What is target panic?

[SLOWHAND]

Originally Posted by geoffretired

Is it the same as " gold shyness?
A friend of mine thinks he has it( Where have I heard that before?)
If he has, what are the symptoms? Are there any cures- other than taking up tropical fish?
Geoff

Yes I think you may have something there. Taking fish up to the boss and using them instead of regular targets would certainly help gold shyness.

[geoffretired]

Hi Rich and the others who are helping too,
I use the Short n sweet.
No wrist strap, I have a long rope leading to a sling over my elbow.
Have looked at the three sites you sent me, Rich.
The informative one was good in a way but I have to be honest and say I am getting far more specific help here on the forum, from you and the others.
The Golden Key is a release I have owned in the past. I couldn't make it work and gave up. That was many years ago. If I had it here now, I think I would have had more success with it.I thought it was broken, too.
I am still thinking that moving a trigger is bad for me.
The HHA would be different. It would be moving the drawing elbow and pulling with the back, no attention given to the finger. Sounds very interesting.
Tomorrow I have to face the club archers and shoot like a.........
To be honest, I don't care. Today I feel like my archery is on fast forward. I'm a beginner again; with all the excitement that generates.
I thought I would feel like my archery was on hold till I get sorted. Not so!
What will I feel like tomorrow? Watch this space!! If I'm not on line by 10p.m.
Send for the police!
All the best
Geoff

OK Geoff I have a squad car reved up and waiting! I was not aware the Golden key was available. The last time I checked it had been withdrawn for further development.

I kind of get the impression you are going down the HHA route. I feel it will be OK for you. It realy does work, I'm just trying to justify spending yet another £100 or so on archery stuff. At the moment the one I use is borrowed from my mate Max. Let us know how you get on at the club.

One thing..don't expect a quick fix. It may take a long time to get to the point where you can shoot a whole FITA with confidence.

Regards

Rich

[geoffretired]

Most shots were surprises.
Some shots took far less time than others.
Initial holding pressure on the trigger seems to play a part in that; higher holding pressure=less time to shoot -but not 100% correlation
Starting to feel that my posture is getting back to normal; earlier sessions made me feel that the drawing elbow was so far from the bow arm as to belong to someone else.
As the pressure is maintained, so the aim is being maintained. It's like the drawing force is holding the sight steady.
Starting to notice that the arrows are landing within the area seen through the aperture. Earlier sessions were totally focussed on getting a surprise.
The violence of the follow through is still there. However, now it only confirms the surprise rather than confirming and being a big surprise.
The surprise release is violent compared to the old stuff that it replaces.The violence causes a kind of blackout as if the lights go off for an instant as the arrow does its flight to the target. I wonder if that will stay with me? I wonder if that will become another way of confirming that the shot was a surprise? Or will that disappear with time as things get better?
So many new things to report today.
Geoff

Is Violence the right word? Perhaps an explosion or explosive shot is better? This seems like a positive move when shooting compound. Lots of people promote the push/pull ( in an even way) shot that ends with a snap of the release hand away from the shot.

[geoffretired]

Thanks for the reminder there.
Violence is probably too strong. Explosion is nearer the truth as there is a feeling of things flying apart.
Sent Rich a PM
Geoff

[geoffretired]

First session today with video.
Most shots were surprises.
Watched video, looks ok but the follow through, although natural, seems a bit untidy.
Eyes close soon after release but the arrow is clear of the bow by then(out of frame)
Second session at the club at 8yds
With companion and coached him between my arrows.
I thought I would try to disrupt my concentration by having other things to think about. I managed to concentrate on my own task once the bow was loaded with an arrow.
The bow arm side of the follow through seemed less untidy. I detected a tendency for the arm to repeat its movements in each follow through and for the movements to be reduced. Am I starting to restrict that arm too much?
Took a deliberate break. Got involved in other coaching discussions. Went back to shoot my last arrows with the intention of getting the focus back from coaching to my shot sequence. Some nice surprise shots to finish the day.