Matteo Campagna
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Comparing the feel of the shot with an instrument reading teaches archers to recognise their own release timing

2 studies · 1 archers measured

ForContextAgainst2000200520102015202020252016, context, n = 11998, for1998, context
Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

The data come from a single Ukrainian paper from 1998, presented at a biomechanics conference. A device on the clicker and the sight measures release time, and after every arrow the archer states their own estimate and compares it with the reading; the whole method takes between fifteen and twenty-two sessions. At the end of the third stage, after seven to ten sessions, the mean estimation error given is 5 to 8 thousandths of a second, and in the experimental group release time becomes more regular and the sporting result improves, while in the control group, according to the author, nothing changes. The limits weigh heavily: the number of archers is not stated, the control group has no figures, and the 5 to 8 thousandths error sits in a table describing the structure of the method, so it is unclear whether it is an observed mean or a target. A 2016 case is a reminder of why comparing with a measurement helps: an experienced archer judged some shots as bad that the sensor recorded as good.

Also phrased as: "feeling your own release"; "calling the shot before looking"; "comparing feel and data"; "release time after the clicker"

In practice

Archers are asked to say how the shot felt before looking at where the arrow landed or at what the instrument says, to train the feel to match what actually happened.

Evidence

  • 1998
    For Archers Published later

    Archers of medium qualification, experimental group against control group, not randomised: at the end of the third stage of the method, after 7 to 10 sessions in which the archer estimates their own release time and compares it with the device, the mean estimation error given is 0.005 to 0.008 seconds. The full course takes 15 to 22 sessions. The figure sits in a table describing the structure of the method, and the number of archers is not stated.

    METHOD OF IMPROVING TECHNICAL ACTION IN ARCHERY · Bohdan Vinogradskiy

  • 1998
    Context Archers Published later

    In the experimental group, before against after, Student's t is 4.8 for the standard deviation of release time, 5.1 for its coefficient of variation and 2.4 for the sporting result, against a critical value of 2.262; mean release time does not change significantly (2.2). For the control group the author writes that no changes are seen, with no figures.

    METHOD OF IMPROVING TECHNICAL ACTION IN ARCHERY · Bohdan Vinogradskiy

  • 2016
    Context Archers Published later

    One advanced archer, 109 shots with an inertial sensor on the bow at 1,000 Hz: of 12 shots commented on with a seven-point judgement, given before the score was known, some that the archer judged bad turned out good in the measurements.

    Archery Routing Motion Pattern Comparison Using Hidden Markov Models · Shoichi Hasegawa, Kleawsirikul Nutnaree, Midori Kawaguchi

Status history

  1. 1998 Reported A Ukrainian teaching experiment, with a comparison group but no random allocation: a device measures release time, and the archer states an estimate and compares it with the reading. After seven to ten sessions of the third stage the mean estimation error given is between 5 and 8 thousandths of a second, and in the experimental group the release becomes more regular. A single study, with no number of participants and an error figure that may be a target rather than a measurement: reported.
  2. 2016 Reported A Japanese case, one advanced archer with an inertial sensor on the bow, shows the problem the method starts from: of twelve shots commented on, some that the archer judged bad turned out good in the measurements, with the judgement given before the score was known. It confirms that feel alone is not enough, but it does not test the training meant to correct it: the status stays reported.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). Comparing the feel of the shot with an instrument reading teaches archers to recognise their own release timing (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/shot-feel-and-release-timing-measurement

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_sensazionetiromisura,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {Comparing the feel of the shot with an instrument reading teaches archers to recognise their own release timing},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/shot-feel-and-release-timing-measurement},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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