Target panic is a curse that can plague archers for weeks if not months or years. The mere mention of it sends chills down the spines of even the most experienced archer. Akin to choking or ‘yips’ in other sports, target panic can affect archers differently. An archer may not be able to settle on the gold before releasing. They may freeze outside the gold. They may release the arrow before completing other steps in the shot process.
Target panic is a nightmare for many archers but is, in reality, faulty connections in your brain. Think of it as a mere bad habit. Like many bad habits, they can be broken.
The key to overcome target panic is recognizing that visually aiming at the target is just one small step in the shot process. Aiming at the target is not the goal nor the end of the process. Remember that a good shot consists of a dozen or so steps that have to precisely executed. Make a conscious effort to focus on each step rather than fixating on aiming or whatever step of the process that seems to trigger the panic.
Here are some strategies I used to overcome target panic or nip it in the bud when I feel it emerging.
Draw Holds
With a normal setup, bring your sight picture to the target and hold. Do not shoot any arrows. My goal here is to train my brain to accept this sight picture objectively and wear away any expectations about the target center. It may help to do this drill without a target or with a larger or closer to target to change up the visual stimuli.
Blind Bale
With a normal setup, aim onto the gold and then close your eyes. Imagine the yellow before you and imagine settling your sight picture. After a second or two, open your eyes. This weakens the impulse to immediately release the arrow at the sight of yellow. Yes, the point is to make a shot into the yellow. However, there are steps we must take between gazing at the yellow and releasing an arrow. By resting on the yellow and closing our eyes, we retrain our brain to start focusing on the next steps in our process.
Honestly, this was an instant fix for me. I struggled with target panic for months until I came upon this exercise. The first few times I tried this drill, I struggled to close my eyes. After a few tries, I felt more relaxed on the yellow. The anxiety / rush / pressure to release the arrow disappeared and enabled me to focus on settling and expanding into the shot.
There are variations of the blind bale exercise involving closing your eyes at stance and running through your entire process with your eyes closed. Use common sense when using any variation of blind bale in order to keep yourself and others safe. Do not release unless you have a good sense of where the arrow will land.
Blank Bale
Similar to blind bail exercises, blank bale consists of shooting arrows without a target. The lack of a target forces you to focus on other aspects of your form and shot process.
Shot Trainer
The shot trainer is a tool that you install onto your bow and fix onto your bow arm. It is basically a cord that attaches your elbow to the bow string. You load an arrow and draw as usual. If you release, the arrow won’t travel very far since the bow string is attached to your arm. The tool is intended to clean up an archer’s release. A good release stops the bow string from traveling forward since your elbow holds the string back. A poor release provides instant feedback, any weaknesses in your hold or release is amplified. The shot trainer pulls the draw arm forward with the bow string and you nearly end up punching yourself in the face. It’s quite an effective tool as one need only smack themselves in the jaw once or twice before making a conscious effort to improve the release.
I’ve found the shot trainer to also help with target panic. Having no expectation for the arrow to even reach the target allows you to focus on your process and perhaps the more urgent concern of trying not to punch yourself in the face. Similar to blind or blank bale exercises, we are trying to increase our control of the process and not let the target dictate our actions.
Shot trainers or Formasters are available from various companies or you can DIY one here or here.
Drop weight
Target panic comes from a feeling of stress which is increased by fatigue. Shooting at a lower weight can help slow your process down so that sense of panic is lessened. In a calmer state, we can work on retraining our brain and dismantling faulty connections. If this eliminates target panic, then slowly work back up to your desired draw weight.
Take a break
This is probably a last-ditch measure for many archers. My philosophy is that it’s better to not do anything than to further reinforce bad habits. If target panic is completely unshakable and you’ve tried other suggestions to no improvement, put the bow away for a couple weeks. Let those faulty brain connections weaken while you focus on archery outside the range (check my post on off the range training).