For several years I battled a terrible case of target panic, trying every possible cure available and even inventing a few of my own. I experienced some success with a few of the methods I tried. After one such case, I decided to test it in the ultimate target panic testing environment: An archery tournament. I entered the tournament relatively confident that I could control my target panic symptoms that included, among others, freezing and a premature release. Shooting in an archery tournament is the an excellent test because you are shooting in front of your peers and while under pressure to perform. Both of these situations tend to cause target panic symptoms to flare up. In some cases, it can cause a complete breakdown and render the target panic sufferer unable to even draw their bow back. With some trepidation, I walked down to the first target with seven other traditional archers. The tournament was open to all styles of archery, but drew mostly compound archers. As such, most of the targets were well out of range of the traditional shooters. The first target was a ridiculous 70 yards and as I took my stance and readied to draw my bow, I could feel the eyes of the other competitors on me. Luckily, I was able to draw, hold, and release without the outward signs of target panic. However, I could definitely feel a tremendous urge to release early lurking in the background. This first target was to be my best performance of the day. The rest of the day I struggled mightily and soon it became obvious to all around me that I had a serious target panic problem. I wanted to quit and throw my bow and arrows in the garbage can on the way out, but my sense of self-respect precluded me from doing so. I kept my head down and continued slogging away target after target. I became so wrapped up in my own troubles that it wasn't until the last few targets that I noticed something peculiar in my shooting companions. I began to watch them closely as they took turns shooting at the final few targets. What I saw surprised me at the time, though now I know it to be quite common; they too were target panic sufferers" ?every one of them. I saw shaking, flinching, short draws, and snap shots. Despite being eye opening, this realization didn't make me feel any better. I still had target panic and unless I found a sure-fire cure, I was going to suffer from it for a long time. We flung our wayward arrows at the last target and said our goodbyes while avoiding the giant unspoken elephant that we were all suffering from the same affliction. As I sat alone in my car feeling not a small amount of humiliation, I decided that I would never go through that experience again. I was more determined than ever to find a cure for my target panic. Not long after, I was able to cure my target panic completely and permanently using a technique called the Push Release. |
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