Controlling Target Panic

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timujin

Guest
I have a couple of articles on this matter in my Journal, but Ihave been asked to include it on one of these threads so that more people can have a look at it, can make suggestions to help with the process and can relate their own personal experiences and problems.

David has very kindly agreed that I could post these articles here. I tried to do this with the full Part 1 but it was too long for the system to handle so I am going to have to do this in Parts, which I don't like but I have no choice.

Here then, is Part 1.

Target Panic ? For Those That Have It Already
Part 1

First, I?d like to say that in almost every case, target panic is a mental problem brought on by certain physical activities. There are some exceptions to this in which some people, because of a particular mindset, through no fault of their own, will be subject to target panic, with very little physical input at all.

I will discuss what happened to me and how I overcame the problem. Your experiences may be similar or not but for almost everyone, you will recognize similar causes and symptoms in your own experience and it is my hope that you will be able to use my experience to defeat your own problem and get back to really enjoying archery.

As I said in my preliminary posting on this matter, when I started in archery I received very rudimentary instruction from an equally inexperienced person and started my shooting with a wooden self bow and wooden arrows, some 50 odd years ago. I came to understand some years later that the problem of target panic was just as easily brought on by modern equipment.

When I first started, I found the sport exciting and was more interested in just seeing the arrow exit the bow in the general direction of the target than anything else. I found out fairly quickly that practicing archery had some ?costs? associated with it. These were:

a. Sore arms and shoulders from particular muscle groups that had never been used before.
b. Sore fingers from poor quality finger tabs (or in my case none at all, initially)
c. String ?burns? on the bow arm from lack of a guard and poor technique.

Very soon after I started shooting my club adopted real target shooting using rudimentary sights (until then we had been doing ?instinctive shooting?). This brought with it another problem associated with the three listed above namely, the fact that I couldn?t keep the sight steady on the target, so I used to score poorly. Not only that, I found that I could not stay at full draw very long due to lack of endurance, which simply exacerbated the problem.

As the months progressed (and I didn?t) I found that if I wanted to stay shooting with the club, I would need a bow that allowed me to shoot the distances that all of the members were shooting, so a more powerful bow was needed. This proved to be a really bad decision but I had no way of knowing this at the time. My mother bought me my first recurve, which allowed me to reach the target at the set distances but at an additional cost of more difficulty in holding the bow at full draw and as a consequence, not being able to keep the sights even reasonably still on the target.

Within a couple of months of getting the recurve, I was at the stage of not being able to bring the bow to full draw, whilst aiming at the target, without involuntarily releasing. I could come to full draw as long as I was not aiming at the target. The moment I moved the sight onto the target, I involuntarily released regardless of where the sight was aiming.

This was being caused by poor specific physical fitness in the ?archery muscles? of my body, which brought about great pain and discomfort at full draw, with a bow that was clearly too powerful for me at that stage of my development. In turn this caused equal pain in my drawing fingers and great unsteadiness on the target, to the extent that accurate aiming was impossible.

The physical strain gave rise to a feeling unendurable mental tension, which created in me the urge to do whatever was necessary to relieve that tension ? and that was to release the arrow as quickly as I could regardless of where it was pointing on the target. As time progressed, my mental processes, anticipating the tension and discomfort, would not even allow me to come to full draw without involuntarily (subconsciously) releasing the string.

I was at the stage of giving up the game completely because all I felt now was dread, whenever it came to attending the club. No one was able to advise me what the problem was or how to solve it.

Fortunately for me, at this stage, I was a member of the school cadet corps and in those days, shooting the .303 SMLE rifle was considered very important for cadets and I and my fellow cadets were given really expert instruction in good rifle technique.

I found out at the range that I was a very good rifle shot. Interestingly, I felt no discomfort at all in holding a steady aim on the target and had no difficulty in achieving a quality trigger release. Even the recoil didn?t bother me.

This got me to thinking about why I couldn?t shoot properly in archery. The principles weren?t all that different, yet mentally, I was totally comfortable with one and totally out of control with the other.

After thinking about it a lot, I came to understand that my problems with archery had been caused by jumping into the sport quickly, with no correct fitness training and trying to use a bow that was far too powerful for my physical state of development. I recognized that if I were to shoot a bow well, then I needed to learn to do two things ? firstly, to hold the sights reasonably steadily on the target and secondly, to devise a ?trigger? mechanism, just like I had on the rifle, that would allow me to gain control over the shooting (releasing) process.

What I did was to get a set of the new Easton aluminium arrows in a draw length some three inches less that my normal draw. I couldn?t afford a new bow so this was the cheaper alternative to getting a lower poundage. This meant shooting with a bent elbow, but that didn?t seem to prove a problem. I also instituted a system of strengthening training to give me the feeling of easy control over the bow and also had a friend make me up some really good finger tabs which allowed me to draw the string in comfort.

The ?trigger? thing took some thought. We didn?t have ?clickers? in those days, but what I finally came up with was to come to full draw with my drawing hand well underneath my chin and then, holding the sights fairly steadily on the centre of the target, move my drawing hand up smoothly until I felt it touch my jaw line and at that stage, I would release. I found no difficulty in holding at full draw without creep using this system.

This worked, and with some practice I was starting to shoot well and score well. After a while I thought that I should be able to hold a steady aim on the target and come to draw with my drawing hand straight to my jaw line, but this didn?t work. The moment I tried it I was back to the old panic. As long as I used the triggering technique, I was OK. The best thing about my system was that if I did not feel comfortable with anything during the ?triggering? process, I would stop, come down and start again.

It wasn?t a totally satisfactory system but it did allow me to shoot reasonably well and start to enjoy the sport again.

What I learnt from this experience was as follows:

a. Don?t attempt to shoot a bow until you have an adequate level of physical fitness in the necessary muscle groups.
b. Don?t shoot a bow that has too much poundage for you to hold comfortably on target. I came up with the idea that if I could hold a bow steadily for at least one minute at full draw, then that bow was OK for me.
c. Have a ?trigger? of some sort that will allow you to have a controlled release
d. Ensure that you have a good quality shooting tab so that your drawing fingers don?t experience excessive discomfort.

I had to give up on archery when I left school and entered the Army. Time did not permit me to pursue the sport at that stage. After about 10 years I decided to give the sport a try again, as I had more time available. There was no club around so I decided to do the shooting by myself and join a club when I was posted near one.

I bought my first modern recurve bow, a Yamaha YTSL, with 36 lbs draw weight and a good set of Easton arrows and the other necessary gear. I was pretty physically fit at that stage but still did some of the exercises that I remembered from years ago before attempting to shoot the bow.

When I did get to the stage of shooting, I found that I had no trouble drawing and was actually able to draw straight to my jaw line without that unbearable desire to release. I could still recognize that feeling in the back of my mind and it took some discipline to force my aim right into the middle of the gold and not release until I was ready, but I was able to do it. My ?trigger? at this stage became a simple mental command to shoot and I found this worked out fairly well. What had aided me during those years of not doing archery was that I had done a lot of rifle shooting and now had certain disciplines well ingrained into my mind.

