On better arrows the joints of the shot compensate for each other more

7 studies · 29 archers measured

Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

Only one measurement actually answers the question: six elite archers from a national squad, ninety arrows analysed for each at 18 metres. On the arrows scoring 9 and 10 the shoulders, elbows and wrists vary in such a way that the variations cancel out and the arrow stays on line, with a compensation index of around 0.4 to 0.6 at the release against 0.1 to 0.3 on the arrows scoring 6 to 8. The compensation is not there at the start of the aim, it builds up towards the release, and it is present on the worse arrows too, only weaker. The rest points the same way but measures different things: in eight archers the body and the bow sway together on the best arrow and not on the worst, with correlations across archers rather than within the shot; in ten traditional archers the bow's jolts are explained only by the two hands together, but with no score. As for two hands correcting each other on a good arrow, for now that is only an idea: nobody has measured it in archers.

Also phrased as: "you do not need to be motionless while aiming"; "the two hands working together"; "balanced push and pull"; "motor synergies in archery"; "compensating variability"

In practice

Archers are taught that aiming does not mean being motionless: the body always moves, and what matters is that the two hands work together to keep the arrow on line, one pushing while the other pulls.

Evidence

2018
For Archers Published later

6 elite recurve archers from a national squad, 90 arrows analysed for each at 18 m, variability analysis with statistical parametric mapping: on the arrows scoring 9 and 10 the compensation index at the release sits around 0.4 to 0.6, on those scoring 6 to 8 around 0.1 to 0.3, with a significant difference. The variability that leaves the arrow's orientation unchanged exceeds the variability that shifts it.

The Uncontrolled Manifold Concept Reveals That the Structure of Postural Control in Recurve Archery Shooting Is Related to Accuracy · Ben Serrien, Elout Witterzeel, Jean-Pierre Baeyens
2018
Context Archers Published later

In the same 6 archers the index starts negative at the beginning of the aim and turns positive towards the release in every archer and every condition: the compensation is built during the aim. In the horizontal plane it becomes effective earlier than in the vertical plane, and its strength is similar in both planes, with no formal test.

The Uncontrolled Manifold Concept Reveals That the Structure of Postural Control in Recurve Archery Shooting Is Related to Accuracy · Ben Serrien, Elout Witterzeel, Jean-Pierre Baeyens
2018
Context Archers Published later

On the arrows scoring 6 to 8 every archer still reaches positive values of the index, with the useful variability roughly equal to the harmful one; in the time-independent model the confidence intervals exclude zero only in the last two instants before the release. On the worse arrows the compensation is there, but weaker.

The Uncontrolled Manifold Concept Reveals That the Structure of Postural Control in Recurve Archery Shooting Is Related to Accuracy · Ben Serrien, Elout Witterzeel, Jean-Pierre Baeyens
2020
For Archers Published later

8 national-level recurve archers, 6 arrows at 13 m, best arrow against worst: on the best, the forward and backward displacement of the centre of pressure correlates with the bow's displacement towards the target (r=0.83) and vertically (r=0.80), on the worst it does not (r=0.46, p=0.25). The total path length of body and bow is not correlated on either the best arrow (r=-0.09) or the worst (r=0.03).

Relationship between bow stability and postural control in recurve archery · Karine Jacon Sarro, Thaynã de Castro Viana, Ricardo Machado Leite de Barros
2022
Context Review Published later

A review of 21 studies on postural control and trunk stability in athletes: it takes up the 2020 Brazilian study and concludes that the synchrony between body and bow matters, not only the amplitude of the sway. No new data.

The Role of Neuromuscular Control of Postural and Core Stability in Functional Movement and Athlete Performance · Erika Zemková, Ludmila Zapletalová
2024
Context Archers Published later

10 experienced Turkish traditional archers, shots from different draw lengths: the bow's jolts while aiming are explained by the two hands acting together, with R squared between 0.79 and 0.91 across the five trials, while neither hand alone is significant. It is a regression across archers, with no score, in a regional journal.

