Yips: Difference between revisions

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. 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.

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 popularized 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. She attributed her loss of air awareness to a mental health condition. 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]].