knee bend

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turbotwister
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knee bend

Post by turbotwister »

what's are the benefits of a good knee bend and post at the line? i've noticed some bowlers that don't have any knee bend what so ever but the ball is released way out on the lanes and then the bowlers that have a knee bend ,their balls are released closer to the foul line. what is theory about a good knee bend VS no knee bend?
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Re: knee bend

Post by Arkansas »

A good knee bend promotes a good flat spot. The flat spot maximizes the window for a good release. No knee bend = no flat spot. No flat spot means you better have exceptional timing and consistency with your release. It's all about margin of error. Think of it as bowling on a house shot vs a sport pattern. Good knee bend and continuation is like bowling on a house shot and little to no knee bend and continuation is like bowling on a sport shot. Your miss room on the release is tied to knee bend and more specifically, knee continuation.

http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/index. ... _Flat_spot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: knee bend

Post by RobMautner »

No knee bend = no flat spot as long as your goal is to set it short. If you don't mind lofting it out on the lane, no knee bend is just fine. Just look at Mika!
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Re: knee bend

Post by 2y2 »

Arkansas wrote:A good knee bend promotes a good flat spot. The flat spot maximizes the window for a good release. No knee bend = no flat spot. No flat spot means you better have exceptional timing and consistency with your release. It's all about margin of error. Think of it as bowling on a house shot vs a sport pattern. Good knee bend and continuation is like bowling on a house shot and little to no knee bend and continuation is like bowling on a sport shot. Your miss room on the release is tied to knee bend and more specifically, knee continuation.

http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/index. ... _Flat_spot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I have to disagree, while knee continuation is an important part of the flat spot it is not the flat spot, so it is completely incorrect to state "No knee bend = no flat spot" because the flat spot is the summed length of both the slide and the knee continuation, which one is longer? obviously not the knee bend so you can still have a flat spot without a knee bend.

Knee continuation helps the body to stay low resulting in a lower gravity center of the body. The body is moving forward, when you don´t bend your knee, the only place your body can go is up, that´s why most people that don´t bend their knees get up at the foul line. If your head goes up at the moment of release, it is very likely that your knee is not continuing its movement forward when your foot stops sliding. Compare Shawn Maldonado vs Marshall Holman, Shawn even hops at the end when Marshall's head is so still and low because of his excellent knee continuation.
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Re: knee bend

Post by MeNoRevs »

RobMautner wrote:No knee bend = no flat spot as long as your goal is to set it short. If you don't mind lofting it out on the lane, no knee bend is just fine. Just look at Mika!
Or Diandra Ash.... on nevermind, she doesn't loft it.
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Re: knee bend

Post by kajmk »

A few tidbits

The Flat Spot
http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/index. ... _Flat_spot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Post
[youtube][/youtube]

Enviable knee bend and continuation. Watch the side views of Steve
[youtube][/youtube]

Discussion on balance
[youtube][/youtube]
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Re: knee bend

Post by bowl1820 »

turbotwister wrote:what's are the benefits of a good knee bend and post at the line? i've noticed some bowlers that don't have any knee bend what so ever but the ball is released way out on the lanes and then the bowlers that have a knee bend ,their balls are released closer to the foul line. what is theory about a good knee bend VS no knee bend?
"what's are the benefits of a good knee bend and post at the line?"

The main benefit of a good knee bend is, it gets the ball lower to the ground (lane). So you can roll the ball onto and project it down the lane, it lets you release the ball smoothly and parallel to the lane surface.

The less knee bend you have, basically the more your lofting it or throwing the ball into the lane.

The main benefit of posting your shots is, It can indicate if there's problem in your delivery. If the shot was delivered properly, you will have no problem maintaining a balanced posture.

Also posting ( holding your finish position until the ball hits the pins.) allows you to concentrate on watching you balls reaction and what happens at the pins. Which is valuable information for your next shot and for making adjustments.

If you can't post your shot well, it means something was off and got you out of balance before you got to the release point, If your out of balance you won't be effectively transferring energy to your shot, your targeting can be off etc.
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Re: knee bend

Post by MeNoRevs »

bowl1820 wrote:
"what's are the benefits of a good knee bend and post at the line?"

The main benefit of a good knee bend is, it gets the ball lower to the ground (lane). So you can roll the ball onto and project it down the lane, it lets you release the ball smoothly and parallel to the lane surface.

The less knee bend you have, basically the more your lofting it or throwing the ball into the lane.

The main benefit of posting your shots is, It can indicate if there's problem in your delivery. If the shot was delivered properly, you will have no problem maintaining a balanced posture.

Also posting ( holding your finish position until the ball hits the pins.) allows you to concentrate on watching you balls reaction and what happens at the pins. Which is valuable information for your next shot and for making adjustments.