Continues in Part 2
 
T

timujin

Guest
Target Panic ? For Those That Have It Already
Part 2

Service duty requirements forced me to give the sport up again until 1996, when I had to retire for health reasons. I decided to take the sport up again and this time, decided to go with compound archery, something that hadn?t been available during my previous shooting experiences.

What a revelation a compound bow was. In many ways, it was just the same as shooting a rifle from the standing position, something I had a lot of experience with. The only hurdle I had to overcome was the one of learning to be able to pull the bow through its draw peak and into the valley and that was purely a physical thing, which I soon trained myself to do.

Holding a compound on aim proved to be the easiest thing in the world and I was using a top grade mechanical release which felt just like a match rifle trigger.

Within a year of taking up compound I was shooting close to 1300 FITA with no hint at all of target panic. A year or so later I had to give the sport up again because of health problems but was able to come back to it some 6 years later which is how I come to be here now.

I?m still shooting compound, still not experiencing any form of target panic and just recently started to do recurve archery again. I quickly got back into the requisite state of physical fitness and am now shooting recurve with absolutely no feeling of panic at all. My ?trigger? is now the clicker but frankly I don?t need it except as a draw check. I can draw through the trigger and feel under no compulsion to release. So as far as I am concerned I defeated the problem many years ago and the solution has remained with me to this day.

I?m sorry to have done this in story form but it was the only way I knew of putting to you what I experienced and why and how I overcame it. If you have the problem you can overcome it as well. Regrettably, it is going to take some work on your part and you won?t enjoy the process but if you really love archery, the rewards will be worth it.

So as a preliminary there are some things you need to be able to do before you progress any further.

1. You must be fit enough to draw whatever bow it is you are using to its full draw and hold it there in comfort for at least one full minute ? and that means without getting the shakes at any stage.
2. If you can?t do this, you need to be able to get to that desired level of fitness by specific strengthening exercises.
3. When you can hold for a minute or longer in comfort, you need to be able to hold an aim on a target with a reasonable degree of steadiness, but with your sights aligned. Good sight alignment is essential ? absolute stillness of aim is neither possible nor imperative.
4. You need to develop a ?triggering? mechanism that will allow you to release the string cleanly, under control and at a time of your choosing.

If you are going to try to do the above with a recurve bow you are facing an uphill battle. It is my firm belief, based on experience that learning to shoot a recurve bow properly without developing bad habits such as target panic is one of the most difficult skills there is and imposes enormous mental strains on the user.

It is equally my firm belief now, that making beginners learn archery using a recurve bow, using current coaching techniques, is a recipe for disaster and will teach most participants all of the elements of target panic in a short space of time and lead most of them rapidly down the road of failure.

Ideally, if we want to enable all beginners to become proficient archers, we should use the Korean method which, in summary requires the following:

?In Korea, kids who are enrolled in archery programs start by practicing three hours per day, six days per week. For the first three to six months they don?t even shoot a bow. They only go through the motions, or drills. The kids learn to shoot first without a bow, and then slowly work in to shooting arrows only after they have perfected the drills.?

This isn?t going to happen in a Western society. Neither kids nor adults would stick with such a program because we aren?t of that mindset. If you want to read more about Korean Archery techniques there is another page of my journal which covers it in some depth.

Back to correcting target panic.

The bad news right from the start is that this is going to take a deal of work and may involve some expense. If you don?t feel inclined to either of these options, there isn?t much point in reading further.

For those that are serious, this is what you need to do.

1. Don?t go near your archery club for a minimum of 1 month
2. Put aside a minimum of 1 hour per day for ?retraining? and commit to this in all seriousness.
3. Get yourself at least one of the following training aids:


Plus one of these if you are a recurve shooter:


OR



for either recurve or compound shooters. The following website discusses these aids in some detail:
http://www.robinhoodvideos.com/prod02.htm


Start the following exercise program.
These are specific Korean exercises:
Week 1
?1. Endurance ? The bow is drawn in the normal manner, using correct technique, but without an arrow; hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The rest time, between each repetition, should be double the "Hold Time"; e.g. hold for 35 seconds then rest time will be double this or 70 seconds. After 5 repetitions take 5 minutes rest and repeat ? Duration 30 minutes.

This exercise must be done with proper form, incorporating aiming, otherwise bow will move all over place when fatigue starts to set in.

Note: When the archer can hold for more than 45 seconds some rubber bands can be introduced, slipped over the limbs to increase draw weight by about 2 ? 3 lbs. Alternatively a heavier bow can be used.

2. Power/Strength ? Draw from the Set-Up to the Holding position; Holding must include Transfer and Loading like in a normal shot. Hold for 3 ? 5 seconds and let down, but only as far down as the Set-up, then draw straight back to the anchor position and, again, include Transfer and Loading. Do this 5 -12 times for 3 ? 5 sets, depending on current strength. Rest period between sets 3 ? 5 minutes ? Ensure that proper alignment and form is maintained - Duration 15 minutes.


3. Flexibility - This exercise is done with an arrow in the bow and for safety reasons in front of an interior wall in your house. Draw the bow in the normal manner and attain the normal Holding position, followed by a ten second continuous expansion at normal expansion speed. The objective is to draw 1 - 1.5cm (~3/8" - 5/8") past the clicker, without any change in posture. Do 5 sets of 6 repetitions and take a rest of 30secs between each repetition and 2 minutes rest between each set. DO NOT RELEASE THE ARROW!!!!! Duration 15 minutes

4. Structure - In this exercise the string is pulled behind the neck, see photo. This exercise is more an exercise to give the archer the feeling for the position where both the shoulders should be. Use this exercise for this purpose, i.e. when an archer has problems attaining the correct shoulder positions. This SPT 4 is also good for warm up purposes, including before the start of competition:

Continues in Part 3
 
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T

timujin

Guest
Target Panic ? For Those That Have It Already
Part 3

Second Week:
a. Put a spot on a wall. This will be your aiming point. If you have bought one of the training aids mentioned above, start practicing holding and aiming at the spot, for 30 seconds at a time. Take a 30 second rest and repeat. Do this 6 times and then take a 5 minute break. DO NOT RELEASE THE TRIGGER OF THE AID AT THIS STAGE. 30 minutes duration.

b. Using the same spot and training aid, come to full draw, aim hold and release. Do NOT release if you feel any discomfort or target panic. If this happens, return to just straight holding practice for the remaining half hour. If you can release in comfort, hold for about 15 seconds, trying to keep the sights as still as possible on the dot. Concentrate fully on your foresight and when you think you are still enough, carry out the release. You will NEVER be able to hold perfectly still ? the best any archer can do is to reduce this ?area of movement? to a minimum, commensurate with your holding ability, strength and endurance. 30 minutes duration.

3rd Week:
Using your real bow, but no arrow, practice drawing the bow to full draw and aiming at the spot on the wall. The aim here is to be able to hold as still as possible and not feel any compulsion to release the string. By now, any feeling of compulsion to release should be just a dim memory which can be ignored. Do this exercise in sets of 6, taking a minimum of 15 seconds per draw and hold, preferably longer depending on your level of fitness. Take a 10 minute break between each set. Duration of exercise 1 hour.

