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.