Dragon2115
Key Veteran
Location: New England
| What is YIPS?A multidisciplinary team at Mayo Clinic defined the YIPS as a psychoneuromuscular impediment to executing the putting stroke. It affects committed golfers such as top ranked amateurs and PGA professionals. Adding an average of five strokes per game, the YIPS involves twitching, stabbing, and freezing during the putt, which contributes to poor performance. Research shows that the YIPS affects golfers who have played for approximately 25 years (averaging 73 rounds per year) prior to the onset of symptoms. When Mayo Clinic surveyed 2,600 golfers with a 12-and-under handicap, 53 percent of the 1042 respondents reported experiencing the YIPS.
To date, the cause of the YIPS is poorly understood as the problem varies among individuals. The YIPS closely resembles a focal dystonia (episodic twitching and jerking, which is a result of a sustained abnormal posture). Others seem to get the "yips" as a result of "choking", an extreme form of performance anxiety. Symptoms are always worsened under conditions of anxiety and stress. Focal dystonias have been identified in other groups of people including musicians, writers and typists. Dentists and surgeons, whose work requires fine motor skills and athletes in sports, such as basketball and cricket, also report problems consistent with the definition of YIPS. [Emphasis added]
http://www.mayo.edu/research/yips/topic_475.html
YIPS is really a weird syndrome. A golfer can have a great swing on the course until they get to the green. Then all hell breaks loose. They can't keep their hands steady to save their lives.
Malorie,
What you describe IS consistant with YIPS, uncontrollable twitching during periods of intense concentration involving hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills under stressful conditions. I sincerely hope you are not afflicted with YIPS. Something else to consider may be how much you are push down on the sticks when using only your thumbs. Most people will say 'nah, I'm not pushing down on the sticks that hard' when in reality they'd drive the sticks through the back of the tx if they pushed any harder. They're so focused on flying they don't even realize they're doing it. Changing to the pinch method doesn't allow you to apply as much down force to the sticks. This may be just enough to stop the twitching for you. Maybe with a little focus on what you're doing at the time the twitching starts will give some clues as to what you can do to stop it.
I fly using a combination of both pinch and thumb only. For take offs, hover, and landings I use the pinch method for fine control. I switch to thumbs only when I throw it around.
Good luck. |
