Breaking Down the Release of a 550+ Rev Rate

[@bhartissimo]

Thanks for sharing this. Blake looks so relaxed in his approach. That itself is something I can try to learn from.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Thanks

[@arcadesunday4592]

Great looking approach and release. Nice !

[@justinchandler7294]

There is just something mesmerizing about a smooth high rev one handed release.

[@Topnikko]

This was very helpful. Nice job!

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Thanks

[@squidly2112]

This is fantastic. I had this down pat the other night during an after league fun/practice session. My problem is, I have no idea really how I was doing it. It was working fantastic that night but I haven't quite found it since. It's like I had totally found it accidently and now I can't seem to quite find it again. LOL .. This video should help me to rediscover what I was doing and hopefully get this working for me all the time. I'm sure I won't be able to get HIS rev-rate, but at least improve on my own rev-rate, which is already pretty good, just not quite like this guy. Thanks for the video!

[@YoPhocFays]

Taking all your tips. I can get the revs on a foul line drill. But when I do a full shot, I can't get the revs. I don't know if its the force uncupping the ball before the release or if i just have to do more wrist exercises to keep the hand under the equator.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

It is hardest to take the foul line drill and keep it all going with steps. It takes time. Start with no step, move into 1 step, then 3 step, and work your way into it. Also, make sure once you add steps, you don't focus on steps, push away, your mark, or anything. Just concentrate on what you need your hand to do from the time you hit the peak of the backswing to the release. Focusing on other things makes it hard, so if it goes in the gutter, or you pull it bad, that's okay in practice. It's about feeling what your hand does, the angle and tilt of the ball, and the revs.

[@YoPhocFays]

@baldbrothersbowling you are the best. Thank you so much for all the tips and videos to help bowlers. I appreciate your channel.

[@byronfranek2706]

Initial Rev-rate is calculated using the first revolution of the ball off the hand. [ camera framerate ] / [ Number of video frames in the first revolution ] * 60 = RPM off the hand. The lowest rev-rate is off the hand, and the highest rev-rate is at the end of the hook phase. Rev-rate at the end of the hook phase is affected by the ball design, layout, and friction between the coverstock and lane surface. Average rev-rate measurement from foul line to pins is essentially conflated by those variables.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Yes, but here is the problem with calculating initial rev rate only. My camera is set to 24 fps. When you advance his video by frame, in one frame as it leaves his hand, you see his grips on TOP of the ball. 2 frames later, it is slightly short of on top of the ball, but by the 3rd frame, it's well past. This means that 1 revolution off his hand is between 2 and 3 frames. Using the calculation above, 2 frames would be 720 rpm and 3 would be 480. That is a large gap, and I don't know how to calculate a fraction of a frame. So at best, I would have to estimate. 563 (which I calculated using the average rev-rate) is within that gap. If I reverse engineer the formula above, 563 would be 2.55 frames at a 24 fps. Now, I could advance frames until I see the marker (in this case grips) in the exact same spot. When I advance 5 frames, the ball rotated twice and the grips are in the exact same spot. That average 2.5 frames per revolution, so 24/2.5*60=576. This all estimating, and the difference between initial rev rate and average rev rate is negligible. As you said, the highest rev rate is at the end, so if his initial is 576, then I actually underestimated his rev rate as the average would actually be higher than 576, which makes sense because in my review, at 20 revolutions, the ball isn't quite at the pins, but at 21, it's well into them. So his actual revolutions is 20 point something, and if I were to add a fraction of a revolution to my calculation, it would have been higher than 563. But I was trying to estimate, and that is why I named the video 550+ and 563. I knew this wasn't exact and was just an estimate, either way you calculate it. But for most people, the difference between initial rev rate and average is going to be close.

[@byronfranek2706]

@@baldbrothersbowling Definitely need 60fps for accurate readings. The ideal compromise is to measure the average rev-rate using a polished plastic spare ball with no weightblock. This would eliminate the effects of ball dynamics and lane friction on the measurement, and might be just as accurate as measuring the first revolution off the hand.

[@pcolesjr]

Can you talk about how he gets his axis rotation. He looks like he does it differently than you. Please explain.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

If you look at the 5:00 mark where I freeze and flip the frame back and forth, you can see the position of his hand. The 3 things that impact your ball are 1.) axis tilt, 2.) angle of rotation, and 3.) rev rate. All these are mostly impacted at this moment which is why we focus so much on this part specifically. What you are looking for here are the position of the fingers to the center of the ball, and angle of the fingers to thumb at release. The first thing everyone should want to try to get is fingers under the equator (the imaginary horizontal line cutting the ball in half). In the 2 frames I show, you'll see in the first frame, he's a little under, but by the 2nd frame, he is well below the equator. Next, you will see that his fingers are on the inside of the ball in the first frame (if you draw an imaginary VERTICAL line, he'd be on the left side of the ball). As he uncoils his wrist, it slightly rotates so that it goes from inside to more in the center. This along with rolling the ball off the thumb first helps get the revs. Next, you will see that the angle of his fingers to his thumb is not straight up and down, but angled. That is extremely angled in the first frame as he is in the loaded position (wrist cocked inward) and less so, but still there in the 2nd. Because his fingers are about in the center (left to right) of the ball in frame 2, but his thumb is outside, this creates both his angle of rotate and tilt. Basically his palm is pointing probably 30 degrees to the left, not straight down the lane. Comparing Blake to me, he is more loaded and has his fingers farther inside the ball at frame 1. His frame 2 looks more like what my frame 1 would look like. He uncoils more than me which is why he can generate so many more revs. My frame 2 I am more outside the ball than he is. This makes my palm probably closer to 40 degrees to the left. He is a little bit more up the back than I am. This is also because for me, my finger to thumb angle is a little bit more up and down, his is more angled. That said, we can both manipulate our shots a little. He CAN come around it more, meaning his fingers will be farther outside in frame 2 than currently, pointing his palm at a greater angle, but when he does this, he has so much angle that it hooks uncontrollably given his rev rate. He can come up the back more or less and increase or decrease tilt by changing the location of his fingers and that angle of his fingers to thumb a little at the release point. If wants to come up the back more, his fingers will stay slightly more inside the ball in frame 2, or more around it, he will come a little to the outside of the ball. He can decrease tilt by loading less and getting the finger to thumb angle less, or get more tilt by keep that angle a little greater in frame 2. I can also come up the back more by keep my hand more behind it like he does. I struggle creating that much angle between my fingers and thumb, so when I come up the back more, it has less tilt than he has. I can load more like he does, and my ball roll is closer to his, but I can't uncoil as fast as he does which lowers my revs, and I can't generate his speed, so when I load more, my ball speed is too slow. I know that is a lot of info to read, but hopefully that answers your question and makes sense. It's hard to do, which is why you have to practice over and over.

