Meditation improves an archer's score

The summary today

Nearly all the studies that measure scores before and after a meditation programme point upwards, but among those in reliable journals only one has a comparison group. It is the 2024 Hong Kong study: twelve squad archers follow twelve weeks of mindfulness and gain 11.3 points over 72 arrows, while the twelve controls matched for sex and ranking lose three, with a significant interaction (p = 0.024) and a large effect, in a small sample. It was not randomised, the programme was largely online, and of the five facets of mindfulness only one moved, non-judging. The other two useful studies are before-and-after designs without a control: twenty-three Taiwanese university archers rise by about eight points over 72 arrows at 70 metres after four weeks, a small gain (d = 0.27) and far smaller than the gain in reaction times on the cognitive test; ten Indonesian middle-school pupils rise by 15.5 points over 36 arrows at 30 metres after six weeks, all of them by 11 to 20 points. In both cases a few weeks of normal training could explain the gain. The only contrary result is also the oldest and the smallest: four American archers, traced a year after a mindfulness programme that none of them still practised, have the same best competition score as before. Journals with questionable editorial standards add implausible figures, such as a 48 per cent rise with yoga, and do not weigh on the status. Today the idea has real but limited support in archers: a single controlled comparison, small and not randomised.

Also phrased as: "mindfulness and score"; "meditating to shoot better"; "meditation helps in archery"; "yoga and accuracy"; "staying present in competition"

Evidence

• 2011
  Against Archers Published later

  Four archers from the Washington area, traced a year after a mindful sport programme (there were eleven at the start): their best competition score, expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible because the competitions differed, does not change between the twelve months before and the twelve months after the programme (paired t-test, values not reported). None of the four was still practising mindfulness at follow-up, and four people are not enough to detect an effect even if there were one.

  One Year Follow-Up of Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE) With Archers, Golfers, and Runners · Rachel W. Thompson, Keith A. Kaufman, Lilian A. De Petrillo, Carol R. Glass, Diane B. Arnkoff

• 2011
  Context Other sport Published later

  In the same one-year follow-up the other two sports behave differently: the runners improve their best mile time from 7.36 to 6.54 minutes (p = 0.014), and the golfers go from 82.42 to 79.00 strokes relative to the end of the programme (p = 0.041) but not relative to before it. Without a control group, a year of training is enough to explain the same figures.

  One Year Follow-Up of Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE) With Archers, Golfers, and Runners · Rachel W. Thompson, Keith A. Kaufman, Lilian A. De Petrillo, Carol R. Glass, Diane B. Arnkoff

• 2021
  For Archers Published later

  23 competitive Taiwanese university archers (19 men, 4 women, 7.5 years of practice), eight 60-minute mindfulness sessions over four weeks, no control group: over 72 arrows at 70 m the score goes from 613.48 ± 29.72 to 621.70 ± 32.08 (t(22) = -3.58, p = 0.002, d = 0.27). Over the same period Stroop reaction times improve far more, with d between 0.51 and 0.71.

  The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Shooting Performance and Cognitive Functions in Archers · Tsung-Yi Wu, Jui-Ti Nien, Garry Kuan, Chih-Han Wu, Yi-Chieh Chang, Hsueh-Chih Chen, Yu-Kai Chang

• 2021
  Context Archers Published later

  After the programme, score is associated with sport-specific mindfulness (r = 0.426, p = 0.043), while general mindfulness, rumination and Stroop performance are not related to score. It is a correlation at the end of the programme, not an effect.

  The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Shooting Performance and Cognitive Functions in Archers · Tsung-Yi Wu, Jui-Ti Nien, Garry Kuan, Chih-Han Wu, Yi-Chieh Chang, Hsueh-Chih Chen, Yu-Kai Chang

• 2022
  Context Archers Published later

  50 university archers from Bhopal, 25 with twelve weeks of yoga (Bhramari, Trataka, Jala neti) for an hour a day plus two hours of shooting, 25 with shooting only: over 18 arrows at 18 to 25 m the score goes from 69.56 ± 7.70 to 102.88 ± 7.37 against 66.72 ± 6.00 to 78.80 ± 6.71. A 48 per cent rise in three months is implausible, and the journal has questionable editorial standards: it does not decide the status.

