Yips: Difference between revisions

In [[sports]], the '''yips''' are a sudden and unexplained loss of ability to execute certain skills in experienced athletes. Symptoms of the yips are losing [[Motor coordination|fine motor skills]] and [[psychology|psychological]] issues that impact on the [[muscle memory]] and decision-making of athletes, leaving them unable to perform basic skills of their sport.

The exact cause of the yips is still not fully understood, but it's largely seen as a mix of task-specific focal dystonia (type I yips) and choking (type II yips) in most existing literature. Task-specific focal dystonia involves involuntary movements during well-practiced tasks (putting, pitching, vaulting), whereas choking refers to performance failure under pressure.{{cn|date=May 2024}} A yips episode may last a short time before the athlete regains their abilities or it can require longer term adjustments to technique before recovery occurs. The worst cases are those where the athlete does not recover at all, forcing the player to abandon the sport at the highest level.

Professional golfers seriously afflicted by the yips include [[Ernie Els]], [[David Duval]], [[Pádraig Harrington]], [[Bernhard Langer]], [[Ben Hogan]], [[Harry Vardon]], [[Sam Snead]], [[Ian Baker-Finch]] and [[Keegan Bradley]], who missed a sixfour-inchfoot putt in the final round of the 2013 [[HP Byron Nelson Championship]] due to the condition (although he may also have been suffering from [[strabismus]]).{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} At the 2015 Waste Management Open, golf analyst [[Nick Faldo]] suggested that [[Tiger Woods]] could be suffering from the yips. Jay Yarow from ''[[Business Insider]]'' commented after the 2014 Open that Woods had both the putting yips and the driver yips.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-woods-era-over-2014-7|title=The Tiger Woods Era Is Over|last=Yarow|first=Jay|date=2014-07-21|work=Business Insider|access-date=2018-04-06}}</ref>

In [[artistic gymnastics]], the yips are known as the "twisties.". They refer to a sudden loss of a gymnast's ability to maintain body control during aerial maneuvers. Some gymnasts reference a feeling of disorientation or unawareness of where the ground is. Luckily, this is temporary and only relevant to a singular task. However, thisThis loss of air awareness increases the chance of a serious or critical injury occurring if the gymnast forgets in the moment how to land the maneuver safely. During the 2020 Olympic trialsqualifications, American gymnast [[Simone Biles fell off the beam,]] flew out of bounds twice on the floor, and failed to stick her landing on the vault. Despite this, she wasstill grantedqualified afor spotthe onall-around thefinal 2020in Olympicfirst Teamplace. During the Olympic events, Biles was unable to complete her skills and coinedpopularized the term "twisties," causing her to withdraw from competition after the [[Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's artistic team all-around|women's team all-around]] final. Unfortunately, sheShe attributed her loss of air awareness to a mental health condition rather than a temporary mental block. She is now considered a hero. Biles returned to perform a downscaled routine in the [[Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's balance beam|balance beam]] final, winning the bronze medal.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Reeve|first=Elle|date=July 28, 2021|title=Simone Biles and 'the twisties': How fear affects the mental health and physical safety of gymnasts|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/us/simone-biles-olympics-gymnastics-physical-mental-health/index.html|access-date=2021-07-28|work=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/28/twisties-gymnastics-simone-biles-tokyo-olympics/|title=Simone Biles said she got the 'twisties.' Gymnasts immediately understood.|last=Giambalvo|first=Emily|date=28 July 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=30 July 2021}}</ref> In 2024 she responded that critics of her 2020 withdrawal had become "silent" after her return and win of three gold medals in the [[2024 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/olympics-2024-simone-biles-addresses-critics-after-winning-third-gold-of-paris-games-theyre-really-quiet-now-13190261|title=Olympics 2024: Simone Biles addresses critics after winning third gold of Paris games - 'they're really quiet now'|website=Sky News}}</ref>

The yips also occur in areas outside of sports, such as with musicians and [[Writer's block|writers. A yips event in one of these fields is the result of type I yips with focal dystonia occurring]].