The way the string is held changes a beginner's score
3 studies · 9 archers measured
The summary today
Only one study has measured it in people starting out, and the difference is large: in 2007 sixteen adults who had never shot, randomly assigned to a thumb grip on the string or to a reversed grip with the hand pronated, scored 77 per cent more points over 80 arrows with the thumb, and with the reversed grip the trapezius and finger extensor worked harder and fatigue set in sooner. The result has two serious limits, though. The two grips compared are not the three-finger grip used by almost every target archer, and there were eight participants per grip, two per combination with foot position, which in turn interacts with the grip. In experienced archers the same comparison had been made in 1990, and there the new grip made precision collapse through lack of familiarity: with the thumb or the reversed grip the three-arrow group measured 175 and 179 centimetres on the first trial, against 19 and 15 with three and two fingers, and over nine arrows it came down to 42 and 53. The registry counts those sixteen adults, at their first session, as the general population rather than as archers, as in the card on foot position, which is why the status is transferred. For someone starting out, then, the grip seems to matter, but nobody yet knows how much it matters among the grips a beginner would actually be taught.
Also phrased as: "string grip for beginners"; "hooking the string"; "thumb or Mediterranean draw"; "how to hold the string"; "string grip and score"
In practice
Beginners are taught that the string grip has to be set up properly from the first lesson, because a poor hook at the start becomes a habit that is hard to shift and costs points.
Evidence
-
1990
Context Archers Published later
9 international-level archers, used only to the vertical three-finger grip, try four grips after 15 minutes of familiarisation, with three trials of three arrows: with the thumb and the reversed grip the group measures 175.7 and 179.4 centimetres on the first trial, 75.7 and 97.5 on the second, 42.0 and 53.2 on the third, while with three and two fingers it stays between 11 and 19 centimetres. The two familiar grips do not differ from each other, and after nine arrows the new ones are still three to four times worse. These are not beginners: the data show how much familiarity with a grip weighs, not which grip suits someone starting out.
Muscular Activity of Different Shooting Distances, Different Release Techniques, and Different Performance Levels, with and without Stabilizers, in Target Archery · J.P. Clarys, J. Cabri, E. Bollens, R. Sleeckx, J. Taeymans, M. Vermeiren, et al.
-
2007
For General population Published later
16 adults aged 21 to 25 who had never shot, 8 men and 8 women, randomly assigned to one of two string grips, the thumb grip and the reversed grip with the hand pronated, and to one of four foot positions (eight per grip, two per combination): after 40 minutes of instruction and 30 practice arrows, over 80 measured arrows those using the thumb scored 77 per cent more on average. With the reversed grip the trapezius and finger extensor are significantly more active, and fatigue, with the drop in score it brings, sets in earlier and harder. The interaction between grip and foot position is also significant (p = 0.05), and the least demanding combination, thumb grip with an even stance, is the one with the highest score. Conference proceedings.
The Biomechanical and Physiological link between Archery Techniques and Performance · Richard T. Stone
-
2022
Context Review Published later
A 2022 systematic review reads the 2007 study together with the 1990 one and draws the same conclusion: for people who have never shot, a thumb grip with an even stance gives the best results. It adds no samples and reports no figures.
Performance assessment in archery: a systematic review · Eleonora Vendrame, Valeria Belluscio, Luigi Truppa, Lorenzo Rum, Aldo Lazich, Elena Bergamini, Andrea Mannini
Status history
- 1990 Not studied The first comparison of string grips that counts precision comes from nine international-level archers used only to the three-finger grip: with the thumb and with the reversed grip the three-arrow group measures 175.7 and 179.4 centimetres on the first trial, against 18.8 and 15.2 with three and two fingers, and over nine arrows it comes down to 42.0 and 53.2. These are experienced archers grappling with grips they do not know, though, and what is being measured is mostly the novelty: in beginners the question has not yet been asked. Not studied.
- 2007 Transferred Sixteen adults who had never shot, randomly assigned to the thumb grip or the reversed grip and to one of four foot positions, shoot 80 measured arrows after 30 practice ones: with the thumb they score 77 per cent more on average, and with the reversed grip the trapezius and finger extensor work harder and fatigue sets in sooner. Grip and foot position, moreover, do not act independently. These are people at their first session, whom the registry counts as the general population, as in the card on foot position, with eight people per grip and two grips that a target archer does not use: transferred.
Related
Related articles
- The string grip: what changes between two fingers, three fingers and the thumbTwo fingers, three fingers or the thumb on the string: what studies have measured on grouping, steadiness, muscles and release, and where the data stop.
- Common beginner mistakes in archery and how to avoid themThe most common beginner mistakes in archery, from posture and release to equipment, and what the measurements made on beginners actually show.
Research lines
Where there are no studies on archers, every decision starts from a written hypothesis and is checked against the data over time.
See the full assessmentCite
Campagna, M. (2026). The way the string is held changes a beginner's score (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/string-grip-beginner-score
@misc{campagna2026_presacordapunteggio,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {The way the string is held changes a beginner's score},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/string-grip-beginner-score},
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
- 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