  Impact of Specific Yoga Module with special reference to Bhramari, Trataka and Jala neti on attention among Archers Questionable venue · Nidheesh Yadav, Vipin Rathore

• 2022
  Context Archers Published later

  20 Indian university archers, 10 with six weeks of meditation added to training and 10 with training only: at the end mental toughness is 22.1 ± 2.51 against 19.8 ± 2.29, while competitive anxiety does not differ (71.0 against 69.6) and in the meditation group it rises from 69 to 71, presented as an improvement without stating which way the scale runs. Shooting score was not measured, and the journal has questionable editorial standards.

  Effect of Meditation on Mental Toughness and Sports Competitive Anxiety Among Archery Players Questionable venue · Amruta Raviraj Shinde

• 2023
  Context Archers Published later

  24 competitive male archers split between imagery and meditation, ten sessions, scoring at 40 m: in the 12 who meditate the average goes from 419.58 to 435.08, with standard deviations of 112 points. The printed p (0.002) does not match the t (-2.967 with 11 degrees of freedom gives about 0.013), and the difference table reports 7 subjects instead of 12 and a confidence interval that does not contain its own mean. No group without intervention, questionable journal.

  Mental Training to Improve the 40-Meter-Distance Archery Accuracy with Imagery and Meditation Methods Questionable venue · Betrix Teofa Perkasa Wibafied Billy Yachsie, Suharjana, Ali Satia Graha, Yudik Prasetyo, Ahmad Nasrulloh, Siis Suhasto

• 2024
  For Archers Published later

  24 Hong Kong squad archers, 12 on a twelve-week mindfulness programme and 12 controls matched for sex, ranking and event, not randomised. Over 72 arrows the experimental group goes from 626.83 ± 49.34 to 638.17 ± 49.29 (p = 0.013), the controls from 625.67 ± 53.28 to 622.67 ± 58.17; group by time interaction F(1,22) = 5.861, p = 0.024, partial eta squared 0.21. The two groups started level (p = 0.699).

  Examining the Feasibility of a Mindfulness Flow Program for the Hong Kong Archers · Ka K. Lo, Mimi M. Y. Tse, Joanne W. Y. Chung, Queenie P. S. Law, Fenghua Sun

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  In the experimental group overall mindfulness rises from 125.92 ± 18.08 to 136.83 ± 11.65 (p = 0.046, d = 0.65), but of the five facets only non-judging moves, from 23.67 to 29.92 (p = 0.007). For flow the paper reports exactly the same values as for mindfulness, very probably a copying error. The most solid finding is feasibility: 100 per cent attendance at the twelve sessions, no dropouts, a rating of 7.9 out of 10 and home practice about three times a week.

  Examining the Feasibility of a Mindfulness Flow Program for the Hong Kong Archers · Ka K. Lo, Mimi M. Y. Tse, Joanne W. Y. Chung, Queenie P. S. Law, Fenghua Sun

• 2024
  For Archers Published later

  10 pupils from an after-school archery club at a middle school in Sleman, Indonesia, eighteen meditation sessions over six weeks, no control group: over 36 arrows at 30 m the average goes from 260.60 to 276.10 (+15.5 points, t = 15.81, p < 0.001), and all ten improve, with gains between 11 and 20 points. In beginners training for six weeks such a uniform improvement is also what training alone would be expected to produce. Regional journal.

