The Influence of Saracen Archery Grasping Techniques and Forearm Muscles Activation on Shooting Performance in Traditional Archery: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of four grasping techniques recommended by Saracen Archery and associated forearm muscles activation on traditional archer’s shooting performance. Each archer has shot 6 arrows in each grasping technique to the target, EMG activities of muscle Flexor Digitorum Superficialis (MFDS) and muscle Extensor Digitorum (MED) were collected in bow arm during aiming phase. The shooting performance was indicated by the distance from arrow hitting point on the target to the bull’s eye. The results revealed that each subject has specific grasping technique to obtain the best shooting performance. The grasping technique that generated the best performance is not as recommended by Saracen Archery. All subjects indicated that the best shooting performance was obtained when MED activated more than MFDS.