4th Week:
Put the aiming spot on a good wall, or a window or your wife?s favourite mirror ? something that will have serious consequences should you inadvertently release an arrow during this week?s exercises.

Using your real bow with an arrow fitted, come to full draw and hold on aim at the spot. If you are a recurver, pull through the clicker BUT DO NOT RELEASE!! If you shoot compound, pull hard against the ?back wall? of the valley and place you thumb or finger lightly on the trigger release of the release aid. DO NOT ACTIVATE IT.

Carry out this exercise in sets of 6, holding and aiming for a minimum of 15 seconds per draw, preferably longer depending on your level of fitness. Take a 10 minute break between each set. Duration of exercise 1 hour.

By now, your mind should be fairly well hardened against inadvertent releases and you should be feeling no discomfort in holding for extended periods and staying fairly steadily on aim for extended periods. This is all that is necessary to overcome target panic.

Now it?s time to go to the range. If you could do this every day for a week it would be ideal. If you can?t get to the range try to make a substantial practice butt for use at home, even inside the house, if you can so persuade your wife.

You need now to get up close to the target butt ? say no more than 5 metres and start doing the 4th week exercises again, only this time, after holding for at least 15 seconds on aim at the middle of the butt (no aiming point), you are to release the string or activate the release aid so that the arrow actually hits the target.

This is important! If at any stage you feel an uncontrollable urge to release the arrow, come down from your draw, rest for 30 seconds and start the process again. At no stage are you EVER to release an arrow under an incontrollable urge to do so. This is the real battle that you must learn to win and you can only win it in your own mind. If you are still having problems at this stage, go back to the 4th week exercises and repeat these for a further week. Then try on the butt again. If you persevere, you WILL overcome the problem and when you do you will wonder what it was all about in the first place ? it will seem that inconsequential.

Except for the specific Korean exercises which I knew nothing about at the time, but in substitution of which I had a vaguely similar set developed by myself, the above training regime is exactly what I used each time I came back to archery and I can testify to its effectiveness. It really does work. It does require commitment form you to make it work but you must believe right from the outset that you are mentally strong enough to overcome what was really a physical problem in this first place.

I hope that you will find this useful and try it out for yourselves. I would appreciate hearing from you about how successful or otherwise the process was for you.

Continues in Part 4 - Controlling Other Types of Target Panic
 
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timujin

Guest
Controlling Target Panic - For Those Who Already Have It
Part 4
On reflection I believe I should try to address the issue of target panic for those shooters who already have the requisite level of physical fitness for successful archery and who have, generally speaking, the correct techniques and who, under normal circumstances, would be able to hold steadily on aim and release smoothly.

For some reason, target panic has crept into their style and now they are afflicted with it to one degree or another. I still believe beyond any shadow of doubt that the cause of this can be related to how they got to their present situation and that the core reason for the panic is that "unendurable mental tension" that I mentioned in my earlier discourse on the subject. The other thing that can cause TP in an otherwise accomplished archer is that this person, having been taught "the surprise release" technique (or the subconscious release) now finds that their shooting is ruled by this and they are incapable of holding an aim on the centre of the target for more than a fraction of a second before the release is effected.

I have never subscribed to the "surprise release" or subconscious release techniques because of the very problems that they generate in a shooter. Rather I believe in the controlled release wherein you the shooter, decides when you want the release to take place, either finiger or trigger, and effect it at your command, smoothly and with total control. Do you really want to have a surprise release (one you have no control over) when shooting in a screaming gale and your bow gets blown right off target just as you release? I know I don't.

Anyway the surprise release technique can lead to a form of TP whereby you cannot hold on aim in the centre of the target without indavertently releasing the arrow, or it creates a jerk or punch release as the sights flick past the centre of the target, always with very poor results.

Regarding the tension type of TP. The mental tension is generated by the physical tension involved in drawing and holding a bow at full draw and on aim. It is perhaps worse for a recurve shooter because as they draw, the level of tension builds to a peak at full draw and they need to be able to endure that physical tension whilst refiining their aim on the target, fighting against inadvertent movements caused by the wind, trying to ignore discomfort in their muscles and drawings fingers, trying to cope with either the freezing cold or the muderous heat and humidity, and still achieve a smooth release and good arrow flight in spite of all of this.

Hell, no wonder you want to have an uncontrolled release. I can almost get the old feeling of target panic just writing about it. I am going to find it hard to offer remedial treatment for this form of TP because I have not experienced it in this exact fashion and so it is difficult for me to understand what is going on in your minds and more importantly, why.

Compound bow shooters also experience this in exactly the same measure and they ought not, because they actually have the means of relieving some of their tension by virtue of the let-off built in to their bows. Two of my closest friends at the club, both compound shooters, have target panic in its most severe form.

One has a brand new Hoyt bow, quite beautiful really and he can't even bear to begin to draw it. The other is generally a superb shot who can group into a couple of inches at 50m but who in the midst of an end will experience such severe panic that he has an almighty uncontrolled release, where the bow flies off in one direction, his drawing hand rips away from the string and the arrow will miss the target completely by a mile and this is from a guy who has just packed four arrows in a row into the x ring, touching each other, on an 80 cm target at 50m! Is there anyone out there nodding their heads in sympathetic agreement with these symptoms?

For both recurve and compound shooters the start point for trying to fix the problem has to be found in your own mind. You should sit yourself down and write down what it is that was happening physically just before you experinece the TP and what you felt when you experienced it. Do this in great detail. Then try to write down why you think this is happening. Both of these things, the what and the why are the keys to solving your problem so you need to devote some time and effort to it. Next time you go to the range, try this.

This is going to sound like rubbish but you really have to try it. Better to do this process on a target all by yourself. That way you won't be delaying everyone else and your fellow shooters won't get the idea of calling for the men in white to come and collect you. Take a note book and pen with you and keep it beside you.

Set yourself up to execute a shot. Run through in your mind the full process of coming to the draw and executing the shot. Then say out loud "Now I will start to draw" and do so. When completed, now say again, out loud "Now I will settle my aim onto the target centre" and do so. Now you can see why you need to be by yourself.

Now say, "I will commence to draw through the clicker, whilst staying on aim" and do so - if you are a compound shooter say "Now I will place my thumb (or finger) on the trigger and start to press it".

If you are still doing the right thing, continue with it and as the clicker clicks, relax into a smooth release or in the case of a compounder, let the trigger release under continuing finger/thumb pressure.

Chances are, however, that you aren't going to be able to get through this whole process without TP kicking in. What you MUST do at the instant that you feel the target panic coming on, is to stop what you are doing, put your bow down, take up your notebook and write down what happened and what you were feeling as it happened. Try to write down why you think it happened as well, although this is much harder to do. It isn't sufficient to write something like "I felt TP coming on and stopped what I was doing because I knew I would miss" That will tell you nothing.

