. That's when things go south. 
Yes I have seen improvement using the NTS system. 


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## calbowdude (Feb 13, 2005)

Zal and julle: I am also part of your TP club, although I'm not finnish so please don't hold that against me haha! 

Mine is nearly identical to yours: great holding on target, and cannot get the clicker to drop/shot to move. I sit there thinking about whether the shot is good, should I let down because clearly it's not good, and a number of other archery process related thoughts, until I finally let down. It's bad enough that I pull up and let down probably more than I actually shoot downrange. 60 scoring probably means I actually pulled the stupid bow back 140 times. And, just like you 2, the time runs down and I can get the arrows out. But then I'm more moving briskly and looking to get them out, rather than focusing on each step in order. My tournament scores are clearly a bit lower than my practice scores. 

Funny how target panic manifests...


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Listening to you guys about freezing ON the spot...

I think this may be an area where shooting "instinctively" for so many years helped me. That is still how I aim even with an aperture and why I cannot really shoot a pin. I just focus on the aiming spot and let the aperture blur surround it, much like I would focus on the spot with my traditional rig and move the arrow blur under it. In my experience, shooting my Olympic bow is the closest thing I do to shooting my traditional bows "instinctively." I really never feel like I'm "aiming" with either one.


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## zal (May 1, 2007)

I don't think it's an aiming problem, it's just a symptom of it. Most people who have the same issue have also experienced that shot can go off at any time when shooting without clicker/barebow/instinctively. Mine got so bad, that I can't hunt anymore, as my fingers can release the arrow at any point when I see game, whether my bow points that way or not. My friend's was even worse, as his fingers started dropping his bow case that he was carrying when someone flashed a target face at him. When mine's really bad, I can draw barebow maybe an inch before the shot goes off, whether there's a target in front of me or not.

What has helped me most has been building "control points" within the process, so it reminds Frangilli's heretic archery. I can sort of control it if I stop several times during execution (also at the clicker), and consider every part as unique process. If I try to do continuous, or ever keep a rhythm, shot starts to go at any time I get close to final part of it. This way, even if I freeze on the spot, I can restart that part of sequence from the same standstill I started it from. But I can't yet do it if there's a stressful condition, so competitions or if I'm just tired or otherwise stressed.

I think that's the reason why bow with clicker is easier to shoot, and with compound, using release, there are no traces of it.


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## Mr. Roboto (Jul 13, 2012)

USAA is now requiring mental training courses as part of their coaching certification. Since Target Panic is a real mental issue we all face at one time or another, does any of these so call mental training courses that "certified" coaches have to take address fixes to the Target Panic issue? I am thinking that coaches being able to help their students successfully work through their target panic issues is probably one of the most valuable things that a coach can provide their students.


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

for what its worth... in my opinion,

Target panic wasnt really a mental problem in my case. It was a control problem. Most of target panic is a reflex to a situation that has to be trained out. 

And to beat it, it has to be addressed as such ( in my opinion). Target panic is also a breakdown of the shot sequence. Both together create a monster that makes you do weird stuff. I suffered from target panic and clicker panic. I had to separate the shot sequence from the control part. And work on each separately. 

Once i finally addressed the real issues and faced those ( or retrained those), both went away. Occasionally i have a relapse in a shot that is more from habit of doing it for years, than currently suffering it. 

I am no expert in it, other than to say i had it pretty bad and beat it. And i dont claim to know how to fix it in anyone else except for myself. I know what worked for me. 

But I dont see how any mental management course would address or fix any of target panic problems that manifest. 

It is a horrible thing to deal with, and is super frustrating. I feel for any that suffer from it. Coach Seo at HSS called it the cancer of archery. And she is right. 


Chris


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## calbowdude (Feb 13, 2005)

For myself, I've used the freezing as an indication that more work needed to be done on my shot sequence, so I've essentially broken my shot back down (with the help of other coaches/video camera). I have managed to clean up some areas that needed work anyway, so in that regard I've made progress. 

I haven't tried shooting barebow, I wonder if the lack of a clicker would cause me to release before coming fully to anchor. Compound, interestingly, doesn't seem to instigate the "freezing" on the target center. It may be due to the presence of a trigger, which requires an action as opposed to a relaxation, in order to get the bow to fire. 

I've read several posts here that allude to strict maintenance to shot routine. IIRC mental management suggests doing much the same thing. I would think that specific methodologies would depend on how your TP manifested: freezing on the gold, freezing above/off the gold, spasmodic release prior to reaching the gold, pre-release before fully coming to anchor. I'm going to really have to run through this entire thread to glean more insights, there a lot of nuggets of wisdom here.


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## reddogge (Jul 21, 2009)

I'm glad I read this. Thanks for posting it John. I was beginning to feel like the Lone Ranger out there. I shoot 3-D with a hunting type bow and gap shoot so it shows up less than indoor shooting. I'm shooting a bare bow rig indoors and tuned it so I'm point on the bottom of the white. Most shots are fine but I'll yak one off the target now and again. Horrible feeling. I've learned to let down when I flinch which is a big step forward for me.


