Some of the angles of the shot are nearly identical in every archer, others change from archer to archer

The summary today

Four research groups, using different instruments, point the same way: part of the geometry of the shot is nearly the same for everyone, and part is personal. In 18 high-level Bulgarian archers, total flexion and abduction of the bow shoulder vary from one archer to the next by only 6 to 8 per cent, while flexion of the same shoulder varies by 29 to 33 per cent and external rotation by even more; in 14 Taiwanese university archers, abduction of both shoulders at the release has standard deviations of 4 to 6 degrees, while horizontal extension of the bow shoulder has 20 and 33. In 13 university archers the angle of the drawing elbow at the release averages between 156 and 159 degrees in both sexes, across different draw weights and distances; in 28 Chinese archers, by contrast, what changes most between archers during the draw is precisely the elbow of the drawing arm, not the shoulder, because there the path is measured rather than the end point. The picture is descriptive. No study was designed to separate the variation within an archer from the variation between archers, two of the four papers appeared in regional or questionable journals, and none links the angles to the score. There is also a tension to resolve: in the Ukrainian national team, measured from above in two dimensions, the angle at the drawing elbow ranges from 31.7 to 49.7 degrees, so the same elbow comes out as fixed or personal depending on how and when it is measured.

Also phrased as: "standard angles and personal angles"; "technique adapts to the body"; "shooting geometry the same for everyone"; "elbow angle at the release"; "between-archer variation in shoulder angles"

Evidence

• 2017
  Context Archers Published later

  25 Ukrainian national team athletes filmed from above in 2D video at the release: the angle at the drawing elbow ranges from 31.7 to 49.7 degrees and the angle at the drawing shoulder from 116.8 to 148.4. The extreme values belong to athletes with the highest federation rankings, so this arm geometry does not follow the level. It is a description with no statistical test, in a regional journal, with angles measured in a different plane from those of the later studies.

  Information Support of Highly-Qualified Archers’ Training · A. P. Vlasov, M. V. Ivashko, I. R. Svistelnyk

• 2022
  For Archers Published later

  14 Taiwanese university recurve archers, all right-handed, measured before a twelve-week lower trapezius programme, averaging 6 arrows at 5 m in the laboratory: at the release shoulder abduction is 94 ± 6 and 95 ± 5 degrees on the bow side and 120 ± 4 and 123 ± 6 on the drawing side in the two groups, while horizontal extension of the bow shoulder is 141 ± 20 and 130 ± 33 degrees (drawing side 147 ± 5 and 144 ± 9). The study does not ask the question and the groups have seven archers each, but the spreads separate tight angles from wide ones in the way the claim describes.

  Twelve-Week Lower Trapezius-Centred Muscular Training Regimen in University Archers · Chien-Nan Liao, Chun-Hao Fan, Wei-Hsiu Hsu, Chia-Fang Chang, Pei-An Yu, Liang-Tseng Kuo, et al.

• 2024
  For Archers Published later

  13 university recurve archers (6 women, 7 men), from novice to expert, recorded with motion capture using 25 lb and 32 lb bows at 10 and 15 yards: at the release, flexion-extension of the drawing elbow is 156.42 and 157.94 degrees (women and men, 25 lb, 10 yards), 156.23 and 158.10 (25 lb, 15 yards), 158.54 and 156.39 (32 lb, 10 yards), 158.56 and 157.69 (32 lb, 15 yards). These are group means, with no measure of between-archer variation designed for the question.

  An Ergonomics Analysis of Archers through Motion Tracking to Prevent Injuries and Improve Performance · Xiaoxu Ji, Jenna Miller, Xin Gao, Zainab Al Tamimi, Irati Arzalluz, Davide Piovesan

• 2024
  For Archers Published later

  28 Chinese national and provincial squad archers, paired shoulder and elbow curves of the drawing arm during the draw analysed with functional data analysis: the first principal component explains 60.0 per cent of the variation between archers, 46.3 points from the elbow and 13.7 from the shoulder, and three components reach 90.7. Between one archer and another, during the draw, it is mainly the elbow that changes. Journal with questionable editorial standards; same sample as the 2021 study on muscle synergies.

