In kyudo, release problems are commoner among those who have practised for more years
2 studies · 213 archers measured
The summary today
A Japanese study of fifty-eight university kyudo practitioners finds that those who have had the yips have practised for five years on average and those who have not for two and a half, and this is the only factor left standing once the others are taken into account. The differences in sex, age, hit rate, bow strength and injuries that show up in a first comparison disappear once years of practice enter the model, while dominant hand, arm thickness, grade and fatigue do not separate the two groups even on their own. The authors themselves point out the weak spot: the question was whether people had ever had the yips, and the more years someone has practised the more time there has been to get them, so the link says little about what causes them. The sample is small for the number of variables, and shooting volume, about two thirds more arrows a month among those who have had the yips, does not reach significance but points the same way. Outside kyudo, a survey of British archers and golfers finds no difference in experience between those who report target panic and those who do not, but it measures years at their highest level, not years of practice.
Also phrased as: "do yips come with experience"; "does target panic come after years of shooting"; "hayake and years of practice"; "beginners do not get the yips"
In practice
On the shooting line, in kyudo as in Western archery, people say that release problems come with the years, to those who have shot for a long time, and hardly ever to beginners.
Evidence
-
2020
Context Archers Published later
A survey of 155 British competitors, 69 archers and 86 golfers: those who report yips or target panic do not differ from those who do not, either in age, 42.4 ± 12.9 against 45.5 ± 14.4 years (p = 0.25, with age missing for 54 people), or in years at their highest level, 10.3 ± 11.3 against 9.3 ± 8.7 (p = 0.84). It is a different measure, years at the top level rather than years of practice, in Western archers and golfers together, so it does not answer the question about kyudo.
Personality Predictors of Yips and Choking Susceptibility · Philip Clarke, David Sheffield, Sally Akehurst
-
2021
For Kyudo archers Published later
58 students from the kyudo clubs of the Gifu and Kumamoto medical schools (41 with yips, 17 without; 7 of the 65 respondents were excluded because they could not say whether they had had them): years of practice 5.0 ± 2.5 among those who had had the yips against 2.5 ± 1.2 among those who had not (p < 0.001). In the logistic regression it is the only independent factor (p = 0.047). The authors warn that, since the question was whether the yips had ever occurred, they are bound to increase with the years, and that the sample is small for the number of variables.
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
-
2021
For Kyudo archers Published later
In the same sample the yips are reported more often by men, 61.0% against 23.5% (p = 0.020), and by those a little older, 21.2 ± 2.0 against 20.0 ± 1.8 years (p = 0.023), but in the model that accounts for years of practice neither difference holds (sex OR 0.240, 95% CI 0.029 to 1.962, p = 0.183; age OR 0.875, 95% CI 0.455 to 1.684, p = 0.690).
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
-
2021
Context Kyudo archers Published later
Those who have had the yips hit the target more often, 36.2 ± 16.5% against 17.5 ± 11.2% (p < 0.001), use stronger bows, 13.4 against 11.2 kg (p = 0.004), and report more injuries during practice, 62.5% against 31.3% (p = 0.043): none of these links survives in the multivariate model.
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
-
2021
Context Kyudo archers Published later
None of these separates those who have had the yips, even in a first comparison: left-handers, 12.2% against 5.9% (p = 0.660); a right arm thicker than the left, 53.7% against 56.3% (p = 0.582); volume, 429 ± 379 arrows a month against 255 ± 223 (p = 0.118); grade, 1.4 ± 0.9 dan against 1.1 ± 1.1 (p = 0.243); fatigue after training (p = 0.769).
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
Status history
- 1984 Not studied Nobody in the registry's bibliography had counted release problems in kyudo or tried to link them to the years spent with a bow in hand.
- 2020 Not studied Outside kyudo, a survey of British archers and golfers finds no difference between those who report yips or target panic and those who do not, either in age or in years at their highest level. It is a different measure and a different discipline: there is still no study on the question in the statement, so not studied.
- 2021 Reported Among fifty-eight university kyudo practitioners, those who have had the yips have practised for five years on average and those who have not for two and a half, and this is the only factor left in the model. Sex, age, hit rate, bow strength and injuries separate the two groups in a first comparison but disappear once years are accounted for; dominant hand, shooting volume and grade never separate them. The authors themselves warn that the longer someone practises, the more time there is to have had the yips. One cross-sectional study, and only in kyudo: reported.
Related
Related articles
- Target panic in archery: what it is and how to manage itTarget panic in archery: what it is, its three forms, how common it is and which remedies help, with the weight each one carries in the studies.
- The arrow goes by itself: yips and premature release in archeryEarly release as the studies see it: how archers describe it, how common it is in kyudo, how many get over it and why it differs from the release block.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). In kyudo, release problems are commoner among those who have practised for more years (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/kyudo-yips-years-of-practice
@misc{campagna2026_yipsannidipratica,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {In kyudo, release problems are commoner among those who have practised for more years},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/kyudo-yips-years-of-practice},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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