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## j.conner (Nov 12, 2009)

I agree with Chris. This focal dystonia / TP is a neurological thing more than a mental one (although it undoubtedly becomes mental when you feel like you can't control it, and that almost certainly makes it worse due to hypervigilance). I would look to something more like operant conditioning to train it out. I also think that an important treatment is probably changing the shot itself - that is, getting out of that groove that got worn into a rut which is difficult to get out of. It sounds like for Limbwalker changing the aiming method has helped. For others, adding a clicker might help. Another common tactic seems to be focusing back on the shot sequence, being more mindful of it rather than letting it go off by itself. Another approach might be to limit the aiming time (this is the current KSL thinking, BTW) - like transfer-to-holding, acquire the target, then count 3-4 seconds, and fire or let down. When I feel things are getting squirrelly, I switch to longbow or compound for a while, or just take some time off away from archery.

I also agree that the mental management course/requirement would not necessarily cover target panic. It is more of a neurological phenomenon than a mental one. Having said that, I think it would be good for them to add a mention of it and give some suggestions on how to handle it. I will check the curriculum and see if it is in there.


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## ksarcher (May 22, 2002)

I have been in denial for 10 years and finally on Saturday the 10th of June 2017 I said the words out loud... "I have Target Panic" I felt much better finally admitting it. Of course the following day was miserable. I abandoned the clicker and after at least 10 shots thru the clicker. The final kicker for me was the idea of reducing draw weight (by 5 ibs) to help with a weak bow arm due to nerve damage. Constant draw length changes and at least 3 letdowns per 6 arrow end... I continued to use larger apertures almost to the point of using the scope housing off my compound bow!! 

It is now time to plot a course to recovery. I have read and re read all of the post on this thread and intend to make use of much of the advice. 

Best of luck to all that find themselves still fighting this dreaded affliction...


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Good luck to you. Most of all, keep archery fun for you. Realize that how well you shoot arrows does not define you. Learn to laugh. A Lot. That helps! Anyone who takes archery too seriously is no fun to be around anyway.


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## Stephen Morley (Aug 11, 2016)

I first got it in 2001, before that I was shooting pretty awesome and very confident and then hit me like a train from nowhere, they say the higher you are, the bigger the fall lol

I took a break for 3-4 months, had to let go of my ego and start again from the bottom and work my way up. I worked on my shot sequence, learnt to let down if the shot didn't feel right (hardest thing to do in a tourney) and made some mental adjustments. Basically I ignore the scores, possible outcome of tourney, what other Archers are doing etc, if I have 112 Field round arrows to shoot I'm trying for 112 perfect executions, it doesn't matter where the arrow hits, as long as I followed my shot sequence and executed the shot well, my tiny brain soon figured well executed means good shoot (most of the time). In the end TP made me stronger won 4 WA/IFAA World Euro titles, yes I still have TP, when I feel it creeping up on me I work harder on my sequence and mental game.

There is no cure for TP once you have it but over time with hard work it can make you a better and more disciplined Archer :thumbs_up For the most part I'm happy with my shooting, I have good and some bad days shot a 444 Hunter round BBR a few weeks ago and 368 the following week, made changes to my setup and my tune was out and had some drifting left on long shots, it distracted me enough to let the TP demons creep in. 

The work never stops, if it was easy think I would have quit Archery years ago.


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## ksarcher (May 22, 2002)

John,

Thanks, I call my wife on Saturday from the senior games in Alabama. I told her that my performance was terrible but I had laughed more than I could remember. We had a ball with good friends old and new. I will beat this or at least get to a point that is manageable.


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## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

Stan, I have thought a lot about our conversation about this subject in Alabama. I believe the following is true in many cases:

*** Target Panic or [anxiety that you will move when you expand for the shot] is always present it's just that it's over come by physical confidence when you're strong enough to control the shot. But when you no longer can physically control that shot, you lose the confidence that you can control it and therefore at expansion you freeze because you can't fool yourself and you have no confidence.***

For many (not all), I think the answer is to find your way to a new anchor/hold that is once again balanced and secure (either regained strength, or different equipment that fits the present 'you', not the former 'you', etc). I'm trying to make [confidence of stillness at expansion] my goal.

By the way, laughing with you was some of the highlight of my trip! It's all good!


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## airwolfipsc (Apr 2, 2008)

Been there done that and when TP COMES..I tell my self the steps of shooting till it becomes rythem. Seems to work. By the way..I place the aim with setup together so then.draw Anchor transfer expand and release..follow thru! Seems to work. There is no AIM!


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

I have been successful curing target panic in recurve archers. I have archers contact me all the time to say their TP is gone using my method. I have a video on Youtube explaining the process. 

It can be cured never to come back. It just takes the homework. 

Chris


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## camperjim (Oct 22, 2016)

Are you referring to a new video or the one from Feb 2018?


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

camperjim said:


> Are you referring to a new video or the one from Feb 2018?


The one from Feb 2018. I only have one target panic video uploaded. My new videos are on dealing with youth bows that you cant align, fixing mis aligned stabs and evolution of a youth recurve archer. 

Chris


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