At the end of a training session archers can still shoot, but not with good form
3 studies · 78 archers measured
The summary today
The only piece of data that really asks this question is a questionnaire: of 59 university students who practise kyudo, 58 per cent say that at the end of training they could still shoot but not with good form, 41 per cent that they could do so with good form, and just one could no longer draw the bow. It is an impression, not a measurement, and it comes from kyudo alone. The measurements that exist look at fatigue induced in the laboratory and partly point in different directions: in twelve Italian archers, after sixty 20-second holds at full draw, the score does not change and each archer keeps a highly repeatable pattern of muscle activation, but the lateral sway of the bow increases in all of them, by 20 per cent on average and more in the less skilled. In a Malaysian archer followed through a long session, aiming was the hardest phase, and towards the end of each set he had to let down and repeat the shot. That something gives way at the end of a session is what archers report and what laboratory measurements suggest; what gives way in the form, and after how many arrows, nobody has measured during an actual session.
Also phrased as: "the last arrows spoil technique"; "stop shooting when you are tired"; "form drops at the end of practice"; "shooting tired makes the shot worse"
In practice
It is said that the last arrows of a long session do the most damage: the archer can still shoot, but the form slips away, and repeating a messy shot when tired teaches the messy shot.
Evidence
-
1994
Context Archers Published later
12 archers from the Italian federation (7 intermediate between 1180 and 1300 FITA points, 5 above 1300), ten arrows at 12 m before and after six sets of ten 20-second holds at full draw: the score changes in none of them, each archer shows highly repeatable muscle action before and after, but the lateral sway of the bow increases in all of them, by 6 to 39 per cent (20 on average), more in the less skilled (correlation with FITA score -0.65), and according to the authors those with lower scores take longer to aim. This is fatigue induced in the laboratory, not the end of a session.
Fatigue effects on shooting archery performance · Roberto Squadrone, Renato Rodano, C. Gallozzi
-
2021
For Kyudo archers Published later
Questionnaire given to 65 university students who practise kyudo: of 59 valid replies, after training 57.6 per cent (34) say they could still shoot but without good form, 40.7 per cent (24) with good form, 1.7 per cent (1) can no longer draw the bow. It is the practitioners' impression, gathered in a study on the yips, not a measurement of form.
Yips in Kyudo (Japanese archery): prevalence, classification, and aggravating factors · Seiichiro Nishio, Yuichi Hayashi, Shinei Kato, Yoya Ono, Masahiro Waza, Yoichiro Nagao, Akihiro Mukaino, Shunya Nakane, Takayoshi Shimohata
-
2022
Context Archers Published later
A university recurve archer in Malaysia followed through a long shooting session with electromyography: at the end of the session he names aiming as the hardest phase, and the experimenters observe that towards the end of each set he has to let down and repeat the shot several times because he cannot hold his aim. The number of repeats is not reported.
Investigation of muscle fatigue of the archer’s during endurance shooting · Zul Amer Hamdan, Zulkifli Ahmad@Manap, Nasrul Hadi Johari
Status history
- 1994 Not studied The first piece of data close to the question comes from the laboratory: twelve archers from the Italian federation shoot ten arrows at 12 m, do six sets of ten 20-second holds at full draw and shoot ten more. The score does not change and each archer keeps a highly repeatable pattern of muscle activation, but the lateral sway of the bow increases in all of them, by 6 to 39 per cent, and according to the authors the less skilled take longer to aim. This is induced fatigue, not the end of a real session, and the results point partly one way and partly the other: it does not answer the question, which remains open.
- 2021 Reported A questionnaire given to sixty-five university students who practise kyudo gives a clear answer: of 59 valid replies, after training 58 per cent say they could still shoot but not with good form, 41 per cent with good form, and one person can no longer draw the bow. It is self-assessment, not measurement, it is a single study and it concerns kyudo only: there is evidence in favour, and it goes no further than that.
- 2022 Reported A single case adds a consistent detail: a university recurve archer in Malaysia, followed through a long shooting session, names aiming as the hardest phase, and towards the end of each set has to let down and repeat the shot several times because he cannot hold it. One person, and the number of repeats is not reported: the picture does not change.
Related
Related articles
- Fatigue in archery: when tiredness sets in, and whether it shows in the scoreWhat happens to the shoulder, the bow and the score after many arrows: what studies of fatigue in archery have measured, and where the research stops.
- Why do my arrows go left, right, high or low?Where your arrows land is a report: how to read impact patterns, and what the measurements say about the sight, the grip, bow torque and launch speed.
- How many arrows per week: what the research says about training volumeHow many arrows archers really shoot, from club to elite, and what research says about hours and score, fatigue after 100 arrows, injury and load progression.
Research lines
Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.
See the programmeCite
Campagna, M. (2026). At the end of a training session archers can still shoot, but not with good form (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/end-of-session-shooting-form
@misc{campagna2026_faticafinesedutaforma,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {At the end of a training session archers can still shoot, but not with good form},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/end-of-session-shooting-form},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
Follow this claim
RSS is an address you paste into a feed reader: each time this claim changes status, adds a year to its history or is revised, a new item appears there.
Registry updates by email
At most one email a month, sent only when something has changed: claims that change status, new claims, Lab predictions registered or resolved, new studies and new books.
Sign-ups are handled by Systeme.io, the service that runs the newsletter. Every email has a link to unsubscribe with one click.
Other claims in this domain
- ReportedA battery of physical tests identifies the most promising young archers7 studies · 373 archers measuredStatus since 2018
- ReportedA few weeks of archery improves children's balance1 study · 32 archers measuredStatus since 2009
- ReportedA mobility and stretching programme improves an archer's flexibility1 study · 30 archers measuredStatus since 2025
- ReportedA spell of reduced training makes the score drop1 study · 9 archers measuredStatus since 2021
- ReportedA strength programme away from the range increases an archer's measured strength15 studies · 316 archers measuredStatus since 2018