The yips is a movement disorder known to interfere with the certain sports activities. The yips are most commonly associated with putting in golf. The term yips is said to have been popularized by Tommy Armour — a golf champion and later golf teacher — to explain the difficulties that led him to abandon tournament play. In describing the yips, golfers have used terms such astwitches, staggers, jitters and jerks.

The yips affects between one-quarter and one-half of all mature golfers. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that 33 percent to 48 percent of all serious golfers have experienced the yips. Golfers who have played for more than 25 years appear to be most prone to the condition.

The yips also affects players in other sports. Examples include Australian rules football, baseball, basketball, and tennis . In darts the yips are known as dartitis. In NFL Football, a normally reliable field goal kicker who starts struggling is also said to have the yips.

Although the exact cause of the yips has yet to be determined, one possibility is that, in some golfers, the condition may result from biochemical changes in the brain that accompany aging. Excessive use of the involved muscles and intense demands of coordination and concentration may make the problem worse. Focal dystonia is mentioned as another possibility for the real cause of yips.

The players who experienced yips could be categorized according to whether they reported mainly movement-related symptoms (Type I) or anxiety-related symptoms (TypeII). The Type I group exhibited greater muscle activity during putting and greater errors and less inhibition of the anticipated response task. The Type II group exhibited greater changes incognitive anxiety and normal performance of the anticipated response task. Type I is related to impaired movement initiation and execution, whereas Type II is related to performance anxiety. Acupuncture treatment for yips is effective when it is Type I. Before we start the treatment, we examine the entire body to localize the damaged muscle in the past, and to figure out the adverse effect of the posture when you perform a certain movement. Please refer to Focal dystonia as well.