Target Panic
Target-shyness, Target-Panic, call it what you will, it all results in an uncontrollable desire to release
as soon as the sight gets onto the gold or even the target face.
The Miracle Cure? - there isn't one!
Blank Boss Shooting...
A complete waste of time! As soon as you put a target face back on the boss, back comes the panic.
First, we need to understand the cause of Target Panic.
There appear to be two main causes... Over-bowed and Over-aiming
Over-bowed...
Obviously, if you are drawing more weight than you can comfortably relax with whilst at full draw, you will
want to release as soon as possible. This can lead to releasing earlier and earlier until you reach the point
where you release before reaching the aiming point. (This is not really target shyness, but you end up with similar results.)
Over-aiming...
This generally comes from the archer believing that aiming is more important than the correct execution of the
shot. The archer then tries to aim harder which puts tension into the shot and before they know it, they are on
a spiral downwards until they cannot aim on the middle without shaking like a leaf.
Some of this may go against what a lot of so-called "top coaches" say.
"The glowing sight pin or glow-dot has caused more cases of Target Panic than any other single item of archery equipment."
Try some of these statements for size...
1."Whilst shooting at a Field Face at 30 yards, the angle of deviation necessary to miss the gold is so small that it is humanly impossible to group your arrows inside the gold. Yet, many archers are capable of doing it. It would even be difficult to make a machine accurate enough to do it!" TRUE
2."The subconscious part of the brain is very good (once taught) at performing very precise tasks without you
realizing you are doing them, and far better than the fully-conscious part of the brain." TRUE
3."The subsconscious visual part of the brain is very good at centering objects in it's field of vision." TRUE
4."If you are not consciously lining up a sight with the target, you cannot have target
panic." TRUE
5."Changing release aids will cure target panic." FALSE
6."Back-tension release aids prevent target panic." FALSE
First, let's qualify these last two statements...
It is true that by changing your release, especially if you change to a reverse-trip or a back-tension release,
you will get rid of target shyness... TEMPORARILY!
The reason is that once you get used to the new release, so that you no longer have to think about using it, you will go back to
trying to aim consciously and the target shyness will return.
Now let's consider the subconscious side of the brain. There are many tasks you perform each day...
...Changing gear with a manual gearbox in the car. First you depress the clutch pedal with the left foot, then you either increase
or decrease the throttle for going either down or up a gear, then you move the gear stock, adjust the throttle and let out the
clutch, and at the same time you are steering the car and observing road conditions both front and rear! This whole operation is
performed in about 1 second. ...Putting a fork in your mouth whilst eating. How often do you stab yourself with it?
...Writing with a pen.
All these things your subconscious can do time and time again and very seldom gets it wrong. So, aiming a
sight at a target is a very easy task for it in comparison!
How do you cure Target Panic?
If you have a mild problem, then try this. It is not a quick fix and you may have to repeat the process many
times. The trick is to be absolutely confident in the ability of your subconscious to do the aiming for you.
Assume you are shooting compound with a scope and release aid. You may have to modify this for other styles.
Take the lens out of the scope and shoot at a face at 25 yards. DO NOT AIM! Just stare at the
bullseye through the peep sight and the scope body. DO NOT TRY TO LINE ANYTHING UP Put your finger on the trigger, feel the trigger, feel
where it is on the finger and feel the increase in pressure on your finger. Remember, you are not aiming and you are not lining
anything up. You are just staring at the gold through the scope body. By now the release has gone off and the arrow is in the
target. REPEAT THIS 4 OR 5 TIMES.
You may find that putting something like Blu-Tac on the trigger will help you concentrate on the feel of the
trigger. By now you should have a group of arrows in the target. Apart from the odd stray, they will be in a
fairly tight group. DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SIGHT TO GET THE ARROWS IN THE MIDDLE... just continue the exercise and learn
the feeling of "aiming, yet not aiming". When you think that you feel what it is like to let the
sub-concious do the aiming, put the lens back in, but not with a spot. Instead, put on a big circle, and I mean big... let it fit around the outside of the blue on the target.
Now go through the same routine again.
You may be amazed at how accurate you are with such a big circle, and you may never go back to a smaller
one. As you progress, note that you never actually focus on the ring on the scope, you always look through it. Try different sized
rings and find one which is comfortable for you to use. As soon as you feel you are
using your fully-conscious side to aim, then go back to reinforce the good work you have already
done.