When I say write down what happened, I mean that you need to be able to write something like "As I started to draw, my bow arm felt OK (or didn't and if not what was wrong), my drawing arm felt OK (or didn't and if not what was wrong) etc". In other words, describe in great detail every aspect of the shot execution right up to the stage where you started to feel the TP kicking in at which stage you write down the symptoms eg "my arms started to tremble and I had this sudden urge to release the string (or to punch the trigger)".

This covers the "what" of the physical process. Now write down what your feelings were as this was happening eg "I started to feel a build up in tension in my mind and an uneasiness that kept getting stronger as my draw increased etc"

Now try to write down why you think this happened. This is going to be the hardest thing to do and you are going to have to think very hard about it, but it is really the key to solving the whole business. I can't help you here because I have never experienced TP in the way that you are experiencing it. You must try to find the words to describe why you are reacting in the way that you do. Don't expect this to happen in just the one session.

The important thing to appreciate is that at the instant that you felt the TP coming on, you stop what you were doing and put the bow down, to reflect and describe what happened. In other words, you do NOT let a TP release take place and this is very important.

Now you need to go through the whole process again in exactly the same fashion. It may well be that you may not even come to full draw at any time during your session at the target, nor might you get a single shot off. Neither of these things is important. What is important is your analysis of what happened physically and mentally and why you think it happened.

I would suggest that you do not let this process go on for more than an hour at the most. The real value in this exercise is in your very careful description of what was going on and you must try to analyse each instance of TP afresh and not fall into the trap of repetition of the same thing all the time. Things won't be the same, shot to shot. There will be small nuances of difference and these are important to note.

After a session like this, you should stop doing anything further archery related and go home and relax. Later in the day, take out your note book and read what you have written down and try to imagine yourself going through the whole process as you described it, all the time trying to find out why things happened as they did.

Following this you need to go through some specific desensitising exercises. You will need a piece of kit a bit like that which I showed you in the photo in the first section. Specifically:



You don't have to buy something as elaborate as this. You can make your own using a piece of timber, a small weight underneath it to balance it, some of that physiotherapy elastic tape, which comes in differnt widths and strengths and you complete the kit by screwing your sight onto the side of the timber using wood screws.

Continues in Part 5
 
T

timujin

Guest
Controlling Target Panic - For Those Who Already Have It
Part 5


The elastic tape is going to simulate your bow string. Go for the weakest pull tape to start with. You need enough to be able to tie it around the piece of wood and have sufficient left hanging free for you to be able to execute a full draw using either your fingers or a mechanical release. If using the latter, tie on a D loop onto the elastic tape for your release to connect to.

Now using this kit, take up your normal stance and go through the action of drawing your "bow" and at full draw, come onto aim. Do NOT execute a release at this stage. I'm willing to bet that most of you should be able to come to full draw and come onto aim without TP kicking in.

If you can't do this, relax, and start again. Keep doing this until you can achieve at least one full draw and come on aim without feeling TP. This is not going to be exhausting for you, because if you choose the weakest type of elastic band, you will be drawing very little weight. If you can achieve that first full draw and aim without TP, try to repeat it. If at any time you feel TP kicking in , stop what you are doing, come down and start again.

For those of you who can achieve full draw and aim without TP, continue practicing this, without releasing and after every six draws, write down in your note book what you have done and how you felt while doing it. Iin particular, you should write down your feelings as you were holding on aim at full draw.

It is difficult for me to advise you how long to hold on aim at full draw because this will vary greatly with each of you and will depend on how well you can control TP under these particular circumstances. Let's just say at this stage that, providing you can come on aim at full draw without feeling TP, then hold only for a few seconds and come down, rest and start again.

Any time TP kicks in, stop and write down your analysis of what happened. Then try again. If it takes a full hour for you to get one instant whereby you can hold on aim at full draw without feeling any hint of TP, then that is enough. You have achieved a major mental victory. You have trained your mind to do something that goes against all of the wrong things that you have trained it in since you started shooting.

Don't do anymore at this stage. Relax and enjoy the feeling of success. Each night, from then on, you should engage in this exercise religiously, trying to come onto aim at full draw for as many times as you can before experiencing TP.

I would suggest that at this stage you do not attempt any shooting with your real equipment. You will undo all of the good work you have done.

When you can hold on aim at full draw on this apparatus for at least 30 seconds at a time without feeling TP and can repeat the process for at least 30 such repetitions, then you should go to the range and try a few shots, from close range on a blank butt with your real gear.

Treat the exercise exactly as if you were doing your night time exercises. If you can get through some shots without TP well and good. Don't push it. End the session at the stage where you still are not feeling TP. If you do feel TP at any stage, stop, write down an analysis again and stop real shooting for the day.

You really should spend most of your time working with the "desensitising" apparatus and very little time in real shooting at this stage. As you get good with the apparatus, change the rubber band for a stronger one. Keep doing this until you can actually conduct these exercises using the strongest bands available.

By then you should have reached the stage where you can shoot with your real equipment without feeling TP. However, anytime that TP rears its ugly head again, you stop real shooting and go back to the simulator. In fact the simulator should become your bosom pal for a long time to come.

If after all of this you still cannot conquer TP, then I can only suggest an extended break from archery - at least 6 months. Try some small or big bore shooting, try to get some sessions with a good sports psychologist, try hypnotism if you are susceptible to it. Try a different form of archery if it is available, such as archery golf, roving (if it is still done anymore) or even flight shooting.

For those of you who experience the uncontrolled release type of TP, the solution to that lies in using the simulator for extended sessions. If you are a relase shooter, block off the trigger such that you cannot activate it no matter how hard you try. If you are a finger shooter, tie your fingers to the elastic band such that you cannot release the band even with your fingers fully extended.

Now you need to practise coming onto aim at full draw and holding it there for at least 30 seconds. There is a good chance as you do this, initially, that your drawing hand will want to jerk around in an attempt to release the band but because of your preliminary precautions you cannot. Try to focus your mind only on the sight and bringing it into the centre of the aiming mark. I hate to say this but you need to do this exercise for at least an hour at a time and you must be utterly ruthless with yourself and not permit your drawing hand to flinch in an attempt to release. Put all thoughts of releasing completely out of your minds.

What you are trying for is to hold comfotably and steadily on aim at full draw for an extended period of time with no feeling of discomfort or urge to release. At first this will be no easy matter. Persevere. This is a mental battle you have to win.

When you get to the stage where you can do 30 good repetitions of this exercise, then go to the range with your real gear and get up real close to a blank target butt. The compound shooters actually have it a bit easier here, because you can't effect a release unless you press the trigger, so, at this early stage, you are not going to press the trigger. For recurvers, your task is somewhat harder but whatever, the aim here at this stage is not to release and your preliminary exercises will have gone a long way to helping you to achieve this.

With an arrow on the rest, come to full draw and aim at the middle of the blank butt. For recurvers, do NOT use the clicker. Now repeat this exercise 10times, concentrating on controlling the desire to release. If you can't bring that feeling under control, stop what you are doing and return home. Continue with the bow simulator - you aren't ready for the real thing yet.

