Got target panic real bad!

[namrehtaew]

I'm a beginner recurve archer and have been shooting since last October. I have been progressing well and towards the end of the winter scored a Portsmouth round of 542. Then some strange unwanted premature releases started to creep into my shooting and at the same time it was as if some invisible force was acting to 'push' the sight away form the gold with greater force the closer I got. If I pushed the sight too hard I would involuntarily release. Needless to say this was causing my scores to plumet and even more depressingly, the harder I tried to overcome this and the more practice I put in, the worse it got! It got so bad that about a week ago I considered giving up archery altogether as I was no longer having fun ( that is the end purpose after all - it is for me anyway ).
I have seen and heard the phrase 'Target Panic' used a lot and asumed that it would not apply to me because I am generally a calm cool headed analytical sort of person certainly not prone to panic attacks! I now know through talking to other club members that 'Target panic' is a very common problem with archers. I did a 'google' search and came up with some usefull information including a very interesting article by a sports psychologist, Jay Kidwell. I have since tried some of the techniques he advocates with some success and now I am determined to persevere with this until the 'target panic' dissapears altogether.
One question I would like to ask. I am looking for a copy of Jay Kidwell's book 'Instinctive Archery Insights: Revised Edition' which is mainly about target panic and its cure. I am unable to find a copy on sale anywhere in this country. Does anyone know where I can find a copy or possibly sell me theirs!

Many Thanks, namrehtaew

[Hidden Hippo]

10 digit ISBN: 0963971824
13 digit ISBN: 978-0963971821

If you go into a bookshop and quote one of those they'll likely be able to get hold of a copy for you.

[chemistry]

Do you shoot with a clicker? If not, that would be worth a try, coupled with some good advice on your shooting from appropriate club members or a coach, depending on who you have access to.

In my case, a clicker really helped me focus on form and executing the shot, not letting go as soon as the gold wafted through my sights...

chemistry

[Black Arrow]

Kidwell is unfortunately out of print in the UK although Amazon can source you copies from the US. Simply put his methodology is
1. set up a blank face and blind loose for a couple of weeks, work on getting the feel of the string coming in to the anchor,
2. Then move on to shooting on a blank boss still working on completing the draw.
3. Then finally move on to shooting at a face, working on drawing and grouping off the gold and finally
4. come in to the gold again.

It takes time and patience but it can be conquered. You just have to have the brain telling the muscles, "just cos you're in the gold don't release till the draw is over". Sometimes moving your reference from centre to side or side to centre can help as your focus shifts to finding the anchor point

[niceguy]

Originally Posted by chemistry

Do you shoot with a clicker? If not, that would be worth a try, coupled with some good advice on your shooting from appropriate club members or a coach, depending on who you have access to.

In my case, a clicker really helped me focus on form and executing the shot, not letting go as soon as the gold wafted through my sights...

chemistry

Good advise, my thoughts also. Should help

[Kae]

I'll say this first and foremost; These are my opinions and views only and please feel free to ignore them.

Target panic is not incurrable, but the road to recovery can often be tedious. Don't let this put you off though, as you will become a better archer because of it.
First and foremost, if your serious about solving this problem, you need to find someone to guide you through it. This is quite often THE most difficult part. This can be either a coach or experienced archer, but ideally they need to have experience of Target Panic (even better if they have got through it themselves).

I have guided several archer's through TP and the most important thing is not to make it a big problem. Quite often you will find people trying to solve the TP when actually there is an underlying problem.

Two of the three archer's I coached found it difficult to hold the sight on the gold. This was rectified by altering the draw and improving bow arm stamina. They now both shoot with rock solid bow arms (even in bad conditions). This can also be down to very poor stance (ie, if you rock on your feet at full draw).
The third archer was using a pin type sight, and the pin was so thick, that it covered the entirety of the gold past 25 meters. His brain couldn't work out that the gold was behind the pin, so told him to move his arm so that the gold could be seen, thus his arrows always went to the left. This was solved by switching him to an open sight ring. (Incidentally, this was the cure to my own problem).

I've only skimmed over the top of the two problems that I find the most.

Kae.

[John (OSF)]

Sorry to hear about your difficulties N, have you tried shooting at targets you've printed yourself? (print any picture 'A4ish size' you like and use it at a target)

Can you hit any bit you wish to on the 'non-target face ' target?

[jeves]

Originally Posted by chemistry

Do you shoot with a clicker? If not, that would be worth a try, coupled with some good advice on your shooting from appropriate club members or a coach, depending on who you have access to.

In my case, a clicker really helped me focus on form and executing the shot, not letting go as soon as the gold wafted through my sights...

chemistry

I also found this really helpful and know another few archers who feel the same.

[geoffretired]

Taking the road that leads to recovery can seen tedious when you read about it. Once you start taking the tablets, you get such a buzz from knowing you will recover. It's like starting to shoot all over again; but with a head start.

[slartibartfast]

I used to suffer from TP but it was helped by removing the sight pin and shooting with an open sight. I was also helped by cutting the centre of the target out and shooting at the hole, I know it sounds nuts but it worked for me. With compound I just took the magnifying lens out.