  Pengaruh latihan meditasi terhadap akurasi memanah siswa ekstrakurikuler panahan SMP di Kabupaten Sleman · Muh Batistuta Fitoni Nuradila, Yudik Prasetyo, Heru Prasetyo

• 2025
  Context Archers Published later

  20 archers from the Malang squad, four weeks of a calmness programme combining breathing, meditation and imagery: reported accuracy rises from 60 to 82 per cent and anxiety falls from 60 to 40 per cent. The three techniques are not separated, so the effect cannot be attributed to meditation, and the journal has questionable editorial standards.

  Analysis of Calmness Training for Archery Sports for PORPROV Athletes in Malang Regency Questionable venue · Ratno Susanto, Dwi Cahyati Anggraeni, Bangkit Seandi Taroreh, Achmad Afandi

Status history

1. 2011 Contradicted The first data on archers are a null result. Four American archers, traced a year after a mindful sport programme, have the same best competition score in the twelve months before and the twelve months after, while in the same follow-up runners and golfers improve on something. None of the four was still practising, the values are not published and four people are not enough to detect an effect: a single small contrary study, which is contradicted.
2. 2021 Contested The first supporting measurement arrives: twenty-three Taiwanese university archers follow eight one-hour mindfulness sessions over four weeks, and their score over 72 arrows at 70 metres rises from 613.5 to 621.7. The gain is significant but small (d = 0.27), far less than the gain in reaction times on the cognitive test, and at the end those with more sport mindfulness have higher scores (r = 0.43). It is a single-group before-and-after design without a control, and four weeks of normal training are enough to explain eight points. On the other side the 2011 null on four American archers still stands: one study each way, both weak, so contested.
3. 2022 Contested Two studies in journals with questionable editorial standards. Twelve weeks of yoga added to shooting take the score from 69.6 to 102.9, against 66.7 to 78.8 in the control group, an implausible 48 per cent gain. Six weeks of meditation raise mental toughness (22.1 against 19.8) but leave competitive anxiety unchanged, and in the meditation group it actually rises, with the direction of the scale never stated; shooting score was not measured. A questionable journal does not decide a status: it stays contested.
4. 2023 Contested Another study in a questionable journal compares meditation with imagery in twenty-four archers at 40 metres: in the meditation group, ten sessions take the average from 419.6 to 435.1, but there is no group doing nothing and the table does not add up, since the confidence interval does not contain its own mean. It changes nothing: the status stays contested.
5. 2024 Reported The two measurements that support the claim today arrive. In Hong Kong twelve squad archers follow twelve weeks of mindfulness and gain 11.3 points over 72 arrows, while the twelve controls matched for sex and ranking lose three: the group by time interaction is significant (p = 0.024) and the effect large, in a small sample. In Sleman ten middle-school pupils rise by 15.5 points over 36 arrows at 30 metres after eighteen sessions in six weeks, all by 11 to 20 points, but with no comparison group. With three supporting studies against the single 2011 null on four archers, that weak result is no longer enough to keep the claim at contested, and the status rises to reported. One non-randomised controlled study and one uncontrolled before-and-after study still do not reach corroborated, though, and in Hong Kong only one of the five facets of mindfulness moved.
6. 2025 Reported A four-week calmness programme combining breathing, meditation and imagery takes the accuracy of twenty Indonesian archers from 60 to 82 per cent, in a questionable journal and without separating the three techniques: any effect cannot be attributed to meditation. The status does not change.

Related

Related articles

• EEG and neuroscience in archery: the brain of the elite archerWhat EEG studies on archers show about the best arrows, differences between levels, theta in beginners and neurofeedback, and how far each finding holds.
• Self-confidence and score: what goes together and what comes firstSelf-confidence and score in archers: what the studies measured, how strong the link is, and why nobody knows whether confidence comes before the points.
• Meditation, mindfulness and yoga in archers: what moves and what does notWhat meditation, mindfulness and yoga change in archers: the studies find more effect on attention and on how archers feel than on the score.

Research lines

• 52 studiesMental training: what has been tested on archers since 1979
• 55 studiesAttention and cognition in archers: research since 1986

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

See all claims on mind and attention