If you can do 10 draw/aim /no release exercises, try a taking a shot at the centre of the butt. Draw as normal, come on aim as normal. If a recurver, hold the draw and when you feel ready tell yourself to release and then do so. For the compounder, keep your finger away from the trigger until you are settled on aim, then place your finger/thumb on the trigger and start a slow and steady pressure until the release fires.

If all went well, repeat this exercise 5 times. Then go back to 10 repetitions of hold and aim but no release. If at any time an inadvertent release takes place, stop, pack up and go home and work more on the simulator.
If all continues well, stop these exercises after 1 hour at the most.

You will be continuing this process of a week on the simulator at night and close in drawing and firing at the range with real gear once during the week. Once you feel comfortable with shooting at the blank butt, pin a target on and try the same exercise again only now you will be aiming at the centre of the target. Same procedure as before - 10 repetitions of coming onto aim at full draw and no release and then 5 with a controlled release. If you feel comfortable with this at close range, then try extending the range on your next range visit. Continue with the simulator every night. This is absolutely vital, because this is where the real retraining is taking place. At the range, all you are doing is confirming that it is or isn't working.

This whole process will take some time depending on how severe your problem was in the first place and how quickly you can readjust your mental processes to the new system. Don't hurry things, What you are attempting tro do is achieve a small initial success and then build on this. The old adage "Nothing succeeds like success" was never truer than in archery.

If none of this works, and I say this with great kindness, then maybe archery is not the sport for you. If you can't have fun doing this sport, and TP is NOT fun, then give it away. Life is too short to spend time in the miseries.

One last caveat on this matter. For most of you, learning trarget panic took some time. Curing it is going to take a lot more time and a lot more effort.
If you don't feel that you are up to the challenge, then don't start down this path. You can't half do it. You either devote yourself to curing your problem or you don't even try.

I wish you all complete success in your endeavours.
 
R

rgsphoto

Guest
Hello Tom,

Cheers for the PM. By the way the guy in the picture holding the bow with the Laser sight is "Bernie Pellerite". The pictures on you threa are featured in his book. Here is my pm to you for all to see:-

I have read you very lengthy journal with great interest. I notice you refer to Bernie Pellerites book quite a lot. A book I hold dear to my heart. I find it a very informative and helpfull read, all be it very american.

A bit about me.

I am 40 years old. I started shooting at the end of August 2004, so I will have been shooting 2 years this August. I started shooting recurve. I found from day one I could not hold on the Gold or aim properly. I paid this no attention as I had no way of knowing why? I did Ok and managed to shoot Ok by "drive by" shooting. As the sight ring passed the gold I would loose the arrow. I decided on my own to fit a clicker and saw an instant improvement in my shooting. Within a month of shooting with it I was in the top two in the club. Winter struck so I did not shoot much outdoors. I did quite well indoors putting in two consecutive 546 portsmouth scores ( 600max) but started to freeze on the clicker. I had little or no help from e decent coach so ended up very down and fed up. By the end of winter I then started to shoot Compound.

That is when TP really kicked in. No way could I aim with a button type release aid. Again by pure luck I bought a back tention release aid. To this day I still shoot it. I managed a 1240 Fita by the end of last outdoor season. So I'm doing OK. I shoot my BT release with ease and find I can shoot a conventiol release aid OK now. But I don't trust my self. I know I would start to punch the button within two weeks. So I just shoot my BT release and find TP is no longer a problem. I still freeze a little sometimes and then have to come down and start over. But on the whole I shoot OK. Often better in competiition.

How TP feels for me is:-

A giddy happy feeling where I see the gold and I have to let go, like my mind says" its in, shoot now" It goes off and I get a miss. I never get this "giddy feeling with my BT release as it's near impossible to punch"

Any more input, let me know

Cheers

Rich
 
T

timujin

Guest
Some Thoughts on Handling Beginners and How we Teach Them Target Panic - Part 1

This is the last section of my series on Target Panic and the one likely to cause the most controversy.

Some relevant preliminary comments first before I stick my neck out. During my 50 years of on and off archery coupled with rifle and pistol shooting, I have not only experienced all of the difficulties associated with those sports but have taught myself to overcome most of them, so what I say about these issues is based on hard won experience and not simply theory.

In archery I have watched endless numbers of beginners ranging in age from 8years on up to people in the early 70s, commence coaching courses at a variety of clubs, seen them taught in the same way, with a recurve bow, watched their struggles with it and, after a short period of time, watched most of them drop out of the sport either because they found it too hard to achieve a good level of performance and/ or they were beset by Target Panic.

I have a rather simple (some would call it simplistic) philosophy about training people in sports (or any activity if it comes to that) and it is based on the premise that right from the outset, you should be giving the beginner the oppportunity to be successful. At the end of even the first lesson, a newcomer to any activity should be able to go home with a feeling of inner satisfaction that they had achieved something worthwhile, which was worth telling their friends and family about and that they are looking forward eagerly to their next experience.

Based on that philosophy, the way I approach training is to do whatever is necessary to ensure that a beginner's first experiences of an activity are as easy as possible and I try to keep it easy for them as they progress in the activity. What I am seeking is incremental improvement but always based on success. There's nothing revolutionary about this approach. There is no point in trying to train a person to fly an aeroplane by plonking them in the pilot's seat, giving them the controls and say "Fly". It just won't happen and no reasonable person would it expect it to be otherwise.

We do it with our beginner archers, though. After some rudimentary instruction about what a bow and arrow looks like and does and a demonstration of how to string an arrow, draw the bow and shoot it, we give beginners the bits and pieces and in effect say - "Go on - shoot it!"

The reason we do it this way is because this is what the beginners want to do. They want to be able to pick up a bow and arrow and shoot it straight it away. As I said in an earlier posting on the subject of target panic, the Koreans won't let their beginners touch a real bow for nearly six months - yet when they do, they immediately start to score well. OK, we aren't of that mindset and no westerner would ever tolerate such an approach but the Korean approach does give us some hints as to how we might do things better.

First up, the greatest difficulty any beginner is going to have with archery is bringing into use muscles and parts of their bodies that they either haven't used before or if they have, not in that way. In addition we are going to load them down mentally with a lot of information that they are going to forget the very instant they pick up a bow and start to draw it.

So, knowing that the effort to shoot a bow is going to take it out of them physically and mentally very quickly, my view is to make arrangements so that the physical effort involved is at a minimum and the mental load is minimised.

Therefore the first thing I would do is to put away the recurve bow and take out a compound bow of very light draw weight and very high let off. That deafening noise you hear as you read this sentence is the howl of protest and derision at such a suggestion. How do I know this? Because that has been the reaction at every club at which I have suggested it.

Anyway, ignoring all of the background noise, I am now going to give the beginner this compound bow which has a draw weight of no greater than 20lbs and at least a 65% let off - higher if possible. I'm going to get him/her to use his/her fingers to draw the bow back without an arrow in it just to feel what the let off effect feels like. As far as I am concerned they can wrap their whole hand around the string, as long as they can draw it back without any feeling of discomfort. Usually, there will be a little smile of joy as they do this, when they feel the left off come in. Now I'll get them to do this a few times in succession, only now, I'll ask them to hold at full draw in the valley for at least 5 seconds at a time.

