sometimes you need to take 2 or 3 steps back to take 5 forward
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am i still considered a lefty, i never get to play the left side of the lane

Coaches have to teach you the text book way. they can not teach you what your body can and can not do. the Pro's are full of people that don't follow the Text book way. but they bowl 100+ games a week.

The 3 top three fundamentals in bowling are consistency,consistency,consistency!!

Just as long as your elbow dosen't throw off the arm swinging through your target and your timing is fine then why mess witha good thing.
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"deserves got nothing to do with it."
-- William Munny

Hamster, I understand where you are coming from as I have had/fought the same problems for 20 years. Wish I could offer you advice, but since I have identical problems, I don't feel qualified to do so.

Stick with what works man.  I spent 8 months trying to straighten out flaws in my swing and release until a PBA pro told me, "You'll never bowl well if you're not comfortable" and 8 months later I'm back to my old style, just with alot better timing and control.  There is no textbook way to bowl just do what works for you and repeat shots.  It's not how it looks, but how effective it is.
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-D. Marshall
ScratchBowling.com Shirt Staff 2003-2004

Your elbow does not have to be perfectly straight in order to keep proper hand position with the ball in order to impart maximum leverage at the point of release.  If you keep your arm perfectly straight, at the top of your backswing, your hand has almost no other choice but to open up.  In order to keep your wrist cupped throughout the backswing, your elbow needs to be bent, albeit only slightly.  No, 90 degrees is not slightly...  The biggest thing a coach can't teach you is what feels right to you.  That's a decision you have to make, he/she is just trying to get you to some sort of fundamental platform that you can work from.
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It's not Ez bein' Cheezy

To add to what MY Guru Magic Carpet has put.

I have a theory on this.  It relates to what I know about golf and bowling.

I've noticed that in golf those with weak grips(very few knuckles showing), tend to play with more relaxed or almost soft or starting to bend elbows at impact.  This is where they get their play from to get the club to square up, not from the hand but from the elbow. Those with stronger grips showing more knuckles get the rotation of the club while playing with noticebly very rigid arms.  Examples of weak grips soft arms would be Johnny Miller.
Examples of strong grips and very rigid left arms at impact would be David Duval, Paul Azinger, and Lee Trevino.

So it is in bowling.  The position that provides rotation to the ball from the hand is the lateral under palm of the thumb.  (For righties this would be thumb right lateral).  I have noticed that bowlers that use lateral pitch that is less than their anatomical natural pitch are more likely to bowl with bent arms.  They provide the rotation they can't get from their hand position by the extra play they can get from their elbow.   Much like the golfers listed above.

I have noticed there was a guy named Earl Anthony that was pretty good who bowled with a slightly bent elbow.  I think one of our own Mongo the Unlefty has mentioned that he uses a slightly bent elbow.  (He sent a ball to me and it was 0 lateral pitch and I think he said with the Coke bottle test he was at least an 1/8 or 1/4).

I have also noticed that Bowlers that use all of their coke bottle test lateral under palm pitch bowl with very straight elbows, (almost rigid), examples would be Tish Johnson.

I believe that almost all bowlers that complain about bent elbows are probably using at least 1/4 less thumb under palm lateral than they test on the coke bottle test.

Now is this bad!  Again Earl Anthony was pretty good.
In addition in reference to golf above, I remember Johnny Miller in his incredible phase where he was shooting 61 like it was raining.

I saw him review his own swing once where as he stated his downswing he introduced a slight bending of his left arm.  He said he wanted to FIX that!
Soon he was a has been for a couple of years.

I then noticed as he returned to form that he was again playing with a very soft and slightly bent arm at impact.

Check your lateral pitches in relation to the coke bottle test.  If you vary by having 1/4 less lateral than the test this may explain your bent elbow.

Do you have to fix it?  Your call.

REgards,

Luckylefty
PS Hope this helps.

I think you are a righty.

You have never mentioned lateral pitch for your thumb so I assume you are drilled 0 lateral pitch.

Coke bottle test.  Grab a coke bottle, 20 ounce size works good!
Where does the tip of your thumb pointin your most natural grab?

All below are for righties.

Index finger = lateral thumb left =1/8
Between index and middle = 0 lateral
Middle finger = 1/8 lateral right
Between Middle and ring = 1/4 lateral right
Ring finger = 3/8 right.

This is the position I was talking about in my post.

If your natural anatomy from the test above says you should be pointing 1/4 right lateral pitch.  Then you go and drill lateral 0, your hand alone will have difficulty applying rotation to the ball.

Rotation will have to come from another source, your elbow!

I would be interested how you test above and if you are drilling 0 lateral.

I find that most people bending their elbows this is part of the reason why.

REgards,

Luckylefty
PS let us know.
PPS Just remember this, the pins don't know how long you've been bowling who you know or what your average is they only know one thing, Physics!
In addition the ball only knows one thing, how you apply your anatomy to it!
Edited on 8/27/2003 2:54 PM

Edited on 8/27/2003 2:57 PM