If you can't post your shot well, it means something was off and got you out of balance before you got to the release point, If your out of balance you won't be effectively transferring energy to your shot, your targeting can be off etc.
So you cant post your shot without knee bend?
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Re: knee bend

Post by bowl1820 »

MeNoRevs wrote:So you cant post your shot without knee bend?
That's not even remotely what I said, No where did I imply you can't post your shot without knee bend.

He asked about the benefit of good knee bend and posting, So I addressed them as individual questions:

What is the benefit of a good knee bend? and What is the benefit of posting your shot?
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Re: knee bend

Post by pocket710guy »

Increasing flexibility to your knee joints through flexibility stretches will help alot. Contact a local chiropractor to help you with this.
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Re: knee bend

Post by pjape »

Just watch the PBA50 players, and you'll see a lot of hall of famers who don't have nearly the knee bend they did when they were younger. One Xtra Frame show I watched on Youtube, Pederson said there's no way he can bend his knee like he did when he was younger. Age happens!

One other bowler that comes to mind who had little to no knee bend was Dave Ferraro. He still had a great career.

Yea, I'd love to have more knee bend, but at my age (55) and being overweight, it's just not going to happen. :(
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Re: knee bend

Post by kajmk »

Genetics, circumstance, habits are factors in the aging process.
The earlier in life you start a physical regimen, the better, it will pay dividends as you age and your physical prowess will belie your age.

I've been quite overweight and under exercised. The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.
When I was in my mid fifties, I started jogging up and down the stairs at the Universities Basketball arena. First time, could barely do one lap, after a while, the lunch hour was not enough time. Cancer surgery and extreme paradigm change at work became my excuse to lay off. We can always find excuses.

A year ago May, I started a workout routine, granted, I'm retired and have time.
I've been told that I look like I've been doing it all my life (flattery perhaps). That's only a bit over one year. It may not buy me one more day of life, but at least I will look good in the box. Not saying how old I am, but I just left another decade behind :o

I say this to encourage, and nothing else. YOU CAN DO IT!

I bet Ameletto Monacelli still looks great and athletic.

You will feel better and may even bowl better, well if not, you'll look better doing so.
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Re: knee bend

Post by krava »

I know I need to get my knees down more. I have to get the weight off. I have noticed that I actually bounced a bowling ball several times now on lanes that aren't suppose to bounce. Getting knees down will let you prevent that. Also getting knees down helps you realease the ball closer to the other foot.
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Re: knee bend

Post by kajmk »

krava wrote:I know I need to get my knees down more. I have to get the weight off. I have noticed that I actually bounced a bowling ball several times now on lanes that aren't suppose to bounce. Getting knees down will let you prevent that. Also getting knees down helps you realease the ball closer to the other foot.
Rome was not built in a day, make a commitment, diet, exercise. If you want to, you can do it.

Think about getting your hips down.
Sit in a hardwood chair with your bowling ball held against your chest, stand and sit, repeat, do sets of this.
Check out Athlean-X on YouTube, look for videos on areas you want to target.

I know a bowler that I met in the 80's, he was around 280-320 .
He made a lifestyle choice about what types of food and drink to consume. He shed all the excess weight, has never put it back on. Bonus, his legs once lightened of the load, seemed even stronger.

Give it a go!!!!
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Re: knee bend

Post by boomer »

All of that said, sometimes we can't do much knee bend.

I have no cartilage in my left (slide) knee and wear a DonJoy unloader brace and can't do much of any bend while bowling. Yes, I need to lose weight and am working on that, but most weight loss activities include either a pool (no access to one) or a lot of walking/running/riding which includes my knee. :(

So until I get a new one, it's minimal bend. I just have to accept some sacrifices.
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Re: knee bend

Post by GBuck »

kajmk wrote:
Rome was not built in a day, make a commitment, diet, exercise. If you want to, you can do it.

Think about getting your hips down.
Sit in a hardwood chair with your bowling ball held against your chest, stand and sit, repeat, do sets of this.
Check out Athlean-X on YouTube, look for videos on areas you want to target.

I know a bowler that I met in the 80's, he was around 280-320 .
He made a lifestyle choice about what types of food and drink to consume. He shed all the excess weight, has never put it back on. Bonus, his legs once lightened of the load, seemed even stronger.

Give it a go!!!!
Athlean-X is a great channel. He helps you avoid hurting yourself by doing the wrong exercises and doing the right exercises incorrectly.
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Re: knee bend

Post by 56bird »

Kinda feel like you answered your own question regarding knee bend.

Mark Roth had none to speak of. Wes Malott has little if any these days. Many great bowlers have little or no knee bend. Most of us are not these guys. If you're projecting the ball out on the lane from up high, it's quite simply going to see less lane. This could be a good thing (burnt heads or lofting gutter) or a bad thing (lots of oil, ball won't slow down when lofted unless you have mega hand).
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