Very few, if any of them, will have any trouble doing this. In fact they will be able to do it so well that the bow won't waver around all over the place. This fact is IMPORTANT. The next thing I am going to introduce them to is a simple Back Tension release. Now I don't want anyone to laugh when I describe this because it would offend my friend at my club who makes these up and that wouldn't be fair, because they cost virtually nothing and work a treat.

He makes them out of a length of broomstick handle (1 inch dowelling, preferably hardwood, but soft wood will do) about 3 to 4 inches long and drives a heavy gauge nail through it crosswise about 2/3 of the way along. This nail is bent over at the end into a 90 degree bend and the inside surface is smoothed and polished.

Hang on, I asked you not to laugh and now you are all getting hysterical!

This is a very crude drawing of this homemade BT release:



Continued in Part 2
 
T

timujin

Guest
Some Thoughts on Handling Beginners and How we Teach Them Target Panic - Part 2

Continued From Part 1

I rotate using a TruBall Chappy Boss Talon release and a Stanislawski Back Tension release for my compouind shooting so I'm used to shooting a BT release. I've tried Grahame's release on my 50lbs compound and it works beautifully. Most experienced archers look at it and fall about laughing, until I ask them how much their release cost them and then they stop laughing and start to look interested and are usually impressed when they try it.

Anyway, back to our beginners. Their bows will already be fitted with fall away releases which have a high containment factor (ie, the arrow won't fall out of it easily). The nocking point will be fitted with a D loop and this is where the beginners will be engaging their releases. The bow strings will NOT have peeps fitted. They aren't necessary at this stage and it would be an exercise in futility in trying to get peeps to rotate correctly for everybody at this stage of their development. So, no peeps. And at this stage, no sights.

Show the group how to engage the release aid into the D loop and then draw the string back a couple of inches to let them see which fingers are used for the draw, then show them, still at a few inches draw, how to rotate the release so that the string releases. This will not hurt the bow in any way.

Get each beginner to try this several times using a draw of only a couple of inches (no arrows) until they feel confident that they understand how to draw safely and how to release the device.

Bring the begineers in to a distance of no more than 3 to 5 metres from the target butts (bare butts - no targets at this stage) and show them how to fit an arrow to the bow. Because the rest is a high containment fall away type, there is no problem with the arrow falling off during the draw cycle. Get them to nock and unnock an arrow several times until they are comfortable with the process.

Now, you demonstrate a full draw using the release with an arrow fitted and release into the butt. The drawing hand is to be taken back with the release aid held horizontally and brought back underneath the chin. Get them to nock an arrow and draw the bow to full draw. Tell them to hold for a few seconds to steady down and then rotate the release to let the arrow fly. Have them practice this several times emphasising a smooth continuous rotation of the relase aid at all times.

Do not raise issues of BT techniques at this stage as they will not understand what it means and will only confuse the issue. Remember we are trying to keep it all simple.

Now, when you are satisfied that they can draw the bow fully and release an arrow smoothly into the butt, explain to them that they are going to do the exercise again, only this time at full draw they are to move the bow until the blurred string lines up roughly on the left hand side of the bow. Get them to practice this for several arrows. Attend to any difficulties as they arise but no one should have any real problems with this. Just remind them that before they commence their release they should simply confirm that the string is roughly lined up with the left hand side of the bow.

Let the class rest regularly as you want to avoid them becoming tired. This has to be seen by all of them as a pleasant exercise that isn't wearing them out.

The next stage is to move them back to about 7 metres, still with no sights and repeat the shooting process. In the majority of cases most of them will in fact be trying to aim into the middle of the butt area using whatever technique they think will work and that is good. Still no targets at this stage.
Let them practice at this range until they and you are satisfied that most of the major problems have been dispensed with. By now they should be able to hold the bow fairly steaduily at full draw and achieve a smooth release.

Let them rest and during the break, fit their bows with the sights. Using large diagrams show them what a sight picture should look like. NOTE: The bow sights should have been set up at some stage before hand by the coach so that they are reasonably well aligned both vertically and horizontally, with the release aid under the chin and the string image running down the left hand side of the bow.

When they feel sufficiently rested get them to shoot some arrows, again on the blank butt but this time using their sights to aim at the middle of the butt. By now none of trhem should have any real difficulties in doing this although there may be some who, during the process of adopting the correct sight picture, will forget about the string alignment. This should be the only complex thing about this operation. When you are happy with the way the students are shooting, move every one back to 10 metres and repeat a couple of ends at this distance still on a blank butt. While they are doing this, go to each archer in turn and show them how to adjust their sights so that the arrow group lands approx in the middle of the butt. Once you are happy with this, fit a full sized target face to each butt, and have the class shoot some ends at the target face, encouraging them to try to get good tight groups in the centre. Correct sights again if this should prove necessary.

End the first day's instruction by having them shoot a small competition say one or two ends, depending on how they feel and record their scores. Usually at this range, on this size target face they will achieve reasonably good scores, so make a big thing of it. It is important to record their scores so that they can compare performances in the forthcoming weeks,

At the end of the class, issue each archer with a length of physiotherapy elasatic tape and ask them to practice drawing using the elastic tape during the week. Get them to try to hold for 10 seconds at a time, and start with 5 repeats and a 5 minute break in between sets. As they get fitter, the duration of hold can be extended and the number of repetitions increased. But during the first couple of weeks keep it fairly light.

From this point onwards, the class should warm up properly each time before they shoot and do some blank butt shooting before proceeding on to target faces. Increase distances to the targets in 5 metre increments on each succeeding day, stopping only if there is a drop off in performance - which shouldn't happen, if things are taken fairly easy from the beginning.

At the end of 1 month, which is the normal course duration, each archer should be able to shoot good groups at a range of 25 metres into a target face, and achieve good scores, without any sign of discomfort or any evidence of target panic.

Why do I make this last claim? It is because I believe that target panic, as I explained earlier, is a combination of excessive physical tension brought about by trying to draw a recurve bow, hold it steady on target, at FULL DRAW WEIGHT, using a finger release, which is both unnatural and unconfortable, and even painful for beginners.

This physical strain is accompanied by an equally uncomfortable mental strain and the combination of these factors leads the shooter to feel an uncontrollable desire to release the arrow and stop the tension. This whole process gains momentum as the class progresses and the beginner starts to tire. In my view it is and always has proven to be a recipe for failure.

It is my earnest belief that no new archer should consider trying to use a recurve bow until a full six months has passed using a compound bow. This to me is the Western equivalent to what the Koreans do and I believe coaches should try this method themselves and make up their own minds based on actual results.

