In the first months a beginner improves anyway, even without any special training
6 studies · 96 archers measured
The summary today
Almost every study that has measured it finds that beginners' scores rise in the first weeks, and almost always in passing, inside work that was looking for something else. In 1979 thirty university students on their first course went from 33.06 to 38.80 points per end of six arrows between the sixth and tenth week, in both groups of the study; in 2018 the control group of a Ukrainian study, with standard training only, rose from 247 to 298 points out of 600 in two months; in 2022 eleven adults who had never shot gained more than a point per arrow over three sessions of a hundred arrows, with the biggest jump between the first and the second. All of these, though, are before-and-after figures: nobody has followed a group of beginners for the purpose of measuring the curve, and the numbers come from control groups or from samples of ten to thirty people. The only contrary result, from 2025, is a control group of twelve teenagers who did not improve over eight weeks, and in fact slipped slightly, measured on just nine arrows at 18 m. The practical consequence concerns other studies: if the course alone is worth some fifty points out of 600 in two months, a gain of that size credited to a particular exercise, with no control group, proves nothing.
Also phrased as: "at the start you improve on your own"; "beginners improve fast"; "beginner learning curve"; "in the first months the score goes up anyway"; "early beginner improvement"
In practice
It is said that the first months are the easiest, because the score climbs on its own as the arrows go in, and that the real difficulties start later, when progress slows down.
Evidence
-
1979
For Archers Published later
30 university students on their first course, two 50-minute lessons a week for ten weeks, scored at 20 yards (about 18 m) in ends of six arrows: the mean rises from 33.06 ± 8.41 in week six to 38.80 ± 7.72 in week ten, time effect F(1,28) = 35.65, p < 0.01, and it also rises in the group not asked to set goals (from 33.18 to 36.62). The study was about goal setting: the beginners' improvement is a before-and-after figure inside the two groups, with shooting distances increased gradually over the first five weeks.
Effects of Goal Setting on Achievement in Archery · Mary L. Barnett, Jean A. Stanicek
-
2017
For Archers Published later
32 Turkish eleventh-grade students who had never shot, two class periods once a week for twelve weeks: the technique test out of 100, drawn up by the coach and the teacher, goes from 5.55 ± 5.23 to 78.94 ± 14.72 (t = -34.60, p < 0.001). The standard deviation almost triples, so the differences between students widen. The test is not validated, there is no target score, and the journal has questionable editorial standards.
Investigation of Participation Motivations in Exercises of Students Participating in Archery in Extra Curricular Activities Questionable venue · Nevin Gündüz, Muzaffer Toprak Keskin, Fuat Erduğan
-
2018
For Archers Published later
22 Ukrainian beginners aged 18 to 20 split into two groups of 11: the control group, with standard training only, goes from 247.36 ± 27.03 to 298.18 ± 33.38 points out of 600 in two months (t = -3.92, p < 0.01); the experimental group, with added balance and precision exercises, from 251.64 to 340.27. The figure that matters here is the control group's: some fifty points gained with nothing special. Regional journal.
Influence of application of special means of development of equilibrium and precision-target movements on the level and structure of psychophysiological indicators, physical and technical readiness of archers · V.V. Artiuh, Zh.L. Kozina, V.O. Koval, D.V. Safronov, S.V. Fomin, Yu.O. Novikov
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2022
For Archers Published later
11 adults with no archery experience, three sessions of 100 arrows in one week, 14 lb recurve bow at 8 m, instruction from an experienced archer: the mean score per arrow (scale 5 to 11) rises by 1.18 points between the first and third day (CI 0.21 to 2.16; p = 0.015), with smaller gains between the second and third day. The study was looking for a learning signal in the electroencephalogram, and the improvement is an uncontrolled before-and-after figure.
Archery under the (electroencephalography-)hood: Theta-lateralization as a marker for motor learning · Stefan Rampp, Kai Spindler, Gesa Hartwigsen, Christian Scheller, Sebastian Simmermacher, Maximilian Scheer, et al.
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2022
Context Archers Published later
In the same 11 beginners, the gain between the first and last ten arrows of a session averages 2.3 points on the first day, against 0.5 and 0.6 on the second and third (Friedman p = 0.035). Those who started higher improved less, although the difference is not significant (p = 0.22).
