INTRODUCTION

Target panic, target shyness or call it what you will is probably the greatest single problem faced by the majority of archers, and may well be the main reason why so many people leave the sport after an enthusiastic first couple of years.  I have suffered from it for many years, but it is only in the last two years that I have really faced up to the problem and done something about it.

This site deals exclusively with the problem, discusses its many aspects and offers practical advice that I know from experience can help many sufferers, if they put some effort into it.

My approach is simple: target panic is in the mind, and it must be dealt with in the mind.  This is not to say that physical things like equipment and style have no effect - they can help or hinder considerably - but at the end of the day they cannot solve the problem.  Only mental discipline can do that.

Finally, please remember that target panic is not a disease or a magic spell.  You can't catch it from other archers, no-one can give it to you and there is no need to put your fingers in your ears and run away shouting "I don't want to hear this!", like one top archer I know.  If you have the problem, knowledge and discussion can only help.

WHAT IS IT?

Target panic, target shyness, gold shyness, freezing or whatever else you like to call it describes what happens when an experienced archer who, at some time in the past, has been able to shoot reasonably well, becomes unable to control his/her shot.  It comes in many forms, but most can be divided into freezing and panicking.

   The Jar-licker            The Hidden Magnet            The Wild One

Hidden symptoms - The three characteristic patterns of borderline Target panic.

If you have the full-blown thing, you will know!

Probably the commonest form of freezing is where the archer just cannot get the sight to go into the spot, however hard they try.  It can feel as if there is a physical barrier, and no matter what strategies you try - pushing up into the spot, coming down onto the spot using gravity, sneaking up on it from the side, deliberately aiming off - none will work for long.  A variant for clicker shooters (oh yes, they get it too!) is when sighting is no problem, but it becomes 'impossible' to draw the arrow that last fraction of an inch to get it through the clicker.

Most sufferers get a mixture of freezing and panicking which, if both strike in the same shot, can be really impressive!  Most of you will have seen archers, particularly release aid shooters, collapse their shot completely (been there!), and will know what I mean.

FOUR STEPS TO CONTROL

To start to control the problem you need to take four steps:

1.      You must recognize that you have the problem in the first place. I have probably suffered for many years, but it is only in the last year or so that I have finally accepted this fact, and started to do something useful about it.

2.      You must understand that it is a mental problem and no physical, technical or mechanical fix will solve it.  This is a big step – in fact the main obstacle - and few people ever get past it..

3.      You must learn how to set realistic goals for yourself, and use them effectively.  This is what deals with the fear.

4.      Most important of all, you must learn how to concentrate while keeping your mind relaxed.  This is what allows you to put your technique into practice.  If your mind is anxious and up-tight, however well you know what to do, you won’t be able to do it.

WHAT HELPS (A BIT)?

Nothing physical can control target panic.  It is a mental condition and must be treated as such. However, some physical things are, on the whole, a good idea.  These include:

1.      Clickers – and remember that they can be used equally well on compound as recurve.

2.      Sensible draw weights.  Probably no other single thing brings on target panic as quickly as being over-bowed.

3.      A relaxed stance.  Firm and stable, but not tense.

4.      Release trigger not too light or too heavy, especially not too light.

5.      Practicing on blank butts.

6.      Practicing holding on aim without loosing.

SOME BAD IDEAS

Just as some physical things can help, or at least, not aggravate, target panic some others are a very bad idea, such as:

1.      Over-heavy draw weights.

2.      Long sight extensions or high magnification scopes.

3.      High intensity ‘glow dots’, pins or cross hairs.  Okay for some, but not a good idea if you are prone to panic.

4.      Release trigger too heavy or (especially) too light.

5.      Trying to keep sight absolutely still at full draw.

6.      Snap-shooting, ‘instinctive’ shooting and techniques that encourage you to shoot on the move.