Your comments, thoughts etc will be appreciated.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Hi Tom,
I'm not laughing. I like the simple things as you do. It's a good read.
My experience is similar to yours;my outlook is too. Simpler the better. The best beginners course I ever ran started with no targets, just a field. I explained the rules of safety etc. and how to hold the bow and how to pull the string (with a demonstration) We then set about launching arrows up the field to see where they landed. They were quick to learn how the elevation made them go further, and further is all they were interested in. Lowering their drawing hand to below the chin helped with the distance too. Once one found out,soon they all tried it and success!! From early shots of 30yds or so they were soon reaching 120yds and virtually no instruction given;they were learning for themselves. Without help, they were drawing the elbow round into a line which we could call a draw force line,and they were good lines too.
It was just great fun. As they improved over the weeks, I introduced things to them but most of what I did was to explain what they had learnt for themselves. From a group of six, two have been in the England junior squad.
Bow weight is a big issue in your work, hence the use of compound bows.I also think they are a great tool for helping archers get the bow shoulder low, from the beginning.I had shot 9years with a recurve and never fully understood, one week with a compound and the light dawned!
I am just itching to know why Rgsphoto had tp on day one. His description of it is the same as my own version but I took longer to "grow" mine.
Hopefully, other archers will add to this and perhaps the reasons will start to show through, when there is more evidence to consider.
 
T

timujin

Guest
Hi Geoff
I repled to Rich's post by PM but I'm going to have to remember to do it here as well.

That feeling that Rich described is sheer tension mixed with anxiety, caused by a high level of adrenalin flow. As I mentioned to him, I used to coach International Target Pistol Shooting and the greatest problem beginners had was trying to hold a relatively heavy pistol in one hand at arms length as still as possible whilst trying to keep the sights aligned and aiming at the correct place on the target whilst trying to manipulate a relatively heavy trigger without upsetting any of this.

The truth is of course that when beginners are taught like this they develop exactly the reaction that Rich did. They can't keep anything still and as for keeping the sight picture aligned on the centre of the target (6 o'clock actually but I won't go into that now) - utterly impossible. So what they all do is to ignore what you told them and as the sights swing past the centre of the target they jerk the trigger to fire the pistol "on the fly" so to speak and because the trigger operation is totally without control they tend to flinch their hand holding the pistol at the same time.

So virtually from the very first moment, if you train pistol shooters like this you immediately start training them in a form of pistol shooting target panic and it never gets better.

You have to find a way for them to only think of one thing at a time, so what I used to do was to sit them down at the shooting bench, and rest their pistol on special rests we had made up which allowed the total weight of the pistol to be taken by the rest. All they had to do was hold the grip, aim and press the trigger. We even got around the aiming issue by getting them to align their sights on a blank target (all white) correctly and then close their eyes as they pressed the trigger. So right from the beginning all they had to worry about was how to manipulate the trigger without jerking it.

So it ought to be with archery. Make it so that the beginner has as little physicaland mental strain on his/her system as possible right from the start and get them doing little things correctly, one thing at a time as I described in my latest writing on this.

Beginners only ever hear half of what you say and remember virtually none of it. This gets worse if they are under any sort of strain. That's why I avoid letting them shoot at a target until they can get a few simple things going right.

My thoughts for what they are worth.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Thanks,Tom. So you are saying he had far too many things to try to do and in failing so many he actually brought on another problem of his own,TP.
That is very interesting. It sounds right too. I wonder if it would be worth clarifying,at what time in the shot ther panic sets in. Was it there at the start of the draw or before that even? Or did it stay quiet until the aiming began? In my case it was mild anxiety at the start, as I expected things to go wrong. then as the sight closed in on the red, the panic reached such intensity that all control was lost and off it went.
 
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timujin

Guest
Sort of Geoff.

It is hard to get into someone else's mind and try to work out what is going on there. It's hard enough with ourselves. I truly believe that the sensation that some archers experience right away in terms of TP is the same as for other archers who take a while to develop the problem.

I suspect that the more perceptive one is, the greater the chances are that TP will kick in early, because the mind seems to recognise immediately the contradictory things that you are trying to do.

For example you are trying to hold back what seems to be a heavy draw weight (because your muscles have never had to do this sort of thing), and as a consequence your arms are starting to tremble with the effort. At the same time you are trying to keep your aim steady on the centre, when your body is telling you it can't.

In addition there is the discomfort of the string bearing onto your drawing fingers and it feels like it's going to slide off because it doesn't seem possible to hold it back by just using the end joints of your fingers. And you have this awful feeling that the arrow is going to come off the rest before you get a chance to fire it.

And sitting in the front of your mind is the desire to hit the target somewhere near the middle because you don't want to be embarrassed by missing the butt altogether, and we aren't even talking about whether it's blowing a gale or it's raining or it's hot or cold and you really aren't feeling physically comfortable by a long shot.

So there is this rapid build up of extreme tension and anxiety in your mind and your subconscious is saying "This is bloody ridiculous. Let it go!", your adrenalin is really pumping, which is starting to make you feel edgy and a bit lightheaded and so as your sight whizzes towards the centre you let the string go, hoping your arrow will land somewhere near the centre.

If it does your mind recognises that this worked so I'll do it the same way next shot and you have now started teaching yourself to shoot "on the fly", even though your subconscious is saying, "It isn't supposed to work like this".

Or you miss altogether and your mind thinks "How the hell am I ever going to do this. It's too hard!", and as you try again, your mind recognises straight away that everything is the same only you are feeling a bit more tired, so you let it go sooner to stop the discomfort sooner.

It is often a wonder to me that we ever get beginners to come back for more lessons. We need to make every thing as easy and simple as possible for them right from the beginning and try to let them experience a succession of tiny successes that will eventually build up into real confidence that they can do this thing well.
Does any of this resonate with you and others, because I'm not sure how else to explain it?
 

Marcus26

Well-known member
The psychology of target panic is very very simple. Lets use freestyle compound as an example

? The archer is instructed to squeeze the trigger. This is difficult to aim and squeeze and the result is that the arrow does not go into the middle.
? The archer activates the release when the sight is on the centre. The arrow hits the middle.
? The brain has now learnt it is easier to punch than it is to squeeze. It will never forget this lesson
? The archer continues this practise. Eventually anticipation occurs. This is where the archer tries to activate as the sight enters the 10 ring. Soon he freezes in the 9 as he is locked up anticipating. This will get worse untill he can not come next to the target without firing.

The solution is not so simple and requires retraining from day one. The success will depend on the willpower of the archer. Changing release aids can help, however they must still learn the corect process. For example I see many back tension users punch as well, thus a waste of time.
BTW it is never 'cured' only controlled.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
There is much to think about here. Perhaps too much; I'm getting keyboard panic! It seems there is more agreement than anything else. Too much to do results in failure in one or more area and TP may result. Keeping things simple from the start seems to be the suggested way forward.Prevent rather than cure.
If I could run off at a tangent for a while, do we think it is possible to create panic in other areas by having "too many things to think about " Learning to drive for example;or cooking too many dishes at once or juggling with too many objects at the first try. For some it is easier to explain using these examples.
 

Cakemeister

Moderator
Fonz Awardee
Thanks guys for these posts. For me it reinforces the principle (with beginners) of starting on light poundage bows.
 