Archery under the (electroencephalography-)hood: Theta-lateralization as a marker for motor learning · Stefan Rampp, Kai Spindler, Gesa Hartwigsen, Christian Scheller, Sebastian Simmermacher, Maximilian Scheer, et al.
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2024
Context Review Published later
Narrative review of neurofeedback in precision sports: it takes up a 1994 study of archers picking up a bow for the first time, who improved by 62% over fourteen weeks, with cardiac deceleration and electroencephalogram asymmetries between their best and worst arrows. A second-hand figure, with no new sample.
Improving Mental Skills in Precision Sports by Using Neurofeedback Training: A Narrative Review · Stefano Corrado, Beatrice Tosti, Stefania Mancone, Tommaso Di Libero, Angelo Rodio, Alexandro Andrade, Pierluigi Diotaiuti
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2025
Against Archers Published later
36 beginners aged 14 to 18 in three groups of 12, two 60-minute sessions a week for eight weeks: the control group, with routine training only, does not improve: its score drops by 0.4 points, not significantly (t = 0.684, p = 0.508, d = 0.20), while the groups doing breathing or imagery exercises improve. The score is over three ends of three arrows at 18 m, it is not stated how long the teenagers had been shooting, and the allocation to groups is described once as random and once as sequential.
Effects of breathing and imagery exercises on postural sway and shooting performance in Olympic archers · Cansu Keskin, Ayşe Nur Tunali Van Den Berg
Status history
- 1979 Reported The first figure comes from a study of goal setting in thirty university students on their first archery course, two 50-minute lessons a week for ten weeks. Between the sixth and the tenth week the mean score at 20 yards rises from 33.06 to 38.80 points per end of six arrows, with F(1,28) = 35.65 and p < 0.01, and it rises in both groups, including the one not asked to set goals. It is a before-and-after figure inside a controlled study of a different question: evidence in favour from archers, and limited.
- 2017 Reported Thirty-two Turkish students who had never shot follow twelve weeks of lessons, two class periods once a week, and a technique test drawn up by the coach and the teacher goes from 5.55 to 78.94 points out of 100. The standard deviation, however, almost triples, from 5.23 to 14.72: everyone improves, but the gaps between them widen. The test is not validated, starts from zero because nobody could shoot, and the journal has questionable editorial standards: the figure points the same way and does not move the status.
- 2018 Reported The most useful figure comes from a control group. In a Ukrainian study of twenty-two beginners aged 18 to 20, the eleven doing standard training only go from 247.36 to 298.18 points out of 600 in two months (p < 0.01), while the group with the special exercises reaches 340.27 from 251.64. It gives the scale of the spontaneous gain, about fifty points, but it is still a before-and-after figure on eleven people in a regional journal: reported.
- 2022 Reported Eleven adults with no archery experience at all, using a 14 lb bow at 8 m and coached by an experienced archer, shoot a hundred arrows a day for three days. The score per arrow rises by 1.18 points between the first and third day (p = 0.015), and within a session the gain between the first and last ten arrows is 2.3 points on the first day against 0.5 and 0.6 on the next two. The status does not change, but it shows how quickly the steepest part of the curve goes by.
- 2024 Reported A narrative review of neurofeedback takes up a 1994 study in which archers picking up a bow for the first time improved their performance by 62% over fourteen weeks. It is a second-hand figure, with no new sample, and it leaves the status where it was.
- 2025 Reported The first contrary result arrives. In a study of thirty-six young beginners aged 14 to 18, the twelve in the control group, doing only their routine training for eight weeks, do not improve their score, which in fact drops by 0.4 points, a difference that is not significant (p = 0.508). The test, though, is nine arrows at 18 m, it is not known how long these teenagers had been shooting, and the paper describes the allocation to groups in two different ways. Against three studies in favour, plus one in a questionable journal, one contrary study this weak is not enough to speak of opposing results: the status stays at reported.
Related
Related articles
- 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.
- Motor learning in archery: how a movement becomes automaticThe three stages of motor learning and what studies on archers show: the brain, movement variability, corrections, goals, video and distance.
- How archery is taught: what the studies on beginners sayWhat studies tell anyone teaching archery: how much beginners improve anyway, and what courses, starting distance, videos, goals and mental work add.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). In the first months a beginner improves anyway, even without any special training (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/beginners-improve-first-months
@misc{campagna2026_progressorapidoprincipianti,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {In the first months a beginner improves anyway, even without any special training},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/beginners-improve-first-months},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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