A quicker release and follow-through go with higher scores

The summary today

The three studies linking the phase after release to the score do not agree, partly because they measure different things. In 2007 a single archer, ranked second in the world, was filmed over 60 arrows at 70 m: the speed of the horizontal shoulder rotation after release is linked to the score with a positive sign in one table and a negative one in the equation in the abstract, and by score category the means do not rise in order, so the registry keeps it as context. In 2008, in eight Korean university archers, on the better shots the drawing-side shoulder rotates more slowly, about 120 degrees per second on the 9s and 10s against 158 on the 7s, and on the worse ones its velocity shows a peak that the better ones lack, although the regression is significant only at a loose threshold (p < 0.10). In 2023, in sixteen young Malaysian recurve archers at 70 m, the phase from release to the end of the follow-through lasted 2.40 seconds in the eight best against 2.72 in the eight weakest, and over 576 arrows a shorter phase went with slightly higher scores, with a very weak correlation (r = -0.111). One study measures shoulder speed, the other the duration of a phase, and a shorter final phase can mean a cleaner follow-through just as well as a bow arm that drops earlier. The studies are small and cross-sectional, one against and one in favour: today nobody can say that speeding up the follow-through brings points.

Also phrased as: "fast release and score"; "follow-through duration"; "quick follow-through"; "time after the release"; "shoulder speed after the release"

Evidence

• 2007
  Context Archers Published later

  One Korean national-team archer, ranked second in the world, 60 arrows at 70 m filmed with seven cameras at 200 Hz and two very high-speed cameras at 1,000 Hz: in the stepwise regression the horizontal angular velocity of the drawing-side shoulder from release to the end of the movement is linked to the arrow's score with a positive sign (β = 0.364, p = 0.006), and with a second factor explains 15.6% of the differences; in the equation given in the abstract, however, the same factor has a negative sign. By score category the mean horizontal velocity is 99.89 degrees per second on the 10s, 89.49 on the 9s and 93.44 on the 8s, in no particular order. With the sign changing within the same paper, the registry keeps it as context.

  Evaluation on Motion Features of the World's Second Archer during Back-Tension in Archery · J.-H. Yi, C.-K. Hah, J.-S. Ryu, K.-C. Kim

• 2008
  Against Archers Published later

  8 Korean university archers, 12 arrows each, three-dimensional kinematics at 200 Hz: during the follow-through the mean horizontal angular velocity of the drawing-side shoulder is 158.12 degrees per second on the 7s, 141.54 on the 8s, 118.98 on the 9s and 121.44 on the 10s. The regression on score (y = -0.0637x + 17.074, R² = 0.874) is significant only at α = 0.10 and is built on four means, one per score; between 9 and 10 the velocity is practically the same.

  Evaluation on Kinematic Factors Affecting Scores of Olympic Round Game during the Follow Through in Archery · Chong-Ku Hah, Jae-Hun Yi

• 2008
  Context Archers Published later

  In the same archers, the lower the shot, the more marked the peak in shoulder velocity during the follow-through; on the 9s and 10s there is no peak and the two curves almost overlap. The authors conclude that a slow follow-through without jerks is the one that goes with good shots.

  Evaluation on Kinematic Factors Affecting Scores of Olympic Round Game during the Follow Through in Archery · Chong-Ku Hah, Jae-Hun Yi

• 2023
  For Archers Published later

  16 young Malaysian state-squad recurve archers (16 years old on average), 36 arrows at 70 m recorded on video: the phase from release to the end of the follow-through lasts 2.40 ± 0.44 s in the 8 best against 2.72 ± 0.51 s in the 8 weakest (p < 0.05), about 0.32 s less. The same better archers aim for longer (3.38 against 2.72 s) and take longer over the whole shot (10.46 against 9.74 s).

  Comparison of Shooting Time Characteristics and Shooting Posture Between High- and Low- Performance Archers · Jiun Sien Lau, Rosniwati Ghafar, Erie Zuraidee Zulkifli, Hairul Anuar Hashim, Harsa Amylia Mat Sakim

• 2023
  For Archers Published later

  Across the same archers' 576 arrows, the duration of the phase after release is the only phase of the shot correlated with the arrow's score: the shorter it is, the higher the score, with a very weak Spearman correlation (r = -0.111, p = 0.008). The other phases, aiming included, show no significant arrow-by-arrow correlation.

  Comparison of Shooting Time Characteristics and Shooting Posture Between High- and Low- Performance Archers · Jiun Sien Lau, Rosniwati Ghafar, Erie Zuraidee Zulkifli, Hairul Anuar Hashim, Harsa Amylia Mat Sakim

Status history

1. 2007 Not studied The first study to look at the phase after release in relation to score is a single case: the archer ranked second in the world, 60 arrows at 70 m filmed at 200 and 1,000 Hz. In the regression the speed of the horizontal shoulder rotation after release has a positive sign (β = 0.364, p = 0.006), but in the equation in the abstract the same factor has a negative sign, and by score category the means do not rise in order: 99.89 degrees per second on the 10s, 89.49 on the 9s, 93.44 on the 8s. One archer, in a regional journal, with a link the paper itself reports both ways: it does not say whether a quicker follow-through goes with higher scores, and the question still has no readable answer.
2. 2008 Contradicted The first readable result comes from the same Korean laboratory, and it runs against the claim. In eight university archers, twelve arrows each, the drawing-side shoulder rotates during the follow-through at about 158 degrees per second on the 7s, 142 on the 8s, 119 on the 9s and 121 on the 10s: the higher the score, the slower the rotation, with a regression explaining 87% of the variation of the four means but significant only at p < 0.10. On the worse shots the velocity shows a peak that the better ones lack. A single small study, in a regional journal, pointing the opposite way: contradicted.
3. 2023 Contested The first study to measure the duration of the phase rather than shoulder speed arrives. In sixteen young Malaysian recurve archers, 36 arrows each at 70 m, the phase from release to the end of the follow-through lasts 2.40 seconds in the eight best and 2.72 in the eight weakest (p < 0.05), and arrow by arrow a shorter phase goes with slightly higher scores (r = -0.111, p = 0.008). It is the first evidence in favour, and it faces the 2008 shoulder study, which points the other way: they measure different things, and a short phase says nothing about the shape of the movement. One for and one against: contested.

Related

Related articles

• The follow-through: what happens after the arrow has goneIn the top archers measured, the arrow leaves the string in about 15 milliseconds. What the body does next, what studies have found and where they stop.
• How long an archery shot lasts: the timing of each phase and the scoreHow long the wait, the draw, the aim and the follow-through last in an archery shot, and what their timing says about the score of each arrow.

Research lines

• 48 studiesWhat predicts the score, and how talent selection tried to use it
• 48 studiesBow stability and aiming time: research since 1971

Other claims in this domain

• CorroboratedBetween one and a half and two tenths of a second pass between the clicker sounding and the arrow leaving7 studies · 94 archers measuredStatus since 1990
• ReportedA camera diagonally behind the archer measures the vertical sway of the aim well, but not the horizontal1 study · 3 archers measuredStatus since 2010
• ReportedA continuous final pull through the clicker leads to better shots9 studies · 56 archers measuredStatus since 1993
• ReportedA sound or light cue about the angle of the bow arm tightens beginners' groups2 studies · 1 archers measuredStatus since 2012
• ReportedA thumb grip on the string is less tiring than a finger grip3 studies · 9 archers measuredStatus since 1990

See all claims on technique and biomechanics