  A Comparative Study on the Joint Coordination of Archery Athletes of Different Skill Levels: Based on Functional Data Analysis Questionable venue · Baifa Zhang, Zhi-Cheng Lin

• 2025
  For Archers Published later

  18 high-level Bulgarian archers, six indoor shots at 18 m, shoulder angles measured with inertial sensors (Noraxon MyoMotion). Coefficient of variation between archers: total flexion of the bow shoulder 6.2 to 7.7 per cent (means 74.3 to 75.5 degrees) and abduction 5.8 to 7.6 per cent (72.5 to 74.5 degrees); on the drawing shoulder total flexion 8.9 to 10.5 and abduction 9.4 to 10.5 per cent. Flexion of the bow shoulder, by contrast, varies by 29.0 to 33.3 per cent (means 53.0 to 55.9 degrees, minima 19.6 to 35.1, maxima 76.8 to 88.1), its external rotation has means of 3.4 to 18.1 degrees with standard deviations of 48.6 to 53.2, and that of the drawing shoulder varies by 52.8 to 65.8 per cent. Descriptive, regional journal.

  Study on the stability and positioning of the shoulders on the points and accuracy in archery · Iv. Ivanov

• 2025
  For Archers Published later

  The same 13 university archers as the 2024 paper, re-analysed for the effect of draw weight, and so they count only once: at the release the drawing elbow stays between 156.5 ± 6.3 and 159.5 ± 4.4 degrees in the women and between 156.7 ± 9.5 and 157.5 ± 7.4 in the men across all six combinations of bow and distance, while mean abduction of the drawing shoulder ranges from 100.9 to 117.1 degrees depending on the condition.

  The Impact of Draw Weight on Archers’ Posture and Injury Risk Through Motion Capture Analysis · Xiaoxu Ji, Zainab Al Tamimi, Xin Gao, Davide Piovesan

• 2025
  Context Archers Published later

  Video of 20 recurve and barebow archers analysed with pose estimation (YOLOv8, 17 body points) to classify the phases of the shot: the horizontal position of the wrist and elbow of the drawing arm carries the most weight, while the shoulders, hip and bow-arm elbow carry almost none, and the knees and left ear were dropped because they did not move or could not be seen. It is an engineering paper, in a regional journal: it shows what moves during the shot, not how much it varies from one archer to another.

  Pose Classification in Archery Sports Based on YoloV8 Using SVM and Random Forest Methods · Yuridikta Adha Muslim, Bedy Purnama, Bayu Erfianto

Status history

1. 2017 Not studied The first data close to the question come from the Ukrainian national team, filmed from above at the release: the angle at the drawing elbow ranges from 31.7 to 49.7 degrees from one athlete to another, the angle at the drawing shoulder from about 117 to 148, and the extreme values belong to the most decorated archers. It shows that, seen this way, those angles are personal, but the study does not look at other angles or ask which are the same for everyone: there is still nothing on the question.
2. 2022 Reported A training study of fourteen Taiwanese university archers reports, before the intervention, the shoulder angles at the release: abduction is about 95 degrees on the bow side and 120 on the drawing side, with standard deviations of 4 to 6 degrees, while horizontal extension of the bow shoulder has standard deviations of 20 and 33 degrees in the two groups. It is the first measurement in which some angles come out tight and others wide from one archer to another. The study does not ask the question and the groups have seven archers each: the evidence in favour is there and it is limited, so the status is reported.
3. 2024 Reported Two samples bring the question into focus from opposite sides. In 13 university archers the angle of the drawing elbow at the release is nearly the same in every group, averaging between 156 and 159 degrees, in both sexes and across different draw weights and distances; in 28 Chinese archers, during the draw, what changes most between archers is the elbow of the drawing arm, not the shoulder. They do not contradict each other, since the first looks at the end point and the second at the path, which is exactly the distinction that matters. The second appeared in a journal with questionable editorial standards and cannot decide the status, and both are descriptive measurements on small samples: the status stays reported.
4. 2025 Reported The measurements widen and agree. In 18 high-level Bulgarian archers, total flexion and abduction of the bow shoulder are nearly the same for everyone, varying between archers by 6 to 8 per cent, while flexion and external rotation of the same shoulder change a great deal from archer to archer. A second look at the 13 university archers confirms the drawing elbow held at about 157 degrees with every draw weight, and on video of 20 archers the shoulders and pelvis move so little during the shot that they are no help in telling its phases apart. The supporting studies become four, but all are descriptive and two appeared in regional or questionable journals: the status stays reported.

Related

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Research lines

• 54 studiesMovement variability and individual technique since 1971
• 25 studiesArchery injuries: what research has measured 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