Flare position on ball and release technique overall

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Helios
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Joined: September 3rd, 2020, 12:05 pm

Flare position on ball and release technique overall

Post by Helios »

Hello. I have "two" questions regarding my bowling. Sorry my post became so long, but i have no coach and haven't asked anythign yet at forums... my questions added up over time :). Also in my country good coach is quite rare...

1) Main reason i make this post - flare position on ball. I read some theory about number of oil rings, distance between rings - not what i need. Also huge theory for oil drillers, too much for me. My issue is simple: for long time i had flares next to finger holes. Parallel to finger hole - thumb line, big diameter oil ring. After my intense drilling it changed. Now my flare moved much further from finger holes, making much smaller ring in diameter (it is still parallel to finger holes). I would say it came with increased RPM, my hand is much behind and bellow ball than it was, my hook is much better now. But i was told by one guy (not a professinal coach though) that flares should be next to finger holes. Also years ago my coach learnt me to make flare next to holes... but it was my beginings and i'm sure he was teaching my step by step. And he didn't train me for long, so i don't know what final version of my technique should look like.
So is it correct - flares far from finger holes? And if not, what can i do about it, what causes it? I could get flare back to its position right next to finger holes, but only when i make 0 axis of rotation - my ball goes completely straight.


2) After studying videos i made up my mind how my technique should look like. After getting some result (far from finished) i would like to make sure i'm going in good direction and get help with my problems.
My main issue was RPM, and i read that good thing to increase RPM is to get more to the left behind the ball with my hand. I had issues with it, so i also started to tilt my wrist to the left, so i would get more behind. Only later i learnt this is how axis tilt should be created. Here is the video of my recent balance drill (sorry about quality, but its the best my smartphone slowmo can do):

a) First of all i would like to know if my general idea is good. Get more to the left with hand, with that tilt being extra bonus to learn axis tilt.

b) if A is correct... i feel like my timing in turning wrist from left to final position is coming too soon. With my thumb still in the hole, so i go around the ball with my fingers instead of "through" the ball. You should be able to see that in video, am i right about it? But because i can do 0 axis of rotation release, i think i can fix it with drills.

c) Should i only rotate my wrist while keeping wrist tilt during that release, or i have to release tilt as well? Question for the future when i get that timing right.

d) I feel like my asix of rotation is way too big, close to 90, isn't it? I hope it can be soon from videos. I think its related to B - bad timing with wrist rotation.

e) I still struggle to get as much to the left behind the ball as i want. You can see it at balance drill, at first two swings my hand is very much on the left, but in all my shot swings hand is much more to the right. Any tips to fix that? And is it good idea to go that much left? I feel like i go the the right when i push ball a little in my swing, working on that now. I think it would be best to post video with full shot after all... (please ignore other mistakes i do, like being little bit late with my legs and also terribly high... i was focusing ball release, that is the point now)

I'm really sorry it so many questions, but its bothering me for quite some time. Also sorry for having video only from behind, i didn't plan to post here , so i didn't take any such from side in my last training. I can make some next week if its helpful...
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deanchamp
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Re: Flare position on ball and release technique overall

Post by deanchamp »

Hi Helios, I'll try and respond to your queries.

1) Where the oil rings are tells you what type of roll you have on the ball. If the first ring has moved away from your fingers a bit, you may have increased your tilt a bit, and likely your PAP has changed as well. I know a lot of bowlers where the first ring is further from the fingers but closer to the thumb, giving them a 1" or more up co-ordinate in their PAP location. You mention you have a higher track with lower rotation, and by adding rotation, it sounds like you are also adding tilt to the roll. Not necessarily a bad thing, it just depends how much.

2) In your release drill, your hand position is good, but when you release the ball, you don't want to come around it and release on the side of the ball. You need to try and release through the weight of the ball, collapsing your wrist forward as you uncock your wrist.

The V you create in the 3rd pic prior to the release between your first and second fingers is the position you want to have right up until the release. If you rotate around the ball too early, you will get excessive rotation and less revs on the ball.
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