A KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF FINGER MOTION IN ARCHERY

This paper examines finger motion during the bow string release in archery. METHOD: Fifty-six shots from one athlete were captured with an infrared motion tracking system. Kinematics for index, third and ring fingers were calculated. Two different kinematic variables were defined, related to the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) of the third finger: maximum angular velocity (MAX) and minimum angular velocity (MIN). For statistical analysis shots were separated into two groups (very good shots: shots which hit the innermost score area and bad shots: score of 8 or less; shots which achieved a nine or a ten were excluded). A Mann-Whitney test was used. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in the variables MAX and MIN between very good and bad shots (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Findings in this study show that there are no significant differences in angular velocity (related to the PIP joint) between very good and bad shots, but that reproducibility of kinematic characteristics are possible crucial factors in archer’s performance