Factors Affecting Shooting Skill in Turkish Archery The Relation between Final Pull Distance and Logarithmic Dimensionless Jerk · Uğur Ödek
2024
For General population Published later

8 young men who do not shoot, a computer-simulated shot using the force of the left hand and the four fingers of the right: the forces of the fingers and of the two hands compensate to stabilise the total force, and the index of this compensation is linked to how repeatable the virtual shot is.

Hierarchical Organization and Adjustment of Force Coordination in Response to Self-Triggered and External-Triggered Cues in Simulated Archery Performance · Kitae Kim, Junkyung Song, Dawon Park, Jaebum Park
2025
For Review Published later

A systematic review of 16 cross-sectional studies on body stability and score, with quality rated: it reports the 2018 study of 6 elite archers, where on the arrows scoring 9 and 10 the variability that leaves the arrow's orientation unchanged is greater than the variability that changes it, while on the arrows scoring 6 to 8 the difference stays below the threshold for almost the whole aim.

Relationship Between Shooting Performance and Biomechanical Parameters Associated with Body Stability in Archery: A Systematic Review · João Santos, Joana Barreto, Tiago Atalaia, Pedro Aleixo
2026
Context Review Published later

A focused review of five studies on the draw force line, in a journal with questionable editorial standards: it reports the 2018 study again, with stronger synergies on the shots scoring 9 and 10 than on those scoring 6 to 8. No new data.

Impact of Kinematic Variables of the Draw Force Line on Performance in Recurve Archery: A Focused Systematic Literature Review Questionable venue · Namchan Norbu Bhutia, Atanu Ghosh, Snehunsu Adhikari, Awesh Khati

Status history

2018 Reported The first direct measurement arrives. Six elite archers from a national squad shoot a hundred arrows at 18 metres, ninety of them analysed, with cameras on the shoulders, elbows and wrists: on the arrows scoring 9 and 10 the segments vary in such a way that the variations compensate and the direction of the arrow holds steady, with a compensation index of around 0.4 to 0.6 at the release against 0.1 to 0.3 on the arrows scoring 6 to 8. The compensation is not there at the start of the aim: it builds up towards the release, in the horizontal plane first. It exists on the less accurate arrows too, but stays close to the threshold. Six archers, one study: reported.
2020 Reported Eight Brazilian national-level archers, six arrows at 13 metres, a force plate and a marker on the bow, add the relationship between body and bow: on the best arrow the body's forward and backward movement goes with the bow's movement towards the target (r=0.83) and vertically (r=0.80), and on the worst it does not (r=0.46, not significant). The total amount of body and bow sway, on the other hand, is not correlated on either. It is a correlation across eight archers on one arrow each, and it measures synchrony more than compensation: it points the same way without raising the status.
2024 Reported The first measurements on the two hands arrive, neither of them linked to the score. In ten Turkish traditional archers the bow's jolts while aiming are explained by the two hands together, with between 79 and 91 per cent of the variance explained depending on the trial, while neither hand alone is significant. In a computer-simulated shot on eight young men who do not shoot, the forces of the fingers and of the two hands compensate to stabilise the total force, and this compensation is linked to how repeatable the shot is. The first is in a regional journal and does not look at the arrows, the second is not on archers: the status stays reported.
2025 Reported A systematic review of sixteen studies on body stability, with quality rated study by study, counts the 2018 study among those linking stability to the score and sums up its meaning: on the more accurate arrows of elite archers there is not less movement, it is channelled into directions that do not shift the arrow. No new sample, and it remains the only study on this question: the status holds.

Research lines

Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.

See the full assessment

Cite

APA

Campagna, M. (2026). On better arrows the joints of the shot compensate for each other more (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/joint-synergies-accuracy

BibTeX

@misc{campagna2026_sinergiearticolariprecisione,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {On better arrows the joints of the shot compensate for each other more},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/joint-synergies-accuracy},
  note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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