TARGET PANIC

INTRODUCTION

Target panic, target shyness or call it what you will is probably the greatest single problem faced by the majority of archers, and may well be the main reason why so many people leave the sport after an enthusiastic first couple of years.  I have suffered from it for something like 15 years, but it is only in the last two years that I have really faced up to the problem and done something about it.

This part of the site deals exclusively with the problem, discusses its many aspects and offers practical advice that I know from experience can help many sufferers, if they put some effort into it.

My approach is simple: target panic is in the mind, and it must be dealt with in the mind.  This is not to say that physical things like equipment and style have no effect - they can help or hinder considerably - but in the end they cannot solve the problem.  Only mental discipline can do that.

Finally, please remember that target panic is not a disease or a magic spell.  You can't catch it from other archers, no-one can give it to you and there is no need to put your fingers in your ears and run away shouting "I don't want to hear this!", like one top archer I know.  If you have the problem, knowledge and discussion can only help.