Curing
“Target Panic” and Related Problems
Some archers
may experience problems such as:
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In severe cases, these problems may cause the archer's
shooting form to degenerate to a state where it becomes difficult for the archer
to even reach “Full Draw”. Some archers have even given the sport away in
shear frustration over these problems. In my opinion, all these problems
although physical, stem from one basic fault. That fault is not physical, but
mental. It's all in the way we think and learn a new skill. The brain is able to
learn a new skill, such as walking. If we practice walking often enough, then
the skill becomes automatic. We no longer have to think how to walk. Walking has
become a skill controlled by the “sub-conscious” part of our brain. This
allows us to look about, talk and do other things controlled by the 'conscious'
part of the brain, all at the same time. Like a computer, the 'conscious' part
of the brain learns what is required, writes the program code and then stores it
in the 'sub-conscious' for instant execution when required.
In Archery, the brain has to learn many new skills of very
finely controlled muscle movements in order to shoot an arrow consistently. The
more we practice, the better the Archer shoots and the score improves. The
Archer's shooting form becomes automatic as the 'sub-conscious' part of the
brain becomes 'programmed'. This allows the Archer's 'conscious' part of the
brain to concentrate only on aiming.
The 'Anchor', 'Release' and 'Follow-Through' should all
happen under the control of the 'sub-conscious', automatically, without having
to think about it. It is when both parts of our brain try to control the same
skill, at the same instant, that the wires get all crossed up and the 'program'
is corrupted. This usually starts
as a small change in thinking of the Archer. While concentrating on aiming, the
Archer will also switch their thinking to the release. As it is very difficult
to think about two different things at exactly the same time, the brain will
rapidly try to switch between both. So now both the aiming and the release are
not in full control all the time.
The aim may wander slightly and have to
be corrected, while the release may 'go off at the wrong time' or the fingers
may 'flinch' or the release aid trigger may be 'punched'. This seemingly small
problem can cause a drop in the Archer's score, so they will try harder to
control their shooting. The more they try to control the shot, the worse the
problem grows. This may occur over several months, until the Archer suddenly
realizes they have a major problem with their shooting form. The Archer's
confidence in their own ability to aim in the center of the target or even to
release may suffer.
Speaking from personal experience of these sorts of
problems, it's like having two people in your head, each of them fighting for
control over aiming and releasing. Each knows what should happen, but refuses to
let the other control it.
The shooting form is fine up until having to aim at the
center of a target, then everything just goes haywire. The aim may lock below
the gold and then refuse to move or the trigger may be punched to just get the
shot off. I know how to shoot, I've done it often enough before, but now it
doesn't want to work. Archer's who have experienced these sorts of problems will
know exactly how frustrating they can be. Other Archer's, who have not
experienced these problems, have no idea what these people are going through.
Depending on the Archer, how serious the problem is and the
amount of practice time, it could take several weeks to cure one or more of
these mental problems The cure generally consists of practicing:
·
Aiming
at a target face at a short distance and holding for 10 seconds, then 'let-down'
·
Aiming
at a target face at a longer distance and holding for 10 seconds, then
'let-down'
·
shooting
at a blank target butt at a short distance with eyes open
·
Shooting
at a blank target butt at a short distance with eyes shut
·
Combining
the above to complete a shot sequence at a short distance
·
Combining
the above to complete a shot sequence at increasingly longer distances.
1.
Start with a large target face at about a
distance of 3 to 5 yards.
2.
Aim into the bulls eye and hold for about 10
seconds. Don't worry about how steady you can hold to start with, as the purpose
of this practice is to regain your confidence in your ability to aim. Don't
shoot the arrow, but 'let-down' instead.
3.
You can also vary the position of your aim in
the gold, from top to bottom and left to right and in between. This will help
take away the problem of 'having to' aim in the center, as you can control where
you want to aim.
4.
When
you can aim at the target and remain calm and feel in control, then move back to
a longer distance, say 10 yards. As you feel confident at each distance, then
move a little further away. At about 20 yards, change the target face to smaller
size. If you have any problem with aiming at a longer distance, move forward to
a shorter distance and start over. To regain total control over your aiming may
take some weeks of practice.