[@pcolesjr]

@@baldbrothersbowling thanks brother.

[@danjosephson5840]

Do you do any 1 on 1 instruction ?

[@baldbrothersbowling]

This is something we are working on developing. I do in-person, but we need to work out logistics of setting up something that can be done virtually and thru use of loading videos. If you want to find us on Facebook, Bald Brothers Bowling, and then send me a DM, I can put you on a list to reach out when that is set up. If you are in Omaha by chance, yes, we can do in person 1-on-1.

[@190avgdad]

I too have a 600 rev rate… I just have to throw 2 balls 😂

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Lol.

[@kennethportis3572]

I remember when my rev rate was that high. I maxed out a 611 revs when I was younger. About 7-8 years ago, my wrist stopped being able to take it, so i had to bring it down a bit.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Yeah you are down to a measly 500 now? Lol.

[@icedawg35]

Moral of the story (start of video) is that I need to bowl more than once every couple of weeks…. 😅

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Exactly. If you are married, just show this to your spouse and say that we said it's important to bowl MORE to improve. :)

[@tymarmaras]

Creating that bend in the elbow, wouldn’t that require some form of muscling?

[@baldbrothersbowling]

Technically any movement requires SOME muscle. However, when we refer to "muscling" in bowling, it's really about forcing a movement. Gravity plays a big roll in bowling, and we want to use gravity, but sometimes people will pull the ball up into a backswing, or hold it in the pushaway too long fighting against gravity, or even pulling it back down faster than what gravity is allowing. But when the ball moves from the peak to the release, gravity is pulling it downward, and if your armswing is moving at a pace similar to the ball dropping, the ball is virtually weightless. During this time, you can manipulate your wrist and get a slight elbow bend without much effort from your muscles. If the speed of your downswing is too fast or slow, bending the elbow will require muscling the ball. You also have to consider that the elbow bend he shows is very slight. Some people overdo it, which that will impact your throw because you are essentially muscling it to get THAT much bend. But an ever so slight bend is all you really need.

[@rleriche5044]

Short answer 'yes'. The ball is pulling down ward so pulling your arm straight. However as coach Bald suggests, it's about moving in such a way as to minimize the 'muscling'. So, to create the bend at the elbow the shoulder is dropped slightly and then just as the ball is dropping into that new lower level it it released. Maybe try getting a cheap and light ball fitted to learn or ignore me coz I'm a 2 hander with 500 rpm and no art lol

[@Topnikko]

if you let the ball drop inward with the elbow close to the hip without pulling down and with your shoulder and body in the correct alignment this will happen naturally.

[@tymarmaras]

@@baldbrothersbowling thank you all for the response. Another question. I bought a wrist device because I was told that it would teach the feel of a firm wrist position. I have massive issues with getting out of my ball and when I put this wrist device on my thumb clears so fast that I nearly drop the ball during my swing. Does anyone know why a wrist device like a Robby rev one get my thumb out so fast?

[@baldbrothersbowling]

@@tymarmaras Great questions. First, I would disagree about using a wrist brace to gain "feel" of a firm wrist as a starting point. While it does hold you firm, it actually removes some of the feel for me. I like wrist braces really only if there is an injury that requires it, or as a last resort if you struggle with other methods. The fact that you exit the thumb so quickly, you may have too loose of a thumb hole (which is my guess), and because of your wrist position now, maybe you aren't squeezing like you used to and it is exposing fact that the thumb doesn't fit right. My recommendation, even before really using a wrist brace, is to watch my video on the importance of right thumb fit. In that video, I explain how you can make sure the ball is super snug on your thumb, but you don't hinge at the middle knuckle. You hinge at the base of the thumb, keeping the thumb straight. If you do with with a tight thumb hole, you will hold on to the ball really well until you decide to release pressure. With a straight thumb, it won't stick. If you bend your thumb, it will stick. Getting a tight thumb hole and training to use your thumb this way also makes it easier to flatten your wrist more by pulling back with the thumb (not curling the ball like a dumbbell). I also address this in that video. If you get a tight thumb, hinge properly, and pull back to straighten or even cup the wrist a little, it will feel much light and be easier to do. Swing it back and forth to get a feel for having a straight wrist thru your swing. If you can do that, move on to swinging back and forth with no step drill, and then practice releasing pressure on the thumb only and rolling the ball off your hand. This can all be done with a proper fitted thumb and some practice, without the need for the brace.

[@Nothingpersonal42]

This is my favorite type of release to watch- ala Hupe, Schenck, Prather. Looks so effortless. Wish more of the kids would put the work in to learn this rather than just throw two handed. This is art.

[@baldbrothersbowling]

I agree, this is an art, and Blake has it down! Thanks for watching.