bent elbow
Shawn
bowl for the first time. the one thing I noticed was my bent elbow. I
can't seem to correct this problem on my own. any suggestions ?
PromptJock
> bowl for the first time. the one thing I noticed was my bent elbow. I
> can't seem to correct this problem on my own. any suggestions ?
Ah! The old "bent-wing syndrome" surfaces again! ;>
The only way to positively correct this is the following ** AT-HOME **
drill:
1) Find a spot in your living room (or similar "large"room) where you
can set-up your camera on a tripod or similar "chest-high" location.
Position it so it shoots you FROM YOUR BOWLING-ARM SIDE. If you have
a FULL-LENGTH mirror, position it so it's DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU.
2) Get your ball, put it in your hand, and get in your normal delivery
stance.
3) Position the leg on your BOWLING ARM SIDE (right leg for right-
hander, left leg for left-hander) SLIGHTLY BEHIND your body and
shifted to your OPPOSITE SIDE, so the foot is in-line with your
OPPOSITE SHOULDER. Make sure you're in balance here - adjust the
"trailing" leg forward/back/right/left as required to ensure you're
stable. If you have the mirror, take note of how your arm and
shoulder are aligned, etc.
4) Start recording.
5) Now, simply do a straight pushaway, let the ball do a complete
swing, then "naturally" pull it back into your stance when the ball
comes forward (DO NOT let the ball release from your hand!).
CONCENTRATE ON FORCING THE ARM TO **FULLY STRAIGHTEN OUT ** BEFORE THE
THE DOWNSWING and "locking" the elbow to keep it straight. While
you're doing the swing, say to yourself "Deploy landing gear - down
and locked!" during the swing. If you have the mirror, STARE STRAIGHT
AHEAD and carefully watch the direction of the pushaway (does the ball
go STRAIGHT forward, or does it "angle" left or right?) and the PATH
of the swing (straight and perpendicular to your body and floor, or
does it "veer" left-to-right or right-to-left?).
6) Stop recording.
7) Repeat steps 2-6 10-20 times. Total time for this drill: should be
no more than ** 5 minutes **, which includes recording start/stop and
"stance repositioning" times.
When you're done, review the tape. Pay close attention to WHERE in
the swing your elbow bends (forward downswing after pushaway or
reverse downswing before delivery). If you're lucky, you can probably
see where your MUSCLES "TENSE-UP" right before the elbow bends in the
swing - this indicates you're trying to "actively grip" the ball to
keep it from "falling off the hand". You can probably correlate the
tape-recorded elbow bend to your "live action" observations in the
mirror.
Depending on how busy your day is, you can probably do this drill 3-5
times a day (i.e., do the 20-rep drill, take a break for an hour or
so, do 20 reps again, take a break, etc.). If you pay CLOSE ATTENTION
to your bodily "feel" in doing the swing, always telling yourself
"Deploy landing gear - down and locked!" with each rep, you should see
improvement within ONE WEEK, as that's typically how long it takes the
body to "get used" to A New Physical Thing. In fact, as you initially
start doing this drill with "full concentration", you should be able
to feel how the HAND is carrying the weight of the ball (fingers,
thumb, palm, wrist) and when/where the hand "tightens-up" to keep the
ball from falling, etc. It's usually at that point where the elbow
bends because as the hand "tenses", so does the FOREARM muscles,
followed by the UPPER ARM muscles (i.e., bicep), to assist the muscles
in the hand (yes, there are muscles in the hand - they're located in
the PALM).
I wish I could provide a video demonstrating this drill. However,
peruse this video of PBA Pro Michael Fagan, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr5SBkoyxtk,
paying close attention to HOW STRAIGHT AND "LOCKED" his arm is during
the swing. While you may not have a backswing as HIGH as Fagan's,
your (and every bowler's arm) should be as "straight and true" in the
swing proper, from pushway to release.
Hope this helps. :)