Specific drills combined with imagery reduce target panic symptoms
1 study · 12 archers measured
The summary today
There is a single study, on a particular group: twelve Indonesian para-archers, from beginners to elite athletes, who spent five weeks doing twenty sessions of specific physical drills with the bow combined with imagery. At the start only three in twelve controlled their symptoms under pressure, according to an observation sheet filled in by eye; after two weeks the figure was five, and by the end ten. The result needs reading with three cautions. There was no group carrying on with normal training, so the method cannot be separated from the time and attention the archers received; the judgement is the observer's, not a measurement of the release; and not everyone responded, because one archer finished below his starting point and two stayed under the threshold. It is an encouraging signal in a few archers, not yet evidence that the method works.
Also phrased as: "drills for target panic"; "imagery for target panic"; "how to beat target panic with training"; "exercises to overcome target panic"
In practice
On the shooting line, the usual advice for getting out of target panic is to go back to close-range shooting at a blank boss, with drills aimed at the shot and a mental rehearsal of the shot done well.
Evidence
-
2023
For Archers Published later
12 Indonesian para-archers (9 men and 3 women, W2 and standing classes, from beginners to elite), five weeks between May and June 2023 of specific physical drills with the bow combined with imagery, in two cycles: eight sessions over two weeks, then twelve over three. The observation sheet, validated by experts, rates four symptoms (a flinch of the bow arm, a punch of the release hand, freezing on the aim or at the clicker, and releasing as soon as the sight crosses the centre) against a 75% threshold: 3 archers in 12 were above it at the start, 5 in 12 (41.7%) after the first cycle and 10 in 12 (83.3%) at the end. There was no control group and no instrumental measurement; the journal is a regional one.
Effectiveness of the integration of SPT-Drill and imagery training methods: A treatment to beat target panic in archery · Muhammad Amin Priambudi, Mashud, Syamsul Arifin
-
2023
Context Archers Published later
At the initial observation 9 para-archers in 12 (75%) were below the threshold, meaning they showed at least one target panic symptom under pressure. The worst scores were in the aiming phase, and almost all of them said they released with the sight outside the gold, as soon as it crossed the centre.
Effectiveness of the integration of SPT-Drill and imagery training methods: A treatment to beat target panic in archery · Muhammad Amin Priambudi, Mashud, Syamsul Arifin
-
2023
Context Archers Published later
Not everyone responded: one para-archer fell from 43.75 to 31.25 after the first cycle and finished at 37.5, below his starting score, and two archers were still under the threshold at the end. The authors describe them as inconsistent in applying the method during the repetition sessions.
Effectiveness of the integration of SPT-Drill and imagery training methods: A treatment to beat target panic in archery · Muhammad Amin Priambudi, Mashud, Syamsul Arifin
Status history
- 1984 Not studied Nobody in the registry's bibliography had yet tried to reduce target panic symptoms with a programme of drills and imagery, or measured its effect on a group of archers. The problem was talked about, but no method for getting out of it had been put to the test.
- 2023 Reported The first and so far only study arrives: twelve Indonesian para-archers do five weeks of specific physical drills with the bow combined with imagery, and those who control their symptoms by observation go from three in twelve to ten in twelve. At the start three in four showed at least one symptom under pressure, mostly while aiming, and one finished lower than where he began. It is a before-and-after design with no control group, judged by eye and published in a regional journal: there is evidence on archers, but it is limited, so reported.
Related
Related articles
- Does imagining the shot raise your score? What the studies measuredDoes imagining the shot raise your score? Forty years of studies on archers, from a 1986 correlation to controlled trials, and where the evidence stops.
- Why target panic happens (and why calling it mental is not enough)My hypothesis on target panic: under pressure the release de-automatizes, dropping back to conscious control too slow to run it. With what the studies say.
- Target panic in archery: what it is and how to manage itTarget panic in archery: what it is, its three forms, how common it is and which remedies help, with the weight each one carries in the studies.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Specific drills combined with imagery reduce target panic symptoms (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/drills-imagery-target-panic
@misc{campagna2026_targetpanicesercizivisualizzazione,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Specific drills combined with imagery reduce target panic symptoms},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/drills-imagery-target-panic},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
Follow this claim
RSS is an address you paste into a feed reader: each time this claim changes status, adds a year to its history or is revised, a new item appears there.
Registry updates by email
At most one email a month, sent only when something has changed: claims that change status, new claims, Lab predictions registered or resolved, new studies and new books.
Sign-ups are handled by Systeme.io, the service that runs the newsletter. Every email has a link to unsubscribe with one click.
Other claims in this domain
- ReportedA larger working memory does not make an archer more accurate3 studies · 79 archers measuredStatus since 2012
- ReportedA longer quiet eye improves shooting accuracy3 studies · 58 archers measuredStatus since 2017
- ReportedA mental profile tells archers apart from athletes in other sports only in part5 studies · 550 archers measuredStatus since 2018
- ReportedA mental training programme improves the elite archer's mood1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023
- ReportedA mental training programme reduces burnout in elite archers1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023