A thumb grip on the string is less tiring than a finger grip

The summary today

There is only one set of data on archers, and it is weaker than it is often summarised. In 1990 nine international-level archers, used to the three-finger grip, tried four grips: with the thumb the average activity of the six muscles measured on the draw arm is the lowest, 53.4 per cent of maximal contraction against 59.3 with three fingers and 62.4 with two, and the authors judge it the most economical grip; but in the muscle-by-muscle analysis the trapezius, finger extensor, biceps and deltoid do not change significantly between grips, and all nine found the thumb the hardest grip. In 2007, in sixteen people who had never shot, the thumb grip asked less of the trapezius and finger extensor than the reversed grip, and fatigue came later; but the comparison was with a grip no target archer uses, not with three fingers. Neither study measures fatigue over a whole session with a trained grip: both measure muscle activity over a few arrows, with grips just learned.

Also phrased as: "thumb draw in the Mongolian style"; "thumb release"; "thumb ring"; "thumb draw and fatigue"; "thumb or three fingers"

Evidence

• 1990
  For Archers Published later

  9 international-level archers, used only to the vertical three-finger grip, try four grips, three fingers, two fingers, thumb and reversed, with electromyography of six draw-arm muscles: average activity is lowest with the thumb, 53.40 ± 12.00 per cent of maximal contraction, against 59.26 ± 6.12 with three fingers, 62.40 ± 7.78 with two and 56.70 ± 11.03 with the reversed grip, and the authors describe the flexors and deltoid as less active in all the archers, especially with the thumb, and judge it the most economical of the four grips. In the analysis of variance with three fingers as the reference, though, the trapezius, finger extensor, biceps and deltoid do not change significantly between grips: only the brachioradialis in the reversed grip and the flexor digitorum superficialis fall significantly, and the standard deviations reach 12 points. All nine found the thumb the hardest grip once the anchor was set, and the measurements cover three arrows per grip, after 15 minutes of practice and nine adjustment arrows.

  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, randomly assigned to the thumb grip or the reversed grip with the hand pronated (eight per grip), 80 measured arrows after 30 practice ones: with the reversed grip the trapezius and finger extensor are significantly more active, and the signs of fatigue, with the drop in score that goes with them, arrive earlier and harder; across all conditions the score falls by 8 per cent on average from one measurement to the next. Those using the thumb scored 77 per cent more. The comparison, though, is between two grips a target archer does not use: the three-finger grip was not included.

  The Biomechanical and Physiological link between Archery Techniques and Performance · Richard T. Stone

• 2022
  Context Review Published later

  A 2022 systematic review puts the two studies together and reads them as agreeing: the thumb grip would be the least demanding for both beginners and elite archers. It reports no figures and adds no samples, and the agreement it describes is clearer than the 1990 muscle-by-muscle data show.

  Performance assessment in archery: a systematic review · Eleonora Vendrame, Valeria Belluscio, Luigi Truppa, Lorenzo Rum, Aldo Lazich, Elena Bergamini, Andrea Mannini

Status history

1. 1990 Reported Nine international-level archers, used only to the three-finger grip, try four string grips after a quarter of an hour's practice with each: with the thumb the average activity of the six draw-arm muscles is the lowest, 53.4 per cent of maximal contraction against 59.3 with three fingers, 62.4 with two and 56.7 with the reversed grip, and according to the authors the flexors and deltoid work less in all of them, especially with the thumb. In the statistical analysis, though, the trapezius, finger extensor, biceps and deltoid do not change significantly, and the thumb is the grip all of them find hardest. A single study, with measurements over three arrows per grip: reported.
2. 2007 Reported In sixteen adults who had never shot, randomly assigned to the thumb grip or the reversed grip with the hand pronated, the reversed grip asks significantly more of the trapezius and finger extensor, and the signs of fatigue, with the drop in score that goes with them, arrive earlier and harder. It points the same way, but in people who do not shoot and against a grip a target archer does not use: it is not a second test on archers, and the status stays reported.

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.

Research lines

• 46 studiesShooting EMG from 1971 to today
• 9 studiesThe string grip: fingers, thumb and thirty years of comparisons

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 two-finger string grip is about as accurate as a three-finger one1 study · 9 archers measuredStatus since 1990

See all claims on technique and biomechanics