T

timujin

Guest
Marcus 26

Part of what you say I agree with. Part of what you say I have already said in my previous articles on the subject. But it isn't quite as simple as you present it. The greatest problem with target panic, particularly for newer shooters is that their minds become fixated on the need to try to keep the sights still on the centre of the target and while they do this, to try for a "surprise release".

This is exactly the same theory taught by International pistol shooting and rifle shooting coaches. The problem is worse with the pistol shooters for fairly obvious reasons. These coaching techniques actually exacerbate the problem rather than fix it. The only coaches that came up with a truly workable solution were the then Soviet shooters coaches and my views on the subject have been shaped in no small measure by this.

The difficulty for all shooters is that they are unable to come to terms with the fact that regardless of how hard they try, they will NEVER be able to keep their sights completely still on the target. Even the best shooters in the world can't keep their sights perfectly steady on the target. The better you become, the greater the effort that the shooter puts into trying to keep his/her sights absolutely still on target. Some rare shooters are able to accommodate this but for the majority, they find that as they get better their shooting tends to plateau because they are concentrating on something that is not really all that vitally important and is totally unachieveable, at the expense of other more important issues.

What shooters find difficult to come to terms with is to ignore the movement of the sights against the target and I really do mean IGNORE and concentrate instead on a clean release, whilst holding within what I call their "area of control" - this is the area in which the sights will tend to wander as a matter of course, regardless of what the shooter does.

Their minds simply cannot resist the idea of seeking a "perfect" sight picture and since they can't achieve it they soon learn to shoot "on the fly" ie as the sights swing into the centre of the target. It would be far better for them if these shots gave rise to a complete miss but more often than not, they will fluke a ten or something close too it and THEN their minds will decide that this is the way to go.

The trouble with this technique is that their minds are so fixated on this issue of stillness that it gives rise to an almost unbearable level of mental tension which will, after a short period of time, start forcing them to punch or jerk off their shot even when they are nowhere near the ten because they have taught themselves how unbearable the mental strain is in trying to get their sights centred and dead still and their subconscious can no longer cope with it. The release that the shooter seeks isn't the one that will hopefully land his shot in the ten, it is the one which will quickly relieve the unbearable tension he/she feels and this will occur further and further away from the ten ring as the shooters mind is progressively taught by its subconscious to seek relief from this tension sooner and sooner.

It is because this learning process has been subconscious that it becomes so difficult to undo. I believe it can be undone and it requires a totally different approach, as I have tried to describe in my previous writings. I know that what I have said is right becasue it has worked for me and sorry, Marcus, but it is possbile to eliminate the problem altogether - I feel none of it at all now. To really defeat target panic you have to train yourself to believe that you can in fact beat it altogether and not simply control it - because with the latter there will be tiimes when your mind, for some reason or other, will not be able to exercise the control necessary and you end up with a disastrous score.

I believe that you must seek to eliminate the problem altogether and it can be done but it takes a lot of thought and a lot of retraining, mentally. I also believe that one of the most insidious and destructive techniques that we teach shooters is to try to achieve a "surprise" release - which is, in reality, a subconscious release. When you hand over control to your subconscious, you are creating the conditions for your subconscious to do the other thing it wants to do unless it has been trained otherwise and that is to relieve the strain of trying to go for a perfect shot. A surprise release will eventaully, in most cases, lead to as bad a case of target panic you will find.

My solution to the problem, for me, was to come to terms with the idea of my having conscious control of when I fire. There is a school of thought that says that by doing it this way you will tend to punch your shot. If you do it properly you will not. I know this to be true because it is true for me and therefore it can be true for others as well.

I dare say that this wil be a cause of some dissention between us but I am not likely to change your mind and you will never change mine, so I guess we are both going to have to learn to live with that.:)

Cheers
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
As a recent sufferer, I can see so much truth in both Marcus' and Timujin's words and so much common ground. Some of the apparent disagreement, I feel, is more to do with use of words. "Surprise" release is one. I have worked daily on getting the surprise release. It is in my journal so I won't go over that, simply to say that the surprise, in my case, is not subconscious. My TP release was the subconscious one. I never knew that I was activating the trigger. I was so overcome with panic that everything was blotted out, and off it went.
Now, I am in the gold with the sight. It trembles a little, but I expect that. It trembles in the gold so I am delighted. While I look at the picture of sight in the gold, I am very aware that the pressure on the trigger is building slowly as I work to be patient with it. It is the most difficult thing for me, but well worth it in the end. I never know exactly when it will go, but I know that I am making it happen. I am not very good at building the pressure at the same rate on every shot so some take ten seconds, others take an age. This is lack of complete control but not a complete lack of control.I cannot prove this, but I suspect that Timujin's method of triggering the release is much the same as mine, perhaps he is more consistent and slightly faster than I am, but what is a second or so between friends?
I agree with Timujin about archers trying too hard to hold still in the gold. I see no point in struggling to keep the sight in the ten ring if at the end of the shot the arrows won't stay inside the blue. Better to float around the red/gold and keep the arrows inside the red, until such time as the technique improves. I never ask beginners to hit targets; I don't have tagets for them to hit.
I followed Marcus' advice to get rid of TP. I was helped by others too, I am still very grateful to all of those "friends". I am convinced that it works. It doesn't rely on "not doing those bad things". It works by giving me something completely different to do. This, I think is what Timujin says too.
I am better for reading both of their inputs. There is little or no conflict from where I'm sitting;just a different take on the surprise release. Take away the words and in practice they are much the same for both of us.
 

Max

New member
Something in Tinujin's last post really struck a chord with me in terms of trying to keep a steady sight picture in the gold. That is the relative diameter of the sight ring (or the magnification of the scope) in relation to an archers ability to hold steady. Although this effect is by no means unknown, there tends to be more emphasis with small circles or dots on compound scopes, which either only just encircle the gold, or fall completely within it at certain distances. This can't be good if what Timujin suggets is correct (and I for one have no doubt that it is).

Coming from a recurve background, I used a relatively large sight ring. That combined with the lack of magnification gave me very good results. My recent conversion to compound has proven problematic in many ways, certainly in being able to hold as steady as I would have liked. So the answer may be to increase the sight ring diameter until I can comfortably maintain the gold within it, allowing for the fact that I may not be as steady as more experienced shooters. In that way I can let the subconscious release process progress at its own pace without creating undue anxiety, or tension.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
I go along with Max on the sight device issue. Size and style is important. We are all different so the device really must match the individual in more ways than one. There are good reasons for using a simple ring. I like the simplicity of it and the way you are still able to see the rest of the surroundings while at full draw. I feel that helps with posture.
There are times when I prefer the dot, as it adds a certain reassurance that the aim is close to the centre. I am more aware that it is right than I am with an empty ring. With the compound, lenses and peeps can add more reassurance, so long as I am up to the challenge. I have recently removed the peep as it was making me too intense on the aim and not focussed enough on the squeeze on the trigger. Horses for courses, I guess. Choose with care and select what suits you, at the time. Be prepared to change when your technique improves.
 
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